Chapter 35 Chat with Xu Zhimo

Zhimo and the others always set off from Beijing on Saturday afternoons and arrive at Xiangshan when it gets dark. They stay in a hotel that night, have breakfast the next day, and then go to Shuangqing Villa. The low courtyard wall is covered with green vines.Huiyin and Zhimo moved their chairs to the shaded porch, brewed a pot of green tea, and chatted casually. They talked about current affairs, about life, and more about literature and new poetry.At that time, the "Crescent School" poets represented by Wen Yiduo and Xu Zhimo were advocating the metricalization of new poems, advocating that new poems should have the beauty of music, painting and architecture.In addition to Xu Zhimo and Wen Yiduo, a group of extremely talented young poets such as Zhu Xiang, Liu Mengwei and Rao Mengkan appeared in the poetry circle.Wen Yiduo compared the requirements of new poetry to "dancing with shackles", Zhu Xiang pursued poetry writing as a lifelong career, and Xu Zhimo expressed the beauty of emotion and literature in his poems.They are committed to changing the problem of "new vernacular poetry is not like poetry", and firmly believe in the creation and discussion: the historical mission of the development of new poetry depends on everyone's joint efforts to undertake.

Zhimo and Huiyin talked about that although Zhu Xiang's personality is a bit awkward, his poems are not bad.In particular, his understanding and obsession with poetry writing is beyond the reach of others.They agree with and appreciate Zhu Xiang's poetic theory very much: the essence of poetry is the expression of human nature, so it is old and new, and it will never change; while the form of poetry will change with the changes of different times. The sunlight moved on the vines on the courtyard wall. In such a conversation, time passed very quickly.Sometimes, Xu Zhimo couldn't help but confide his inner boredom to Huiyin.Xu Zhimo's distress stems from his married life with Lu Xiaoman.At the beginning, Xu Zhimo broke through the heavy pressure from society and family and was able to combine with Lu Xiaoman. He once felt that he was the happiest person in the world.He said that Lu Xiaoman is the achievement and destination of his life, and their married life is like "a sweet dream that casts a net of veil".However, happiness and sweetness are as short-lived as a dream, and the reality is getting farther and farther away from Xu Zhimo's ideal.

Now we look at Lu Xiaoman in the photos, he looks very much like the beauties on the calendar cards in the 1930s, with flowing eyes, looking forward to affectionate, sweet and charming.But Lu Xiaoman in life at that time was physically weak, romantic, ostentatious, and gregarious.At night on the beach, the air is full of mature plants, and the constantly updated hairstyles, clothing, shoes and hats make her linger, addicted to it and unable to extricate herself.There are her boxes in movie theaters, and her graceful figure can often be seen in nightclubs and casinos; there are always her graceful performances and singing in Peking Opera and Kunqu opera performances held by high society.She often takes the whole family and friends to set up wine for the annual Chrysanthemum Conference, go boating in Rivalida Village, eat Western food in Xinlicha and Atlantic Ocean, and eat delicious dishes in Yipinxiang.In addition, a few years ago, in order to cure stomach problems, she did not listen to Xu Zhimo's persuasion, and smoked opium again, spending a lot of time on the couch every day.

When Xu Zhimo and Lu Xiaoman got married, his father Xu Shenru announced that Xu Zhimo would take care of all expenses after marriage and he would no longer provide financial support.This decision cut off Xu Zhimo's financial resources, and Lu Xiaoman's spending time in Shanghai forced Xu Zhimo to spin like a top being whipped.He took part-time classes in three universities in Beijing, wrote poems and essays after class, and even acted as an intermediary for house sales among acquaintances for a commission.Even so, it is still beyond our means.In almost every letter he sent to Shanghai, he talked about money and the difficulty of earning money, begging Lu Xiaoman to be a little frugal.

Friends took good care of Zhimo. He ate and lived in Hu Shi's house in Beijing.Hu Shi treated him like a brother, and prepared all kinds of daily necessities for him.He lived in a room above Hu Shi's house, next to Hu Shi's eldest son Zuwang.Careful Mrs. Hu found out that one of Zhimo's two silk robes was frayed and the other had a burnt hole, so she quietly sewed it up for him.He had a cold and cough, and Mrs. Hu made honeysuckle and fritillaria soup for him to drink.