Li Ji at his home in Beijing, photographed by Pan Derun (1962)
One
The first time I knew Li Ji's name was in a language textbook with excerpts from the long narrative poem "Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang", which was catchy and fascinating to read. The Taishan Beidou of the literary world highly praised this long poem and spoke highly of it. Mao Dun said: "This is a remarkable creation, and it is not too much to say that it is an epic of national forms. Sun Li said, "This is a completely new thing, a long-form music house," and an "immortal work" of "opening up a generation of poetic styles"; he also said that this "is by no means something that can be formed by collecting style alone, it includes the concentration of the spirit of the times and the profound social outlook." Li Ji joined the revolution at an early age, and in the base areas, he was truly connected with the flesh and blood of the local masses and breathed together, and he seriously studied the content and form of folk literature. He is not born of the material, but of the earth, the son of the earth and the people." Undoubtedly, Li Ji is an important figure in the history of New Chinese literature, an explorer of the nationalization and popularization of Chinese poetry, and a simple poet with a unique artistic personality.
I remember that soon after I was transferred to the China Writers Association, I heard a lot of stories about Li Ji. He said that he respected and cared for the old writer, no matter how big or small, he must be personal, and wholeheartedly serve the old writer, and the old writers are willing to find him when they have something. Cao Yu went to Xinjiang to experience the desert smoke and the sunset of the long river, and prepared for the creation of the drama "Wang Zhaojun", which he personally organized and arranged. In the autumn of 1978, he personally went to Tianjin and invited Sun Li to Beijing for a meeting. Sun Li originally did not want to disrupt his own life rules and activities according to the meeting schedule, but felt his enthusiasm, not only came, but also insisted on a week until the meeting was over. In the spring of 1980, the Chinese Writers Association set up a delegation to visit Japan, and originally planned to invite a veteran writer to lead a delegation to visit, but the Japanese side said that Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira was a reader who had read Ba Jin's books when he was young, and if Ba Jin came to visit, he was willing to come forward to meet him. To this end, Li Ji made two special trips to Shanghai to persuade Ba Lao. At first, Ba Lao did not agree, first, because he felt that it was inappropriate to replace the old writer as the leader of the regiment; second, he had many things to write and could not spare time. However, Li Ji said: The work of the Writers' Association has just resumed, and you have many Japanese friends, and coupled with the meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister, it will have a great impact and will be beneficial to the future development of Sino-Japanese friendship and the expansion of cultural exchanges. Ba Lao hesitated repeatedly, and finally reluctantly agreed. Facts have proved that the delegation led by Pakistan and Laos has been warmly welcomed by the Japanese government and the public, and has effectively promoted the development of Sino-Japanese friendly relations.
Li Ji at the Fourth Session of the Wen Dynasty (November 1979)
He cared about the growth of young writers and tried to create conditions for their writing. In 1965, he found that a young seafarer named Wang Jiabin of Tianjin Ocean Fisheries Company had a very distinctive way of writing about marine life, so he invited him to the editorial department, recommended him to read books such as "Icelandic Fisherman", "Crab Worker Boat", "Moby Dick", "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", and assigned the editor to help him revise the draft. After the sixth draft of Wang Jiabin's novel "Ju Whale Yang" was revised, Li Ji asked Liu Baiyu, Zhang Guangnian, Zhang Tianyi and other great writers to help revise and polish, and finally made the headlines of "People's Literature". He reminded the author that after becoming famous, he should guard against arrogance and impetuosity, and "withstand the test of fame and fortune." A few years later, Wang Jiabin wrote to Li Ji that in order to broaden his horizons and expand his writing themes, he wanted to experience life on ocean ships. Li Ji was very happy, asked the relevant departments of the Writers Association to assist in solving the problem, and personally talked to him, telling him to read more, study marine knowledge hard, do a good job as a seafarer, and write a good life in the ocean...
In order to do a good job in the food of one or two hundred people (including family members and children), he organized the planting of vegetables, rapeseed, sesame seeds, pigs, chickens, and ducks, which brought about great changes in the life of the company, not only was the meat, eggs and vegetables self-sufficient, but also handed over to the state for thousands of pounds of oil.
In the courtyard of the China Writers Association at No. 2 North Beach Street, I often saw his hurried figure, heard his strong Henan-flavored voice, and the frank, sincere, and infectious laughter. At that time, he was the vice chairman of the China Writers Association, the deputy secretary of the party group, the executive secretary of the secretariat, and the editor-in-chief of The People's Literature, presiding over the daily work of the Writers Association. In the literary world, he was probably the busiest person. Meetings, speeches, approving documents, starting publications, organizing awards, laying out work, talking to people, writing articles, and piled up mountains of papers on the table. He was preoccupied with his work, like a spinning top, not stopping for a moment, and it was impossible to see that he was an old patient with a serious heart attack and supported by "heartache".
He had no official majesty, nor the reticence of a celebrity, but was as simple as a production captain or a street office director, and so it was for writers, and it was true for us ordinary staff. When you see him talking to you, his eyes are level, and there is no condescending arrogance. When he shakes your hand, he is sincere, not perfunctory, and not a contrived people-friendly performance. He was warm and energetic, like a fire. From his words and deeds, you can clearly feel that producing works, producing talents, prospering literature, uniting writers, and serving writers are the key points, excitement points, and top priorities in his heart, and are also the main theme of the work of the organs of the China Writers Association.
At that time, the leaders of the Writers' Association did not have a secretary, and when they asked for instructions and reports, they pushed the door and entered. Once, when I was going to give Li Ji a briefing on foreign affairs, a leader asked me to hand over a document to him by the way, and he looked at it and said, "You told him that this matter is not well reflected, so don't do it in the future." "He was a cheerful man, who dared to be responsible, no matter how complicated the issue, the tricky thing, the pro or cons, the attitude was clear, never ambiguous, dragging mud and water.
Two
The first time I worked as an interpreter for him was when I went to the airport to greet Japanese foreign guests. As soon as he got on the bus that day, he said, "Your name is Chen Xiru, you are a japanese student, and you like literature." "I was surprised because I hadn't spoken to him, how did he know me? He said, "I've seen your material. "It turned out that when I came to the Writers' Association, he approved it. At that time, the Writers' Association had just recovered, the affairs were complicated, and there were many people who transferred in and out, and he did not know how many official documents he had to approve every day, and he could remember the name and resume of my nameless man, indicating that his memory was amazing. He asked me what Japanese literature I had read and which writers I liked. Whether to adapt to the work of the writers' association, what are the difficulties. I said that the foreign affairs department of other units has a detailed and clear division of labor, and the translator only manages the translation, but we can't do it here, but we also have to buy air tickets, book banquets, find restaurants, usher in delivery, eat and drink Lasa sleep, a spoonful of stew, all have to be managed, a bit of "all-round package production to the household" meaning, for a while not very accustomed. He said with a smile: Our organization is not yet sound, and it will gradually improve in the future.
Emergency Meeting of Asian and African Writers (1961) Group photo of Chinese writers: li ji on the left, Liu Baiyu on the left, Liu Deyou on the left, Xie Bingxin on the left, Satin on the left, Ba Lin on the left, and Junjian on the left.
During the talks, the Japanese side invited a delegation of Chinese writers to visit Japan and hoped that Li Ji would personally lead the team, saying that many Japanese friends missed him. He said: "In 1961, I visited Japan with Mr. Ba Jin, but there are many writers who have not been there, and they want to see it, so I still tell them to go first, and I will have a chance to talk about it later." However, the Japanese side believes that his visit was to attend the emergency meeting of the Standing Committee of Asian and African Writers in Tokyo, although he has traveled to many places and made many friends, but mainly for meetings, and now that Japan has undergone tremendous changes, it is very necessary to meet old friends, understand the new situation, and discuss how to carry out literary exchanges under the new situation. Li Ji smiled and said, "I thank you for your kindness, but this time I will not go." I also miss my Japanese friends, so please say hello to them on my behalf. China is also undergoing great changes, and they welcome the opportunity to come to China to see. ”
At that time, the door of the country had just been opened, and visiting abroad was a big thing for individuals and families. First, being able to go abroad shows that the person is politically reliable, trusted in the organization, and active in work. Second, look at the outside world, broaden your horizons, and increase your insights and talents. Third, not only the installation fee and pocket money are issued, but also the indicator of buying a foreign original electrical appliance such as a TV refrigerator washing machine. Whoever goes abroad is enviable, so some people go to great lengths to speculate on the camp and call it "work needs". However, Li Ji repeatedly declined the invitation to the Japanese side, which shows that he has work in mind, not those personal small profits.
Su Lingyang in the front row, Japanese writer Yasushi Inoue on the left, Zhou Yang on the left, Japanese art historian Yinxiong Miyagawa on the fourth from the left, and Li Ji on the left. The left side of the back row is a hole in the back row. (Photographed in August 1999 at Zhou Yang's home)
Later, I saw in his poetry collection the short poem "Three "Waka Songs" written during his visit to Japan, and the long narrative poems "Sea Oath" and "Borrowing a Knife" based on Japanese folk tales, and he enthusiastically sang about friendship, love and heroism. In particular, he imitated the format of the traditional Japanese poetry, the waka (5 lines and 31 syllables, arranged in 5, 7, 5, 7, 7), and wrote short poems with 31 Chinese characters (let's boldly call it "Han Song"), which is of positive significance for absorbing the nutrition of foreign literature, enriching the form of Chinese poetry, and promoting the exchange of Chinese and Japanese literature. For example, his poem "Looking at Mt. Fuji in the Plane" is an attempt by Chinese poets to take the form of a japanese song and use Chinese to depict the wind and moon of Japan's mountains and rivers, which is particularly interesting to read:
Looking at Mt. Fuji,
Majestic in the middle of the sea.
The waves are boundless,
The shadow of the mountain shades the sea like a pill,
Fuji white hair sweeps the clouds.
Unfortunately, the "Han Hai" that imitated the Japanese haiku later flourished in China, while the "Han Song" that imitated the Japanese haiku was quiet, which is a later story.
Three
On Sunday, March 9, 1980, I went to the Writers' Association office on duty. When I walked into the duty room, I saw old Zhou Zheng of the General Affairs Office talking to a person. When he saw me come in, he turned to me and said, "Xiao Chen, do you know?" Comrade Li Ji has passed away! ”
"What? What did you say? Which Li Ji? ”
"It's Vice Chairman Li Ji!"
"Wouldn't you? I saw him yesterday morning, very energetic! ”
"Who doesn't say it! But yesterday at four o'clock in the afternoon, I suddenly had a heart attack and left. Old Zhou said it with a sharp sigh, but I still can't believe that this is the truth!
The morning before, Li Ji came to the organs of the Writers' Association for a meeting to organize writers to go deep into life. In the middle of the meeting, he came out to call the editorial department of "People's Literature" and said that he would go to the hospital at two o'clock in the afternoon to visit Ding Ling, and then stop by the Qianmen Guest House to see several authors from other places who had come to Beijing to revise the manuscript, and prepared to talk to them about the revision opinions. It was windy and cold that day, and it rained lightly from time to time. He was draped in a green army coat, happy, talking and laughing. A female comrade said to him: Today is Women's Day. He said: Yes, yes, I'm here to congratulate you. He walked from office to office and wished the lesbians a happy holiday.
At eleven o'clock, he went to the guest house to visit an old comrade who had suffered many years and had just been rehabilitated, and pulled the old comrade home for dinner. He usually likes to drink some beer, but when the family ran out of beer, he asked his aunt to buy it, but unfortunately he didn't buy it. At that time, there was a shortage of supplies, daily necessities, and some of them were supplied with tickets, and they could not be bought if they wanted to. Li Ji must drink a glass of wine to express congratulations, so he rummaged around, turned out a bottle of medicinal wine that did not know what to cure, and the two of them poured a cup each. The old comrade took a sip, felt that it was not a taste, said that this wine is a little numb to drink, I will not drink, the rest of you drink, you will give the wine to Li Ji. After Li Ji finished drinking, he felt uncomfortable, and the driver said, send you to the hospital to see it. He said no, I'll just sleep for a while; in the afternoon I'm going to see Ding Ling, she's hospitalized and going to have surgery. But he began to vomit, then comatose, after many rescue ineffective, suddenly died, only 57 years old!
Before his death, Li Ji went to Yumen, Daqing, Karamay, Qaidam, Dagang, Shengli, and Kokaya oil fields, went deep into life, had deep feelings with oil people, wrote a lot of "oil poems", and was known as "oil poet". He loves the oil man, and the oil man loves him. On that day's journey, he was dressed in the new oil man's overalls, with a silver shining aluminum helmet on the pillow, and fell asleep quietly, as if he had taken a break and set off at once.
In 1958, at the age of 36, he said in a poem titled "The Highest Reward":
The broad road of life,
Nurturing infinitely wonderful ideals.
There are thousands of jobs,
And how many hearts have stirred.
But I,
but only willing to be an oil worker,
An aluminum helmet is my highest reward.
September 10, 2020
Author: Chen Xiru
Editor: Wu Dongkun