Author: Wang Houming
At the age of 18, Yu Pingbo's first new poem "Spring Water" was published in "New Youth" together with Lu Xun's novel "Diary of a Madman", becoming one of the pioneers of Chinese vernacular poetry. He began to study Dream of the Red Chamber at the age of 21 and, together with Hu Shih, became the founder of the New Red School, known as the founder of the "New Red School". After 1949, Yu Pingbo successively served as a professor at Peking University and a researcher at the Institute of Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
In 1920, on the recommendation of Jiang Menglin, president of Peking University, Yu Pingbo and Zhu Ziqing went to Hangzhou No. 1 Normal School to teach. Although Yu Pingbo only taught in Hangzhou for half a year before resigning and leaving, the two hit it off at first sight, formed a deep friendship during their teaching in Hangzhou, and regarded each other as confidants. In November 1929, Zhu Ziqing's wife Wu Zhongqian died of illness, and it was inconvenient for Zhu Ziqing to live alone and eat, so Yu Pingbo often invited Zhu Ziqing to his home for dinner. For a period of time, Zhu Ziqing's three meals a day were partnered with Yu Pingbo's house, and Yu Pingbo charged Zhu Ziqing 15 yuan a month for partnering, but he secretly subsidized the dishes, so Zhu Ziqing felt that Yu Pingbo's food was particularly rich, and he only learned the secret many years later.
In 1921, Yu Pingbo (right), Zhu Ziqing (middle), and Ye Shengtao took a group photo in Hangzhou
In 1938, Yu Pingbo was hired as a professor in the Department of Chinese Studies at the University of China, and soon after, he invited Bi Shutang, a well-known writer and member of the Democratic League, to give a lecture on "European Literary and Artistic Thought" at the Department of Chinese Studies. Bi Shutang and Yu Pingbo are close neighbors and often talk, so they have become inseparable friends. Due to the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Tsinghua moved south, and Bi Shutang and his family could only stay in the Tsinghua Custodian Society. Although life was extremely difficult, Bi Shutang insisted on not taking up a false position, and more than a dozen members of his family relied on him to teach and translate works to make a living. During this period, Bi's father and younger brother died of illness one after another, which can be said to be worse. In order to help Bi Shutang, Yu Pingbo asked Bi Shutang to be a tutor for his children for 50 yuan a month. Bi Shutang once said: "At that time, there was no such high price, and it was indeed a charcoal in the snow." These trivial things in life, Yu Pingbo not only took into account the face of Zhu Ziqing and Bi Shutang, but also secretly helped each other selflessly, from which we can get a glimpse of Yu Pingbo's gentlemanly demeanor.
After the fall of Beiping in 1937, prices soared, and the Yu family's life became increasingly difficult due to their stay in Beiping. Because it is the former Qing Dynasty Tanhua, there is an endless stream of people who come to the door to ask for words, and it is difficult to cope with it for a while, so it has to be sold by Rong Bao Zhai, and sometimes the supply exceeds demand, so it is written by Yu Pingbo.
Yu Pingbo
October 24, 1954 was a particularly unforgettable day in Yu Pingbo's life. On that day, the People's Daily published the third article co-written by Li Xifan and Lan Ling, who were then known as the "two little people." On this day, the Chinese Writers Association held a meeting to criticize Yu Pingbo, which lasted for seven hours. Yu Pingbo made a self-examination at the meeting and exonerated Wang Peizhang, a student who revised the article for him. Wang Peizhang also admitted frankly at the meeting that some articles were revised by Yu Pingbo after she wrote them, and she was willing to take responsibility. However, as the criticism expanded, Wang Peizhang reversed his previous attitude and published an article entitled "On Mr. Yu Pingbo's Erroneous Attitude in the Study of the Dream of the Red Chamber" in Guangming Daily on November 28, 1954. Wang Peizhang's counterattack on Yu Pingbo did not extricate himself from it, but ushered in a tragedy in his life. In 1958, she was sent to a national cotton factory in Beijing for labor training, and she was also criticized for this incident. In early 1960, Wang Peizhang was dismissed from public office and finally committed suicide in grief. In this regard, Yu Pingbo did not care about personal grievances, but said: "For more than a year, my teeth have been declining, and I have no chance to find the previous book." It is a pity that the students of the same school have returned to the land for a long time and can no longer explore and learn. "Sad, I miss Wang Peizhang very much.
"A gentleman cultivates his heart, and he is not good at sincerity. Yu Pingbo's humble and gentlemanly style is due to his "anxious" kindness, but also from his "Yu Yi" cultivation, and his "open" mind, just like his new poem "Spring Water" reflects his personality: "The sun shines on the river, clear and clear!"
Source: Magazine No. 3, 2024