1947: Yao Xueyin and Liu Yifang

Southern Weekly

2024-05-27 20:00Posted on the official account of Guangdong Southern Weekly

Liu Yilu in the 1950s (1918-2018).

After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Liu Yifang, who returned to Shanghai from Chongqing, was introduced by playwright Xu Changlin (1916-2001) to Yao Xueyin, who had just arrived in Shanghai. They agreed to meet on the third floor of the International Hotel by the racetrack. At that time, Liu Yifang had retired from his post as editor of the supplement of "Peace Daily" (formerly "Sweeping Daily") and set up a publishing house, Huaizheng Cultural Society (hereinafter referred to as "Huaizheng Society"), in his own home at No. 99, Lane 559, Jiangsu Road. The meeting between Liu Yifang and Yao Xueyin was pleasant, and the former suggested that Huaizheng Society publish a set of "Xueyin's Creation Collection", and Yao immediately agreed, which was very refreshing. Liu Yifeng later recalled:

In order to make Xue Yin write with peace of mind, I asked him to come to the publishing house to live. There are three rooms on the second floor of the publishing house, two large and one small. There are two larger rooms, one for the book storage and the other for the storage of paper types. The paper models are all placed in glass cabinets, which are not large, and there is still a lot of space to use. After Yao Xueyin moved to the publishing house, she lived in this room.

Before Yao Xueyin, the writer Xu Ji had already lived here. In the living room on the first floor of this publishing house, there was a banner written by Lu Xun: "Jin Jiaxiang makes a thousand rounds of sound, and Yang Xiong's autumn room has no vulgar sound." "The owner of this word is Xu Ji. Yao Xueyin should have seen this Lu Xun calligraphy. When Yao was 70 years old, he wrote his creative memoir "Fifty Years of Learning to Create", but he only mentioned this publishing house in passing, and there were basically no people and things related to it. On this point, he has already stated in advance in the "Epigraph" before the text: "Since it is not a memoir of ordinary life, even if many experiences in life are of great interest to the reader, I either mention them in one stroke or not at all." Of course, this is a memory from Yao Xueyin's perspective.

However, for Liu Yifang, the focus of memory is obviously very different from Yao's. Liu recalled:

Shanghai after the war,...... A large number of literary books are published every month, and when Huai Zheng asks writers for submissions, he often finds that the writer's work has been preemptively booked by other institutions. This situation makes it difficult to realize the ideal of "publishing good books", which worries me. If a publishing house can't get valuable works, of course, it can't do it. Therefore, when Xu Changlin told me that Yao Xueyin had come to Shanghai, I immediately asked Changlin to introduce him to him. After Yao Xueyin learned about Huaizheng's situation, he not only promised to hand over his "Xueyin Creation Collection" to us for publication, but also promised to help us pull the draft. For example, Xiong Foxi's "Iron Flower", Fengcun's "Wangbali Family", and Wang Xiyan's "Human Killing" were all brought by him. He also accompanied me to meet Mao Dun.

Yao Xueyin's relationship with Liu Yifang and Huaizheng Society should have been in 1947.

Later, four kinds of "Xueyin's Creation Collection" were published: the first kind of "Half a Car of Wheat Straw", the second kind of "Long Night", the third kind of "Niu Quande and Carrots", and the fourth kind of "Remembering Lu Rongxuan". Liu Yifang said, "The form of "Xueyin Creation Collection" is uniform, 28 open, and the cover is designed by the painter Lu Hanying. ”

Liu Yifang also recalled:

In the letter sent to his peers when Huaizheng was founded, he planned to publish a comprehensive journal that would pay equal attention to scientific thought, literature and art, but Yao Xueyin believed that since Huaizheng was a publishing house specializing in literary books, it should publish a high-level literary and artistic magazine. After discussion, it was decided to set up a "Fiction Magazine". This decision made the colleagues at the publishing house very excited, and the preparations began. …… Later, the inaugural issue was about to be published, and inflation went up.

Yao Xueyin once suggested that the Fiction Magazine should devote itself to novels and novel-related essays. On the occasion of the inaugural issue of the manuscript, Yao Xueyin wrote a letter to Sun Fuyuan, asking him to write an article about the novel. Soon, Sun sent an article entitled "Mr. Lu Xun's Novel", which was more than 12,000 words long, "This is a rare masterpiece" (Liu Yifeng).

Yao Xueyin (1910-1999).

After Yao Xueyin lived in Huaizheng Society, it is said that "Xu Ji didn't live in the club anymore because he was not used to eating the food of the publishing house." Still, he often came to the publishing house. Therefore, it is common to see snow mounds."

Yao Xueyin, who lives in Huaizheng Society, is not only calm in creating and sorting out old works. Xu Changlin recalled:

One day, Yao Xueyin came to me and said that some friends knew that his book was given to "Huaizheng", and gradually became estranged from him, because a wind blew from nowhere, saying that Huaizheng Publishing House had problems and backgrounds, and some people even said behind their backs: "Huaizheng" is nostalgic for Jiang Zhongzheng! ”

Xu Changlin was taken aback when he heard this, and although he didn't believe it, he still asked Liu Yifang directly. Liu just smiled faintly when he heard this, and said: "Huaizheng is the name of my father Liu Huaizheng, and the plaque with the three words 'Huaizhengtang' on the house of the ancestral hall in the countryside of Ningbo is still hanging in my hometown, if anyone is suspicious, you might as well go and take a look!"

The origin and accident of naming the publishing house "Huaizheng", Liu Yifang once had a detailed and interesting text recollection:

After Xu Ji moved here, we discussed a lot of things, one of which was the name of the publishing house. Xu Ji was particularly interested in the word "wind", and suggested that the publishing house be called "style" or "style", which I did not think was ideal, and suggested that the publishing house be named "everyone" or "popular", he said that this kind of name has long been used by people and can no longer be used. When I was at an impasse, I suddenly remembered the three words "Huai Zhengtang" at the bottom of the teacup, and thought that it was okay to use it as the name of the publishing house. "Huaizheng Hall" is the name of my family, which is taken from "Haoran Righteousness". First strict name, the word Yangru, is also the meaning of "raising my Haoran spirit". However, "Huaizheng Tang" is a bit like the name of a medicinal herb shop, which is easy to give people a wrong impression, and it is better to delete the word "Tang", Xu Jian not only did not object, but also suggested that "Huaizheng Publishing House" be changed to "Huaizheng Cultural Society". So that the scope of business is not too narrow.

It is not only Huaizheng Society who is suspicious, or Liu Yifang, a newcomer in the publishing industry, but more importantly, the main edge, in fact, has a clear goal, pointing directly at Yao Xueyin. The reason for these leisurely mouths without wind and waves is, of course, that the "Snow Yin Creation Collection" was eye-catching as soon as it came out. As for suspicion and active attackers, it is not possible to change the name.

On August 21 of this year, Ah Yong completed the article "From 'Flying Saucer' to Yao Xueyin's Hysteria", which was later published in Shanghai's "Times Daily" and Beiping's "Soil" magazine. The article reviews the history of Yao's creation one by one, and in the last part related to Huaizheng Society, the author asks solemnly: "...... And now, where is Yao Xueyin's masterpiece published? And whose house does it live? At the end of the article, he scolded the street: "Yao Xueyin, it's very simple: a poisonous snake, a fox, and a leper dog; Dragged his tail, made a noise, and bared his teeth. "It's not normal literary criticism anymore.

From the rebuke of this article, it is sighing to think of the tragedy suffered by the author A Yong not a few years later. As for the various things before and after the writing of this article, fortunately, in recent years, the "Complete Letters from A Yong to Hu Feng" has been published, in which the ins and outs of the book can naturally be explored. When this article came out, although it was not earth-shattering, it was a fact that it had a great repercussion. Hu Feng said in a letter to Ah Yong: "After the flying saucer (text) came out, it seemed to be quite lively, and some people even said that this was a polite cloud. ”

Bibliography of "Huaizheng Literature and Art Series".

The entanglement between Hu Feng and Yao Xueyin originated in Chongqing and spread to Shanghai. Therefore, this is not the first battle for Yao Xueyin and his works. In 1947 alone, Yao Xueyin wrote a preface to "The Writing Process of This Novel and Beyond" in Niu Quande and Carrots, published by Huaizheng Society on May 15. It reads:

During the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, I said in a mocking tone that I was one of the more "lucky" novel writers of the younger generation. My "luck" has two aspects: the first is that I am qualified to be taken seriously by the Hu Feng faction as the main enemy on the literary and artistic front...... The Hu Feng faction mistook me for their main enemy, wished that I would die immediately, and did not hesitate to deal with me in all kinds of rumor-mongering and slandering methods, which was a little sad at the time, but now I think about it a little funny. Although I have a stubborn character, I have never thought of taking revenge on the Hu Feng faction with the methods of the Hu Feng faction. Although I am very saddened by the style of the Hu Feng faction, I understand that I have a real enemy in common with them, and that is the dark forces.

The years have passed, and the two sides that were once "still in the middle of the war" have become ancients, and future generations have their own judgments on the characters, works, and even the review of the pen war, and the rights and wrongs of the parties.

Facts have proved that although the life span of Huaizheng Society is short, from the perspective of the variety and quality of the books that have been published, it has achieved the original intention of the publisher to "produce high-level new literary works without publishing miscellaneous books".

During the first meeting between the two at the International Hotel, Yao Xueyin told Liu Yifeng that he was writing the novel "The Long Night", but Yao's strong accent made Liu mistakenly hear it as "Entrepreneurship". Liu once envisioned that Xueyin's Creations should include all of Yao Xueyin's existing works, including the well-criticized novels "When the Spring Flowers Bloom" and "Rong Ma Love" (these two were fiercely criticized by Hu Feng and his comrades in Chongqing), but because the author "demanded more from himself than the readers demanded from him" (Liu Yifang), in the end, the long, medium, and short stories of the four books of Huaizheng Society included were all works that Yao Xueyin himself was satisfied with during that period, including the first published "Long Night".

Because of the outbreak of the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and the financial collapse of the Kuomintang region, Liu Yifang's "publishing dream" of publishing high-quality and good literary books had to come to an abrupt end. Liu Yifang said:

After the publication of "Remembering Lu Rongxuan", the war zone was expanded. Most of the books sent out by publishers cannot be recovered. The value of the currency fell sharply, and the currency was malignantly inflated. In this case, the white newspaper can still be sold at any time, and the white newspaper must be printed as a book. The publishing house came to a semi-standstill. Of course, "Xueyin Creation Collection" can't go on.

In another recollection, he wrote: "When the publishing house was in a state of semi-suspension, Xu Ji did not come much, and Xue Yin also moved out. I myself left Shanghai to come to Hong Kong during the Battle of Xuzhou......"

Yao Xueyin was hired by Pudong Gaoxing Agricultural School in early 1948 at the latest, and moved to the school. At that time, although Pudong and Puxi were only separated by a river (Huangpu River), one was a remote countryside and the other was a modern city, as if they were two worlds. But Yao Xueyin did not give up writing:

During the Liberation War, I lived in the countryside of Shanghai and began to prepare for a novel about the history of the late Ming Dynasty. …… At that time, a young man (I forgot his name) came to me in the countryside and said that he was going to start a publication called "Happiness" and asked me to write some manuscripts for him. I will study Chongzhen's materials and sort them out a little, mark a title of "The Biography of Emperor Chongzhen", and hand it over to him for publication. It's been serialized for about three issues, and I don't know why it's no longer serialized, maybe his "Happiness" has been discontinued.

This young man, whose name Yao Xueyin has forgotten, is Shen Silent (1924-2016). "The Biography of Emperor Chongzhen" was serialized in four issues, from the 23rd to the 26th, from December 5, 1948 to March 25, 1949. The reason for the discontinuation of serialization is indeed the suspension of publication.

The former site of Huaizheng Cultural Society.

Shen Jing also wrote novels and was an active publisher at the time. His acquaintance with Yao Xueyin was also because of Liu Yifang, and the location was in Huaizheng Society. When we met for the first time, the impression I gave to Shen Silent was:

Xu Ji didn't like to talk much, so everyone left after a few words of greeting. But Yao Xueyin can speak well. …… When he found out that I was also writing a novel, he told me about the different postures of various people in society fanning their fans. He showed me what he said and did, and it was so similar. The first time I met the two writers, Xu and Yao, I was deeply impressed.

After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War to the liberation in May 1949, Yao Xueyin's footprints in Shanghai can be roughly divided into three stages: the Martial Arts Training School, the Huaizheng Cultural Society, and the Gaoxing Agricultural School.

Huaizheng Society has a short lifespan, and it has passed by like a meteor in the history of Chinese publishing. If it weren't for the obsession of publisher Liu Yifang at the time—to publish a masterpiece of new literature, it would have been quickly forgotten by public memory. It is precisely with publications such as "Xueyin's Creative Collection" that the life of Huaizheng Cultural Society has been extended and extended in the history of modern Chinese new literature and publishing......

On June 5, 1948, Liu Yifeng and Li Fangfei got married in the Lido Garden Auditorium. Because Li Fangfei is a movie actor, this marriage news has also become newspaper news. Soon after, Liu Yifeng left Shanghai and arrived in Hong Kong at a time when he was "turned upside down and generous", and lived in this city for the rest of his life. It is said that in that big house, only his old mother was left withered.

It is this three-story small building, a house number of No. 99 A in Lane 559. In the depths of Liu Yifang's memory, it is either located on Edinburgh Road, or on Dingpan Road, but for Yao Xueyin in 1947, it is only Jiangsu Road.

In 1992, Shi Yucun, who lived on Yuyuan Road (close to Jiangsu Road), learned that there would be a new atmosphere on Jiangsu Road, so he sent a report to Liu Yifang in Hong Kong:

Jiangsu Road is being expanded and will be changed to Wuche Avenue, and residents on the side of the road will be relocated to Pudong or North Xinjing...... Is there a right to repossess the house? If possible, be sure to complete the procedures as soon as possible...... Brother must not delay, for next year he will not be able to take it back.

Liu Yifeng made an effort to hear the news, but the result was disappointing. Liu Yifang once dictated to a reporter from a newspaper in Shanghai, "I also wrote a novel for Shi Yucun at that time, and Dai Wangshu's manuscript was also forwarded to me by him." He also lives on Yuyuan Road, right behind my house. Sometimes they come to my house and give me the manuscript. This statement has been written for Shi Yu, which is a mistake. In May 1947, Huaizheng Society published Shi's "Waiting for Danlu", which is one of the "Huaizheng Literature and Art Series" and is a collection of essays. The "Dai Wangshu's Manuscript" forwarded by Shi Yucun is Dai Wangshu's translation of Baudelaire's "The Flower of Evil" published by Huaizheng Society, which was also included in the "Huaizheng Literature and Art Series", which was first published in March of this year.

As a witness to Yao Xueyin's friendship with Liu Yifang, and to witness the short-lived rise and fall of Huaizheng Society, a small publishing house, the three-story building is now alive and dead? On the evening of August 19, 2023, I made a special trip from Songjiang to Jiangsu Road for a field visit, but to no avail.

Wu Lin

Editor-in-charge: Liu Xiaolei

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