Zhang Jie, a famous contemporary female writer whose ancestral home is Fushun, passed away due to illness on January 21, 2022. Born in Beijing in 1937, Zhang Jie returned to Hada Village in Hada Town, Dongzhou District, Fushun City with her mother in the 1940s and 1950s to live and study for nearly 10 years, leaving Fushun after graduating from high school. Fushun is the place where her literary dream began, and it is the source and foundation of her creation. In many of her literary works, there are shadows of Fushun, showing the customs and customs of Fushun. In the 1980s, she reminisced about the memories of her hometown more than 20 years ago. Her literary achievements and her works have influenced generations of Fushun people, all of which show her deep love affair with her hometown of Fushun.
- Caption
Walk into the place where Zhang Jie once lived
“
20 years ago, as a cultural reporter at Fushun Daily, I had the opportunity to interview Zhang Jie by phone, and then published news reports about writer Zhang Jie in Fushun Evening News and Fushun Daily. Today, when the reporter once again set foot on the hot land of Hada Village in Hada Town, Dongzhou District, facing the local atmosphere that came to the face, looking at the living conditions of the villagers, all the way to find the imprint of the writer Zhang Jie's life.
Xie Zhaoxu, deputy secretary of Hada Town, Dongzhou District, who received us, told reporters in a furious manner as soon as they met: After learning that the writer Zhang Jie had passed away and his ancestral home was Hada Village, Hada Town, Dongzhou District, Fushun City, he first went through the literary and historical materials, looked up the existing household registration, and visited and learned about it.
Under the leadership of Xie Zhaoxu, we walked the streets and alleys to Jia Changqing's home. Jia Changqing, 73, had weakened his hearing, and the reporter greeted him loudly and explained his intentions. Jia Changqing not only wrote a good calligraphy, but also had a special love for literature, and was more concerned about the cultural celebrities who went out from Hada. To this end, he successively collected, sorted out, and handwritten the "Hada Literature and History Materials", in which the first celebrity recorded in other provinces and cities was the writer Zhang Jie. While briefing us on the situation, he took out from the cabinet behind him the "Hada Literature and History Materials (Second Series)" that he had compiled and sorted out. He turned to the page that recorded Zhang Jie, pointed to the text on it and began his story again. The reporter looked at the clean text and recorded: "Zhang Jie, whose ancestral home is Hada Village, Hada Town (Township), Fushun, Liaoning Province, studied at Fushun No. 2 Middle School (High School) in 1954. ”
Walking out of Jia Changqing's house, Xie Zhaoxu took us around the village again, looking for whether the old people in the village knew about Zhang Jie's past. When he passed by the Zhang compound, a large family of Hada at that time, he stopped and pointed to the closed courtyard door and told reporters: "Before the founding of New China, this place was Zhang Huanyao's home, it is said that his son's name was Zhang Liancheng, and Zhang Liandi, a professor at Jilin University who walked out of Hada, was Zhang Jie's uncle. We all speculate that they are related to Zhang Jiezu as the same clan. ”
Although today's Zhang's compound has lost its former luxury after being washed by wind and rain and the baptism of the years, and has been preserved as a cultural relic and monument of Hada Town, it is still difficult to hide the thickness and vicissitudes left by history. Walking into this architectural courtyard of the Republic of China period, the reporter's eyes fell on the brick by tile, door by pillar, and after the dust of history, it seemed to see Zhang Jie's mother holding the young Zhang Jie in and out of this courtyard; in the corner, under the shade of the trees, and in the house, there seemed to be the smell of the green Zhang Jie fiddling with the corners of his clothes and carrying the earthen basket...
With this emotion that is difficult to let go, the reporter walked out of the gate, and the ancient avenue in front of him separated the Zhangdang River from the ancient stream to the present, and along this road to the northeast, it was the ancient battlefield of Salhu, which was drowned by the years. This Hada, which has a long history, is the place where Zhang Jie once lived and studied. The Manchu word "Hada" originally means "peak", and the Hada here not only has a towering mountain, but also gives birth to Zhang Jie, who went out from here and enjoyed a reputation in the Chinese and foreign literary circles. The rivers here, the mountains here, and the old houses here all silently witness the development and change of things and people.
In order to find this lost memory of the writer Zhang Jie's life in Fushun, the reporters of this newspaper divided into multiple roads, seeking clues and news from Fushun County, Hada Town in Dongzhou District, and Fushun Second Middle School. In the "Fushun County Chronicle (Characters)" found the relevant information of Zhang Jie. In the "Fushun County Literature and History Materials" provided to reporters by Wang Qi, a writer who has erected monuments to many Fushun celebrities, the reporter saw a book originally published in Hong Kong, "Mother", a documentary essay created by Zhang Liandi, a professor at the College of Literature of Jilin University. In this essay, Zhang Liandi wrote: "My uncle is the grandfather of zhang jie, a famous female writer now. According to the narrative in the article, the reporter deduced part of the Zhang family tree. Zhang Jie's grandfather, Zhang Zhiqing, whose family lived in Hada Village, abandoned business and joined the army and was admitted to the Northeast Wutang Military Quartermaster Research Class run by Zhang Xueliangxing. At that time, there were not many residents in XiaHada Village, and most of them were surnamed Zhang, and Zhang Jie's uncle and Zhang Huanyao's son had the word "Lian" in their names, although it was not confirmed, but the locals speculated that Zhang Jie and the Zhang clan of the large family in Hada Town were related.
"
Interviews in many places for two consecutive days show that Zhang Jie, formerly known as Dong Dayan, was born in Beijing on April 27, 1937, and his father Dong Qiushui had joined the Northeast Army, served as an instructor at Northeastern University, and then went to Yan'an, Hong Kong and other places to co-organize literary progressive publications, and also served as a member of the Central Organizing Committee of the Democratic League at the beginning of the founding of the Democratic League. The young Zhang Jie was separated from her mother Zhang Shanzhi and followed her father, but was abandoned by her father. After the founding of New China, 12-year-old Zhang Jie returned to her ancestral home, Xia Hada Village, with her mother and daughter living together.
Zhang Jie followed her mother's surname and lived and studied with her mother in Fushun for nearly 10 years, which is the stage of her entry from teenager to adulthood, learning accumulation, character maturity, and literary creation enlightenment. In 1954, Zhang Jie studied at Fushun No. 2 Middle School and aspired to become a writer when she grew up. Although Zhang Jie's ideal in middle school was to apply for the university Chinese department, when she graduated, she still listened to the recommendation of her teacher and gave up literature to study economics.
#
The Fushun element in Zhang Jie's literary works
"One hundred years of solitude" exists in everyone's heart, and every writer has his own "Macondo" in his heart. For the writer Zhang Jie, Fushun and Xia Hada Village are her "Macondo". This is not only the hometown of her dreams, but also the source and root of her literary creation. Fushun people who have read her literary works will see fushun's shadow from it, and will find the scenes they have seen and experienced from it, in which too many Customs and traces of Fushun are transmitted to the world.
Zhang Jie has written about her hometown of Fushun in many of her literary works, and written a lot of local folk customs of Fushun, for example, in the second chapter of "No Words", she has a large number of ink and ink to describe the life, old age, illness and death experienced by her grandmother, and the impermanence of the world, recording the living conditions of the northeast people at that time and the customs and customs of Fushun. In "Wordless", the scene of her grandmother's death and doing "white things", the scene of her mother's life in Hada, and the description of many details of life such as picking hazelnuts and eating wine are in line with the rural customs and customs of Fushun at that time. Although the place names in the book are not Fushun, they are actually written about the people and things that have happened in Fushun. Fushun, the hometown, is the root of Zhang Jie's writing and the inexhaustible treasure house of materials for Zhang Jie's creation.
In 1983, Zhang Jie, who emerged in the Chinese literary scene, accompanied her mother back to visit her relatives. From this experience, Zhang Jie also wrote an essay entitled "The Past, It Has Passed", which was included in the "Essay Volume of Zhang Jie's Collected Essays Series". In the article, she talks about the road to visiting her family, focusing on her return to her alma mater and talking to the three teachers who taught her. Train station, East Park, Japanese-style two-story buildings... Scenes that often appear in dreams finally overlapped with memories of 27 years ago.
"The little trees around the corners, the slopes on the road, the stop signs of the buses, the forks on the side of the road, are no longer standing where they are in the memory. The road is plausible..." But all these changes did not make Zhang Jie feel timid, but "hurried forward", "constantly asked people about the route to East Park or Fushun High School", "with vague memories, I finally touched the place.". At "Fushun No. 2 Middle School", Zhang Jie looked at the "girls' dormitory where I lived (now it has become a reference room); the canteen where I ate (also changed into two classrooms, probably without residential students); the ladder classroom, physics laboratory, and chemistry laboratory where I took cartography classes; the tennis court where I played tennis; my classroom; and the staircase, where I stood at that time, to look at my university admission letter..." These accounts and descriptions, as well as familiar places and place names, Fushun people who lived from the 1950s to the 1980s were no strangers.
"Have you seen your classroom?" Senior one class. "Do you remember the seat you sat in?" Middle of the third row. "It's no accident that you became a writer, you read a lot of books and always peeked under your desk in class." "We're most impressed with you." These details that Zhang Jie had long forgotten, the teacher still remembered. Zhang Jie and 3 teachers reminisced about the past, when the teacher asked her, "Are you going to Fushun for business?" Zhang Jie replied: "No, I made a special trip back to Fushun to see my alma mater and see the teacher." This sentence made the teacher extremely moved. When it comes to the deceased Chinese teacher Huang, Zhang Jie is eclipsed. She wrote in the article: "When I graduated, Teacher Huang deeply regretted that I had not applied for the Chinese Department, and maybe I can now repay his expectations of me a little." These are enough to see Zhang Jie's deep affection for her hometown and alma mater.
When they were separated, Zhang Jie said: "Thank you, thank you teachers for cultivating me." Then turn around and walk quickly to the car, "In another second, I will not be able to hold on, I do not want to cry." "When will I see them again, and see my alma mater again?" I seemed to feel more dim than before this meeting. This experience of returning to her hometown made Zhang Jie feel "like a person carrying a sachet into the mountains to make a wish, and like waking up from an old dream that has been done for more than twenty years", and the words are haunted by her attachment and reluctance to her hometown.
In a 1981 article by Zhang Jie titled "The Man Who Helped Me Write My First Novel - Remembering Uncle Luo Binji", it was revealed that her literary career began in Fushun, and the writer Luo Binji wrote many letters to her to encourage her to read more and write more. The creation and publication of her debut novel, The Child from the Forest, benefited from Luo Bingji's affirmation and encouragement.
Zhang Jie and Fushun's past in the literary world
Writer Zhang Jie's hometown complex for Fushun has always been haunting and unforgettable, which can be seen from her past with Fushun's literary circles.
Xin Guangwei, who is now the editor-in-chief of the People's Publishing House, is also a Fushun person and had contact with Zhang Jie about 30 years ago because of his working relationship. Recalling the past, Xin Guangwei still remembers vividly: "At that time, I worked at the National Copyright Office and had work contacts with many writers and scholars. The writer Wang Meng introduced me to Zhang Jie, said that she had copyright problems, and invited me to her home. As soon as they met, Xin Guangwei reported to his home and said that he was a Fushun person. Zhang Jie immediately came to be interested and asked him where he lived? When she learned that Xin Guangwei's home was near Zhangdang and Liaoning Power Plant, she said happily: "We are fellow countrymen, my home is near Hada, near 6409, we are too close." Although it was the first time to meet, because of his hometown, Zhang Jie talked endlessly with Xin Guangwei about many things in his hometown. Perhaps the first time in Beijing that I met such a close compatriot, Zhang Jie and Xin Guangwei chatted for an afternoon that day. Zhang Jie, who had not returned to her hometown for many years, made an appointment with Xin Guangwei to return to Fushun together when they were separated.
Li Li, vice chairman of the Municipal Writers Association and a writer, once had two sides with Zhang Jie. The first time they met, Li Li intersected with Zhang Jie at a meeting when he was developing in Beijing, and at that time, he only shook hands and greeted each other, nodded hello, and hurriedly said goodbye. The second time we met, in October 2014, Zhang Jie's oil paintings were exhibited at the China Museum of Contemporary Literature, and Li Li also happened to participate in a poetry event held here. Because the time was still early, Li Li went to see the art exhibition and happened to meet Zhang Jie. Therefore, the friend introduced Li Li to Zhang Jie. Upon hearing that Li Li was his hometown, Zhang Jie said very enthusiastically: "You are Fushun, is the railway station in Fushun still there?" "In this way, Li Li and Zhang Jie chatted about their hometown fushun." Not only are we fushun, but we are still from the same township. Hearing Li Li say this, Zhang Jie immediately said, "Hada, you are also Hada's." She was even more excited, pointing her finger at Li Li while talking, and the atmosphere was very good. She also said that she had returned to Fushun in the early 1980s to accompany her mother back to her hometown, and Hada was her mother's hometown, and she then asked Li Li: "That compound (Zhang's compound) is still there, right?" Because Li Li had not returned to her hometown for a long time, she did not answer this question.
Du Yuxiang, a local writer who went to Beijing for the first time, was just in time for the inauguration of the Beijing Library on July 12, 1988, when the exhibition hall was bustling with famous artists, including the writer Zhang Jie. At that time, he and the young people of the People's Literature Publishing House were called to the steps to lift the old man in a wheelchair, and a Polish student came over to let the old man sign, at this time Du Yuxiang knew that the old man was Ai Qing. When he found a book that he also wanted Ai Qing to sign, he couldn't squeeze in. So, he went forward to greet Zhang Jie, who was standing in the doorway. "She was very enthusiastic, thinking that I had come from Fushun for the event and introduced several writers to meet me." Du Yuxiang fell into the memory, "With Fushun writer Zhang Jiezai, I felt like I was participating in the activities of the Writers Association in Fushun, she pointed to the people in front of me and whispered to me, this is so-and-so, that is so-and-so, some big writers I didn't know at the time." This was a chance meeting, but also the only time to meet, I feel that the great writer Zhang Jie is like a long-lost reunion of the old friends, peaceful and kind. ”
This fertile land that gave birth to Zhang Jie - Fushun, brilliant people, talents, not only out of the world-renowned female writer Zhang Jie, but also emerged many influential writers at home and abroad, such as:
Li Songtao, the winner of the First Lu Xun Literature Award and the First Ai Qing Poetry Award, represented by the long poems "Reject the End" and "Lei Feng, I Walk with You";
The poet Lin Xue, the winner of the Fourth Lu Xun Literature Award, has representative works such as the poetry collection "Light Blue Star" and "Blue Love";
Li Honglin, winner of the title of the first "Top 100 Journalists" and president of the Liaoning Reportage Literature Society, has representative works such as "The Sea Bears Witness" and "The Battle of Man and Ghost";
Wang Yongzhi's screenplay "War Criminals" was adapted into a movie;
The sketches created by Gong Kaibo and others have appeared on the Spring Festival Gala many times, as well as the TV series "The Happiness of the Boss" and "First Get Married and Then Fall in Love"...
They are all leading figures in the literary world who have gone out from Fushun. Fushun cultivated them, and they all focused on the common theme of their hometown, using the pen in their hands to describe the customs and styles of their hometown, lyrically writing about the development and revitalization of the old industrial base, and showing the beautiful landscapes and unique local customs of Fushun.
Fushun writers fondly remember Zhang Jie
As an important representative writer of Chinese literature in the new era, Zhang Jie joined the Chinese Writers Association in 1979 and wrote novels such as "Heavy Wings", "No Words", novella "Emerald", short story "Child from the Forest", "The Conditions Are Not Ripe", short story collection "Love, Cannot Be Forgotten", Novel Essay Collection "Ark", Essay Collection "On That Green Grass", "The Man Who Hurt Me the Most In the World Went", etc., and won the second and sixth Mao Dun Literature Awards; some works have been translated into multiple languages. He has also been awarded the Order of The Knights of Italy and the German, Austrian, Dutch and other national literary awards.
Speaking of the impression of the writer Zhang Jie, Li Li said appreciatively: "Teacher Zhang Jie has a typical character of our northeasterners, elegant but frank and straight. She was one of the first writers to awaken to the female consciousness, including the whole thought, and was the first writer to write about individuality into a novel. At that time, when we were still stuck in traditional writing, she was already digging into the complexity of human psychology and human nature. But her novels have always been idealistic. There has always been a benchmark in her heart, that is, the kind of feelings and qualities that make us look up to whether it is love or society, something very pure, without any impurities. ”
"Zhang Jie is a symbol of the times. Her words are like her face, indifferent, poetic, quiet and sharp, and this is also her novel style. In essence, her novels are more like a shining castle, and the taste of those beautiful and outstanding worldly tastes is unforgettable. The most memorable thing is her famous work "The Child from the Forest", which reads like a beautifully worded prose. Wang Kai, vice chairman of the Municipal Writers Association and a writer, talked about Zhang Jie's works and said with great feeling: "Zhang Jie is a rich and changeable writer, her "Heavy Wings" is almost unknown to everyone in the last century, and her short and medium stories and long stories are very excellent, which is rare among contemporary writers. ”
When Ma Ping, an advisor to the Fushun Writers Association and director of the Review Committee, learned of the death of the writer Zhang Jie, he was very emotional: "Zhang Jie once lived and studied in Fushun, as a Fushun person, we not only pay attention to Zhang Jie, but also be proud of her literary achievements." Zhang Jie caused a variety of opinions in the literary circles and readers, "Love, Cannot Be Forgotten", which broke the love taboo that people have adhered to for many years, caused a strong shock in my heart, and had a profound impact on my later choices of love and marriage. What I remember most deeply is Zhang Jie's long essay "The Person Who Hurt Me the Most in the World Went", the writer's memories and nostalgia for his mother, stirring people's heartstrings, opening people's tear glands, making me think of my kind mother and remembering my past life. ”
Source: Jin Fushun