Chapter 14 11

On the evening of June 26, 1961 Dear child, the letter of June 18 (postmarked 19) was received this morning.Although it took many hours, the letter was well written.It will be easier and less laborious to write more times.The happiest thing is that your national character and characteristics have been kept so intact, and you have not forgotten: "Eat food (pronounced as "si" and drink a scoop, and you will not change your enjoyment when you return." The material civilization of China is annihilated. You have written many times to say that our letters show you and recall another world, which is so idealistic, heroic, sincere, upright, compassionate, and selfless (that is, your letter this time The idealistic, generous, devoted, 1oya1, kind, selfless) world mentioned in the book. I know that the gap between the East and the West can only be understood by a very few people who are above the heroes, understand the uniqueness, and have keen and profound feelings. In other words It is not easy for Easterners to understand Westerners and their culture as Westerners understand Easterners and their culture. Even if they understand it, they may not be able to accept it in real life. This is the anguish of modern people: they can neither close themselves, and the East and the West are separated from each other. We manage our own life and thoughts, but we cannot avoid conflicts and contradictions between the two spirits, two cultures and two philosophies. Of course, in addition to conflicts and contradictions, the two cultures also attract each other and have a special force between them. Fascinating. If the wisdom, sageness, and detachment of the East can be integrated with the vitality, enthusiasm, and fearlessness of the West, mankind may see the emergence of another new culture.

The spirit of Westerners who are diligent in their journeys, have a poor life, only know for learning, and don’t ask about success or failure still exists (it still exists now as in Christophe’s era), and it is worth learning.Neither you nor I are big-nation chauvinists, and we deeply detest big-nation chauvinism, but our national consciousness, national pride, and patriotic zeal have nothing to do with xenophobia.On the contrary, it is the feeling and emotion that a man with roots should have.Every time I see you behave like this, my heart beats with joy, and I feel that you are worthy of being the son of the Chinese nation!Mom is also proud of it, and is very happy and satisfied with you.

An insightful analysis of a passage from your father-in-law, I hope it serves as a lesson for you.Your two conclusions, that an unhappy marriage and too much and too early success are an artist's worst enemy, are too pertinent.I used to worry about your marital problems, and most of them started from this point.Now Mira is not an ambitious girl, at least she will not drag you down the road of fame and fortune. It is your great fortune that you can always maintain the dignity of art and your serious and simple outlook on life.And your mind that is indifferent to fame and wealth, and the same self-criticism as me, are a kind of guarantee for your art.I hope that ten or twenty years from now, when I am not alive, you will always be able to stick to these two points.Tranquil mind is very rare in the western world, I hope you can set an example!

Speaking of Mira, are you still as ready to nurture her as you said in your engagement letter last August?It's not about training her to become a professional, but to lead her on a path of seriousness, integrity, frankness, love of beauty, love of goodness, and love of truth.I hope to set an example and encourage her to read a lot, to read regularly in a planned and systematic way, not to read for leisure and fashion.You should also cultivate her will: dealing with housework in a regular and systematic manner, controlling household expenses, reading frequently, etc., are all specific opportunities to train her will.Not casually giving in to your fancy [fantasy, temporary hobby], and not casually giving in to your fancy [fantasy, temporary hobby], it is also an opportunity to exercise your will.Childishness is valuable, but it must not damage taste [taste, appreciation], let alone affect family life and the regularity of daily life and diet.Some tempers may never be changed in a lifetime, but subjectively, it is better than letting it happen or indulging (so-called indu1ging).do you think so?Mira's correspondence with us has been much less these days, and we don't blame her, but that's also her moral and emotional responsibility.It is one thing for us to forgive her, but it is unreasonable for you not to remind her from the side, and you have not fulfilled your duty of supervision.Being a person is holistic, and she often writes to us to express her attitude towards life and family.

Don't get me wrong, let me say it again, don't get me wrong, we blame her, but because she is too young, she needs to develop a good style and a strict attitude in dealing with practical affairs; the above words are mainly for her good, not just for us Have some joy with your news.But be sure to pay attention, when you mention writing to us with her, you must speak softly, otherwise it will affect the relationship between her and us.The relationship between Wenggu and his daughter-in-law is very different from the relationship between parents and children. You will gradually feel it, so it must be handled very carefully.

In the last few letters, you have explained most of the things we have entrusted, and I am very happy.You have finally matured in practical life, which means that you have a head and a tail, and a stronger sense of responsibility.I'm surprised you haven't bought your tape recorder; it should be as much a part of your budget as your bed should be when furnishing your new home.In my opinion, missing a rug or two would be all right, but missing a good tape recorder would be unwise. It shows that you two are still too young to distinguish priorities.I hope you will be able to buy it when you come back from America!

I expected your excitement after reading "On Greek Sculpture".That era is gone forever, just like the innocent and lovely stage of a person from childhood to adolescence, and also like our pre-Qin era, Jin Dynasty and Six Dynasties.Recently, I often read it (I am looking for a print that is not too bulky and I plan to send it to you), and I feel that the romantic literary style at that time was a bit close to ancient Greece, and also a bit like Renaissance Italy; The meaning is still different from any period in the history of Western culture.Humans are really strange animals. When they are civilized, they are so civilized, and when they talk about mysteries, they are so meaningful. When they are barbaric, they are no different from wild animals, and even more cruel.The strange thing is that these two extremes are manifested in the same group of people at the same time.How many ambitious people in the Jin and Six Dynasties, who wanted to seize the world, and called themselves lonely, sat down and chatted, but they were philosophers who had a deep understanding of Lao Zhuang and Buddhist philosophy!

Huntel's oratorios pursued paganism, but he was not a Greek in the 4th and 5th centuries BC. His works were only the expression of an Italianized Germanic yearning for ancient Greek culture in the 18th century.It is "Semili", the tone is still a bit pompous.This is not Hunter's personal fault, but the difference between the nation and the times, which cannot be forced.When you have free time in the future (I think in three to five years, your concerts will be greatly reduced, and you will have more time to improve yourself in various aspects), read all the English translations of works such as Plato and Senofon, You can have more and deeper experience of Greek culture.Otherwise, once you go to Athens, although the hills and hills are peeled off (as Danner said in his book) beyond recognition, the sky and water (I can only imagine from the sky and water in Rome and Naples that I have seen), and the Bardenon The ruins of the temple will definitely give you a strong excitement, ecstasy, beyond words, just like Duncan dancing involuntarily with his bare feet on the ruins of Hedenon 40 or 50 years ago. ("The Autobiography of Duncan", if you see it in a second-hand bookstore, you can buy it and read it.) To truly experience ancient culture, apart from "soaking" from childhood, you can only touch the relics of that ancient culture.The reason why I keep sending you the art reproductions of my country is to satisfy your hunger and thirst of missing the homeland and remembering our ancient culture on the one hand, and on the other hand, I want to use specific things to influence Mira.Knowing and loving a foreign country from the perspective of culture and art is the true understanding and love of a foreign country; and I think it is also the most reliable chain to strengthen the spiritual bond between the two of you.

Do you like stone carvings?Do you feel that it is a real artwork of the Han nationality, unlike the Dunhuang murals and Yungang stone carvings that have foreign elements.I think just the kind of wide robes and sleeves, simple and powerful lines, harmonious outlines, simple houses and chariots, and strong and majestic horses have already made my heart flutter and travel to the world two thousand years ago. went. (It will be more effective if it is framed.) In the past few months, I have been preparing for the translation of Balzac's trilogy, with more than 750 pages of original text and a total of more than 1,100 new words.It is of great benefit to post a ruthless reading of three hundred to four hundred new words every day.Just as you regret not starting to take Chopin's Etudes (Etude) as a daily lesson, I also regret not starting to memorize new words early.Otherwise, there are at most two or three hundred new characters in this book.If Qian Bo was afraid of that kind of memory, the new words could be reduced to dozens.Insufficient talent can only be made up with hard work.Although I have reached this age and my health is quite bad, I am still willing to do this kind of hard work.

Your perception of Miche1angeli is very different, which shows your progress and maturity over the past six years.At the same time, "Once the sea was difficult to turn into water", "climbing Dongshan Mountain will make Lu small, and climbing Taishan Mountain will make the world small", these are also the reasons for your big change of opinion.After all, London is an international music scene, and your two-and-a-half-year stay has not been fruitless. Recently, I read an Irish travelogue written by a British in MationaI Geographic in the United States. The text is very long and there are many pictures.For the second time in thirty years he has toured the whole island and concluded: "What's the most interesting thing about Ireland?—the Irishman." This sentence is exactly the same as your impression of passing through Dublin.

After dinner, I read the letter again (for the third time).You yourself said that the writing is messy, but it is not.What you have are true feelings, real and authentic observation, analysis, and judgment, even if they are messy, they will not go anywhere.Chinese has not regressed either: your father is the most picky about words, and if I say no regress, you can believe that he really does not regress.And your enthusiasm and sense of justice unknowingly overflowed between the lines, which taught me comfort and excitement... Some passages seem to be echoes of what I have said to you for more than ten years... You have not failed the gardener! Good old people are often too accommodating, accommodating the world, accommodating narrow family wishes, and accommodating the less clever factors in their hearts; unfortunately truth and art require a high degree of principle and an uncompromising conscience.Material luck also often destroys the artist.It can be seen that art is always inseparable from morality - morality in a broad sense, including integrity, strength, struggle (struggle with oneself and the struggle with society), perseverance, will, and belief. Indeed, few Westerners can accept, let alone practice, the excellent traditional Chinese philosophy of life. For example, "wealth and honor are like floating clouds to me" is a very lofty and enviable ideal criterion for you and me, but those characters in Balzac's works happen to regard wealth and honor as the most important and even the only goal in life. I personally find it difficult to understand their brute force and enthusiasm for climbing up and seeking success.Maybe it's a difference in temperament, not most Chinese are so indifferent.We can't be too idealistic about ourselves. You mentioned that the inhibition of the British actually means that they are strong in the wilderness, and they have to restrain themselves deeply. Once they break through, they will be those characters described by Shakespeare, such as Macbeth, Othello, etc. Isn't it wild (wild) to the extreme? Baih (Bath) is also a well-known scenic spot and hot spring resort in Europe. No wonder you think it is the most beautiful city in Britain.After watching the program you sent, some of the scenery reminded me of the ancient city in the French inland where I lived: that kind of antique, quiet and leisurely, which often appears in my dreams. —— Having said that, I hope you will go to Vienna in July and buy me some beautiful scenery films in your busy schedule.My father watched the sky from a well, and let me also get in touch with the famous cities where Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert lived on paper! “After reading that, I found my conviction that Handel's music, especially his oratorio is the nearest to the Greek spirit inmusic strengthened. His optimism, his radiant poetry, which is as simple as one can imagine but never vulgar, this direct and frankness, his pride, his majesty and his almost Physical ecstasy. I think that is why when an English chorus sings “Hallelujah” they suddenly become so wild, taking off completely their usual English inhibition, because at that moment they feel something stale something really, ?” "After reading Danner's article, I am more convinced that the past view is good: Hunter's music, especially the oratorio, is the closest thing to the Greek spirit in music. He has that optimistic tendency, luxurious poetry, and at the same time Extremely simple, and never vulgar, he is straightforward, frank, proud and majestic, almost reaching a state of ecstasy and ecstasy physically. Perhaps because of this, the British chorus sings Hallelujah (Hallelujah) ]①, they will suddenly become unrestrained, and completely shake off the restraint of the usual British people, because they have a really exciting feeling at that time, similar to a feeling of ecstasy.” In order to help your Chinese, I will write a part of your letter in English for you in Chinese.You see if there is a distance from your original intention. The word ecstasy [ecstasy and ecstasy] has different meanings, and I can't always use the word ecstasy to translate it. ——It’s the first time I’ve encountered a problem in translating without drafting like this. Just to remind you: "Self-righteous" was written as "self-righteous" in the letter. This is a typo, but I have to mention it. ① Hallelujah, Hebrew, originally means "song of praise to God".