Friendship was like a bright light in my past life, shining through the darkness of my soul and giving my existence a little brilliance.
- Barkin
Friendship is the "light" in Ba Jin's life, Ba Jin has many friends, and there are endless friendship stories. Xuhui District Library (Xuhui Tushanwan Museum) and Ba Jin's former residence jointly planned and launched the theme activity "Ba Jin's Study" to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Mr. Ba Jin's birth.
At present, the second phase of "Ba Jin's Circle of Friends" is on display in the "Cultural Context" light box space on the second floor of Xujiahui Academy. Let's walk into the "Ba Jin Study", approach the "Ba Jin's circle of friends", and look for the bright lights that illuminate Ba Jin.
Sixty years
Ba Jin once wrote in "My Responsible Editor": "I should be happy: I have such friends, such teachers, and such responsible editors!" …… This is the path he has shown me, and this is the path of my life. ”
The responsible editor of Ba Jin is Ye Shengtao, who has the insight to carry Ba Jin, and can be said to be Ba Jin's literary guide and Bole. Ba Jin respected Ye Shengtao as his teacher all his life, and even after becoming famous, he was always grateful for Ye Shengtao's support: "Every time I look through my old works, I think of the warmth I got from you (Ye Shengtao), and I am happy to be able to express my feelings to you today." Ba Jin and Ye Shengtao edited the "Literary Quarterly" together and contributed to the anti-Japanese magazine "Beacon", and the sincere friendship between teachers and friends lasted for 60 years.
Ba Jin's first novel was introduced to readers by Ye Shengtao. From 1927 to 1928, Ba Jin, who lived in Paris to study, wrote his first novel, Perdition, which was introduced to the authoritative magazine "Novel Monthly" by his friend Sophie in Shanghai. After the counter-revolutionary coup d'état of "April ·12", Zheng Zhenduo, the editor-in-chief of "Novel Monthly", traveled to Europe to escape the persecution of the Kuomintang, and was temporarily replaced by Ye Shengtao and Xu Tiaofu, who were also editors of the Commercial Press. After reading it, Ye Shengtao greatly appreciated "Perdition" and decided to publish the work of this fledgling and strange author as soon as possible. "Perdition" was serialized in four issues of the January and April 1929 issues of the Novel Monthly. Because it was in line with the bitter and hesitant mood of the young people in China who didn't know where to go after the defeat of the Great Revolution, the protagonist Du Daxin's heroic dedication to "faith" hit the hearts of countless people, and the "Novel Monthly" publishing "Perdition" was quickly sold out as soon as it was put on the shelves. In September of the same year, the single book of "Perdition" was published by Kaiming Bookstore, and Ba Jin began to attract great attention in the literary world.
"Novel Monthly" "opened the way" for Ba Jin, allowing "this person who does not understand literature to enter the literary world smoothly". Since then, Ba Jin officially chose to write as a lifelong career, and since then, he has been uncontrollable, writing "The Dead Sun", "Autumn in Spring", the love trilogy "Fog", "Rain", "Electricity", and the torrent trilogy "Home", "Spring" and "Autumn", which are well-known in the literary world.
During this period, Ye Shengtao advertised for "Underwater Dream", "Home" and "Ba Jin's Short Story Collection", persuaded him to publish articles cautiously when Ba Jin was busy with text entertainment, and also withdrew the manuscript of "Dead Sun" and put forward many suggestions for enriching and revising. Ba Jin was very grateful, and he wrote in "My Writing Career": "I respect him as 'sir', because he not only sent me into the literary and artistic world, but also always paid attention to my published works, and cared about my words and deeds. ”
In 1977, Ba Jin published the first essay of the new era, "A Letter", in Wen Wei Po, and the passionate writer Ba Jin returned to the reader's field of vision. Ye Shengtao, who was in his 80s, happily wrote a poem and wished Ba Jin to start writing again: "Reciting Junwen, Mo Ji, not shallow, fifty years." Usually may not often meet, ten years of Qi Kuo heart is sad. This spring, the Wenhui is published in the book, and the people who know it or not. Swaying the vigor is still in the past, how can the bees be in the king? Du Yun is rare and strong today, and he looks at the new works like a spring. After receiving this poem, Ba Jin's heart could not help but fluctuate, and he replied with thanks: "Seeing your neat handwriting is like seeing you yourself; Reading your poems, it warms me to think of your encouragement more than once in the past 50 years. I cherish your words and remember your every word, which is a spur to me. I will not disappoint your expectations, I will learn from the old, transform to the old, and write to the last breath of life. ”
In 1978, the first session of the Fifth National People's Congress was held, and Ba Jin and Ye Shengtao reunited for the first time after more than ten years. Ba Jin wrote in his diary that day: "When I met Ye Shengtao, he held my hand tightly. Thank you very much to him. After the meeting, Ba Jin went to visit Ye Shengtao and knew that Ye Shengtao liked to drink rice wine, so he specially brought a bottle of aged Huadiao.
On March 10, 1978, Ba Jin and Ye Shengtao were photographed at Ye Shengtao's residence in Beijing
(Photo courtesy of Ba Jin's former residence)
In addition to writing "Caprice" in his later years, one of the things he tried his best to do well was to establish the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature, "This work is more meaningful than writing five or ten "Creative Memoirs". On March 12, 1981, he published "Creative Memoirs · About" in the supplement of "People's Daily<寒夜>", advocating the establishment of the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature, which aroused strong repercussions in the literary circle, and Ye Shengtao, Mao Dun, Bingxin, Xia Yan and other enthusiastic support, Ye Shengtao happily inscribed the name of the museum at the request of Ba Jin.
In March 1985, when Ba Jin went to Beijing to attend the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, he made a special trip to visit Ye Shengtao, Bingxin and other well-known figures in the literary circle on behalf of the Chinese Writers Association. On the morning of March 27, Ba Jin came to Beijing Hospital to visit Ye Shengtao, and Ye Shengtao took out a newly published copy of "Ye Shengtao's Prose Collection" that had been prepared a long time ago and gave it to Ba Jin. Ba Jin reminded Ye Shengtao to pay more attention to rest, and Ye Shengtao persuaded Ba Jin to write more. The two elders talked cordially and happily, but they never thought that it would be the last time.
On March 27, 1985, Ba Jin visited Ye Shengtao in Beijing Hospital
(Photo courtesy of Ba Jin's former residence)
On February 16, 1988, Ye Shengtao passed away in Beijing Hospital, which was the Chinese New Year's Eve. Considering Ba Jin's physical condition, the Ye family did not inform the news. But Ba Jin still learned the bad news from the news, and was grief-stricken, and after calming down, he personally called Ye Zhishan, the eldest son of Ye Shengtao, to express his condolences and condolences. Two days later, Ba Jin sent a message of condolence: "Ye Lao is the most beloved teacher in my life, he set an example and pointed out to me the path of writing and being a person; His image of integrity, kindness, and sincerity will always live in my heart. ”
In the 1989 article "Remembering Zhenduo", Ba Jin once again felt nostalgic for Ye Shengtao's influence on himself: "He doesn't teach, he only leads the way and sets an example." Today he is no longer in the world, and I don't have many opportunities to hold a pen, but every time I hold a pen, I always feel that he is behind me and sees what I write, and I dare not think about it seriously. ”
Reading is the best memorial
He wrote the first novel in the history of modern Chinese literature, Ni Huanzhi, published China's first collection of fairy tales, The Scarecrow, and co-founded the first poetry magazine of Chinese new literature, Poems, with Zhu Ziqing.
He is Ye Shengtao, a modern writer, educator, literary publisher and social activist, known as an "excellent language artist".
Ye Shengtao devoted his life to the education and cultural undertakings of the mainland, and he also systematically elaborated on reading:
"Reading for a lifetime is actually a lifetime of savings, and at the same time a lifetime of growth."
"Reading is never a utilitarian thing, no book in the world can bring you good luck, but you must know that books can make you quietly become the best version of yourself."
"If all young people pay attention to this, then in the near future, the mainland can become a country with a universal love of reading."
Today, we re-read Ye Shengtao's works together and feel the profound thoughts and broad minds of a generation of literary masters.
《文心》 ISBN: 9787559467195
Author: Xia Yazun / Ye Shengtao
Publisher: Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House
"Wenxin" was written by mainland educators Xia Yazun and Ye Shengtao, completed in the 30s of the 20th century, and is a best-selling Chinese reader. The book is composed of 32 short stories, which can be said to be "32 Chinese language lessons for middle school students", and vividly and interestingly teaches rhetoric, grammar, vocabulary, poetry, novels, diaries, literary history and other language knowledge. Although it has been published for more than 80 years, it still has a good guiding significance for today's Chinese teaching and learning, and it is worthy of serious study by students, teachers and writers.
《稻草人》 ISBN: 9787569500226
Author: Ye Shengtao
Publisher: Shaanxi Normal University Press
"Scarecrow" is a modern Chinese fairy tale published by Ye Shengtao in 1922, through the eyes and thoughts of a compassionate and powerless scarecrow, it truly describes the turbulent human situation in rural China in the 20s of the 20th century, and shows the suffering of the working people at that time. This work is one of the earliest literary works written for children in the history of Chinese literature. Ye Shengtao's fairy tales are novel and unique in concept, delicate and realistic in description, easy to understand in language, and have strong practical educational significance, which is encouraging and inspiring to read.
《倪焕之》 ISBN: 9787020170470
Author: Ye Shengtao
Publisher: People's Literature Publishing House
"Ni Huanzhi" is a novel written by modern writer Ye Shengtao, which was serialized in the then "Education Magazine" in 1928. This work artistically reproduces the ideological changes and life paths of petty bourgeois intellectuals represented by the protagonist Ni Huanzhi in the process of drastic historical changes, reveals the chaos of China's educational circles and the dark conditions of society at that time, and shows the broad historical background at that time. "Ni Huanzhi" is quite distinctive, the language is rigorous and simple, and the objective description contains enthusiasm, which is an influential realist work since May Fourth.
Text: Xuhui Cultural Tourism
Editor: Ning Pingying
Proofreader: Song Jiayin (intern)