Editor's Note
Recently, the "Suzhou Culture and Art Exhibition Week" with the theme of "Meet Beijing and Meet Jiangnan" has set off a Suzhou cultural fever in Beijing. And remembering the iconic figures of Suzhou's modern and contemporary culture, Jiuru Lane Zhang Shi is definitely a topic that cannot be bypassed. Coinciding with the "Documenta Exhibition of Zhang's at No. 3 Jiuru Lane" jointly organized by Suzhou Library and Shanghai Library, the exhibition will last until February 27, 2022. During the exhibition, the descendants of the Zhang family in Jiuru Lane took out a lot of treasured documents and historical materials, some of which were presented for the first time. Among these exhibits, the correspondence between the Zhang family's siblings spans from the 1970s to the 21st century, from abroad to China. They are still communicating with each other in traditional letters and writing and writing for the editor of Water. The letters also involve some Zhang family friends, such as Yu Pingbo, Yu Yingshi, Kuang Yaming, etc. There is a deep affection between sister and brother in the family letter, and it also highlights the imprint of the contemporary literati family exchanges. On the occasion of the Spring Festival in 2022, this edition of the special Jiangnan cultural scholar Wang Dao interpreted several of them, once again experiencing the flow of Swen from the Suzhou literati family.
Home letter written by Zhang Huakui.
Zhou Youguang, Zhang Yunhe wrote a New Year card to Zhang Huanhe.
One Kunqu Opera, Millennium, Jiangnan Xiaosheng
The fifth brother and the second younger sister, received the letter on December 26, are well organized and very well asked, and I can answer the questions one by one and tell you my principles. First, all the sub-questions such as "have not known"; "have known", etc., are to give you the order. There is no need to publish a small question in the commemorative book, that is, the photos are arranged according to my small questions.
Second, in 1970, I went to Hawaii with Xu Ying (from Taiwan to the United States for the first time) where I taught Qu Youkun opera, performed three plays, lived for more than fifty days, and then arrived at the fourth sister's house. He lived in the fourth sister's house for five years, returned to Taiwan for four months and then went to the western United States. Lived in the Zhao family until the millennium.
The Millennial Lady took me to Connecticut, so I now live in Hejia (so that you can know about my past journeys and residences).
Third, the photos (pieces) of Zhicheng are printed as the size of Du Liniang, there is no Zhicheng group photo, I personally, and with others photos (pieces) do not need to be printed large, the smaller the better, I like small and clear photos (pieces). Attached is a picture of The Spring Fragrance of the Garden that Anna Chen printed for me, for your reference (this is my favorite small figure) (be sure to return it to me).
Fourth, in 1993, it was corrected to 1997, it was the music friend Mrs. Zhao Xuzhiyun who wished me a ninetieth birthday, and the birthday celebration held at the San Mateo Old Self-Help Office in the United States was very lively, and the Peking Opera ticket holders also performed the Eight Immortals Shangshou, each of them sang a Beijing opera, I played the "Queen Mother Niangniang" to sing Kunqu opera, and I also played the "Spring Fragrant School" of Peony Pavilion with the student Yang Meishan, which was a happy thing that I could still perform at an advanced age after being injured in a car accident.
Fifth, the number of booklet pages can be reduced to very few.
Sixth, "Hai Yun" is a Chinese Peking Opera box office in Jinshan.
Seventh, Matilda ranks ahead of Ling Hong, I agree.
Eight, Yujing, Jialing, Jiajun and other photos (films) are taken in Taiwan, recently given to me, do not have to indicate the year, month and day (I do not know), one of the three people has Jiajun in the back, not the whole body, the front child is a small grandson who died prematurely, Jiahua This can be canceled, not published as yes.
9. There is a battle flag on the back, the armed horn is Zhang Xiu, played by Gu Chuanyue, and the person sitting on the ground is Zhu Chuanming's aunt, which is called "Zhang Xiu's Thorn Aunt", also known as "Zhan Wancheng" (a play in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms).
10. Zhao Ruzhou (赵伯涛), the name of the young student in "Pavilion Society", is played by Yuan He; the danjiao name Mu Suhui (Xie Suqiu) is played by Xu Zhenhuan. One of Kunshan's obligatory plays.
11. The young student name Pan Bizheng (Yu Shuye) in "Lou Hui" is played by Yuan He, and the Danjiao name Chen Miaochang (Mu Sumin) is played by Xu Zhenhuan (also one of the obligatory plays performed in Kunshan).
XII. (1) Four pictures with pictures, with lian and apricot beads wedding feast, from the left to the mother of apricot beads, apricot beads, Yi Lian, Yuan He.
(2) Yuanhe in Wulun City, California, USA (circa 1976 or 1977, no need to indicate can also).
(3) In the home of Zhao Naikai and Zhang Huiyuan (I live here), from the left, Zhao Naikai, Zhao Wenqi, Lou Old Lady, Yuan He, and Lou Huijun.
(4) At the Old Self-Help Office in San Mateo, usa, yue Meiti (playing Xiaosheng) and Zhang Jingxian (playing Danjiao) performed soap (Luo Robe) plays on the (Hai) Kun (theater). I waited on stage to take a picture with them. From left: Yue Meiti, Xu Wenpei, Yuan He, Zhu He Kongjing, Zhang Jingxian. On January 6th, I handed over five more photos to Hetong, and bothered him to send them to you by computer.
Under Zhao Xu Zhiyun's apartment, Zhang Huiyuan took a photo of the body of the costume "Sweeping Flowers", all of which are like nineteen years old, a smile.
All the photos (pieces) sent to you are the original photos taken from the album, please save them properly after use, or send them back to me by register and paste them back to the original place. Bother, bother! Please, please. If you have any other questions, you can write to me again. Whether the second sister has sent a letter and declared the old news to you, I am very worried.
Big Sister, Yuan (and) January 6, 2002
The above is a letter sent by Zhang Yuanhe from the United States to his fifth brother Zhang Huanhe in Suzhou. The main content of this letter revolves around the editing of the "Gu Zhicheng Memorial Album".
As we all know, Zhang Yuanhe, the eldest sister of the four sisters of the Zhang family, was married to Gu Chuanjiu, the first young student of Kunqu Opera. And soon after marriage, Gu Chuanjie changed his name to Gu Zhicheng and began to change careers to education and business, in order to get rid of the shadow of the actor's lack of social status at that time, and also hoped to make a breakthrough in his career. In May 1949, Gu Zhicheng intended to go to Taiwan, and Yuan He moved to Taiwan with him, and later Yuan He assisted Gu Zhicheng in doing business in Taichung. The two also often used their business time to participate in amateur Kunqu activities. Gu Zhicheng once taught Kunqu opera lovers "shooting music", and was once invited by Professor Xu Daolin of Tunghai University to teach students such plays as "Peony Pavilion And Garden", so that the Jiangnan Kunqu opera could be spread in Taiwan. He died in Taichung on January 6, 1965, at the age of 56 due to complications of cirrhosis and pneumonia.
Zhang Yuanhe and Gu Zhicheng took a group photo.
After Gu Zhicheng's death, Yuan He has been circling around kunqu art. It should be said that this is also her best memorial to her husband, as well as her comfort to herself. Gu Zhicheng's Kunqu art should be inherited, Zhang Yuanhe practiced in Taiwan and went to a foreign country to carry out Kunqu dissemination, performance and teaching activities, she was invited to the United States in her early years, together with Li Fanggui's wife Xu Ying to promote Kunqu, and later the two also had a car accident in a car, Xu Ying died, Zhang Yuanhe was seriously injured. In the letter, Yuanhe mentioned that he could still perform on stage after being seriously injured, which was quite gratifying.
In order to compile the commemorative album of "Gu Zhicheng", Zhang Yuanhe gathered together the photos and materials of his temporary residence in Taiwan and the United States, as well as in Suzhou and Shanghai in the early days, and handed them over to the fifth brother Zhang Huanhe and the editor-in-chief, and later, with the joint efforts of three generations, including Dinghe, Yuhe, Huanhe, Yidi, and Zhiyuan, he finally published the "Gu Zhicheng Commemorative Album" at his own expense in September 2002. In September of the following year, Zhang Yuanhe died in the United States at the age of 96.
Pictures of the exhibition site at No. 3 Jiuru Lane.
2 Gu Yin She, Yu Pingbo, Water Magazine
Little fifth brother, yesterday and today received two registered letters from you, the photo negatives are received as many, in the end the old man is good. You put those pictures, right? I can't blame Di Gong, he was too busy, busy for his career, busy for his family, and had to tear down his own people.
Yu Pingbo died at 12:55 on October 15, and I learned the next day that it had been cremated...
He is the founder of our music club and the leader of the music club in China and overseas. The Beijing Qu Society will hold a commemorative song meeting on the eighteenth day of this month (11), asking for some photos and his handwriting, so I sent a telegram to you to ask for photos. I still have two more here, Yu and our negatives.
...... Three days after Yu Pingbo's death, I began to make a chronology of nearly 20,000 words from my eighteen diaries, the eighteen issues of the "Social News" that I compiled, and made a chronology of nearly 20,000 words. It has come to an end and will be exhibited at the commemorative meeting.
After a serious illness, his eyesight was very poor, he was not at home, and he did not return until mid-December. Xiaoping returned from the United States on the 17th of last month, and after returning, he went on a business trip to Qingdao. The day after tomorrow I want to go to Wuhan again.
(Zhang Yunhe to Zhang Huanhe, November 9, 1990)
From left, Zhou Youguang, Zhang Yunhe, Zhou Xiaohua, Zhang Huanhe and Zhang Huanhe took a group photo in Beijing.
This is a letter from Zhang Yunhe to Zhang Huanhe on November 9, 1990. Some of this needs to be annotated. The "old man" mentioned by Zhang Yunhe should be a person of their generation, that is, a peer, who has common words and feelings, works seriously and responsibly, and treats people sincerely. Speaking of putting photos, Mr. Zhang Huanhe is a photographer who lived with his wife Zhou Xiaohua in the Zhou family in Beijing for a while, so he had the opportunity to take many photos for the second sister, the second brother-in-law and related friends, such as Yu Pingbo. Since the negatives were washed out smaller, Zhang Yunhe wanted to enlarge some photos. This matter should involve Zhang Huan and his son-in-law, Mr. Zhang Yidi. Because Mr. Eddie is also a photographer and has his own professional darkroom. Mr. Huan He seems to be dissatisfied with Edi's work, but what Ms. Yun He said is reasonable, after all, each has its own family affairs, and since ancient times, Zhongxiao cannot have both.
The death of Mr. Yu Pingbo mentioned in the letter is quite important.
In 1936, Mr. Yu Pingbo initiated the establishment of the amateur Kunqu Society "Guyin Society" in Tsinghua University, the main members were Pu Jiangqing, Tang Lan, Wang Jianjun, etc. At that time, Zhang Jiachonghe, Zong He and his friend Tao Guang were the main members of the club, and they had held many song collections and performances on campus, which can be described as well-known in the Beijing-Tianjin region.
Twenty years later, in August 1956, initiated by amateur composers such as Yu Pingbo, the Beijing Kunqu Study Society was established in Beijing. At the beginning, it was led by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture, and the monthly fund was 250 yuan. The first director of the Social Security Committee was Mr. Yu Pingbo, and the Social Security Committee included Xiang Yuancun, Xu Shizhen, Yi Kexian, Yuan Minxuan, Zhou Quan'an, Xu Baohu, Xu Baotao, Zheng Bin, Qian Yiyu, and Zhang Yunhe. The 1960s were forced to suspend activities. In the summer of 1979, 58 members of the original society jointly petitioned to restore the society, and Mr. Yu Pingbo took the initiative to resign due to his advanced age, and was changed to Zhang Yunhe by the election chairman.
Since then, Zhang Yunhe and Zhou Youguang, because of kunqu activities, have often interacted with Yu Pingbo and his wife, and have also celebrated the ninetieth birthday of Yu Pingbo.
Zhang Yun and Zun Yu Pingbo were teachers, and they often consulted poetry, and both families were closely related to Suzhou and were equally obsessed with Kunqu opera, so there were often gatherings and contacts.
Zhang Yunhe also had great respect for Yu Pingbo's wife, Xu Baotao, known as the eldest sister, and once sent her a poem: "People have more lovers than old, and it is better to be affectionate to the old." "Yu Pingbo passed away, and Ms. Yun He was deeply saddened. Yu Pingbo was born into a famous and prestigious family, and has made achievements in literature, poetry, opera and other aspects, before, Yu Pingbo had sent a poem to Zhang Yunhe, "The vicissitudes are easy to prosper and far away, and what is more humane and short." ”
Jang Yoon-ho wants to organize a commemorative event for this old friend, excerpting the contents of the diary, compiling a chronology, sending out social messages, and holding commemorative activities in the Qu Society. It can be seen from this that Zhang Yunhe specially asked the fifth brother for a photo not for anything else, but for The commemoration of Mr. Yu Pingbo.
Zhang Yunhe is enthusiastic and righteous, so the resumption of "Water" at home is also her idea. Although in the illness also always insisted on the editor-in-chief. The letter mentions that Xiaoping is the son of Yun He, a famous meteorologist and researcher at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who died on January 22, 2015.
In 1996, when zhangjia "water" was republished, Zhang Huanhe and Zhou Xiaohua lived in Yunhe's home for more than two months, and Zhou Xiaohua mentioned: "Two people each have a sharp computer, which has been used for seven or eight years, and it is easy to say, while the second sister studied hard for less than a year, and most of the first part of "Water" is her alone, typing day and night, she is using Chinese pinyin to transform Chinese characters. She got up in the middle of the night and covered her clothes from the light, afraid of waking up brother Guang. Sometimes when the light is low, it is still standing and fighting. At the age of 87, she nervously typed out the manuscript for seven or eight days in a row. Not only did she play on her own computer, but she also raised six or seven children between the ages of 6 and 13. She said: 'We have to look at the world, we have to think about our children, we have to leave something for future generations.' Leaders and colleagues of the State Language Commission came to congratulate Youguang on his 90th birthday and said: "It is a shame to see the grandmother learning computers and cultivating children to use computers!" Later, with the help of the third sister Zhaohe, the first issue of the Zhang family's re-publication of "Water" was successfully released.
Zhou Youguang, Zhang Yunhe toasted Yu Pingbo's birthday.
Three Phoenix, Shen Congwen Cemetery, Xiangxing Sanji
The fifth brother of Xiaohua sent two letters and photos sent. This batch of photos of Yuan Yuanzhao is the clearest, and the angle taken is not ordinary, after all, it is a photography family! The last large number of photos, the tiger chicks that need to be printed have been registered one by one, which is busy since returning, and the reply letter has not yet been sent. Now I have received a second batch, a few of which Xiaohong said she has not seen before, and now I have written them down (at the end of the attached letter), hoping to see the letter from the tiger chicks, and if he has registered, he will cancel me. Ji Lun and Ling Yu immediately turned around. Thank you, especially Xiao Zhiyuan, because this is a good first-hand precious material.
This time, the funeral of Second Brother Shen was basically done in accordance with our wishes. I was particularly pleased with that cemetery. Although it is slightly narrowed above, the surroundings are too good. Surrounded by mountains and water, the forest is deep. Before and after, springs, mill houses, and wildflowers and plants all over the mountains are all beloved by Brother Shen, and they are also the landscapes and customs of his hometown that he often designs. He would be very satisfied if he could sleep there for a long time.
What was rare was our reunion. People are old, they haven't seen each other for several years, they look at each other when they meet, their bones are still good, they can eat, they can climb mountains, they can drill holes, although some people have two sideburns into frost and snow (that's me), it should be said that it is already very good. When I was in Phoenix, everyone said that I had a good physique and good spirits, and I thought the same thing myself, and I felt tired after I came back. For two days I just wanted to lie down, didn't think about eating, just wanted to sleep, and had a low-grade fever. The same is true of tiger chicks and pei. Dr. Xiao Wu said that it was because of the dampness that it did not hinder things. Sure enough, it won't be long. When you go to Guiyang, there is Dr. Xiao Wu, a medical consultant, who is happy in Wensi, presumably eating and playing, and is very happy. How many times is life rare? Let's look for another opportunity to arrange this opportunity.
A while ago (after we came back) there was a pain in the left arm of the light brother (and not periarthritis), and the second sister had pain in the waist and legs, and then listened to my advice and asked the little nanny to massage the two elderly people, and now I feel much more comfortable. I'm going to ask for guidance. I don't go to the hospital, I don't take medicine indiscriminately, I just use massage to adjust myself.
Did the fifth brother feel tired after returning to Suzhou? Suzhou housework is annoying and cannot be avoided. Hope to take care of more, combining work and leisure. After I returned to Beijing, everything was taken care of, and the work efficiency was not high. The good news is that the "Xiangxing Collection" has seen the sample book, and it seems that it is not annoying. When the order book arrives, it will be sent to you. The little tiger spent a lot of labor here, the little tiger's brain is too fine, the detail is unimaginable, if you see him sorting out the cabinet of information of the second brother Of Shen, you will be surprised, but unfortunately he is not in good health, can not be tired, and can not not be tired.
Let's take care of ourselves and talk about it. Below is a photo I've stamped. (Zhang Zhaohe to Zhang Huanhe, July 4, 1992)
In 1992, Zhang Zhaohe returned to Phoenix to bury Shen Congwen's ashes. Photo by Zhang Zhiyuan
This is a letter from Ms. Zhang Zhaohe to Zhang Huanhe and Zhou Xiaohua on July 4, 1992. The photographer Yuan Yuan mentioned in the letter, that is, Zhang Huanhe's grandson Zhang Zhiyuan, is also the eldest grandson of the Zhang family, and he is named after the family tree of the old ancestor, and the character "Zhi" is the largest. Both his grandfather and father were photographers, and he also inherited the family tradition and is still a photography enthusiast.
The Ji Lun mentioned in the letter is Tian Ji Lun, the second son of Shen Congwen's eldest sister, who later worked in the China First Automobile Manufacturing Plant in Changchun. For the events of that year, Tian Jilun once recorded: "In May this year (1992), I accompanied my second uncle and mother to escort the ashes of my second uncle, Mr. Shen Congwen, to Tuojiang Town, Fenghuang County, for burial. I returned home for the first time in sixty years. Although I had never been to my hometown before, I had heard a lot about my hometown. Many of these introductions were caused by interesting stories about my second uncle's childhood. Since I was a child, my parents have often talked about my hometown of Tuojiang Town, Fenghuang County. It is a beautiful small mountain town, with a clear Tuojiang River, and the stilt houses on the water are reflected on the riverside; There are old city towers that have been mottled and old; There are green mountains with flowers and grasses, the towns are very small and quite poor, and the Miao, Tujia, Han and other people live together harmoniously. There are many celebrities there. The second uncle was smart and naughty when he was a child, and went to school in the morning..."
Ling Yu was a professor at Jishou University, the first scholar to write a biography for Shen Congwen, and he interacted with Shen Congwen earlier and obtained a lot of first-hand materials. It is worth mentioning that Ling Yu's daughter Ling Yunlan is also the translator of the English version of "Four Sisters of Hefei".
From the contents of Zhang Zhaohe's letter to Zhang Huanhe in 1992, it can be seen that in May 1992, Shen Congwen's ashes, which had been parked at his home in Beijing for four years, returned to Shen Congwen's hometown of Phoenix accompanied by his family. Half of the ashes were sprinkled into the Tuojiang River by Shen Congwen's second son, Tiger Chick, and granddaughter Shen Hong, and the other half was buried under the Phoenix Tingtao Mountain. There is no tomb, no tombstone, only a natural five-colored stone, on which Is written by Shen Congwen: "According to my thinking, I can understand 'I', according to my thinking, I can know 'people'".
Shen Congwen was born in December 1902 in Phoenix, Xiangxi Province. A hundred years later, this generation of literary heroes finally returned to his hometown. Huang Yongyu wrote an inscription for his cousin: "A warrior, or die on the battlefield, is to return to his hometown." ”
That is, when Mr. Shen Congwen was buried in his hometown, Zhang Huanhe, Zhou Xiaohua, Zhang Zhiyuan, etc. returned to the Phoenix party with Zhang Zhaohe, Shen Huyan, Shen Hong, etc. In the Zhang family photo album, it can be seen that Zhang Zhaohe and the lady returned to Phoenix, eating fritters in the town at the foot of the mountain, although their hair was gray, their spirit was still the same, and it seemed that they had returned to their long-lost hometown.
In the letter, Zhang Zhaohe mentioned the richness of plants in Shen Congwen's cemetery, and believed that there would be Shen Congwen's tiger ear grass, yellow oak tree, morning glory flower, zhi grass, persimmon tree, cypress tree and so on.
The letter specifically mentions Mr. Hu Yan's serious work, the publication of some anthologies by Shen Congwen, and the collation of cultural relics and historical manuscripts, including the collection of anonym, which can be said to have made great efforts. I remember that i contacted him a few times, just because I found new historical materials, he was also very serious about screening, and repeatedly told me which pen names were Shen Congwen's and which were not. Later, I provided him with Shen Congwen's supplementary explanation in the "Teaching of History", and at that time he also went to the National Library to check it, but it was not complete.
The newly published "Complete Works of Shen Congwen and Supplementary Volumes" has more than 800,000 words, many of which are the credit of Mr. Shen Huyan, and he has been working with illness for many years. On January 1, 2021, Mr. Shen Huyan passed away at the age of 84. In the letter, Zhang Zhaohe repeatedly mentioned that the heart of the tiger chick is as delicate as hair, which is not an exaggeration, but a truth-seeking fact. It should be said that he was distressed by his son's silent efforts, but at the same time he hoped that he could sort out Shen Congwen's literary heritage more and pass it on to future generations.
As for the "Xiangxing Collection" mentioned in the letter, it should be the "Xiangxing Collection" of the "Shen Congwen Beiji" published by Yuelu Academy in 1992, with the cover signed by Zhang Chonghe calligraphy, the content illustrations being painted by Huang Yongyu, and the content being edited and selected by Shen Huyan.
For this set of collections, Ms. Zhaohe attaches great importance to it, and specially prefaces: "Since Wen Sheng's death, I had such a wish, I wanted to choose my own works well and print a set of pocket booklets. It is not how beautiful and beautiful, not how luxurious and elegant, as long as the handwriting is clear, the style is simple and generous, and it looks comfortable. The book is small, easy to collect and carry, especially easy to read. In the early eighties, a bookstore came to contact and asked someone to compile a set and deliver it. However, it failed and failed to achieve it. I've always thought it was a pity. ...... This set of books, of course, also contains a little wish of the dead and the living. (Editor-in-Charge: Sun Xiaoning)