Among the Chinese writers of the 1930s, Xiao Jun can be described as a maverick literary writer in the history of Chinese literature. As a disciple of Lu Xun, the interaction between him and Lu Xun also created his unique personality, and his brash and uninhibited personality was often incomprehensible, so in his later years he often regarded himself as "a horseman in western Liaoning". He dared to speak and do, acted in a dignified manner, and also had a special history of literary exchanges with Chairman Mao during the Yan'an period, often using the relationship between Gorky and Lenin in the Soviet Union as a metaphor for his relationship with Chairman Mao. So how did Xiao Jun's strange and unique personality come about? This has to start with his unfortunate experience in childhood.
Pictured: Photos of Xiao Jun's later life
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="2" > the childhood life of "Liaoxi Yipifu"</h1>
Xiao Jun was born in 1907 in a remote village called Xianianpangou in Jin county, Liaoning Province. The young Xiao Jun lived in a large family with very complicated components: his father was a carpenter in the village, although he was industrious and capable, he was greedy and violent, often committing domestic violence against his mother, and had a strong "patriarchal" mentality; his second uncle went up the mountain to become a bandit, robbed the rich and the poor, and was often called "Thirteen Taibao" by the local villagers; Xiao Jun's third uncle himself pulled up a northeast volunteer army to resist the Japanese invasion, and was a tough man who had been whipped by two thousand army after losing the battle without shedding a tear.
When Xiao Jun was just 7 months old, his mother, because she really couldn't stand her father's domestic violence, chose to commit suicide after stuffing Xiao Jun's mouth with opium. Probably because the taste of opium was too strange, Xiao Jun did not swallow the opium and survived. But this incident made him never forgive his father, and when he grew up, he learned the truth about his mother's death, and since then he has developed a strong sense of hatred for his father.
Pictured: Xiao Jun and Xiao Hong in front of Lu Xun's tomb
At the age of 10, due to natural disasters, Xiao Jun followed his father to Changchun. Perhaps out of guilt for him, his father, who still had some spare money, sent him to one of the best primary schools in Changchun. Here, some northeastern teachers with patriotic ideas began to instill advanced ideas and ideas into Xiao Jun, so Xiao Jun had an idea: when he grew up, he would be a hero who did heroic deeds and righteousness, and eradicated all unfair things in the world.
When it comes to doing it, he secretly worships the street artists as teachers, begins to practice fist and foot kung fu, and seizes the time to practice several hands of jianghu kung fu every day after school. In terms of Chinese composition, he also imitated Qu Yuan's "Chu Ci" and wrote a "Song of the Great Wind", which began with "swinging and roaring", which surprised the Chinese teacher at that time, and did not expect that a twelve- or thirteen-year-old child could write such an article.
< h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="2" > created "The Countryside in August", and Lu Xun personally wrote the preface for him</h1>
Pictured: Photo of Xiao Jun's military uniform in the early years
In 1925, Xiao Jun, who had been longing for a long time on horseback, entered the barracks in Jilin as a cavalryman, and 2 years later, he was admitted to the Artillery Section of the Northeast Army with very good results. When he was studying here, Xiao Jun was indignant when he witnessed the inferior soldiers being bullied by the old society; on the other hand, he deeply liked Lu Xun's works, especially Lu Xun's "Wild Grass", which made him love it.
In 1934, Xiao Jun, inspired by Yang Jingyu's "Rock Guerrilla", began to create "The Countryside of August" on the basis of the real materials provided by Fu Tianfei for the Rock Guerrilla. On October 22, 1934, the novel was finally completed, and Lu Xun in Shanghai learned of it and personally wrote the preface to the novel, and also found a publishing house in Shanghai to actively publish it. Since then, Lu Xun has become a mentor in Xiao literature, and people at the time called him "Lu Xun's little disciple".
Pictured: Xiao Jun's "The Countryside in August"
Because "The Countryside in August" reflects the heroic and tenacious struggle life of the people of Northeast China during the anti-Japanese period at that time, the vast number of progressive writers gave this novel a very high evaluation. However, at that time, a literati named "Di Ke" actually published an article attacking this novel, thus attacking Lu Xun, or Lu Xun spoke up for Xiao Jun, which allowed Xiao Jun to save face.
However, after the incident subsided, "Di Ke" did not give up, still pestering Xiao Jun, and Xiao Jun, who could not bear it, directly issued a "duel book" to the other side. One day, Xiao Jun directly found the other party's newspaper office and asked the staff present on the spot: "Who wrote that article insulting Lu Xun and me?" "The staff present admitted that they did it. So Xiao Jun said angrily, "I don't have time to write articles to refute you, so it's good, let's fight, if I lose, I won't look for you after you write anything; if you lose, you are not allowed to write these articles in the future, otherwise I will come here to beat you!" So the two sides agreed on the time and place of the duel.
The person with the pseudonym "Di Ke" thought that he was not Xiao Jun's opponent, so he went to the newspaper Company's Ma Jifeng to come out to fight on the same day. After only two rounds, Xiao Jun, who was born in the army, threw the other party to the ground and beat him up while saying, "As long as you write articles in your newspaper and scold me in the future, I will go to your newspaper office and beat you!" From then on, "Di Ke" and others never dared to find trouble for Xiao Jun again.
Pictured: In "Golden Age", Xiao Hong and Xiao Jun often visited Lu Xun's house
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="2" > Xiao Jun wanted to leave Yan'an, and Chairman Mao and other Yan'an leaders did everything they could to keep it</h1>
In 1938, Xiao Jun, dissatisfied with the warlords of Yan Xishan, prepared to fight a guerrilla war on Mount Wutai, but due to changes in the situation, he had to stay in Yan'an for half a month. When Chairman Mao heard of Xiao Jun's arrival, he first sent his secretary to greet him about his life, and then he personally visited Xiao Jun's residence and had lunch with him. As a "left-wing writer" and "disciple of Lu Xun," Xiao Jun was very moved and had a very profound impact on Chairman Mao's courtesy and amiable attitude.
To this end, in June 1940, Xiao Jun came to Yan'an for the second time and founded the "Literature and Art Monthly". However, in July 1941, Xiao Jun planned to leave Yan'an, because in the course of his work in Yan'an, because he was too strong in personality and had a personal heroic personality of "seeing uneven roads and drawing swords to help each other", his work in Yan'an was not going well, and the relationship between him and his unit and colleagues was very tense, so Xiao Jun planned to write to Chairman Mao, hoping that Chairman Mao would approve his idea of leaving Yan'an.
In 1938, some writers in Yan'an took a group photo, of which the second from the left was Xiao Jun
So on July 8, Xiao Jun wrote a letter to Chairman Mao, intending to confide in Chairman Mao about his revolutionary life in Yan'an for more than a year, which he thought would be of great benefit to the Chinese revolution. Coincidentally, since Xiao Jun entered Yan'an for the second time, he and Chairman Mao have not met again, and in Xiao Jun's view, Chairman Mao is the leader after all, busy with official duties, and inconvenient to disturb when he is fine.
However, a week after the letter was sent, seeing that Chairman Mao had not written a reply to himself, Xiao Jun was very anxious in his heart, so he wrote another letter to Chairman Mao:
Comrade Zedong:
On the eighth day of this month, there was a letter from Fengda, which I thought had been received. However, there has been no reply so far, and I speculate that the reason may be the following three reasons: 1. The letter was not received. 2. I have been busy at work lately. 3, or my request is "impossible", or there is a suspicion of "skipping the level". If it is the first and second items, I am willing to wait another week, and if it belongs to the third item, I have decided not to ask for it again. The reason why I want to have a conversation with you is, in addition to the slightest doubt in the administrative program that arouses me a little indecisiveness, and the incidental reason for saying what I have been thinking about in the border areas over the past year, although I have been foolish in my words, may be of little use to the party itself. Because I have been in the border area for more than a year, I have recently wanted to walk in the rear area, and this meeting can be counted as a "farewell ceremony". There is nothing else to ask for. Best wishes. Attached is the receipt of the first letter.
Xiao Jun
July 14
From the title of this letter, we can note that Xiao Jun directly referred to Chairman Mao as "Comrade Mao Zedong", and this title is usually only used for the title of Chairman Mao by party insiders before the victory of the Red Army's Long March. At this time, Xiao Jun had not yet joined the party, and was regarded as a "person outside the party", and Xiao Jun's title was intended to show his equal status as an independent writer and Chairman Mao's personality. Judging from the content of the letter, this letter seems to have some tough tone, which shows that Xiao Jun is always straight to the point of being a person and never bends a corner.
Pictured: Xiao Jun poses with friends. From left: Hu Feng, Xu Guangping, Sachiko Ikeda, Xiao Jun, Xiao Hong
At this time, Xiao Jun did not know that Chairman Mao at this time was undergoing physical recuperation due to his relatively serious frozen shoulder, so it was not convenient for him to personally write a reply, so Chairman Mao asked Qiao Mu to convey it on his behalf, saying that the letter had been received, and he would contact and talk with him in a few days. On the afternoon of July 18, Xiao Jun was invited to Yangjialing, Chairman Mao's residence, and the two had a long conversation. Later, Xiao Jun described in detail the conversation and content of the meeting in his diary.
In order to prepare for the conversation with Chairman Mao, before going to Chairman Mao's residence, Xiao Jun read the Autobiography of Mao Zedong in detail. In the courtyard of Chairman Mao's cave dwelling, Xiao Jun saw Chairman Mao pacing in the courtyard, only to see Chairman Mao wearing a blue cloth military uniform walking around the courtyard, at this time when he saw Xiao Jun coming, the two greeted each other several inches away.
After a few brief greetings, Chairman Mao habitually took out two cigarettes, handed one to Xiao Jun, and held one himself, and Xiao Jun hurriedly stood up and lit a fire for Chairman Mao. As they chatted, the two sides talked about some questions about the Autobiography of Mao Zedong, and Xiao Jun once said to Chairman Mao: "I think if you are not engaged in political work, you can become a literary artist!" ”
Pictured: Lu Xun's life photos in his later years
After hearing this, Chairman Mao laughed and said, "I also like literature and art very much... When I was in Yan'an, someone asked me how Lu Xun had influenced me, and I said metaphorically, I was like a jar of bean juice, and Mr. Lu Xun was a plaster or brine for ordering tofu, and after his enlightenment, I became shaped, and muddy water and clear water were separated..."
After discussing some matters concerning literary and artistic works, Xiao Jun asked Chairman Mao a question: "Can people outside the party criticize the affairs within the party?" ”
Chairman Mao replied very crisply and neatly: "Of course, people outside the Party can also criticize the Party, and you can even criticize everywhere." ”
Then, Xiao Jun began to talk about his experience in Yan'an for more than a year, saying that he could not write anything in Yan'an, mainly because the writer's nature in the party was always consumed here, while some speculators could use articles as tools to make a splash; while writers outside the party were always troubled because of life problems, and their spirit was also suppressed. Chairman Mao was also anxious after hearing this, and expressed dissatisfaction with this situation: "Why have we not been able to give writers a good working environment?" ”
As for some unreasonable phenomena that occurred in Yan'an at that time, Chairman Mao felt that this situation was also difficult to avoid for a while. "Don't talk about China, even in the Soviet Union, there is inequality there, there are so-called ranks and assets, only in the future new society, that is the real equal society for everyone, then people like us will have nothing to blow, everyone is the same ..."
Pictured: Xiao Jun and his friends in their later years of "five old people visiting the Grand View Garden"
Finally, Chairman Mao concluded: "You are all right, but this is not a matter for one person. After that, I will talk to Luo Fu (Zhang Wentian), and after that, I will let Comrade Qiao Mu (Qiao Guanhua) often contact you, and these things must change. ”
The conversation went from one o'clock in the afternoon to eight o'clock in the evening, and both sides gained a lot. During this conversation, Xiao Jun judged from the fact that Chairman Mao did not know who the responsible person of the Yan'an Literary Association was, and even that Ai Qing, Luo Feng, and others had come to Yan'an, and Chairman Mao was not familiar with the situation in Yan'an's literary and art circles. However, it is no wonder that Chairman Mao took every opportunity to do everything according to the division of labor within the party at that time, Chairman Mao was not in charge of the work of literature and propaganda, and naturally did not know much about the situation in Yan'an's literary and art circles.
Through this conversation, Chairman Mao had one more opportunity to understand the literary and artistic circles in Yan'an, gained a deeper understanding of the ideological situation and social relations of writers inside and outside the party, and also triggered Chairman Mao's deeper thinking on the relationship between literature and art and politics. Under the protection of Mao Zedong and Luo Fu, Xiao Jun eventually stayed in Yan'an and gave up his intention to leave, and he stayed until after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="2" three more meetings after July 18 >: Xiao Jun and Chairman Mao became friends</h1>
After the Yangjialing meeting, Xiao Jun subsequently wrote two letters to Chairman Mao, pleading for the grievances of some literati in Yan'an and complaining that the organizations concerned had failed to fulfill their responsibility of "taking care." In this regard, Chairman Mao wrote in his reply letter on August 2:
Pictured: Chairman Mao's reply to Xiao Jun
Comrade Xiao Jun:
I read it both times. The book you want has been paid. Because I had little contact with you in the past, lacked understanding, and some opinions I wanted to talk to you, I was afraid that making shallow and deep remarks would not benefit you, but would cause estrangement, so I did not say it immediately. There are countless bad phenomena in Yan'an, and what you said to me is worth noting and should be corrected. But I urge you to pay attention to certain problems in your own side at the same time, not to look at the problem absolutely, to be patient, to pay attention to the relationship between people and me, and to deliberately and forcibly examine your weaknesses, so that there is a way out, so that you can "rest assured that you can live with peace of mind." Otherwise, every day is uneasy and painful. You are a very frank and bold person, and I think I can talk to you, so I propose the above. If you agree, I would like to talk to you again.
Xiao Jun was very happy that Chairman Mao had invited him to come back, but since this was the day to commemorate Lu Xun's birthday celebrations, it was not until August 10 that Chairman Mao sent a text message to Xiao Jun, saying that he happened to be free at this time, and if Xiao Jun had time, he could come over and talk about it.
In the moonlit courtyard, Xiao Jun and Chairman Mao had a long all-night conversation, and the content of the conversation was more detailed than the first time. Chairman Mao suggested that when Xiao Jun encountered these troublesome things again, he should respond with "the enemy shoots him with a bow and arrow, and if a friend shoots with a bow and arrow, he will hold his hand and advise him" to persuade Xiao Jun not to deal with the problem so fiercely; and when he learned that Xiao Jun was angry because his upcoming article to be published in the "Liberation Daily" was criticized, Chairman Mao advised him: "Since the Liberation Daily has an opinion, then you should publish it in your "Literature and Art Monthly." Finally, Xiao Jun proposed that Chairman Mao could meet with Luo Feng, Shu Qun, and other Yan'an writers, and Chairman Mao promised to go to the Yan'an Literary Association to meet with comrades if he had enough sleep tomorrow afternoon.
Pictured: Shu Qun (first from left) with Luo Feng and Xiao Jun (first from right)
Sure enough, the next night, Chairman Mao and two guards came to the Yan'an Literary Association in the middle of Yangjiagou to visit Xiao Jun and other writers. However, unfortunately, at this time, Shu Qun, Luo Feng and others were not in the Cultural Association, so Xiao Jun temporarily found Ai Qing, Bai Lang, Li Youran and others, and introduced Ai Qing to Chairman Mao, who had never heard of Ai Qing before. Seeing Chairman Mao's arrival, yan'an writers warmly applauded, and then launched a series of forums, until midnight when Chairman Mao gladly left.
However, because Chairman Mao did not see Shu Qun and Luo Feng this time, he failed to solve the practical problems for Xiao Jun, so the next morning, Chairman Mao wrote a text message to Xiao Jun:
Last night, Comrade Luo Shu'er did not know whether the two of them had time and whether their brothers had time? Does Comrade Ai Qing have time? Do you comrades have time? If so, please come back after breakfast, we will talk about some issues well and necessarily.
Xiao Jun did not expect that Chairman Mao was still thinking about his own affairs, and he was very excited at once, and dragged the three of them together to Chairman Mao's residence. After that, Chairman Mao summoned Chen Yun, head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, and Kaifeng, deputy director of the Central Propaganda Department, and others, in order to let them listen to their counterparts and thus resolve the contradictions and problems between writers of these different factions. Chairman Mao was very interested, and he made careful and meticulous remarks with everyone, and often said some words with distinct personalities; at the meeting, Xiao Jun suggested that Chairman Mao formulate a literary and art policy in Yan'an to create a public opinion advantage for the development and growth of the Communist Party.
Pictured: Xiao Jun's family in Yan'an
If you count from July 18, in less than a month, Xiao Jun met with Chairman Mao four times, and each conversation lasted for more than a few hours, which is a very rare thing for Outside to talk to Chairman Mao to a writer outside the Party for such a short time. But in that era, Chairman Mao and Xiao Jun became friends, in fact, there were certain inevitabilitys: one was a very individual left-wing writer, and the other was a party leader who was trying to change the fate of the country, and in such an important historical period, the two sides had such close exchanges that the two had a candid revolutionary friendship.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="2" > Xiao Jun asked Chairman Mao which character he liked in "Dream of the Red Chamber", and Chairman Mao answered without hesitation: Jia Baoyu</h1>
After that, Xiao Jun became a "red man" around Chairman Mao. He was granted special rights to freely enter and leave Chairman Mao's residence. He could suddenly appear in front of Chairman Mao's door without invitation to visit; sometimes when he passed Chairman Mao's residence, he could also turn straight in, and even when Chairman Mao was eating, he could suddenly break in and chat with Chairman Mao for a while.
Pictured: Bao Xudong's family taking a group photo with Xiao Jun
And the content of their conversation has thus become more extensive, almost from the past to the present, everything is talked about. Taking "Dream of the Red Chamber" as an example, as early as October 1938, Chairman Mao said a joke at the Sixth Plenary Session: "'Dream of the Red Chamber', "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin", and it is not Chinese to read these three novels without reading them." Chairman Mao once collected more than 20 versions of "Dream of the Red Chamber" before and after to read.
As early as the Jinggangshan period, when he and He Zizhen chatted, He Zizhen said that he did not understand: "Dream of the Red Chamber" has something to look at, is not it to write about the kindness and love between men and women? Chairman Mao taught her: That's really not, there are many places in "Dream of the Red Chamber" where history is written, and Chairman Mao also suggested that she read it several times. He believes that there are two schools written in "Dream of the Red Chamber", one of which is good and the other is not good, and the good one is Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu; the bad one is Wang Xifeng, Jia Zheng and others, although during the Long March, Chairman Mao once lost a lot of books, but he always took a copy of "Dream of the Red Chamber" to the south and north.
When Xiao Jun once asked Chairman Mao which role he liked in "Dream of the Red Chamber," Chairman Mao gladly replied: "Jia Baoyu, because he is a revolutionary, he has a party of his own..." Later, Chairman Mao once said to others: "Jia Baoyu is the first major revolutionary in Chinese history." ”
Pictured: A photo given to her daughter by Xiao Jun. Inscription on the back: Ying'er, this is the first time I have taken a photo at home, give it to you! Xiao Jun was sixty-three years old
On another occasion, because Xiao Jun had drunk some wine, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision to handle some matters within the Party, and Chairman Mao explained to him in a serious tone: "I have been punished eleven times in the Party, but I have never said anything or expressed my opinion to anyone, because this violates the principle of the minority obeying the majority. Chairman Mao then admitted that "criticism and criticism within the Party are even more uncomfortable than outside the Party, but we must be able to withstand it." A bean sprout is easily destroyed by wind and rain, but a sapling, it always has to withstand wind and rain to thrive. ”
After listening to Chairman Mao's speeches with Luo Fu, Wang Ming, and others, he privately thought that "the intellectual atmosphere in Luo Fu's speech was too thick and lacked passion; and Wang Ming's speech was too eight strands, regardless of the audience." Chairman Mao's speech, on the other hand, is relatively easy to understand, easy to educate and persuade people, and has a very wide range of people who like to listen to it. When Chairman Mao heard this, he said happily: "If you speak to the peasants, if he doesn't understand it, he won't give you food to eat." ”
Pictured: Xiao Jun's life photo with a pipe in his later years
Years later, Xiao Jun once said of Chairman Mao: "He was not a philosopher or a scholar, he was the leader of peasant-style Chinese naturalism, a pure politician. He had a great wisdom and foolishness, adhering to the spirit of Chinese Confucian control, using the Marxist-Leninist viewpoint and the empirical tradition of the May Fourth era to explore the road to building a new China. From Lu Xun I learned to be strong, and from Chairman Mao I learned flexibility; Lu Xun was my father, and Chairman Mao was my eldest brother, and I should inherit and carry forward these essences. ”