Cover news reporter Zhang Jie
January 15 is the third day of the first lunar month, the birthday of the famous revolutionary and writer Ma Zhitu. In the words of Ma Wanmei, Ma Lao's daughter, Ma Lao "turned 106 and began to eat at the age of 107" today.
Previously, on this day every year, Elder Ma would "fight the gang" with his best friends and eat at a party. These close friends include writers Li Zhi and Wang Huo. However, this year, because of the epidemic prevention and control reasons, Ma Wanmei revealed that the annual gathering is naturally "canceled and not engaged, but although the 'flat gang' does not 'fight', there are still three friends invited to the door." Among these three friends were Li Zhi and Zhu Danfeng. According to Ma Wanmei, Ma Lao ate longevity noodles today, and Ma Lao's grandson also ordered a small cake in the dessert shop, and Ma Lao's state and mood were very good.
Ma Zhitu, Li Zhi, Zhu Danfeng (from right to left, courtesy of Ma Wanmei)
In the past, Ma Lao's birthdays were many times, and Wang Huo would participate in the party. The reason why it did not appear this time, according to Ma Wanmei, "Teacher Wang Huo was in poor health a while ago and installed a heart stent. There is still no three-month dangerous period. Li Zhi, 92 years old, although he is also older, but his body is still very tough. Early in the morning, after 9 o'clock, I appeared in Ma Laojia on time. "When I visit Ma Lao, I always have a good grasp of the time. Because Ma was old, he couldn't bother him too much. Usually I visit him and stay for an hour. ”
Ma Lao cutting cake (courtesy of Ma Wanmei)
Ma Lao began to eat at the age of 107, and his state was so good that Li Zhi was pleased: "In an hour, basically ninety percent of the time, he was talking. The state is very good, the brain is very clear. Although he was a dozen years older than me, I felt he knew a lot better than my brain. He told us about his past, about his participation in the revolution. He also mentioned his desire to participate in the celebration of the centenary of the founding of the Party this year and to participate in the Tenth Writers' Congress. ”
Ma Lao (right) and Li Zhi (courtesy of Ma Wanmei)
One detail that makes Li Zhi sigh at the clarity of Ma Lao's thinking is, "Three years ago, I moved to a new home. Ma Lao wrote me a couplet calligraphy congratulations that he created himself: A lifetime of poverty and clean hands, a life of exaggeration and prosperity. Today he mentioned to me that he felt that this couplet three years ago was not very good, and he was ready to revise a few words and ask for my opinion. Of course I agreed. ”
Li Zhi also revealed that Ma Lao also talked with Zhu Danfeng, the publisher who went to Ma Lao's home with him, and selected more than 200 words from the oracle bones studied for further analysis and explanation for scientific popularization.
Ma Lao (right) and Li Zhi (left)
In November 2019, the cover news reporter once went to Ma Lao's home to interview, it was a sunny, sunny, autumn afternoon, the cover news reporter walked into Ma Lao's study and saw that on his desk, there was a handwritten notebook about ancient characters, which was densely packed with the evolution history of word by word. There is also a blank page on the desk calendar, he has written hundreds of pages of notes about the study of ancient characters, trace the origin of the word.
Ma Lao said that as early as 1941, the underground work was temporarily frustrated, and in accordance with the spirit of "long-term ambush, accumulation of strength, and waiting for the opportunity" conveyed by his superiors, he was admitted to the Southwest United University under the name of "Ma Qianhe". During his studies in the Chinese Department, he was taught by wen yiduo, Zhu Ziqing and other literary masters, and received training in literary creation. He also studied with the Chinese paleographers Tang Lan and Chen Mengjia, and studied paleography and the study of oracle bones and gold scripts. These precious notes were all destroyed when Ma Lao was transferred from The Southwest United University to Kunming in order to abide by the discipline of the underground party's secret work. However, the wonderful explanation of the ancient characters by Teacher Tang Lan in the classroom has been preserved in ma Zhitu's memory, through more than 70 years of wind and rain, clear and unforgettable.
Ma Lao (Courtesy of Ma Wanmei)
In 2017, when ma Zhitu, then 103, wrote "The Continuation of Night Tan", it was found that he had lung cancer during the physical examination and needed to be hospitalized. Happily, Ma Lao miraculously overcame the disease. "After I defeated the disease, I wanted to find something to do." Ma Lao began to write research texts about ancient scripts, including oracle bones and gold scripts. He will listen to Tang Lan's teacher's income in the southwest United University classroom, write it out with memory, plus some of his own play, and has written a lot so far, "As much as you can remember, write as much as you want." Perhaps in the future there will be an opportunity to publish a book on tracing etymology. After all, regarding language and writing, I once spent four years at Southwest United University. Also wanted to leave something behind. ”
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