In August 2003, Wen Wei Po "PEN Club" announced the results of the year-long "Yangtze River Cup" essay contest, and Mr. Zhou Ruchang and I published the "Correspondence on "Tree Wood" published by "PEN" on August 10, 2002, and the reason for the award was announced: "The letters of the two links on "Dream of the Red Chamber", lightning inspiration and rigorous research, floating in the vein of Chinese culture. Elegant and fascinating. Later, he also sent elegant and solemn medals to Elder Zhou and me respectively. For this award, Zhou Lao was very happy and attached great importance to it, and he sighed when he replied to my letter on August 23: "Yesterday, I told you that we had won the award, just like a breeze in the summer heat, waking people's eyes and ears and minds." I don't know who the judges are? A few strokes, not much effort, and the finishing touches are all alive. There is no trace of eight breaths in that commentary, which is rare for me, how can I not sigh and tie it! Another letter on August 25 said: "The award itself is an iconic souvenir, and the real significance is that this is the first public appraisal form in the cultural press, which gives us (the basic arguments and the direction of governance) an affirmation and high-level evaluation - greatly beyond the current vulgar and despicable so-called 'red science' 'boundary' domain, which is an important matter worthy of a big book in the history of red studies in the past hundred years." I don't know who the judge is, but I deeply admire (do those people in the "realm" have this level of knowledge?). The influence of "Wenhui" is not small, and it is a great encouragement. ”
Among the more than three hundred articles published during the essay collection activity, there were still several articles involving "Dream of the Red Chamber", including an authoritative article in the "Red Academic Circle", but in the last six award-winning works, only Zhou Lao and I were involved in the "Correspondence on "Tree". I also think that the comment is not a general praise, just a few sentences, one is to affirm the "lightning inspiration", Zhou Lao once praised me "good observation can understand", "epiphany" when there is "lightning inspiration", red science is not a general social science category, understanding is very important, I read the first edition of Zhou Lao's "Dream of the Red Chamber New Certificate" when I was a teenager, and I was activated by the understanding that shone from time to time in the pages, which activated the interest in "Dream of the Red Chamber" itself. The second is to affirm the "strict examination", Zhou Lao, as the successor of Hu Shi, the originator of the Red Studies Examination School, his "New Certificate of the Dream of the Red Chamber" reflects the characteristics of strict verification, of course, it is not debatable, but starting from the "Year of Historical Materials", trying to explore the true meaning of "Dream of the Red Chamber" in a grand and comprehensive historical background, this is the road sign to guide some descendants, including me, to embark on the journey of red studies, and has also attracted countless red fans and friends to read it with great interest. Needless to say, Mao Zedong himself was a red scholar and had his own unique views, so he clearly instructed: To distinguish between Zhou Ruchang and Hu Shi, he liked to read the "Year of Historical Materials" section of the "New Certificate", and in his later years his eyesight was very poor, so that some of the books he liked to read were printed in large characters, most of them were ancient books, but the "Year of The Chronicle of Historical Materials" in the "New Certificate" was also specially listed among them, and after printing them in large characters, it became one of the books next to his pillow. The comments of the "PEN Club" not only affirmed our "lightning inspiration" and "rigorous examination", but also praised our correspondence for "floating with the heart of Chinese culture", and Zhou Lao's concept of red studies emphasized the context of our traditional Chinese culture, he believed that analyzing the ideological connotation and artistic techniques of "Dream of the Red Chamber" was of course the work that needed to be done, but it was only a common study of novels around the world, and it was not implemented on the particularity of "Dream of the Red Chamber". "Dream of the Red Chamber" is not an ordinary novel, but a super classic, which he regards as a "scripture" that can be juxtaposed with the "Thirteen Classics" in classical Chinese culture, which can be called the "Fourteen Classics". Studying the particularity of "Dream of the Red Chamber" is the duty of red science. The "PEN Club" commented on a few strokes, and even pointed at the acupuncture point, believing that it was "a vein of chinese culture that floated through the heart", and such a correspondence text, "elegant and profound, fascinating", was earnestly encouraged. Elder Zhou thought that the award was of great significance to both of our grandfathers and sons, and I was just as excited.
Zhou Ruchang listens to Liu Xinwu's lecture on red studies in the United States (2006)
Later, when visiting Elder Zhou, he mentioned the "PEN Club" award speech and asked me if I had found out, who had written it? Forty words, clouds and water, four or two thousand gold. Elder Zhou sang three sighs to one of them, and repeatedly told me how good it would be if we engraved comments on our medals! I told him that when I found out, the comment came from the editor-in-chief of the "PEN Club", named Zhou Yi, a lady, still very young.
Looking back on the past now, I can't help but feel a little sad. First, before Zhou Laoxian left in 2012, I said that I would accompany him to the begonia forest in Dongtucheng Park to admire the begonias in a certain spring, his eyes were nearly blind, and Zhang Ailing said that "hate begonias without fragrance", but wandering under the begonia tree, smelling the warm special moisture emitted by the begonia flowers, can also comfort him to love the love of Shi Xiangyun, which is symbolized by "Spit Dan sand and silk weeping green wisps". But I was so busy that I couldn't seize the opportunity to fulfill this wish! Pity! Moreover, in October 2019, the bad news came that Zhou Yi, the editor-in-chief of the "PEN Club", had died of illness, and she was only 50 years old, so why didn't The Heavens fake this talented woman to have more life expectancy, support more authors, and jointly float a pulse of Chinese culture? Sigh!
Letter from Zhou Ruchang to Liu Xinwu (2004.10.19)
My correspondence with Elder Zhou began in 1991, and the last few letters that can be found now are in 2011, which has lasted for twenty years. My letters to Zhou Lao were originally written in pen, and after using the computer in 1993, in addition to handwriting, there were also computer typed and printed, but I did not leave a manuscript, and the electronic documents of the early letters were also lost after changing the computer and reformatting many times. Fortunately, after Elder Zhou's death, his family members generally found proper deposits when sorting out the relics. Zhou Lao's letter to me, the early handwriting is still generally refreshing, and then his eyesight declined to one eye blind and one eye only 0.01 vision, still insisting on writing to me in his own handwriting, each word has the size of a walnut, and it is difficult to extend into a line, and often the next word is stacked on the lower half of the previous word, and even jumping left and right. When I received such a letter, I was always grateful and excited, and the time-consuming and laborious identification of those handwritings became an important lesson for me, and once I actually recognized them all, the indescribable happiness filled the whole body and mind. The letter that Elder Zhou gave me was quite well preserved. Now, at the suggestion of Ms. Zhou Lunling, the daughter of Zhou Lao and his business assistant in his later years, the correspondence between Zhou Lao and me was compiled into a "Collection of Correspondences of Zhou Ruchang Liu Xinwu Hongxue", which I gladly agreed to, and some publishing houses were willing to publish. From the compiled collection of correspondence, people can see that Zhou Lao is indeed my benefactor, my research on red studies, indeed under his guidance, step by step forward, of course, we have some cognition, there are still some differences, but we have become a yearless friend, I call Zhou Lao more in the letter as a predecessor, Zhou Lao called me a virtuous friend, the first two sentences of the "Book of Poetry , Xiao Ya Logging" the opening two sentences "Hiss its sound, ask for its friendship", our correspondence in the hiss, both "lightning inspiration" and "rigorous research", There is both reverence and chewing on Chinese culture, as well as mutual affection in being squeezed out and attacked, and even the concern and comfort in life. Of course, our views are only the words of one family, but for the majority of red fans, there should still be considerable reference value.
Elder Zhou's letters to me often have improvised verses, and I have repeatedly sent small paintings I have drawn, or as Spring Festival greeting cards, or just for a reward, and sent them with the letter. One of the paintings is the mood of Cao Xueqin's friend Zhang Yiquan's poem "Lonely people in the western suburbs are rare, and who drags a staff through the smoke forest", which explains that the text is "When the end of the year of decoction is approaching, I suddenly remember that the greatness of Cao Xueqin has not yet been fully known to the world, sigh!" Painting to the predecessor Mr. Ruchang" (above). After receiving it, Elder Zhou liked it very much, and at that time he had the urge to get it published in the newspaper. Later, I painted a large watercolor painting "Qinfang Pavilion", and Elder Zhou immediately gave a poem when he saw it: "I don't see Liu Langjiu, I live high in pen Yanfeng." Danqing window candlelight, corner dream building red. Watch the movie and know the heart rhythm, smell the sound and feel the environment. The new spring is fast and new snow, and the grass is all over the east of the city. Originally, I wanted to set the title of the book collection of letters as "Who dragged the stick through the smoke forest", but my assistant Jiao Jinmu found out from the Internet that two years ago, a publishing house had just published this collection of essays, which had been used as the title of the book; so I felt that the "sound of the sound and the sense of the realm" in Zhou Lao's poems could quite summarize the heart sounds of our correspondence, but if it was the title of the book, it seemed difficult to attract readers, so I considered simply naming it "Red Chamber Minglu". Finally, after repeated deliberations, the publisher determined that it was "when interpreting the words and not the words", which is very appropriate. It is also easy to understand. Elder Zhou and my correspondence is gathered, and I believe that it can live up to the comments of Zhou Yi, the editor-in-chief of "PEN Club" at that time, who were "elegant and profound and fascinating".
Zhou Ruchang inscribed Liu Xinwu's calligraphy
Meeting and talking with Elder Zhou, as well as seeing the words as it is, the shining points in Old Man Zhou's personality are often burning in my heart, that is, he has a kind of childlike innocence, that is, he has the heart of a child. He is like this to people and things, does not manage interpersonal relations, does not care about background history, and has a super-vulgar vision like Jia Baoyu. He studied red with the heart of a child, his mouth was unobstructed, regardless of praise and criticism, and regarded the space of red science research as a garden shared by the public. Some non-governmental red researchers have been scorned by the so-called "insiders" and "authorities" and even denounced as "red scholars"; although he does not agree with his words, he always encourages his courage and always affirms the value of blowing sand and seeing gold. CCTV's "Hundred Family Forum" asked him to give a lecture on the four famous works, he was dressed in a simple Zhongshan suit, there was no special haircut, there was no hair coloring, the old mouth was deflated, the face was full of folds, but more than one audience member said to me: Mr. Zhou is really charming! What's the charm? It is said that he is on the stage, his hands are clasped with ten fingers, he has not spoken, his smile is as innocent as a child, he opens his mouth, he is approachable, he is simple and simple, there are no broken sentences, no nonsense, sentence after sentence, the logic chain is refreshing and refreshing, when it comes to the end of the fun, he laughs first, his eyes are like a crescent moon, the pattern is like a flower, the content of his story is not to say that it is of great benefit to the audience, and his naked mentality is unforgettable! Elder Zhou's reaction to wen wei po's award for correspondence, and the poems he improvised to me in his correspondence, don't they all have childlike innocence?
Once I went back to his house to visit, during the conversation, he laughed: Your teachings in the "Hundred Pulpits" have achieved the right and left sides, the four corners are complete, just like The Fat Yan Zhai commented on Xueqin, and there are many "cunning points" in the next pen... I also laughed: even if you are so careful, there are still people who are completely intolerant, it seems that you really have to protect yourself, and you can't lose your true intentions! Between laughter and conversation, it is also compared that Elder Zhou is twenty-four years old and belongs to his father's generation, but he embodies the academic style with edges and angles, and I, taking the first two episodes of my "Hundred Family Pulpits" to talk about red studies, is not like Zhou Lao, emphasizing the particularity of red studies, but the general expression of the ideological artistry of "Dream of the Red Chamber" is also included in the concept of big red studies. I expressed it quite smoothly, but in fact, I firmly followed Elder Zhou in my bones to make references, and my archetypal research first began with the political turmoil of the Kang, Yong, and Qian dynasties in the Qing Dynasty, especially the two deposed princes of Kangxi, and continued to the abolition of the qianlong dynasty, although the prince was dead, and his son Honghao, that is, the eldest grandson of the Kangxi Emperor, as a powerful political force, secretly competed with Qianlong, and once there was a strange situation of "double hanging sun and moon shining on Qiankun", and the family history of Cao Xueqin that matched it, and then through the text, from the "Double Hanging Sun and Moon Shine Qiankun" strange situation, and then through the text, from the "Double Hanging Sun and Moon Shine Qiankun" strange situation, and then through the text, from the "Double Hanging Sun and Moon Shine Qiankun" strange situation, and the matching Cao Xueqin's ups and downs of the family history, and then through the text, from the "" Find the corresponding projection in the text of "Dream of the Red Chamber", such a special angle, to peel off the bamboo shoots layer by layer, and build my "Qin Xue" building. My "cunning" is precisely to try to tolerate others through me, in exchange for others to be able to tolerate me accordingly, that is, I think that since each other is in the pattern of big red studies, why "fry too much"! This strategy of mine is still effective among the general audience, but the so-called "within the boundary" and "authority" still cannot tolerate me in the end, and I will try to kill it and then quickly. Now that I think about it, it is still the kind of "fairy tales" of Zhou Lao, like Lin Daiyu, "I am for my heart", which highlights the academic backbone. Elder Zhou's childlike clear personality charm is something I should always remember, and it is also something I should strive to cultivate.
In "Dream of the Red Chamber", there is a sentence in the chrysanthemum poem: "Hugh is a person who has no talk in the world, and when he explains the language, he will not bother the film." I believe that there will be people interested, or resonant, or arguing; of course, it is estimated that there will be people who despise and disdain, then, just "high affection does not enter the human eye, clap your hands and laugh at the side of the roadside with him"!
October 3, 2021 Green Leaf House
Author: Liu Xinwu
Editors: Xie Juan, Qian Yutong
Editor-in-Charge: Shu Ming
*Wenhui exclusive manuscript, please indicate the source when reprinting.