laitimes

My favorite female writer (14) Ru Zhijuan - "Lilies"

author:Wind chimes have an appointment
My favorite female writer (14) Ru Zhijuan - "Lilies"

Ru Zhijuan (September 13, 1925 – October 7, 1998) was a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Contemporary famous female writer, wife of famous director Wang Xiaoping, mother of Wang Anyi.

Her work is best known for her short stories. The tone is fresh and handsome, the plot is simple and bright, and the details are rich and expressive. Good at reflecting the essence of the times from a smaller angle. He used the pen names Ah Ru and Chu Xu. His ancestral home is Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Born in Shanghai in September 1925. The family was poor, lost his mother and father at an early age, and relied on his grandmother to do handicrafts for money. After the age of 11, he intermittently studied in some church schools and cram schools, and graduated from Wukang Middle School in Wukang County, Zhejiang Province in junior high school. In 1943, he joined the New Fourth Army with his brother, first studying at the Soviet-Central Public School, and then worked in the army's literary and labor corps, serving as an actor, team leader, detachment leader, and creative team leader. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1947. In 1955, he transferred from the Nanjing Military Region to Shanghai and worked as an editor in the "Literature and Art Monthly". He died on 7 October 1998. His representative works are "Lilies".

Ru Zhijuan followed her grandmother to make a living in Shanghai and Hangzhou as a child, and only entered primary school at the age of 11. After her grandmother died, she was adopted in an orphanage. Later, she studied in the Shanghai Women's Culture Class. He graduated from junior high school in 1942.

In 1943, he joined the New Fourth Army with his brother and worked as an actor in the Military Region Repertory Troupe, and then transferred to the creative group of the Military Region Cultural Troupe. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1947.

In 1955, he transferred from the Nanjing Military Region to Shanghai and worked as an editor in the "Literature and Art Monthly". Since 1960, he has been engaged in professional literary creation, is a member of the China Writers Association, and was elected as a director of the Shanghai Branch of the China Writers Association. In 1977, he was elected as the seventh people's deputy of Shanghai. Ru Zhijuan is a famous contemporary female writer. Her work is best known for her short stories. The tone is fresh and handsome, the plot is simple and clear, and the details are rich and expressive. Good at reflecting the essence of the times from a smaller angle. Many of her works such as "Lilies", "Quiet Maternity Hospital", "Wish", "Ashu", "Three Walks Yanzhuang", etc. have been praised by Mao Dun, Bingxin, Wei Jinzhi, Hou Jinjing and other writers of the older generation, and some works have been translated into Japanese, French, Russian, English, Vietnamese and other languages and published abroad.

"Life" is her first work, which was published in the 36th issue of Bai Mao, a supplement to Shanghai "Declaration", on November 22, 1943. In the summer of 1955, he transferred from the Nanjing Military Region to the Shanghai Writers Association Branch and served as the editor of the "Literature and Art Monthly". In March 1958, he published a short story "Lilies" in the monthly magazine "Yanhe", praising the flesh-and-blood relationship between the People's Liberation Army and the people, Mao Dun praised this as a good work with a fresh and handsome style, and since then influential novels such as "Quiet Maternity Hospital" and so on.

"Editing the Wrong Story" is a short story written by the author after smashing the Gang of Four, which contrasts reality with history through the method of positive and negative comparison, and exposes the false exaggeration caused by the period when the extreme "left" ideological trend was rampant, which brought great disasters to the party and the people.

In addition, he has written many short stories and essays. The writing is delicate and the characters are clear and moving, which has been well received.

Ru Zhijuan often writes lyrical psychological novels. express the theme of war, and show the poetry and generosity of the military and civilians with ethereal and exquisite brushstrokes; Reflecting the life of socialist construction, the soft and delicate brushstrokes often wander in the spiritual world of working women, showing the enthusiasm of the characters' hearts and the virtuousness of their characters. After entering a new era, Ru Zhijuan's vision has become broader and deeper, and his works "from smile to contemplation" are spicy in warmth, coldness in enthusiasm, and his creative style has developed.

My favorite female writer (14) Ru Zhijuan - "Lilies"

The road to growth

Female warriors

Compared with Yang Mo, an influential female writer at the time, Ru Zhijuan was a little sister in age; In terms of experience, Ru Zhijuan is closer to Kanzi, Liu Zhen and others, and is also a female warrior who entered New China wearing a military uniform. Ru Zhijuan's ancestral home is Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and he lived in extreme poverty during his childhood and adolescence. After losing her mother at the age of two, her father ran away from home, so she had to travel with her grandmother to Shanghai and Hangzhou, making ends meet by hand. In 1943, she became an elementary school teacher and joined the New Fourth Army with her brother, and since then she has found her "real home". The fiery combat life of the army gave this female warrior many aspects of training and improvement, and during the war years, she wrote Allegro, lyrics, and diaries while marching as a member of the literary corps. These allegros, lyrics, and the short story "Life" published in the "Declaration and Supplement" in 1943 when she was an elementary school teacher can be regarded as her earliest literary creation. After liberation, Ru Zhijuan worked as a creative member in the Nanjing Military Region Cultural Troupe, and the drama "Soldier Without a Gun" created in 1952 won the Military Region Creation Award. In July 1955, she transferred from the army to Shanghai as an editor of the "Literature and Art Monthly", and in 1960 she turned professional creation. Ru Zhijuan's works before the Cultural Revolution are best known as short stories, which are collected in two collections: "The Tall Poplar Tree" and "The Quiet Maternity Hospital". Most of the themes reflect life during the revolutionary war years, while the other category reflects the new life in the socialist period. Although Ru Zhijuan's creation during this period did not surpass other writers of her time in excavating life, she was an enthusiastic singer of the new life of socialism, and at the same time a brave pursuer and explorer of artistic style.

Passionate singer

In 1958, when the heat wave of the Great Leap Forward swept the country and the literary world was filled with the sound of fighting and jousting, the Shaanxi provincial literary journal "Yanhe" published a novel entitled "Lilies". Although "Yanhe" is located in the northwest, "Lilies" is only a short story of several thousand words, but with its own unique lily-like breath and fragrance, it brought a fresh wind to the hot literary world at that time. Its author is Ru Zhijuan. Ru Zhijuan is the author of the short story collections "Tall Poplar Tree", "Quiet Maternity Hospital", "Grassland Road", essay collection "Mother and Daughter Travel America Together", and reportage "Inseparable from You" and "Infrared Song". Many works have been translated into Japanese, English, French, Russian, Vietnamese and other languages.

My favorite female writer (14) Ru Zhijuan - "Lilies"

Ru Zhijuan stepped into the literary world in 1958 with "Lilies". The first to discover her artistic pursuits and give them enthusiastic praise was Mao Dun, a literary predecessor. Mao Dun not only praised Ru Zhijuan's exploration, but also pointed out that "Lilies" has breakthrough significance in artistic exploration. From 1959 to 1961, around Ru Zhijuan's works, the literary world launched a great discussion on the theme of style. Some people criticized Ru Zhijuan's lack of tall image, others accused "Tall Poplar" of "directional problems", and some comrades who loved Ru Zhijuan's works also advised her to focus on writing about "major struggles" and "heroic characters". All this once put pressure on Ru Zhijuan, who was new to the literary world, but she was also very lucky, not only did she always get Mao Dun's protection and encouragement on the way of her exploration, but also in this discussion, she was enthusiastically affirmed and pointed out by famous critics Hou Jinjing, Wei Jinzhi, Ye Yiqun and others, all of which gave her courage and strength, and her artistic style matured day by day.

Confused and put pen to paper

After the sixties, the situation in Chinese society changed, and the storms in the literary and art circles also tightened for a while. Evaluations of Ru Zhijuan's works are increasingly divergent, and negative opinions are gradually escalating, even requiring her to abandon her style, to climb the peak of major themes, to describe the heroic image of "tall and complete". In front of the altar of opinion, she was a little uncertain and felt overwhelmed. From 1960 to 1961, Ru Zhijuan had left his editorial position to engage in professional creation, but he only wrote four novels "Three Walks Yanzhuang", "Between Comrades", "Ashu" and "The Second Step".

From 1963 to 1964, the literary and artistic circles were more full of gunpowder, and more and more rules and precepts that restricted or even stifled literary creation. Many writers who are good at writing major themes have been criticized, not to mention Ru Zhijuan, "In this storm, I am panicked, dazed, and I don't know how to struggle." (Life Experience and Creative Style, ibid.) She fell into extreme pain. In two years, he only wrote "The First Crescent Moon" and "The Looking Back". "The Turning Back" was her last novel before the Cultural Revolution, and it was extremely painfully written. "I looked at the gushing river and insisted on letting a liberation early ... of old peasants, to perform the spontaneous forces of rural capitalism. ("Twenty-three Years of This "Horizontal"", included in "The Flower Cherishing Man Has Gone") A work does not come from the depths of the writer's heart, what vitality does it have? After 1964, she almost put pen to paper, except for a small amount of prose. What a heart-wrenching thing this is for a flourishing writer: "I am anxious and anxious in my heart, but there is nothing I can do." Because the situation at that time demanded exactly what I could not. I can't deal with sharp contradictions and conflicts, I'm not good at writing tall and perfect heroes, I've rarely written about villains, etc., and I'm willing to overcome these weaknesses to adapt to the needs of the political situation (called the requirements of the times at the time), but my temperament is hard to shift. ”

In fact, the desolation of Ru Zhijuan's creation began as early as three years before the "Cultural Revolution". In the turbulent times, female writers like her, who are known for writing "children's love" and "family affairs", are certainly not spared, and she has been ruthlessly criticized for wearing hats such as "the tip of the black line of literature and art" and "the golden signboard of the black line of literature and art".

Regain your passion

During the Cultural Revolution, Ru Zhijuan angrily vowed never to write a word again. But when the spring breeze blew again on the motherland, her warrior's heart burned again, and the life, thoughts and feelings accumulated over the years were once again turned into a pen, and she became one of the most active female writers in the late 70s and early 80s after the defeat of the "Gang of Four". In the new period, she still mainly wrote short stories, most of which were collected in the short story collection "The Trail on the Prairie", of which "Editing the Wrong Story" and "The Path on the Prairie" won the National Outstanding Short Story Writing Award in 1979 and 1980 respectively. In addition, she has published the autobiographical novel "She Came from That Road", the reportage "Inseparable from You", "Infrared Song" and several essays. Looking at Ru Zhijuan's creation in the new period, if her voice in the fifties and sixties was enthusiastic but simple, then after 10 years of tempering and 10 years of contemplation of the "Cultural Revolution", her literary horizons have been far broadened, her ideological strength has been far deepened, and the thinking about social life in her works is far richer than 17 years ago, so in terms of ideological content alone, this is a creative period that leaps to new heights. In 1985, she and her daughter and writer Wang Anyi were invited by the Iowa Writing Center in the United States to visit the United States for several months, and after returning to China, the mother and daughter co-wrote the essay collection "Mother and Daughter Travel America Together" and so on.

Individual works

Since the new period, Ru Zhijuan has published more than 10 novels, and with the deepening of the theme, the style has also changed, implying the edge in the Qingqing. Her main works include: Lilies (People's Literature Publishing House, 1958), Quiet Maternity Yard (China Youth Publishing House, 1962), and Tall Poplar Tree (Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, 1959). The main works published since the new period include "Inseparable from You" (published in People's Daily on November 5, 1978), "Editing the Wrong Story" (People's Literature, February 1979), "The Path on the Grassland" ("Harvest", No. 3, 1979), "Children's Love" (Shanghai Literature, January 1980), and "Family Affairs" ("Northern Literature", No. 3, 1980). "An Ancient Song" (Wenhui Supplement, No. 3, 1980), etc.

Classification of works

Ru Zhijuan's works can be roughly divided into three categories, one is represented by "Wish", "Spring Warm Season" and "Quiet Maternity Hospital", focusing on outlining the character characteristics of characters and touching their spiritual history in the exploration of their psychology; One category is represented by "Lilies" and "Tall Poplar Trees" and has strong lyrical works; The first category is works represented by "Aunt Guan" and "Three Walks Yanjiazhuang" that reflect the theme of revolutionary struggle.

Sketch the characters

The first category of works is the best written by the author, and the psychological portrayal of several women is delicate and vivid. Aunt He in "Ruyi" was a woman who was suffering in the old society, and the founding of New China brought great changes to her life. In particular, the new production relationship of the production team in Lilong gave her a new affirmation of self-worth, which made her love her work more and more. The meaning of work is more about self-confirmation for her. But Aunt He's son and daughter-in-law did not support her work, which made Aunt He distressed. She recalled the inhuman treatment she received before liberation, recalled the loneliness in her heart when she was idle at home after liberation, and tasted the happiness she felt by others since she joined the work, Aunt He gradually understood what she really wanted in her heart, she felt particularly uncomfortable with the incomprehension of her son and daughter-in-law, and she was more concerned about her worker's identity. The most interesting part of the novel is the detail that Aunt Ho wakes up early on Sunday morning to go to their hook factory to pick up materials. In the description of this detail, Aunt He's excitement and seriousness before completing the task, her competitiveness in front of her son and daughter-in-law, and her love for her granddaughter are all outlined. This gives the characters of the novel a wealth of inner emotions, and she also has a depth of history. "Quiet Maternity Hospital" writes about Aunt Tan's long-term inner activity from the first time to learn and implement the new method of delivering babies, to the excitement and pride after the formation of the maternity hospital, to the unease and anger in front of the younger and more scientific He Mei, and then to regain the courage to learn medical knowledge that she does not know. Especially when Aunt Tan met with the newly returned He Mei for the first time in the maternity home, she ostentatously introduced the development of the maternity hospital to He Mei, but she couldn't help but be poured cold water by He Mei, and her attitude towards He Mei took a big turn. She supported her pride with her achievements, but found that she was outdated, and she covered up her loss in her lectures to He Mei, and her larger inner waves were gently and cleverly grasped by the author. In this type of work, the author not only writes many new types of female images, but also expresses her thoughts on the spiritual world and development prospects of these women.

Lyrical works

The author's second type of works achieved great repercussions at the time of publication, and "Lilies" was the author's famous work, which was praised by Mao Dun as "the one that most satisfies me and moves me the most among the dozens of short stories I have read recently". These works express the praise of civil-military relations and beautiful hearts. This kind of work is not an empty fan, but a delicate emotion expressed through the clever setting of details. The stitches left by the new daughter-in-law in "Lilies" on the clothes of the deceased correspondent, the new lily quilt spread in the correspondent's coffin, and the white poplar tree that repeatedly appears in "The Tall Poplar Tree" all lead to touching details of life, showing the author's talent for dealing with these subjects, and the ideas of the works are quite delicate, but the characters in these works are not as thick as those in the first type of works.

Revolutionary works

The author's third type of works shows that she has made efforts in the selection of themes of revolutionary struggle, but from an aesthetic point of view, they are the weakest part of Ru Zhijuan's works, and even the ingenuity of conception and the divinity of details shown by the author in the first two types of works are relatively lacking in such works. If "Aunt Guan" is the author's initial work, it can be another matter, then the rough portrayal of the image in "Three Walks Yanjiazhuang" shows that the author's emphasis on the revolutionary factors of the characters makes her ignore the consideration of the rich inner world of people. This type of work is also far less vivid than her other two types of works. The success or failure of Ru Zhijuan's creative practice once again shows that small themes are equally impactful when handled well, while large themes are also weak when handled poorly.

lily

"Lilies" is a short story written by Ru Zhijuan, first published in the third issue of Yanhe in 1958. Set in the Liberation War, the novel describes the Mid-Autumn Festival night in 1946, before the troops launched a general attack, the small correspondent sent the female soldier "I" of the Cultural Labor Corps to the front bandaging station, and after they arrived at the bandaging house, they borrowed quilts from a new daughter-in-law who had just passed the door for three days, showing the noble and pure interpersonal relationship during the war years, and praising the beauty of human nature and human feelings,...

She wrote the novel Lilies in the spring of 1958. This beautiful work has beautified the hearts of many people for 40 years. It is integrated into secondary school language textbooks. Because Ru Zhijuan wrote "Lilies", she herself became a flowing lily, and the little-known herb of lilies became ancient lilies because of Ru Zhijuan, which is true. The most beautiful medicine name in the Chinese medicine hall is Tui Lily, Lily Lily, savor it twice, it is really full of fragrance.

Ru Zhijuan's funeral was held in Shanghai. Her photograph was draped in a white veil, which easily reminded me of a pure soul quietly departing from under the lilies. She wrote "Lilies" at the age of 73 and 33, and before that, she also wrote drama scripts and many short stories such as "Youjiao" and "Aunt Guan", but it had little impact. After "Lilies", he wrote many more articles: "Tall Poplar Tree", "Quiet Delivery Room", "Three Walks Yanzhuang", etc., which did not exceed "Lilies". It can really be said that the lily has been open for forty years, and Ru Zhijuan is fragrant as a lily. In the March 1958 issue of Yanhe, the warm ink fragrance had not yet completely dried, and readers found this fresh literary meal, and they rushed to convey the message that Ru Zhijuan's "Lilies" was worth reading.

Why? Because in the past, war-themed novels often wore "armor" made of a tailor, which was stiff and fragile. Although Lu Xun said that ruthlessness may not be really heroic, in the literary works of the early days of the founding of the mainland, talking about the word emotion is indeed very luxurious. Unable to be lyrical, he had to rely on the description of tense scenes to set the theme. And "Lilies" is contrary to the "normal", soft and delicate, peeling off the coat and highlighting the soul. I want true temperament. In this way, the reader's vision is suddenly polished and polished. Therefore, literary criticism at the time said: Ru Zhijuan is an innovation.

Fresh, such a novel is simply not written, it is just picked from the hillside, and it carries crystal dew, sniff, and moisturizes. Who is Ru Zhijuan? People cared about her and wanted to find her. In the same year, Mao Dun, the sixth issue of "People's Literature", made an article entitled "On Recent Short Stories", which mainly talked about Ru Zhijuan's "Lilies". Mao Dun commented with euphoria, and I will excerpt a few paragraphs here for the reader's benefit:

"Among the examples I've given, Lilies is arguably the most meticulous and rigorous in structure, and at the same time the most rhythmic. Its character description also has characteristics, from light and thick, like a person coming head-on, the closer he gets, the clearer he can see, and finally, not only let us see his appearance, but also see his heart. "These details are described so naturally and skillfully that we don't necessarily feel its weight at first glance, but then it is embedded in our minds.

"Generally speaking, writing two characters in a short story of five or six thousand words is not easy to handle, but the author of Lilies handled it well. The whole text is more than 6,000 words, the first two thousand words focus on the correspondent, and then lead to the second character (the new daughter-in-law), use five or six hundred words to write about her, and then interlace these two characters to write in one place, and finally concentrate on the new daughter-in-law, but at the same time still set the correspondent, because the reader can not suppress the emotions at this time, half for the new daughter-in-law, half for the correspondent———, mainly for the correspondent.

Mao Dun did not hesitate to reink and gave us a review of a classic work, which is also a touching detail in the literary family, and the most touching detail is the chrysanthemum inserted in the barrel of the 19-year-old correspondent in "Lilies". This lovely flower was still blooming in the barrel of the little soldier before the battle began, as soon as the battle began, the flower was gone, the little soldier was gone, war and peace, beautiful and poignant, Ru Zhijuan used her pen to gently pluck, and it was so touching.

I remember when I was reading "Lilies" in middle school, the teacher took out twice as many class hours as usual to evaluate this article, and this delicate process made my female teacher shed tears twice. Little warrior and mountain chrysanthemum, this classic detail was imprinted in my mind under the tears of the teacher. So, after almost twenty years of life friction, it has been as brilliant as a copper statue.

Read on