Fan Liuyuan and White Tassel from the movie "Allure of Love"
Look for Su Qing
Wang Anyi
"We can test the heat and cold of Shanghai fifty years ago on Su Qing, but Zhang Ailing can't touch it."
——Wang Anyi, "Looking for Su Qing"
Originally published in Shanghai Literature, No. 9, 1995
I thought of this topic because I read an article, Mr. Jin Shengyao's "Remembrance of Su Qing". There is a section in the text that writes about the last side that Jin Sexyao and Su Qing saw in the fifties, "She wore a women's people's costume." This costume is indeed unexpected, always feel that in Shanghai in the fifties, even if there is only one cheongsam suit left, it should be Su Qing, because of what? Because she is a friend of Zhang Ailing.
Su Qing reappears at the moment of our remembrance of the city, she is the old person in the nostalgia. She arrived a little later than Zhang Ailing, and some of the meanings brought out by Zhang Ailing. She was amazing when she didn't come, she was so alive that it was almost impossible to be buried for so many years. She is not like Zhang Ailing, Zhang Ailing seems to be able to understand the separation between us, she is prepared for literary history, and her return is responsible for literature. Even in literature, she is easily accepted by us only superficially:
Some details of life, and then further or some environmental atmosphere. The living quarters in the lane house are sandwiched with some fat powder and oil sauce; the street view from the balcony of the apartment is noisy and a little lonely; and there are private conversations between women, and they are heart-to-heart and belly-separated. These are all "déjà vu swallow returns". However, Zhang Ailing was far away, unable to see her face clearly, and it was not the one you wanted to see. Zhang Ailing and her novels, and even her prose, are separated from each other and hide themselves very strictly. We can't hear Zhang Ailing's voice, only the voices of Qiqiao, Tassel, and A Xiao, a series of characters.
Only once, in "Love in the Fallen City", Zhang Ailing accidentally leaked a little clue. It was the days of Tassel and Fan Liuyuan in Hong Kong, the two organs calculated, conspired to fight during the Cold War, one night, at the Repulse Bay Hotel, across the room on the phone, Fan Liuyuan suddenly read a poem on the poem "Death and Life Qikuo, Happy with the Son, Holding the Hand of the Son, and Growing Old with the Son". I always feel that it is not Fan Liuyuan who reads poetry, but Zhang Ailing. Zhang Ailing's style story is said to be performed on the stage in Shanghai, but this is just a statement, in fact, it is in the "death and life contract". Shanghai in that era did have a certain characteristic of "death and life": the past is like a dream, the present is like a dream, and the future is even more like a dream. But this is what the onlookers see, and what the people in the bureau see is either the shadow of the sword and the light, life and death, or the roses everywhere. Zhang Ailing's voice will fall short when she hears her head, and she cannot satisfy our Shanghai heart.
Therefore, Zhang Ailing must cover up to see, this is better, not to fall into nothingness, those front desk scenery is written after all the word "Shanghai". Su Qing jumped in front of his eyes. She was a real one, and we seemed to see her. Even in her novels, in this fictional genre, we can see her active figure, she gives us a sharp impression, the tongue is very sharp, see people and things very clearly, dare to say and dare to do. When we read her articles, it is as if we are listening to her speech, and we can almost argue with her. She was a person who was stationed on the road in Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s, cutting clothes, buying leather shoes, looking at teeth, running beauty salons, busy and bustling. Zhang Ailing, on the other hand, was sitting in front of the window watching.
We can test the heat and cold of Shanghai fifty years ago on Su Qing, but Zhang Ailing can't touch it.
Su Qing
However, after all, we can only look for Su Qing from the old paper pile. It is said that it is only fifty years apart, only because of the ups and downs of these fifty years, there are amazing changes, so the paper pile has also accumulated into a mountain. Many things cannot be imagined. Even if you see a familiar street corner from the old photos, even the plane tree, which is today's tree, you still can't think of the people and things at that time, Su Qing is active in front of her eyes, and she is also a character in a faded black and white film. Her Shanghainese dialect is accented and has some vernacular flavor. The stories told in that Kind of Shanghai dialect can be understood, but I want to go different.
Therefore, when I knew that Su Qing was with us until the early eighties, I was really surprised, and I always felt that she should stay away from us. Zhang Ailing is not far away, she avoided the era of wearing people's clothes and became a complete old person, although she was still alive and dead. Why didn't Su Qing leave? The times draw a dividing line on her, isolating our sights.
Su Qing's writing, in those years of newspaper prosperity, can be said to be a drop in the ocean. In the corner of the long text, a small forum was opened to talk about dressing and eating, waitressing and raising children, with the meaning of women's paradise. She is quick to speak, but she does not say the wind and the moon, only says some of the benefits of life, the work in the core of people. Those were some things that were inevitable in all dynasties and generations, in the north and south of the world, and even time could not be saved. Then the years go by, the days are always going to pass, and they are always inseparable. Of course, it is not the kind of day of tracing back to the roots of the wood for fire, but a good day after the progress of civilization, in addition to science, and then add some human nature.
The working class in Shanghai, hard work, that dinner table, the most able to see this livelihood, lettuce cut into small hob pieces, the leaves can not be thrown, washed and cut finely, salt kneaded and then decanted bitter juice, mixed with sesame oil, and another cold dish; the rib meat in the moldy dried vegetables is walked through the oil. The refined oil is just a piece of old tofu, yellow on both sides, and a few drops of chili oil; the head and tail of the blue fish are stewed into a pot of powdered skin soup, and the belly in the middle is reserved for the main dish of tomorrow night. Su Qing is discussing this with you.
This livelihood cannot be said to be exquisite, because it is not so elegant, but it is somewhat vulgar, it is carefully calculated, and it is also necessary to bargain with the fishmonger for a copper plate. There is some austere pleasure, not profligate at all, it accumulates all the pleasures in the corners and corners, and enjoys it slowly, and the vicissitudes of the outside world are abstract, and it only recognizes those that are close to the skin and feelable.
You can say that it steals joy, but it is tenacious in life force, has tenacity, and prefers to die. This is not the livelihood of cultivating heroes, it is the cultivation of all sentient beings, it is the pedestal on which heroes stand. There is no poetry in this kind of livelihood, there is nothing to sing about, to describe it, it cannot be written into a large chapter, it can only occupy a small piece at the beginning and end of the newspaper supplement, and even the text is like scraps, it is some broken branches.
Su Qing has a Shanghai heart, and this heart is very able to withstand ups and downs and cope with the future world. In fact, if you think about it again, the first women in this city to wear women's people's clothes have all come from the history of qipao clothing, and Su Qing is one of them. The reason why it is unacceptable is only that Su Qing left us words to make her look at her eyes, while the rest of the people are quietly drowning behind history. So we defined the image of Su Qing as an old costume. Besides, she didn't give us new words so that we could speculate on new images.
Speaking of it, how many people's experiences and changes have been lost in this city, although they cannot be put on the history books, they can only talk about the streets, but without it, some things are not easy to explain, and there is a legendary color, which is what people often say, the legendary meaning of Shanghai's history. In fact, every day is chai rice oil and salt, diligently living, without a little thought, suddenly turning back, but becoming a legend. The legends of Shanghai are like this. The legendary degree of people is also ordinary daily use, but also must be extra compacted this daily use, in order to have the mental strength and physical strength to interpret the change.
The history of other places is gradual, but the history of Shanghai city is like a triple jump, so we must firmly grasp the most realistic place of being a person, so as not to be in a trance. To say that Su Qingcong is superior to others, it is in this place, her mind is clear, and she does not dream. In Su Qing's article, those who see through the deception of life principles are always impressive. Especially about men and women, it really tore through the veil of tenderness, step by step, making people unable to justify it.
Su Qing couldn't help but offend twice, both men and women had to treat her as an enemy, but after all, it was too fierce, and she also revealed some insincere meaning. It seems to deliberately hide the warmth so that you are not weak. Moreover, if you are not at all lax, you will be ambushed if you are not careful. This is the situation of independent women, with an offensive and defensive posture. In fact, I still hope to have a man to protect me. When she talked to Zhang Ailing, didn't she put forward the five points of a standard husband? In particular, the fifth article, "the age shall be five to ten years older than the woman", is to expect the husband to be like a brother. Just knowing that reality is impossible, and knowing that even if it may be costly, he gives up.
She doesn't want it, she has the right to criticize. She is tougher and sharper than those who weave beautiful dreams to confuse herself, but she is also less poetic. She can see through it, Zhang Ailing can also see through it, Zhang Ailing sees through the bottom is "death and life qikuo", but in the dazed but rising some poetry, is the helplessness of people and thus helplessness to do nothing of sorrow and joy, is the low people look up at the great shore of heaven and earth, is some sad and joyful meaning. Su Qing's see-through has some meaning of looking back. Knowing that being a person is not interesting, just pick those who are interesting to do, know that people are limited, just circulate in a limited range, know that it is impossible to influence others, just influence yourself!
They are all aware of reality, but also compromise, Zhang Ailing is desperate, Su Qing is unwilling, unwilling or forced to refuse, but straight-faced, in the meaningless to find meaning. But unlike Bingxin, she can find a lot of love in the human world. Her situation was much harsher than Bingxin's. It is not that the situation is not good, but the desire to be a person in Shanghai is naked, and the cover of emotion has long been removed, one is one, two is two, and "love" is not nothing, but it seems unaffordable. Therefore, Su Qing cannot rely on "love" to comfort, but needs something more real.
Therefore, she will not run to Yan'an to find hope like Ding Ling. Even Yan'an's hope was slim for her, she was so real that she only acknowledged the feelings that parts of her life gave her, a little farther away, not within reach, and not included in her reality. A person like her, who is rarely romantic, can be a writer, and only in Shanghai, the prosperous newspaper industry has perfected her, and the huge number of public readers has completed her.
Zhang Ailing and Su Qing
Saying that Su Qing's short-sightedness is good, she is still sincere in the end, loyal to the insight of a frog at the bottom of the well. Those sharp edges can only anger people, but they can't hurt people. She did not have any great vengeance towards the world, but great sorrow and great joy. It is just some negative qi and interest, which is especially suitable for this place in Shanghai, used to deal with the people and things in front of you, the most effective, it does not occupy much mental space, it is the form of daily living. Don't underestimate it, it is just a small point of view, but it can make a big cause.
Which of the high-rise buildings and roads in this place in Shanghai is made of spirit and material? It's all brick by stone. As soon as you enter this city, it is as if you have entered the orbit, you want to rise, you can't rise to the sky, you want to sink, you can't sink to the end, you can only run with it. Neither ideals nor sinking can be discussed. Sooner or later, zhang Ailing is gone, and Xiao Hong is gone.
Xiao Hong's sorrow and joy are too heavy, and some of them are not used here, which is used for the big garden of Hulan River. Men are better off, but they can go to the national crisis and political storm to open up the spiritual world and build up their great hatred and love. It is in those years again, life and death, but the women who live and die are living in the core of the world, relying on emotional tentacles. It is also possible to say that it is selfish, in short, to value personal experience over rational thinking. This place in Shanghai is particularly capable of providing private experience, not the nature of the essence of life, but some of the short and long, not the romantic Xiao Hong wants, but it is exactly in the middle of Su Qing's appetite.
If you can see Su Qing clearly, you can probably know the female citizens of Shanghai. People only see the modernity of Shanghai female citizens, because this modern is European and American style, especially in Paris, so they think that Shanghai female citizens are noble and elegant, but they do not know their pungency. Zhang Ailing's novels are written in this spicy, but the novel is a novel, always separated by one layer. To see Su Qing's article, this spicy is credible. That can speak eloquently, can take advantage of men. What kind of things did she not understand? Can you hide it from her eyes?
She is powerful and mean, but she is not annoying, which is the sophistication in her bones, the manifestation of reason, and the performance of a lot of things. On the face, he let go of his hands and feet, and looked like he was doing everything, but in his heart he was calculating the measure, and he couldn't bear it but didn't mess with the big plan. It is the meaning of being a careful person, knowing that there are no rules in this world on the surface, but under the darkness there are big principles with steel and iron bones, so that you are a little polite, but you can't. Therefore, she is not a revolutionary, has no subversive ambitions, is based on livelihood, is knowledgeable and interesting, and all female citizens in Shanghai understand. Hidden in their pungency is the obedience. This obedience is not educated by reading and hyphenation, but by female instincts, as well as intelligence and caution.
If you can hear Su Qing speaking, you will find a Ningbo flavor in the modern city of Shanghai, which is the background of shanghai modernity. As a result, na modernity involuntarily brought a bit of the stubbornness of the countrymen, even narrow-minded. This modern has been watching for a long time, and you can see a momentum of not accepting defeat, and an intestine is through to the end. You look at those old photos, the sign number of The Forest on Nanjing Road, the dense turns, the way you scramble, the sky is narrowed. The crowd below is also a swarm on the ground, and what is in the window is what is on the body. It is said that Shanghai is lively, and this bustle is also called coaxing, and the crowd is high in flames. Looking at the color of the neon lights, it is actually a rustic atmosphere. Without some vigor, it is impossible to squeeze into the ranks of modernity.
Kanye Shi said that when Jiang Qing came out of the studio at midnight, he encountered a robber who robbed her money bag, and she dragged her to death, so that her nose was blue and her face was swollen, and she did not let it go. The girlfriend said, why bother, she replied, shanghai this place, there is no money one step. I'm talking about that.
Of course, Su Qing should be more relaxed, because she is more clever. Relying on the words she left behind, it is difficult to draw a portrait of her, but she is probably the kind of person who "discerns the appearance and color", quite popular, and even the lonely Zhang Ailing is a friend with her. In Shanghai, no friend is also a step, Su Qing's willfulness is superficial, belonging to the capital part, but the heart is very agile, ready to respond.
Think of that year, she was a very active one, this activity made her heart, fortunately she was energetic, this is also the temper of the countrymen, not lazy, not pampered. Shanghai is not the world of big misses, it is also about equality between men and women, it is to take back the power of women, but also to take back the responsibility, not like Yan'an, to take care of women.
Su Qing's novel "Moth" is somewhat "Ms. Sha fei", although it is simple and simple, warm and brave, but similar. Later, Ding Ling went to Yan'an. Ding Ling is more "utopian" than Su Qing, she magnifies and sublimates the requirements of personality, but Su Qing does not, but she wants to realize the requirements of personality. She never wrote such a novel of "May Fourth" passion. "Ten Years of Marriage" is almost a realistic novel, not exaggerated at all, truthfully narrated.
"Ten Years of Marriage", by Su Qing, Huacheng Publishing House, May 1996
Ideals and sacrifices are exaggerated and bluffed, but why bother? Moths fighting fires are too artistic, and Su Qing does not talk about art even in the article. That's her good side, it's the truth. Su Qing wrote articles not by imagination, but by insight. Her opinion is not that there is personality, but that there is temper. This temper is very refreshing, not twisted, not coughing, but also self-deprecating, single-handed, very stylish.
And like personality, it is not about style, but about position, this, Su Qing did not. The point in "Moth" is probably also from the cliché. However, her writing work is still good, the biggest advantage is to understand, depict people and paintings, vivid and lively, speaking of logic is also clear, reasoning is direct, with some sophistry, you are difficult to argue her, every pen battle, ends with her article. This is some Ningbo style, as the saying goes, "I would rather quarrel with Suzhou people than talk to Ningbo people"? In this place of Shanghai, what you want is fierce, and if you go with the flow of fierceness, you are extraordinary.
To find Su Qing, in fact, it is not difficult to find, the group of women walking on the road are all Su Qing, Su Qing is only a little fiercer than them. Of course, Su Qing will also write articles.
How many generations have been changed in the leaves of the plane tree, and the Su Qing under the leaves has also changed its clothes. This city can hold up to the present, the light is bright, people are a long street, all rely on the spirit of Su Qing to survive. This road catches up with the advanced modernity, and after ten years of walking a hundred years, it is also by Su Qing's heart to survive. Looking at the article at the end of the newspaper, Su Qing and her opponents have returned, but they are fragmented, and it is as if the scattered gods have not gathered in time. Looking for a Su Qing, there was a large number of people, who had been fighting for decades, and at this time they were fierce again.
They are all talking about the bustling old dreams of Shanghai, do the people in the dream know who it is, saying that it is Su Qing, you do not believe it, she is too beautiful to be a shadow. To say that the core of Shanghai's old dream is a real mess, I am afraid that you will not believe it. As soon as things became a dream, they couldn't help but become lighter, but Su Qing had no room for recollection. It would rather be Zhang Ailing than Su Qing. Because Zhang Ailing is nothing, and Su Qing is real.
Thinking about it, I felt that Su Qing could wear that women's people's clothes, didn't Mr. Jin Shengyao say that "the women who fell in love with the country at that time were all the same color, and you know that in the fifties this was a popular women's 'fashion'"? Why didn't Su Qing wear it? This is where Su Qing is neat. If you change Zhang Ailing, you will be in big trouble.
In fact, what is the difference between the cheongsam costume and the people's costume? Underneath, the core is not the same as food and clothing. The snow is still finely chopped, the stems return to the stems, the leaves return to the leaves; the rice porridge is stewed on a small fire, and the rice grains are scattered from morning to evening, and the newly born spring shoots are boiled with oil sauce and salt, and the rice is very delicious. Although this ordinary mind has no philosophical background, it is based on life experience, and it can be regarded as a thousand hammers.
Zhang Ailing can also appreciate the details of life, but that is used as a life-saving straw, so as to lead her out of the void and keep her. Su Qing did not have such a huge sense of emptiness, at most it was disappointment, her disappointment was all specific people and things, there was blame to be traced, unlike Zhang Ailing, who was dazed and had nowhere to scratch. Su Qing can make these details of life a raft, carry her through the sea of suffering, in the darkest days of the city, in the three-story attic window that is tightly hidden, there is also a trace of the aroma of a small pot of coffee, which is Su Qing's raft.
The city's heart is high, it is high here, not to be high and far, but to grasp it and never let go, one point is a little. It is okay to say that it is a struggle, but it is not to die, it is to do what you can. Of course, there are also hyperactivity and decadence, but I am talking about the mainstay. The biggest group of the biggest guys, but they are pragmatic and not retreating, Su Qing is one of them, can be regarded as elite.
In that crumbling island of Shanghai, she could only regard life as a real thing, a necessary task, and since it was inescapable, she had to take responsibility. There are many uncertainties in the future, all of which are based on this. It is more practical to talk about not being responsible to God or to the people, but only talking about yourself. To be a citizen in this city is to have the strength of some martyrs, not to say that they are broad-minded, but to be determined, otherwise they will not be able to withstand the test of change.
Su Qing persevered to the end. As a writer, she retired from the literary world, obscure, and did not even have a curtain closing ceremony. But as a citizen, she did not neglect her duties and did not retreat halfway. Her burial is actually expected, the evolution of the times, the old end, the new play. The legendary Shanghai has staged this replacement more intensely, and the sound and color of that year, how many flags have ceased, and the smoke has disappeared. A Su Qing, what? Didn't she say long ago that in the era of people, it can only be sent to the fence?
I think that even if Su Qing wears people's clothes, the people's clothes are also tailored and flat, and underneath are trousers of good material. When the wool pants were worn badly, Su Qing was also old, and it was better in the end.
It's not that there's no way, it's that there's no way. There is no way, there is no way, the complaint is to be a few words, and the bitter scriptures must also sigh, but that is all.