aeeble

Hu Shi was a pioneer of liberalism, influenced in his thinking by Huxley and Dewey. He once said that Huxley taught him how to doubt, and Mr. Dewey taught him how to think. He advocated throughout his life the academic approach of "bold hypothesis and careful verification" and "evidence for every statement." He once served as the Chinese ambassador to the United States, the president of Peking University, and the president of the Academia Sinica. This Hu Shi Memorial was originally his residence in Nangang, Taiwan, when he returned to Taiwan in his later years to serve as the president of the Academia Sinica (1958-1962). After Hu Shi passed away on February 24, 1962, the meeting of the Academia Sinica's administrative council passed a resolution stating that Hu Shi's former residence would be entirely used as the Hu Shi Memorial. The "Hu Shi Memorial Management Committee" was then established, and the Hu Shi Memorial was officially founded on December 10 of the same year. In January 1998, it was transferred to the Institute of Modern History. The Hu Shi Memorial consists of three parts. First, is the Nangang residence where Hu Shi lived when he returned to Taiwan to serve as president of the Academia Sinica (1958-1962), also known as the Hu Shi's former residence in Taipei. The architecture, corridors, and arrangements of the residence still largely maintain the original appearance of his living environment during his lifetime. Second, is the exhibition hall, which was built with a donation from the American insurance company Starr (C. V. Starr) in 1964. It displays Hu Shi's works, manuscripts, photographs, personal belongings, memorabilia, and documentaries about Hu Shi in Taiwan. Third, is the Hu Shi's Cemetery. The cemetery area was expanded in 1974 into the "Hu Shi Park." The park is built on a hillside with a winding path under thick shade, offering a quiet and serene mountainous scenery. Since its opening, many people from home and abroad have visited the cemetery, and have also enjoyed the beautiful sightseeing and climbing opportunities.