Since 1936, whether Peking University should be recognized and returned to the imperial school in the Han Dynasty has been at war in Hu Shi's mind. On March 3, 1946, on the eve of returning to China to become the president of Peking University, Hu Shi wrote a letter to the president of Xia Pin Master Instrument Company, thanking him for giving Peking University a research instrument. Hu Shi told Mr. P. T. Sharples that both he and Li Guoqin had misspelled the English name of Peking University. Li Guoqin is a friend of Xia Pin Si, and Xia Pin Si gave Peking University instruments through Li Guoqin's relationship. Hu Shi said at the end of the letter:

I noticed that both you and Guoqin made a little mistake when referring to our school. Beijing was renamed Peiping in 1928, but National Peking University, which dates back to 1898, the earliest national university established in China [Jingshi University], retained its original name. Therefore, it is still called Peking University in Peiping [Note: In fact, the official records of Harvard's 300th anniversary also call Peking University Peiping University].

Interestingly, a draft of this letter is hidden in Hu Shi's archives in Beijing. The same sentence, Hu Shi said in the draft: But National Peking University, which dates back to 124 BC, the earliest national university established in China [note: that is, Taixue] retained its original name. Therefore, it is still called Peking University in Peking.

Should Peking University recognize the Imperial College of the Han Dynasty as its ancestor and make itself the oldest university in the world? After Hu Shi became the president, he still swayed from side to side. On December 13, 1948, he wrote an article "The 50th Anniversary of Peking University" to commemorate the school. In this article, he first boasted that Peking University can be said to be the world's oldest university

The oldest university:

I have said that Peking University is the official successor of the Imperial College of the past dynasties. For example, Peking University really wants to overwhelm people with age. It can be traced back to the beginning of Imperial College in the fifth year of Emperor Wu of Han Yuan Shuo (124 BC). Gongsun Hongju asked for fifty disciples for the doctorate. That is the origin of the credible Imperial College in history, and this year is 2072. This is older than any university in the world!

However, Hu Shi went on to say that Peking University has ambition and is unwilling to use the lingering shadow of its ancestors to enhance its prestige:

But Peking University has always been unwilling to admit that it is the heir of Imperial College since Emperor Wu of Han, and unwilling to show off the two thousand years of longevity. Since I arrived at Peking University, I remember that in the 12th year of the Republic of China (1923) Peking University commemorated the 25th anniversary, and in the 27th year commemorated the 40th anniversary, both acknowledging that the Wuxu year [that is, 1898] was the year of its establishment (Peking University can also be traced back to the establishment of Tongwen Museum in the early years of Tongzhi, which can also extend the school's history for more than 20 years. But Peking University seems to have a firm legacy, only acknowledging that the establishment of the Wuxu Year Hall is the beginning of Peking University's history). Although this little brother is not old, he is really a bit ambitious!

Whether Peking University's history dates back to 124 B.C. or 1898 is certainly not a question worth debating. If we could ask Hu Shi, he would surely say that this is just a joke, as if we occasionally imagine or hope: If history did not evolve like that, what would happen now? What is really worth asking is why Hu Shi keeps asking this question that is not a question. This is a question that the young Hu Shi, especially the Hu Shi who became a member of Peking University, would not even think about. In other words, Hu Shi has changed.

Hu Shi changed because he loved Beijing and Peking University even more. In his will made in New York on June 4, 1957, he donated all the 102 boxes of books and documents he had left in Beiping in December 1948 to Peking University. It is also because Hu Shi loved Peking University that when he became a member of Peking University, his views on Peking University were inevitably infected by this sentiment, which was subtly different from the tough-mindedness he could face when he was young. There are emotional love and expectations, as well as rational judgment and introspection; there are resentment against its failure, and there are cherishing its academic contributions. Of course, this is also related to the inertia that people are accustomed to, which is more than enough.