Ye Shengtao (1894.10.28 ~ 1988.2.16), writer, educator, publisher, and political activist. His original name was Ye Shaojun, also known as Shengtao, and his pen names were Ye Shengtao, Siti, etc. A native of Suzhou, Jiangsu. The works are collected in "Ye Shengtao Collection". In his early years, he worked as a primary school teacher and participated in the New Trend Society and Literary Research Society. He has been engaged in editing and publishing since 1923. He has edited or edited "Literary Weekly", "Novel Monthly", "Middle School Students", "Chinese Monthly", "Bi Zhen", etc. After the September 18th Incident in 1931, he participated in anti-Japanese and national salvation activities. After 1946, he actively participated in the patriotic democratic movement. After 1949, he successively served as deputy director of the General Administration of Publishing and director of the Editorial and Review Bureau, deputy minister of education, president and editor-in-chief of the People's Education Press, director of the Central Research Institute of Literature and History, and vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He is the author of the novels "Separation", "Offline", "Ni Huanzhi", essay collections "Footsteps Collection", "Xichuan Collection", fairy tale collections "Scarecrow", "Stone Statues of Ancient Heroes", etc., and has edited dozens of textbooks. He has written more than a dozen books on Chinese education.

Biography

In 1894, Ye Shengtao was born in Wuxian County, Suzhou.

In 1907, he was admitted to Caoqiao Middle School and served as a primary school teacher after graduation. In 1914, he was kicked out of school and began to write classical Chinese novels.

In 1915, he served as a Chinese teacher at the Shang Gong School of the Commercial Press in Shanghai, and compiled Chinese textbooks for primary schools for the Commercial Press. Later, he applied to teach at the fifth higher primary school in Jiaozhi County, Wuxian County.

In 1918, his first vernacular novel "Spring Banquet Tales" was published in "Women's Magazine", Volume 4, Issues 2 and 3.

In 1919, he joined the New Wave Society of Peking University and began to create vernacular literature.

In 1921, together with Mao Dun, Zheng Zhenduo and others, he initiated the "Literature Research Association" and advocated "literature as life".

In 1923, he entered the Commercial Press to engage in editing and publishing work, and published the novel "Ni Huanzhi".

In 1930, it was transferred to Kaiming Bookstore and sponsored the magazine "Middle School Students".

In 1931, after the September 18th Incident, the "Anti-Imperialist and Anti-Japanese Alliance in the Literary and Art Circles" was initiated.

During the Anti-Japanese War, he went to Sichuan to continue to preside over the editorial work of Kaiming Bookstore. At the same time, he also participated in the establishment of the "Literary and Art Circles Anti-Enemy Support Association".

After returning to Shanghai in 1946, he served as the director of the General Affairs Department of the All-China Association of Literary and Art Circles and a consultant to the Shanghai Primary School Teachers Joint Training Association and the Secondary School Education Research Association.

In 1949, he arrived in Peiping and served as director of the Textbook Editing and Review Committee of the North China People's Government. Later he served as a member of the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

After 1949, he successively served as deputy minister of education, president and editor-in-chief of the People's Education Press, member of the All-China Joint Committee of Literary and Art Circles, consultant to the Chinese Writers Association, director of the Central Museum of Literature and History, and director of the People's Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of the People's Republic of China, Member of the Standing Committee of the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth National People's Congress, Member of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Vice Chairman of the Sixth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Central Committee for the Advancement of Democracy President.

Education and news editing thoughts

Ye Shengtao’s educational thoughts and news publishing thoughts are inseparably linked to each other:

Teaching is for the sake of not teaching

Literature is life

Readability

Literary works

Ye Shengtao’s main pen names include Ye Tao, Shengtao, Guishan, etc. He began writing classical Chinese novels in 1914. In 1918, he began to publish works in vernacular Chinese. He created a large number of novels, essays, essays, poems and children's literature throughout his life.

"Spring Banquet Tales": his first vernacular novel

"Ni Huanzhi": a novel

"Separation": a collection of novels

"Fire": a collection of novels

Especially "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl": a myth

Newspapers and magazines

Ye Shengtao has worked as an editor in the following newspapers and magazines , Chief writer or editor:

"Saturday"

"Shanghai Current Affairs News"

"Shanghai Republic of China Daily"

"Literature Weekly"

"Axiom Daily"

"Chinese Monthly"

"Suzhou Review"

"Women's Magazine"

"Novel Monthly"

"Middle School Students"

"Enlightened Youth"

"Chinese Writers"

"People's Education" "

"Chinese Language"

"Poetry"

"Brightness"

"Chinese Magazine"

"Middle School Students' Wartime Semi-Monthly"

Fairy Tale Works

Ye Shengtao once wrote the following fairy tales:

"Scarecrow"

"Traveler"

"Little White Boat"

"Stone Statues of Ancient Heroes"

"A Seed"

"The Emperor's New Clothes"

"The Rose and the Goldfish"

"The Marriage of the Moon Girl"

"Mimosa"

"The Happy Man"

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"Fang'er's Dream"

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Ye Shengtao Memorial Hall

Ye Shengtao Memorial Hall in Jiaozhi Town's Ye Shengtao Park is located in the corner of Wuzhong District, Suzhou The west garden of the Naho Holy Temple is the original site of the fifth prefectural higher elementary school where he taught from 1917 to 1922.

(1894～1988) Modern writer, children's literature writer and educator. His original name was Shaogou and his courtesy name was Shengtao. His main pen names include Ye Tao, Shengtao, Guishan, etc. A native of Suzhou, Jiangsu. In 1907, he entered the No. 1 Public Middle School in Suzhou. After graduating in 1911, he served as a primary school teacher for 10 years. He began to publish more than 10 classical Chinese novels in 1914, joined Xinchao Society in 1919, and participated in the establishment of the Literary Research Association in 1921. In the 1920s, he published short story collections such as "Separation", "Fire", "Offline", "In the City", "Weiyan Collection", and the novel "Ni Huanzhi". Most of his early novels described the gray life of intellectuals and ordinary citizens, with representative works such as "Mr. Pan in Difficulty"; later he turned to major themes related to the struggle of the times, such as "Night", "Ni Huanzhi", etc., which more profoundly reflected the Social reality before and after the First Civil Revolutionary War. His novels present a simple and cold artistic style. After the "September 18th" Incident, he actively participated in patriotic and anti-Japanese activities, published famous short stories such as "I received three or five buckets more", and became more and more mature in his skills. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he moved to Sichuan to work and live, and his writing was mainly prose and literary criticism. The main prose collections include "Footstep Collection", "Studies of Weiyanju", "Xichuan Collection", "Ten Short Notes", etc. His prose is simple in emotion, meaningful in meaning, clean in language, and most of it has rich social content. "Lotus Root and Water Shield", "In the Heavy Rain on May 31st", "Morning Glory", "Spring Couplets", etc. are famous works with unique characteristics in his prose.

Ye Shengtao is also a pioneer in the creation of modern Chinese fairy tales. The fairy tale collection "Scarecrow" shows the suffering of the working people, but sometimes the atmosphere seems gloomy and sad. The later fairy tale collection "Stone Statues of Ancient Heroes" focuses on the collective strength of the people to unite and resist violence. His fairy tales are novel and unique in conception, delicate and lifelike in description, and rich in realistic content. Lu Xun said that Ye Shengtao's "Scarecrow" opened a way for Chinese fairy tales to create their own creations" ("Biao·Translator's Words").

Ye Shengtao has taught in middle schools and universities in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Beijing and other places since 1921. He has been engaged in editing and publishing since 1923. He has served as editor of the Commercial Press and Kaiming Bookstore. He has edited many important publications such as "Literature Weekly", "Novel Monthly", and "Middle School Students". He has discovered, trained and recommended Ba Jin, Ding Ling, Dai Wangshu and other writers. He has also published many poetry collections, commentaries and treatises, and edited dozens of Chinese textbooks for primary and secondary schools. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he devoted himself to the leadership of culture and education and served as president of the People's Education Press, deputy minister of education, director of the Central Museum of Culture and History, and vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Appreciation of Works

Ye Shengtao Scarecrow

Some poets wrote beautiful poems about the scenery and scenes in the fields during the day, and some painters painted them vividly. painting. At night, the poet drank wine and was a little drunk; the painter was holding a delicate musical instrument and singing softly: He had no time to come to the fields. So, who else can tell people about the scenery and scenes in the fields at night? Yes, and there is the scarecrow.

People in Christianity say that humans were created by God’s own hands. Regardless of whether this sentence is correct or not, we can say that the scarecrow was made by farmers themselves. His frame is like the thin bamboo branches in the bamboo garden, and his muscles and skin are like the yellow straw from the next year. Broken bamboo baskets and broken lotus leaves can be used as his hat; the face under the hat is flat, and it is hard to tell where the nose is and where the eyes are.

His hand had no fingers, but he was holding a broken fan - not really holding it, but just tying a string to the fan handle and hanging it on his hand. His frame was very long, and there was a section under his feet. The farmer inserted this section into the soil in the middle of the field, and he stood there all day and all night.

The Scarecrow is very responsible. If you compare a cow with him, the cow is much lazier than him. Sometimes it lies on the ground and looks up at the sky. If you compare him with a dog, the dog is much more naughty than him. Sometimes he runs around and the owner is tired and looks for him everywhere. He was never bored, lying down and watching the sky like a cow; he was never playful, running around like a dog. He looked at the fields quietly, shaking the fan gently in his hand to drive away the little birds that came to eat the new ears of rice. He neither eats nor sleeps, and even refuses to sit down for a rest. He always stands there upright.

Of course, only the scarecrow knows the scenery and situations in the fields at night best and knows the most. He knows how dew condenses on the grass blades and how sweet the dew tastes; he knows how the stars blink and the moon smiles; he knows how quiet the fields are at night and how the flowers and trees sleep soundly; he knows how the little bugs How you look for me, how I look for you, how butterflies fall in love, in short, he knows everything about the night.

Here are some things the Scarecrow encountered at night.

On a starry night, he was guarding the fields, shaking the fan gently in his hand. The newly grown ears of rice stand next to each other, and the stars shine on them, making them a little shiny, as if they are covered with a layer of water drops. There is a little wind, and they make a rustling sound. The Scarecrow looked on, feeling very happy. This year's harvest, he thought, would surely make his owner, a poor old lady, smile. Where had she laughed before? Her husband died eight or nine years ago. She cries when she thinks about it, and her eyes are still red; and it has become a habit, she sheds tears easily. She only had one son, and the two of them worked hard to cultivate this field for three years before they could barely pay off her husband's funeral expenses. Unexpectedly, my son contracted diphtheria and died soon after. She fainted at the time, and later developed a heartache problem that she often suffered from. This time she was the only one left. She was old and had no strength, so she had to work hard at farming. After another three years, she finally paid off her son's funeral expenses. But then there were floods in the next two years, and the rice was all submerged. It either rotted or sprouted. She shed more tears, her eyes were hurt, her vision was blurry, and she couldn't see even a little further away. Her face is full of wrinkles, like a dried orange, where is the smile? But this year's rice is growing well and strong, and there isn't much rain, so it seems like a good harvest. So the Scarecrow was happy for her: thinking about the day of harvest, she saw that the harvested rice ears were big and full. They were all her own. Finally, she was not suffering in vain. The wrinkles on her face would surely spread, revealing a comforting and satisfied look. Smile. If this smile really exists, in the Scarecrow's opinion, it is more lovely and precious than the smile of the stars and the moon, because he loves his master.

While the Scarecrow was thinking, a small moth flew over, a small gray-brown moth. He immediately recognized the little moth as the enemy of the rice, that is, the enemy of the master.

Based on his position and his feelings for his master, he must drive away the little moth. Then the fan in his hand started to shake. But the wind from the fan is very limited and cannot teach the little moth to be afraid. The little moth flew for a while and landed on a rice leaf, as if it didn't seem like the scarecrow was there to chase it away. When the scarecrow saw that the little moth had fallen, he was very anxious. But his body was fixed in the soil like a tree, and he couldn't move even half a step forward. Although the fan shook, the little moth still rested steadily. He thought about the future situation in the fields, his master's tears and shriveled face, and his master's fate, and his heart felt like a knife. But the little moth has rested. No matter how hard you try, it won't move.

When the stars returned in groups and all the night scenes disappeared, the little moth flew away. The scarecrow looked carefully at the rice leaf. Sure enough, the tip of the leaf was rolled up, with many small moth seeds on it. This made the Scarecrow feel infinitely frightened, thinking that disaster was really coming, and the more he became afraid, the more he could not escape. Poor master, all she has is two blurry eyes; you have to tell her so that she can see the little moth's child as soon as possible, so that she can be saved. As he thought this, the fan shook even more frequently. The fan often hits the body and makes a snapping sound. He won't yell, it's the only way to warn his master.

The old woman came to the field. She bent down to see that the water in the field was just right, and there was no need for traffic from the river to come in. Look at the rice planted by her hands, they are all very strong; touch the rice ears, they are heavy. Look at the scarecrow again, his hat is still on straightly; his fan is still in his hand, shaking and making a snapping sound; and he is still standing very well, upright, his position has not moved, and his appearance is exactly the same as before. Seeing that everything was fine, she walked onto the bank of the field, ready to go home and rub the straw rope.

When the scarecrow saw that his master was about to leave, he was so anxious that he quickly shook his fan, trying to keep his master with his urgent voice. The voice seemed to say: "My master, don't go! Don't think that everything in the field is fine. The big disaster has already left roots in the field. Once it breaks out, it will be out of control. At that time, you will have shed your tears and broken your heart; put it out now before it's too late.

Here, on this tree, look at the leaf tips of this rice tree! " He warned repeatedly by the sound of the fan; but the old woman didn't understand and walked away step by step. He was so anxious that he was still shaking the fan vigorously. Only when the master's back was out of sight did he realize that the warning was It didn't work.

No one was worried about the rice except the Scarecrow. He wished he could jump over and extinguish the root of the disaster; he also wished he could ask the wind to bring a message to the master to quickly eradicate the disaster. His body was originally very thin, but now he looked even more haggard with depression. He no longer had the strength to stand upright, but his shoulders were slanted and his waist was bent, as if he was ill.

< p>In a few days, the caterpillars turned into fleshworms were everywhere in the rice fields. In the dead of night, the Scarecrow heard the sound of them chewing the rice leaves and saw their faces becoming more and more greedy. Gradually, a large area of ??dark green rice disappeared, leaving only bare stalks. He was heartbroken and couldn't bear to look at it anymore. Thinking that his master's hard work this year could only bring tears and sighs, he couldn't help but lower his head and cry.

The weather was very cold at this time, and it was in the fields at night. The cold wind made the scarecrow shiver; but because he was crying, he didn't notice a woman's voice: "Who do I think I am?" It turned out to be you. "He was startled and felt that he was very cold. But what could he do? In order to fulfill his responsibility and he couldn't help but move, he had no choice but to stand there even though it was cold. He looked at the woman and saw that she was a fisherwoman. She was from the field. There was a river in front of her, and the fisherman's boat was parked by the river. There was a faint light of fire in the cabin. She was lowering the fish trap to the bottom of the river. When the fish trap sank, she sat on the bank and waited. After a while, she pulled it up.

There were often sounds of children coughing and sleepy, faint calls for mother. This made her very anxious, so she pulled hard. It seemed uncomfortable, and it was almost empty. The children in the cabin were still coughing and shouting, so she said to the cabin: "Get some sleep!" When I get the fish, I will cook porridge for you tomorrow. You keep calling me, which makes me feel confused. How can I catch fish? "

The child couldn't help it and shouted: "Oh my God, I'm so thirsty!" Give me some tea! "Then there was another cough.

"Where did the tea come from here! Please be honest for a while, my ancestor! "

"I'm so thirsty! "The child cried loudly. In the empty field at night, the cry seemed particularly miserable.

The fisherwoman had no choice but to put down the rope of the reel, got on the boat, entered the cabin, and picked up a He scooped a bowl of water from the river and turned around to give it to the child. The child drank the water in one gulp. He was really thirsty. But as soon as the bowl was put down, he started coughing again; Panting.

The fisherwoman couldn't care less about her children, so she went ashore to pull her fishing reel again. There was no sound in the cabin for a long time, and her fishing reel was empty several times before she caught a crucian carp. It was seven or eight inches long. This was her first harvest. She carefully took the fish out of the basket and put it in a wooden bucket. Then she lowered the fish basket into the basket next to the scarecrow's feet. .

At this time, the Scarecrow was even more sad. He felt sorry for the sick child, who was so thirsty that he couldn't even drink tea; he was so sick that he couldn't sleep with his mother. The wife was planning tomorrow's porridge in this cold night, so she had to harden her heart and leave the sick child alone. He wished he could make firewood and make tea for the child; he wished he could make bedding and give the child some warmth. And he wanted to seize the stolen goods from the little meat insect and cook porridge for the fisherwoman. If he could leave, he would do it immediately; but unfortunately, his body was fixed in the soil like a tree. He couldn't move even half a step. He couldn't help it. The more he thought about it, the more he became sad and cried more painfully. Suddenly, he was startled and stopped crying. He saw what happened. It turned out that the crucian carp was thrown into the barrel. There was very little water in the barrel, and the crucian carp was lying on the bottom of the barrel. Only the lower side could get some moisture. The crucian carp felt very uncomfortable and jumped up several times as it wanted to escape. The crucian carp saw the scarecrow with one of its upward eyes, and begged: "My friend, please put down the fan for now." , help me! When I leave my home in the water, there is only death. Kind friends, please help me! "

Hearing the crucian carp's sincere plea, the Scarecrow was very sad; but he could only shake his head vigorously. What he meant was: "Please forgive me, I am a weak and incompetent person!" My heart is not only willing to save you, but also to save the woman who caught you and her child. In addition to you, the fisherwoman and the child, and everyone else who is suffering. But like a tree, I am fixed in the soil and cannot move freely even half a step. How can I do what I want! Please forgive me, I am a weak and incompetent person! "

The crucian carp didn't understand what the scarecrow meant. He only saw him shaking his head repeatedly, and his anger burned like fire. "What's so difficult about this! You don't have any sympathy at all, you just shake your head! It turns out that I was wrong. Why should I ask others for my own difficulties? I should do it on my own and try to find a way, but if it doesn’t work, it’s just death, so what does it matter! "The crucian carp shouted loudly and jumped upwards with all its strength. This time it used 12% of its strength, even the tips of its tail and pectoral fins stood up.

The Scarecrow saw that the crucian carp misunderstood his meaning and had no way to explain it to the crucian carp. He felt very sad and sighed and cried at the same time. After a while, he looked up and saw that the fisherwoman was asleep, still holding the rope in one hand; this was because she was too tired, and although she was thinking about tomorrow's porridge, she finally couldn't hold on any longer. Where is the crucian carp in the bucket? The sound of jumping was no longer audible, and the tail seemed to be moving intermittently. The Scarecrow thought, this night is a lot of sad things come together, what a sad night! But look at the little robbers eating rice leaves. They are very happy. They are full and dancing on the bare stalks. The rice harvest is over, and the owner's aging strength has been wasted. Is there anything more pitiful than this in the world?

The night became darker, and even the stars seemed dull. The scarecrow suddenly felt a dark figure walking from the side of the field. When he got closer, he saw that it was a woman, wearing a short and fat jacket, with messy hair. She stopped and looked at the fishing boats parked by the river. She turned around and walked towards the river bank. After a few steps, she stood there straight again. The Scarecrow felt strange and watched her carefully.

A very sad sound came from her mouth, weak and intermittent, and only a Scarecrow who was accustomed to hearing all the little sounds at night could hear it.

The voice said: "I am neither a cow nor a pig. How can I let you sell it to others casually? I want to run away and cannot wait to be sold to others by you tomorrow. You have a little If you lose your money in two games or spend it on drinking water for a few days, what does it matter! Why do you have to force me? ... There is no other way but to die! Go underground and find my child. Come on!" How could these words make sense? I was crying so hard that my voice was messed up.

The Scarecrow was very frightened, and another tragic thing happened to him.

She is seeking death! He was anxious and wanted to save her, but he didn't know why. He fanned again, trying to wake up the sleeping fisherwoman. But it couldn't be done. The fisherwoman slept as if dead, motionless. He hated himself for not being able to move even half a step like a tree stuck in the soil. Isn’t it a sin to ignore someone’s fate? I am committing this sin myself. This is really a pain worse than death! "Oh my god, let it light up! Farmers, let's get up! Birds can fly to report the news!

The wind will blow away her thoughts of death!" He prayed silently; It was dark and there was no sound at all. He was heartbroken. He was afraid of looking but could not stop looking, so he timidly stared at the black figure standing by the river.

The woman stood silently for a while, then leaned forward a few times. The Scarecrow knew that the terrible time had come, and the fan in his hand flapped louder. But she didn't jump, and stood there straight again.

After a while, she suddenly raised her arms and rushed toward the river as if her body had fallen. When the Scarecrow saw this, he fainted before hearing the sound of her falling into the water.

The next morning, the farmer passed by the river bank and found a dead body in the river, and the news spread immediately. All the men and women nearby came to see him. The noisy people woke up the sleeping fisherwoman. She saw that the crucian carp in the barrel was already stiff and dead.

She carried the bucket and walked back to the cabin; the sick child woke up, his face became thinner and his cough became more severe. The old peasant woman also followed everyone to the river to take a look; she walked through her rice field and took a look at it. Unexpectedly, after only a few days, it was over. The rice leaves and ears were gone, leaving only the stiff, bare stalks. She was so anxious that she stamped her feet, beat her chest, and cried loudly. Everyone came to ask her questions and persuade her, and saw the scarecrow lying in the middle of the field.

Written on June 7, 1922