Hu Shi on Tolerance Over Freedom | Generated by AI
This is a question about E.B. White’s essay On Liberty (《容忍与自由》) — actually, let me correct that. This is about 胡适 (Hu Shì)’s essay 《容忍与自由》, written in 1958.
Let me walk through each option and explain why one is the correct answer.
The core argument in question: Hu Shi argues that as he grew older, he came to believe tolerance (容忍) is actually more important than freedom (自由). To illustrate this, he needs an example showing that intolerance — even from people championing “truth” or “progress” — can be deeply dangerous.
A. 高尔文烧死塞维图斯 (Calvin burning Servetus)
This is indeed mentioned in the essay as a historical example of intolerance — Calvin, a Protestant reformer championing religious freedom against Catholic tyranny, turned around and had the freethinker Servetus burned at the stake for heresy. It illustrates the irony that liberators can become oppressors. However, this is not the specific example Hu Shi uses to anchor the argument about “growing older and valuing tolerance more.”
B. 柏时宣言”良心的自由是魔鬼的教条” (Someone declaring “freedom of conscience is the devil’s doctrine”)
This is a historical anecdote Hu Shi mentions, but it is not the core illustrative example tied to his personal reflection on age and tolerance.
C. 作者痛骂《西游记》和《封神榜》 (The author harshly criticizing Journey to the West and Feng Shen Yan Yi)
This does not appear in the essay as a cited example. It is essentially a fabricated/irrelevant option designed as a distractor.
D. 陈独秀提倡白话文，”必不容反对者有讨论之余地” (Chen Duxiu promoting vernacular Chinese and “not allowing opponents any room for discussion”)
✅ This is the correct answer.
Hu Shi uses Chen Duxiu (陈独秀) — a close contemporary and fellow May Fourth Movement figure — as his key example. Chen Duxiu championed the New Culture Movement and promoted vernacular Chinese (白话文), which was a progressive, liberating cause. But Chen’s attitude was dogmatic: he declared that opponents of the new ideas should have no room to discuss or dissent. Hu Shi points out the painful irony here — someone fighting for intellectual freedom simultaneously refusing to tolerate opposing views.
This example is especially powerful for Hu Shi’s argument because:
- It is personal — Chen Duxiu was someone Hu Shi knew and worked alongside.
- It illustrates that even well-intentioned progressives can fall into intolerance.
- It directly ties to his reflection that with age and experience, he learned how dangerous intolerance is, even when wielded in the name of truth or progress.
Answer: D