Gentleman's lover Yide - the friendship between Zhu Ziqing and Ye Shisun

Author: Wang Miaodi (Ph.D. student, College of Literature and Art, Northeast Normal University)

Ye Shisun (1893-1977), formerly known as Ye Lu (叶麐), was a scholar and psychologist in the history of literature who had long been obliterated by the character Shisun and the ancient Song Dynasty of Sichuan. His deeds are not prominent, and there are few famous articles, so that people can only obtain some material sporadically from other people. However, the author recently found that Zhu Ziqing's diary contains more than fifty accounts about Ye Shisun, so he specially summarized the relevant historical facts of the two people's interactions as follows.

When we first met in life, we became friends for a long time. Zhu Ziqing and Ye Shisun met at their alma mater, Peking University, Zhu Ziqing transferred from the preparatory department to the undergraduate department of philosophy in 1917, and a year later Ye Shisun was admitted to the same department and became a superior and subordinate. More than thirty years later, Ye Shisun still remembered Zhu Ziqing's appearance when he first met him as a teenager, "... He and I are both members of the New Wave Club, so we know each other. I only occasionally saw Mr. Hu Shizhi or Mr. Liang Shuming in the crowd when I was listening to mr. Hu Shizhi or Mr. Liang Shuming's last class. He was a short man. A white face. A very high and broad forehead, thick eyebrows. Under the thick eyebrows, through the glasses, we can see a pair of indescribable eyes... A big, no small, upright nose. Two thin lips. He behaved serenely, calmly and spoke slowly. The voice has a bit of a Yangzhou tone. (Ye Lui's "Mourning Pei String") But because there is no separation between the subjects and grades of the common study, the two are not familiar with each other when they study.

The growth of friendship began in Tsinghua Garden. In 1925, Zhu Ziqing went to Tsinghua University as a professor of Chinese language in the newly established university department. Ye Shisun was hired as a professor at the School of Science of Tsinghua University after returning to France in 1930. In the five years after 1932, both lived in Beiping, where they talked about literature and art and academics with a group of good teachers and friends in Tsinghua Park.

Visit the ancient monument with friends, and paint the landscape and water. On February 25, 1934, Zhu Ziqing, together with his wife Chen Zhuyin, invited Ye Shisun to visit the tombstone of Huanxi Lao in Shucun, a northern suburb of Beiping. After the tour, Zhu Ziqing recorded in his diary that day: "In the afternoon, I went to Shucun with Shisun and Zhuyin to visit the old tombstone of Huanxi... This tour is very smooth, but Shi Sun has something in mind, and he can't let go. [The Complete Works of Zhu Ziqing (Vol. 9)] Later, Zhu Ziqing also mentioned in the "Happy Old Tombstone": "Until the end of last summer and the beginning of autumn, a friend was desperate for someone; our husband and wife remembered the tree village, so they asked him to go for a walk and relieve their boredom. "A friend" refers to Ye Shisun, and what makes Ye Shisun unable to let go of his heart should be the twists and turns of Ye Shisun's personal marriage. Ye Shisun's first wife was a French woman who returned to China after studying abroad. In 1933, Madame Ye was anxious to return to France because of her homesickness, as evidenced by Zhu Ziqing's diary of April 7, 1933: "Visiting Shisun in the afternoon, she promised to tell her in detail that she would return to China. He also recounted the daily life of the two of them. Most of the People of Shisun were very sincere, but they paid too much attention to trivialities, so that their wives felt that they were interfering everywhere, because they came from hardship. Yu Ziqing also has this disease, and Bamboo also said that it should be changed. Shi Sun still hoped to keep his wife, but it was difficult. After sending his wife back to China, Ye Shisun re-acquainted with a new lover under the advice of his friends, but after a rather bumpy experience, many of the hidden feelings zhu Ziqing were recorded in the diary of the second half of 1933. It is precisely because of this that Zhu Ziqing and his wife asked Ye Shisun to visit the ancient and seek the ghost, and to experience the transcendent state of mind of "rejoicing in the old".

At the same time, the two also traveled to Songtang together. Zhu Ziqing said in his 1935 essay "Travels in Songtang": "Last summer, we lived in Songtang with Mr. and Mrs. S Jun for three days. (Zhu Ziqing's "Travels of Songtang") wrote in his diary on June 30, 1934, "Last night's heavy thunderstorm, quite sad, because today is destined to go to The West Mountain Songtang also." Fortunately, the morning is sunny... Shisun and his wife came together. Shi Sun said that when he was a teenager, he was in a good mood, and when he came, he would take a stick to the mountain, but now he could not do it, and Yu thought so." (Wang Yao's "Selected Diaries of Zhu Ziqing") Thus, the "S Jun couple" mentioned in Zhu Ziqing's text is Ye Shisun and his wife, and at this time, Ye Shisun, who ended his transnational love, has found another good couple and is happy to have a good relationship. As early as five days before the trip, Zhu Ziqing issued an invitation, "visit Shisun, and send "Words and Sayings of Hui Feng" to live in Songtang for three days." This kind of support in times of adversity and the joy of pride can be described as the work of "good friends".

"Qiwen appreciates together, doubts and analyzes", and the academic discussion has brought the relationship between the two closer. Zhu Ziqing's diary on January 15, 1933, Shi Sun commented on his "To the Dead Woman" article. "To the Dead Woman" is Zhu Ziqing's memorial essay mourning his deceased wife Wu Zhongqian, which is a masterpiece of weeping blood, even so, Ye Shisun still boldly and bluntly said that Zhu Wen was too carved, "the first half seems to have traces of force"; on September 4, 1934, Ye Shisun brought a paper to enjoy, Zhu Ziqing said in his diary, "The article is good, but the style is quite European", this paper is Ye Shisun's "From the Perspective of Psychology to Try the Writing of scenes in novels", which talks about the relationship between novel problems and psychology. The Europeanized style of thesis language is difficult for Zhu Ziqing, who advocates "composition as speaking". Zhu Ziqing commented directly without concealment, "I don't like this unnatural style." This kind of bluntness between the two can be described as a "slanderous friend" trip.

"Everything is insightful and learned, and human emotions are articles." In Zhu Ziqing's diary on August 2, 1933, Shi Sun "advised him not to write for the Ta Kung Pao, which is almost possible for everyone, and Yu Gong may not want me to write for it"; on December 26, Ye Shisun pointed out that there was a satire on Zhu Ziqing in other people's articles, and for this reason Zhu Ziqing vowed that "in the future, we should bury our heads in our studies, do not talk about fashionable issues, and do not talk about major issues", which shows that the two have become "confidants" of each other at this time.

The great events of life are related to each other. Zhu Ziqing said in his diary on June 20, 1934, "Late entry into the city to participate in the wedding of Shisun, there are more than 200 people in the Jiji Hall, and they return late." This wedding was the wedding ceremony of Ye Shisun and Deng Zhaoyi, which was held at the Beiping Ying Fan Restaurant, and Zhu Ziqing would naturally not be absent as a friend. On September 1, 1935, Zhu Ziqingji "went to FengzeYuan to go to Zhang Zhihe's banquet to bid farewell to Shisun, and Feng Zhisheng and Lin Peichun were also present", which was a banquet to bid farewell to Ye Shisun, at this time Ye Shisun would go to Europe and the United States to investigate, and serve as the chairman of the Chinese and Foreign Cultural Association. Ye Shisun left Beiping in 1936 and successively taught at Shandong University, Sichuan University, Wuhan University and other universities, and Zhu Ziqing also wrote in his diary on August 19, 1936 that "Shisun will be a professor at Shandong University". Ever since Ye Shisun went to seek teaching positions elsewhere, Zhu and Ye were far apart and could not see each other very often.

After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhu Ziqing moved to Kunming to teach with the school, and Ye Shisun taught in the southwest region. In July 1940, Zhu Ziqing went to Chengdu for a vacation and research, and stayed in Rong with his wife for about a year. [The Complete Works of Zhu Ziqing (Vol. 11)] In October 1941, Zhu Ziqing ended his vacation and passed through Leshan on his way back to school to visit Ye Shisun, Zhu Guangqian, Yang Rensu and other old friends. (Yan Lin, "Mr. Zhu Ziqing in Xuyong") After a gap of five years, old friends met again, and they all couldn't help but be happy, and they could be regarded as "close friends".

On August 12, 1948, Zhu Ziqing died suddenly, and people in the literary and art circles sighed and deeply missed. When Ye Shisun wrote a memorial essay for his deceased friend, he said that the two were "confidants" who "could know each other", and when looking back on this friendship that had gone through storms, he said: "In friendship, I will never forget that when I was ostracized, he advised me to press my anger and not lose our demeanor." I can't forget that when I wanted to criticize my friend's work, he advised me to take care of my friendship and only put forward my own ideas. I can't forget the grand intention he came to my apartment six years ago when I was leaving Chengdu with a bottle of Moutai wine and said that he could not ask me to dinner, but could only drink a few drinks. I can't forget the words he encouraged me two years ago in the courtyard of a friend in Chengdu, when the two of us talked on our knees. It is really 'a gentleman loves his lover with virtue'. As the chairman of the Peking University Alumni Association in Sichuan, he also mourned the memory of the deceased at the memorial service in Chengdu: "The death of Mr. Zhu Ziqing is a loss of a good teacher in education, a superstar in literature, and in leading young people and promoting social progress, he especially feels that Mr. Zhu's early death is a great loss." (Tianbiao: "The Mentor who Commemorates youth - Remembering Mr. Zhu Ziqing's Memorial Service")

Lu Xun once said: "It is enough to know oneself in life, and Si Shi should regard it with the same heart." "In that stormy era, Mr. Zhu and Ye were also teachers and friends with each other, taking care of each other with all their hearts and guts, writing true dispositions, and forging true friendships.

Guangming Daily (October 22, 2021, 16th edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily