Chapter 43 9. Jiang Zulin visits relatives

June 20th was a day that made Ding Ling happy. At noon on this day, Jiang Zulin, his son who had studied in the Soviet Union, returned to China to visit relatives and arrived in Beijing by international train.Ding Ling personally rushed to Qianmen Railway Station to meet her.Zu Lin went to study in the Soviet Union in August 1953 and studied submarine design and manufacture at the Leningrad Shipbuilding Academy. He has been away from home for four years. Jiang Zulin told the author that there were as many as 2,000 to 3,000 Chinese students studying in the Soviet Union at that time, and they were mainly distributed in the three cities of Moscow, Leningrad, and Kyiv.There are only two international trains between Moscow and Beijing every week. In order to alleviate the transportation pressure, the leaders began to discourage foreign students from returning to China for vacation. Later, they felt that foreign students also need to understand the situation in China, and stipulated that those who have completed their studies for more than three years can return to China for vacation and visit relatives , travel expenses are at your own expense.

Ding Ling and Zu Lin have a very deep relationship between mother and son.The last time mother and child met was in December 1954, when Ding Ling, as a member of the Chinese Writers Delegation, went to the Soviet Union to participate in the Second All-Soviet Writers Congress.After the meeting, she went to Leningrad for a visit, and Zulin accompanied her for four days, which was another two and a half years.In order to stay in the country for a few more days, Zu Lin finished the three homework exams in advance and bought a round-trip train ticket from Leningrad to Beijing with the 1,200 rubles he saved on weekdays. On June 9, he set off from Leningrad and passed through Moscow. Transfer to an international train to return home.Before returning to China, he had already heard some news about his mother's "mistake" from Yu Lulin, the younger sister of Mrs. Chen Yun's Yu Ruomu, but she never mentioned it in her letter. He was puzzled and worried. This is one of the reasons why he is eager to return home.When I got home, the house was still so warm, and my mother was still optimistic and cheerful, talking and laughing happily, as if nothing had happened.

That night, Ding Ling talked to Zu Lin about the 1955 enlarged meeting of the Chinese Writers Association, and told her son: The situation has improved now, and the Writers Association has held three enlarged meetings of the party group. No, the conclusion of the "anti-party group" cannot be established, and Zhou Yang also made such a statement.The Party Group Enlargement Meeting is now temporarily adjourned.This issue is purely a legacy of the inner-Party struggle in 1955, and it doesn't matter if it's dealt with for a while. It's just a matter of time, and sooner or later it will be resolved realistically.Ding Ling also said: "It seems that in the years after the liberation of the whole country, my prestige was too great, and it was difficult for people to tolerate. If I didn't work in Beijing for these few years, it might be better to go to factories or rural areas to live in depth and write articles. .”

Poet Ai Qing was a good friend of Ding Ling's family. Hearing that Zu Lin was returning to China to visit relatives, he held a small dinner at the Beijing Hotel.It was a day in late June. Jiang Zulin recalled: "That morning, we first went to Ai Qing's house, which was a small courtyard house, not far from Chongwenmen. On the morning, he called them. Afterwards, he went to the Beijing Hotel and asked for a single room. Jiang Feng and Zhu Dan came soon, but Li Na did not arrive, so I went to wait for her at the gate of the hotel. It took her more than ten minutes to arrive. We walked into the private room and started serving food. Ai Qing, Gao Ying, Jiang Feng, Chen Ming, Zhu Dan, Li Na, my mother, and I had dinner together, a total of eight people.” That was one time Gathering of friends and cultural people, the banquet must be full of jokes, laughter, and a cheerful atmosphere.These innocent talented scholars are still enjoying this "Last Supper" to the fullest, unaware that the rolling dark clouds are rolling over them.Soon thereafter, Ding Ling, Ai Qing, Jiang Feng, Zhu Dan, etc. were criticized and fought, and they were labeled as rightists one after another.

On the second day after Zu Lin arrived home, his mother discussed with him how to spend the summer together, saying that he could go to Qingdao to live for a while, visit the naval base, and see the submarines. An article or two reflecting life in the Navy.But they still dismissed this idea, because the whole family was worried about the final settlement of the "anti-Party group" issue.Ding Ling said, "Then we'll live in the Summer Palace. It's quiet, cool and has a nice view." The summer of 1957 was very hot in Beijing, and the temperature reached 30 degrees Celsius in late June, but the Summer Palace was much cooler than the city.Ding Ling and Zu Lin lived in Yunsong Nest for more than a week, fully enjoying this rare reunion.Yunsong Nest is at the foot of Wanshou Mountain. It is a small courtyard surrounded by white walls, flower tiles and shaded by pines and cypresses. Its name is taken from Li Bai's poem "I will nest here in Yunsong".There are several large pine trees in the yard.After a long absence, mother and son, how many things do you have to say?They seldom go out of the yard during the day, and in the evening, when the tourists are thinning out and the birds are returning to their nests, they walk among the lake and mountains.In those days, Ding Ling was in a good mood, and she could talk about anything with her son. They recalled many past events, Ding Ling's mother, and Chairman Mao's visit to Yunsongchao in the summer of 1951.

This year, Zu Lin was 27 years old. As a mother, Ding Ling was naturally very concerned about her son's marriage.She has already taken a fancy to a girl, Li Lingyuan, sister of writer Li Na.This girl is beautiful and smart. After graduating from the music department of the Beijing Academy of Arts, she stayed in the school as a teaching assistant, and her career has developed very well.When Li Na was in Yan'an, he was Zu Lin's middle school class teacher and language teacher, and Ding Ling's student when he was at the Central Institute of Literature, and he knew both mother and son very well.In order to facilitate this marriage, Ding Ling invited sisters Li Na to the Summer Palace and spent three days together.

Zu Lin and Ling Yuan got along very well, and they had a feeling of deja vu when they met for the first time.Their relationship develops very quickly, and they have endless things to say together, and they are always inseparable when they break up. In mid-July, Lingyuan participated in the China Youth Art Troupe and was going to Moscow to participate in the World Youth Festival. The night before departure, Ding Ling hosted a family dinner at Cuihualou Restaurant for her farewell.On that night, Zu Lin and Ling Yuan confirmed their love relationship.Ding Ling was very relieved by this incident. She personally led her son to choose a light purple gemstone collar flower for her future daughter-in-law in the jewelry store in Dong'an Market.

There was another thing that made Ding Ling happy in those days. The Chilean poet Neruda and his wife came to China for a visit. Ding Ling, as the vice chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, came out to entertain them.They are old friends. In September 1951, Neruda and Soviet writer Ehrenburg came to China on behalf of the Stalin International Prize Committee for "Strengthening International Peace" to award the prize to Soong Ching Ling, a member of the Executive Board of the World Peace Council. Ding Ling wrote a passionate The overflowing "Welcome, Welcome to Come" was published in the "People's Daily". In accordance with the instructions of Premier Zhou, she accompanied the Ehrenburg couple and the Neruda couple to visit Shanghai and Hangzhou, and returned to Beijing. The family banquet was entertained, and young writers such as He Jingzhi and Xu Guangyao were invited to accompany him.

With all the good omens, Ding Ling and the people who like Ding Ling are immersed in optimism, waiting for things to develop in a good direction with confidence.However, this is a kind of blind optimism, the optimism of a cultural person who does not understand politics.A storm of unprecedented violence is coming.