▲The bronze statue of Yan Duhe in the Yan Duhe Library in Wuzhen, Tongxiang, Zhejiang
Mr. Yan Duhe (1889-1968) is a generation of famous editors, writers and writers of popular literature in the history of modern Chinese newspapers. From 1914 onwards, he served as the editor of the private newspaper "Happy Forest" in Shanghai, a supplement of the private newspaper "News Daily", and in 1931 he became the deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper and the editor-in-chief of the literary and art supplement, and the following year the supplement was renamed "New Garden". After the fall of Shanghai, the Japanese army entered the concession and robbed all newspapers. He refused to be tempted to resist the threat, and even resigned in anger, and did not return to the resumed "News" until after the victory of the War of Resistance. In 1949, the "News Daily" was discontinued and changed to "News Daily", and Yan Duhe was arranged to serve as the deputy director of the Shanghai News Library. The more than 30 years of newspaper career finally came to an end, leaving a fruitful writing achievement.
▲ News office on Wangping Street
In the "Talk" section of the "News Daily" supplement alone, Yan Duhe published a short article almost every day, as many as ten thousand articles and counting millions of words for decades. All the readers who subscribe to the "News" are well known to everyone about the name of the lone crane that appears every day in the supplement, and no one knows it. In addition to short essays in supplements, essays of varying lengths are occasionally published in The News and other newspapers. He also wrote short stories and novels, which were published in the World Book Company's Red Magazine (later renamed Red Rose) and other newspapers, and the novel "Dream of the Sea of People" was serialized in New Voice magazine, but unfortunately the magazine was discontinued and could not be renewed. In addition, he also adapted Zhang Hexhui's famous book "The Cause of Laughter", which was published by his hand, into a film script for the star film company to produce. It can be seen that most of his life has crossed between editing, news writing and literary creation, which can be said to be all the achievements.
▲"Duhe Novel Collection"
In his youth, Yan Duhe already published "Duhe Novel Collection" (World Bookstore 1926 edition) and "Dream of the Sea of People" (World Bookstore first edition in 1928). However, a large number of essays and remarks in the "Talk" column of the supplement have not yet been published in a collection. His grandson, Mr. Yan Jianping, is also a supplement editor (former deputy editor-in-chief of Xinmin Evening News) and has a consistent professional complex. Half a century after his grandfather's death, he collaborated with Zhu Chunxiang, a librarian at the Shanghai Library, to compile the Collected Works of Yan Duhe, which was published by the Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House. As a result, a big celebrity in the history of Shanghai's modern newspaper industry has reappeared, and it has also given contemporary readers the opportunity to witness the results of his writing for most of his life.
The anthology is a three-volume volume, including a volume of novels, essays, and essays, but it is not in order, so as to see that the compilers are regarded in no particular order and equally. If the anthology is compiled and selected, it is not collected in its entirety. For example, only six short stories are selected, and essays and essays are more than one. The editors did not write their own prefaces, but each volume contains as an appendix to the comments of predecessors or presenters on Yan Duhe's actions and writings.
▲"Yan Duhe Anthology"
By Yan Duhe
Yan Jianping Zhu Chunxiang ed
Published by Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House
The appendices to the novel volume are "The Biography of Yan Duhejun" and the "Preface to the Collection of Duhe Novels" written by Zhao Yuan, editor-in-chief of World Bookstore and editor-in-chief of Red Rose Magazine. His rumors and Yan Duhe's "sexual novels" are familiar with Chinese and Western masterpieces. "Therefore, what he has done can blend the old and the new, and become a family of his own." Scattered in newspapers and magazines. However, in his intention, Ya did not want to focus on the novel. He has lived in the press for ten years, and every time he publishes a political opinion, he upholds justice more often, which is particularly important in the world. A few words not only pointed out Yan Duhe's love for novels, but also made it clear that he was more committed to political theory and was valued by the world. Yan Duhe's novels are quite legendary, and the fate of the characters often fluctuates greatly, resulting in plot twists and turns, and the truth of the details is not deliberately true. For example, Wu Yichen in the short story "International Students", although he has real talent and practical learning, but because of lack of qualifications, it is difficult to find a job, and he has to turn to the doctor who returned from staying in the west as a gunner, writing speeches, speeches and articles on behalf of him, and only get two-tenths of his remuneration. However, when he received the financial support of his master and mother to go abroad to stay in the west, he got into a relationship and became the brother-in-law of the chief of foreign affairs, so he was lucky and prosperous, and now he refused to accept his master and mother who came from afar, and abandoned the original marriage contract with his sister. In the process of destiny from poverty to reach, human nature is not sublimated, but on the contrary, it is alienated. The novel goes from the bias of secular values to the sharp decline in personal moral standards.
▲ Yan Duhe and his wife Lu Yunyu
The novel "Dream of the Sea of People" has been published thirty-three times, about 350,000 words. As a long story, no matter how grand the scale, the number of characters, the richness of the plot, and the diversity of meaning, naturally exceed the short story. Inheriting the tradition of satirical novels "Ru Lin Wai Shi" and condemning novels, "The Dream of the Sea of People" is extremely satirical and sarcastic to the political and academic circles under the control of the Qing government, portraying the stubborn and conservative bureaucrats such as Wang Observation and Fang Zhitai, the old treacherous and slippery, and the ugly faces of false Taoism, revealing the dark corruption of society, and is a rare social satirical novel. At the same time, it is also a revolutionary novel, shaping the image of the young Yingjie Hua Guoxiong. He read progressive books while studying in Shanghai and became the backbone of the revolutionary party when he studied in Japan. Before the Wuchang Uprising, the revolutionaries who returned to Shanghai and Shanghai did the work of coping. The novel also has romance and martial arts content, which is not its focus.
In 1997, researchers edited a series of Mandarin Duck And Butterfly School Saturday novels, and "Dream of the Sea of People" was also included, which I think is inappropriate. Because "The Dream of the Sea of People" focuses more on criticizing darkness, creating a positive image of revolutionaries, and vividly showing the conflicts and transformations of the old and the new in society, families, and individuals before the end of the feudal era. It is different from the novels that are generally regarded as the Mandarin Butterfly School, and it is not comparable to the so-called "fragrant novels". When "The Dream of the Sea of People" was first published in the World Book Office, the cover was printed with "social novels", which was a more appropriate category. In addition, "Dream of the Sea of People" has two times to write dreams, absurd and strange, metaphorically referring to the vast sea of people, fickle, quite symbolic. I think that "Dream of the Sea of People", as a social love novel written on the eve of the Xinhai Revolution, can be adapted into a film and television work for the public to enjoy.
▲The fan surface inscribed by Yan Duhe
The content of the "essay volume" covers all aspects, and the editors divide it into ten series according to their involvement, and the reader can search according to his personal interests and hobbies. When I read this volume, I wondered: Yan Duhe, as a well-known old newspaperman, what personal experience can he tell to his successors? It happened to be in the "Newspapers" section to "Talking About the Newspaperman". He said: "For thirty years, I have only done what I should have done diligently, watching many changes in the world, showing in front of me one scene after another, as if watching a very long play, and I am a person who writes instructions for this play." That is to say, the informant is not only an observer of the affairs of the world, but also an "explainer." If you only look at it and do not explain it, you have not fulfilled the responsibility of the reporter. Then he talked about the "attitude that a newspaperman should have": one is "clean", the second is "cautious", and the third is "diligent". These three points alone are concise and concise, but it is not easy to achieve them. For example, "Qing" means "maintaining a clean heart, a clean body", otherwise "it is inevitable that there will be flying dust and ash, so it is the most important thing to be a newspaper reporter and keep clean." These few words alone, and by extension, are enough for people from all walks of life to obey for a lifetime.
▲ Yan Duhe is a Chinese news Shi TaiDou Fang Hanqi title league
The content of the anthology "Miscellaneous Volumes" can be described as everything, and can only be divided into chronological editions. The selected essays are categorized chronologically, inspiring me to see what this veteran newspaperman who wrote instruction manuals for multi-act plays of the times wrote at the point of each era. On May 10 and 11, 1919, he wrote about the "May Fourth Movement" in the "News Daily" two days, but with the theme of "funny gossip", he greatly dismissed Zhang Zongxiang and Cao Rulin. By May 21, he exposed their treasonism and affirmed the student movement with "New Character Measurement: Cao Zhang's Traitor to the Country". On May 9, 1915, Yuan Shikai, the first president of the Republic of China, was forced to accept the twelve articles of Japan's Twenty-One Articles after negotiations with Japan. After the signing of the treaty, the National Education Federation decided that schools would hold a commemoration of the "National Shame Day" on May 9 every year, vowing to snow the national shame. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary, Yan Duhe issued the "Introduction to the Special Issue of the National Shame Commemoration Day", lest people "fade away and forget". In the 1930s, he published articles such as "The Three-Character Recipe for Resisting Japan and Saving the Country", "The Japanese Incident and China's Future", "The Commemoration of the May Thirtieth Anniversary", and "The 1928 Memorial", denouncing the atrocities of the Japanese invasion of China and criticizing the non-resistance of the authorities. In the 1940s, he published an article entitled "Monuments", which recalled the "August 13" war that year, affirming that the 88th Division would build a memorial monument to the fallen soldiers in Hongkou as "indeed the most commemorative value." He wrote "The Seven-Seven Commemoration", mentioning that "the July-Seventh Memorial is tragic and majestic." We should think about how to make the dead have no regrets and the living be comforted," he made a bitter criticism of the bad reality. In "The Second Anniversary of Victory", it is more clearly pointed out that "under today," even the international status that has risen at first sight has invisibly landed", and "who can keep the weeds from being reborn and resurrecting". Although he has pointed out that newspaper reporters should use reason to control emotions, in the face of darkness, his righteous indignation will still overflow into words. This is particularly evident in articles such as "Defeatism and Corruption and Incompetence."
▲ Yan Duhe (left) took a group photo with his newspaper colleague and cartoonist Ding Ho
The reason why Yan Duhe, as a newspaperman who mainly practiced in the old era, still deserves our remembrance and respect is that in addition to his professionalism, ingenuity and outstanding contributions to the Chinese newspaper industry, he did not succumb to the pressure of the power of the old era. As Mr. Fan Jingyi said in "Duhe Can Not Be 'Independent'": "Whether facing the threat of the muzzle of the gun or the temptation of Li Lu, he has maintained the special discipline of a Chinese newspaperman, not afraid, not confused, righteous and awe-inspiring, and righteous." "Sincerely!
Author: Wang Jiren
Editor: Zhou Yiqian
Editor-in-Charge: Zhu Zifen
*Wenhui exclusive manuscript, please indicate the source when reprinting.