Abstract: Shen Congwen was Xiao Qian's mentor and the first person to lead Xiao to the path of literature, but during the Cultural Revolution, the two unexpectedly had a conflict. Shen Congwen even wrote a handwritten letter not allowing Xiao Qian to participate in his memorial service, what made Shen Congwen, who has always been peaceful, so determined?
Shen Congwen
In the spring of 1988, Li Hui, a reporter from the People's Daily, told me that Teacher Shen agreed with me. Since Li Hui was on a business trip, we agreed that as soon as he returned, he would accompany me to visit him at Teacher Shen's apartment in Chongwenmen. Unexpectedly, in May, Teacher Shen Congwen, a superstar in the literary world, suddenly fell and lost his opportunity. These were the words written by Xiao Qian himself.
Xiao Qian, a well-known journalist, writer and translator, once said that Shen Congwen was "one of my mentors, the first person (in 1930) to lead me to the path of literature and art."
However, in 1974, the two accidentally quarreled, and Shen Congwen even wrote a handwritten letter asking his wife Zhang Zhaohe to forward it to Xiao Qian, saying that after his death, Xiao Qian was not allowed to participate in the memorial service, nor was he allowed to write a memorial article, otherwise he would resort to the law.
What is it that makes Shen Congwen, who has always been peaceful, so determined? What really happened between the two?
<h1>Shen Congwen to Xiao Qian</h1>
<h1>Grace is as heavy as a mountain</h1>
Xiao Qian was born in 1910, a native of Beijing, his real name is Xiao Bingqian, Xiao Bingqian, and Xiao Shen Congwen is nearly 8 years old.
In the autumn of 1929, Xiao Qian was admitted to the Chinese Language Training Class of Yenching University without a diploma, and the lecturer of modern literature was Yang Zhensheng from Tsinghua University, because Xiao Qian published the novels "Pear Peel" and "After the Dispersion" in the "Yanda Monthly", and in 1930, Yang Zhensheng introduced Xiao Qian to interview Shen Congwen, the leader of the literary circles at that time.
The first time we met, Shen Congwen invited Xiao Qian to eat at a small restaurant in Dong'an Market, and after Shen Congwen wrote the name of the dish by hand, Xiao Qian wanted to collect it and said to the guy: "Give me this menu, I will copy it for you again." Shen Congwen said, "What do you want the menu to do?" I'll write to you later, write a long letter. ”
In 1931, Shen Congwen went to teach at the National Qingdao University, and indeed wrote many letters to Xiao Qian.
In 1932, Xiao Qian ran to a middle school in Fuzhou to work as a Chinese teacher for a year, and returned to Beiping in 1933, just as Shen Congwen also returned to Beiping, he wrote a letter inviting Xiao Qian to play at home and encouraged him: "I hope you only write three or two short stories a month, and then pick out the most satisfactory ones to come to see me again." It wasn't written not to come and see me. On September 29 of that year, Xiao Qian sent shen Congwen the newly written short story "Silkworm", and Shen was the editor-in-chief of the supplement of the Ta Kung Pao.
On November 1, xiao Qian was browsing the Ta Kung Pao when he accidentally found that the Silkworm had been published. A few days later, Shen Congwen wrote a letter saying that a "brilliant young lady" wanted to see Xiao Qian. This "miss" is Lin Huiyin. Lin Huiyin highly admired "Silkworm", so Xiao Qian walked into the "wife's living room" and became a new writer of the "Beijing School".
Later, Xiao Qian's "Xiao Jiang", "Stamps", "Huazi and Lao Huang", "Deng Shandong", and "The Fate of the Yinzi Car" were all published in the "Ta Kung Pao" by Shen Congwen's hand.
In the early spring of 1935, before Xiao Qian graduated, he was hired by the Ta Kung Pao because of the recommendation of Shen Congwen and Yang Zhensheng.
After the outbreak of the "War of Resistance", the Ta Kung Pao cut the supplement, Xiao Qian went into exile in Wuhan, Shen Congwen and Yang Zhensheng helped him find a place to live and work, after Xiao Qian was unemployed for 8 months, Shen and Yang saved 50 yuan from their monthly wages for Xiao.
In 1938, with Ba Jin's encouragement, Xiao Qian wrote a long novel based on the story of his first love, "Valley of Dreams", which caused a sensation and was praised as "one of the most weighty and charming poetic novels of autobiographical love tragedy in modern Chinese literature", but xiao Qian has since stopped writing novels.
In this regard, Xiao Qian's explanation is that he found that he "only sketched on a small picture, and could not engage in the creation of large pictures with many characters" and "I found my own ability limit in time." Xiao Qian once wanted to write a satirical novel, but later translated "Good Soldier Shuai ke" and lamented to himself, "Whenever I want to write with itchy hands, I always immediately control it." Xiao Qian also liked poetry, but "found himself lacking poetry talent very early on." I like to read poetry, but I haven't written a single line in my life."
The author once consulted Xiao Qian's wife Wen Jieruo on this, and Elder Wen said that the main reason was that Xiao Qian left a lot of creative notes and wanted to write them again in the future, but these notes were all lost later, there was no material, and naturally there was no way to write again. After the reform and opening up, Xiao Qian wrote several short stories and wrote to Ba Jin to report good news, but Elder Wen believed that the level of these novels was not high and could not be compared with Xiao Qian's early creations.
In 1939, Xiao Qian went to Britain, becoming the only Chinese journalist on the battlefield in Europe during World War II.
<h1>Both the master and the disciple were scolded by Guo Moruo</h1>
In 1946, Xiao Qian returned to China and was still serving in the Ta Kung Pao.
In 1947, Hong Shen was in charge of the weekly magazine "Drama and Film", Zhang Luo gave Tian Han a birthday wish, called someone to write a birthday greeting, the other party was unwilling, Hong loudly reprimanded: "Do you still want to eat this bowl of drama?" Xiao Qian listened and was extremely disgusted.
Coinciding with the anniversary of the "May Fourth" and the newspaper wanted to publish an editorial, Xiao Qian wrote "Where Is Chinese Literature and Art Going?" "Recently, people in the literary circles have called each other old and have been infected with a lot of corruption, and people in middle age have made a big birthday feast, which is particularly twilight." George Bernard Shaw's ninetieth birthday last year, on his birthday, he still sent a letter to the newspaper office over atomic issues. The Chinese literary revolution lasted for just 28 years, and this phenomenon is indeed terrifying. ”
Xiao Qian was originally targeting Tian Han, but guo Moruo and Mao Dun were dissatisfied. Because in 1941, when Guo Moruo was 50 years old, he had a "big Birthday Feast", and in 1945, when Mao Dun was 50 years old, the literary circles also sent congratulatory messages.
According to the usual practice, the editorial is not signed, but Guo Moruo "probably did a thorough and sufficient investigation and research" and knew the inside story. Many years later, Xiao Qian wrote regretfully: "Calling the public and calling the old man is originally a good tradition of the nation, and there is nothing wrong with it... Mr. Mao Dun was a loyal elder, and of course he was not happy in his heart, but in the early days of liberation, he continued to give me support and guidance in the editing of the Translation. Another elderly man, as soon as he arrived in Hong Kong, threw a lot of feces at me and wanted to die. ”
The so-called "dung water" refers to the fact that ten months later, Guo Moruo wrote "Rebuke Reactionary Literature and Art" on February 10, 1948, calling Xiao Qian "black literature and art" and Shen Congwen "peach red literature and art". For this article, Xiao Qianhou said, "My political destiny has dominated me for thirty years."
In early January 1949, when Peiping was peacefully liberated, Peking University students copied Guo Moruo's "Rebuke Reactionary Literature and Art" into a big-character poster and posted it, and Shen Congwen's eldest son, Shen Longzhu, after reading it, felt that "pink" was OK, but Shen Congwen's mental pressure was extremely high. On March 28 of the same year, Shen chose to commit suicide and was once admitted to a mental hospital after being rescued.
There are many theories about Shen's suicide. Zhang Zhaohe believes that "the external pressure is not as great as imagined, and the pressure on his own heart first knocked him down."
Qian Liqun believes that Shen's suicide also has a reason for family disputes. During the Spring Festival in 1936, Shen Congwen had an extramarital affair with the Fujian female writer Gao Yunxiu (pen name Gao Qingzi), which lasted for several years, so it was easy to cut off this relationship, and Shen Congwen had an ambiguous relationship with his sister-in-law. On May 10, 1949, Zhang Zhaohe went to North China University to study, and Shen Congwen worried that Zhang Yi would never return, causing him to have a mental breakdown.
Guo Moruo and Shen Congwen had an old grudge, and in 1930, Shen Congwen wrote an article saying, "Let us place Guo Moruo's name on heroes, poets, demagogues or any name, and respect and sympathize with him." In terms of fiction, he should give up his position, because that is not the place where he developed genius", "Guo Moruo uses heroes to exaggerate his appearance, sometimes making people laugh". Since then, as long as Shen Congwen's article involves Guo Moruo, Guo will strike back sharply.
In 1964, Shen Congwen focused on the Study of Ancient Chinese Costumes. At a banquet, Shen and Guo sat next to each other, and Guo took the initiative to propose to write a preface to Shen, and sent the article to Shen a few days later, expressing the intention of reconciliation, but the book was not allowed to be published until 1981, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Shen Congwen did not use Guo Order.
<h1>Shen Congwen once fell into a well</h1>
In 1957, Xiao Qian was branded a "rightist," and at a meeting of criticism held by the Literary Federation, Shen Congwen suddenly said, "I know that Xiao Qian colluded with US imperialism as early as 1930." Wen Jieruo was also present at the time and heard these words with his own ears.
The so-called "collusion" refers to the fact that from June 1, 1931 to July 29, 1931, the American young An Lan founded the English "China Newspaper Clippings" and asked Xiao Qian to be the editor, at that time Xiao Qian was still a college student, a total of 8 issues, due to poor sales, An Lan lost money and then stopped publishing. For this period of history, Shen Congwen could not be clearer, why did he still fall into the well?
This may be related to the changes in the situation of the two sides after 1949.
After 1949, Shen Congwen bid farewell to the literary world and worked as a docent in the history museum. According to Mr. Lin Jinlan, "The History Museum has many offices, and others have them, but they don't give Shen Congwen." Once, Shen was told to participate in the reception of a city leader, he went early, waited for a long time, came was the deputy mayor Wu Han, Shen hurriedly avoided, the leader asked, Shen said: "I am afraid that he treats me respectfully." "Because Wu Han is his student. But Zhang Yunhe said that when Shen Congwen chased Zhang Zhaohe, he wrote a lot of love letters, and Wu Han also wrote some.
At this stage, Shen Congwen was quite lonely and confused, while Xiao Qian was the opposite, which could be called a spring breeze.
In 1951, Xiao Qian published "Learning in Land Reform", which was praised by Mao Zedong, saying: "Well written, please broadcast it, publish it everywhere, and publish a single book." In 1956, Xiao Qian became the deputy editor-in-chief of "Literature and Art Daily", and in the winter of that year, he also enjoyed the "special treatment" of 3 tons of Yangquan coal, which was "full of flames" and "not smelly", and the housing conditions were also improved.
However, Xiao Qian's good fortune did not last long, because he was careless in speaking in the "anti-rightist" and suddenly fell to the bottom.
In 1957, Cao Yu wrote: "Xiao Qian is a well-known person in the cultural circles, he is very intelligent, can write, and is good in both Chinese and English. But he has a problem, that is, it is smooth and deep, so that people can't touch his bottom. In the past, he had drilled around in the mixed water, thinking that he was a dragon-like figure, but in today's clear water, everyone can see clearly, he is clearly a loach. He also said: "His ex-wife Comrade Mei Tao said that Xiao Qian has stepped on two boats all his life to do things for people, and has never failed. His motto is, prepare for the worst, hope for the best ... Xiao Qian, you politician who pedaled two boats, you stepped on the boat of the Communist Party with this foot, and whose boat did you step on with that foot? ”
In his autobiography in his later years, Xiao Qian unceremoniously shot back: Cao Yu is a big loach, and he has been acting all his life.
Cao Yu's evaluation reflects some writers' criticism of Xiao Qian, Qian Zhongshu said that "in his prime years, he was too sharp", and Shen Congwen also said that "he (Xiao Qian) was always an inappropriate one". Shen Congwen was left out in the cold, and ba jin, who was far away in Shanghai, would come to beijing to visit, and Shen once sighed: "Those who are in Beijing city also seem to be unable to find my address in Beijing city, and they never want to find me." ”
Once Xiao Qian accompanied foreign guests to visit the Forbidden City, it happened that Shen Congwen was responsible for explaining, and Xiao felt very bitter, so he had to avoid it far away. According to Lin Jinlan, Xiao Qian also had an ugly word about Shen Congwen: "He sells the countrymen." Shen Congwen just said, "He's brilliant." ”
The reason for Shen Congwen's dissatisfaction with Xiao Qian was also a possibility. In 1957, Xiao once looked for Shen on behalf of the "Literature and Art Daily" and encouraged him to sing, and Wen Jieruo said: "Shen shook his head, and did not take care of Xiao at all... It is not difficult to imagine what kind of political consequences will be caused by running after Xiao. ”
In June 1964, Xiao Qian was "removed from his hat" and set up a family banquet for Shen Congwen and Zhang Zhaohe.
Xiao Qian
<h1>The two of them bizarrely broke up</h1>
During the Cultural Revolution, Xiao Qian and Shen Congwen's family both suffered hardships, but the letters between the two sides continued, and Shen wrote several long letters to Xiao, which shows that the two have a close relationship.
In February 1973, Xiao Qian took a leave of absence from the "cadre school" to return to Beijing to see a doctor, visited Shen Congwen, and saw that Shen lived alone in a bungalow, while his wife and children lived elsewhere, Shen had high blood pressure and heart disease, which was very inconvenient, so he entrusted Shen Congwen to solve the housing problem, but did not succeed, so he casually told Zhang Zhaohe. Soon Xiao Qian received a sternly worded letter from Shen Congwen accusing him of being nosy. Soon, the two met on the road, and Shen Congwen reprimanded: My housing problem, I don't need you Zhang Luo. Do you know? I still have to apply to join the party.
Xiao Qian froze, and later he said: I hope I have never heard this sentence.
In response to Shen Congwen's bizarre response, Xiao Qian believed that Shen Congwen did not really want to join the party, but used this to show that he had not yet become a second-class citizen like Xiao Qian.
Later, Xiao Qian wrote to Shen Congwen to explain, but Shen Congwen returned several long letters cursing Xiao, and these letters were later returned to Zhang Zhaohe, and Shen Congwen's assistant and archaeologist Wang Yuyu once saw it, saying that "the severity of the wording is unimaginable", and also said that Shen Congwen was angry when he mentioned Xiao Qian in his later years, and told his family that after a hundred years, Xiao Qian would not be allowed to participate in his posthumous affairs, and "he was not allowed to touch his side."
For Shen Congwen's overreaction, there are three common explanations.
First, at that time, Shen Congwen was happy with himself and did not want Zhang Zhaohe to move in together. Because Zhang Zhaohe and his children pursue progress, they often criticize Shen Congwen's thinking as too stubborn and need to be reformed, and whenever Shen Congwen says that "the rain is very sad", the children say that "the peasants who turn over will not think like this.". However, when Shen Congwen saw guests at that time, he relied on Zhang Zhaohe to give him a look at him and help him "check the pass", so it can be seen that Shen Congwen is inseparable from Zhang Zhaohe.
The second is related to the contradiction between Shen Congwen and Ding Ling, who were originally fellow villagers and had a good relationship, but in the March 1980 issue of the Poetry Journal, Ding Ling suddenly angrily rebuked Shen's "Ji Ding Ling" created more than 40 years ago, calling the book "nonsense" and saying that the author was "ignorant and ruthless", a "coward who is greedy for life and afraid of death, and a city servant who is preoccupied with personal gains and losses".
Although Shen Congwen did not respond publicly, when he privately mentioned Ding Ling in his later years, he used harsh language: "She can say that she is very chaotic (referring to improper private life) and looks bad... He also had contacts with Xiao Qian. "What Stalin Prize (Ding Ling had won a second-class Stalin Literature Prize), that was entirely political. It is the crowding, it is the movement of 'making gods'. ”
Xiao Qian and Ding Ling had a good relationship, after the Cultural Revolution, Xiao Qian was one of the first editors to publish Ding Ling's articles, and the outside world learned that Ding Ling was still alive, and after Ding Ling resumed her work, Xiao Qian, as a subordinate, worked with her for a period of time. But in 1974, Shen Congwen and Ding Ling had not yet had a conflict.
Third, Shen Congwen may have heard some rumors about Xiao Qian. According to the famous poet Niu Han, Xiao Qian loved to make small reports, and often wrote four or five copies and distributed them to the leaders of the society and the personnel office. During the Cultural Revolution, the personnel file was made public, and his small report was displayed in front of everyone, and everyone was angry. Xiao Qian said: "I am an old journalist, I am itchy, and I can't write anything without writing..." Niu Han also said that one day during the Cultural Revolution, the military propaganda team took everyone to swim in the Chaobai River, Xiao Qian was swept into the whirlpool, and it seemed that he was going to sink, and it was Niu Han who saved him. Afterwards, some people complained about Niu Han, saying that what to do to save him, he deserved to die!
The author had consulted Wen Jieruo on this matter, and Elder Wen said that all the materials xiao qian had submitted through her hands and had never seen a small report. In the confession materials, Xiao Qian never mentioned anyone, but Xiao Qian had the habit of remembering things with his hands, and whether he was copied away and brought trouble to others was not guaranteed.
Did Shen Congwen hear the relevant rumors and look for a rut to reject Xiao Qian thousands of miles away? But this does not explain why Shen Congwen still refused to forgive Xiao Qian after the end of the Cultural Revolution.
<h1>Two Shen Congwen</h1>
Perhaps, the contradiction between Shen Xiao and Xiao should be understood in a specific historical context.
Shen Congwen is a giant of modern Chinese literature, and his life has suffered ups and downs, but he has tried to maintain the style of a free intellectual, which makes posterity unconsciously elevate him and regard it as a model of personality, but ignores that Shen Congwen is also multifaceted and even contradictory.
In 1956, Shen Congwen was co-opted as a special invited member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and he said: "I believe in the Communist Party. I must look up to the excellent Party members... Strive to be a new intellectual of the Mao Zedong era. Shen Congwen resolutely supported the criticism of the Hu Feng movement, and he wrote to the eldest brother: "It is precisely here that the Hu Feng issue is being comprehensively discussed. This man used to think (before and during the War of Resistance) that he was representing the Party, criticizing this and attacking that. Now I understand that it is his own set, there is a small group, here and there is a layout, fighting for leadership! Not to mention being the party's spokesman! ”
In 1959, when the Soviet Union successfully launched the "Luna 1" probe, Shen Congwen was very excited and wrote: "I think that only by requesting to join the party to commemorate this important event is it enough to express the comprehensive support for the ideals of the socialist camp and the deep confidence in its success." But his friend Ding Xilin pulled him to join the party, and Shen Congwen said that he was not interested.
At the beginning of 1960, shen Congwen lived in Jinggangshan for 3 months and collected 100,000 words of material, but could not write a novel, and later wrote several "poems", such as:
Although Yan'an City is small, Maocai clusters are British.
Marxism and Leninism studied diligently and worked hard together.
Youth smelts a furnace, and the collective becomes a giant.
In 1970, in a long letter to Xiao Qian, Shen Congwen said: "I wrote a long poem called "Red Satellite in The Sky", and if I had the opportunity to make it public at another time. Unfortunately, as it stands, I will hardly see the poem published. It doesn't matter, because the times are so great, the individual is ridiculously small. ”
After 1949, Shen Congwen's heart was unstable, repeatedly wandering and hesitating between "acknowledging self" and "denying self", sometimes being wrapped up in the trend of "left", sometimes returning to freedom, it should be said that the combination of two Shen Congwen is the real Shen Congwen, otherwise it is difficult to understand why Shen Congwen's behavior is erratic.
To give just one example, Liang Shiqiu wrote many essays recalling his former literary friends in his later years, and there were three of them alone, and his article recalling Bingxin made Bingxin "very grateful, he wrote a letter, entrusted people to transfer it to him from the United States, and earnestly asked him to come back to see the actual situation of New China", but Shen Congwen saw Liang's article, but said that "the most boring literati Liang Shiqiu, still wrote an article in Seattle to mourn me", "adding salt and vinegar to Taiwan propaganda", Liang Shiqiu mistakenly thought that Shen Congwen died in the Cultural Revolution, but there was no malice, for a fierce response, Shen Congwen claims to be "cooperating with politics", but scholars believe that Shen's response may be related to Liang Wei's praise for Shen's article.
On April 21, 1988, Li Hui, a reporter for the People's Daily, asked Shen Congwen: "You are old and old, can't you reconcile?" If he (referring to Xiao Qian) comes to see you, will you drive him away? Shen groaned for a moment and said, "Come and see me, what am I doing to him?" Li Hui and Xiao Qian agreed to visit Shen Congwen together after returning from a business trip.
Unexpectedly, on May 10, Shen Congwen died of a heart attack, and the two elderly people finally failed to release their previous suspicions on this shore.
(Originally published in Phoenix Weekly)