Zhu Ziqing (1898-1948), formerly known as Zihua and Qiushi, changed his name to Ziqing and given the courtesy name Peixian; he was originally from Shaoxing, Zhejiang, and was born in Donghai, Jiangsu; a famous modern essayist, poet, scholar, and democracy fighter . His prose is simple and meticulous, clear, meaningful and melancholy, his language is refined, his writing style is clear and beautiful, and he is full of true feelings. Zhu Ziqing added magnificent colors to modern Chinese prose with his unique artistic style, and created a prose system and style with Chinese national characteristics in order to establish a new aesthetic feature of modern Chinese prose; his main works include "Snow Dynasty" and "Traces" , "Back View", "Spring", "Miscellaneous Notes on Travels in Europe", "You and Me", "Examples of Intensive Reading Guidance", "Examples of Skimming Reading Guidance", "Chinese Language Teaching", "Poetic Commentary", "New Poetry Miscellaneous" Words", "Standards and Measures", "On Appreciation of Refined and Popular Culture".

The cause of death revealed

In his later years, Zhu Ziqing was praised for one thing, which was "not receiving relief food from the United States."

As for the whole story of Zhu Ziqing's refusal to receive relief food from the United States, Mr. Wang Binbin has made detailed research in an article, which will not be repeated here. But what’s interesting is that because of this incident, and because a famous article specifically discussed it, it had an unexpected effect. Mao Zedong’s famous article “Farewell, Leighton Stuart” said this about Zhu Ziqing: “ We Chinese have backbone. Many people who were once liberals and democratic individuals stood up in front of the American imperialists and their lackeys, the Kuomintang reactionaries. , would rather fall than surrender. Zhu Ziqing was seriously ill and would rather starve to death than receive "relief food" from the United States."

The significance of this famous article in revolutionary history and ideology does not need to be discussed. But there is a direct consequence that is really unexpected, which is people's speculation about Zhu Ziqing's death. Since Zhu Ziqing passed away in 1948, the authoritative statement about the cause of his death is that he "died of poverty and illness." However, in the impression of many readers who have only read the famous article above, Zhu Ziqing actually "died of starvation." "of. No need to be surprised, the author thought the same way when he was studying with his hair tied up.

So where does the impression that Zhu Ziqing "starved to death" come from? The huge influence of that famous article is a factor, because from a formal and logical point of view, that paragraph can indeed be understood as "Zhu Ziqing will either receive relief food or starve to death." It must be one of the two. Since Zhu Ziqing did not receive it in the end Of course, the only way to get relief food is to "starve to death". But the art of the article cannot impose logic. In fact, it is true that Zhu Ziqing refused to receive the American "relief food", and his refusal would definitely have an impact on his family life, but it did not mean that he really had no food to eat. Fundamentally speaking, the reason that easily gives people the impression that Zhu Ziqing died of starvation is due to some other big judgments. What kind of big judgment is that? Zhu Ziqing lived in an era of "political corruption, social darkness, and poor people's livelihood". This judgment is of course correct. In that dark age, not only intellectuals, but almost all Chinese people except the dignitaries lived a very difficult life. But underneath this general principle, outside of the mainstream and the overall situation, there should be tributaries and individual cases. For example, a nationally famous cultural figure like Zhu Ziqing, whose life does not seem to be reduced to the point of starving to death.

Zhu Ziqing died of severe gastric ulcer. The cause of this disease is related to the ups and downs of life. Tsinghua University where Zhu Ziqing worked during the Japanese invasion of China was relocated several times. During the war, the living standards of professors were greatly reduced, which is also an important factor that easily causes stomach problems. But just how low are professors’ living standards? Is it that if there is no stored grain in the bottle, the food will be exhausted? I'm afraid that's not necessarily the case. Looking at Zhu Ziqing's diary, we can see that even during the Southwest Associated University period, which was recognized as the most difficult life, he still often had dinner parties and played bridge with his friends every now and then. It's hard to imagine. , a person with an empty stomach will have the mind and leisure to compete with such ingenuity. It can be considered that although the intellectuals at that time were in a poor situation, compared with most people at the bottom, their basic life was still guaranteed, let alone professors from prestigious universities like Zhu Ziqing. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the Kuomintang government failed to see the general trend of the world and concentrated its resources on the civil war. Intellectuals in the Kuomintang-controlled areas were once again affected. Many students rushed out of school angrily. The massive "Anti-Hunger and Anti-Civil War" movement was in full swing.

The civil war launched by the Kuomintang and the so-called currency reform brought the economy to the verge of collapse. The lives of most Chinese people had to be greatly affected, and the same was true for intellectuals. However, if we look at reality, we will find that the impact on intellectuals will definitely be greater. Less than the general lower class masses.

Jin Feng, a famous female reporter from the People's Daily, was studying at Yenching University. She recalled participating in the "Anti-Hunger and Anti-Civil War" demonstration at the end of 1947. "At noon, white noodles were delivered from the school cafeteria. Steamed buns and vegetable soup, the Kuomintang agents watching us laughed at us: "You eat so well, but you still shout against hunger all the time. Are you hungry?" We answered confidently: "We are fighting hunger for the common people, not the common people across the country." Have you been dragged into a desperate situation by the civil war? "The students' counterattack against the spies is naturally powerful, but it also refutes my judgment above: the life of the students at school is like what Jin Feng described. Isn't it self-evident how the life of a professor is?

As for Zhu Ziqing specifically, in fact, he should be the least likely to be associated with the miserable scene of "starving to death." Not only because of his reputation, status and income level, but also because of his illness. Anyone with a little common sense knows that gastric ulcer has many concerns about eating. It is not only forbidden to eat certain foods, but also not to eat too much. If you are not careful, you will vomit, which will cause great torture to the stomach. Zhu Ziqing's diary also proves this. Looking through the diary of 1948, we did not see any record of his suffering due to food shortage. On the contrary, there are more words like: "Drinking a little lotus root powder, vomiting immediately"; "Drinking milk, but very painful"; "Late meal "Too much"; "Good appetite, eventually restrained by illness"; "Too full";... On July 29, 1948, 14 days before his death, he refused to receive "relief food" from the United States. "On the 11th day after signing the declaration, he still reminded himself in his diary: "You are still gluttonous, so be careful!"