The original author 丨 Li Qiao
Excerpt 丨An also
"Reading Lu Xun", by Li Qiao, Wenjin Publishing House, June 2021.
In his lifetime, Mr. Lu Xun has been to many places in the north and south of the world, and has also lived in many places, and recently looking through Lu Xun's diaries and letters and other materials, I found that he has a special love for Beijing, which is not his hometown, and sometimes even better than his hometown Shaoxing. Lu Xun lived for 55 years, more than a decade of which lived in Beijing, which is Lu Xun's beloved second hometown.
Did Lu Xun explicitly say that he loved Beijing? Said.
In April 1936, in a letter to Yan Limin, he said: "I am very much in favor of you gathering in Beiping for two more years; I have also lived in Beiping for seventeen years and like Peiping very much." This sentence of "I like Beiping very much" is a summative sentence of Lu Xun's deep love for Beijing. A few months after writing this letter, Lu Xun died.
Lu Xun's deep love for Beijing is manifested in many aspects, and we will talk about it from seven aspects below.
Loved the cultural atmosphere of Beijing
On December 18, 1934, in a letter to Yang Jiyun, he said: "China's rural and small cities, now I am afraid there is no place to go, I still like Beijing, that library alone can give me a lot of convenience." (Letters to Yang Jiyun) Throughout China's urban and rural areas, Lu Xun said he still liked Beijing. The reason for liking, he only gave a library, but from the "single" word, it can be seen that he has other reasons for liking Beijing. I think the most important reason is probably because Beijing is of great benefit to Lu Xun's career. Beijing is an ancient cultural capital, with an elite gathering, active thinking, smooth information, and a strong academic atmosphere, especially rich cultural facilities, such as several libraries with abundant collections. These are too important and attractive for Lu Xun, who is engaged in literary creation and academic writing.
Lu Xun also said that Beijing is a good place to do the cause of "inheriting the past and opening up the present." At the beginning of 1935, it was rumored that the scholar Zheng Zhenduo was leaving Beijing, and Lu Xun wrote a letter to dissuade him: "If you leave Beiping, it is a great pity, because Beiping is an old cultural capital, and there is still a lot to do in the past and the present." At that time, Lu Xun lived in Shanghai, but his heart was still thinking of Beijing. He believes that in order to carry on the cultural undertakings of the past and the present, Beijing, the cultural capital, is too important. Lu Xun also said to his relative Ruan Hesun: "If you want to study, you have to go to Beijing, after all, Beijing's culture is high." ("Re-reading Lu Xun's Private Conversations", Times Literature and Art Publishing House, 2005 edition)
Manuscript of Lu Xun to XiDi (Zheng Zhenduo), February 5, 1933.
In short, liking the cultural atmosphere of Beijing is the primary reason why Lu Xun loves Beijing deeply.
I like to visit Beijing Liulichang
Liulichang is a famous cultural street in Beijing, where countless classic treasures are gathered, and Lu Xun often wanders here, visiting books and collecting various cultural materials. His diaries and letters repeatedly left traces of him in the Liuli Factory. Lu Xun's compilation and printing of the "Beiping Notes" especially reflects his deep love for Beijing culture, and most of the notes used in compiling books were bought in Liulichang.
Note paper is a collection of painting, sculpture, history, folklore in one of the works of art, Lu Xun knows its value, so he plans to compile a "note book" to leave a treasure for future generations. To this end, he made great efforts to collect notes made in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Beijing, but in comparison, he felt that the notes were not as good as beijing, so he decided to compile and print a "Beiping Notes". In order to collect notes from Beijing, he visited Liulichang many times, and his diary left records of buying notes from Jingwenzhai, Baojinzhai, Chunjingge, Songguzhai and Qingbige.
Lu Xun, who worked with Zheng Zhenduo to compile this "Beiping Notation", said in a letter to Zheng: "When I returned to Beiping last winter, I got a little bit of paper at the Liuli Factory (that is, the Liuli Factory), and I felt that the painter and the method of engraving and printing were better than the "Wenmei Zhai Notes", such as the notes made by Chen ShiZeng Qi Baishi, whose engraving method was already above that of Japanese woodcut experts..." ("Letter to Zheng Zhenduo") Shows lu Xun's meticulous care and the high taste of his appreciation of the paper. After the "Beiping Notes" came out, it immediately received the treasure love of the cultural circles and snatched it up. Lu Xun said to Zheng Zhenduo half-jokingly: "By the thirtieth century, it will be comparable to the Tang version." "In fact, eighty years later, this book has become a cultural relic, extremely rare and quite expensive.
Lu Xun liked small antiquities, and the Liuli Factory satisfied his hobby. On February 3, 1925, he wrote in his diary: "A little tour of The Factory, in Songyun Pavilion to buy the Owl Zun 1, Quan Yi." And bronze statue one, spring ten. Later, there is an inscription: 'Statue of the believer Zhou Ke's wife Hu Shi'. "Factory, in the heart of Liulichang Street. Lu Xun bought small objects from ancient times, which he could play with and appreciate. At that time, the glass factory was called "Treasure Play Filling Street", which was indeed true. One year during the Spring Festival, Lu Xun visited the factory, from the first to the fifteenth of the first year, a total of seven trips, a day's diary wrote: "After reading the public, the circle is late. It can be seen that Lu Xun loves the Liuli Factory.
Loved visiting the small cities of Beijing
The small city of Beijing is also a place that Lu Xun likes to visit. The small market is also called the ghost market, miscellaneous and miscellaneous everything is sold, there are many official eunuchs in Beijing, and the broken ones will take their belongings to the small market to sell, so sometimes they can pick up leaks. Lu Xun's diary contains many records of visiting small cities. Lu Xun had several years of diligent efforts to copy and proofread the stele, so he often collected rubbings, and he not only bought them in the stele shop of the Liuli Factory, but also searched for them in the small market.
For example, he wrote in his diary on January 13, 1916: "In the afternoon, I traveled with Wang Shutang and Chen Shi to the small market and bought a copy of the Wu Gezuo Monument and four copper coins. Lu Xun's interest in visiting the small market is very high, once because of the snow in the small market no one set up a stall, but Lu Xun still went, so he left such a line in the diary: "Rain and snow, in the afternoon to the small market, there is no stall." ”
Enjoy visiting Beijing's places of interest
Some people say that Lu Xun does not like to play, and it is not accurate to say it. Lu Xun is a master of literature and history, likes to read history, so he likes to visit scenic spots and monuments, and Beijing is precisely the source of scenic spots and monuments, which has become a major reason why he loves Beijing deeply. The places of interest and monuments he visited include the Xiannong Temple, the Temple of Heaven, the Ten Thousand Animals Garden, the Taoran Pavilion, the Shichahai Sea, the Beihai, the Diaoyutai, the Central Park, the Xiangshan Biyun Temple, the Fayuan Temple, the Chongxiao Temple, the White Pagoda Temple, etc., all of which have left records in the diary. For example, on May 19, 1912, the diary cloud: "With the Gongshi, the Jishi Tour of the Ten Thousand Animals Garden, and the Jishi Tour of the Taoran Pavilion, there are statues on the ground, carved Sanskrit, and the monks and monks of the temple yun liaoshi objects, I don't know if they are sincere or not." ”
Wansheng Garden is today's zoo, then also called Wansheng Garden, the so-called "Wansheng" includes animals and plants, once you enter the door to the east is to visit animals, to the west is to visit plants. Lu Xun and his friends and brothers have been to the Ten Thousand Animals Garden many times. Taoran Pavilion was very desolate at that time, but because of the allusion of "Jiangting Xiuyu", it became a place for the literati and scholars in the capital to visit. Judging from the diary, Taoran Pavilion still had a temple at that time, and there are still antiquities in the temple.
Lu Xun also took his mother on a tour of diaoyutai. The diary dated April 11, 1925 reads: "In the afternoon, I traveled with my mother to the Diaoyutai outside Fucheng Gate. "I visited the Diaoyutai with friends again. On March 7, 1926, the diary cloud: "Tongpinqing, Xiaofeng and nine other people rode a donkey to the Diaoyutai. "The spring breeze, the donkey's back, a group of people, it's funny to think about. This Diaoyutai has been transformed into the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse today.
Loved eating beijing restaurants
Lu Xun liked the restaurants in Beijing, especially when he lived alone in the Shaoxing Guild Hall, he often went to the restaurants to eat, and the developed restaurant industry in old Beijing was very popular with Lu Xun's heart. In his diary, he often wrote down the names of restaurants he had visited, such as Guangheju, Zhimeizhai, Cheap Fang, Jixian Lou, Tongheju, Nanweizhai, Xinghuachun, Yulouchun, Senlong, Yanshoutang, Dongxinglou, Jinguchun, Central Hotel, Fuquanguan, Longhaixuan, Zhonghua Restaurant, Xinfenglou, etc., there were dozens of them. Many of these are high-end restaurants, Lu Xun's salary is not low, and there is a writing fee, which is affordable.
But it is still more frequent to visit some small and medium-sized restaurants, such as the diary of December 28, 1917, which reads: "At noon, Qi Shoushan and his second brother were eating at Hutchison. Qi Shoushan was Lu Xun's colleague in the Ministry of Education, and the "second brother" was Zhou Zuoren; Hutchison, a small rice shop selling large bowls of beef noodles in clear soup, near the Velvet Alley, not far from the Ministry of Education, lu Xun often ate lunch at the Hutchison restaurant when he worked at the Ministry of Education.
Lu Xun is a southerner, but "likes the taste of the north" (Xiao Hong's "Memory of Mr. Lu Xun"), so he often patronizes the restaurant that makes northern rice; but after all, he is a southerner, and he cannot forget the southern taste of dishes, and there are many restaurants in Beijing that will do southern dishes, which is very good for Lu Xun's appetite, such as Guangheju is a famous restaurant with "southern flavor and clean cooking", Lu Xun often patronizes here when he lives in Shaoxing Guild Hall, and is always satisfied. Lu Xun also loves to eat Western food, "Fan Restaurant" is a place he often goes, such as a small Fan Restaurant called "Yichang" is repeatedly mentioned in his diary.
Loved staying in the courtyard in Beijing
Lu Xun's old friend Xu Shousheng said: "Lu Xun loves to live in Beiping. In Beijing, Lu Xun's residences are all courtyards, and there are four locations: Shaoxing Guild Hall of the Southern Half-Cut Hutong; Badaowan Hutong near Xinjiekou; Xisi Brick Pagoda Hutong; and Xisantiao at the entrance of Fuchengmen Inner Palace. Among them, the two properties in Badaowan and Gongmen were purchased by Lu Xun at his expense.
The old shadow of the gate of Shaoxing County Pavilion
For the Beijing characteristic residential courtyard, I have not seen Lu Xun have any Zang no text, but I think he must like this kind of residential style, otherwise he would not have lived in the beijing courtyard for more than ten years, and also brought his mother and his original wife Zhu An to settle down, and also spent a considerable amount of money to buy a house.
For Lu Xun, buying a house is a major expense. In order to buy real estate, Lu Xun did not know how many alleys he ran, how much thought he spent, made careful consideration of the residential environment, transportation, cost performance and other factors, and finally bought a house that was satisfactory. The small courtyard at the entrance of the existing palace was planned and cleaned up by Lu Xun, and the small room picked up by the north house was Lu Xun's bedroom and studio, that is, the famous "tiger tail". It can be seen that Lu Xun likes this courtyard very much.
Loved the climate and people of Beijing
Lu Xun said in a letter to Zhang Tingqian: "Compared with Beijing, Hangzhou is beijing in terms of climate and human feelings. It is said that Hangzhou is very good, there is heaven on the top, Suzhou and Hangzhou on the bottom, the climate and human feelings are good, but from Lu Xun's words, he still prefers Beijing. In terms of climate, Beijing has four distinct seasons, and spring, summer, autumn and winter have their own scenery and interests, which will arouse Lu Xun's good feelings.
What does it mean to say that Beijing has "good feelings"? Lu Xun did not elaborate. I think that the so-called human feelings are people's emotional expressions, people's character, temper and the like, Lu Xun said this. Zhou Zuoren also said that he liked Beijing, saying that it was "livable" because "the climate and people are better than other places." His explanation of "good human feelings" is: "Beiping's human feelings are good, at least it can always be said to be generous. Generous, this is not easy, because there is tolerance and freedom here. (Zhou Zuoren, "The Good or Bad of GuadouJi, Beiping", Hebei Education Publishing House, 2002 edition) Lu Xun said that Beijing's "good feelings" should be the same as the second brother's feelings.
Regarding the Beijingers, although Lu Xun has not written a special article, he said a sentence in the essay "Northerners and Southerners": "The advantages of the Northerners are thick", and the Beijingers do have the character of being thick and heavy, so it should be considered reliable to take Lu Xun's words as an evaluation of the Beijingers. In the pen of many literati of the Republic of China at the same time as Lu Xun, they also wrote about the Dunhou of beijingers. Of course, Lu Xun also said that "the evil of thickness is also foolishness" - if you measure the northerners in the ancient times, it is indeed the truth. In his letter to Xiao Jun and Xiao Hong, Lu Xun also made this comparison between the northerners and the southerners: "About the northerners are straight, but they are rough, and the southern people are elegant, and the loss is false." Coarse nature is better than fake. In a letter to Xiao Jun, he said, "I don't love Jiangnan. Showy is handsome, but stingy. Judging from These words of Lu Xun, Lu Xun likes northerners very much, and this naturally includes Beijingers. No wonder he said that Beijing's people are good.
Lu Xun also criticized Beijing's shortcomings. For example, he criticized Beijing's "dirt trucks" for piling up coal ash and the like on the streets for a long time, which hindered people's lives. But he has not been critical of Beijing.
The Beijing that Lu Xun loved, of course, was the old Beijing. Some things about old Beijing are indeed fascinating. Many of the essence of old Beijing have been inherited by the new Beijing, but some things have disappeared forever, which is a pity. Love Beijing like Lu Xun and protect her forever!
This article is selected from "Reading Lu Xun" and has been authorized by the publishing house to publish.
The original author | Lee Jo
Excerpts | Ann also
Edit | Wang Qing
Introduction Proofreading | Chen Diyan