Chapter 13 Apple trees: 1-5

 Grandpa hid several boxes of thread-bound ancient books left by his great-grandfather in the mezzanine of the attic.They finally escaped the search of the Red Guards.And it is these thread-bound ancient books that have become the enlightenment reading materials on my literary path.In these ancient books, there are... Xuan: This winter vacation, I did not go home for the New Year.A person prepares a thesis in school. The most beautiful time for Peking University is autumn, followed by winter.There has been less snow in the past two years, and I like to look at the pavilions and pavilions covered by thick snow, which is a bit like "a vast expanse of whiteness".I really want to enjoy the snow scene of Peking University with you. If you don’t think it’s enough, I can accompany you to the Old Summer Palace to see the broken walls and ruins in the heavy snow.

You mentioned Zhu Shenghao's love affair with Song Qingru in your letter. Do you know that I am also a fan of Shakespeare's plays translated by Zhu Shenghao.I have always believed that Zhu Shenghao is the best translator of Shakespeare plays.Liang Shiqiu's translation is too constrained to the original work, gaining its shape but losing its spirit.Among many translators, only Zhu Shenghao has truly captured the essence of Shakespeare's plays. Zhu Shenghao never got rid of poverty all his life.When re-translating, he once said to Song Qingru humorously: "I am better than Bassanio. He owed a whole body of debts to propose marriage. Although I have nothing, I do not owe any debts." Their new house is in the aunt's They lived in a small room with their aunt, mother and daughter in the small attic of eight square meters.

One month after their marriage, they had to leave Shanghai and came to the countryside of Changshu.Song Qingru tutored a dozen girls who were out of school, while Zhu Shenghao stayed behind closed doors, concentrating on re-translating Shakespeare. Ning Xuan, my love, come here, I have a small room to welcome you.Although there is not a single piece of valuable furniture in this hut except for the books on the four walls, compared to Zhu Shenghao and Song Qingrulai, we have a free space at least.We are much richer than them, and we should also make achievements like theirs. In the second year, they returned to the Zhu family's old house in Jiaxing. Song Qingru recalled this period of life: "He closed his account in his hometown to translate, and devoted himself to it. However, the pressure of actual material life still follows us, relying on low income, and lingering. Therefore, the achievements of translation increase day by day, but the mental and physical strength decreases day by day." Translating Shakespeare is a huge job.With Shakespeare as the spiritual pillar and his beloved wife by his side, Zhu Shenghao said proudly: "I am poor, but I have everything." However, the extremely difficult life and extremely hard work gradually destroyed him. health.

At the beginning, he often suffered from periodontitis and stomach pain.In the summer of 1944, while he was translating "Henry V", he suddenly had a severe pain in his ribs, a sudden high temperature, and convulsions. Regardless of her husband's dissuasion, Song Qingru immediately invited a doctor for diagnosis and treatment, and was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which was complicated by intestinal tuberculosis, peritoneal tuberculosis, pleural tuberculosis, and pulmonary tuberculosis.At that time, these diseases amounted to the death sentence of the patient.However, Zhu Shenghao did not follow the doctor's advice to rest and rest, and continued his translation work while dragging his illness.He wanted to complete the huge translation project before the god of death came.He wants to race against death.

Song Qingru recalled: "At that time, prices were soaring. We gritted our teeth, cut down on food and clothing, and lived on. Shenghao was unwilling to work for the enemy and the puppet, and he was unwilling to borrow money from relatives and friends, so his illness became more and more serious. Those days were How he got here is hard to imagine now. His resolute character and spirit of preferring death to surrender will forever shock my heart." On December 26, 1944, Zhu Shenghao gently recited lines from Shakespeare's plays, and entered his deathbed. He said to his wife: "My life has always been innocent." He advised his wife to be strong and not to ask for mercy from others.He called his wife for the last time: "Xiao Qingqing, I'm going!" He silently held his wife's hand and went peacefully.

Zhu Shenghao was only thirty-two years old at the time.I'm really jealous of talents.He has only lived in this world for thirty-two years, and he has already translated most of Shakespeare's plays—and some translations were lost in the war, and he has translated them twice. I can't help thinking: if Zhu Shenghao is allowed to live to be sixty or seventy years old, how many great works will he translate?Alas, even if he lives another ten years, with his intelligence and diligence, he can complete the translation of all Shakespeare plays.Going a step further, he can also choose other great works of Western writers to translate, becoming a rainbow that spans thousands of miles in the history of cultural exchanges.

Zhu Shenghao is a great man, compared with him, his wife Song Qingru is not inferior.It can even be said that without Song Qingru, there would be no Zhu Shenghao, and there would be no Shakespeare translated by Zhu Shenghao.Like our grandma, after the tragic death of her husband, Song Qingru raised the children alone, and fought against loneliness and hardship alone.Her greatness lies in everyday life. I think, without these great women, how bleak the history of China in the 20th century would be! In the past, I read some pieces of love letters written by Zhu Shenghao to Song Qingru.Although Zhu Shenghao is not famous for his prose, these love letters are better than some great writers.

This is the most affectionate text in the world, I will copy a few paragraphs for you-- "If one day I see you, you will have such a dark face, such short hair, your arms will not be as thin as they are now, but solid and powerful, and you will walk with a big chest and big eyes You shine brightly, and you speak calmly. A citizen of a purely free country, I really want to hold you and weep with joy. Maybe I will be a weak person at that time, and I will definitely not dare to see you at that time, but I will hide Looking at you by the side of the road, and thinking of this person I once loved in my heart-this comfort can take me to the grave and be at ease. Such a dream may be too beautiful, but you can accept my love mean?"

"If I want to have a dream, the world is a big grassland, the mountains are far away, the blue sky is on the top, the stream is under the feet, the birds are in the trees, the silence is like sleep, there is no one, only you and I dance together To fly, to fly, to hide and seek, will you allow me? Because you will not allow me to dream, I dare not dream. I am not a poet, otherwise I must make some lovely poems, for your sake. I can't write One of the most beautiful lyric poems in the world to you, which will be something I will regret for the rest of my life." "You are a beautiful and lovely person, the spirit of spring, summer, autumn and winter combined to paint your body and soul, how would you like me to sing your praises?"

Ning Xuan, these are also my expectations and praises for you.Zhu Shenghao's words are so beautiful, I might as well borrow flowers to present Buddha, and give these words to you. Zhu Shenghao, who is in love, writes two letters to Song Qingru every week; but I want to write to you every day, do you agree?If you don't agree, I will write it too. I want our love letter to be longer than everyone's love letter collection -- longer than Zhu Shenghao's letter to Song Qingru, and Lu Xun's letter to Xu Guangping. My master's thesis is almost finished.These days, I spend every day in the library of Peking University checking various materials.Looking at the historical materials from a hundred years ago, I really feel that history is like a spring, gurgling through my fingers.

My dissertation is about Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao.Over the past few years, I have been very interested in their generation, that is, a group of intellectuals who came from the Reform Movement of 1898.In the process of China's modernization, they play a role in connecting the past and ushering in the future.There was the Westernization Movement in the front, and the May Fourth Movement in the back. Their failures and their blood are still very enlightening to this day.Their lives are full of youthfulness, which is exactly what Liang Qichao called "Young China".However, they have been intentionally or unintentionally ignored in the existing historical narrative.this is not fair.I hope that my research can play a small role in highlighting their value. The dissertation has been written intermittently for more than three months, and it is almost at the stage of "finishing".I look forward to your coming to Beijing soon to attend my thesis defense meeting. I really want to go to Yangzhou to see you.After my dissertation defense is finished, I'm ready to go. love you tingsheng February 14, 2000 Tingsheng: Writing a dissertation is a very hard work. You must pay attention to your body and don't let yourself be overworked.The body is always more important than the paper, right? In addition to writing a thesis, write a few more letters to me.It's not to add tasks to you, but I hope that you can change your writing style and adjust your mood besides writing a thesis.Zhu Shenghao's love letter is better than yours, you should "study hard and make progress every day".The day you write better than him, the day I fly to your side. Every letter of yours is urging me to come to Beijing. I think that day is not far away.One day, if an opportunity arises that makes me feel compelled to go to Beijing immediately, I will leave without hesitation.My parents have my younger brother to take care of me. In my current life, there are not many things worth nostalgic for--I can let go as soon as I want, without the slightest hesitation. Zhu Shenghao is versatile, he can also compose music.When they were in love, Song Qingru once sent Zhu Shenghao a small poem called "Dina's Memories".After reading it, Zhu Sheng couldn't help but compose it into a song and give it back to Qingru. It is a pity that the music he composed was lost, and later generations did not know how to sing it. However, the lyrics survived.The lyrics read like this: falling on the sycamore leaves, Is it a gentle autumn dream? on Dina's heart, Is it a distant memory? April is the day of first love, September is the day of lovesickness, After the rose withered, It is already a beautiful crabapple! The rising sun in the east, shoots out a radiant light, Memories of Dina, In front of the rising sun, What about behind the sun? Zhu Shenghao also wanted to organize the poems sung by the two into a collection.In his letter to Song Qingru, he said: "Your poetry collection, can I print it for you in the future? You said that if I propose to pick out the poetry selections of the two of us and print them together, mix them, and don't separate them. Whose song is it? Can you agree to print it for fun? This method has an advantage, that is, everyone has a share in the scolding, so you won't be lonely." We don't have so many poems, but our love letters are enough to form a booklet.One day, if they can be published, I would like to be scolded with you. You said, if our letter is really published, will anyone resonate and be moved?In contrast, whose text do readers like more? Regardless of others, at least you and I will be moved by each other's words, and that's enough. I suddenly remembered two small things mentioned in an interview by Kieslowski, the film master who once filmed masterpieces such as "Red", "White" and "Blue". On the outskirts of Paris, a fifteen-year-old girl recognized him and went up to him and said that after watching his movies, she really felt the existence of her soul.The master said: "It's worth it just to let a girl in Paris realize that the soul really exists!" On a Berlin street, a fifty-year-old woman recognized him, took his hand and wept.It turned out that although her daughter lived with her, she was like a stranger for five or six years.Not long ago, mother and daughter watched the masterpiece "The Ten Commandments" together, and the daughter kissed her mother with tears in her eyes. The master said: "Just for that one kiss, for that one woman, it is worth making that movie." The misery of human nature tortured the master, and he only lived to be fifty-five years old.However, his films are an extension of his life, his films are immortal, and so is his life.Just like Liu Xiaofeng said: "Just for this five-minute kiss, he feels that his hard work is worth it. The fragments of love are just one of the many fragments in life, but they are the only fragments that can support the body of an individual ." I think your writing, your resistance, and all of our lives and struggles are worth it - as long as we have love behind us. Love is weak, but it is invincible. I love you forever, in this life and in the life to come. love you Xuan February 20, 2000 Tingsheng: Writing a dissertation is a very hard work. You must pay attention to your body and don't let yourself be overworked.The body is always more important than the paper, right? In addition to writing a thesis, write a few more letters to me.It's not to add tasks to you, but I hope that you can change your writing style and adjust your mood besides writing a thesis.Zhu Shenghao's love letter is better than yours, you should "study hard and make progress every day".The day you write better than him, the day I fly to your side. Every letter of yours is urging me to come to Beijing. I think that day is not far away.One day, if an opportunity arises that makes me feel compelled to go to Beijing immediately, I will leave without hesitation.My parents have my younger brother to take care of me. In my current life, there are not many things worth nostalgic for--I can let go as soon as I want, without the slightest hesitation. Zhu Shenghao is versatile, he can also compose music.When they were in love, Song Qingru once sent Zhu Shenghao a small poem called "Dina's Memories".After reading it, Zhu Sheng couldn't help but compose it into a song and give it back to Qingru. It is a pity that the music he composed was lost, and later generations did not know how to sing it. However, the lyrics survived.The lyrics read like this: falling on the sycamore leaves, Is it a light autumn dream? on Dina's heart, Is it a distant memory? April is the day of first love, September is the day of lovesickness, After the rose withered, It is already a beautiful crabapple! The rising sun in the east, shoots out a radiant light, Memories of Dina, In front of the rising sun, What about behind the sun? Zhu Shenghao also wanted to organize the poems sung by the two into a collection.In his letter to Song Qingru, he said: "Your poetry collection, can I print it for you in the future? You said that if I propose to pick out the poetry selections of the two of us and print them together, mix them, and don't separate them. Whose song is it? Can you agree to print it for fun? This method has an advantage, that is, everyone has a share in the scolding, so you won't be lonely." We don't have so many poems, but our love letters are enough to form a booklet.One day, if they can be published, I would like to be scolded with you. You said, if our letter is really published, will anyone resonate and be moved?In contrast, whose text do readers like more? Regardless of others, at least you and I will be moved by each other's words, and that's enough. I suddenly remembered two small things mentioned in an interview by Kieslowski, the film master who once filmed masterpieces such as "Red", "White" and "Blue". On the outskirts of Paris, a fifteen-year-old girl recognized him and went up to him and said that after watching his movies, she really felt the existence of her soul.The master said: "It's worth it just to let a girl in Paris realize that the soul really exists!" On a Berlin street, a fifty-year-old woman recognized him, took his hand and wept.It turned out that although her daughter lived with her, she was like a stranger for five or six years.Not long ago, mother and daughter watched the masterpiece "The Ten Commandments" together, and the daughter kissed her mother with tears in her eyes. The master said: "Just for that one kiss, for that one woman, it is worth making that movie." The misery of human nature tortured the master, and he only lived to be fifty-five years old.However, his films are an extension of his life, his films are immortal, and so is his life.Just like Liu Xiaofeng said: "Just for this five-minute kiss, he feels that his hard work is worth it. The fragments of love are just one of the many fragments in life, but they are the only fragments that can support the body of an individual ." I think your writing, your resistance, and all of our lives and struggles are worth it - as long as we have love behind us. Love is weak, but it is invincible. I love you forever, in this life and in the life to come. love you Xuan February 20, 2000 Tingsheng: I have just sent you the last letter, and I feel that I still have more to say, so I picked up the pen to write this letter again.I really want to hold your hand to see the scenery of Peking University and Yuanmingyuan.That day will come soon. In winter, I wear a bright red down jacket.You haven't seen me in bright clothes, I've always liked to wear plain colors and simple patterns.However, after falling in love with you, I suddenly became interested in bright clothes.Probably because of the change of mood, the clothes are the mood of the girl. After the Spring Festival, the factory where my mother worked stopped production. In the most "fashionable" words, my mother was "laid off".My mother is a factory doctor in a large textile factory. She was assigned to the factory as soon as she graduated from medical school, and she worked there for 30 years.She knew almost all the female workers in the factory, and everyone said that she was the most sincere and enthusiastic doctor in the infirmary. However, my mother was "laid off" suddenly, and she was not mentally prepared at all.The factory said that if they wanted to be included in the social security system and receive a monthly retirement salary of 200 yuan, they would have to pay 10,000 yuan up front.They are all confused and feel unfair.I also don't understand the reasoning behind this: workers have worked hard all their lives and endured low wages all their lives, and in the end they want to enjoy their pensions, but they have to spend a huge sum of 10,000 yuan each. The "whims" of that heartless bastard? This order was still resolutely carried out.There is no savings at home, and my mother is very worried.After I found out, I took 10,000 yuan from my savings and gave it to my mother.This is "life-saving money" for her.Mom is luckier than her colleagues in having a capable daughter like me.However, those parents whose children's financial situation is not good (many of my mother's colleagues, the whole family is in the same factory, and the whole family is "laid off" at the same time), how can they come up with this money?If they couldn't get it out, wouldn't they be thrown into a bottomless abyss? Alas, infuriating things happen around me every day.We've been resigned for far too long. Let's talk about something lighter.We just finished the Spring Festival and returned to the city from the countryside.Yangzhou in the countryside and Yangzhou in the city have superimposed a wonderful picture in my heart. So, I want to tell you about Yangzhou.Since you said you wanted to come, I'll whet your appetite first.You are a small fish, I put a bait here to see if you will take the bait.I haven't heard of anyone who doesn't like Yangzhou.The ancients said "Life is only in Yangzhou and death", I think, if you come, you will be nostalgic and forget to return.However, not long after, I will leave Yangzhou, which is warm and fragrant, and come to Beijing, where the wind and sand are blowing on my face.This "reverse journey" is entirely caused by the magic of love. You are in Beijing, and I will be in Beijing—I want to link my life with yours. When I was a child, I read the story of "riding a crane to Yangzhou" in "Yangzhou Fuzhi". In ancient times, four literati gathered together to express their ideals in life.One said: "I am willing to be the governor of Yangzhou." One said: "I am willing to have one hundred thousand guan in my waist." The third said: "I am willing to ride down to Yangzhou on a crane." The last one said: "I hope to have one hundred thousand in my waist Guan, riding a crane down to Yangzhou." Now, I have to head north empty-handed, leaving behind my job and my circle of friends. It seems that my life ideal has nothing in common with those leisurely ancient literati - my ideal is to live with you, whether it is sweet or difficult, as long as we are together, we are better than the four literati above be happy.Even if they can "wrap a hundred thousand dollars in their waists and ride down to Yangzhou on a crane", will they be happy if there is no one who loves them by their side?Their so-called "happiness" is just some external and spiritual assumptions. The emperors who brought a mighty team down to Yangzhou should be said to have realized the dream of "riding a crane to Yangzhou with a hundred thousand guan in their waists", but are they really happy?I think they didn't even touch the sleeves of happiness--which of the portraits left by the emperors doesn't have a sad face or a fierce look? However, when I come to Beijing in the future, I will miss Yangzhou, my relatives, and my childhood.The affection for hometown is irreplaceable -- just as you miss Sichuan very much now. Speaking of Yangzhou, I also thought of an allusion of "Zhuangzi Lin Zhuanwen".Did you know that words can also be "planted" like trees?You just listen to me slowly. In the early Qing Dynasty, a famous literati Wu Qi came out of Yangzhou.He won the reputation of "red bean poet" with the poem "toast the wine to the east wind and grow double red beans".Wu Qi used to be the head of the Ministry of War and the magistrate of Huzhou. Because of her upright temperament, she was impeached, so she was dismissed and returned home. After returning home, Wu Qi lived in Fenzhuang Lane, Yangzhou.There is a large open space in the yard, which can be used to build gardens, but because he is an upright official and has never searched for treasures, he has no financial resources to complete the garden. At that time, many romantic literati came to his home to recite poems and compose Fu. The poet Wu Meicun described it as: "Officials are like remnants, but dreams are short, and guests are more than chaotic mountains." If we were born a few hundred years earlier, we might also be distinguished guests in his family.Your temperament is very suitable for him, and he will like you. Later, Wu Qi had an idea and came up with a plan that could complete the garden construction without losing elegance.There were many people who came to ask for poems and essays, and he couldn't refuse them all, so he formulated a strange Runge (that is, the standard for manuscript fees): anyone who asked him for poems and essays would not charge money, but would exchange them with flowers, plants and trees.So, in just a few years, his vacant land was already full of red flowers, green grass, verdant cypresses and green pines. Because these flowers, plants and trees are all exchanged by the owner with pen and ink, Yangzhou people call Wu Qi's garden: "Zizi Forest". I love this story, whether it's true or not.This story embodies the power of culture and the value of culture.In that era, culture was still generally respected and favored.People are honored by Wu Qi's poems, and Wu Qi takes planting flowers and trees as his first pleasure in life.How chic it is to get what you need! This story reminds me of a verse in the Bible: The little that a righteous man has is better than the abundance of many wicked men. ("Psalm 37:16") Some people have a lot of wealth, but they don’t have the ability to appreciate a beautiful flower; some people have a cool sleeve, but they can talk to trees and birds. Which one of them is happier? Today, there are no more vacant spaces in the cities, and we are all crammed into high-rise buildings that look like pigeon coops.Otherwise, you can follow Wu Qi's example and exchange poems for flowers and trees.And I can be your "broker" and check and accept the other party's flowers and trees.For flowers and trees, I have a better appreciation than you.In that way, we will also have a beautiful garden in a short time. Every day at noon, when I was tired from work, I looked at the Slender West Lake.There is a white pagoda beside the Slender West Lake in Yangzhou, which is exactly the same as the white pagoda in Beihai, Beijing.I could see the little spire in the distance. There is a long list of stories about the White Tower, and I will pick one to tell you. According to Xu Zhiyan's "Secrets of the Southern Tour" in the late Qing Dynasty, when Emperor Qianlong went to Yangzhou, Jiang, the leader of the salt merchant, undertook all the supplies.One day, Emperor Qianlong came to Dahong Garden, saw the beautiful scenery around him, and said to the left and right: "This place is very similar to Qiongdao Chunyin in the South China Sea of ​​Beijing, but it lacks a tower." Jiang Mou heard what Emperor Qianlong said, and decided to build a white pagoda overnight to please the emperor.However, for a while, I couldn't find the blueprint of the Beijing White Tower.After some inquiries, I learned that the blueprints had been brought with me and kept in the chief eunuch's place.So Jiang asked the manager for a picture, and the manager opened his mouth like a lion and demanded hundreds of gold.The salt merchants did not hesitate to spend huge sums of money and bribed the general manager five hundred gold, and finally obtained the blueprints and started construction. Overnight, the White Tower was built.Jiang hoped that Emperor Qianlong could see it sooner.How to do it?Jiang found the manager again and asked him to persuade the emperor to go to see the White Pagoda in the morning.The manager opened his mouth even wider—he said that if he succeeds, he will ask for ten thousand gold, and if he fails, he will also "open his mouth" for a hundred gold. The steward persuaded the emperor.The emperor got up early in the morning to see the White Pagoda.When he saw the white pagoda built overnight, he couldn't help sighing: "The wealth of the salt merchants is great!" The emperor had such heartfelt praise, and the salt merchants finally breathed a sigh of relief.However, they didn't hear the emperor's implication - in an era of absolute autocracy, only the emperor himself is allowed to have the power of "supernatural workmanship", if other people show some kind of ability to show off, they will immediately arouse the emperor's jealousy and suspicion . The success of the salt merchants is also the White Tower, and the failure is also the White Tower. After the emperor praised it, he fell into deep thought: Salt merchants can build a white tower overnight, will they pose a threat to their imperial power?Thinking of this, the emperor immediately became alert. The salt merchant's ass was slapped on the horse's leg.The autocratic monarch discovered the wisdom and strength hidden in the people, and discovered the vigorous vitality and creativity of the businessman, and he began to feel uneasy.The autocrat believed that the development of commerce might endanger the "ultra-stable structure" of the empire, so he began to attack the salt merchants. Later, the emperor found an excuse to kill Jiang somewhere.Jiang was not the only one who suffered. The dictator quickly implemented a series of policies to crack down on salt merchants in Huaiyang.In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, salt merchants declined rapidly.A seedling of capitalism that originated in Yangzhou died young. Since the Middle Ages, Europe has formed an independent citizen class, whose life and property are protected by contracts, and are not subject to arbitrary deprivation by kings and nobles.They are the driving force of the industrial revolution, capitalism. Unlike Europe, China has always been ruled by the king alone.In Chinese culture, there has never been such concepts as private property and personal dignity.Although the salt merchants can be wealthy for a while, their lives and property are not guaranteed. They may be deprived by the emperor anytime and anywhere, becoming penniless and pauper, or even killed.So, they had to try their best to curry favor with the emperor and the entire corrupt bureaucracy, and finally they themselves became part of the corrupt sauce vat. While Western businessmen were improving steam engines to expand productivity, Yangzhou businessmen were racking their brains to build the White Tower to please the emperor.What a huge contrast!Of course, this does not mean that Chinese businessmen are weaker and less intelligent than Western businessmen, but that China's autocratic system is like sulfuric acid, which can corrode all life in this society. However, having said that, the White Pagoda in Lianxin Temple is indeed a beautiful sight.Shen Fu mentioned it in his book: "There is Lianxin Temple in the south of the bridge. In the temple, there is a white pagoda for lamas, a golden roof and tassels, high above the sky, and the red walls of the temple are covered by pines and cypresses. It is heard when the bell is out. There is no such garden in the world!" Lin Sumen, a native of the Qing Dynasty, also chanted and said: "The bright moon is the best to see, and it will hold a white pagoda." I really want you to come to Yangzhou soon, and I will take you to visit places one by one.I really hope that you can have such a leisurely time to play in your monotonous and stressful life. There are countless allusions in Yangzhou, which can almost be written as an independent literary history.We can chat slowly later when we have time. love you Ning Xuan February 23, 2000 Xuan: I really want to see what you look like in the red dress.I don't want to look at pictures, I just want to look at real people.However, now, I can only describe it again and again in my imagination. You are a "Tianshan Child Elder" who can't tell the age: put on the professional suit of "Bao Zi", and become a manager-level white-collar beauty; put on the skirt of "Lady's House", and immediately become a primary school student. One day, I made money and bought you a closet of clothes, especially sheer dresses, for nothing else.I want to see the way your dress flutters in the wind. I will come to Yangzhou.At the same time, I also look forward to your coming to Beijing. If you come, my "Daoxiang Garden" will immediately become a "sea of ​​love".I will also be like those poets, poetry is like a spring.I will keep writing poems for you until I am old. Ning Xuan, you are indeed the best tour guide. You presented the most beautiful side of Yangzhou to me.The ancients had a saying that "raise one and benefit two". You are from Yangzhou and I am from Chengdu. The two of us happen to occupy the two most affluent and beautiful geomantic treasures in China. Du Xunhe, a poet of the late Tang Dynasty, said in his poem "Send Shu Ke to Huaiyang": "It is said that the scenery of Xichuan is dense, and the scenery of Weiyang is better than that of Xichuan." Yang Yi, headed by Yang, builds momentum." It can be seen that as early as the Tang Dynasty, people called Yangzhou and Chengdu together, and regarded them as "the most suitable cities for human habitation". In "Foreign Civilizations in the Tang Dynasty", the American scholar Schaefer praised Yangzhou's prosperity at the beginning: "Although Chengdu, a wealthy and prosperous Sichuan, has always been known for its elegance and frivolity, in the popular adage at that time, Yangzhou benefited two, It still puts the status of Chengdu under Yangzhou." However, some people think that Yangzhou may not be comparable to Yizhou.Some people say that the elegance and prosperity of Chengdu are "less than half".It can be seen that the two cities have been "fighting openly and secretly". Ning Xuan, you have never been to Chengdu, nor have I been to Yangzhou.So, when will we visit these two unconvinced cities together, we act as each other's tour guide, and take each other to see their most beautiful places.Finally, let us make a fair comparison: who is the first and who is the second in Yangzhou and Chengdu today? Although I am from Chengdu, but because you are from Yangzhou, I am a "traitor" of Chengdu people. I am willing to give up singing the praises of Chengdu and sing Yangzhou instead.To chant Yangzhou is to chant you.You are the most beautiful little daughter in Yangzhou.I love Yangzhou because I love you. Yangzhou is a city of poetry and songs, a city in the sky, not a city on earth.There used to be the pioneering work of the great Fu of the Han Dynasty--"Qi Fa" by Mei Cheng, the masterpiece in the history of music--Ji Kang's, and the poem "Chun Jiang Hua" by Zhang Ruoxu. "Moon Night"... If you count carefully, half of the history of Chinese poems, cis and fuss may have been written in Yangzhou. These days, I have begun to pay attention to collecting historical materials about Yangzhou.I want to get to know you better by getting to know Yangzhou, where you lived in your childhood. I found that the life of Yangzhou people seems to be inherently poetic.With a song by Ji Kang, he formed an indissoluble bond with Yangzhou.Ji Kang was one of the most sincere artists in that era of artistic "consciousness".His is lost to us, but remains in our imagination.Before Ji Kang was about to be executed, he didn't call out the names of his relatives, nor did he shout long live so-and-so.He didn't lament the shortness of life, he just regretted the loss. For artists like Ji Kang, art is higher than life, and life is for art.He couldn't bear to live in an era where all horses were silent and the sky was dark.I believe that even without the false accusation of villain Zhong Hui, Ji Kang still could not get rid of the fate of being killed.Ji Kang knew that Zhonghui was closely related to the court, so he could report to the ruler at any time, but he still treated Zhonghui arrogantly, angered him, and stimulated him. I think Ji Kang wanted to do this on purpose. Therefore, rather than saying that Ji Kang was "homicide", it is better to say that he was "suicide"-he used death to express his final protest against an era without poetry. He takes his own death to complete the last piece of music. From the lost one, I thought of "Swordsman", Liu Zhengfeng and Qu Yang, and Linghu Chong and Ren Yingying.They are independent of power and insist on freedom of mind.They transcend the so-called distinction between "good" and "evil".Those who fight for fame and fortune in the world of mortals can't understand their values, so they have to think that they have other plans - they are keen on fame and fortune, but they don't allow others to go beyond fame and fortune, and wish to be different from them people are all wiped out. The filthiness of power and the purity of art are vividly reflected in a novel-the bloody power tries to destroy art and the truth and beauty in art.Power seemed to do it, but it failed in the end. If power occupies the advantage in space, then music and even art occupy the advantage in time.Power can drive millions of people to build the Great Wall for a ruler, but music can touch the hearts of millions of strangers thousands of years later.Emperor Sui Yang could kill poets, but not his poems. All of a sudden it was far away.Or come back to Yangzhou.Yangzhou is a romantic city, but also a bloody city. You must know the allusion of "Ten Days in Yangzhou, Three Massacres in Jiading"-During the collapse of the Ming Dynasty, Yangzhou bravely resisted the siege of the Qing army and staged a dramatic drama. In 1645 AD, Shi Kefa supervised Yangzhou to resist the Qing army.When the city was destroyed, Shi Kefa died generously, and the civil servants from the magistrate Ren Minyu were collectively martyred.The Qing soldiers carried out a brutal massacre in Yangzhou.The massacre started with killing everyone on the street, then broke into the house and bloodbathed the whole family, and finally searched everywhere and tried to kill every hiding person.The massacre was only allowed to stop within ten days. In fact, after three days, there were not many living people in the city; after seven days, there was hardly a single person wearing Hanfu in the city.Among those who resisted and died, are there any ancestors of yours? I have read "Ten Diaries of Yangzhou" written by Wang Xiuchu, which really makes the hair stand on end.The Wang family was a survivor who stayed in the besieged city and miraculously escaped from the knife.他在大屠杀的时候不断变换藏身之处，最后躲到一个破旧小屋的隔板下，耳闻目睹了清兵的暴行，自己也受过几次被枪戳的虚惊。事后，他痛定思痛，写下了《扬州十日记》。他写作此书所冒的危险，不亚于当年在扬州城中的危险。 写，还是不写？说，还是不说？他毅然选择了前者。我敬重他此刻的勇气。这种勇气乃是我们民族存在的根源。 中国的历史，正是由这样一些浸透了鲜血的文字拼凑成的。 我不喜欢阅读那些冠冕堂皇的官修的史书，而更信任诸如《扬州十日记》这类的私人笔记。官修的史书上面，写满道德仁义；私人的笔记之中，却倔强地透露出"吃人"两个字来。像《扬州十日记》这样的文字，是作者写给自己和子孙们看的，他们的目的是为了"捍卫记忆"。因此，他们不用说假话和谎言，不用掩饰和遮盖。历史的真相正蕴藏在这些文字的背后，带着血的蒸气。 中国老百姓的人头，就这样像麦子一样，一茬一茬地被砍了下来。在这块土地上，生命从来没有受到应有的尊重。从"扬州十日"到"重庆武斗"，我们文化中邪恶的因子太多了，而且这几百年来越演越烈。我们应当怎么办呢？ The Bible says: 但愿我的头为水， 我的眼为泪的泉源， 我好为我百姓中被杀的人昼夜哭泣。(《圣经·耶利米书9：1》) 有谁来为中国的百姓们哭泣呢？ 有谁来怜悯这些无辜的生命呢？ 几十年以后，扬州又繁华了。人们把鲜血忘却得干干净净。中国人是最善忘的民族，这个"世界之最"我们是当之无愧的。 但是，至少史可法的抗争是抹杀不了的。史可法是扬州的骄傲。著名抗日将领蔡廷锴称赞史可法"率孤军，守孤城，临难不苟，宁死不屈"。这何尝不是蔡廷锴当时的心态的写照？ 四百年前与史可法共存亡的扬州，也在那场惨烈的战争和屠杀中展示出它刚烈的一面。谁说扬州仅仅是风花雪月的扬州呢？ 史可法"知其不可为而为之"，是一个了不起的人物。他是中国历史上我所敬佩的为数不多的英雄之一。中学语文课本中，我们学过全祖望写的《梅花岭记》。听说今天的扬州的广储门外的梅花岭上，依然保存着史可法的祠堂和墓地。如果来扬州，这将是我的一个必去的地方。 宁萱，虽然我一个人在北京，但我心中有了你，就不再孤独了。更何况你已经答应我，在不久之后你将到北京来，与我时时刻刻在一起。那么，我就忍受这黎明前最后的黑暗吧。 充满着希望的忍耐，本身就蕴含着快乐和甜蜜。你说是吗？ 这段时间，我和一批老师正着手编写一套新的中学语文课本。我们将把人道主义和人文主义的精神贯穿在我们的编写思路之中。当然，这套课本暂时还不可能成为学校正式采用的课本，我们也谦虚地称之为"新语文读本"。但是，当教材不再是由一家官办的出版社所垄断、学校有选择教科书的自由、多种版本的教科书在市场上公平竞争的时候，我们的这套书一定会受到读者热烈的欢迎。 这几年，我一直很关注教育问题，而中学语文教育正是其中重要的一环。中学语文教育的现况令人齿冷。由于遇到了几个优秀的语文老师，我得以免受其戕害(或者说受害程度不深)。然而，这仅仅是我个人的幸运而已。更多的孩子在学了十几年的"语文"之后，连通顺的文章都写不出来，更遑论敏锐的审美能力和文学欣赏能力了。这是何其可悲的现状啊。 鲁迅先生当年"救救孩子"的呼喊，今天并没有过时。我也希望参加到拯救孩子的行动中去。 love you tingsheng 两千年二月二十八日 Tingsheng: 你在信中对扬州简直是如数家珍。看来，你对扬州的了解已经不亚于我这个"老扬州"了。我知道你是"爱屋及乌DOUBLE\_QUOTA TION。因此，心中美滋滋、甜蜜蜜的。 你很推崇史可法，你在信中多次提到梅花岭。中学课本中，全祖望的那篇散文写得真是好，让我们过目不忘。 史可法在梅花岭的祠堂和墓地，我曾经去过。最前面是飨堂，其门廊上有两幅楹联，其一为："数点梅花亡国泪，二分明月故臣心"；其二为："时局类残棋，杨柳城边悬落日；衣冠复古处，梅花冷艳伴孤魂"。每到一处，我最喜欢读的就是楹联，我甚至先看上联，不去看下联，然后尝试着自己来对一下。这两幅楹联是神来之笔，千金不易。悲怆之气，充沛其中，犹如千年的龙泉宝剑，时刻准备着跳出剑匣来杀敌。 我是在冬天去的，因为冬天可以观赏梅花。飨堂后面是史公的衣冠墓，再往后走就是梅花岭。岭上岭下都种植着各种梅花。也许因为史公的英魂在此，这里的梅花开得比别处艳丽，也比别处芳香。 就在梅花丛中，还有一座晴雪轩，门廊上挂着史公撰写的联句："斗酒纵观廿一史，炉香静对十三经"。里面正中的墙壁上镶嵌着史公的手迹石刻，一块是写给母亲、岳母和妻子的遗书，另外两块是复清摄政王多尔衮书。柔肠与侠骨，温情与铁胆，交相辉映。这才是一个完整的人、一个真实的人。 廷生，你来扬州，我一定带你去梅花岭。不过，假如没有梅花的话，梅花岭的景致就逊色了十之八九。而要看梅花，你就只好冬天来--今年冬天你大概来不了，那就只有等明年了。 我的老家在扬州城外的小镇上。小镇在一条小河边，外婆还在老家守着宅子，不愿意进城来。因此，逢年过节我们一般都回去团聚。你来，我们将把你当作我们家的新成员。外婆将像爱我一样爱你。她会做她最拿手的芙蓉鲫鱼给我们吃--我猜想，你读到这里一定会猛咽口水。你是个小馋猫。好了，我不吊你的胃口了。 春节时候回老家，是坐小船回去的。扬州是一座水上的城市。在扬州，最美妙的事情就是坐船。 我从小就在水边长大，经常坐各种各样的船。最不能忘怀的一次，是在船上呆了整整一个星期，看够了风景和人物。 那时，外婆在一家造纸厂工作，秋收之后，造纸厂的小船开到外地去收购稻草，作为造纸的原料。我便赖着外婆要跟她一起出门，外婆拗不过我，只好把我也带上。 那一个星期，我们的小船沿着大运河的旧道慢慢悠悠地行驶着。那是我小时候离家最远的一次。坐船才有真正出远门的感觉，因为船在水上，离开了陆地，便有了"漂泊"的体验。跟坐汽车和火车大不一样。 我们在船上做饭吃，我们在船上睡觉。我们的船每天晚上都停泊在不同的码头。 沿岸是宽阔的平原和收割之后的稻田，稻草的香味飘上船来，稻田里的蚱蜢也跳上船来。田里的农民和他们黝黑的孩子，都直起腰来，微笑着向我们招手。我就像一个凯旋归来的大将军，一直不知疲倦地站在船头。我的胸口，挂着一只外婆用线拴着的小蚱蜢。 有一天晚上，我们的船到了一个小镇。码头上贴着色彩斑斓的招贴，恰好那天晚上在镇上有一场扬剧演出。外婆便带我上岸，我们一起去看了一场扬剧。 这是我第一次看演戏。那时，我只有五六岁，也不大看得懂故事，只是看了几个飘来飘去的美女。外婆好像还买了干丝给我吃，但具体细节我都记不清楚了，只记得剧名是《鸿雁传书》。那么，讲的该是柳毅和小龙女的故事？ 后来，我在外婆的怀抱里睡着了。什么时候我们回到船上，我一点也不知道。直到第二天醒来，我们的船已经开到了一个陌生的水域。昨天晚上的那个小镇，已经被抛在了身后，再也看不到了。 以后，我离开外婆进城上学，再也没有这样的机会坐船外出了。现在，我经常这样想，要是能够谁也不告诉，悄悄地跳上一艘小船，没有目的地，随意地逛它个十天半月，那该有多好。可是，也只能想想而已。连旷达如神仙的苏东坡也叹息说，"长恨此身非我有"--人生中有多少逃脱不了的束缚啊，说到底，我们的生活大半都是"身不由己"的。 与陆地上的凝固停滞不同，船上的生活却是灵动而飘逸的--充满了种种不确定的可能性。在扬州，船就是生活的一部分。 而在扬州的瘦西湖上，撑船的多为女性，俗称"扬州船娘"。你大概知道"扬州船娘"这个词语，现代文学史上，好几个作家都为她们写过脍炙人口的名篇佳作。 扬州的船本来就有其特色。散文家朱自清从七岁到二十岁一直在扬州生活。后来，他在文章中不断地提到扬州，提到扬州的船。他在中说："船有三种：大船专供宴游之用，可以挟妓或打牌。小时候常跟了父亲去，在船里听着谋得利银行的唱片。现在这样乘船的大概少了吧？其次是小划子，真像一瓣西瓜，由一个男人或女人用竹篙撑着。乘的人多了，便可以雇两只，前后用小凳子跨着，这也可算得方舟了。后来又有一种洋划，比大船小，比小划子大，上支布蓬，可以遮日避雨。洋划渐渐地多，大船渐渐地少，然而小划子总是有人要的。这不独因为价钱最贱，也因为他的伶俐。一个人坐在船中，让一个人站在船尾用竹篙一下一下地撑着，简直是一首唐诗，或一幅山水画。"他的描述真细致，外人是写不出这么多"门道"的。 一个人坐船还是太寂寞。要是有一天，我能够与你在瘦西湖上泛舟，那才是人间乐事呢。 船有特色，湖上和岸边的风景也有特色。This is not enough.扬州的撑船的女子更有特色。 洪为法在《扬州续梦》中说，扬州的船娘在服装方面，似乎有一定的规矩，她们多是黑色的绸裤，白色的布衫。这样黑白分明的打扮，映衬在绿沉沉的草木之中，正是湖上不易见到的忘机鸥鹭，自很赏心悦目。加之她们撑船的技术又很好，拿着一枝竹竿，很灵活地撑去，不管多远，竹竿一上一下，衣服上都不会溅到一点水滴。那种灵活的身躯，娴熟的技术，配上淡雅的容颜，素雅的衣裳，就像音乐之有节拍一样。 朱自清还写道："你们也可想到的，女人撑船总要贵些；姑娘撑的自然更要贵啰。这些撑船的女子，便是有人说过的瘦西湖上的船娘。船娘们的故事大概不少，但我不很知道。据说以乱头粗服，风趣天然为胜；中年而有风趣，也仍然算好。"朱自清为人有些拘谨，不一定能够完全体味景物和船娘的风韵。但他在文字中，显然是一副赞赏的口气。 不过，最懂得欣赏风景和船娘的，大概是郁达夫了。他在中写道："还有船娘的姿势也很优美。用以撑船的，是一根竹竿，使劲一撑，竹竿一弯，同时身体靠上去着力，臀部腰部的曲线，和竹竿的线条，配合得异常匀称，异常复杂。若当暮雨潇潇的春日，雇一容颜姣好的船娘，携酒与菜，来瘦西湖上回游半日，倒也是一种赏心的乐事。" 在"五四"那代文人中，郁达夫最喜欢哭穷，却最懂得生活情趣。以他的性情，恰恰适合在扬州居住。他懂得扬州的种种好处，而扬州也能给他提供在北京和上海所没有的宁静与平安。 郁达夫写船娘的这段文字，表面上虽然轻松自如，里面却充满了悲凉的气味。那是一种"欲将沉醉换悲凉"。他是孤独的，是不被人理解的。 他不喜欢肮脏的政治，可是肮脏的政治总是不放过他。 一九二七年，国共两大政治势力刀刃相见。郁达夫两不相帮，导致与左翼的创造社同仁决裂并脱离该社。同时，他也与右倾的《现代评论》脱离关系。这种遭遇，真像是中不为正邪两派所容的刘正风和曲洋。 两年以后，他被安徽省教育厅列入"赤化分子"名单，并被迫离开执教的安徽大学。 次年，他因与鲁迅发起和参加"中国自由运动大同盟"，被国民党浙江省党部呈请国民党中央予以通缉，并被列入"堕落分子"名单；同时，他被"左联"领导机关视为"投机和反动分子"，被当场投票予以开除。 "世人皆欲杀，吾人独怜才"。只有鲁迅先生说，我懂得达夫的颓废。 郁达夫传记的作者袁庆丰，曾经谈到郁达夫生活过的江南以及他殉难的南洋，他动情地说："在我的心目中，那永远是一片秀美丰腴的景色，我热爱和渴望那种成熟的绚烂。但我又知道，那里永远是我遥远的故乡，已无从回归而只有想象与期待。就如同那些俗世浊人，永难理解和感受郁达夫的孤寂情怀，那颓废的美，那悲怆的爱。这是一个没有英雄而又忽视和丑化英雄的时代，这更是一个没有诗人而又不需要诗人的时代。我的追慕与渴望，只能在心灵的陷阱中，默默腐烂，就像郁达夫的行踪，从江南到日本，已随风飘散，就像郁达夫的骨殖，在南洋的无名之地，永难被人发现。"他真是郁达夫的一个知己呢。 我也是郁达夫的知己。郁达夫表面上颓废，骨子里却满腔热血。我喜欢他的人和他的文章。后人多半没有读懂他的内心世界。他固然是一个有缺点的人，他的文章也固然是有缺点的文章，但是用一句老话来说，有缺点的英雄仍然是英雄，而完美的苍蝇依然是苍蝇。 我认为，郁达夫是现代作家中，仅次于鲁迅的一个大家。Do you agree? 最近又读到了什么好书？赶快推荐给我。我知道你学业繁重，所以再次叮嘱你要好好照顾身体。 我给你草拟了几句"最高指示"，你好好听着-- "请走人行道，按时去睡觉，三餐要吃饱，衣服不能少，每天想着我，早请示，晚汇报，不许到处跑！" 你如果执行得好，我以后定有"奖赏"。 你想要什么样的"奖赏"呢？你曾经告诉我，你小时候最喜欢看漫画故事《丁丁历险记》，我也喜欢。那对倒霉的杜邦兄弟让我笑出了眼泪。我跟弟弟经常抢着看。你要是好好执行了我的最高指示，我就奖励你一套彩色的《丁丁历险记》，好吗？ 爱你的萱 两千年三月三日