In the Republic of China era, when literary talents were born, Xu Fang was an alternative existence. She was not only known for her talents, but also known as "female poet Xu Fang" by Wu Mi and Shen Congwen, and became a representative figure of the Chinese poetry circle at that time; she was also famous for her "color", which became a special object that the talents of the Republic of China competed for.
Compared with Zhang Ailing, Lin Huiyin, Xiao Hong, these slightly tragic talented women in the same era, Xu Fang finally chose to return to plain, so her marriage and life are much more complete.
Peking University", who can write poetry, is a school flower
What is unbelievable is that Xu Fang, who bears the aura of "talented female poet of the Republic of China", was actually born into a scientific family.
Her great-grandfather was the famous scientist Xu Shou of the late Qing Dynasty, and he developed the first steam engine in China, and the names of the elements on the periodic table Chinese were mostly from his translation. Grandpa Xu Jianyin was an expert in military engineering who studied in Germany, but unfortunately he was killed by an experiment and became China's "first victim of science". His father, Xu Shangwu, was also an explosives expert and author of Xu's Gunpowder Science.
It is reasonable to say that Xu Fang, born in 1912, is more likely to become a female scientist, but she is partial to literature, and because she was weak and sickly as a child, she has some of Lin Daiyu's melancholy temperament. In middle school, she read a lot of literature and began to imitate Tagore's "philosophical poems".
In 1931, Xu Fang was admitted to the department of Chinese of Peking University, becoming one of only two Peking University girls at that time. Because of his good looks, he has also become the focus of the boys' pursuit. His classmate Zhang Zhongxing spent four years with Xu Fang, and once described Xu Fang as "above medium in stature, white and clean, and a bit of a mercurial component" in "Broken Shadows of Flowing Years".
Since ancient times, the talent of the wind is loved, and once the woman is stained with the word "wind", it seems that it is not a good thing, because it means a betrayal of the woman's way. But for thousands of years, there have been so many moral gentlemen who have been full of benevolence and morality, and who have willingly fallen under their pomegranate skirts.
However, Xu Fang's "wind flow" is more like a woman's charm. Although in the talent-rich North University, there are long queues of people who pursue her, Xu Fang is not as casual as other social flowers, and there is no peach news.
A fruitless teacher-student relationship
Xu Fang has not been singled in Peking University, on the one hand, because of her cleanliness and self-improvement; on the other hand, in her heart, she has already lived in a person. And this person is the famous Hu Shi in modern history.
At the time, Hu Shi was 40 years old and was the dean of the School of Letters and the head of the department of Chinese at Peking University. Xu Fang, who loves literature, naturally admires the talented Hu Shi. Hu Shi later became Xu Fang's thesis supervisor. Under the guidance of Hu Shi, Xu Fang also boldly commented on 36 new poets of the time in her graduation thesis "History of New Chinese Poetry".
Including For Hu Shi himself, Xu Fang was also blunt, saying that his poems were "very much like a woman who had wrapped her feet and then magnified", while Guo Moruo, Hu Shi's counterpart, praised him: "rich inspiration", "great power", and "sound emotions". For Xu Fang's statements, Hu Shi did not feel any discomfort.
In 1935, after graduating with excellent grades, Xu Fang was assigned to teach at Tianjin Nankai Middle School, and soon returned to Peking University as an assistant at the Institute of Liberal Arts. In May of that year, Shen Congwen, Zhu Guangqian, Qian Xuantong, Zhou Zuoren and other scholars jointly established the "Wind and Ballad Society" to edit and publish the magazine "Song and Ballad Weekly", and the editor-in-chief was Xu Fang, who was recommended by Hu Shi.
Whether Hu Shi wanted to use this to keep her around, or Xu Fang wanted to return to Hu Shi's side, posterity does not know. However, at this time, the two long-dormant hearts have begun to draw closer, and they are getting closer and closer.
Also because of Hu Shi's relationship, Xu Fang became famous in the poetry world for a while. The years after graduation were the period when Xu Fang had the greatest influence in the poetry world. Xu Fang not only frequently publishes poems in mainstream literary journals, but also often participates in some cultural salons. At that time, a poetry reading meeting was held in Zhu Guangqian's home, and in addition to Xu Fang, the participants were also Zhou Zuoren, Renming, Bian Zhilin, He Qifang, Shen Congwen and other literary circles. Shen Congwen later recalled: "There was also a lady Xu Fang, who had a big throat and a loud voice, and could recite them aloud if no one around, and she took turns reading these poems. ”
I'm in love with someone,
But he doesn't love me.
Love him like a song.
This song, I often sing in my mouth...
This is a poem written by Xu Fang. "He" refers to Hu Shi. For the sake of Hu Shi, she rejected the bitter pursuit of Li Changzhi, a talented man from Tsinghua, and Luo Longji, a master of the wind and currents. He had been waiting for Hu Shi's attitude.
According to the saying, nothing can prevent them from continuing to write a story of the affair that will be passed down to future generations. But Hu Shi could not bear this special object of self-casting nets. After all, there was a tigress in his house, and although she didn't love her, he was afraid of her. In addition to talking about poetry articles with Xu Fang, he did not mention the future of marriage.
In 1938, Hu Shi abandoned his studies to enter politics and went to the United States to serve as an ambassador to the United States. Xu Fang still had illusions about him and wrote to him, full of heartache that was full of love and could not be helped. However, Hu Shi, who was far away from the ocean, had a new love at this time.
Xu Fang's heart was completely cold.
Rather be a concubine of a general than a mortal wife
Perhaps because of the dead heart for Hu Shi, or perhaps because of the perception of the cruelty of the society in that war-torn era, gradually, Xu Fang gave up literary creation and was no longer silent in the literary world. Even Xu Fang herself said that she only wrote more than 200 poems in her lifetime, and only 20 or 30 were published.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Xu Fang came to Yunnan University to teach, at this time the famous art theorist Teng Gu began to pursue Xu Fang, but Xu Fang, who had lost love, had long been dead to love. Later, under the introduction of Kong Xiangxi, Xu Fang worked at the China Farmers Bank in Chongqing, with a leisurely and well-paid job. At that time, although Xu Fang worked in the bank after arriving in Chongqing, she still did not break her contact with the academic circle. Occasionally, he also participates in some academic and cultural activities.
And the real thing that made him say goodbye to the literary world was in 1943, also because of a person, that is, his later husband. On September 5, 1943, the 31-year-old Xu Fang married Xu Bacon, 48. The main marriage was Chen Yi, a close friend of Lu Xun when he studied in Japan and a high-ranking Kuomintang official.
Xu Peigen was a prominent figure in the Kuomintang, a famous military theorist and second-class general of the Republic of China Army, who served as deputy minister of national defense and chief of staff of the Fifth Theater during the War of Resistance.
Rather be a concubine of a general than a mortal wife. This haunting idea in my heart did not expect to be realized at the age of 31 years old, when I was about to lose my posture. The reality is more complete than expected, and Xu Fang at this time is also the general's wife that Ming Media is marrying, not a concubine. Xu Fang's marriage, fortunately unhappy or not, is not to say, but from the end, it is indeed satisfactory. This is also the life that most women envy.
After marriage, Xu Fang did not ask about the world, and only took care of her husband and godson. In 1949, Xu Fang's family went to Taiwan and continued to concentrate on being a housewife until her death in 2009, at the age of 96.
Xu Fang, who is famous outside the world, suddenly gave up her career and ideals, and her realm was extraordinary. But in fact, it is also a helpless move, in addition to the limitations of her own poetry, more importantly, between the ideal and reality, since the reality is chosen, then it is necessary to give up the ideal of nothingness and accept the blandness of reality. If we are still obsessed with the spiritual world of the past, we will certainly not have the happy ending of the later white-headed and old Taiwan.
Success is also Hu Shi, defeat is also Hu Shi. Xu Fang's poet fame and complete life are all given by Hu Shi.