Chapter 8 Section III UK

At twenty-seven, I went to England.For myself, I gave my mother in her sixties a second blow.On the day of her 70th birthday, I was still far away in a foreign land.That day, according to what my sisters told me later, the old lady only had two sips of wine and went to bed very early.She missed her youngest son and couldn't say it. 1. The first day At that time (flash decades), my English was pretty good.I can speak it like neither English nor German, but I can hear it after listening carefully - it turns out to be "Huaying Mandarin".That is to say, I have artistically divided several British characters into Chinese characters evenly, like a chicken and a rabbit in the same cage.The British were dumbfounded when I said it, but I also blinked when I said it; they understood what they said, and I understood what I said, so it was very passable.

... Is there anything wrong with giving it a chance to die? !Anyway, the ship has to take me to London, I know it! Sure enough, I went back and forth to London.The boat stopped moving, and everyone went down to carry their luggage, and I saw it, and I had to go down too.What pier?I don't care about watching; I don't consult, so as not to invite people to blink again.Passport inspection, I'm the last one - Britons are not as polite as we are, foreigners have to wait.After waiting for over an hour, it's my turn.The two petty officials interrogated me a lot, and I said everything I understood, but they probably didn't understand.They put a stamp on the passport, and I "read" to understand: "Stay only for one month" (later, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the school banquet canceled this, no problem).It doesn't matter if it's only or "hmph", get off the boat soon, everyone else has left, and you have to check your luggage if you dare.This time it was very straightforward: "Smoke?" I said "no"; "Silk?" Another "no".A talisman was drawn on the suitcase, and it was over.My English is very rooted, I said in my heart.I watched others buy train tickets, so I bought one too; everyone left, so I too; anyway, they knew where to go.If they get lost, can I not accompany them?On the train.The train is very clean and comfortable.The further you go, the greener the surrounding area becomes, and the high and low are all green.Sometimes the sun comes out and sometimes goes in, and the depth of the green space changes from time to time.The green slope in the distance supports black clouds, and the green is particularly deep.There are no crops, short grass everywhere, and sometimes one or two cows wagging their tails and grazing.This is not an agricultural country.

... The car is parked on Cannon Street.Everyone got down, and there were many men and women receiving passengers on the platform, with different kissing sounds and postures, and I also came down slowly; where should I go?Ah, rescuers are here, and Professor Yi Wensi is waving to me.His Chinese is more than 90 points better than my English.He and I each took one piece of luggage and headed to the tunnel station; with him, we don't have to worry about going to hell.Take the underground train to LiverpoolStreet.This is a big station.Give the luggage to the transfer office, and they will send it home.Then we had a beer and a snack.At the station, in the tunnel, at the transit point, and in the coffee shop, I have the impression that the outside is dark and inconspicuous, but the inside is very clean and orderly.Later I slowly saw that the same is true of the British.She has a face that looks like she's about to cry, but she's very humorous and good at speaking.They are slow, but accurate.Professor Yi didn't come a minute earlier. When the car pulled into the station, he also arrived.He wanted to take me to school, just outside the station.After thinking about it, I decided not to go again, because it was Sunday.He told me that he had already found a house for me, and that he was with Xu Dishan.I was even happier. What else could I do when I saw Xu Dishan, besides telling jokes?

... Professor Yi lives in Barnet, so he also found me a room there.Although this is within "Greater London", it really belongs to Hertfordshire. It is eleven miles away from London, and it takes more than half an hour to travel by express train.We got on the train at the original station, and when the train was almost at the destination, we saw a large area of ​​green grass again.After getting out of the car, Mr. Yi smiled.Say I bring sunshine to you.Sure enough, there were still drops of water hanging on the tree, probably because it had just rained. ... It was the weather in early September, the ground was damp and overcast, and the trees and grass were so green.It takes ten minutes to walk from the station to the residence.There are almost no pedestrians on the street, and the cars and trams are also empty.Sunday.The streets are very wide, and the shops are not big, they are all small and clean, and there is no jet black like London here.The shops are all closed, there is a large pasture on the right side of the road, and there is a forest in the distance, which makes people feel peaceful.

... What I can't forget the most is when I entered the alley: CarnarvonStreet.This is a small alley.The road is tarmac, and there is still some running water on the side of the road, because it has just rained.There are small houses on both sides, most of which are two-story, and the tiles are red.There are small trees on the aisle, more like holly, bearing red beans.The open space more than two feet outside the house is full of flowers and plants, and I saw English late roses.The windows are all covered with curtains, and some green vines are crawling all over the window sills.There was almost no one on the road, and it was about ten o'clock. The sound of Professor Yi's big leather shoes filled the alley, and there was no other sound.Those houses are really not very decent, but they are given a special flavor by the silence, cleanliness, flowers and plants, red and green colors, the air and sunshine after the rain.It is a city as well as a village, and it was originally the residence of middle-class people working in London.The house shows the air of a small town, but there is a scent of fragrance and a scene of peace and tranquility.

... The house that will be my residence is also a small two-story house. There are also some flowers planted outside the door, although there are nothing good, but they are natural; there are one or two sprigs of dusty bean curd hanging on the window sill.The landlords are two old girls, the elder sister has gray hair, is fat and stupid, and can't say anything.My younger sister has been a teacher and speaks very quickly, but it is clear that she is about forty.My sister respects Professor Yi very much and thanks him for introducing two Chinese friends.Xu Dishan was writing novels at home, using an oil and salt store account book, the pen was a fountain pen, and he would insert the nib of the pen into the account book from time to time, as if he was trying to see through the back of the paper.

... The house is small: downstairs is a living room, a dining room, and a kitchen.Upstairs are three bedrooms and a bathroom.Going out from the kitchen, there is a small courtyard with a few roses. No wonder there was a War of the Roses in British history, there are roses everywhere, and there are many kinds.The courtyard wall is just a few dwarf trees, and there are many flowers and plants in the neighbors on the left and right. There are also a few pear trees in the courtyard on the left, with many fruits hanging on them.I said "left and right", because since I was on the sea, I have changed direction, and the sun does not know which side it comes out of every day!

... Everything in this small house is tidy. According to Dishan, my younger sister cleans it up by herself; my older sister is already stupid, and she will even "play" stupid when it comes to work.He told me that their father ran a bakery, and when he died, he gave the business to his son and the two small houses to his second daughter.The two sisters sold one house and saved the money for profit; they lived in one house and rented two single guests, so they could maintain their lives.Brother doesn't care about them, and they don't beg him.The younger sister is tired, and she takes care of everything; she refuses to ask the tenants to hand in the collars and socks, etc., to the laundry: she washes and irons them herself.To a certain extent, she is not fully commercialized.

After Mr. Yi left, my sister put on her big, flowery hat and went to church.The younger sister had to cook, so she had to wait until evening to go to church.They are devout; at the same time, the church is their only place of communication.My sister didn't understand what the pastor was saying, Dishan told me.There were gradually voices on the road, most of them were old women and children, all of whom were going to worship.Occasionally, I followed a man who dressed very solemnly and walked loudly, like a little British gentleman.There is the sound of playing the piano in the neighbor's house.

... After the meal was ready, my sister came back, smiling silly.Dishan deliberately asked her, what is the content of the sermon?She said that what the pastor talked about was very deep, and it was all philosophy.The rice is a chunk of beef.From this day on, I feel dizzy when I see beef.The food of ordinary people in the UK is clean; the tea is really hot.How does it taste, I dare not criticize it, and say it sadly. ... After dinner, there was no sound again.Watching the sun come and go outside the house, I hope to order the sound of cicadas, but no.There was no sound at all.Even Dishan stopped talking.The silence made me think of home and I started writing.Dishan took out his account book again and wrote his novel.

... A small, quiet Sunday on the edge of London. 2. Echton ① -------- ① Echton is the English (only translation) translator.He stated: "I would like to express my special thanks to Mr. Shu Qingchun, a Chinese lecturer at Oriental College. Without his tireless and generous help when I completed the first draft of the translation of this book, I would not have had the courage to accept this book at all. Task." After living there for the winter, I moved to the west of London.This time, I shared a floor with a man named Echton.So in fact what I'm talking about is this Atgren--it's a bit of a second-landlord to call him--not the actual landlord.I lived there with him for three years. The man's father was a priest, and he himself was not religious.When he was very young he ran away from his home with a woman, married in London, and had three or four children.He is quite intelligent and good at reading.As far as writing is concerned, he can speak Latin, Greek, German, and French, all of which are not bad.In English, he writes very beautifully.He has written one or two books on education. Even if the content is not very good, the beauty of his writing is a recognized fact.I would like to live with him, almost in order to learn some good English.During the war, he went to join the army.Because of a weak heart, he was not listed.He squeezed his way in.Seeing the officer, with his conversation and knowledge, naturally he will not be crossed out of the account.After going back and forth, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, almost equal to the brigade commander in China. After the war, he returned to London with a considerable severance pay, rehabilitated his old career, and he went to teach again.In order to enrich his knowledge, he also went to Vienna to listen to Freud's psychology.Later, he taught at a cram school in Oxford.This school is prepared for workers. It seems a bit like a domestic summer school, but the purpose is not to tutor for further studies.Being a teacher in this kind of school naturally doesn't have much status, but in terms of benefits, it's not bad: I only work for half a year a year, and the salary is not very low.This is probably his golden "age".In terms of status, Lieutenant Colonel; in terms of knowledge, there are works; in terms of life, there is a leisurely and comfortable thing. It was also at this time that he fell in love with an American woman.She came from a famous family and has a master's degree. She came to London to play and met him.Her knowledge just complements his, and she majors in economics; when he lectures on economics in cram schools, she prepares manuscripts for him. His wife sued.As soon as the divorce case came to court, the cram school dismissed him.This kind of case is still not a problem in Oxford and Cambridge!The divorce case was established and he was free, but he had to pay his wife some money every month. When I met him, he was in a state of distress.I have nothing to do, except for the expenses of the couple, I have to provide for the original spouse.Fortunately, the master found a job, and she supported the two families.He has nothing to learn, but can't find a job.But the relationship between the two families gradually improved. The two wives met, and he also went to send money to the first lady every month, and his daughter was willing to come to him.This cannot save the poor.Poor, he is also very good at spending money. He has been an officer for several years, and he is used to spending money.Once the money is in his hands, he will not be honest.He loves to buy books, smokes good cigarettes, and sometimes has to drink a cup.I met him at the Oriental College, where he went to learn Chinese; and somehow he got a few quid in his hand, and that's when he came up with the idea.When he saw me, he said to exchange knowledge with each other. Wouldn't it be great if I taught him more Chinese and he taught me some English?For the convenience of studying, it is best to live in one place. If I pay the rent, he will provide me with meals.I nodded, and he found a room. Poor Mrs. Eggerton.When she gets up in the morning, she has to prepare breakfast.After eating, she hurried to work, desperately chasing the bus; she never waited for the station to stabilize before jumping on it, sometimes touching her legs purple and blue.After work at five o'clock, we have to make dinner for us again.Her cooking skills are not very good, as soon as we showed that we didn't like food, she immediately burst into tears.Sometimes, Eichton sold an old book or a picture, felt some money in his hand, and invited us out to dinner with a smile.Sometimes I see that she is too tired, so I treat them to a Chinese meal.At times like this, she loves it like a child. Most of his friends were in the same situation as him.I still remember a few: one was a young worker with a good conversation style, but he was often unemployed. It was not his fault at all, but the factory was open and closed.He was naturally a socialist, and whenever he came to see Echton, they argued with thick necks and red faces.Echton is also very eloquent, but he argues for the sake of argument rather than for political reasons.There is also a little old man who often comes, he is very cute.He can read, write, and speak German, Italian, and Spanish, but he can't find a job. When he has nothing to do, he just sells for a tile factory and gets a little discount.Another old man, who often comes to our area to clean glass for people, is also our friend.The old man is a doctor.When we were at home, he would discuss literature and philosophy with us while cleaning the glass.He has read Confucius' philosophy and Tagore's poems, not to mention Western writers. Let me just mention these three. They made me feel the collapse and evil of industrial and commercial capitalist society.They all have knowledge and ability, but their hands are tied by the social system, preventing them from grabbing bread.Thousands of people are like this, and there are far less than the three of them!Finding a job is really difficult! Echton has been idle for three years.The lease on our floor is for three years.When the occupancy was full, the landlord wanted to increase the rent, so we separated, because it was not easy to find a house that was so cheap and just big enough for three people.Although we don't live together, we still see each other from time to time.As long as he had enough money to go to the movies, Echton would call me and ask me to go to the movies.Even if his hands are completely empty for a week, he will invite me to his house for a meal.Naturally, I always buy things for them when I go.In this regard, he is not like an ordinary Englishman. He likes to invite friends, and he accepts invitations and gifts from friends calmly.There are many places where he has a touch of romance, but he is an Englishman and cannot completely abandon the gentleman's air. It wasn’t until I returned to China that he found a job—as a consultant in a large bookstore, recommending books from the mainland and the United States, and after the bookstore approved, he would find someone to translate or—if the book was from the United States—publish UK edition.After I left England, I heard that he had been hired by the bookstore as an editor. 3. The Dahlmans Leaving them and the couple, I lived in the apartment for half a year, so I can't go into details; the landlord and the tenant have no other relationship except to meet each other when paying the rent.In the apartment, I had to go out for dinner, which was expensive and troublesome, so I went looking for a room again.This time I found a house in south London, the landlord is an old couple with a daughter. What this old man—Mr Dahlmann—was doing, I still don't know.Firstly, I only lived there for half a year, secondly, the British don’t like to talk about private affairs, and thirdly, Mr. Dahlmann doesn’t like to talk, so I never had a chance to inquire.Occasionally, I heard a sentence or two from the old couple's conversation, as if he was a carpenter, designing and making furniture for others.He always carries a ruler with him.But I can't say for sure. This old man is a true British philistine, and if he has anything to say, he just repeats the news and opinions in the "Morning Paper".Everything the Morning Post says is true!He has a house, a little savings, works hard, is clean, knows nothing but his work is sacred, and the English are the best people in the world. Mrs. Dahlmann is a female Mr. Dahlmann. Her opinion is not only obtained from the "Morning Paper", but also from the passages of the "Morning Paper" that Mr. Dahlmann reads from his mouth. She has no time to read the newspaper by herself. Miss Dahlmann only reads the advertisements in the Morning Paper.Once, or because she saw me holding a book all the time, she borrowed a novel from me.I casually gave her a copy of Wells' humorous stories.After reading a passage, her face turned purple with anger!I hurried out and found her a sixpenny romance at the newsstand, about a waitress marrying a waiter, who turned out to be the heir to an earl.This little book made her smile again to me. She had nothing to do, so she put a little ad in the classifieds—Teaching Dancing.I don't know what her skills are, but when she declared that she would teach me at half the fee, I didn't make a sound.Turning knowledge into money is the motto of her and all ordinary citizens. She was a little depressed, no boyfriend asked her out to play, often pretended to have a headache after dinner, and ran upstairs to sleep.The marriage problem is really a problem that cannot be solved in that country with a depressed economy.I think she's probably going to stay at home! "The landlady's daughter" often becomes the wife of an overseas student, which is good material for a novel about foreign history; in fact, the meaning in it is not just the absurdity of the overseas student. 4. Oriental College From the autumn of 1924 to the summer of 1929, I lived in London for five years.Except for summer vacation, winter vacation and spring vacation, I sometimes leave London for a few days to go to the country or other cities to play, and the rest of the time is spent in this big city.My job doesn't allow me to go anywhere, even during the holidays, I sometimes have to go to school.My money does not allow me to travel around at will, and the prices of hotels and train tickets in the UK are not very cheap. I work at Oriental College, one of the colleges of the University of London.Here, all the languages ​​of the Far East, the Near East and Africa are taught.Important languages ​​have become independent departments, such as Chinese, Arabic, etc.; besides languages, literature and philosophy are also taught.For secondary languages, there is only one fixed lecturer, not a department, such as Japanese; if someone specifically requests to teach Japanese literature or philosophy, this lecturer will arrange it.For languages ​​that are not very important, even regular lecturers are not set up, but teachers are hired temporarily when there are students, and the remuneration is calculated by the hour.For example, if someone wants to learn the Mongolian language or the language of a non-British place in Africa, this is how they do it.Naturally, the so-called importance and insignificance here are more or less related to British politics, military, business, etc. In a department, there is probably one professor and two lecturers.The professors were nearly all English; the two lecturers were always an Englishman and a foreigner—that is to say, there was a Chinese lecturer in the Chinese Department and an Arab lecturer in the Arabic Department.These are three regular teachers, and the rest are mostly invited temporarily. For example, in the Chinese Language Department, sometimes there are several temporary teachers in addition to the regular lecturers. If there are students who want to learn a certain Chinese language The professors and regular lecturers in this department all speak Mandarin, so if someone wants to learn Xiamen dialect or Shaoxing dialect, they have to go and hire someone to teach them temporarily. The professors here are also professors at the University of London.The lecturers here are not all lecturers from the University of London.As far as I am concerned, my letter of appointment was issued by the Oriental College, so I am only a lecturer in the college and have nothing to do with the university. ①Most of those British lecturers are university lecturers. This is not necessarily because of how good the knowledge of British lecturers is, but a matter of qualifications: with the qualifications of university lecturers, they have the hope of being promoted, from lecturers to associate professors And the professor.Since the professors are all English, as has been said, it is of little use for foreigners to be qualified as lecturers at universities.Moreover, there are many departments that do not become departments at all, without professors, and naturally obtain the qualifications of university lecturers, and there will be no development.Here, see the prejudice of the British.In terms of Sanskrit, ancient Hebrew, Arabic, etc., Britain's talent is not weaker than other countries on the mainland; as for Far Eastern languages ​​and academic research, Britain obviously cannot catch up with Germany or France.If the British are willing, they can use lower salaries to hire better professors in countries such as Germany and France.But they refused.Their professors must be British, regardless of literacy.As far as I know, there is not a single professor in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature in this college who is really knowledgeable.This is a disadvantage academically, but the British have their own way and will never listen to others.Fortunately, there are a few good professors and lecturers in other departments. After all, the teachers in this college are generally passable.Moreover, in addition to the head professors of each department, there are also several scholars who lecture on specialized knowledge, such as ancient Indian law, ancient art in Babylon, etc., which greatly increased the reputation of this college.In addition to these teachers, there is also a phonology expert who teaches all students the training and skills of pronunciation and sound identification to increase the efficiency of language learning.That's a good idea. -------- ① Lao She had direct contact with the institute in all his negotiations at the Oriental Institute.When he first came to the college, his annual salary was 250 pounds, but after negotiating with the dean, it was raised to 300 pounds. Roughly speaking, the professors here do not only give students a systematic lecture every year like the professors in Oxford or Cambridge, but teach the same lessons as the lecturers every day. ①It is necessary to talk about the students here.There are almost no restrictions on the students who come here.In terms of age, some are seventy-year-old men or old women, and some are teenage boys or girls.As long as you pay the tuition fee, you can enroll.Therefore, one person learns the same thing, and it is rare for two students to happen to learn the same thing.Take the Department of Chinese Language, for example. When I was there, there were two elderly people in their seventies among the students: one old man specialized in learning Chinese characters, regardless of how they were pronounced, so he designated English The lecturer taught him.Another old man appointed me to learn, because he pays great attention to pronunciation; he has a lot of research on languages, ancient Greek, Latin, Hebrew, he knows it, and when he is in his seventies, he wants to hear what Chinese is like Son; after learning Chinese for a while, he chose Japanese again.These two old people are very hardworking. Although their hair is white, their hearts are not stupid.In addition to the elderly couple, there are many students: some are learning languages, some are studying, some are preparing for a thesis for a degree at the University of London, some are reading Yuanqu, some are studying "Han Shu", and some are going to study. Going to China, so let’s learn a few words first. Some of them have lived in China for ten or eight years and want to study further... In short, they learn different lessons, different levels, different class time, and different teachers.In this way, one person is one class, and the professor and two lecturers are busy all day long.The youngest of these students was twelve years old. -------- ① As a lecturer, Lao She has done a lot of things to qualify as a professor.Prominent example: Lecture on "Love Novels in the Tang Dynasty".His research is unique and incisive, and has high theoretical value.In addition, he also made records and edited teaching materials. Therefore, professors and lecturers are unable to offer certain courses, but soldiers come to block them, and they have to teach what students want to learn; the college authorities are most afraid of teachers saying "I can't teach this".Therefore, it is not easy to be a professor and a lecturer.Let’s take the Department of Chinese Language as an example. Once, a British doctor asked to teach him some Chinese medicine.I refused to teach, and the professor also stared.In the end, the professor dealt with him for a semester.I really admire the professor's ability to deal with it; I must know that if he refuses to deal with the doctor, the dean will probably be even more difficult to deal with.From this point of view, I like the method of this college very much, all comers are welcome, one student is one class, and students are completely listened to.However, to do this, there are really many teachers. There are only two or three in a department, and it is impossible to satisfy all the students. There are also those who attend classes: soldiers and bank trainees.Soldiers sometimes come in one group, and this group is divided into several groups, three to learn Chinese, two to learn Japanese, and four to learn Turkish...Since they come at the same time, they can be divided into groups.This is the best student.They are all small military officers, and they are almost all from aristocratic families, so they are very disciplined and hardworking.They have learned a language, and whether they use it or not, it is a benefit in terms of salary as long as they pass the exam.It is said that those who can speak one language can get an extra one hundred pounds per year.They learn Chinese for one year in the UK, and then they can be sent to China.When they arrived in China, they continued to study hard, and then returned to England to take the test. If they passed the test, their salary would be increased.I helped them pass the test, and the test questions were not easy. For language, one needs to be able to talk to Chinese people; for writing, one needs to be able to read social theories and news in major newspapers, and be able to translate Chinese textbooks and official documents into English.The same is true for those who learn Chinese, and the same is true for those who learn other languages.sharp!British secret detectives are famous, and there are so many and such good talents in the army: whichever country they are fighting with, they will have officers who can speak and write in that country.I know a young officer who has passed the preliminary test in four languages ​​and is only twenty-three years old!If you want to overthrow imperialism, ah, you must first enrich your knowledge and knowledge, otherwise you will only suffer if you become hoarse. The worst students are bank trainees.These are the children of middle-class people—otherwise they would not be able to enter the bank—but they don’t have the rules and discipline like soldiers. They come to learn the language just to get a qualification. , I eat" forget.If they pass the exam, they have the hope of being called to the East, but they just hope, not guaranteed.Even if they were sent to the east, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, etc., they would have known that they could do everything without speaking a word of the oriental language.They come to this college to prepare for qualifications, not for speech, so they do not study well.The teachers don't like to teach them, and they look down on the teachers, especially foreign teachers.There is nothing more distasteful than the twenty-somethings of the middle class in England. They have all the dislikes of the English, and all the advantages of the English they have not yet learned, because they are just turning from children to adults. , so more annoying than adults. There are so many shifts and the homework is so complicated, it can't be considered exhausting.But there is one advantage; their schedules always try to keep each teacher free for half a day.As usual, there is no class on Saturday afternoon, plus a half-day break in the middle of the week, there are two days of rest every week.Besides, a year is divided into three semesters, each semester has only ten weeks of classes, and there are five months of holidays a year, which is not bad.However, there are still students who are willing to attend classes during the holidays; if the students are willing, the husband must also be willing, so I cannot leave London for many days during the holidays.This is also beneficial. If you take classes during the holidays, the tuition fees will be borne by the husband. There is a very good library in the college, which only collects books on oriental studies, and there are some Chinese books upstairs.Before and after class, students are either in the lounge or in the library because they have nowhere else to go.There is no sports field or other equipment here, so students have to go to the library to read books, or smoke in the lounge, and there is nothing else to do.Most of the students are in one class per person, and the class time is different, so there will be no groups and sports.There is at most one tea party per term.The meeting was always held in the library, and the whole school was invited.There are no speeches, no ceremony, only refreshments, which are eaten casually.Only when this meeting is held, students have the opportunity to chat with each other. Men and women, old and young, gather together and talk while having tea.Only then did I see that there were not a lot of students; usually one person would be in one class, but now I saw groups of students. During the holidays, the college was extremely quiet, only the library was still open, and there were not many people studying.Most of my "Lao Zhang's Philosophy", "Zhao Zi said", and "Two Horses" were written here, because it is quiet here.At that time, the college was in the city of London.There are several train stations in the surrounding area, so it must be very chaotic, but there is no sound in the college.The library is next to the street, but facing an open space with some flowers and trees, like a small park.After reading the book, it is convenient to sit in this small park.Now, it is said that the college has been moved to the university, and the library and the classrooms—a letter from a friend said so—are far apart, so the library is quieter.Hmph, I hope we have the opportunity to go to London again and write two more novels in this library! 5. Write novels Went abroad at the age of twenty-seven.In order to learn English, I read novels, but I haven't thought about writing.The freshness of going to a foreign land gradually disappeared, and after half a year, I began to feel lonely and often homesick.I haven't lived at home since I was fourteen. The so-called "homesickness" here really means wanting everything I know in China.Since those things are all in the past, when I think of them, they look like some pictures, maybe those things that are not very colorful can't be remembered at all.These pictures often come and go in my heart. Whenever I read a novel, I forget what I am reading, and I just remember my past in a daze.There are some pictures in the novel, and there are some pictures in the memory, why can't you draw your own pictures in words?I want to get a pen. "Lao Zhang's Philosophy" However, before I get a pen, I have to have some sketches.At that time, I didn’t know that there were such books as how to do novels in the world, so what should I do?I have read Chinese novels and other Chinese novels, but I have not read many foreign novels, and there are books here and there, some of which are works of famous writers, and some are the sleepy tales of a waitress marrying the crown prince.Newcomers will naturally have greater influence. I decided not to take the form of Chinese novels, but I don’t know much about foreign novels, and I have no choice but to choose.Well, write whatever you want, whatever it looks like, I don't want to publish it anyway.Besides, I've just read Nicholas Nickleby ("Nicholas Nicoleby") and Pick-wickPapers () and other random works, which are more than enough to make me go wild; just write, whatever it is.This determines the form of "Old Zhang's Philosophy", which makes me shy just thinking about it. The form is determined in this way; as for the content, in terms of characters and facts, I write whatever comes to mind, without a center; those colorful people and things floating in my memory are taken at random, and before I can arrange them, I went to pull another group, people were crowded, and things happened next to each other, and they were all out of breath.If the people and events in this book were written today, it would be enough to write ten books. In terms of thought, I thought I was very brilliant at that time, so I called it "philosophy" unceremoniously.philosophy!Now I recognize myself; if I have any strengths, it must not be in thinking.My emotions always get ahead of my reason, and I can be a warm friend rather than a wise counsel.Feelings make my heart beat faster, and I take the most common and superficial opinions without thinking about them, and make them the criterion by which I judge everything.On the one hand, this makes my writing often emotional; on the other hand, my views are always ordinary. If I relied solely on emotion, I might be able to write quite great tragedies, but I am not thorough; on the one hand, I use emotion to taste the taste of the world, and on the other hand, I control emotion, and do not judge entirely by my own likes and dislikes.This contradiction is due to my personal character and environment.I was poor since I was a child, and I was deeply influenced by my mother in character—she was a woman who refused to ask for help even if she was hungry, and at the same time was a very loyal woman to others.Being poor makes me scold the world; being strong makes me easily judge others based on my personal feelings and opinions; being righteous makes me feel a little sympathetic to others.With this analysis, it is easy to understand why I want to laugh and scold, but not kill them all.I lost sarcasm and gained humor.There is, it is said, sympathy in humor.I hate bad people, but bad people also have advantages; I love people, and good people also have shortcomings: "The cunning of the poor is also justice", or my recent discovery; Ten years ago, I only knew how to look at the world with half hate and half smile. Some people say that "Lao Zhang's Philosophy" is not humorous, but disgusting.I neither fully admit nor deny this completely.Some people don't understand humor by nature; each person has his own temper, so there is no need to say anything.Some people are eager to save the world, save the country, and save literature, and hate humor; this is a well-known teacher, and there is no major problem except that it is too authoritarian.But these two kinds of people say I hate it, so I can't defend myself, but it's also inconvenient to slap myself a few times right away.Some people appreciate the humor and think I'm so over the top that I hate it.I admit this.As I said before, when I first started writing novels, I just wrote them for fun, and I didn’t know what skills were or what control was.I talked nonsense, grasped a point, refused to let go, exaggerated and exaggerated, and relished myself, thinking that my writing was free and unrestrained.Hate?of course. Probably the most annoying part is the half-white, half-literal text.Playing around with words is the easiest way to be snarky, but this temptation is not easy to avoid; when a situation or fact is ridiculous, it is natural to add funny words when describing it to help make the exaggerated statement.Enough is enough; it's not easy. It took about a year to write this book.闲着就写点，有事便把它放在一旁，所以漓漓拉拉的延长到一年；若是一气写下，本来不需要这么多的时间。写的时候是用三个便士一本的作文簿，钢笔横书，写得不甚整齐。这些小事足以证明我没有大吹大擂的通电全国——我在著作；还是那句话，我只是写着玩。写完了，许地山兄来到伦敦；一块儿谈得没有什么好题目了，我就掏出小本给他念两段。他没给我什么批评，只顾了笑。后来，他说寄到国内去吧。我倒还没有这个勇气；即使寄去，也得先修改一下。可是他既不告诉我哪点应当改正，我自然闻不见自己的脚臭；于是马马虎虎就寄给了郑西谛兄——并没挂号，就那么卷了一卷扔在邮局。两三个月后，《小说月报》居然把它登载出来。我到中国饭馆吃了顿“杂碎”，作为犒赏三军。 《赵子曰》 我只知道《老张的哲学》在《小说月报》上发表了，和登完之后由文学研究会出单行本。自己的作品用铅字印出来总是件快事，我自然也觉得高兴。《赵子曰》便是这点高兴的结果。我知道“老张”很可笑，很生动；好了，照样再写一本就是了。于是我就开始写《赵子曰》。 材料自然得换一换：“老张”是讲些中年人们，那么这次该换些年轻的了。写法可是不用改，把心中记得的人与事编排到一处就行。“老张”是揭发社会上那些我所知道的人与事，“老赵”是描写一群学生。不管是谁与什么吧，反正要写得好笑好玩；一回吃出甜头，当然想再吃；所以这两本东西是同窝的一对小动物。 可是，这并不完全正确。how to say? “老张”中的人多半是我亲眼看见的，其中的事多半是我亲身参加过的；因此，书中的人与事才那么拥挤纷乱；专凭想象是不会来得这么方便的。这自然不是说，此书中的人物都可以——的指出，“老张”是谁谁，“老李”是某某。不，绝不是！所谓“真”，不过是大致的说，人与事都有个影子，而不是与我所写的完全一样。它是我记忆中的一个百货店，换了东家与字号，即使还卖那些旧货，也另经摆列过了。其中顶坏的角色也许长得像我所最敬爱的人；就是叫我自己去分析，恐怕也没法作到一个萝卜一个坑儿。不论怎样吧，为省事起见，我们暂且笼统的说“老张”中的人与事多半是真实的。赶到写《赵子曰》的时节，本想还照方抓一剂，可是材料并不这么方便了。所以只换换材料的话不完全正确。这就是说：在动机上相同，而在执行时因事实的困难使它们不一样了。 在写“老张”以前，我已作过六年事，接触的多半是与我年岁相同的中年人。我虽没想到去写小说，可是时机一到，这六年中的经验自然是极有用的。这成全了“老张”，但委屈了《赵子曰》，因为我在一方面离开学生生活已六七年，而在另一方面这六七年中的学生已和我作学生时候的情形大不相同了，即使我还清楚地记得自己的学校生活也无补于事。我在“招待学员”的公寓里住过，我也极同情于学生们的热烈与活动，可是我不能完全把自己当作个学生，于是我在解放与自由的声浪中，在严重而混乱的场面中，找到了笑料，看出了缝子。在今天想起来，我之立在“五四”运动外面使我的思想吃了极大的亏，《赵子曰》便是个明证，它不鼓舞，而在轻搔新人物的痒痒肉！ 有了这点说明，就晓得这两本书的所以不同了。“老张”中事实多，想象少；《赵子曰》中想象多，事实少。“老张”中纵有极讨厌的地方，究竟是与真实相距不远；有时候把一件很好的事描写得不堪，那多半是文字的毛病；文字把我拉了走，我收不住脚。至于《赵子曰》，简直没多少事实，而只有些可笑的体态，像些滑稽舞。小学生看了能跳着脚笑，它的长处止于此！我并不是幽默完又后悔；真的，真正的幽默确不是这样，现在我知道了，虽然还是眼高手低。 此中的人物只有一两位有个真的影子，多数的是临时想起来的；好的坏的都是理想的，而且是个中年人的理想，虽然我那时候还未到三十岁，我自幼贫穷，作事又很早，我的理想永远不和目前的事实相距很远，假如使我设想一个地上乐园，大概也和那初民的满地流蜜，河里都是鲜鱼的梦差不多。穷人的空想大概离不开肉馅馒头，我就是如此。明乎此，才能明白我为什么有说有笑，好讽刺而并没有绝高的见解。因为穷，所以作事早；作事早，碰的钉子就特别的多；不久，就成了中年人的样子。不应当如此，但事实上已经如此，除了酸笑还有什么办法呢？ ! 前面已经提过，在立意上，《赵子曰》与“老张”是鲁卫之政，所以《赵子曰》的文字还是——往好里说——很挺拔利落。往坏里说呢，“老张”所有的讨厌，“老赵”一点也没减少。可是，在结构上，从《赵子曰》起，一步一步的确是有了进步，因为我读的东西多了。《赵子曰》已比“老张”显着紧凑了许多。 这本书里只有一个女角，而且始终没露面。我怕写女人；平常日子见着女人也老觉得拘束。在我读书的时候，男女还不能同校；在我作事的时候，终日与些中年人在一处，自然要假装出稳重。我没机会交女友，也似乎以此为荣。在后来的作品中虽然有女角，大概都是我心中想出来的，而加上一些我所看到的女人的举动与姿态；设若有人问我：女子真是这样么？我没法不摇头，假如我不愿撒谎的话。《赵子曰》中的女子没露面，是我最诚实的地方。 这本书仍然是用极贱的“练习簿”写的，也经过差不多一年的工夫。写完，我交给宁恩承兄先读一遍，看看有什么错儿；他笑得把盐当作了糖，放到茶里，在吃早饭的时候。 《二马》 《二马》是我在国外的末一部作品：从“作”的方面说，已经有了些经验；从“读”的方面说，我不但读得多了，而且认识了英国当代作家的著作。心理分析与描写工细是当代文艺的特色；读了它们，不会不使我感到自己的粗劣，我开始决定往“细”里写。 《二马》中的细腻处是在《老张的哲学》与《赵子曰》里找不到的，“张”与“赵”中的泼辣恣肆处从《二马》以后可是也不多见了。人的思想不必一定随着年纪而往稳健里走，可是文字的风格差不多是“晚节渐于诗律细”的。读与作的经验增多，形式之美自然在心中添了分量，不管个人愿意这样与否。 《二马》在一开首便把故事最后的一幕提出来，就是这“求细”的证明：先有了结局，自然是对故事的全盘设计已有了个大概，不能再信口开河。可是这还不十分正确；我不仅打算细写，而且要非常的细，要像康拉德那样把故事看成一个球，从任何地方起始它总会滚动的。我本打算把故事的中段放在最前面，而后倒转回来补讲前文，而后再由这里接下去讲——讲马威逃走以后的事。这样，篇首的两节，现在看起来是像尾巴，在原来的计划中本是“腰眼儿”。为什么把腰眼儿变成了尾巴呢？有两个原因：第一个是我到底不能完全把幽默放下，而另换一个风格，于是由心理的分析又走入姿态上的取笑，笑出以后便没法再使文章萦回跌宕；无论是尾巴吧，还是腰眼吧，放在前面乃全无意义！第二个是时间上的关系：我应在一九二九年的六月离开英国，在动身以前必须把这本书写完寄出来，以免心中老存着块病。时候到了，我只写了那么多，马威逃走以后的事无论如何也赶不出来了，于是一狠心，就把腰眼当作了尾巴，硬行结束。那么，《二马》只是比较的“细”，并非和我的理想一致；到如今我还是没写出一部真正细腻的东西，这或者是天才的限制，没法勉强吧。 在文字上可是稍稍有了些变动。这不能不感激亡友白涤洲——他死去快一年了！已经说过，我在“老张”与《赵子曰》里往往把文言与白话夹裹在一处；文字不一致多少能帮助一些矛盾气，好使人发笑。涤洲是头一个指出这一个毛病，而且劝我不要这样讨巧。我当时还不以为然，我写信给他，说我这是想把文言溶解在白话里，以提高白话，使白话成为雅俗共赏的东西。可是不久我就明白过来，利用文言多少是有点偷懒；把文言与白话中容易用的，现成的，都拿过来，而毫不费力的作成公众讲演稿子一类的东西，不是偷懒么？所谓文艺创作不是兼思想与文字二者而言么？那么，在文字方面就必须努力，作出一种简单的，有力的，可读的，而且美好的文章，才算本事。在《二马》中我开始试验这个。请看看那些风景的描写就可以明白了。的言语是多么漂亮，可是一提到风景便立刻改腔换调而有诗为证了；我试试看；一个洋车夫用自己的言语能否形容一个晚晴或雪景呢？假如他不能的话，让我代他来试试。什么“潺浮”咧，“凄凉”咧，“幽径”咧，“萧条”咧……我都不用，而用顶俗浅的字另想主意。设若我能这样形容得出呢，那就是本事，反之则宁可不去描写。这样描写出来，才是真觉得了物境之美而由心中说出；用文言拼凑只是修辞而已。论味道，英国菜——就是所谓英法大菜的菜——可以算天下最难吃的了；什么几乎都是白水煮或楞烧。可是英国人有个说法——记得好像GeorgeGissing（乔治·吉辛）也这么说过——英国人烹调术的主旨是不假其他材料的帮助，而是把肉与蔬菜的原味，真正的香味，烧出来。我以为，用白话著作倒须用这个方法，把白话的真正香味烧出来；文言中的现成字与辞虽一时无法一概弃斥，可是用在白话文里究竟是有些像酱油与味之素什么的；放上去能使菜的色味俱佳，但不是真正的原味儿。 在材料方面，不用说，是我在国外四五年中慢慢积蓄下来的。可是像故事中那些人与事全是想象的，几乎没有一个人一件事曾在伦敦见过或发生过。写这本东西的动机不是由于某人某事的值得一写，而是在比较中国人与英国人的不同处，所以一切人差不多都代表着什么；我不能完全忽略了他们的个性，可是我更注意他们所代表的民族性。因此，《二马》除了在文字上是没有多大的成功的。其中的人与事是对我所要比较的那点负责，而比较根本是种类似报告的东西。自然，报告能够新颖可喜，假若读者不晓得这些事；但它的取巧处只是这一点，它缺乏文艺的伟大与永久性，至好也不过是一种还不讨厌的报章文学而已。比较是件容易作的事，连个小孩也能看出洋人鼻子高，头发黄；因此也就很难不浮浅。注意在比较，便不能不多取些表面上的差异作资料，而由这些资料里提出判断。脸黄的就是野蛮，与头发卷着的便文明，都是很容易说出而且说着怪高兴的；越是在北平住过一半天的越敢给北平下考话，许多污辱中国的电影，戏剧，与小说，差不多都是仅就表面的观察而后加以主观的判断。《二马》虽然没这样坏，可是究竟也算上了这个当。 老马代表老一派的中国人，小马代表晚一辈的，谁也能看出这个来。老马的描写有相当的成功：虽然他只代表了一种中国人，可是到底他是我所最熟识的；他不能普遍的代表老一辈的中国人，但我最熟识的老人确是他那个样子。他不好，也不怎么坏；他对过去的文化负责，所以自尊自傲，对将来他茫然，所以无从努力，也不想努力。他的希望是老年的舒服与有所依靠；若没有自己的子孙，世界是非常孤寂冷酷的。他背后有几千年的文化，面前只有个儿子。他不大爱思想，因为事事已有了准则。这使他很可爱，也很可恨；很安详，也很无聊。至于小马，我又失败了。前者我已经说过，五四运动时我是个旁观者；在写《二马》的时节，正赶上革命军北伐，我又远远的立在一旁，没机会参加。这两个大运动，我都立在外面，实在没有资格去描写比我小十岁的青年。我们在伦敦的一些朋友天天用针插在地图上：革命军前进了，我们狂喜；退却了，懊丧。虽然如此，我们的消息只来自新闻报，我们没亲眼看见血与肉的牺牲，没有听见枪炮的响声。更不明白的是国内青年们的思想。那时在国外读书的，身处异域，自然极爱祖国；再加上看着外国国民如何对国家的事尽职责，也自然使自己想作个好国民，好像一个中国人能像英国人那样作国民便是最高的理想了。个人的私事，如恋爱，如孝悌，都可以不管，自要能有益于国家，什么都可以放在一旁。这就是马威所要代表的。比这再高一点的理想，我还没想到过。先不用管这个理想高明不高明吧，马威反正是这个理想的产儿。他是个空的，一点也不像个活人。他还有缺点，不尽合我的理想，于是另请出一位李子荣来作补充；所以李子荣更没劲！ 对于英国人，我连半个有人性的也没写出来。他们的褊狭的爱国主义决定了他们的罪案，他们所表现的都是偏见与讨厌，没有别的。自然，猛一看过去，他们确是有这种讨厌而不自觉的地方，可是稍微再细看一看，他们到底还不这么狭小。我专注意了他们与国家的关系，而忽略了他们其他的部分。幸而我是用幽默的口气述说他们，不然他们简直是群可怜的半疯子了。幽默宽恕了他们，正如宽恕了马家父子，把褊狭与浮浅消解在笑声中，万幸！ 最危险的地方是那些恋爱的穿插，它们极容易使《二马》成为《留东外史》一类的东西。可是我在一动笔时就留着神，设法使这些地方都成为揭露人物性格与民族成见的机会，不准恋爱情节自由的展动。这是我很会办的事，在我的作品中差不多老是把恋爱作为副笔，而把另一些东西摆在正面。这个办法的好处是把我从三角四角恋爱小说中救出来，它的坏处是使我老不敢放胆写这个人生最大的问题——两性间的问题。我一方面在思想上失之平凡，另一方面又在题材上不敢摸这个禁果，所以我的作品即使在结构上文字上有可观，可是总走不上那伟大之路。三角恋爱永不失为好题目，写得好还是好。像我这样一碰即走，对打八卦拳倒许是好办法，对写小说它使我轻浮，激不起心灵的震颤。 这本书的写成也差不多费了一年的工夫。写几段，我便对朋友们去朗读，请他们批评，最多的时候是找祝仲谨兄去。他是北平人，自然更能听出句子的顺当与否，和字眼的是否妥当。全篇写完，我又托郦堃厚兄给看了一遍，他很细心的把错字都给挑出来。把它寄出去以后——仍是寄给《小说月报》——我便向伦敦说了“再见”。