Chapter 13 10

Morning of March 28, 1961 (translated from English) Dear Mira: I will persuade Cong again to control his temper in trivial matters. He is too much like me in this respect. I have repeatedly reminded him not to be affected by my bad habits.The shortcomings and bad temper of the parents should constantly serve as admonitions for the children, otherwise, there is no hope of improving the character of the person.Your mother is the most amiable and approachable woman (fortunately you belong to her type), praised by all relatives and friends, she is gentle and graceful, and has a great influence on Satoshi.Over the years, if my mother hadn't always worked hard, carefully, and patiently mediated, I might not have gotten along with Cong as we do today, because both of us are short-tempered, especially impatient with small things.In short, we are too similar in temperament, generally speaking, this is the temperament of an artist or a poet, but in the eyes of a poet-painter's wife, this temperament is not at all poetic!I can only advise you not to take it too seriously when Cong loses his temper. Even if he is furious sometimes, please try to restrain yourself and treat him as a naughty child. I believe he will regret it soon and feel ashamed of being unreasonable. .I understand it's hard for you to keep calm, you're so young!However, this is the only way to calm the storm and avoid spreading it, otherwise, your own emotions will also deteriorate, which is bad-this is the fatal wound of family relations!I hope you will forgive Satoshi on this point, as Mama always forgave me, because I can assure you that being short-tempered over little things is the only serious flaw in Satoshi's character.

On the other hand, we think it is very important that Cong should reduce the number of performances in the future, as I mentioned to you in my letter on February 21 (E-No.11T2).A person who is too nervous for work will often lose his temper.It was repeatedly mentioned in the comments that Cong was very nervous when he played the first program.For the sake of music, he should reduce his contract next season.Discuss this issue well, not only for his performance level in public places, but also for the happiness of both of you.If success and money can't bring you happiness, why bother with so many tours?If too many performances can't bring peace to your family, then reduce them as appropriate. If you overdo it, there is no such thing as indulgence without reaping the consequences!Everything must conform to the golden mean, and music is no exception.This is why I have repeatedly advised Cong to visit galleries from time to time. Appreciating plastic arts is the best way to maintain a person's physical and mental balance.

April 9, 1961 (translated from English) Dear Mira: Cong must have remembered that we have an old saying about a wise man who is content with indifference, saying that the heart is not content, so we should not be bound by greed and desire.This is common sense that everyone knows, but if you really want to practice it, you have to go through the hardships of life.It is very lucky for a person to never have to worry about money since he was a child, and he is lucky to never see his parents have financial difficulties; but once they start a family, they are not good at managing money.If a person succeeds at a young age, he will be even less good at managing money, which will do him great harm throughout his life.Among the gods, the goddess of fortune is the most capricious, with malicious intentions, and often surprises people by surprise.

Therefore, we hope that Cong will reduce performances, reduce income, reduce fatigue, reduce stress, cut expenses, and enjoy more peace of mind and the fun of married life.It's better for you too, dear Mira.At the end of the day, I believe that both of you place more value on your spiritual life than your material life, so it doesn't matter if everything isn't in your home -- at least for now.Real wisdom lies in listening to good advice and implementing it immediately, because it is impossible for a person to be born smart. As a woman, you will not always live in the clouds. Because it is more practical, you must be smarter than smart when it comes to housekeeping and financial management. faster and easier.

I lost my father when I was four and my mother when I was twenty-five, so I had no one to advise me in real life (and also in terms of knowledge and culture).I have made countless unnecessary mistakes, done countless unnecessary Looking back, I wish more and more to free my beloved children from the possible but avoidable mistakes and pains, and besides, dear Mira, for you live in a stressful physical world , part of our tradition, especially the Chinese art of living (everything should be in line with the golden mean) may do you some good.You see, I'm an idealist like Satoshi, though sometimes in a different way.You probably think I'm too pedantic, too sanctimonious, right?

For the past two weeks, I have been reviewing the translation of Danner's "Philosophy of Art". The first draft was sent to the publishing house two years ago, but it is only now that the book has not reached the hands of typesetting workers.You know, from typesetting to printing, you have to take a big step and wait a long time.This is a great work about art, history and human culture. It is interesting, informative and inspiring to read.If you have spare time, you must read and study this book intensively. April 15, 1961 (translated from English) Dear child, as expected, we received your letter on the thirteenth.From the postmark in London it looks like it was posted on the 7th, so it was quick, nice letter!So long, so much interesting and meaningful content!Mother and I have both recited the faith several times, (read every letter you and Myra write three times!) and each time we are equally excited and delighted!You really deserve to be a modern Chinese artist, with a sincere heart, an awe-inspiring sense of justice, and a sincere love for all things that are sincere, pure, noble, and beautiful. My education has finally blossomed and borne fruit.Your natural endowments are being brought into play more and more; you are a son worthy of the motherland!It is no wonder that you are filled with righteous indignation when you see all kinds of ugly acts in European colonies in Africa. André Gide visited the Belgian Congo thirty years ago and wrote "A Trip to the Congo" to protest the injustices he saw. At that time, his impression and anger were not much different from yours.You are absolutely right in refusing to play in South Africa; the racism there is the worst and most unbearable.It also makes me very happy to hear that you want to perform for Africans.amazing!dear child!We love you all the more for this, if we do not love you beyond love.

It doesn't matter if you two make a mess sometimes, as long as you learn from it and don't make the same mistakes again, no one can claim to never make mistakes, but everyone can make fewer and fewer mistakes.In private life, childishness is lovely, even poetic, but you know very well that in serious matters and social situations we must be very cautious; The requirements of secular affairs are very strict. Cong’s long letter gave us a lot of inspiration. You are very similar to me in many ways, because we basically have modern thinking and are greatly influenced by Western romanticism in the nineteenth century and their “century disease”.We are never truly happy, never excluded from "boredom," except in hard work or in art, philosophy, or literature, and it is difficult for either of us to escape the effects of the vicissitudes of the world.I don't have time to discuss all of these and other art-related issues right now, so let's talk about them later!

I have to remind Cong to be more careful when writing and speaking English. Of course I don’t care and I don’t blame the grammatical mistakes in your letter. You don’t have time to think about the style of writing. You don't have to pay attention to us when you write letters on the plane, but in your daily conversation, you have to polish it, use more diversified adjectives, nouns and syntax, avoid redundant words and phrases as much as possible, don't stay the same To say "how wonderful" or "how remarkable", you can use "magnificent", "magnificent", "magical", "divine", "extraordinary", "supreme", "noble", "holy", "brilliant" , "excellent", "brilliant", "exquisite", "admirable", "good", "good",

① Taine (Taine, 1828-1893), French thinker, literary critic and historian. Words such as "beauty" make your expressions more colorful and able to express various levels of emotions, feelings, feelings and thoughts, just like playing music.If you don't care about choosing your words well, in the long run your thoughts will become chaotic, monotonous, dull, colorless, lifeless.There is no better way to influence our minds than our words. April 20, 1961 *Dear Cong, I received your long letter on the way home from South Africa, and while reading it, I was so excited that my heart jumped.Dad said Wonderfu1 several times before he finished reading! Wonderful! 〔great!great! 〕Child, you do not know how much comfort and happiness you have given us!From all aspects, you have a principled approach to the world, and it can be said that you are exactly the same as your father.Sympathy for black people, hatred of colonialists for bullying the weak, and resentment for all the ugliness in the world are originally the responses that a young man full of enthusiasm, love, and sense of justice should have.Your national arrogance, your passion for loving your motherland and your career, and your serious attitude are also what your father has infected you from beginning to end over the years; I think you can feel it yourself.My child, seeing that your father and son have the same temperament, and act so consistently in integrity, I feel really happy beyond words.You talked about art, philosophy, life, and everything from ancient to modern times, and you understood each other tacitly and thoroughly with just a few words. It is really rare for father and son to have such a situation.I even think back to the time when you came home in 56 and 572, there was not a day when you didn't talk about it in the middle of the night. At that time, I felt that your father had already regarded you as a friend.

But after you grew up, you spent too little time with us, and there is another aspect that you don't understand your father. He has an extremely delicate (delicate) and extremely complex (complex) side, which is his view on money.You know that he has been innocent all his life, has a clear distinction between public and private, and is extremely strict.He also has a strong principle in helping people. For any improper purpose, even a close friend will not be accommodating (I have seen this kind of example with my own eyes). Ken is willing to help.That is to say, he takes everything seriously and is incredibly rational.Unlike me, I am an unprincipled humanitarian who responds to every request.You have only inherited your mother's shortcomings in terms of money, and some of your father's advantages have not been learned.Dad never asks for anything.The lack of nutrition in the past two years is beyond your imagination, so there are many diseases, neurasthenia, optic nerve decline, arthritis, trigeminal neuralgia, and various chronic diseases follow one after another.Although he has always been weak, he is not likely to suffer so much torture one after another.He himself often sighs that he is aging quickly and is useless.I watched anxiously.A few bosom friends are also worried about it, but what can be done?Everyone is the same.People suggested: "Why don't you go to a restaurant to eat a few meals?" "Why don't you ask your son to send some food?" But he is still stiff, neither willing to go out, nor open to you; extravagant attitude. (I don't know if you have experienced Dad's feelings over the past few years? He doesn't want to, and I don't want to mention it to you, for fear of affecting your emotions.) Later, I couldn't stand it anymore, so on November 20 last year The letter on the 6th did not express to you. ??Your letter did not mention this.Your letter from Malta [Malta] on January 5 this year still didn’t mention anything, so I had to tell you clearly in my letter to you on January 6: “It’s a shame for parents like us to ask our sons for things. You should understand this because of your own will. Dad said that it is not necessary to send it, as long as you report it, so that people will not stretch their necks.” On February 9, I wrote: “I see that his thoughts and psychological activities are very Complicated, every time he asks you to send a food order, he hesitates again and again, as if he is worried about asking his son for something, and he is also afraid of adding to your burden. If you really have difficulties, you should write to explain, lest he feel anxious Otherwise, you should send a letter to comfort him. Every time I make a list, I make decisions from the sidelines.” Indeed, he himself admits that he has complicated psychology (complex) and knots in this aspect, because he feels that he needs to ask others. , Even between the flesh and blood, there is a sense of humiliation.You are a very sensitive person, but your understanding of your parents is not deep and delicate enough.I have repeatedly said that you don't seem to feel it at all, and you have never comforted Dad positively.

Not only does he have bumps because of his self-esteem, but he is always worried about increasing your expenses. Food, full of contradictions in my heart, sense of humiliation, inferiority complex, will pop up all at once, and I can’t even write a letter?? He has his hidden pain: on the one hand, he feels that you are careless and not considerate enough for our actual life, At the same time, I also forgive you for being busy with work and not thinking about our real life, and he also said that artists always don't pay attention to this aspect, and they know too much about real life, so art is not good.From these few words, you can imagine his mental and emotional fluctuations that he was troubled for a while and then Jiejie for a while.In addition, he repeatedly advised you and Mira to save money every month, make a budget, and have a plan, but he wants you to send this and that, and spend more of your money. He thinks it is contradictory.Especially now that you have a family and have a lot of expenses, you don't have any scruples like when you were single.Although Mira is considerate and lovely, she has no barriers, but as parents-in-law, we always feel disgraceful in front of our daughter-in-law.The old Chinese society had special views on children, such as "adopting sons and daughters for old age" and so on; some parents even felt that their sons and daughters-in-law were not filial, dissatisfied in this way and dissatisfied in that way, which caused family disputes.We have never had the idea of ​​old-fashioned people relying on their children, so your education has never been exposed to this aspect.On the contrary, we are going to the other extreme: we only know that it is our responsibility and comfort to bring up our children, educate them, and try our best to satisfy our children's wishes. I never thought of asking my children to repay me.Who would have thought that one day he would really need his son to rely on his son?Because it conflicts with the principles of my life, I always feel aggrieved when I ask you something, and I feel very uncomfortable, and I am so troubled that I can't get rid of it. He thinks that in order to earn more money, you will definitely have to hold more concerts, so that you will be exhausted and hurt your body, so he always feels uneasy and feels unspeakable guilt!Since you didn't make it clear, sometimes Dad even regrets ordering food and thinks it's better not to send it.The pain and worries involved are beyond your imagination.I am not as persistent as him, and I often comfort him from the sidelines. ??No matter in which aspect, you know Dad very well, but I am afraid that you have never even dreamed about the bumps in this aspect; I have buried it in my heart for a long time, and I have not discussed it with you in detail.In order for you to go further and understand him more comprehensively, I feel that it is my responsibility to tell you. My health is not good either, my heart is weak, my heartbeat is not normal, I am swollen when I am tired, let alone my nutrition.Because I am the least important person in the family, and I think my body is the best. It is my pleasure to save it for your father and younger brother to eat (they insist on me to eat, you push me to give way, and often argue about this) , You are used to my style at home.Over the past two years, I have lost 20 pounds, and I suffer from insomnia whenever I have something on my mind, which shows that I also suffer from neurasthenia, my eyes are presbyopic, and I have to wear glasses to read and write.I think you won't misunderstand what I said above. I am definitely not reciting the Sutra, but just letting you know the joys and sorrows of life.While I still have energy, I want to pour out my heart out, so that our family, even though everything is far apart, can still be harmonious, talk about everything, and communicate with each other spiritually, as if we live together.At the same time, it also enables you to know more about real life and human relationships.People outside of you should also know a general idea of ​​the daily trivialities and life situations mentioned above, so as not to be too out of touch with reality.You are a smart person, you will definitely try to comfort Dad and eliminate the comp1ex [contradiction] in his heart! We live a much better life than the masses.Our enjoyment has far surpassed that of others.My nature is the easiest to be satisfied, and your father also abides by the lesson of "satisfaction and happiness". Generally speaking, the mood is still happy and cheerful; what's more, we also have the spiritual enjoyment of music, calligraphy, pictures... and work. consolation!Although the objective situation is difficult, and we have been hit by natural disasters for two consecutive years, but with the concerted efforts of everyone, it will definitely get better gradually.The future is still optimistic.So Dad is still active, and his confidence in the overall situation is still firm.Even though he was sick and worked, his unstoppable enthusiasm for his career was the same as before.Every time Min wrote a letter, she always advised Dad to rest more and work less, and I often persuaded him too.but he doesn't Doing this and doing that, his mind not being free has become a habit, and he can't control it. April 25, 1961 Dear child, I am sending you four "Stone Carvings of Wuliang Temple", which are ordinary reproductions and belong to the type of pictures printed now. ?Pieces are called rubbings, which is a kind of printing inherent in our country. In principle, it is the same as woodblock printing in the past and woodblock printing and copper engraving today.However, when printing woodblock calligraphy and painting, ink is first applied to the block, and then overprinted with white paper; rubbings are first covered with white paper on the original stone, and then lightly pressed on the back of the paper with a cloth ball dipped in ink. After printing, the back of the paper becomes the front; The protruding parts of the stone carvings are all black, and the concave parts retain the true color of the paper (that is, white).The original images on the woodcut and copper carvings are reversed, like the stamps we use; the original images on the stone carvings are originally engraved, similar to Western reliefs, so the method of copying is different. The most common type of ancient stone engravings only draws lines, and the inscriptions are very shallow; on the rubbings, there are only many white lines emerging from a large black area, forming the outline of the figures, birds, animals, vegetation; the other is to dig out the stones around the figures, such as Yangwen stamp, on the rubbings, it can be seen that the object is black and has the entire shape, not just the outline. The last type is the same as the second type, but the image left is semicircular and slightly convex, which is close to Western bas-relief sculptures.The stone carvings of Wuliang Temple are the representative works of the second type. The technique and paper used for the rubbings given to you are not very good; the purpose is only to show you some samples of the carving art of our distant ancestors.You see photos of Greek and Roman sculptures everywhere in Europe, how can there be no photos of sculptures from the motherland?Our ancient relics have no photographs, only rely on rubbings, and rubbings are copies of the original, never reduced in size. The stone carvings of the Wuliang Temple are located in the Wushi Temple in Jiaxiang County, Shandong Province. They were created in the first half of the second century AD, in the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty (that is, the Later Han Dynasty).The Wu family was a big landlord and bureaucrat at that time, and his descendants built a Xiangtang (commonly known as an ancestral hall) beside his tomb for the purpose of offering sacrifices.There are stone carvings embedded in the four walls of the hall. There are several Wu brothers, so it is divided into Wurong Temple and Wuliang Temple, but the common people call it Wuliang Temple. Similar stone engravings can be found in the tomb of Guo's family in Xiaotang Mountain in Feicheng County, Shandong Province, which is from the Western Han (pre-Han) period, about a hundred years earlier than the Wuliang Temple (1st century AD), and is inscribed in Yin, with a more primitive and heavy style. "Xiaotang Mountain" and "Wuliang Temple" are the two peaks of ancient sculpture in our country, so we must pay attention to them.In addition, there are stone carvings from Sichuan Han tombs unearthed later, which are also fine works. The themes of stone carvings range from ancient myths, such as the legends of Nvshao's Butian, Three Emperors and Five Emperors, to historical facts and anecdotes of sages, heroes, martyrs, and princes. ――You read some of them in ancient books when you were a child.In the original work, there are several paintings per stone, continuous in the middle, regardless of boundaries, and only the title is engraved on the upper corner, such as "Lao Laizi's colorful clothes entertaining relatives", "Jing Ke Assassinates the King of Qin" and so on.However, the inscriptions on the text are very shallow, and most of them have been peeled off due to age. If you want to know which painting represents which story, you must be familiar with "Spring and Autumn", "Zuo Zhuan" and "National Policy"; I don't have the energy to do it for you. The total number of stone carvings in Wuliang Temple occupies more than 50 stones, and the total number of themes is far greater than this.I only have more than 20 pieces of rubbings, which are also fragments, and there are many omissions. I will pick out four rubbings that are better and send them to you, but the lines are still not clear enough. I can hardly appreciate the beauty of the strong, vivid and elegant. I can only say that talking is better than nothing. . This kind of letter paper① is woodblock printing, and it is no longer produced today. It is worth taking a closer look. Attached is a French explanation, which is specially for Mira to read, so that she can also know the outline of some ancient Chinese art and the common sense of Chinese history and geography.I hope she can translate it into English for you, so that you can explain it to your foreign friends; I know that you may not be able to speak most of the terms in history and sculpture in English. ——If it is placed in a frame, the rubbings can only be flattened very carefully. Do not straighten and straighten with force. Countless wrinkled places represent the details of the original work. If the paper is completely straightened and flattened, it will lose its original appearance. Mira elaborated. ① This letter is written on paper with woodcut watermark. And the stone carvings of the Han Dynasty are purely in the national style of our country.The costumes and postures of the characters are standard Han style, and the carving style is also free from foreign influences.Stone carvings from the Southern and Northern Dynasties (4th to 6th century A.D.), such as the giant statues at Longmen in Henan and Yungang in Shanxi (a large part of them are works of the later Sui and Tang Dynasties - corresponding to the 6th to 8th centuries A.D.), and Dunhuang murals, etc. , obviously heavily influenced by Buddhist art, Greco-Roman and Near Eastern art. Incidentally telling you these sporadic knowledge about the evolution of Chinese art is also beneficial to you. When talking about Chinese culture with Western friends, you should always have a general outline of the mainstream, local civilization and foreign factors in mind.You can also notice it in the Far East Art Room when you go to the Louvre Art Museum in Paris in the British Museum.There is also Musee Guimet in Paris, which specializes in displaying Chinese antiquities. It is worth visiting! May 1, 1961 Cong: April 17th, 20th, and 24th, the three letters (from my mother on the 20th) should have been received, right?I will send you a small copy of the review summary (not air) on March 15th, which will be typed and bound by my mother. Is it too early?We have spent a lot of hard work, no matter how big or small, we have to know that nothing is lost before we can rest assured. On April 26th, four rubbings of Han stone carving portraits were sent, and on the 29th, ten volumes of "Li Bai Ji" and two letters of "Eighteen Poetry Notes" were sent, and they were combined into one package; and handed over to the customs on January 20 Check and return the recently returned Danner: "Philosophy of Art? Part Four (On Greek Sculpture)" manuscript translation, and it will be sent to you on April 29th.The above are not aviation, just registration.In the future, I will receive a letter from Wang Yiyi to inform me. The best Chinese poetry is a woodcut book, which is antique and very cute.It's a pity that export is not allowed. The next best thing is to choose a business photocopy for you.I will post more and more in the future, I hope you will like it. "On Greek Sculpture" has more than 60,000 words in one volume. I spent a few weeks copying it last winter. It can be regarded as my handwriting, especially for you.The content is worth reading carefully, and you can't fully understand it just by reading it once.Even if Mira reads the original French work, she has to study hard, and the original book has no annotations on mythology and ancient history. She does not seem to be as easy to understand as you read the translation.For the convenience of her reading in the future, she should buy several relatively complete dictionaries in English and French.I will write to her separately to mention. The package of books sent to you on January 9 contains works by Lao She and Aunt Qian, all of which you have read in the past. However, my views on Lao She's early works are quite different in terms of content and writing style.The "Wei Shen" that I used to think was great, now I think it is too polished, too descriptive, it has become delicate, and it is poor and weak.All works of art should avoid pretentiousness, and the most beautiful words and sentences must appear naturally, as if they are seamless, so that they can stand the test of time and be handed down for a long time.For example, "The mountains are high and the moon is small, and the water falls and the rocks come out" not only describes the night scene of Chibi in the Yangtze River, which is vivid in my mind, but also describes all the night scenes that are both remote, sublime and chilly;Lao She's "The Liu Family Courtyard" is still alive with flesh and blood. ——In order to review the text, you may wish to read a few paragraphs at any time.No one speaks Chinese, so I have to read books instead, so as not to forget words and sentences more and more. ——The last two English letters are long and detailed, we are very happy, but for your Chinese, I still hope to write in Chinese from time to time, this is your only chance to use Chinese.Typos are okay, just let me remind you.I don't know if there are fewer performances in mid-May, can you find time to write a letter? Recently, some people have criticized Wang's "Land of No Self", saying that it is purely objective and divorced from class struggle.This statement is unavoidably narrow-minded.First, it is impossible to be purely objective.Since human beings observe things, they are always somewhat subjective no matter what. Even if they try to get rid of material constraints, they can only achieve part of it, and the time is extremely short. Secondly, it is also a good thing to be more objective, to truly relax and rest mentally.People are always people, not machines, and it is impossible to do only one kind of activity 24 hours a day.Physiologically, you have to eat and sleep, and by extension, mentally, there are various activities.Even an illiterate farmer has a trance experience. Although the time is only for a moment, it is actually a state of selflessness or forgetfulness of both things and me.The state shown by the artist may not necessarily make people decadent.For example, read "The cold wave fades away, the white bird descends leisurely" How can there be any unsound feeling in the two lines of poems?If this is the case, wouldn't the beauties of the natural world lie in front of people for years and months? How can people not be depressed and hopeless? ——On the contrary, I think that the more stressful life is, the more this kind of adjustment is needed; getting closer to nature is the best way to maintain physical and mental balance.The serious disease of modern people is that they desperately damage one function (or all functions) to develop a certain function, resulting in many deformities and sicknesses.This is also what I keep urging you to go for a walk in the countryside.Fortunately, you can often come into contact with high mountains, oceans and flowing water, sunrise and sunset, moonlight and starlight on the way you are running east and west, which can virtually renew your senses and relieve your fatigue.After you read the translation of "Greek Sculpture", you must have a deeper understanding of these aspects. On the other hand, people who live in trivial housework and mundane coping all day long should also go to the wild to wash off some dust and dust, so as not to let the dust and dust accumulate for a long time and become a permanent filth.Mira wrote after receiving my photos of Huangshan Mountain and said that she never thought that there is such a beauty of mountains and rivers.It can be seen that although she lives in Switzerland, she only occasionally lives at the foot of the mountain, and has never climbed to the top to see the magical scenery.You have to train her all the time in this area. In addition, I also hope that she finds time every day, even half an hour, for reading.And reading should not always choose light things as a pastime; one or two classics should be selected every year to study carefully.For example, Danner's "Philosophy of Art" and the like, if they can be thoroughly digested, there will be progress in the aspects of being a person, bearing, understanding and comprehension, not just increasing knowledge.Balzac's novels are not just for entertainment. Like your current life, it is not easy to read serious books constantly, it requires a strong will and discipline.Wang often mentioned to her about your teacher Bronstein's life in the past seven or eight years. In addition to cooking, washing, and taking care of her husband and children, she actually insisted on practicing the piano for one hour to one and a half hours a day. Five gigs.This spirit is worth learning from Mira. Nine out of ten records made by your father-in-law have already been heard, and I think Beethoven's Concerto and Bach's Solo Sonata are the best. Bartok (Bartok) ① is not easy to understand, Bach (Baja) The concerto of the piano [piano] is not as moving as the concerto.Somehow, polyphonic [polyphonic] music ended up being too abstract to me.Even Bach's Cantata [oratorio] is not moving.One is that my understanding of music has reached its limit, and the other is that the temperament of ordinary Chinese people is too far away from that kind of religious music. ――Language barrier is also a big obstacle in singing.Brahms' violin concerto seems to be inferior to the piano concerto, is it because my level is too low? Louis Kentner [Louis? Keltner] ① doesn't seem very good. I wonder if he didn't cooperate well with your father-in-law, or he couldn't play well?His FrancK [Frank]: Sauna is far inferior to the violin partu [violin part] of Menuhin [Manuin]. Kreutze〔Kreutze〕③ is even worse, and the variation part of Mnd movemer1t〔the second movement〕 is extremely weak (weakly) (always dodging and retreating, even the piano [piano]-based passage is the same) in this way).You have probably heard him solo, what do you think?Is it because I don't know him enough or I don't know him well enough? What program are you going to take overseas?Which concertos are there?I am afraid that van WycCK [Fan Wyck] must first consider the likes and dislikes of the people there; I think it is appropriate to consider, but it is not appropriate to be too accommodating.It's best to pick what you're most confident about.What is really attractive is a person's true colors; and the ones that retain their true colors the most are of course the works that you understand the most, such as Bartok [Bartok], Prokofiev [Prokofiev] ④ and other modern music that have rarely been performed in the UK, Are you going to perform there? --The previous letter mentioned the possibility of performing in Cuba [Cuba], which needs to be seriously considered. I think it should be postponed for a year or two!It is best to combine work and rest during the summer vacation, and not to go on stage far away. On the one hand, both of you need to relax, and on the other hand, you can concentrate on preparing for overseas programs. --Do you want to go to Vienna to fill Beethoven No. 1 and 4 in mid-July?When I ask you, I hope you write it down in a small notebook on the spot, or ask Mira to write it down, and reply us when you write the letter.With one click, our problems are solved. May 23, 1961 Dear child, the more I know that you are unfamiliar with Chinese, the more I need to write more Chinese with you; at the same time, I should try to write English as much as possible to prevent Mira from separating us.Sometimes some words are unavoidably repeated in both Chinese and English letters, please don't misunderstand that I am being confused.Since your marriage, I have felt as much a guiding responsibility to Mira as to you: ① Bartok (1881-1945), a famous Hungarian composer. ① Louis Keltner (1905-1), British-Hungarian pianist. ② Manuin (1916-1), American violinist. ③ Kreutzer refers to the Kreutzer Sonata written by Beethoven, namely the "Ninth Violin Sonata". It doesn’t matter if you don’t know many experiences about life and household chores. Mira has to learn, otherwise how can it help you solve problems?Since she was not very happy since she was a child, she didn't get enough advice from her parents, and Westerners always have many views that are far from ours, especially in terms of the indifference of life and the frugality of daily life and enjoyment. Instill in her the wise traditions of our oriental race (although she is also of oriental blood, her orient is only in name!).The previous letter asked you about her relationship with her biological mother, so please let me know in your letter.This is the nature of human relations, and we cannot but care about Mira's mood or distress in this regard. It's one thing not to talk about material things, it's another thing not to lose money for no reason!This is where I am very different from you.I also think it's vulgar to mention Aduwu, but when I was young, my mother (your grandmother) held on to my pockets very tightly. In addition, I was independent at the age of 24, and my income was not good; so it is better than you financially. Calculate and plan, especially more principled than you.Of course, these are not very harmonious with your artist temperament, but only for artists like you; there are also shrewd and capable artists, Chopin is a famous example: he never let the publishers exploit, negotiate with them The conditions are never annoying.Your cleanliness about money is a noble moral in our eyes, but it is good material for mermaids in the Western money worshiping world and blood-sucking world.I don't fight for profit with others, but I absolutely don't want to be exploited by others. I have to fight in this situation. ――This is also the difference between me and you.But you also know that what I fight for is a reason rather than money, and what I fight for is not for profit.You and I are still alike at this point. All in all, there are methods and systems for financial management, which are not necessarily related to the emphasis on material things, but are just preventive measures taken to avoid material losses; More time, save more energy to do some useful things, read some useful books, in short, to enjoy life more perfectly. I have always believed that Perlioz is the most representative of the French nation, and the least affected by the musical traditions of Germany and Italy. "Childhood of Christ" is simple yet elegant, passionate yet subtle, pious and healthy, fully expressing the religious sentiments of a healthy person, religious sentiments in a broad sense, to all sacred, pure, beautiful and innocent things of reverence.What the letter said is right, the song is both passionate and peaceful, exciting and indifferent, and the ancient style in the second stanza is especially lovely.No wonder the critics in Paris were duped into thinking it was really the work of a newly discovered sixteenth-century French priest.But the narrator (narrator: it sang too much, I think there is a fragment of old Columbia at home that is more elegant and natural than this new film. It’s a pity that you don’t understand French, and the beauty of the whole libretto has completely disappeared in the English translation. I After reading a few paragraphs in comparison, I can't convey the beauty of the original work! The original text is as simple as the script of "Want You Know All the Bible"! ④ Prokofiev (1891-1953), a famous Russian composer. But how beautiful!是出于裴辽士的手笔。 你既对裴辽士感到很大兴趣，应当赶快买一本罗曼罗兰的《今代音乐家》 （Romain Rolland： Music，ens d Aujourdhui），读一读论裴辽士的一篇。那篇文章写得也极了！倘英译本还有同一作者的《古代音乐家》（MusicicnsdAutr- fois）当然也该买。正因为裴辽士完全表达他自己，不理会也不知道（据说他早期根本不知道巴哈）过去的成规俗套，所以你听来格外清新，亲切，真诚，而且独具一格。也正因为你是中国人，受西洋音乐传统的熏陶较浅，所以你更能欣赏独往独来，在音乐上追求自由甚于一切的裴辽士。而也由于同样的理由，我热切期望未来的中国音乐应该是这样一个境界。why not?俄罗斯五大家不也由于同样的理由爱好裴辽士吗？同时，不也是由于同样的理由，莫索斯基对近代各国的乐派发生极大的影响吗？ 你说的很对，“学然后知不足”，只有不学无术或是浅尝即止的人才会自大自满。我愈来愈觉得读书太少，聊以自慰的就是还算会吸收，消化，贯通。像你这样的艺术家，应当无书不读，像Busoni〔布梭尼〕，Hlndemith〔亨德密特〕那样。就因为此，你更需和弥拉俩妥善安排日常生活，一切起居小节都该有规律有计划，才能挤出时间来。当然，艺术家也不能没有懒洋洋的耽于幻想的时间，可不能太多；否则成了习惯就浪费光阴了。没有音乐会的期间也该有个计划，哪几天招待朋友，哪几天听音乐会，哪几天照常练琴，哪几天读哪一本书。一朝有了安排，就不至于因为无目的无任务而感到空虚与烦躁了。这些琐琐碎碎的项目其实就是生活艺术的内容。否则空谈“人生也是艺术”，究竟指什么呢？对自己有什么好处呢？但愿你与弥拉多谈谈这些问题，定出计划来按步就班的做去。最要紧的是定的计划不能随便打破或打乱。你该回想一下我的作风，可以加强你实践的意志。 一九四五年我和周伯伯办《新语》，写的文章每字每句脱不了罗曼罗兰的气息和口吻，我苦苦挣扎了十多天。终于摆脱了，重新找到了我自己的文风。这事我始终不能忘怀。――你现在思想方式受外国语文束缚，与我当时受罗曼罗兰翻了他120 万字的长篇自然免不了受影响的束缚有些相似，只是你生活在外国语文的环境中，更不容易解脱，但并非绝对不可能解决。例如我能写中文，也能写法文和英文，固然时间要花得多一些，但不至于像你这样二百多字的一页中文（在我应当是英文――因我从来没有实地应用英文的机会）要花费一小时。问题在于你的意志，只要你立意克服，恢复中文的困难早晚能克服。我建议你每天写一些中文日记，便是简简单单写一篇三四行的流水账，记一些生活琐事也好，唯一的条件是有恒。倘你夭夭写一二百字，持续到四五星期，你的中文必然会流畅得多。――最近翻出你五零年十月昆明来信，读了感慨很多。到今天为止，敏还写不出你十六岁时写的那样的中文。既然你有相当根基，恢复并不太难，希望你有信心，不要胆怯，要坚持，持久！你这次写的第一页，虽然气力花了不少，中文还是很好，很能表达你的真情实感。──要长此生疏下去，我倒真替你着急呢！我竟说不出我和你两人为这个问题谁更焦急。可是干着急无济于事，主要是想办法解决，想了办法该坚决贯彻！再告诉你一点：你从英国写回来的中文信，不论从措辞或从风格上看，都还比你的英文强得多；因为你的中文毕竟有许多古书做底子，不比你的英文只是浮光掠影摭拾得来的。你知道了这一点应该更有自信心了吧！ 一九六一年五月二十四日??你也从未提及是否备有胶带录音设备，使你能细细听你自己的演奏。这倒是你极需要的。一般评论都说你的萧邦表情太多，要是听任乐曲本身自己表达（即少加表情），效果只会更好。批评家还说大概是你年龄关系，过了四十，也许你自己会改变。这一类的说法你觉得对不对？（Cologne 〔科隆〕的评论有些写得很拐弯抹角，完全是德国人脾气，爱复杂。）我的看法，你有时不免夸张；理论上你是对的，但实际表达往往会“太过”。唯一的补救与防止，是在心情非常冷静的时候，多听自己家里的tape〔磁带〕录音；听的时候要尽量客观，当作别人的演奏一样对待。 我自己常常发觉译的东西过了几个月就不满意；往往当时感到得意的段落，隔一些时候就觉得平淡得很，甚至于糟糕得很。当然，也有很多情形，人家对我的批评与我自己的批评并不对头；人家指出的，我不认为是毛病； 自己认为毛病的，人家却并未指出。想来你也有同样的经验。 在空闲即无音乐会期间有朋友来往，不但是应有的调剂，使自己不致与现实隔膜，同时也表示别人喜欢你，是件大好事。主要是这些应酬也得有限度有计划。最忌有求必应，每会必到；也最忌临时添出新客新事，西方习惯多半先用电话预约，很少人会作不速之客，――即使有不速之客，必是极知己的人，不致妨碍你原定计划的。 ――希望弥拉慢慢能学会这一套安排的技术。原则就是要取主动，不能处处被动！ ! 孩子，来信有句话很奇怪。沉默如何就等于同意或了解呢？不同意或不领会，岂非也可用沉默来表现吗？在我，因为太追求逻辑与合理，往往什么话都要说得明白，问得明白，答复别人也答复得分明；沉默倒像表示躲避，引起别人的感觉不是信任或放心，而是疑虑或焦急。过去我常问到你经济情况，怕你开支浩大，演出太多，有伤身体与精神的健康；主要是因为我深知一个艺术家在西方世界中保持独立多么不容易，而唯有经济有切实保障才能维持人格的独立。并且父母对儿女的物质生活总是特别关心。再过一二十年，等你的孩子长成以后，你就会体验到这种心情。 一九六一年五月二十四日（译自英文）亲爱的孩子：每次妈妈连续梦见你们几晚，就会收到你们的信，这次也不例外，她不但梦见你们两个，也梦见弥拉从窗下经过，妈妈叫了出来：弥拉！妈妈说，弥拉还对她笑呢！ 从现在起，我得多写中文信，好让聪多接触母语，同时我还会继续给你们用英文写信。 你们在共同生活的五个月当中，想必学习了不少实际事务，正如以前说过，安顿一个新家，一定使你们上了扎实的第一课。我希望，你们一旦安顿下来之后，就会为小家庭施行一个良好的制度。也许在聪演奏频繁的季节，一切还不难应付；反而是在较为空闲必须应付俗务社交的日子，如何安排调度，就煞费周章了。以我看来，最主要的是控制事情，而勿消极的为事情所控制。假如你们有一、两个星期闲暇，不是应该事先有个计划，哪几天招待朋友，哪几天轻松一下，哪几天把时间花在认真严肃的阅读与研究之上？当然，要把计划付诸实行必须要有坚强的意志，但这不是小事，而是持家之道，也是人生艺术的要素。事前未经考虑，千万不要轻率允诺任何事，不论是约会或茶会，否则很容易会力践诺而苦恼。为人随和固然很好，甚至很有人缘，但却时常会带来不必要的麻烦，我常常特别吝惜时间（在朋友中出了名），很少跟人约会，这样做使我多年来脑筋清静，生活得极有规律。我明白，你们的生活环境很不相同，但是慎于许诺仍是好事，尤其是对保持聪的宁静，更加有用。 一九六一年五月二十五日倘写纯粹中文信太费时间，不妨夹着英文一起写，作为初步训练，那总比根本不写中文强，也比从头至尾写中文省力省时。设法每天看半小时（至少一刻钟）的中国书，坚持半年以后必有成绩。 一九六一年六月十四日夜巴尔扎克的（Lost llluslbns）英译本，已由宋伯伯从香港寄来，弥拉不必再费心了。英译本确是一九五一年新出，并写明是某某人新译，出版者是Johnkhmann， 25 Gilberi Si. London W.1，弥拉问过几家伦敦书店，都说并无此新译本，可见英国书店从业员之孤陋寡闻。三十年前巴黎拉丁区的书店，你问什么都能对答如流，简直是一部百科辞典。英译本也有插图，但构图之庸俗，用笔之凄迷琐碎，线条之贫弱无力，可以说不堪一顾。 英国画家水准之低实属不堪想像，无怪丹纳在《艺术哲学》中对第一流的英国绘画也批评得很凶。――至此为止，此书我尚在准备阶段。内容复杂，非细细研究不能动笔；况目力、体力、脑力，大不如前，更有蜗步之叹。将来还有一大堆问题寄到巴黎去请教。