[Editor's note: This article is the original and exclusive first release of Toutiao, please do not plagiarize and reprint]
«——【Preamble】】 ——»
Disclaimer: The content of this article is written with authoritative information combined with personal opinions, and the source of the literature and screenshots have not been marked in the article, please be aware.
On January 13, 1989, a poem called "Facing the Sea, Spring Blossoms" swept the country, and the whole poem described a simple and happy scene, which can be seen that the author's heart is full of belief in delivering happiness.
Surprisingly, in just 2 months, it was reported that the author chose to commit suicide by lying on the rails, and this news caused a shock among the people of the whole country, and they couldn't believe that the person who committed suicide was the one who wrote such warm poems.
What happened, and why did the genius poet commit suicide after becoming famous?
A genius child, he was admitted to Peking University at the age of 15
On March 26, 1989, on a railroad track near Shanhaiguan, the staff found the body of a young man, who, according to preliminary judgment, was most likely committed suicide by lying on the rails.
There is no identification by his side, only 4 books, namely "Walden", "The Old and New Testaments", "The Lonely Raft of the Ocean", and "Selected Novels of Conrad".
Each book had been read countless times but was so well preserved that even at the end of his life, the man was reluctant to part with them, and placed them neatly where blood would not affect them.
After the police arrived at the scene, through the investigation of the man's identity, it was finally confirmed that his name was Zha Haisheng, a well-known talent at Peking University, and a new generation of romantic poets in China.
After confirming his identity, the police also found a suicide note in his home, which confirmed the truth that he committed suicide, and the police also found that this was not the first time he chose to commit suicide.
After reading his suicide note, the police read the poem from two months ago, and couldn't believe that such a pessimistic and misanthropic mentality could write such positive and sunny verses, which also aroused everyone's curiosity, why did he choose to commit suicide?
He was born in 1964 in a poor family in Chawan Village, Anhui Province, at that time, the family conditions were not good, and he could only rely on a few acres of thin land to make a living, and as the eldest son in the family, he did his best to help do some housework and take care of his three younger brothers since he was sensible.
Although his family conditions are poor, Zha Haisheng has a strong talent for words, and he can remember the words in his mind since he heard them once.
At that time, Chairman Mao's quotations were the most recited, he was Chairman Mao's most loyal fan, and it can be said that Chairman Mao's quotations were firmly in his mind.
In 1969, the village held a chairman's quotation contest, and he participated in the competition with the support of his parents before he was 5 years old, which surprised the villagers, and he also recited nearly 50 chairman's quotations on the stage with his extraordinary memory, which stunned everyone present and praised him as a prodigy.
He did not live up to the title of prodigy, and in the same year he went to the village primary school, and since he arrived at school, his grades in all his homework have been among the best in the year.
At the age of 10, he completed his primary school studies and was admitted to junior high school, and it took him another five years to complete the junior and senior high school courses, and at the age of 15, he received an admission letter from the Law Department of Peking University.
There are many students who are admitted to Peking University, but he is the only one who is as young as him, and it can be seen from here that his genius is not a fraud, since he went to Peking University, he met a classmate named Luo Yihe, under the influence of Luo Yihe, he became interested in poetry.
Luo Yihe was born in a family of scholars, under the influence of his elders, he has a lot of research and understanding of poetry, and after becoming friends with Zha Haisheng, he shared with him the books he usually reads about poetry, including "Walden".
Obsessed with poetry, renounced the law
Since learning about the charm of Chinese characters in poetry, the poet gene in Zha Haisheng's body has been completely awakened, and unlike the cold words in the law textbooks he has studied, poetry is full of emotions, whether it is happy, sad, indignant, or passionate, strong emotions fill his chest and mind.
In his words, after understanding poetry, he is the real him, the heart dedicated to poetry is about to move, after meeting Luo Yihe, he met Xichuan again, and he is also a talent who loves poetry.
The three of them became best friends because of their common preferences, and they were often seen discussing poetry in different places, and the students even jokingly called them the "Three Musketeers of Peking University".
In order to attract more people to join the ranks of poetry creation and sharing, the three of them spontaneously organized a poetry club, which can be said to be the happiest time for Zha Haisheng, without thinking about anything, as long as creating poems, sharing poems, and reciting poems, daily life is full and simple.
When he was about to graduate, the school organized an internship for law students, and it was this internship that made him see the essence of human nature, and at the same time he questioned whether it was really right for him to choose the path of law.
At that time, he was arranged to do an internship in the court in Shijiazhuang, where he mainly did some case recording work, which was very simple but very cold.
He has seen too many cases where morality cannot tolerate the law but cannot be punished, and the selfishness and viciousness of human nature are often staged in the courts.
It is obviously the weaker party, but because the terms of the law are greatly restricted, the weaker party is helpless, which makes him feel very painful.
Perhaps it was the charm of poetry that made him forget that he was actually a lawyer, and now he was confronted with the fundamental problems of morality and law, which left him at a loss.
It can be said that this experience made it difficult for him to accept the official business brought by the legal provisions, so when the school proposed two distribution plans, he rejected both.
At that time, Peking University also had the benefits of graduation assignment work, and his tutor recommended him two opportunities, one was to work in China and France in Nanjing, and the other was to work in the Anhui Department of Justice.
These two jobs are fragrant and sweet, and many law students can't ask for them, which shows that the instructor affirms his talent and ability.
But with the internship experience of Shijiazhuang Court, he didn't want to see the essence of human nature again, let alone someone to destroy the beauty in his heart, so he directly refused after the tutor proposed.
Perhaps the tutors really had a preference for him, and after learning the reason for his refusal, they still tried to find a more suitable job for him, which was to work in the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of China University of Political Science and Law, mainly responsible for the poetry promotion part of the school magazine.
With this job, Zha Haisheng is very happy, on the one hand, this job is very stable, and on the other hand, he can be accompanied by his favorite poems.
It's a pity that only a year later, he was transferred to the Department of Philosophy as a professor, which left him at a loss, because it was not his area of expertise.
It happened that the reform had just opened up during that period, and the job of a professor in the Department of Philosophy was not what he liked, so he wanted to go to the sea to do business, but the ideas of the older generation did not allow him to resign from this iron rice bowl, and everyone was worried that the business of going to the sea would not be lost, so under the strong protest of his father, he could only give up this idea.
Parents interfered and had no choice but to break up
There is a lot of speculation about the reason for Zha Haisheng's suicide, both those who know him and those who don't know him, and when they learned that he was rejected to resign, many people thought that this was the reason for his suicide, but his friend broke the news that in addition to his lack of work, his first love was also one of the important reasons.
When Zha Haisheng was still a professor of philosophy, although he was not a handsome guy, he was talented and attracted the attention of many girls, including a girl from Inner Mongolia who was also one of his admirers.
Ever since at a poetry event, the girl couldn't help but want to get to know him when she saw his confidence and generosity.
It was also after this event that the girl began to get to know Zha Haisheng constantly, and often found him in the name of poetry, and the two communicated more and more frequently.
Zha Haisheng also has a different affection for this sunny and cheerful girl, and since then his poems have become more romantic and full of strong love atmosphere.
It's a pity that the two have reached the stage of talking about marriage, and the girl's parents oppose the relationship between the two because of the wrong door.
In desperation, the girl could only be forced to break up with him, which was undoubtedly a huge blow, perhaps this is why he wanted to go to the sea to do business, so that his identity could match the girl.
Perhaps the loss of emotion made his mood change dramatically, and the content of his poetry changed from romanticism to pessimism, which made his poetry less and less recognized, and many people were laughing at him, even if the people who recognized him at the beginning slowly evolved into ridicule, which made him at a loss.
In fact, he should have suffered from depression and other diseases at that time, but everyone didn't have this concept at that time, so he didn't know that he was sick.
When he was in a good mood, his words were full of hope, and when he was in a bad mood, his words were full of despair, and the pull of the two limits made his mentality change dramatically.
The straw that really broke the camel's back was the last meeting between him and his first love, the girl told him that she was married and was going to go abroad to start a new life, hoping that both of them could let go of the past.
That night he called out to his friends, got himself drunk, and when he got drunk, he began to tell a lot about girls, both good and bad.
When he sobered up the next day, he regretted his behavior very much, and fell into a painful tug, and wrote one suicide note after another.
On March 14, 1989, which was a romantic White Day, he wrote a desperate poem "Spring, Ten Seas".
12 days later, the news of his suicide came out, which made countless people who knew him feel very sad, and it was also after his death that the poems he had written were compiled into a collection of poems and read by more people, and it was in this situation that he was named a "genius poet".
«——【·Conclusion·】——»
Looking back on Zha Haisheng's short but brilliant life, he left more than 2 million words of poetry to the world.
Let countless people see the charm brought by poetry, and let everyone better understand the emotions he narrates through poetry.
Resources:
Chutian Metropolis Daily 2018-04-14 released: 15-year-old went to Peking University at the age of 25 and committed suicide 30 years later, his younger brother told the cause of Haizi's death
China Youth Daily 2017-03-27Published: Remembering Haizi|He and poetry are resurrected in the spring
Beijing News 2019-03 30 Release: Haizi's Death: 30 Years of Being Consumed and Remembered
People's Literature Publishing House 2022-3-27Released: The 33rd anniversary of Haizi's death|You come to the world, you have to look at the sun