Chapter 65 Section VI

Have the two had long-standing grievances because of differences in life and concepts? On the contrary, the Zhou brothers had a very good relationship since childhood.When his grandfather was in prison and his father was seriously ill, the teenage eldest son Lu Xun took on the burden of being the "head of the household". He gave his younger brother Zhou Zuoren a safe and affluent childhood.During his study in Japan, Zhou Zuoren's foreign-related procedures and daily chores were all taken care of by Lu Xun.When Lu Xun deeply felt the humiliation of being a citizen of a weak country, Zhou Zuoren, who was under the care of his elder brother, was satisfied in Japan, and he felt that "the clans are distant, but they are relatives in different places."

In 1909, Zhou Zuoren married Yutai Nobuko; in order to support his younger brother financially, Lu Xun first returned to China to work, and after settling down, he took his younger brother and younger siblings back two years later. Zhou Zuoren's appointment as a professor at Peking University was also recommended by Lu Xun to Cai Yuanpei, his old boss, former director of education, and then president of Peking University. Zhou Zuoren will not be ignorant and grateful for his elder brother's care. In the months leading up to the severance letter, the two brothers looked nothing like a storm lurking to outsiders. On March 8, 1923, Zhou Zuoren published "Oasis Seven: Children's Plays" in "Morning News". The article is full of emotional memories of the scene of writing and performing children's plays under the sweet-scented osmanthus tree with his brother Lu Xun in his childhood.

Afterwards, they also visited Zhongshan Park together, attended the gathering of Chunguang Society, a literature and art society organized by Peking University students Xu Qinwen and Dong Qiufang, and jointly served as the director of the society. On July 3, Zhou Zuoren and Lu Xun, who were only half a month away from their confrontation, also visited Dong'an Market and Dongjiaominxiang Bookstore together. It can be seen that the estrangement between the two brothers was not due to conflicts in life and differences in ideas. Even if there were such factors, it was absolutely impossible to reach the point where they turned against each other. All of this must come from a very special reason.

It's time to talk about Lu Xun's younger brother and sister, Zhou Zuoren's wife Yuta Nobuko.The specific reasons for the discord between the Zhou brothers have not been clearly stated so far, but it is related to Yutai Nobuko, which is said by all, including Lu Xun and Zhou Zuoren, who later revealed only a few words. In September 1924, Lu Xun compiled "Miscellaneous Collection of Special Essays of Qi Tang", signed "Yan Zhi'ao"; in April 1927, in his work, he also used "Yan Zhi'ao" to name the avenger "Black Man".According to Xu Guangping's recollection, Lu Xun had an explanation for this pen name: "Yan" came from the door (home), from the day, and from the woman; of".This Japanese woman is naturally Yu Taixinko.

When the Zhou brothers were studying in Tokyo, Japan, they met the landlord's daughter Nobuko Yuta.Yu Taixinzi's family background was not good. She worked as a "servant girl", that is, a maid for the Zhou brothers and several Chinese students who rented in her home, which aroused Zhou Zuoren's love; Married to Zhou Jianren. When she fell in love with Zhou Zuoren, Yutai Nobuko had an ordinary appearance, a short stature, a round face, and small eyes, but a strong body, hard work, and a warm personality.When she and Zhou Zuoren came to China to settle together, Lu Rui, Zhu An and other Shaoxing in-laws met foreigners for the first time, which was very novel and exciting.

Unexpectedly, this oriental daughter-in-law became a disaster for their family. After the whole family moved to Badaowan Hutong in Beijing, the two brothers were busy with cultural and educational undertakings, Zhou Jianren was still a student, Zhou's mother was not familiar with the capital, and Zhu An was cowardly and illiterate, so Yu Taixinzi became the natural housekeeper. Japanese women are known as docile and frugal, and they are the best at home, but according to Zhou Jianren's recollection, Nobuko Yu is an exception among Japanese women.She was not born into a wealthy family, but she was very stylish, very airy, and spent money like water.There are six or seven servants in the family. Even when Lu Xun's grandfather was a Beijing official in the former Qing Dynasty, there were not so many male and female servants.What's even more strange is that she often has a whim. Sometimes when the meal is cooked, she suddenly thinks of eating dumplings, so she returns a table of meals to the kitchen, and the kitchen rushes to make another dumpling; Yes, I rewarded the male and female servants, and I changed them all.

Lu Xun kept his salary only for cigarettes and pocket money, and the rest, together with Zhou Zuoren's income, was handed over to Nobuko Yu.Lu Xun and Zhou Zuoren were high-income earners at the time. Their combined monthly income was more than 600 yuan, and their actual purchasing power was equivalent to more than 60,000 yuan today.But under the extravagance and waste of Yutai Nobuko, the family could not make ends meet, and Lu Xun had to borrow money frequently, and even had no money to buy cigarettes when writing articles at night.For this reason, Lu Xun often reminded us to pay attention to family expenses, and was dissatisfied and worried about how Yu Taixinzi managed the family.When Zhou Zuoren's child had a minor illness, Nobuko Yu had to use a car to see an expensive foreign doctor.Looking at the unnecessary cars coming in and out, Lu Xun sighed: I pulled it in a rickshaw, how can it stand to be transported out by car?

The elder brother's opinions violated Nobuko Yu's "government power". She was very disgusted with Lu Xun, and often talked about her elder brother in front of Zhou Zuoren, and even cursed Lu Xun and his wife viciously.Yu Fang, a former student of the Zhou brothers in the Zhou family, recalled that Zhu An, who was docile by nature, told others "very angrily": "She (Xinzi) loudly warned her children not to get close to us, not to go to these two 'lonely old men' ', don't eat their food, and let these two 'lonely old men' die in silence."

However, Zhou Zuoren loved and feared Yutai Nobuko all his life. Over time, her attitude had a great influence on Zhou Zuoren.