Shen Congwen
During the turbulent period of the Republic of China, the literati who had washed away how many roads had frozen bones, and how many famous artists with strong bones had been elected in one fell swoop.
Shen Congwen, once a highly respected Writer of the Beijing School in the history of Chinese literature, can be said to have absolute influence in the field of Romantic literature.
"Restless in the affairs of the present, but devoted to the light of the present world, very skeptical of all precedents and ideas, but often staring at the vision of life."
This was Shen Congwen's expression of his current situation in his Autobiography of Congwen.
The pen is delicate and simple, and the current people generally evaluate that the language of Shen Congwen's works is often vivid and interesting, and it is also very poetic.
For this reason, his works have been widely circulated and are generally sought after by the world.
However, everything often has two sides, and While Shen Congwen is sought after, he is naturally not much vilified.
Ding ling
For example, in the history of literature, there has been such a female writer.
She not only publicly commented that Shen Congwen's works were clumsy and ignorant, but also directly verbally attacked Shen Congwen's personality as a cowardly servant.
What is even more bizarre is that she and Shen Congwen were close friends for decades, but it turned out that this did not affect her in the slightest for decades of hostility.
In fact, having said this, it is not difficult for people who have heard about it at this moment to think:
She is Ding Ling, the most famous revolutionary female writer in China in the 20th century, a woman who has spent most of her life entangled with Shen Congwen.
The Republic of China is full of sorrow and rain, and in reality, this pair of former best friends, former hostility, until they drove the crane to the west are not forgiving each other.
And the story about them is also the plum blossom that disturbs the literary world, and whenever the cold wind blows, it will float out a burst of fragrance and disturb the ripples in people's hearts, and tell it in the turmoil.
"This is a very poorly written 'novel,' and when the author mentions Hu Yepin and my relationship with the revolution in the book, he has no scruples and writes it down."
"These nonsense, one after another, not only expose the author's ignorance and ruthlessness toward the revolution, but also show that the author is very comfortable with his own distortion and ridicule of the revolutionaries..."
In 1980, Ding Ling, who was seventy years old, attacked one of Shen Congwen's works and himself in an article written in honor of her deceased husband Hu Yepin, "YePin and Revolution".
In the article, she not only directly angrily denounced the content of her novel as a series of articles and nonsense, but also used tricky remarks to accuse Shen Congwen of being shallow and ignorant and self-righteous.
Once the article was published, it attracted a lot of sensation in the literary world, and everyone was caught off guard by the face of this pair of friends for many years, and for a while, various speculations were even more controversial.
Especially Shen Congwen, after accidentally seeing his former close friends so slandering himself, in addition to the dazedness and surprise that hit his heart, it was more of a cold that was "stabbed in the dark".
On the one hand, he felt extremely wronged, knowing that all this was originally his own good intentions, but now instead of falling well, he had also been humiliated by the original owner.
On the one hand, she was confused, because she really couldn't figure out where she had touched Ding Ling's deadly reverse scales, so that she would not hesitate to turn her face and insult herself.
In this regard, Shen Congwen could not think about it all the time, and he could not see it in the end.
Although he never replied to Ding Ling later, in the letters he exchanged with his friend Xu Chi, he also said his original feelings about Ding Ling's approach:
"It's really like Lu Xun said in the past, 'Cold can't prevent a knife from the back', it is terrible."
The two broke up suddenly, there was no fierce quarrel, no confrontation between each other, just endless cold war and the meanness of the pen.
At this time, I am afraid that no one can imagine that the two people who are so hostile to each other today are not only friends who have made up crimson news decades ago, but also friends who have been born and died together.
Hu Yepin and Ding Ling
In the early days of the Republic of China, the party movement broke out one after another, and the major organizations with workers as the main body still tore at the elements of the restless situation from time to time.
The turmoil disturbed the plum blossoms outside the Beijing window, and also aroused Ding Ling's eagerness to try.
Indeed, as also frequently introduced, the man standing next to him at the moment had beautiful facial features, elegant and handsome.
In this regard, Ding Ling's hand that was originally wiping the table suddenly froze, and then after the reaction, she smiled generously and nodded slightly:
"Hello, the first time we met, I am Ding Ling, also frequent girlfriend."
The appearance is not outstanding, the round face and long eyebrows, the eyes are large and energetic, and the figure is fat but very temperamental.
Only to see the man slightly look at the smiling Ding Ling in front of him, he turned slightly to look at his friend next to him, smiled lightly and nodded his head in return:
"Hello, in the lower Shen Congwen, I often hear and frequently mention you."
After saying that, he politely patted Hu Yepin's shoulder with his hand, and his slightly stiff fingers moved slightly to hide the embarrassment that was inevitable when he first saw the living person.
However, later, because Hu Ye frequently made adjustments from it, and the two were speculative young authors, this embarrassment quickly disappeared in a scene of free talk.
At that time, Ding Ling was twenty years old, while Shen Congwen was twenty-two, and the fates of the two were firmly entangled with this acquaintance.
I have to say that the fate of the three is still more speculative.
Because at that time, the fonts and writing methods of Hu and Ding were inseparable from Shen Congwen, so that later publications and readers would mistakenly think that the pen names of the two were created by Shen Congwen.
In particular, the fonts of Ding Ling and Shen Congwen were so similar that it was difficult for Lu Xun to distinguish them.
I think that when Lu Xun received the letter of help written by Ding Ling, he mistakenly thought that Shen Congwen was impersonating a woman to play with him, and later even had a misunderstanding with Shen Congwen.
But it is precisely because of so many similarities that the three of them can get along so speculatively and become more and more intimate in subsequent relationships.
Because Hu and Ding are lovers, Shen Congwen will always play the role of a peacemaker in getting along with the two, but at that time, he did not expect that he would one day become a "third party" in the relationship between the two.
In 1928, Ding Ling became popular with her work "The Diary of Lady Sha Fei", and in the same year she met Feng Xuefeng in Shanghai, a man who made her spring heart.
To this end, Ding and Hu broke out an unprecedented emotional crisis, in order to save Ding Ling, Hu Yefeng even punched and kicked Feng Xuefeng.
At that time, Shen Congwen also happened to be in Shanghai, and when he heard about this love triangle, he immediately made adjustments between his friends for the first time.
For Feng Xuefeng, Shen Congwen was not worthy of himself, and he should know that he was not only ugly, but also poor.
However, such a person with no strength in appearance often caused Ding Ling's soul to be unguarded, making Hu Ye frequently irritable, making Shen Congwen helpless.
Fortunately, later Ding Ling, because Feng Xuefeng never confessed to himself, hesitated and returned to Hu Yepin's side.
After that, the relationship between the two also heated up rapidly, and soon began to live together.
It is worth mentioning that at that time, Shen Congwen, Ding and Hu lived in the same apartment, which can also be said to be a cohabitation relationship.
To this end, there are tabloids that add fuel to the hype of the three people are "love triangles" and are still "sleeping together".
The more the scandal was said, the more outrageous it became, and Shen Congwen, who was inexplicably put on the hat of a "third party", was also very dissatisfied.
He was not in a hurry to explain anything, after all, the source of the scandal was because the relationship between the three people was too good, and too much repetition would be counterproductive.
Hu Yepin and Ding Ling
In 1929, Hu Yepin's father invested in Hu Yepin to establish the Red and Black Publishing House, investing 1,000 yuan and three cents a month.
At that time, the three of them worked together in the Red and Black Society, and while they hoped to have their own careers, they often had difficulties in publishing because of their lack of business ability, and their differences were becoming more and more obvious.
Because Ding and Hu are more pragmatic in their work, they do everything themselves.
Shen Congwen, on the other hand, knows how to clean himself up better, and he will try his best to avoid all troubles.
So when the 8th issue of the monthly magazine "Red and Black" was organized, the three of them argued over whether an article about the tragic situation of child labor should be published.
Ding Ling and Hu Yepin believe that although this is a newcomer's work, it is necessary to directly expose the dark situation of society and issue it.
Shen Congwen, on the other hand, believed that this would undoubtedly cause trouble for himself, and he resolutely disagreed.
To this end, due to the resolute intransigence of both sides, coupled with a series of problems such as the capital chain, the Red and Black Publishing House also ushered in a disbandment soon after.
However, at that time, Ding Ling was already dissatisfied with Shen Congwen, and she had publicly evaluated his personality:
"Shen Congwen was a man who was always on the thwartling, both opposing the rulers and hoping that he could also have some position in high society."
Especially later, when she persuaded Shen Congwen to join the "Left Alliance", Shen Congwen refused again to avoid trouble because he considered the contradictions between him and the two famous masters Lu Xun and Mao Dun.
From this point of view, the factions followed by the two men were already at odds at this moment.
However, although Shen Congwen said that he had annoyed Ding Ling because of his too clean and self-respecting personality before, in the friendship between the two, he also had to admit that he fought in time for righteousness.
In January 1931, Hu Yepin was arrested by the Nationalist government for betrayal by traitors while attending a meeting.
Shen Congwen, who learned the news, immediately wrote a letter to Hu Shi, Xu Zhimo and others at the first time, hoping that they would find Cai Yuanpei to help.
At that time, Ding Ling had just given birth to a child, and was very anxious to learn that her husband had been arrested, but fortunately Shen Congwen arrived in time, and after several twists and turns, he asked Xu Zhimo to borrow 1,000 yuan, and then accompanied himself to Nanjing to find Chen Lifu.
In February of the same year, however, Hu Was frequently shot by the Nationalist government for "left alliances" in Longhua, and it is said that before his death, he was wearing the sea tiger velvet robe that Shen Congwen had given him.
Ding Ling and mother
And Ding Ling was devastated, she trembled and hugged the child in her arms waiting to be fed, and all she felt in her tear-stained eyes was despair, and Shen Congwen, who was always accompanied by her.
In March of the same year, Shen Congwen, who had lost his best friend, pretended to be a husband and wife with her and sent the child back to his hometown in order to protect Ding Ling.
During this period, due to the long distance, he delayed the time to return to the school to give classes to students, and was expelled from Wuhan University and lost his job.
At this point, it is certain that although Shen Congwen is afraid of causing trouble, when his close friend is in trouble, whether it is For Hu Yepin or Ding Ling, the righteousness of his timely stand up must also be said to be commendable.
But in reality, because the raids of variables are often counterproductive, sometimes too much righteousness is easy to deteriorate and ferment into dark things.
In May 1933, Ding Ling was secretly arrested in the concession for being betrayed by the traitor Feng Da.
This time, Shen Congwen, who had just stabilized in Shanghai, suddenly blushed urgently.
He was angry with Ding Ling's confusion, obviously the last time he saw Feng Da, he felt extremely unreliable, but Ding Ling was unmoved in the face of his various exhortations, and now he would plant a big heel on this "little white face".
At this moment, he was more worried that Ding Ling would be more fierce and less lucky, and if the tragedy of Hu Yepin was repeatedly staged, then how would he Shen Congwen explain to his close friends under Huang Quan.
Thinking of this, Shen Congwen immediately clenched his fists, and after trying to accumulate the anxiety in his heart, he calmed down and resolutely picked up the pen on the table and wrote the article "Ms. Ding Ling's Arrest".
Without hesitation, this time he once again broke his bottom line of not causing trouble, risking a tie with the "Left League" party, just to rescue Ding Ling and rescue the living close friend he had guarded for many years.
On the other hand, because Ding Ling also had a pivotal position in the literary circles at that time, 38 literary masters, including Song Qingling, Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun, Hu Shi and others, all jointly called the Nanjing government and carried out a huge rescue operation.
But soon after, before the good news came, the Tianjin Ta Kung Pao came with the news that Ding Ling had been shot on June 15.
This news was a fierce blow to Shen Congwen, who was already impatient at the time.
After several twists and turns, he did not want the tragedy to be re-staged, watching his former best friends one by one separated from his yin and yang, Shen Congwen felt only grief.
Only to see him slumped at the desk, staring blankly at the leaves by the window being blown by the wind, he couldn't help but start to recall the bits and pieces of Ding Ling in the past, and then used words as clues to follow up the record.
Day after day, unconsciously, the long article of more than 100,000 words of "Ji Ding Ling" was written by Shen Congwen.
Soon, Ding Ling's deeds were widely circulated with the release of the novel, but it was precisely because of this incident that the relationship between Ding Shen and Shen embarked on a road of no return.
Yes, Ding Ling is not dead.
Due to the pressure of the Nationalist government due to the huge rescue operations in the outside world, they finally had to release her.
After a long period of imprisonment, Ding Ling always felt that the sun was a little harsh when she looked up at the sky after she was released from prison, and at this time she also made up her mind to throw herself into Yan'an.
For the relationship between Ding Shen and Shen, after finally being a life-and-death friendship between them, they also ushered in a rare period of calm.
During this period, they were still confidants, close friends, and more important people in each other's lives.
Of course, the premise is that Ding Ling did not see the "Ding Ling's Record".
In mid-August 1979, the Japanese sinologist Ms. Bi Nakajima showed her the Hong Kong version of Ding Ling's Book and its sequels when she visited Ding Ling.
And Ding Ling did not look good, and her reaction after watching it was only furious.
She shook her hand on the spot, and then used her pen to draw a red batch in many blank places in the book.
According to the statistics of Mr. Chen Chen Shuyu, Ding Ling's eyebrow comments and marginal notes written in reading were as many as 127 at one time.
And the content is either a rebuttal, not far from "nonsense", or directly personally attacked Shen Congwen, and even scolded him as a "bastard" with "low-level fun" when he was emotionally excited.
"Shen Congwen often uglys serious things according to his taste, and I don't like his style very much, in his eyes, it is always funny."
This was once a sentence in Ding Ling's red criticism, she did not like that Shen Congwen always used "interesting" eyes to see "serious things", and this "serious things" are worth examining.
In Shen Congwen's "Memoirs of Ding Ling", most of the deviations left by Ding Ling are written about her private life.
For example, "She already needs a male lip and two arms at her age,...... If such a man came, this life could make her very happy in an instant. ”
For example, "Although she lives with this naval student, the only thing that the naval student can provide her with is the body of a young man, but he cannot give her any benefits in addition." ”
For example, "She is already twenty-four or twenty-five years old, and for the film impression of Greta Garbo's "Flesh and Love", she often mentions to her friends that it is not one who has come to her... Personable youth... Student-like figures. ”
The language nakedly expresses Ding Ling's impatience for love and fantasy and sentimentality.
So it can be said that these are the most angry parts of her.
She hated Shen Congwen for using such a pandering style to the city, and writing the life she loved so hard that it was so unbearable for her.
It should be known that at that time, although Ding Ling had been baptized by "freedom" and "democracy" in the May Fourth period, the origin of the old-style family still made it impossible for her to get rid of the positioning of traditional women.
Coupled with a strong political heart, it once again raised her "fatal" self-esteem.
For this reason, Shen Congwen's "interesting" is obviously the so-called "impropriety" and "insult" in her eyes.
Later, she became angry, and even did not hesitate to summarize Shen Congwen's "interesting" pitiful and ridiculous:
"In fact, he was a poor and ridiculous figure throughout his life."
However, Shen Congwen on the other side did not understand the reason why Ding Ling suddenly turned her face and did not recognize people.
After thinking about it, he only got it because he didn't lift Ding Ling too high.
"Fang understands that the main sin is that I should not mention the 'suspicion' of a person who is still alive in Taiwan today, and 'not holding high enough' for her."
However, perhaps they also knew each other too well, and Ding Ling's involuntary attack was also straight to Shen Congwen's point, and for a while it also hurt his heart.
To this end, Shen Congwen did not accept "Ji Ding Ling" and "Ji Hu YePin" in the later "Shen Congwen Anthology" to protest.
Watching the turn of decades of suffering, it has fallen apart overnight, fragmented.
Ding Lingzhen stays at the end of women's self-esteem and self-love, so Shen Congwen cannot understand the integrity of her lifelong pursuit from a male point of view.
And Ding Ling, whose self-esteem was tightly guarded, used impulse and extremism to provoke the young man who was talking and laughing.
The best friend who once stood up for himself.
The "important person" who always accompanies him.
The Republic of China regretted that things were raining down, and in the twilight years, the two old people did not see each other until their deaths.
It is said that Ding Ling invited Shen Congwen to his home for dinner during the Cold War, but was rejected by Shen Congwen, who was angry at the time.
But what if Shen Congwen had gone?
The two will meet and be okay.
Who knows?