On November 10, 2018 (October 3, 2018 in the lunar calendar), historian and sociologist Liu Xuyi passed away. Historian and sociologist Liu Xuyi At 10:50 am on November 10, 2018, Professor Liu Xuyi, a famous historian and sociologist at Wuhan University, passed away due to cerebrovascular disease at the age of 105. On May 13, 1913, Liu Xuyi was born in Luojiachong, Huangpi County, Hubei Province. He was admitted to Tsinghua University in 1936. Two years later, he went to Southwest United University to continue his studies. During this period, he studied sociology under Chen Da, Pan Guangdan, Wu Wenzao, Fei Xiaotong, etc. At the end of 1943, he went to the United States to study sociology. In 1947, he received a master's degree in sociology from the University of Chicago. After returning to China, he taught at Wuhan University. He was one of the early sociologists in China. Since the 1950s, due to the adjustment of faculties and the suspension of sociology schools and many other reasons, Liu Xuyi has turned to focus his main energy on the study of American history. Over the years, he has written and written well, especially after the reform and opening up. The six-volume "General History of the United States" (People's Publishing House 2002), which he co-edited with Yang Shengmao, has had an important impact on the academic and ideological circles. The set of books was planned in 1978 and launched in 1979. It took 23 years to publish. At the same time, he also presided over or participated in the translation of the "Chronicle of World History" (Life, Reading, New Knowledge Sanlian Bookstore 1981), "Roosevelt and the New Deal" (version: Commercial Press 1993) and other historical books, and compiled the "Dictionary of American Studies" (version: China Social Sciences Press 2002) and other American research reference books. Many of Liu Xuyi's academic achievements have even been entered into Chinese, British, and American dictionaries, and he is also known as an "American expert". In the early days of reform and opening up, with the gradual recovery and reconstruction of domestic sociology teaching and research, Liu Xuyi also wrote "Sociological Research in Reform and Opening Up" (Wuhan University Press, 1997), which defined the research object of sociology as "the social life and development of human beings", "the structure of various social forms and the process and law of their development in various historical stages of human beings". In his later years, Liu Xuyi published an oral history, "Flute Sword Shadow" (Guangxi Normal University Press, 2010), which recounts his personal experiences and reflections on the development of human social institutions, including his reflections on Confucianism and Chinese society - which was the theme of his master's thesis "Confucian Rule in China" (recent Chinese translation, see Renmin University Press, 2014 edition). "Xiao Sheng Sword Shadow", by Liu Xuyi, Guangxi Normal University Press, May 2010 It is worth mentioning that the title of "Flute Sword Shadow" comes from Gong Zizhen's poem of the Qing Dynasty: "One flute and one sword to level the business, and it has been a madness for fifteen years. The 12th issue of "Reading" magazine in 2009 once published an article "Walking with the" May 4th " (Author: Jiang Hong) commented on Liu Xuyi and his oral history:" In Mr. Liu, there is indeed this seemingly contradictory combination of flute and sword: earth and ocean, traditional and modern, dedicated to academics and facing reality. He has written well but still keeps writing. He has long been famous in the world but has always been a scholar and professor. He has never entered the temple or the world. The titles and honors he has received are all academic and folk. "" Mr. Liu loved to read Gong Zizhen's poems and prose since childhood, and later admired the thoughts and character of this patriotic pioneer. Both worrying about the country and worrying about the people, and being cynical, are the common spiritual characteristics of China's awakened intellectuals in the era of great transformation. Liu Xuyi and Gong Zizhen, who are a hundred years apart and are at the same time of national danger, have the same heart - Xiao Yunyou is worried, and the sword is like a rainbow. "Liu Xuyi practiced Gong Zizhen's life creed and social responsibility throughout his life. In the early 1990s, reform and opening up entered a period of turbulent adjustment. Liu Xuyi, who has long studied American history, boldly stated that he should learn from the pioneering spirit of those pioneers in the early immigration and westward movement in the United States. He not only criticized the negative aspects of American capitalism, but also dared to advocate the use of American capitalism in building socialism with Chinese characteristics. In his letter to the historian Huang Annian, he left a single limerick: "The surname of the society and the surname of the capital have not been rested, and the good times are like water flowing from the air. You should prevent a dream of Huangliang, and look around and upstream."