Author | Acacia Book
Source | Confucius old book network dynamics
I sat in the kitchen at home smoking, looked at the washing machine, the water pipe, the radiator, the stove in turn, and thought to myself, with the washing machine, I don't have to go to the well to fetch water, take a large basin, and wash clothes with a washboard. With heating, you are not afraid of the indoor cold in winter, and you can sit down quietly and read. With a natural gas stove, you can save chopping wood and buying coal to make a fire. The convenience of life saves a lot of time for material survival; so, what do I do with the time saved? Have we become more diligent and more accomplished after life is convenient? Why is it that the material is rich, life is convenient, and many people complain and feel unhappy?
I have these messy thoughts, but I looked at the photos of Mr. Gu Jiegang's former residence in The Dongcheng Ganmian Hutong, and at the door of his former residence, there were stacks of black honeycomb coals piled up under the red pillar and green windows. In the past, any resident who lived in the old city was no stranger to honeycomb coal: it was a necessity for cooking and heating. In the era of the planned economy, every family had coal and was rationed by the government. I have been to the coal yard where honeycomb coal is made several times, because our family has used this fuel for a short time, and I have experienced it firsthand. This kind of folk invention fuel is made of mixed coal soil, the heat is weak, cooking and heating are not good, and the family is inseparable. I am a native of Shanxi, and I despise this coal, which is known as a "honeycomb". ...... I stared at the honeycomb coal in front of Mr. Gu's house and sighed in my heart: After Mr. Gu entered Beijing, for nearly thirty years, he relied on this to eat and keep warm.
Honeycomb coal, if it is boiling soup, is the best choice, because its firepower is weak; if you use a stir-fry spoon to fry a dish that mainly relies on the heat, it is not smart. What about heating in winter? Sun Ben wrote a "Stove", which is a portrayal of the honeycomb coal stove. In the big house, only when the body is close to it can you feel a little warmth. People are always afraid of cold, I have not personally experienced, I have seen it from books. The poet Xu Chi once said in the language of poetry: "Winter has knocked me down!" "I have lived in Wuhan and know that winter in Wuhan is a threat to the elderly. In his article recalling Xu Chi, Zhang Hanzhi promised Xu Chi to come to Beijing in the winter to live in her house, because there were many houses in Shijia Hutong, and someone burned the heat in winter. Xu Chi was looking forward to wintering, but Zhang Hanzhi repented, afraid of people gossiping. A famous poet, like a cold trumpet bird, was greatly disappointed to want to live in a heated bungalow in Beijing in winter.
On November 15, 1977, Mr. Gu Jiegang wrote a letter to Hua Guofeng and Deng Xiaoping, talking about his work, life and physical condition, and there was a passage in the letter:
"The cold period in Beijing is too long, and my tracheitis has a history of more than thirty years, and when the frost falls, it will occur, trapping me for half a year before I can move freely." Although the coal stove was born early in the house, it did not benefit my chronic disease. Sometimes it was so bad that he bled in his stomach and was admitted to the hospital. However, once hospitalized, the illness is Huoran, this is because the hospital is born with an air stove, and the doors and windows are tight, which preserves a certain temperature. My family has a lot of books, and the two units of the ordinary dormitory are not enough to live, so it is extremely difficult to move. I take the liberty of asking the Government if I can change my place of residence to a warmer and more spacious place of residence so that I can prolong my years and try to do more work to fulfill my long-cherished wish. Gu Xin's content also asked him to be assigned an assistant and transfer Wang Xihua to Beijing. These requirements were quickly resolved by the central authorities.
Mr. Gu's family moved to Nanshagou and the living conditions were greatly improved. He happily wrote to Wang Xihua: "The Mongolian leader gave me a Diaoyutai house, which has a lake and trees, which is suitable for retreat. Since my family has too many books, I am allowed to keep the original house so that I can hide it. After you come, both parties can stay overnight. "Nanshagou is in the east of Diaoyutai, across the road, Gu Xin is talking about the direction. Winter is no longer afraid of cold, Mr. Gu housewarming, how happy the mood! This can be seen in the communication. However, due to the recurrence of old age and moving to a new house less than three years, Mr. Gu died. After moving, he spent more time in the hospital than at home. When he was seriously ill, he said to his students who visited him: "I am not afraid of death. I still have a dozen articles in my stomach, and when the articles are written, I will die. "A generation of masters, all their lives, only think about academic things. Nanshagou new home has heating, winter is no longer afraid of cold, but death is approaching, and the time to do something is very limited.
I smoked in the kitchen, thinking about these messy things in my head, nine-nine-to-one, is to return to a common sense and belief, that is, in the stomach of each of us, not just soup and water, but always have to decorate something beneficial to society. After the material life is convenient, we must use the time saved for work and proper leisure, and do it immediately!
*This article is compiled and written by Confucius Book friends, please do not reprint it without authorization