Perhaps, what is more surprising and shocking than Fu Cong's death is that after his death, some netizens accused and insulted him. In these extreme comments, it is the symptoms of history and the times that are exposed.
Wen 丨 Campos
Edited by 丨 Reyes
Suicide Note: Listen to the thunder in the silence
On December 28, 2020, musician Fu Cong died of COVID-19 in London, England, at the age of 86.
The news of Fu Cong's death soon swept across the Chinese Internet. Although the deceased was the eldest, many people in the comments section scolded Fu Cong as an "English dog", "a traitor", and "killed his parents".
They are targeting two major "stains" on Fu Cong's early years. First, in 1958, when Fu Lei was classified as a rightist, Fu Cong fled From Poland to Britain. Second, in 1964, Fu Cong broke his promise to his father and became a British citizen.
Some people even directly concluded that Fu Lei was killed alive by Fu Cong.
The British philosopher Russell once said that from a wrong premise, any bullshit conclusion can be drawn.
The accusations and insults against Fu Cong, once they put aside the specific historical context, undoubtedly belong to the "bullshit conclusion".
First take the point of "Fu Cong's anger killed Fu Lei", we may wish to see what Fu Lei's suicide note really said:
"Renxiu:
Although the so-called xx incriminating evidence (a small mirror and a faded old pictorial) was found in our house and could not be defended, we did not admit it to our own things until we died (they were actually sorted out of the storage box). Although we have committed thousands of crimes, we have never had the idea of changing heavens. We also know that although the evidence of incriminating evidence found is difficult to argue, the People's Republic of China, under the leadership of a wise proletarian party and great leaders, will never be sentenced to heavy sentences for it. It's just that the days of injustice and inability to wash are even more difficult than going to jail. Besides, just by educating a traitor Fu Conglai, he is already dead in front of the people! What's more, scum like us from the old society should have automatically withdrawn from the stage of history long ago! ”
Fu Leilian used two "not to mention". From a rhetorical point of view, the two are juxtaposed in the sense of content. The latter is moreover, Fu Lei compares himself to the dregs of the old society. But it is obvious that in the previous article, he clearly stated that he was "unjustly accused", which is the real thought in his heart, and also constitutes the real reason for his suicide.
Fu Lei and Fu Cong
Coupled with Fu Lei's personality before his death, the irony of these two "not to mention" in the suicide note is self-evident.
When commenting on Fu Lei and Fu Cong, many media only quoted the previous "not to mention" content. This kind of writing that cuts the head and tail and is out of context can be said to be using false rumors to induce readers.
Man will die, and his words will be good. Fu Lei's suicide note is enough for us to "listen to the thunder in the silent place", and the "Fu Lei Family Letter", which was once marketed nationwide, also has another layer of unspeakable yin.
Family letter: Beacon fire for three months, family letter to ten thousand gold
There is no doubt that the Book of Fu Lei has influenced a generation. Countless people have been impressed by the positive content involving family education, parent-child relationships, personal growth and so on.
But don't forget that the previous sentence of "family letter to ten thousand gold" is "Beacon fire for three months".
The correspondence, included in the Book of Fu Lei's Family, began on January 18, 1954, and ended on June 3, 1966. [1] During that time, from the Anti-Rightist Movement to the Cultural Revolution, countless people were taken hostage by history.
In the absurd years, people have no privacy. For Fu Lei, who was branded as a rightist, and Fu Cong, who fled Britain, the situation was undoubtedly more serious.
However, Fu Lei happened to choose the extremely private way of writing "family letters", and the complete and orderly way of preserving family letters surprised Fu Congdu.
The considerations speak for themselves. Fu Lei knew that one day, these family letters would be seen by some people in some way.
Take the family letter on October 1, 1959 as an example, when Fu Cong left the United Kingdom, the family letter between Fu Lei and Fu Cong was broken for more than ten months. Raising his pen again, Fu Lei wrote:
"Child, you should have imagined my mood for ten months. I also don't want to say a thousand words, so as not to increase your burden. You have not forgotten the motherland, nor has the motherland forgotten you, always leaving room for you to wake up. I believe that the gates of the motherland are always open to you. ”
When Fu Cong became a British citizen, Fu Lei blamed the instigation and pressure of Fu Cong's British father-in-law: "He regarded nationality as an expression of gratitude that an expatriate should be grateful to the host country, which I absolutely do not agree with!" ”
Rather than saying that these passages are Fu Lei's family letters to his son, it is better to say that he is "endorsing" Fu Cong's patriotism. Every word in the letter is leaving room and evidence for Fu Cong.
The more intense the historical scene, the more complicated the warm family letter exchanges.
The complexity of Fu Lei's family letter lies in the fact that it exists as a weapon of historical evidence on the one hand, and on the other hand, it assumes the last line of defense of human morality. As far as the latter is concerned, just as Tian Zhuangzhuang, in the film "Blue Kite", which reflects the catastrophe of the decade, repeatedly quoted a nursery rhyme "Crow Song":
"The crow crow is in the tree, the crow can really fly, the crow can't fly when he is old, he surrounds the birds, the birds eat back every day, and feed the mother first, and they don't eat and endure, and my mother fed me before."
The crows are still feeding, and the lambs are still on their knees, let alone those of us who are born as human beings?
In an interview years later, Fu Cong said of his exodus from Britain: "I was forced to go to Liangshan. ...... In December 1958, I graduated from studying abroad, and if I came back, it would be 'father exposing son, son exposing father', but neither my father nor I would do this. ”
Even if this is Fu Cong's excuse, in that campaign to destroy human morality, for Fu Cong, who was only in his twenties at the time, why don't we ask Russell's "wrong premise", but instead criticize the young people under the burden of history?
Fu Cong as an artist with his son
In addition to elaborating on the historical context behind Fu Lei's suicide note and family letter, I would like to talk about two issues: Fu Cong's identity as an artist, and his relationship with his father.
Fu Cong is known as the "piano poet" and "Chopin of China", and during a piano lesson, he himself mentioned his love for Chopin.
He said: "I like the amplitude... Chopin uses the simplest notes to speak of such a rich content. Such a great universe is in it. ”
Whether it is Fu Cong or Chopin, in fact, they are all faced with the problem of how artists face complex realities and politics.
The writer Mu Xin once said: Poland is destroyed, you can't let Chopin carry the piano to the front line, right?
The greatest reality of artists is their art. For artists whose mission is to expand their own spiritual boundaries, can we let go of the moral stick we have long held?
Fu Cong's departure from abroad was also closely related to his artistic pursuits. When he plays Chopin's music, it is not difficult to think of Joyce's famous quote: Exile is my aesthetic.
In addition, Fu Cong also grew up in an environment of "domestic violence". Although Fu Lei has a deep reflection on his education after Fu Cong's adulthood, the shadow of childhood often accompanies people throughout their lives.
Years later, in an interview with the writer Ye Yonglie, Fu Cong said: "I am grateful for the respect people have for my father's character. But my father was also a man, not a god. He also has many shortcomings. There is a lot wrong with me and my brother. ”[2]
Fu Cong, who was often beaten in his childhood, also had to face some kind of mental control of Fu Lei when he grew up. When Fu Cong was asked why his father wrote so many letters to him and his reply was rare, he said:
"I don't dare to write, I only write so few letters, as long as I say a casual word, a small feeling, it will cause my father to react like this, such as the ocean, the endless stream, I want to write more, it will be even worse, then there is no need to do anything, the piano does not have to practice, all day long I have to write letters!" 」
In 2002, Fu Cong also mentioned in a TV show: "There is a Liao Chong, I like this girl very much, the personality is very pure and straightforward... Like all people, she liked to read the family letter and was touched by the book, but she read the family letter and said to me: 'How can such a father bear it?' ’”
It can be said that from the perspective of father-son relationship, Fu Cong's departure completed his spiritual sense of "killing his father".
The hostages of history, the pursuit of art, the rebellion against the family... Looking at these complex backgrounds, it is difficult to use the narrow nationalism of the moment to judge the deceased Fu Cong.
His passing is like a comet streaking across the sky. At his fingertips, there is a vast universe.
Finally, I would like to use a poem by historian Tang Degang to talk about the commemoration of Fu Cong:
"The widow is barefoot along the street, and the green mountain is snow-white. The golden wind is like cutting the moon like a hook, remembering Qin Huaibei.
It is difficult to go and stop, and it is difficult to pick up and turn back. Wrong from the bitter sea to find gentleness, once soaked the fish. ”
Resources:
[1] "Fu Lei's Family Letters under the Entanglement of Family Affection and Politics", Guo Jianmin, 2017
[2] "Fu Lei and Fu Cong", Ye Yonglie