Old things in the south

Chapter 90 Beautiful and Gentle

Walking upwards from the bottom of the world, the steps must not be chaotic at all, and the heart is clear and rational day by day.In fact, since he was an orphan, he has been very clear. He knows where he is standing every time he takes a step, and then how to work hard and be firm to move forward on the road he wants to go.In this way, rough and bumpy, joys and sorrows, this life, ups and downs, he has walked for 80 years, until today. ——He is the respected Mr. Xiao Qian.

I have known Mr. Xiao Qian for half a century. I met him for the first time in August 1988 at the Second International PEN Annual Conference held in Seoul, South Korea.I looked through my diary from that year to determine the date and location of the meeting, which was at the Walkerhill Sheraton. In my diary on the 8th, I have the following record:
… At 300:[-] p.m., there was a pen meeting and reception, with more than [-] people present, representing [-] or [-] countries.The venue was crowded, but lively.I saw mainland representatives Xiao Qian, Huang Qiuyun, Ke Ling and others.Zumei and Zhien were hunting for photos at the venue, and everyone asked to take a photo with Xiao Qian, because he is a well-known reporter and writer of the older generation in our country...

The "Jingxiang Daily" in Seoul specially held a side meeting, and invited Mr. Xiao Qian, Mr. Xu Shixu, and myself to talk with each other. The theme was "Separation and Unity of Literature".The three regions represented by the three of us (Mainland, Taiwan, and South Korea) have similar situations—the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and North and South Korea, each of which has the same language and the same species, but the literature has been separated for 40 years, and this place has an opportunity to come together Talk (without North Korea), is doable.In the past 40 to 20 years, the two sides of the closed strait have had increasingly close non-governmental exchanges and literary activities at this stage. This situation is of course shocking to South and North Korea in their eyes.Moreover, this meeting is also a historic initiative for PEN International.Xu Shixu, who represents the landlord country, I have known him [-] years ago, when he was studying in Taipei and got a Ph.D.I think this meeting should be "prompted" by him!
Our conversation should be said to be relaxed and emotional.Mr. Xiao Qian is a Mongolian, I am a Taiwanese, one outside the Great Wall and one island, it’s weird, they all speak Beijing style!Xu Shixu studied in Taiwan, and his Chinese is fluent, so in this talk, first of all, he was "unified" without any "separation". During the few days of the meeting, they quickly became acquaintances.He presented his new book "Tomographic Scanning" as a gift, and the title page also specially noted that "the circled articles are about the Northeast City of Beijing in the 20s", and I also brought the "Living at the Bookstore-Memoirs of Beijing Flavor" rebate.The bookstore refers to Liulichang in the south of Beijing, which is the cultural center and bookstore street, where old and new bookstores are located: Business, Zhonghua, Beixin, Huiwentang, Hanwenzhai, Rongbaozhai, Nanzhidian, Helianqingbishop, Qingmi Pavilion South Paper Store... Wait, I lived in this area when I was a child "coming to Beijing" and after I got married. When I went to Qimeng to study in the primary school attached to the Normal University, I passed by here four times a day. Not only did I remember the name of the bookstore. , I even remember the famous people who wrote the plaques, such as Zhang Boying, Yao Hua, Lu Runxiang, Li Wentian, Weng Tonghe, He Shaoji, Zhang Hairuo, Fu Zengxiang, etc. It was not until I grew up that I gradually knew the origins of these calligraphers.

After the annual meeting was over and we returned to our original places, Mr. Xiao Qian and I got in touch and sent books to each other.And since then, Taiwan has also published some of his works. Our Pure Literature Publishing House selected his "Shakespeare Drama Stories", and the Vision Publishing House presided over by Mr. Gao Xijun published his "I Want to Interview Life". Jing Publishing House is "Life Interview", and Yeqiang Publishing House is "Xiao Qian Biography - Wandering Life" written by Mr. Li Hui from Mainland China.In January last year, Tianxia Culture Publishing Company, still under the chairmanship of Gao Xijun, published the important work "Xiao Qian and Wen Jieruo" by Ms. Wen Jieruo, the beloved wife who shared the love and adversity of Xiao Qian.It was the first time I read the novels written by this reporter among the several novels drawn by Mr. Xiao Qian in "Tomography". The novels are all the tragic shadows of his childhood.Following Lin Zhenming, the brother of the Hong Kong Xiangjiang Publishing House, he also sent me Xiao Qian's "The Traveler Without a Map" published by him. Xiao Qian's complete memories wrote about the experience of this poor child.So far, I have gradually and comprehensively known Mr. Xiao Qian.

Let's say she is as clean as a girl.Mr. Xiao Qian has such a short paragraph in "Miscellaneous Memories of the Capital":

...For example, tonight, the Qianmen Building and the Desheng Gate Building will be demolished, and Nine City will be completely demolished.When it comes to Beijing, who still uses the word "city"?I just use this word, is it revealing my stubbornness?Still want to be a widow?If you think so, screw it all up. ...

This reminds me of my preface to my book "Living by the Bookstore——My Beijing Taste Memoirs", which I also mentioned:

...I often laugh and say to my relatives and friends here, even the city walls in Beiping are gone, so what should I go back to see?Just like my friend Hou Rongsheng (died in 1990) returned to the mainland to visit relatives ten years ago, I remember most clearly one sentence in the article she wrote when she came back. She said, where is my city wall?Just five words, I almost didn't cry after reading it. ...

Interestingly, sister Jieruo wrote to me for the first time in January 1990, and she also mentioned life in Beijing. She said:
... I am a loyal reader and viewer of your "Old Things in the South of the City". Your masterpiece is like a breath of fresh air and has had a huge impact on the mainland.My grandfather worked as a county magistrate for 20 years and bought a courtyard house in Shangxie Street in Xuanwumen Nei of Nancheng and Tiaotiao Hutong in Beicheng. I have read books.Later, the whole family moved to Beicheng, but my uncle's family still lived in Shangxie Street, so we had to go there several times a year, and we were very familiar with the background of life described in your masterpiece.The words you said "my city wall is gone" really aroused infinite feelings in my heart!I often think: Why did Xiao Qian have to go back to Beijing in 1949?The charm of the city walls and the camel team transporting coal is too great.This is difficult for the younger generation to understand, so I feel very close to "Old Things in the South of the City". ...

Jieruo is a translator of English and Japanese. She traveled to Japan with her parents since she was a child and studied in Japan. After returning to China, she graduated from Tsinghua University and worked in a publishing house. Mr. Xiao Qian, I think it must be a friendship between a teacher and a friend at first, and finally embarked on the road of marriage.After giving birth to two children a few years after marriage, they encountered the big storm. They were originally a happy couple, but they became a couple in distress during the past 20 years. After suffering from being bullied, Xiao Qian begged for death several times. No, it was Jie Ruo who healed his physical and mental wounds and gave him countless encouragements to survive.She took care of his sick body, compiled books for him, organized documents, and took care of the family and children, but she did not forget her own writing and translation. She had published five or six English and Japanese translations, plus the above two Autobiography.If Xiao Qian could not live without Jie, when I think of them, what emerges in front of my eyes is not a husband who is seventeen or eighteen years old taking care of his wife, but a strong and brave woman who hugs the frail woman like a sister. younger brother.

Jie Ruo is now working hard to translate Joyce's "Ulysses". Her letter touched me a lot. She said:
... From 1991 to 1992, I planned to translate James Joyce's Ulysses into Chinese, about 70 words, and I stopped writing for the time being.My "Essay Collection" has gathered 20 words and is expected to be published in the next year or two.Ever since I met you in Beijing (Haiyin’s note: I arrived in Beijing in May 1990, and went to visit them the night I got off the plane), Xiao Qian stayed in the hospital for half a month, and his kidney function was not very good, because he was the only kidney, you must be more careful.At present he only writes short articles.I can work eight to nine hours a day, and the housework is mainly cleaning the room.These few years are the most productive years, because Xiao Qian is over eighty years old, if he needs me to take more time to take care of him in the future, my personal work will be affected.In the past four years, I hired one or two servants. It is said that it is more difficult to hire a servant now than then.That's why I don't even want to watch movies, TV, and videos. It's really a race against time to do a lot of work. ...

I have read this letter many times, and every time I read it, my eyes are always wet, thinking of the big girl with two braids who was rowing in the North Sea, and thinking of the 21-year-old who died earlier. Father and mother, the little boy who has to go out to earn a living by himself and study hard, thinking about them going through the ten years of the storm and suffering all kinds of humiliation, it is really "the wind is strong and sad".All of this is over!Now it is "the flowers are like snow now", and the virtuous couple should seize this good time in the future. At the end of the [-]th century, the new vitality reflected in the coming [-]st century is bright and gentle.

I would like to wish Mr. Xiao Qian the 60th anniversary of writing.

(End of this chapter)