Chapter 10 meeting Sir Acton for the first time

The next day, Min didn't come. The time they agreed on was ten o'clock in the morning at the latest.There was no one around at noon, so Julian went to the restaurant downstairs to eat alone, and didn't want to stay in the hotel and wait for her.Thinking of a friend in London, he asked him to find Sir Harold Acton, who was a professor at Peking University, and he decided to meet him. Acton lived in an alley, a courtyard house with many rooms, trees and benches in the yard, bright windows and doors, very comfortable.Seeing Julian at first glance, he said, "Why do I think it's Roger Fry? You look so much like Roger."

Julian wanted to say sorry for not making an appointment first, but Acton knew their circle too well to say that. Entering the living room, there is a young Chinese man in the room.Acton introduced that this was his student, surnamed Cheng, and he spoke some Chinese with Cheng very affectionately.From their demeanor and eyes, Julian immediately understood what kind of relationship they had.Acton was a little embarrassed to see him watching.Julian responded with a friendly smile: he saw a lot of homosexuality, and Duncan, who lived with his mother, often brought boyfriends, sometimes burly young sailors.Steal a painting in the morning, fortunately they don't know good paintings.Even the children knew that when Lao Yuan saw such people coming, he jokingly shouted in the house that another robber had come.

Acton and Cheng heard that he was teaching at the National Qingdao University, and they said they knew Professor Zheng and the poet Min. I wonder if they have returned to Beijing?People who should be familiar with the Beijing Crescent Society, especially a group of new poets, many of them are studying in Acton's class.What a coincidence, I ran into someone from the Crescent Club again!Of course, Julian did not mention that Min was in Beijing, but this person also knew too much about the Chinese circle. He wanted to make an excuse to make an appointment to come back next time, so he stood up.

Acton said, "Why did you leave before drinking?" "drink wine?" "That's right, come on, you are very deserted in Beijing alone. In Chinese, a thousand cups of wine is less than a bosom friend." Acton said. Cheng went to the kitchen to arrange food and drinks. Acton said that he is almost a Chinese, and the corners of his eyes like to float up.He told Julian that there are many Western intellectuals in Beijing, as well as your famous Cambridge critical talent Yan Pusun.Unlike Westerners in other cities, they are either businessmen or priests.Acton and his group just came back from Chengde Mountain Villa not far from Beijing yesterday. It used to be the emperor’s summer palace, where he hunted in winter. It was a good place, with towering old trees, ancient temples, and distant bells.It seems that these British people have adapted to Beijing very well, and they are enjoying their lives.

However, Julian felt that although this Acton boasted that he was a Chinese, he was still very lonely, just like him at the moment. Acton took Julian to another room to visit his collection of ancient Chinese paintings and antique thread-bound books.Acton stopped in the courtyard and said to Julian: "Beijing is the last paradise on earth! Of course, you say it's because of my prejudice and self-imposed exile. But in the moralistic Western society, except you Bruce Those liberal elites in Msbury, who can disregard public opinion and go their own way?" He sighed, "The Japanese are getting closer and closer. More than a month ago, in December, there was a riot among the Communist Party students here. In the name of anti-Japanese, they forced the government to give up the pursuit of the remnants of the Red Army. Isn’t Qingdao also troubled?”

Julian touched the invisible scar on his forehead, but said nothing. "The Japanese, the Communist Party," Acton shook his head, "how long will the days of heaven last?"