The story of "listening to Jiang Yang talk about the past"
■ Liu Shuling
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Listening to Jiang Yang's Talk about the Past was finally published. This is a book written by an old man of 177 years old. The content of the book is self-evident, and its birth is a legend.
Jiang Yang said: "This is the only biography written with my consent."
This is a biography of Jiang Yang, not just a biography, but an intellectual's spiritual history.
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Jiang Yang's life story cannot be separated from Qian Zhongshu. Their 63-year marriage is the highlight of Jiang Yang's life. Listening to Jiang Yang's Talk about the Past records the unique Yang Qian-style "Humanity and the World".
Jiang Yang is a smart person, and this wisdom and accomplishment are reflected in her married life. Qian Zhongshu said that Jiang Yang uniquely combined three incompatible roles: wife, lover and friend. This is the highest evaluation and true portrayal of Jiang Yang. Jiang Yang was born in a noble family. She is Miss Yang who has read many famous western literature. She is a rich and pampered "four young ladies". However, in her marriage, she silently learned to do all the chores undertaken by her daughter-in-law in a big family, respect the old and love the young, and be patient in everything. Especially in the turbulent and difficult living conditions during the war, the ladies became "maids under the kitchen". Although they are very tired and hard, they always have a smile on their faces, and there is no expression of grievance or resentment. They also finished her play by the fire. Therefore, Qian Zhongshu lamented that he had married "the most virtuous wife and the most talented woman".
In Qian Zhongshu's eyes, Jiang Yang is omnipotent. In life, Qian Zhongshu is clumsy and bookish, while Jiang Yang is considerate and considerate, making all this full of wisdom with her humor. What she said most to Qian Zhongshu was "Never mind". The desk lamp is broken, "it doesn't matter"; The ink spilled, "it doesn't matter". Never mind by Jiang Yang accompanied Qian Zhongshu's life. Her interpretation of love is not Iloveyou, but Ido Ibe. Once, Jiang Yang wanted to donate a sweater she knitted for Qian Zhongshu, but Qian Zhongshu held on to it and said, "The thread is in the hands of a kind mother." For Qian Zhongshu, who was born since childhood, this kind of love should be cherished. Jiang Yang said, "When Zhong Shusheng was ill, I just wanted to live one year longer than him. Taking care of people, men are not as good as women. I tried my best to defend myself and strive for' husband before wife'. It's bad if the order is wrong. " This sentence seems calm, better than 10 thousand love poems. Mr. Jiang Yang practiced her understanding of love with the highest wisdom. It should be said that in a sense, this book is also a love reading for intellectual women.
Jiang Yang is a famous writer. Listening to Jiang Yang talk about the past spent a lot of time commenting on Jiang Yang's works. This kind of comment is extremely special, including self-evaluation and mutual evaluation of Qian and Yang, which reproduces the historical scenes and profound opportunities when many works were born. This is a vivid history of micro-literature, and it is a special historical material for studying Jiang Yang's works.
No one knows and appreciates Jiang Yang's wisdom and talent better than Qian Zhongshu. The book records Qian Zhongshu's wonderful comments on Jiang Yang's works. For example, for Jiang Yang's prose, Qian Zhongshu was extremely ashamed and impressed: "Jiang Yang's prose is better than mine." "Jiang Yang's prose is naturally good, and no one can learn it." He said to Jiang Yang, "As usual, I should be jealous of you, but I admire you most." "A publishing house wants to publish my works when I was young and your works now. Am I too embarrassed? " Among Jiang Yang's works, people like her Six Chapters of Cadre School and Bathing best, but Qian Zhongshu thinks The Big Joke written in 1970s is the best novella in Jiang Yang. On the surface, The Big Joke seems exaggerated and humorous, but in fact it has a strong sense of tragedy, which reveals that among the so-called intellectuals who regard the secular as wisdom, two of a kind, who knows each other, is more difficult to find, more easily destroyed and more precious. From Qian Zhongshu's appreciation of The Heavenly Palace, we can understand his intention of writing novels such as Cats and Fortress Besieged. For Jiang Yang's plays, Qian Zhongshu also expressed his confidant words. After the performance of Jiang Yang's second play "Let it come true", Qian Zhongshu looked back and said, "I want to write, too. I want to write a novel. " It can be said that Jiang Yang's drama gave birth to Fortress Besieged. Qian Zhongshu has profound opinions on her translation. Jiang Yang's interpretation of Qian Zhongshu's works comes together in all the books. As writers, they are all independent creators. As the closest people in the world, their works contain you and me. Listening to Jiang Yang's talk about the past recorded their related literary experiences for the first time. Therefore, "Yang Qian's Mutual Evaluation" has become the most interesting content in Listening to Jiang Yang's Talk about the Past.
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Jiang Yang's life is turbulent, but she is calm all the way. The author said that when she listened to Jiang Yang's story, what she thought most was: As an intellectual, where is Jiang Yang's personality charm?
Indeed, Jiang Yang is a strange girl. During the Anti-Japanese War, I let go of my family background and remained gentle and strong after rough times. During the "Cultural Revolution", the ultra-leftist school was broad-minded and optimistic, leaving a well-known "Six Chapters of ultra-leftist School". She has experienced ups and downs, but calm as water, experienced the world, but still pure. Life in my later years is like a turtle in the mud, but it is full of love and unpredictable.
In this book, there are two chapters on the topic of "zero": "I am zero" and "I am still zero". "Zero" is a supreme state and the starting point of everything. "I must reduce myself to zero. If a person cannot be at the bottom of the class, he will never be free. " This is Gandhi's declaration to the world in his autobiography. Jiang Yang is not a politician, and her "zero" represents her true nature: being naive and natural, being humble and practical. Doing everything away from vanity, not admiring vanity, trying to keep herself true, shows her personality strength.
Jiang Yang said: Learning to judge and self-control is very important for the formation of a person's character. We should temper our minds with reason and keep humor and tolerance. Jiang Yang was accompanied by humor all his life. Humor comes from her love for the world, just like a lamp, which illuminates her temperament, talent and wisdom, and keeps her with a kind and broad heart, kindness and courage. Because of this, the book reveals many touching and admirable historical fragments for the first time, but it is full of fun in her narrative, and the dark life is taken away by her smile.
For example, there is a chapter in the book called "Appreciating Life", which recalls many interesting fragments of Jiang Yang's life in the cadre school, one of which is "Pulling Wild Shit". The author said that when Jiang Yang recalled this thrilling night, he still laughed to tears. A talented woman who studied in Oxford and learned both Chinese and western cultures had to learn to leave a bite of "wild excrement" bitten by cats in the cold, dark and desolate countryside during the transformation. This is an interesting detail in the history of China. These details were not written by Jiang Yang in Six Chapters of Cadre School. Why not treat them as sequels to Six Chapters of Cadre School?
The writing of Listening to Jiang Yang Talk about the Past coincides with the centenary of China's drama. Mr. Jiang Yang's early drama works "Make it true, make it false" and "Satisfied" were staged simultaneously in Shanghai and Beijing. Mr Jiang Yang's memory of the past is connected with reality again. She wrote Jiang Yang and Yang Jikang, which was published in Wen Wei Po in June 5438+1October 65438+May 2007. At the age of 96, his writing is still vivid and pure.
After Mr. Qian Zhongshu left, Jiang Yang established the Philobiblion Scholarship in Tsinghua University on 200 1 according to Qian Zhongshu's last wish, which means "love reading" in Latin, and also comes from the name of the publication edited by Qian Zhongshu when he was the editor-in-chief of English in the Central Library, and donated all the remuneration obtained from their existing and later published works. Jiang Yang said: "In China, every word I donate is money." Her translation of the Spanish novel Don Quixote has sold 800,000 copies and sponsored hundreds of students to win prizes. Some people think that Jiang Yang is the embodiment of Don Quixote, the messenger of kindness and love. For many years, Wu has been assisting Mr. Wang to manage the "Good Reading" scholarship. When listening to Jiang Yang's story about the past, the happiest chapter is to record the story that has passed and is still going on.
After The Three of Us and Our Qian Yuan were published, I was surprised that an old man could support such a lonely life strongly. It turns out that the three of us will live in her soul forever. After reading and listening to Jiang Yang's talk about the past, I finally understand where the strength of this old man's life comes from-not only the "three of us", but also more stubborn beliefs, more broad-minded personality and broader love.
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Wu studied English since childhood, graduated from the journalism department of yenching university, and worked as a foreign correspondent for many years. In order to let Mr. Jiang Yang recall the past in a warm and cordial atmosphere, she never used a tape recorder, but memorized it by rote. After each conversation, she immediately arranged it into words, and then Mr. Jiang Yang read it aloud. She repeatedly recalled some wrong or inaccurate memories and sent them to Mr. Jiang Yang for revision and revision. She doesn't use a computer to write. Her articles are all written in pen on manuscript paper, and every handwriting is neat and clear. Jiang Yang modified it with a pencil and wrote it neatly on one side, thickly dotted. When reading these tiny handwriting, Wu always concentrates on it, and then corrects and supplements it over and over again. In order to research a passage in Yuan Jishan's Le Shui Shuo mentioned in Qian Zhongshu's diary, she braved the high temperature of 38 degrees to check and revise it in the library.
This book involves many old friends of Jiang Yang, some of whom are important historical figures. The author recorded them objectively, restored vivid fragments of historical events and uncovered many dusty past events. This essay is simple, gentle and cordial, which is similar to Jiang Yang's prose. The author says that history should not be avoided or whitewashed, because Jiang Yang's "past" is not just a personal life, but a historical link.
What moved Wu especially was Mr. Wu's questioning of the soul in Walking on the Edge of Life. When she was writing Listening to Jiang Yang Talk about the Past, she had this book with her. Wordsworth said: simple life and noble thoughts are the highest realm of life. "Simple life, noble soul" is a famous saying that both Wu and he like very much.
After the manuscript was completed, it was originally planned to include 100 photos of Jiang Yang. However, the author insists on lowering the book price, reluctantly reducing the number of photos and fonts. I feel particularly sorry. I once commented: "It doesn't matter if the book is thicker, but it must be done beautifully. These photos should be used and the fonts should be enlarged. " But she said: "books are written for the public, not in ivory towers!" Especially young students, they can't afford expensive books. The purpose of writing books is to let them appreciate life and learn to be human. I don't use this book to make money, and I don't want those flashy packaging. I just want to have a wide audience. "
June 2008 10