On December 11, Feng Yiyin, with a 92-year-old decaying body, finally extinguished the oil and the fire, and returned to the west. Although I already knew that she was bedridden, when the bad news really came, it was still filled with endless sorrow!
For a moment my mind wandered. For more than thirty years, Feng Yi Yingu's help and support to me is really a "fate" is difficult to exhaust (in the local dialect of Feng Yi Yin's hometown of Shimen Bay, "yuan" and "yan" are homophonous).
In August and September 2007, my father-in-law became seriously ill and was hospitalized in Jiaxing Armed Police Hospital. Feng Yiyin rushed from Shanghai to Jiaxing to visit him. At that time, I was with the attendant and saw with my own eyes the words and deeds of the two old men. Between them, there is not a little bit of politeness, and there is no trace of mannerism. The father-in-law was lying on the hospital bed, and he was surprised to see a nun come in. Although he was already depressed, he still raised his voice with great effort and said, "Brother Yi yin, you also come to see me, sin and sin!" I don't want to be so sick under the condition of being sick! A bard relieved him from time to time. Before parting, she deliberately leaned down and approached her father-in-law's ear and said, "Mr. Yu, you relax your heart!" Some time later, I'll come to Chongfu to see you!" ”
Less than a month after my father-in-law's death, Yi Yingu wrote two letters in a row, saying: "Now that I am 79 years old, fortunately I met in Jiaxing, and he was still sober at that time... I can't imagine that I heard bad news when I was in Hangzhou. I went to Hangzhou to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the death of Master Hongyi, to participate in the commemorative meeting, I couldn't go to Chongfu separately, so I had to entrust Yuanyuantang to do wreaths and talk about my heart... After reading your letter, I feel very sad. Your father-in-law, who could have lived a long life, has died suddenly, and I have lamented that my relatives and friends in the past were half withered. ”
At that time, Feng Yiyin was sad and sentimental because she heard the bad news of my father-in-law's death, and today she also drove the crane west. Life is easy to grow old, and the predecessors wither one by one, so that the future generations are so embarrassed!
In 1975, when Feng Zikai returned to his hometown for the last time, I was still working as a farmer in the countryside of Zhouquan, which was more than twenty miles away from yuanyuantang, although I heard it, it was also blown like the wind, and I did not go to my heart. After marriage, it was known that the Shimenwan Yu family and the Feng family were generations of family friends. Father-in-law, Mr. Yu Mengquan, often called "Sister Bao" and "Brother Yi Yin", and had a close relationship with the Feng family sisters. According to my father-in-law's title, I called them "Chen Baogu" and "Yi Yingu" ("Gu" is a written language, and when shouted out in the local dialect around Shimen Bay, it is similar to the sound of the word "Enniang").
My first contact with a barn dates back to 1989.
At the beginning of 1987, I attended the undergraduate correspondence course at the beginning of the Chinese Department of Hangzhou University, with a two-and-a-half-year study system. Two years later, I have to write my graduation thesis. At that time, the proposed title was "On the Prose Creation of Feng Zikai's Vernacular Themes." I felt that the topic was well chosen, but I was struggling to find enough material to write the paper. My father-in-law pointed out to me, "Why don't you ask the Feng family sisters for help!" After saying this, he wrote to a bard and told me that I had to write my graduation thesis. I also attached a long letter detailing the idea of the topic, the outline of the paper, and the urgent desire to find material.
On February 20, 1989, I was waiting for it, and finally received my first letter from Feng Yiyin. She said in the letter: "There are indeed many articles on the characteristics of (Feng Zikai's) prose, and it is more difficult to write characteristics. You said that you want to use the perspective of 'the influence of the cultural background and customs of the Hangjiahu area on the writer's prose creation' as the angle of writing, which is a possibility. At least it has local characteristics that no foreigner can write. And in fact, father's prose, early and late, is precisely the two ends of which are more prominently written about the characters of the hometown terroir. The last seventeenth chapter of the Yuanyuantang Essay Collection is the late one. My father usually always likes to chant the sentence 'Before the old Man returns to his hometown, he must cut off his intestines when he returns to his hometown', which shows that he is very attached to his hometown. His prose often contains some native dialects, whether the reader understands it or not. Our own people have a strong sense of vernacularity in reading. ”
I have read the above passage several times, and I deeply believe that although it is not much, it is to the point and should become the main theme of my entire paper.
Ichigo also said that the information about her father was "I have a lot here. However, all of them are pasted on a thick book and cannot be torn off and mailed. Besides, because there are so many, it is not easy for me to pan for gold in the sand to choose. If you are in Shanghai, you can see it for yourself for three days. ”
After reading this letter, I decided to rush to Shanghai and go to her house to copy the materials.
What I didn't expect was that a nun was so enthusiastic about me, a young man I had never met. She unreservedly moved out all the information about Mr. ZiKai that was hidden in the house. Among them, there are comments and praises from scholars on Feng Zikai, and there are letters from friends and friends, including letters from Ye Shengtao, Yu Pingbo, Zhao Puchu and other elderly people to Feng Yiyin. What is even more valuable is that the seventeen essays on local themes created by Feng Zikai in his later years were not yet published at that time, but Yi Yingu let me read all of Mr. Zikai's manuscripts from beginning to end.
I remember that I brought a large bag of information cards, copied them by hand, and spent three whole days! During this time, Ichigo not only provided information, but also asked me to eat together at her house. On the occasion of parting, he also praised me, saying that no one had ever copied her father's information so seriously.
In late April of that year, Feng Chenbao, Feng Ningxin, and Feng Yiyin sisters came to Nanshenbang to give their parents a grave. After hearing the news, my father-in-law and I took a ship from Chongfu to Shimen and then to Nanshenhama. When the Feng family sisters saw our two uninvited guests, they were very surprised and a little excited, and they thanked each other one after another, saying: "Don't dare to be, don't dare to be!" Feng Yiyin immediately took out his camera and said that he wanted to take this meaningful shot. A few days after Yi Yingu returned to Shanghai, she sent the photos. Behind the photo, there is also a paragraph specially written: "Thank you for going with us to visit the graves of our parents, and your father-in-law, who has been there more than once." Unfortunately, this time the battery failed, leaving only this only photo. Please take a souvenir. ”
Now, I turned out this old photo, and when I saw the object, my eyes couldn't help but be a little moist. There are 5 adults sitting around the Eight Immortals table in the photo, including Feng Chenbao, Feng Ningxin, Jiang Zhengdong, and my father-in-law, who have passed away in the early years. Now even the only remaining yingu among the Feng sisters and brothers has passed away. The past is over!
In late April 1989, Feng Chen Bao, Feng Yi Yin and others were at Jiang Zhengdong's house in Nanshenhama. Those sitting around the table, from left: Feng Chenbao, Feng Ningxin, Yu Mengquan, Yu Shangxi, Jiang Zhengdong. Shot by Feng Yiyin
In July and August 1992, an acquaintance asked me to write about Fuyan Temple. At that time, it was rumored that when the abbot of the monastery Guhua and the monk died in the Republic of China, Zhao Puchu had sent a letter to The Union, which had words such as "Ballantine lacks four". Those who hold this view believe that there is, but on closer examination, there are still a number of details that have not been fully dispelled. In the early spring of 1989, when I went to Shanghai to copy materials, I saw the correspondence between Zhao Pulao and Yi Yingu, so I took the liberty of writing a letter and asked Yi Yingu to ask Zhao Pulao to inquire about the origin of this matter. Not long after, I received a reply letter from Zhao Pulao, who was transferred by a yingu, with a brush (this letter has been fully adopted in the "Fuyan Temple Chronicle" published at the end of 2018). Zhao Pulao's letter not only clarifies historical facts, but also perfects the environment and has great aesthetic value. I regard this letter as a treasure, and I specifically write to a nun and ask, how should this letter be placed? At the same time, it also revealed the desire to treasure this letter. On November 27 of that year, a yingu specially wrote to the author to explain: "You and your father-in-law are passionate about calligraphy and painting. I am certainly at ease to put it in the home of collectors like you. Therefore, this letter from Zhao Pulao will be treasured in your place. Don't look elsewhere. I have no penchant for collecting, so it is most suitable for you. "I was deeply touched by this love of a nun! Since then, Zhao Pulao's letter has been treasured in my library.
In the same year, I stumbled upon the "Tooth Record" of the Zhejiang Provincial Library Ancient Books Department, and found the information raised by Feng Zikai's father Feng Shuzhong in it, and I couldn't help but feel a burst of ecstasy in my heart, this information was still discovered for the first time. I immediately copied it and sent it to Feng Chen Bao, Feng Hua Zhan, Feng Yi Yin and other Feng family sisters and brothers. Later, based on this material, I wrote an article entitled "New Discoveries in Feng Zikai's Research Materials" and sent the manuscript to a yingu. She pointed out that this manuscript may wish to be submitted to the "New Literary Historical Materials", and it is estimated that they will need such manuscripts. I sent it as I was instructed to do so, and in the 3rd issue of "New Literary Historical Materials" in 1994, I did publish this manuscript.
After the death of Mr. Zi Kai, Feng Yiyin took over his father's mantle. The "Feng Paintings" she wrote and the "Feng Characters" she wrote did not resemble her father, but also resembled her father. Since the 1980s and 1990s, her fame has risen, and more and more people have asked her to draw and ask her to write. I don't know how many times I've asked for her paintings or words, but a bard is always responsive. Not only did he ask for it himself, but he also asked for a painting for his friend. Whenever asked how much she was writing, she always pushed back. I don't know how many times she mentioned this in her letter to me:
Letter of May 18, 1993: "See your letter and 100 yuan, in fact, you do not have to be so polite." This time it has been sent, I will accept it, thank you. In the future, if you have a friend who wants to paint, please do not run. ”
February 23, 1994 letter: "As for the pen, you introduced, where is the reason for receiving the pen!" Please don't be rude! ”
Letter dated May 29, 1995: "In the future, you have friends who want to paint, although they say to me. The price doesn't have to be rigid. It's okay to give it away for free. If the other party must not, then pay twenty yuan a piece (up to thirty yuan). Through your (friend's) introduction, even if it is free of moisture, I can still draw. ”
Letter dated October 31, 1996: "As for the painting, you are not welcome. Your father-in-law is so good to me, you and I are not first friends, and they have helped me a lot, why be polite! ”
……
After years of correspondence and many meetings, I gradually became a little more familiar with a bard. In early 2006, I asked her in a letter: "In the past, the letters you gave me were almost all written with ballpoint pens, and I was very worried that over time, would the handwriting slowly blur?" I want to keep your letter for a long time, so I dare to ask you for a brush letter. On February 28, a brush letter from a nun was sent. The letter said: "This year, I went to Dongbangtou for three nights on the eve of the new year, during which time I went to Chongfu on the second day of the New Year to visit Mr. Ling Weng Yu Mengquan. That time I went, I didn't notify your home, for fear of alarming Zhiding to come to the car to pick you up. When I went to Chongfu, my cousin contacted a car to send it. When I came back, I was going to take the bus, but I didn't know that Mr. Yu had already sent the electricity to the joy, or he was polite but he... Write this letter to you in Yu Ink, the pen is a new pen, so it is very strange to write. ”
On the same day, she sent me another pen letter, in which she said:
"Writing you a brush letter is harder than writing a letter." First, look for stationery. This kind of letter paper was given to me by others, and I never wrote letters with a brush, so I kept typing into the cold palace. After finding out, I found that there was sprinkled gold, which I didn't like. I had no choice but to write. It was hard to visit the brush I asked for from Shanlian (the brush I asked for was very demanding, people bought it from Japan was not easy to use, and Huzhou bought it was Changfeng and did not like it. So I came from Shanlian on a special trip), but such a thing as a brush was like a baby when it was first used; when it was used later, it was very good, like an adult; and then it decayed, like old age. So I'm not used to writing, so I said, it's very rusty, harder than writing (calligraphy). ”
Reading these two letters, I am really happy and ashamed! Happily, I finally got my wish, a brush letter from a nun, a neat handwriting, and two pages full of gold paper; I am ashamed that such an unreasonable request of mine has caused her to find paper and visit the pen, exhausting all the twists and turns, and expending energy! I think that my collection of this brush letter is not only a rare calligraphy work, but also a true feeling that the old man cannot forget.
Around the spring of 2014, Feng Yiyin came to Stay in Nanshenhama for a few days. I went with my family to visit her, and then I drove her to Chongfu to visit a relative. It was such a small thing, but it made her miss it. After a month, I specially drew a picture and sent it, thanked him repeatedly in the letter, and praised my family's car for driving very steadily.
A painting given to the author by Feng Yiyin
When I learned of the death of a bard, I informed the family of this unfortunate news. After she knew it, she talked about the past of the paintings that year, and said, "Such a good person, saying that he will leave, is really reluctant to go." If it weren't for the epidemic, I would really have to go to Shanghai to see the last side..."