Chapter 12 Mourning the Three Monarchs of Weijie ①

Mourning the Three Monarchs of Weijie ① ① This article was originally published in "Tsinghua Weekly", so I used the tone of speaking to Tsinghua people. Mr. Wei Jie is a lovely person; that's what I thought the first time I saw him.I was hearing a knock on the door that day; a gentle young man came in.When I asked him "your surname", he wrote his name on a piece of paper and showed me; he said that Mr. Su Jiarong had introduced him.Mr. Su is my classmate, his fellow countryman, he said he had come to see me the night before, but I was not at home; so he came here specially this time.We chatted for a while, and he said he was afraid of delaying my time, so he left.Yes, we talked only a little while, and nothing important;--I've forgotten all about it now--but I feel I understand him, and I believe he's a lovely man.

The second visit was a few days later.At that time, the screening test for freshmen had just finished, and his Chinese class was assigned to Mr. Qian Ziquan's class.He came to tell me that he would transfer to my class.I told him that I have always admired Mr. Qian's knowledge; his class must be better than mine.Moreover, it is not very convenient for the established situation to change due to one person.He responded a few times, and left without saying anything.He has not come to me since.Once, I met him at the back door of the first row house in the third courtyard, and he nodded to me with a smile; he had gone to class with books and ink cartridges, but at this moment he stopped and said to me: "I often miss Mr. It’s just that I’m too busy with homework, so I always want to go.” I said, “You can come to my place to talk with me in your free time.” We nodded goodbye.The Third Courtyard seems very far away from the Guyue Hall where I live, sometimes thinking about it, it is almost the same as the front door.So in the past six months, I only met him by chance three or four times in the few minutes before get out of class and after class; except for the one mentioned above, I just nodded and walked by in a hurry without saying a word.But I often think this way: he is a lovely person.

Mr. Su, his fellow countryman, I met once when I came to Beijing, and I haven't seen him again for half a year.I have never been able to talk about Wei Jun with him; I have never talked about Wei Jun with anyone except Mr. Qian Ziquan.Mr. Qian told me one day that Wei Jun always wanted to transfer to my class; Good in Mr. Qian's class.This matter was talked about once or twice later.Until the morning of March 19th, someone misreported Wei Jun’s death letter; Mr. Qian stood on the steps outside my house and said regretfully: “He came to talk to me during the winter vacation. Ask him why he did this; is it for me? He said: "No, your husband is very good; I am always worried because my family is not rich." He said that there is an elderly father and a minor in his family. He said that his brother had dropped out of school because the family had no money. He also said that a small half of the money he spent studying abroad over the years was obtained by quitting school to become a teacher, and the other half was borrowed from others. He also said that the tuition fees for the second half of the year have not yet been settled.” But he did not want to accept other people’s money for nothing; we only need to read the letter he drafted to the University Student Union requesting to change the bonus system to a loan system and a work-study system. Although he is young, he has a backbone.

The last time I saw him was on the morning of March 18, when I got off the tram at Tiananmen Square.As usual, he smiled and nodded to me.His smile showed his pure heart and told people that he was willing to be close to everything; I will not forget it.And his silence, I will never forget.According to Mr. Chen Yunbao's "Acts", Wei Jun can speak very well; but in the past six months, all we have heard is his silence.His silence contains melancholy, sorrow, perseverance, gentleness, etc., which are the most thought-provoking and touching feelings.He was ill, according to Mr. Chen Yunbao's report at the school's memorial service. Although he was very irritable for a while, he finally wrote two calm sentences to the principal before leaving us; Contains infinite sorrow, this is silent sorrow!So I think again now, he's a lovely guy after all.

On the night of March 18th, I knew he was in danger; the next morning, when I heard that he was dead, I just sighed!But when I went to read the announcement of the student union, I knew that he was still alive, and felt encouraged, so I was busy telling others the news.If you don't believe me, I will immediately cite the announcement of the student union as proof.I went to the city on the 20th and went to Xiehe Hospital to see him; but I didn't know the rules of the hospital, so I was late by an hour and was not allowed to go in.I lingered outside the door for a while in a daze, and asked the doorman: "Do you know that there is a Wei Jiesan in Tsinghua School, is he dead?" His answer, which I knew, was "I don't know". !I came back that evening; on the morning of the 21st, I got the news that he was dead—this time he was really dead!He died at 1:48 am on the 21st, that is, the night of the 20th. If I had gone earlier at 1 o'clock on the 20th, I would still have seen him.This is really a pity!On the 23rd, colleagues and classmates went to the city to welcome the spirit. I didn't see the newspaper until twelve o'clock in the city, and it was too late.When I came back in the afternoon, I saw the people in the barroom outside the school gate, and knew that the coffin had arrived.I went to Guyue Hall to inquire and found out that the coffin was placed in the old auditorium.When I went, I was in the middle of a re-burial, and Wei Jun had already put on the mortuary clothes and was taking pictures.It is said that he even took a picture naked, which was a picture of the wound.I didn't see his wound; but it's fine if I don't see this scene.After the photo was taken, I went to the coffin: Wei Jun's face had changed, and I hardly recognized him anymore!His two cheekbones are protruding, his cheeks are sunken, his lips are raised and his teeth are exposed. Is he still as gentle as when I first met him?This must have been caused by his pain for several days.Alas, we can imagine seeing each other!I was thinking wildly, the lid of the coffin has been closed; alas, Wei Jun, this is really the last time!We will never see each other again!I can't understand the principle of death and life, but it is a fact that we can't see each other again, Wei Jun, we have lost you, where will we find you?

Wei Jun is now sleeping alone in a broken room in Gangbing Temple, waiting for his old father who has traveled thousands of miles away, and the weather is so bad; Wei Jun, your soul is wandering too! April 2, 1926. (Originally published in "Tsinghua Weekly" on April 9, 1926)