Chapter 23 20.pressure of poverty

However, life will never be peaceful in Lizhuang, the "cursed town rarely visited by anyone" described by Ru Sicheng. By the end of February 1943, among the fleeing researchers, including their wives, an incendiary gossip had caught up that would eventually lead to quarrels, anger, name-calling, and broken friendships.As Whein said in his letter, "This is a group of narrow-minded small-town residents. Recently, some happy or comic forms of quarrels have developed to a completely disproportionate degree among the highly educated people. .I doubt that people living on a very meager supply on an isolated island will end up fighting each other in this childish way."

To add insult to injury, Liu Dunzhen, head of Chinese architectural historical literature research at the Architecture Society, announced that he would be leaving.He has been working in the Construction Society for more than ten years, and now he is taking the leadership responsibility together with Sicheng. Huiyin said: "Mr. Liu is a very capable and responsible person. All accounts and complicated management work beyond Sicheng's ability are entrusted to him. Now these will all fall on Sicheng's shoulders!" "That's not counting. As you know, since we moved to the south, there are only five people working in the construction society. Now that Mr. Liu is gone, everyone is likely to disperse."

A prominent visitor from outside breaks the monotony and diverts attention from the daily squabbles.Professor Joseph Needham, a British biochemist, came to China as the wartime scientific counselor of the British embassy in Chongqing to see China's land and people in person. (The publication of his multi-volume History of Science and Technology in China later brought him world fame after he returned to Cambridge.) Although Huiyin was bedridden throughout his visit, she wrote to Fairbank describing got this event: "Professor Needham has been here, been treated to fried duck, and has left. At first people liked to bet each other whether Professor Li would have a smile during his stay in Lizhuang. I admit that Lizhuang is not a particularly exciting place, but As a lover of early Chinese science, and who worked so hard to come to China during such a war, we also have reason to expect him to smile. Finally, the famous professor met Mr. Liang and Mrs. Liang (she sat up on the bed) ) and finally laughed out loud. He said he was delighted that Mrs. Leung spoke English with an Irish accent. I never knew that the British liked Irish so much. Then on the last afternoon of his visit, in In the courtyard of the Rijksmuseum, when tea and biscuits were served, it is said that Professor Li even looked lively. This is proof that the British love tea.”

Many people have pointed out that Liang Sicheng is very famous for his success in bringing together Dr. Tao Menghe (a senior Chinese sociologist and the director of the Institute of Social Studies of the Academia Sinica) and Dr. Fu Sinian (an active humanist and the director of the prominent Institute of Historical and Linguistic Studies). A friendly handshake deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.This incident was all the more dramatic because it was done in public, just before Professor Li gave a speech in the auditorium of Academia Sinica.Many people reportedly applauded the incident secretly.Dr. Li Ji stepped forward and shook hands with Liang Sicheng, and privately said that he would award Sicheng the Nobel Peace Prize.Later, Mrs. Liang wrote to Dr. Fairbank in Chongqing, reassuring him that there is still great hope for human beings in general.

"The preparations for this settlement are also due to the fact that some people are known for their penchant for getting deeply involved in every other person's personal affairs. "After reading Tolstoy's voluminous account of human activity between Moscow and Petersburg from 1805 to 1812, I must admit that in Lizhuang or Chongqing, in Kunming or Peiping (Beijing) or Shanghai, from 1922 Human activities up to 1943 are strikingly similar to what happened in strange Russia a century ago. So why not just put up with it - I mean life and human beings in general . "The worst thing I can do is turn myself into hatred. I was born a woman, and it's war time. My own mother happened to be an extremely incompetent and meddling woman, and she was the most useless woman in the world. Patience man. Just now it was about the maid again. The real problem is that my mother gets angry with the maid when she shouldn't, spoils her when she shouldn't, and is just too impatient, Having the maid do the daily work like clockwork but then having to tell her to change my order and so on and so on - until no one can do anything. I fight with my mum a lot but it's utter foolishness and spontaneity Looking for bitterness."

The increasingly serious plight of the Liang family forced Fei Zhengqing to write to Lao Jin Wenji in Kunming.At the beginning of Lao Jin's reply, he said "don't worry about the Liang family's affairs", and then described his views on the problems they faced. "I think the housing problem is a small thing compared to the difficulty of adjusting relationships. The hardest thing to adjust to is the mother. She belongs to a completely different generation, but lives in a more modern family. She is in this There are a lot of ideas in the family and some energy, but there is no serious business to do at all, all she does is something that falls into her hands occasionally. Because she is very, very lonely, she desperately needs to communicate with people, the only person she can communicate with It is Huiyin, but Huiyin can hardly communicate with her because she is completely ignorant of her general ideas and feelings. As a result, she and her own daughter have no contact except quarrels. They love each other, but dislike each other .I have advised them many times to separate, but it was never accepted, and separation is now unlikely."

Perhaps it was a copy of a letter from Fairbank that prompted Huiyin to write to him with a more open mind: "By the way, my recent reading has been extensive, including, "The Passage to India", "The Biography of Disraeli", "The Biography of Queen Victoria", "The Palace of the Yuan Dynasty" (in Chinese), "The Secret History of the Qing Palace", "The Song Dynasty Dikes and Tomb Buildings", "Chronology of the Hong Family", "Anatole Francois Foreign History", "Memoirs of Casanova", "The Complete Works of Shakespeare", "The Complete Works of André Gide", Samuel Gide Butler's "Brand Brand Brand", Liang Sicheng's manuscript, younger brother's composition, and the Chinese translation of "Alice's Adventures" loved by children."

Children, Zaibing (Baby) and her younger brother Congjie—still called by his nickname "Xiaodi" at home, although important in the lives of the Liangs, is rarely mentioned in her letters .There is a very vivid letter that briefly describes their life at the age of fourteen and eleven: "Zai Bing inherited Sicheng's gentleness and any good qualities I had. She excelled at school and in her friendships. Her radiant smile made up for the lack of energy she inherited from her parents...on the other hand, from Jie has now grown into a tanned country boy with straw sandals on his feet. He speaks authentic Sichuan dialect when dealing with vulgar local classmates. But he is a perfect little gentleman at home, and he is very concerned about my health. Concentrate on making all kinds of gadgets.

"I continue to act as a 'juggler' of economic tricks, so that the whole family and some relatives and colleagues are more or less well taken care of. I have to constantly mend those little clothes and socks that are almost impossible for Sicheng and two children …even the little brother had to sew on Sunday afternoons when we just couldn’t get it done. It was a lot more work than writing a whole chapter on the architectural developments of the Song, Liao, and Qing, or trying to describe the capital of the Song Dynasty. Both of these Something I have happily and voluntarily done for Sicheng when he was busy with other parts of the writing. The baby's grades are still good, but it's hard for her to walk such a long dirt road to school, and she I can’t get enough to eat at noon.”

Sicheng once brought his son to Chongqing, where the child was admitted to two middle schools, and he chose Nankai Middle School where he had friends.Lao Jin said, "He has a high IQ, and that naughty boy has grown into a hard-working student."