Chapter 40 Beijing flavor

Zhang Henshui has deep feelings for Beijing. He once said: "Beiping is a city that is nostalgic because of man-made buildings and long-standing customs. Therefore, the longer people live in Beiping, the more reluctant to leave. In other words, The house and alley you have lived in for a long time, you will not leave unless you have a better one, or you have no choice but to leave. Then why? Just because of the plants and trees at home, a family of oil and salt in the alley The grocery store, or a peddler who walks through the door on time, are all part of your life." Japanese scholar Yahara Kenkichi once said: "Zhang Henshui is from Anhui, and his 'Beijing style' seems to be more special than that of Beijingers."

Occasionally, Zhang Henshui would invite friends to a tea house in Zhongshan Park for a small gathering.At that time, there were two teahouses in Zhongshan Park——Changmeixuan Teahouse and Shanglinchun Teahouse, which were well-known in the literati circle.Zhang and his colleagues in the newspaper industry and literary friends often come here to sit for a short time. They often drink tea and talk until late at night, and then return happily under the moonlight. The famous Laijin Yuxuan is also a good place for Zhang Henshui to drink tea and chat.Now Yuxuan is also in Zhongshan Park, and the tea drinkers are almost all literati and celebrities from all walks of life. Lu Xun, Qian Xuantong, Hu Shi, Zhou Zuoren, Lin Yutang, Liang Shiqiu, Lao She and others have all lingered here.At the end of the 1920s, Laijin Yuxuan opened a dance hall. Although Zhang Henshui couldn't dance, he often came here to drink tea at the dance hall teahouse.One is that the refreshments here are cheap, and the other is that you can watch dances and chat while drinking tea.His original intention was not to dance at all, what he just enjoyed was the leisure time.

Zhang Henshui has a special liking for Tao Ranting: "In the travel notes of Beijing 30 years ago, Taoranting will definitely be mentioned in nine out of ten. People who have never been to Beiping always think that this is a great scenic spot... When I arrived in the old capital, less than a week later, I went to visit Taoranting, only to be very disappointed... There were no houses there, just a patch of reed ponds and a few piles of wild graves in the wilderness... I have been in Peiping for nearly twenty years, Almost half of the time I stayed in Nancheng, whenever I was troubled by personnel, I would go to Taoranting alone, find a shallow pond with wild water among the reeds, and wander for an hour. That's even better, you can hold the branches with your hands and look at the blue sky in the water. There are no people here, and there is no sound of the city. Although there are no advantages, it is possible to wash away the troubles in the bustling market."

Zhang Henshui's novels have a strong Beijing flavor. Jin Jishui, an old Beijinger who has studied Beijing's history and customs, said: "Hate the old man is not from Peiping, but he can see it more clearly than we do. The language is also sharper than ours, so if you want to know the old Peking, just look at it.” Most of Zhang Henshui's novels are written with Beijing as the background, and many scenic spots or place names in Beijing mentioned in his novels have become places that readers yearn for.For example, the overpass in the novel is where the protagonist Fan Jiashu met Shen Fengxi, who sings Beijing rhyme drums, and Guan Xiugu, a busker.Many Zhang Hen water fans from other places must visit Tianqiao when they come to Beijing, and some people will look for Shuiche Hutong where Shen Fengxi lived.

Some commentators said that Lao She and Zhang Henshui are the twin constellations of Beijing-flavored literature, and their works have the most authentic Beijing flavor.But Zhang Henshui is different from Lao She. "He entered Beijing as a foreign earner, and he didn't have the pain that touched the origin like Lao She. When he wrote novels, he focused on looking good and attracting readers' attention far more than other higher literary pursuits. But with this At the same time, he inadvertently drew a long scroll of all living beings. His Beijing is not only his own, but also belongs to Fan Jiashu, Jin Yanxi, Leng Qingqiu, warlords, rich wives and Tianqiao jugglers. This echo Beijing, with the lingering sounds of Beijing rhyme and drums, stays forever in the text and becomes the afterglow of the setting sun in the early years of the Republic of China.”