Zhang Boju
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="1" > preface</h1>
Many people have made evaluations of Mr. Zhang Boju, a patriotic democrat, and the following is the evaluation of Zhang Boju by the communist Song Zhenting, who summed up Zhang Boju's legendary life very well.
"Love the country, love the nation, spend all your life for culture, spare no expense for your life; attach importance to morality and friendship, ice and snow, liver and gallbladder, and unify the mind, and be proud of eternity."
Such a person who is truly patriotic and of high moral character also makes Chen Yi, who has only met him a few times, regard him as a close friend and confidant. Even before dying, I still remember it.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="106" > Chen Yi: Unfortunately, I can't help him more</h1>
In early 1972, Chen Yi, who was suffering from cancer, was unusually haggard and lay weakly in a hospital bed. Suddenly, he said to his wife Zhang Qian:
"Zhang Boju and their two sons, the life in Beijing must be very difficult. Sadly, I couldn't help him more. A few days ago, I also told Premier Zhou about it. I'm afraid he's too busy to take care of this..."
Hearing this, Zhang Qian silently wept on the side. Some of these tears may be shed for her husband's illness, and the other part is for Chen Yi and Zhang Boju's deep friendship, but they can't see the last side.
Chen Yi
For Zhang Boju, Chen Yi is very respectful.
Zhang Boju's father, Zhang Zhenfang, was Yuan Shikai's brother-in-law. Born in such a family of officials and eunuchs, Zhang Boju was supposed to enter the military, political or financial circles, but he preferred piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.
In the war years, in order to protect the national cultural relics, he once carried a huge debt, and was even willing to pay for it.
At that time, many of China's precious calligraphy and paintings were scattered overseas. In order to let more ancient calligraphy and paintings stay in China, Zhang Boju poured almost all his energy and financial resources in this regard, and even did not hesitate to sell his property and borrow debts, his family called him "rebel and loser", and outsiders called him "Zhang Dawei".
Once, Zhang Boju saw "Ping Fu Ti" at the calligraphy and painting exhibition. The Pingfu Ti (平復帖) is the earliest surviving and authentic And authentic Western Jin Dynasty master Fa Ti, which has a history of 1700 years and occupies an important position in the history of Chinese calligraphy.
Knowing that the Ping Fu Ti was now owned by Pu Ru, Zhang Boju was worried. Because Puru was the great-grandson of the Daoguang Emperor. Earlier, he had sold Han Gan's "White Picture of the Night" in the Tang Dynasty to an antique dealer, causing the treasure to be exported overseas.
Zhang Boju was young
In order to avoid repeating the same mistakes, Zhang Boju wanted to buy "Ping Fu Ti" as soon as possible. However, Pu Ru's mouth is 200,000.
For the cultural relics he is interested in, Zhang Boju has never bargained before, which is in stark contrast to his simple style of life. As a rich man, he did not smoke or drink, and he was not particular about dressing, silk and suits, he almost did not wear, he was always a long cloth shirt.
Therefore, it is generally the seller who offers as much as he offers. However, because he bought too many cultural relics, he could not come up with 200,000, and the first purchase failed.
But Zhang Boju did not give up on this, and soon, he entrusted Zhang Daqian to negotiate with Puru, but Puru still did not give in. Zhang Boju could only think of another way.
Soon after, he met Pu Zengxiang on the train. Pu Zengxiang told him that PuRu's mother had just died, and the family was in urgent need of money for the funeral. Zhang Boju found Puru again, and after some bargaining, he finally bought the "Ping Fu Ti" for 40,000 yuan.
Zhang Boju therefore issued an infinite sigh:
"In the past, I wanted to prevent "Illuminating the Night White Map" from going abroad and failed, which is the end of my wish, and it is also a major event in my life"
《Ping Fu Post》
From the word "major event", it can be seen that the protection of national cultural relics has a heavy weight in Zhang Boju's heart.
It is worth noting that if Zhang Boju is a little later, the "Ping Fu Ti" is likely to fall into the hands of the Japanese. It turned out that at that time, a calligraphy and painting merchant wanted to buy it for 200,000 yuan and resell it to the Japanese after learning about this matter. But at this time, the "Ping Fu Ti" was already in the hands of Zhang Boju, and he said that he would not give it up at all.
In order to keep it safe, Zhang Boju put most of his collection of cultural relics in a bank in Shanghai.
With the outbreak of the war of aggression against China in full swing, the work of presiding over the bank was handed over to Li Zulai. Considering that Li Zulai had colluded with Wang Pseudo", Zhang Boju was not assured of the safety of cultural relics. So he went to Shanghai once a week to see it.
However, Zhang Boju, who has a prominent background and collects cultural relics everywhere, was soon targeted.
In 1941, just as he was leaving his accommodation in Shanghai, a group of people appeared in front of him, grabbed him and tucked him into the car, and slipped away with a cigarette.
Immediately after, Zhang Boju's wife, Pan Su, received a call for a huge ransom. The other party asked Pan Su to quickly prepare 200 gold bars, otherwise he would tear Zhang Boju's ticket.
Hearing this news, Pan Su panicked. She hurried to find a relative, and the two went out together to borrow money in order to rescue her husband as soon as possible. However, in the era of war and chaos, 200 gold bars are so easy to get together. Even with so much money, no one is usually willing to borrow it.
Just as Pan Su was in a mess, she received another phone call, and the kidnappers asked her to go to see Zhang Boju.
After only a few days of not seeing him, Zhang Boju had become emaciated and fainted on the ground. Seeing this scene, Pan Su was sad and wept.
It turned out that after learning that the robbers had demanded a huge ransom from his family, Zhang Boju went on hunger strike for several days in a row, and his body was rapidly weakened due to no food or drink.
When he woke up, he told Pan Su:
"It doesn't matter if you save me or not, what matters is that the fine works we collect, you must help me protect them!" Not a single one can be revealed. Don't sell them to save me. Then I'd rather die than go out! ”
Pan Su
Pan Su tearfully agreed, she knew her husband's stubborn temper, and she also knew the importance of those cultural relics to him. In this way, Zhang Boju faced the danger of being torn up at any time and spent eight months with the robbers. These eight months, also the eight months of Pan Su's torment, did not know if she would have a chance to see her husband.
Zhang Boju's hard bones, the robbers are estimated to be the first time to encounter. In the end, there was no way, and the robbers lowered the ransom to 400,000.
Even so, Pan Su couldn't get it out for a while, because the calligraphy and paintings he had bought before had already bought them poorly. In the end, after many borrowings, Zhang Boju was safely rescued.
Even if he didn't even have the money to redeem his life, Zhang Boju never stopped buying cultural relics. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhang Boju, who was then a special member of the Palace Museum, was greatly annoyed when he learned that many of the cultural relics that Fu Yi had brought out had been left out. So he went to Ma Heng, the director of the museum, and proposed to buy cultural relics.
After the acquisition work began, Zhang Boju proposed to buy Fan Zhongyan's "Daofu Praise" back. Because "Daofu Praise" is Fan Zhongyan's only heirloom ink, it is very precious. But Hu Shi and others refused because the price was too expensive.
"Taoist Praise"
In order to prevent the loss of such precious cultural relics, Zhang Boju decided to buy them for safekeeping. So he went around in debt, and finally accepted the "DaoFu Zan" at the price of one hundred and eleven taels of gold.
After that, in order to protect "You Chuntu", he also sold his fifteen acres of bow string alley, but still did not make up enough money. Later, it was his wife Pan Su who sold his jewelry to collect the money. This "You Chun Tu", which made him "ruined his family", was later given to the Palace Museum by him together with "Ping Fu Ti".
After liberation, Zhang Boju did not leave the 118 national treasures in his hands to his children, but all of them were dedicated to the country. Many of these cultural relics are still the top national treasures of the Palace Museum. The president of the Forbidden City Publishing House once said with emotion:
"There are two top people who donated to the Forbidden City, one of whom is Mr. Zhang Boju."
As a cultural relics enthusiast, his indifferent attitude surprised the outside world. It is inconceivable that the man who once preferred to give up his life for cultural relics is now willing to give his heart to the country unconditionally.
Bowstring Alley
But Zhang Boju said:
"It is not necessary to give to the body and to have it in the end, but to make it last forever in my land and pass it on to the world."
This is his original intention, and it has never changed. This is also reflected in his attitude towards friends borrowing cultural relics.
In 1945, Wang Shixiang, who was involved in cleaning up the loss of wartime cultural relics, approached Zhang Boju and offered to read the Ping Fu Ti at his home. Before opening his mouth, Wang Shixiang was very entangled, because he knew that this was something that Zhang Boju had bought at great expense, and ordinary people were unwilling to show this valuable item easily.
But unexpectedly, Zhang Boju not only agreed, but also let Wang Shixiang take it back to his home to study slowly, which made Wang Shixiang feel incredible. Later, Wang Shixiang took this cultural relic home and studied it for more than a month. During this period, Zhang Boju never urged the other party to return.
Therefore, in Zhang Boju's view, these cultural relics are not important in their own hands, as long as they are on the land of the motherland.
After learning of Zhang Boju's deeds, Chen Yi went to visit the "Ming and Qing Dynasty Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition" held by Zhang Boju and others in the summer of 1957. After seeing Zhang Boju, Chen Yi did not hesitate to say words of appreciation:
"Mr. Wang's act of protecting national cultural relics is admirable! Taking the lead in dedicating itself to the country can arouse national pride, and Mr. Poetry also has the demeanor of the Northern Song Dynasty! ”
Wang Shixiang
Chen Yi's short sentence affirmed Zhang Boju's efforts to protect cultural relics and his noble patriotic feelings of voluntarily donating cultural relics to the country. Because of this, Chen Yi regarded Zhang Boju, who had only met several times, as a real friend and took special care of him.
In 1958, due to historical reasons, Zhang Boju lost his job, had no income, and could only rely on his wife's salary to survive. In the past, the family that had been intertwined with each other had become extremely deserted, and Zhang Boju had become depressed, but he did not tell his friend Chen Yi about it.
In 1961, Pan Su received a telegram, and when she saw the three words of Song Zhenting, she was a little confused: Who is this person? How never heard of it before. Looking at the contents of the telegram again, she was even more confused. The other party invited Zhang Boju to the Jilin Provincial Museum to take a job, and also let her take a job at the Provincial Art College.
Who would offer them jobs during such special times? Zhang Boju didn't know either. In order to avoid misunderstanding, Zhang Boju and his wife decided to wait and wait.
Although they did not want to believe it, they were really moved. After all, they have long wanted to get out of the fearsome days they have now.
Mr. and Mrs. Zhang Boju
Soon after, they received a telegram from Song Zhenting:
Mr. Boju:
With regard to the matter of hiring two people to take up posts in Jilin Province, the relevant departments have already issued instructions, and if there is nothing wrong, they hope to come to Kyrgyzstan as soon as possible. First, the formalities should be transferred and done later.
Song Zhenting, Propaganda Department of the Jilin Provincial CPC Committee
This time, they could finally believe that the telegram had been sent correctly. It seems that someone helped them.
Before leaving, Zhang Boju was ready to personally resign to his friend Chen Yi, so he asked his wife Pan Su to call Chen Yi to inform him in advance.
On that day, Chen Yi and his wife Zhang Qian prepared a rich family banquet for them, with sauerkraut dumplings, spicy tofu, kimchi, etc., which filled a large table. During the period, Chen Yi and Zhang Boju drank happily. In order to comfort Zhang Boju, Chen Yi also sent a poem to his friend:
"Heavy snow presses the green pine, the green pine is straight and straight, know that the pine is high and clean, and wait until the snow melts."
Hearing this, Zhang Boju's bitter mood finally eased. Later, Zhang Boju learned that the mysterious person who helped him was his friend Chen Yi.
It turned out that although the two did not see each other much, Chen Yi had always paid attention to the situation of his friends, so chen Yi knew everything.
In 1960, Chen Yi said to his friend Yu Yifu, who had come to Beijing for a meeting:
"I have a good friend named Zhang Boju. Now that the situation is not very good, can Jilin Province arrange a job for him? ”
In Yu Yifu's view, the person recommended by Chen Yi must have something superior, so he quickly agreed to it. Zhang Boju's work problem was thus solved.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="107" > a pair of links to change fate</h1>
Since then, Chen Yi has become more and more busy, and the two rarely write letters, and they do not know each other's specific situation. A few years later, Zhang Boju was in trouble again, but he never told Chen Yi.
Later, Zhang Boju returned to Beijing due to illness and lived in a courtyard. At this time, he changed from a person with many priceless cultural relics to a depressed old man. There are no food stamps and no household registration. Without the help of relatives, their lives would not have been sustainable.
In late November 1971, at the age of 73, Zhang Boju finally decided to write a letter to his friend Chen Yi to pour out his bitter feelings to the other party. Five days later, they received a reply from Chen Yi's wife, Zhang Qian:
...... Zhonghong has always been concerned about your situation, because he is too busy, plus his mood is not good, and he has not written many letters. I read your letter, he was hospitalized for cancer, he was in advanced stages, and his health was very poor. He has given the Secretary a response to your affairs to the Prime Minister...
I hope that the two of you will take care of your body...
After reading the reply, Zhang Boju and his wife regretted it endlessly, they did not know that Chen Yi's health was already so poor, and they regretted that they should not have caused him trouble. Even if you have great difficulties, you shouldn't bother him...
Chen Yi and His Wife Zhang Qian
At the beginning of the following year, Zhang Boju and his wife suddenly heard the news of Chen Yi's death on the radio. At this time, their hearts were like knives, and their best friends, who had not been seen for many years, how did they just leave?
Zhang Boju, who was very sad, originally wanted to go to mourn in person, but in the end he failed to do so. In order to send his friend on his last journey, he tearfully wrote a pair of elegies:
Fighting swords from the clouds to dry the city, loyalty is not easy. The voice of the army is in Huaihai, the love is in Jiangnan, and Wan Shu is mourning. Looking back at the great rivers and mountains, forever away from Chi County; waving the sun to receive the honor, the arrogance is still there. Worthy of life, meritorious to the world, Jiuyuan should smile, look at the new world, and plant red flags all over the tree.
This painting was hung in an inconspicuous corner of Chen Yi's Spirit Hall.
On the day of the memorial service, Chairman Mao, who had not originally planned to attend, suddenly appeared at the scene of Chen Yi's memorial service at the last moment, wearing pajamas and thin sweater pants.
After hearing the news that the staff had informed Chairman Mao of his presence, Zhou Enlai quickly got up to greet him. Accompanied by Zhou Enlai, Chairman Mao walked toward Chen Yi's wife, Zhang Qian.
After the chairman saw Zhang Qian, Lao Yuan held out his hand. Zhang Qian quickly greeted him, shouted heavily: "Chairman", and then bowed his head and sobbed.
Seeing that Zhang Qian was so sad, Chairman Mao gently clapped her hand and said, "Chen Yi has passed away, and we are as sad as you..."
Chairman Mao appeared at Chen Yi's memorial service
Subsequently, the chairman looked at the children standing next to Zhang Qian and kindly admonished: "You must inherit your father's cause, continue to work hard, and serve the people." ”
Zhang Qian wiped her tears, nodded, and said, "We listen to the chairman." ”
After the memorial service began, the staff helped Chairman Mao to the hall. Along the way, Chairman Mao kept looking at the wreaths on both sides of the corridor. Suddenly, the Chairman stopped in front of an inconspicuous wreath, and he read carefully the contents of the tie and nodded his head in praise. That pair of elegy was written by Zhang Boju.
Subsequently, Chairman Mao asked Zhou Enlai, "Who is Zhang Boju?" ”
Zhou Enlai replied: "He is a democrat and a friend of Comrade Chen Yi. ”
"Where is he now?" The Chair then asked.
At this time, Zhou Enlai happened to see Zhang Qian nearby, so he called Zhang Qian over.
Chairman Mao couldn't help but boast again: "This elegy is well written!" ”
After learning that Zhang Boju was the one who donated a lot of precious calligraphy and paintings to the country, Chairman Mao suddenly remembered something. Zhang Qian quickly said:
"They contributed before, but now life is very difficult, there is no job, there is no hukou, it is very miserable... When Chen Yi was there, he was always worried about their affairs..."
Chen Yi's memorial service
Hearing this, Chairman Mao nodded, turned to Zhou Enlai and said:
"Such a person should be protected and should be given a way. You're prime minister, give him a job. ”
After the memorial service, Zhou Enlai broke through the obstacles and immediately sent someone to arrange work for Zhang Boju.
A few days later, the staff of the Central Museum of Culture and History personally went to Zhang Boju's home with documents and letters of appointment.
Looking at the letter of appointment, Zhang Boju suddenly froze, he couldn't believe it for a moment, his eyes were tightly fixed on the staff and asked: "Is this true?" ”
The staff gave the old man an affirmative answer, and Zhang Boju burst into tears in an instant. I didn't expect that I would be in my seventies, still have a job, and continue to do something for the country.
Zhang Boju and his wife in their later years
Before leaving, the staff told Zhang Boju: "After a few years, you can go to work." If there are any difficulties in life, please open your mouth, and the organization will find a way to help you solve them. ”
Zhang Boju nodded his head movingly, and said in his mouth: "No, no..."
Although the living conditions have been greatly improved, the death of his friend Chen Yi has caused a lot of blows to Zhang Boju. For a long time, he often sat alone in his study and wept silently. On the first anniversary of Chen Yi's death, he was immersed in grief for several days. Soon, he was blind in his right eye.
On February 26, 1982, Zhang Boju died at the age of 84. At the memorial service, Ye Jianying, Deng Yingchao and others sent wreaths. His contribution to the country has not been forgotten by everyone.