Chapter 3 Devil's Night Interview with Mr. Qian Zhongshu

"You and I should have known each other long ago," he said, picking up the stool closest to the brazier and sitting down. "I am the devil; you have been tempted and tempted by me." "But you're a real good man!" he said, with a sympathetic smile. "You won't know me, though you've been tricked by me. When you've been seduced by me, you've only known me as a lovely woman." , a trustworthy friend, or even an ideal that can be pursued, you didn’t see me. Only those who refuse my temptation, like Jesus Christ, know who I am. Today, we are also destined. Some people do fasting , praying to sacrifice ghosts, invited me to sit in the chief seat, entertained for half the night, drank a few more glasses of wine, drunk and blurred, wanted to go back to my dark apartment, but walked into your house by mistake. The electric light in the mainland It's too bad! It's as dark as hell in your room! But it's colder than mine; there's a brimstone fire all day long, and of course you can't do it here—I heard the price of carbon has gone up again."

At this time, I was amazed and felt that I should do my duty as a host. I said to the visitor: "It is a great honor for you to come here in the middle of the night, an old man. I hate being a single guest, and I am not prepared to welcome you. I am very sorry! Old man Do you feel cold? Excuse me for a while, let me wake up the servant to make a pot of tea and add some charcoal." "That's not necessary," he stopped me very politely, "I'll just sit down for a while and I'm going. And, let me tell you"——his expression at that time was confiding and serious, very much like when reporting a hidden disease to a doctor The patient—"Anyway, I can't warm myself. When I was young, I made a fuss in heaven and tried to seize the seat of God. Unexpectedly, I failed. It’s like being in the snow in Siberia. The heat in my whole body was forced into my heart by the cold air, and I became a character with cold blood. I once sat on the kang for three days and three nights, but my buttocks were still like the winter night outside the window, in the deep darkness cold......"

I cut him off in amazement: "Didn't Barbey DAurevilly also say..." "Yeah," he said with a chuckle, "he did mention my burning butt in the fifth chapter of "Les Diaboliques". You see, people are afraid of being famous! , you have no secrets at all. All private matters are left to the interviewers, and the correspondents to publish. In this way, the information in your autobiography or confession is forcibly taken away. If I make a self-report in the future, it will not It's okay to fabricate novel facts." "Isn't this against the meaning of autobiography?" I asked.

He laughed again: "Unexpectedly, your knowledge is so mediocre that you can make an editorial. Now is the era of new biographical literature. Writing biographies for others is also a kind of self-expression; you can add your own opinions and use others as topics to express yourself. On the other hand, people who write autobiographies often have nothing to say about themselves, so they try their best to describe the image of their own wives and sons that they can't recognize, or record friends and anecdotes about others. Therefore, If you want to know a person's self, you have to read his biographies for others. Autobiography is another biography."

I couldn't help admiring it, so I asked respectfully: "Does your old man allow me to quote this passage from you in the future?" He replied, "What's wrong with that? As long as you apply the formula my friend So-and-so said when you introduced it." This made me even happier, so I said humbly: "The old man thinks highly of me! Am I worthy to be your friend?" His answer disappointed me: "It's not that I look up to you and say that you are my friend; it's that you look up to me and say that I am your friend. When writing an article, when quoting the ancients, don't use quotation marks. My own, to quote today's words, must be my friend - so you can always attract friends."

Although he is so straightforward, I still want to say a few perfunctory words to him: "You are very good at teaching! Unexpectedly, you are also such an expert in literary writing. You just mentioned "The Witch" and I am amazed." He half-sympathetically replied: "No wonder people say that you can't jump out of your class consciousness. Am I not worthy of reading? Although I belong to hell, I am at the bottom of society, but I have the ambition to improve since I was a child. I have also used books to read books." After a while, especially the popular magazine pamphlets and the like. So Goethe praised me for having a progressive spirit and being able to roll forward with the so-called giant wheel of the times in newspapers. Because you are a person who likes to read literary books, I am very grateful to you. When you talk about some famous literary works, it seems that I have the same interest and I am also an expert. On the other hand, if you are a prolific writer who opposes reading books, of course I will change my style of talking and tell you that I also think books are unnecessary. Except for the books you made yourself——and, reading your books is too short a life, how can I have time to read classics? I will talk about inventions to scientists, archeology to historians, international situations to politicians, and exhibitions I talk about art appreciation at lectures, and cooking at banquets. Not only that, but sometimes I have to talk about politics for scientists and art for archaeologists, because they don’t know anything anyway, and I’m happy to let them pick up their teeth; You don’t need to pick any good tunes! As for cooking, I often discuss it at tea parties; maybe the hostess listens to me and invites me to eat her own dishes in a few days. I don’t know. I am also a little famous in the world. Dante praised me for being good at reasoning, and Goethe said that I am well-informed. You should be proud when you have reached my position! I am not, and I am becoming more and more humble. I often say to myself: "I It's just an underground ghost! "It means that you humble yourself as countrymen. I am afraid that empty words are not enough to express my humble spirit. I use my body as a symbol. A rich man has a big belly like a sack, which means that his pockets are full; a thinker bows his head Back, shaped like a question mark in punctuation, expresses doubts about everything; so—"As he said, he showed me his right foot, which seemed to have a particularly high heel—"My legs are not very convenient Yeah, it was a sign of my modesty, that I was clumsy. So I invented bound feet and high heels, because my disability sometimes needs to be covered up, especially when I'm a woman."

I couldn't help asking: "Some people who have admired your demeanor said that you have a tall head, a bit like..." He replied without waiting for me to finish speaking: "Yes, sometimes I also have the appearance of a cow. Of course, this is still a symbol. The cow is used to making sacrifices, which can show the spirit of who will go to hell if I don't go to hell; Bragging, and a cow can never brag on its own, at least its biological structure does not allow it to do so, so my bull shape is a manifestation of humility. I am no more polite than you literati and scholars. There is a kind of person who is so arrogant, you can compliment him He accepts it without refusal, as if you paid his debts, and he only hates you for not paying interest. Another kind of false modesty, people praise him, he says he is ashamed and dare not take it, as if the boss accepts bribes and thinks the amount is too large No, the original wall will be returned, so that the subordinates will double the gift. No matter whether it is the creditor or the boss, they will always believe that there are good people worthy of praise in the world, at least they are themselves. My humility is always the most thorough. I think I There is nothing to be proud of, nothing to praise, let alone others! I have only been cursed, so I have no such vanity. However, although I am not an author, I have caused many works. In this regard, I am quite like ——" He said it without embarrassment, thanks to him!Only the red carbon in the brazier glowed on his face, "I am quite like a beautiful woman who does not write herself, but can inspire many poets who have lost their love, and make them break from their broken hearts—no! Singing from a cracked voice. Poems like Byron and Shelley were inspired by me. For example, newspapers and magazines often write nonsense, which is also inspired by me."

I said: "I'm just wondering how you have time, old man. Newspapers all over the world are talking about war. At this time, you old man should be busy with massacres and aggressions, displaying your art of destruction, why would you come to chat with me in your busy schedule?" ." He said: "You seem to be chasing guests, don't you? I should go, I forgot that night is the time for you to rest in the world. We talked very well today, and I have to explain a few words to you, you It is wrong to say that I participated in the war. I have a peaceful temper, and I am against the use of force. I believe that treaties can solve everything. For example, Faust made an alliance with me with blood and signed a contract to sell his soul. How gentle are the two parties! I was also a brave man Ruthless people, since the rebellion failed and were expelled from heaven, after listening to the advice of my staff, I realized that wrestling is not as good as wrestling, and since then I have replaced temptation with temptation. You know, I am in the soul business. Part of the human soul God chooses, and everything else belongs to me. Unexpectedly, in the past few decades, the business has been so sluggish that we have to drink the wind. Human souls have always been divided into good and bad. The good ones are kept by God, and the bad ones are traded by me. In the nineteenth century In the middle period, a big change came suddenly. Except for a very small number of people, almost no human beings have souls. Those who have some souls are good people, and they should be under the control of God. For example, soldiers have souls, but their souls go directly to heaven , I have no part in it. Modern psychologists advocate "psychology without a soul". This kind of theory would never have happened in ancient times when everyone had a soul. Now, even if there are one or two souls left by God, they often It is smelly and dirty, either with the smell of medicine in the laboratory, or covered with a layer of dust from old books, or the pungent smell of copper. I have a clean temper and I don’t want to pick up junk. Of course there are bad people in modern times, but They are so bad that they have no soul, no personality, they are as calm as an inorganic body, and as efficient as a machine. Even poets and the like disappoint me; Me. You say I’m busy, how do you know that I’m flustered, I’m also a victim of modern material and mechanical civilization, an unemployed person, and my family has a heavy burden, with seven million children and grandchildren waiting for me to support. Of course, there is still entertainment Yes, a prestigious person like me will not be without entertainment. Today is a meal. In this day and age, you don’t have to worry about no one taking you to dinner, but people don’t let you exchange your skills for a meal. This is a Anguish."

He stopped talking.His desolation filled the air and dampened the warmth of the brazier.I was about to inquire about my own soul when he suddenly stood up, said that he would not sit down anymore, wished me "good night", and said that we might meet again sometime.I open the door to see you off.The boundless night is waiting for him.He walked out the door, dissolved and absorbed into the night like a drop of rain to the sea.In the first volume of Milton, it is written that the devil was demoted because of his rebellion and rioting in heaven.The twenty-fourth sentence of Dante's "Inferno" writes that the devil suffers in the ice."Garcon & Vinchon: Le Diable" (Garcon & Vinchon: Le Diable), a collaboration between Carlson and Wen Hung, collects many folk legends about devils.In the first part of Goethe's Faust, witches, monsters, and devils describe changes, and the devils answer that world civilization is improving day by day, so they keep pace with it. In the twenty-seventh sentence of "Hell", the devil claims to be a theorist. The first part of "Faust", "Study", the devil himself said that although he knows everything, his knowledge is also very extensive.Coleridge's "The Devil's Thoughts" and Sao Sai's "The Devil's Walking" both say that the devil is proud with humility.The devil is lame, see Lesage's Le Diable Boi teux.It can also be seen from the fourth chapter of the second part of Defoe's "Political History of the Devil".The devil often takes the shape of a bull. The sixteenth chapter of the "Old Testament Psalms" says that ghost worshipers make bull statues and respect them.Later generations said that the devil appeared in the shape of a goat, and Defoe explained it in detail.The preface to Saucy's long poem "Vision of Judgmen" says that Byron and Shelley are both poets of the devil school.Marlowe's "Faustus" (Faustus) records the bleeding of Faust's stabbing arm, and contains the full text of the contract.See Volume II.Johann Weier: De Praestigiis Daemonium contains a total of 7,459,260 imps.