Life
sheng ping
Zhu Ziqing (November 22, 1899 - August 12, 1948), formerly known as Zihua, nicknamed Qiushi, courtesy name Pei Xian. Famous modern writer, scholar, and democratic fighter. Originally from Shaoxing, Zhejiang, he was born in Haizhou, Jiangsu (now Lianyungang City), and later settled in Yangzhou with his grandfather and father. Zhu Ziqing's grandfather, Zhu Zeyu, was named Jupo and his original surname was Yu. He changed his surname because he inherited the Zhu family name. He was a cautious person and served as a judge in Haizhou, Jiangsu for more than 10 years during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. His father's name is Hongjun, also known as Xiaopo. He is married to Zhou and is a scholar. In the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (1901), Zhu Hongjun went from Haizhou to Shaobo Town, Yangzhou Prefecture, to take office. Two years later, the family moved to Yangzhou City and settled in Yangzhou ever since. Zhu Ziqing's wife's name is Chen Zhuyin. He studied in a private school when he was young and was influenced by traditional Chinese culture. Entered higher primary school in 1912.
Zhu Ziqing has lived in Yangzhou for 13 years, spending his childhood and adolescence here. His feelings about this period of life in the ancient city were subtle and complex. Probably because life was too monotonous, he later said that only "thin shadows" of childhood memories were left, "like being washed away by a flood of water, so lonely that it was shocking!" However, in the long and tortuous journey of life, , after all, it was the first "inn" when I was a child.
Yangzhou is a cultural city with beautiful scenery, its lakes and mountains, and pleasant scenery. It has attracted many poets such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Su Dongpo, Ouyang Xiu, etc. to linger here, explore the secluded places, and write many popular and magnificent poems. Cantos. Yangzhou is also a heroic historical city. In the history of resisting foreign invasion, it has written countless glorious chapters and left many evocative stories. The beautiful scenery of the ancient city and the strong culture of advocating culture have invisibly cultivated the temperament of young Zhu Ziqing, developing his peaceful and upright character and his yearning for natural beauty. The beautiful mountains and rivers of Yangzhou nourished his soul like rain and dew, nourished his emotions, enriched his imagination, and made his feelings always full of poetry and painting. Yangzhou, a famous historical and cultural city, had a subtle and profound influence on him.
After graduating from middle school in 1916, Zhu Ziqing was admitted to Peking University Preparatory School. "Sleep, Little One" written in February 1919 was his first new poem. He was a participant in the May 4th patriotic movement and was influenced by the May 4th wave and embarked on the path of literature. Mao Zedong once praised Zhu Ziqing's integrity, saying that he was "seriously ill and would rather starve to death than receive "relief food" from the United States."
After graduating from the Philosophy Department of Peking University in 1920, he taught middle schools in Jiangsu and Zhejiang and actively participated in the New Literature Movement. In 1922, he founded the monthly "Shi" with Yu Pingbo and others, which was the earliest poetry magazine during the birth of new poetry. He is a member of the Early Literature Society. The long poem "Destruction" was published in 1923. At this time, he also wrote beautiful prose such as "Qinhuai River in the Sound of Oars and Shadows of Lanterns".
In August 1925, he went to Tsinghua University to teach and began to study Chinese classical literature; his creations were mainly prose. "Back View" and "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond" written in 1927 are both popular masterpieces. In 1931, he studied in England and traveled around Europe. After returning to China, he wrote "Miscellaneous Notes on European Travels". In September 1932, he was appointed director of the Chinese Department of Tsinghua University. When the Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937, he moved south to Kunming with the school and served as a professor at Southwest Associated University, teaching courses such as "Song Poetry" and "Literary Studies". During this period, he wrote the prose "Semantic Shadow". In 1946, he returned to Beijing from Kunming and served as director of the Chinese Department of Tsinghua University.
Zhu Ziqing suffered from serious stomach problems in his later years. His monthly salary was only enough to buy 3 bags of flour. This was not enough for his family of 12, and he had no money for medical treatment. At that time, the Kuomintang colluded with the United States and launched a civil war, and the United States implemented a policy of supporting Japan. One day, Wu Han asked Zhu Ziqing to sign a declaration "Protesting the U.S. policy of supporting Japan and refusing to receive U.S. aid flour." He resolutely signed and said: "I would rather die of poverty and illness than accept such insulting charity. "On August 12 of this year (1948), Zhu Ziqing died in Beijing due to poverty. Before he died, he told his wife: "I signed the document rejecting US flour aid. Our family will not buy American flour rationed by the Kuomintang in the future." Zhu Ziqing was seriously ill and would rather starve to death than receive "relief food" from the United States. ", showing the backbone of the Chinese people. On the eve of the liberation of Beijing, he died of stomach disease.
Zhu Ziqing embarked on the path of literature and was initially famous for his poetry. He published the long poem "Destruction" and some short poems, which were included in "Snow Dynasty" and "Traces". Since the mid-1920s, he has devoted himself to prose creation, and has authored the collections of essays "Back View", "Miscellaneous Notes on European Travel", "You and Me", "Miscellaneous Notes on London" and essay collections "Standards and Measures" and "On Elegance and Popularity" *Rewards" etc. His prose includes landscape essays, travel notes, lyrical essays and essays. First, there are meticulous and fluent poems describing the scenery such as "Qinhuai River in the Shadow of Oars and Lamps" and "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond", which show the achievements of vernacular literature; then there are the most affectionate poems such as "Back View", "Children", and "To the Dead Wife". The work set up a model of "conversational style" prose with rich literary quality, natural and friendly nature; finally, he achieved the unity of poet, scholar and fighter with his essays of subtle talk and full of rationality. He made contributions to the construction of modern prose in a simple, lyrical and authentic style.
As a scholar, he has made achievements in research on poetry theory, classical literature, new literature history and Chinese education. His treatises include "Miscellaneous Discussions on New Poetry", "Poetry Commentary", "Classics", "Teaching Chinese Language" (co-authored with Ye Shengtao) and the lecture notes "Outline of Research on Chinese New Literature", etc. His writings are included in "The Complete Works of Zhu Ziqing" (Jiangsu Education Press).
His courtesy name is Peixian. Among his prose works with higher artistic achievements are "Back View", "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond", and "Wenzhou and Traces" included in the collections "Back View" and "You and Me". Er's "Green" and other lyrical prose. Zhu Ziqing's prose is not only good at description, but also achieves the artistic realm of blending scenes in description.
His scenery prose occupies an important position in the prose creation of modern literature. His use of vernacular to describe scenery is the most charming. For example, in "Green", metaphors, contrasts and other techniques are used to depict the quality and color of Meiyutan Waterfall in a delicate and profound way. The text is deliberately crafted, showing superb skills in controlling language.
His superb writing skills are even more vividly demonstrated in "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond". For example, when describing the beauty of the lotus under the moonlight, the author compares it to a bright pearl, a star in the blue sky, and a beauty out of the bath; when describing the faint fragrance of the lotus, he also uses the words "like a vague fragrance floating from a tall building in the distance." In the sentence "like a singing voice", the singing voice is used as a metaphor for the fragrance, and the vagueness is used as a metaphor for the lightness of the fragrance. The use of this synaesthetic technique is accurate and wonderful.
Compared with the above-mentioned colorful metaphors, Zhu Ziqing also has another language style of prose, that is, using plain language to express sincere and deep emotions in simple narratives. This type of works can often express the author's integrity, enthusiasm, and progressive heart. For example, "The Price of Life--Seven Cents" and "White People--The Proud Son of God!" are all representative works of this style, among which they have the greatest influence. The one is "Back View". The essay paints a picture of a father and son's farewell at the station. The article uses simple words to describe the father's action of climbing up the platform, conveying the true love between father and son in the funny and clumsy movements. This prose has washed away his past glory. Through his father's every move, readers seem to see the author's bleak family situation.
Writings
zhu zuo
Zhu Ziqing worked hard throughout his life. He has 26 kinds of poems, essays, reviews, and academic research works, totaling more than two million words. . Most of them were included in the 4-volume "Collected Works of Zhu Ziqing" published by Kaiming Bookstore in 1953. In 1988, Jiangsu Education Press once again comprehensively collected, organized and published Zhu Ziqing's complete works in six volumes. Although Zhu Ziqing began to write new poems after the May 4th Movement, "Qinhuai River in the Sound of Oars and Shadows of Lanterns" published in 1923 showed his talent in prose writing. From then on, he devoted himself to prose creation and made remarkable achievements. The collection of essays "Back" published in 1928 made Zhu Ziqing a famous prose writer at that time.
Zhu Ziqing's prose is mainly narrative and lyrical essays. The themes of his works can be divided into three series: the first is a group of essays whose main content is to write about social life and criticize the dark reality. Representative works include "The Price of Life - Seven Cents" and "Caucasians - God's Proud Son" and "The Regulatory Massacre." The second is a group of prose represented by "Back View", "Children" and "Mourning the Dead Wife", which mainly describe personal and family life, express the human relations between father and son, husband and wife, and friends, and have a strong human touch. Third, there is a group of lyrical sketches focusing on natural scenery, such as "Green", "Spring", "Qinhuai River in the Sound of Oars and Shadows of Lights", "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond", etc., which are his representative masterpieces. The latter two types of prose are the most outstanding ones written by Zhu Ziqing, among which "Back View" and "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond" are even more popular. His prose is simple and meticulous, clear, meaningful and melancholy. It is refined with language and is famous for its clear and beautiful writing style, which is full of true feelings.
His scenery prose occupies an important position in the prose creation of modern literature. His use of vernacular to describe scenery is the most charming. For example, in "Green", metaphors, contrasts and other techniques are used to depict the quality and color of Meiyutan Waterfall in a delicate and profound way. The text is deliberately crafted, showing superb skills in controlling language.
His superb writing skills are even more vividly demonstrated in "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond". For example, when describing the beauty of the lotus under the moonlight, the author compares it to a bright pearl, a star in the blue sky, and a beauty out of the bath; when describing the faint fragrance of the lotus, he also uses the words "like a vague fragrance floating from a tall building in the distance." In the sentence "like a singing voice", the singing voice is used as a metaphor for the fragrance, and the vagueness is used as a metaphor for the lightness of the fragrance. The use of this synaesthetic technique is accurate and wonderful.
Zhu Ziqing also has another language style of prose, that is, using plain language to express sincere and deep feelings in simple narratives. This type of works can often express the author's integrity, enthusiasm, and progressive heart. For example, "The Price of Life—Seven Cents" and "White People—The Proud Sons of God!" are all representative works of this style, among which they have the greatest influence. The one is "Back View". This prose has washed away his past glory. Through his father's every move, readers seem to see the author's bleak family situation and his father's deep love for his son.
Bibliography of works
zhu zuo shu mu
"Snow Dynasty" (poem collection) 1922, Business
"Traces" (poetry) and prose) 1924, Yadong Library
"Back" (collection of essays) 1928, Kaiming
"Miscellaneous Notes on Travels in Europe" (collection of essays) 1934, Kaiming
p>"You and Me" (Collected Essays), 1936, Business
"London Miscellaneous Notes" (Collected Essays), 1943, Enlightenment
"Chinese Language Teaching" (Collected Essays) )1945, Kaiming
"Classic Chang Tan" (Collected Essays) 1946, Wenguang
"Shi Yan Zhi Bian" (Poetry Theory) 1947, Kaiming
"New Poetry Miscellanies" (Poetry Theory), 1947, Writer's Bookstore
"Standards and Measures" (Essay Collection), 1948, Wenguang
"Chinese Shiling" (Collection of Essays) 1948, Mingshan Bookstore
"On the Appreciation of Refined and Popular Culture" (Collection of Essays) 1948, Observation Society
"Collected Works of Zhu Ziqing" (Volume 1-4) 1953, Kaiming
"Collected Essays on Zhu Ziqing's Classical Literature" (Volume 1 and 2), 1981, ancient books
"Collection of Zhu Ziqing's Prefaces and Postscripts" (Collected Essays), 1983, Sanlian
"Selected Prose of Zhu Ziqing" 1986, Baihua
"Complete Works of Zhu Ziqing" (Volume 1-3) 1988, Jiangsu Education (not published) --
Zhu Ziqing Collection of essays:
1. "Hurry"
2. "Singing"
3. "Qinhuai River in the Sound of Oars and Shadows of Lights"
< p>4. "Traces of Wenzhou"5. "Back View"
6. "Civilization of Ships"
7. "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond" < /p>
8. "Women"
9. "Postscript to "Plum Blossoms""
10. "Caucasians—God's Proud Sons"
< p>11. "Embrace the Wei Dynasty and Hold the Qingjun"12. "Ahe"
13. "Children"
14. "Ai Wei Jie San" "Jun"
15. "Travel Notes"
16. "Wandering"
17. "Dreams"
18. " Bai Cai"
19. "Miscellaneous Notes of Hai Xing"
20. "A Letter"
21. "Preface"
22. "Spring"
23. "Green"
Celebrities on Pei Xuan
ming jia lun pei xuan
Yu Dafu "China "New Literature Series Prose Collection 2·Introduction": Although Zhu Ziqing is a poet, his prose can still be full of poetic flavor. Among the prose writers of the Literary Research Association, apart from Ms. Bing Xin, he is the most beautiful in his articles.
Ye Shengtao's "Mr. Zhu Peixian": When it comes to the perfection of style and the ability to write words, Mr. Zhu should be mentioned first.
Lin Fei's "Notes on Sixty Modern Prose Masters": Zhu Ziqing's success lies in his ability to delicately express his inner feelings about natural scenery through precise observation.
Zhu Dexi's "Discussing Zhu Ziqing's Prose": Zhu Ziqing's prose is very particular about language, and he will never relax even when it comes to one or two words. But his emphasis on language is by no means a pile of words.
Ye Shengtao: Every time I re-read Brother Pei Xian's prose, I recall the pleasure of listening to his chat. It is ancient and modern, both at home and abroad, and the sea and sky are vast. It is not pretentious to be profound but full of interest. I often think, haven’t I also had his experience and her thoughts? When I was just fleeting, he held on tightly. He can also express it appropriately, whether it is light or strong, and the taste is extremely positive and mellow. ”
Anecdotes of Peixian
pei xuan yi shi
Write to ask for help from my father
After the Lugou Bridge Incident, Mr. Zhu Ziqing Going to the rear, he wrote to Li Jianwu, who was teaching in Shanghai at the time, asking him to help his old father who lived in Yangzhou. Naturally, Li Jianwu would not let the teacher down. So why did Mr. Zhu Ziqing have the confidence to trust others so much? , the two had already established a deep teacher-student friendship. - After the summer vacation of 1925, Mr. Zhu Ziqing applied to work as a professor in the Department of Chinese Literature at Tsinghua University. Li Jianwu just graduated from the High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University. I was admitted to the Chinese Department of Tsinghua University. In the first class, Mr. Zhu Ziqing called on Li Jianwu and asked: "Li Jianwu, this strangely familiar name, is he the Li Jianwu who often writes articles in newspapers?" Li Jianwu replied: "I dare not hide it from the teacher, it's me." "It is true that when he was studying in the High School Affiliated to the Normal University, Li Jianwu, Jian Xianai and others organized the Huohuo Society and engaged in new literature activities. "Then I have known you a long time ago! "Mr. Zhu said happily. After class, Mr. Zhu Ziqing advised Li Jianwu: "You want to study creative writing. It is not suitable to study in the Chinese Department. You should transfer to the Foreign Languages ??Department. "At that time, the Chinese Department only studied ancient books, so Mr. Zhu Ziqing said so.
Li Jianwu listened to Mr. Zhu Ziqing's words and transferred to the Department of Foreign Languages ??and Literature in the second year. Although the teachers and students were not in the same department, Li Jianwu sent all his works to Mr. Zhu for reading first, and he always regarded Mr. Zhu Ziqing as his mentor. Mr. Zhu Ziqing also helped Li Jianwu finalize the draft carefully every time. Many years of interaction have made their sincere teacher-student relationship lasting forever.
Not receiving American flour
bu ling mei guo mian fen
Due to long-term hardship and overwork, Mr. Zhu Ziqing suffered from serious stomach problems. In early 1948, when the People's Liberation War entered its final stage, his condition worsened. However, he ignored recuperation and devoted himself even more selflessly to the struggle. At this time, Mr. Zhu Ziqing was seriously ill and had no money for medical treatment, but he did not hesitate to write: "To show the dignity and integrity of the Chinese people, we categorically reject all charity materials from the United States that have the nature of buying souls, regardless of whether they are purchased." Or given..." he signed his name on the declaration, and immediately asked the child to return the flour ration certificate. In early August, Mr. Zhu Ziqing's condition worsened and hospital treatment failed. Unfortunately, he passed away on the 12th at the age of 50. Before his death, Mr. Zhu Ziqing earnestly warned his family in a weak voice: "There is one thing to remember: I signed the document rejecting US flour aid. Our family will not buy American flour rationed by the Kuomintang in the future!"
About Zhu Ziqing’s refusal to receive “relief food” from the United States, this shows us his great spirit of loving the nation!
Wu Han
"Zhu Ziqing is seriously ill and would rather starve to death than receive 'relief food' from the United States" ("Selected Works of Mao Zedong", Volume 4, Page 1499) I am very concerned about this incident. I feel particularly kind, sad and indignant about the matter. More than ten years have passed since the incident, and now when I read these few sentences, the scene at that time is still vivid in my mind. The so-called "relief food" is this: In June 1948, the legal currency of the then Kuomintang government was depreciating all the time like the river eastward, and buying a pack of cigarettes cost tens of thousands of yuan. Professors' salaries are rising month by month, but the legal currency is depreciating faster and prices are rising faster. Professors who used to live a relatively comfortable life now have the same difficulty in living as the majority of people. Especially for people with large families, life is even more difficult. The Kuomintang government is also aware of the resentment of the people, especially the intellectuals in colleges and universities, who cannot stand this situation. So they used a trick and issued a purchasing certificate, which allowed them to buy "U.S.-aided flour" at a lower price. At this time, the U.S. government was actively supporting Japan, and U.S. Ambassador to China Leighton Stuart made slanderous and insulting calls to the Chinese people. On the one hand, it is a cheap bribe, on the other hand, it is supporting Japan and insulting the Chinese people. Some of us discussed that we should expose the Kuomintang government's conspiracy, protest against the insults of the U.S. government, and issue a public statement.
The statement is as follows:
In order to oppose the U.S. government’s pro-Japanese policy, and to protest against the slander and insult of the Chinese people by U.S. Consul General Capold in Shanghai and U.S. Ambassador to China Leighton Stuart, In order to show the dignity and integrity of the Chinese people, we categorically reject all charity materials from the United States that have the nature of buying souls, whether purchased or given. The following people hereby agree to refuse to buy US-aided affordable flour and unanimously return their shopping certificates. This is hereby stated.
June 17, 1937
The statement was written and signatures were collected. As usual, it was decided that each person would be responsible for contacting a number of people, including older professors. Most of them are for me to run errands for. I took the manuscript to Mr. Zhu Ziqing. At that time, he had severe stomach problems and could only eat very little. If he ate more, he would vomit. His face was thin and his voice was deep. He has many children and his life is more difficult than anyone else. But as soon as he read the manuscript, he immediately signed it without hesitation. He has always written in a well-behaved manner. This time, he still signed his name meticulously with trembling hands. Here, it should also be explained that after returning to Tsinghua University from Kunming in 1946, his attitude changed significantly and he was no longer silent. He opposed the civil war and hated the Kuomintang. His views on the Communist Party also began to change. He once recited poetry from the liberated areas at public meetings, and sometimes even performed yangko in disguise with the students, making his head covered with sweat. I always came to him in the struggle against some of the United States' manifestos, telegrams, statements, etc., against the Kuomintang. As soon as he saw me, he understood the purpose of my visit and said, "Is it signed?" After reading the manuscript, he wrote his name. As far as I can remember, probably eight or nine times out of ten he signed it. Sometimes I don’t sign because the words are too angry. This time, I also found some other professors, all of whom I knew well or lived nearby. Most of them signed up, but they also encountered difficulties. There was a professor who only had three children, but his reply was simple: "No! I still want to live!" Zhu Ziqing's stomach disease was caused by hunger, and he had to feed his large family. In the later years of Kunming, someone calculated that the salary of people like us was only about ten yuan in pre-war silver dollars. Zhu Ziqing is concerned about politics, but he rarely expresses his opinions. He can be said to be gentle and not angry. During the Anti-Japanese War, the news was blocked by the Kuomintang. People in the rear area did not know the true situation of the Kuomintang's passive resistance to Japanese imperialism, but its active friction against the Communist Party, which set off several anti-Japanese upsurges.
He believes that as long as he resists, he should live a harder life and complain less. Although he sympathized with many political activities in Kunming, he rarely participated in them. When the Kuomintang reactionaries assassinated Wen Yiduo, he felt extremely indignant. After he was demobilized and returned to Peiping, he saw U.S. imperialism helping the Kuomintang to launch a civil war and fight fiercely. His attitude changed and he stood up in front of the U.S. imperialists and their lackeys, the Kuomintang reactionaries, with few exceptions. , he joined our ranks. There are several things worth mentioning. One is his efforts in compiling "The Complete Works of Wen Yiduo". I pointed out in the postscript of the complete works:
Mr. Pei Xian has been an old friend of Yiduo for more than ten years. Together with his colleagues, he spent a year collecting posthumous documents, editing and correcting them for this book. A table of contents was drawn up... In a word, without Mr. Pei Xian's efforts, this collection would not have been edited.
At that time, the act of compiling and printing the complete works of Yiduo was a protest and condemnation of the Kuomintang reactionaries. On the contrary, compared with some people, these people were once classmates or old classmates of Yiduo and had friendship for 20 or 30 years. However, after Yiduo's death, they never cared about it and did not write a commemoration. text. Another thing is his love for young students. To give an example, there was a fight between two students in his department, one from the Democratic Youth League and the other from the Kuomintang’s Three Youth League. The reason for the fight was of course political, and both men complained to the teacher. Mr. Ziqing was afraid that his classmate Minqing would suffer a loss, so he secretly persuaded him to give in. After I learned about this incident, I wrote a letter to express my opinion, asking him to consider who was right and who was wrong politically. I probably said it in a sharper tone. The next day he came to my house and explained his intentions very seriously. Chunqiu reproached the sage. He said a few words about the progressive students in order to protect him from the revenge of the Sanqingtuan League. At the same time, He also agreed that my opinion was correct. Afterwards, I told my classmate from Minqing about this situation, and this classmate was also very moved. Although he did not express his opposition to the Kuomintang's spy rule loudly, it can be seen from an incident that I personally encountered. At this time, in order to save the fate of being on the verge of death, the Kuomintang reactionaries strengthened their spy control over colleges and universities. In order to protest, I wrote an academic paper "Schools in the Early Ming Dynasty", which was about the early Ming Dynasty and criticized the Kuomintang reactionaries, and sent it to the school publication "Journal of Tsinghua University" for publication. Some of the editors of the journal were members of the Kuomintang. Of course they refused to publish it because they thought it was not an academic article. I talked with Mr. Ziqing, who is also an editorial member of the journal. He wrote to the editor-in-chief and strongly advocated publication, and finally published this article. From this incident, we can see the changes in his thoughts and feelings.
Because he had been suffering from stomach problems for a long time, his body was too weak, but he also understood that daybreak was coming, the dark clouds were about to pass, and good days were coming. He felt relieved and wrote two poems under the glass plate on his desk: "But the sunset is infinitely good, so why should I feel melancholy as it approaches dusk." This was adapted from the Tang Dynasty poet Li Shangyin's poem "The sunset is infinitely good, but it's almost dusk." . These two lines of poetry express his mood at that time very aptly.
On July 23, a symposium on "Today's Tasks of Intellectuals" was held in the Gongzi Hall of Tsinghua University. This was the last political event he participated in. I personally went to his house to invite him and walked with him from the North Courtyard to the I-shaped Hall. He walked for a while, stopped for a while, and said to me intermittently: "You are right, we are on the right path. However, people like me are not used to it yet. If you want to educate us, you have to do it slowly. This is the same as I'm going to fuck you." He also made a speech during the meeting, and the main point was the same. He said: "There are two paths for intellectuals: one is to be accomplices and climb up, both in feudal society and capitalist society. This kind of people. One thing is downward. Intellectuals can move up or down, so they are a class rather than a class. It is not easy for many intellectuals to live a mass life now. /p>
It’s not like you’re unwilling to accept it rationally. You know you should accept it rationally, but you can’t change it out of habit.”
Mr. Ziqing knows rationally. He has taken another step forward to put aside his vested interests and live a life of the masses. This is a big step forward. He refused to buy US-aid flour. After signing, he recorded the incident in his diary that day: June 18. This matter required a monthly loss of 6 million French currency, which greatly affected the family, but I still decided to sign. Since the rest of the group opposes the United States and supports Japan, they should directly start from themselves. This shows his determination.
Not only that, the day before his death, he also told his wife: "One thing you have to remember is that I signed the document rejecting the US aid of flour!" Mr. Ziqing was an old man. A typical figure among the intellectuals of the times, he was once a liberal. He did not like to participate in political activities, especially more intense and combative political activities. However, he has a sense of justice. As the Kuomintang and U.S. imperialism intensified their enslavement and oppression of the Chinese people, and launched armed provocations, massacres, and suppression of the Chinese people, he couldn't stand it anymore. He spoke and acted, expressing his attitude through cultural life, reciting poetry and performing Yangko.
On the other hand, he resolutely refused to take the middle line, the third way. At that time, someone asked him to join the middle line publication "New Road" run by the Kuomintang, but he resolutely refused. But he attended our symposium despite being ill.
He could distinguish between right and wrong, likes and dislikes. In his declining years, he finally took a clear stand. He raised his head and straightened his spine. He was willing to starve to death and resolutely refused the enemy's "relief". This kind of moral character , this kind of integrity is worth learning from us today. "We Chinese have backbone. Many people who were once liberals or democratic individualists stood up in front of the American imperialists and their lackeys, the Kuomintang reactionaries." ("Selected Works of Mao Zedong" Volume 4, page 1499 ) Comrade Mao Zedong praised the integrity of Wen Yiduo and Zhu Ziqing, saying, "We should write an ode to Wen Yiduo and an ode to Zhu Ziqing." This is the responsibility of our surviving comrades, especially Mr. Yiduo and Mr. Ziqing. Such an ode to the heroism of our nation remains to be seen in the future. This article can only be regarded as some memories caused by rereading "Farewell, Stuart".
Zhu Ziqing’s prose style
Li Guangtian said in the article "The Most Complete Personality": "The article "Back View" contains less than fifty lines and less than a thousand words. Hundred Words... Since this short article was selected as a Chinese language textbook for middle schools, in the minds of middle school students, the three words "Zhu Ziqing" have become inseparable from "Back". "This is about the situation before liberation. After liberation, fewer people chose "Back View", while "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond", because of its beautiful writing style, has been selected as a textbook and recited by college and middle school students.
Why are Zhu Ziqing’s prose so highly regarded? Mainly because his prose has the character of truth, goodness and beauty. Authentic means that the content is true and the feelings are sincere. Goodness means that the thoughts and feelings revealed in the work are progressive, and the author's likes and dislikes are consistent with those of the general public. Beauty, of course, includes many aspects, but what is especially unattainable in ordinary prose works is that its language is beautiful and full of charm, as clear and smooth as a stream, and as sweet and chewy as an olive.
How does Zhu Ziqing pursue truth, goodness, and beauty in his prose creation?
Judging from the content, Zhu Ziqing writes about things he has personally experienced. Not only are big things well-founded, but every detail is also true and accurate. He could not tolerate the slightest untruth in his prose. There is such a thing: there is a sentence in his "Moonlight over the Lotus Pond": "The most lively things at this time are the cicadas on the trees and the frogs in the water." Later, a reader wrote to him and told him, Cicadas don't crow at night. Zhu Ziqing felt that he did hear the sound of cicadas that night, but just to be sure, he asked several people and wrote to an entomologist for advice. As a result, everyone thought that cicadas did not scream at night, but only occasionally. Zhu Ziqing therefore suspected that he had remembered it incorrectly, and planned to delete the sentence about the cicada's cry when the collection of essays "Back View" was republished. But later, he heard the cicada's cry on the moonlit night twice with his own ears, and he believed that he had written correctly, and that most people's understanding of the cicada's cry on the moonlit night was inaccurate. He wrote a special article for this purpose, explaining how difficult it is to observe things. From this incident, we can see how seriously Zhu Ziqing treats the authenticity of his writing content.
The emotional sincerity of Zhu Ziqing's prose is even more well-known. His "Back View", "For the Dead Wife", etc. are known as "the first-class love literature in the world". In the light pen and ink, there is a deep feeling, without any pretense, but with the power to move people's hearts. In his articles such as "On Realism and Picturesqueness", "On Slogans", and "Preface to Zhong Ming's "The Heart-wrenching Lip Record"", he emphasized "truth" and "naturalness", emphasized "rhetoric establishes its sincerity", and emphasized " Both publicity and writing cannot lack...a sincere attitude." It is this "sincere attitude" that makes him pour his true feelings into every word. And this kind of joy, anger, sorrow, and joy revealed from the depths of the soul is more likely to arouse readers' screams.