The most virtuous wife, the most talented woman: the biography of Yang Jiang

Chapter 6 Showing Talent: A Dream Precipitated in Tsinghua University (1)
life-long choices
University time is wonderful, all kinds of activities make life more fulfilling and colorful.Soon, a year passed.The school began to let them choose a major.Yang Jiang's teacher believes that she has the qualifications to study science. Although she doesn't get [-] points in every subject, she doesn't favor subjects, and her grades in each subject are very average.

Regarding her choice of major, Yang Jiang hesitated.Choice is so important to the destiny of a person's life!Sometimes, choice is even more important than hard work. Only by choosing the right direction can hard work get results.Many people have experienced the choice of arts and sciences, and they always have to go through a fierce ideological struggle about whether to study literature or science, and sometimes they have to go through "struggle" with their families.

Yang Jiang grew up in a wealthy environment. Although she has no idea about the choice of arts and sciences, she knows that this is an important thing that determines her life and must not be sloppy.She began to think seriously about what she should learn, and the "should" she considered "should" be the most beneficial to others, and I myself did not live my life in vain. I know this "should" is very exaggerated, So ashamed to explain."
Most people have to discuss with their parents when choosing a major, and Yang Jiang is no exception.She asked her father, "What should I learn?"
Her father Yang Yinhang replied: "There is no right or wrong, you can learn what you like most."
Many parents are often compulsive in the choice of majors for their children, directly telling their children to "study science" or "study liberal arts" like issuing orders, even if they do not directly make choices for their children, they usually give suggestions first, " Science is better, and it will be easier to find a job in the future"; "Liberal arts is good, and you can get a civil servant in the future."

Their suggestions often leave the first impression in the child's mind. This first impression will cover the child's favorite major like a layer of fine sand, until the wind of time blows away this layer of fine sand, and the pattern of life It was already frozen, but it was too late when it suddenly dawned on me.And those who can educate children like Yang Yinhang and tell them to learn what they like are very few.

I believe that Yang Yinhang must have chosen a major for his daughter like other parents, but he didn't say it out, but let his daughter choose by herself.And the teachings of his father have become the wealth of Yang Jiang's life.

Soochow University is famous for two majors, one is pre-med and the other is pre-law.Both majors are preparations for further study. The former can directly enter Peking Union Medical College after graduation, and the latter can enter the law department of Soochow University in Shanghai. Both are good directions.

Because she was deeply moved by Nightingale's story, Yang Jiang had the idea of ​​becoming a nurse.But her father suggested to her that studying nursing is not as practical as studying medicine, and he told her the general content of studying medicine, and Yang Jiang flinched a little after understanding the situation.

She has a gentle personality since she was a child. When doing biological experiments before, she removed the shell of the crab while it was still alive, and observed its heart.The classmates went to the crab shell smoothly, but she couldn't get off her hands, her legs were a little weak, and her hands couldn't control her.The father of a college classmate is a doctor, and she secretly followed an operation, and the classmate laughed at her and said, "If you faint, I will carry you out." Looking at one operation, Yang Jiang did not faint , but she didn't eat a bite of meat in the two weeks after the incident. If she really became a doctor, she would have to fast for the rest of her life, so she finally gave up the idea of ​​studying medicine.

And because she watched her father work since she was a child, she also wanted to be a female lawyer and do things for the people like her father.But after her father knew this idea, he still persuaded her to learn something she really liked, but what did she really want to learn in her heart?

Facing her father's answer, Yang Jiang still felt a little uneasy. She continued to ask: "Is it right to only ask about my favorite? I like literature, so I study literature? I love novels, so I study novels?"
"What I like is the closeness of sex, which is the most suitable for me." Yang Yinhang continued to enlighten her.From beginning to end, he did not tell his daughter what he wanted her to learn.He wants his daughter to make her own choices and live her life the way she likes.

Yang Jiang has always had a literary dream. She likes to write and express her thoughts with a pen.Reluctantly, there was no literature department in Soochow at that time, so she had to give up. Later, she chose the politics department. Uninterested, she spent most of her time in the library, wandering in the ocean of words, reading various literary works.

In the days of Soochow Library, Yang Jiang was intoxicated by it.For her who is hungry for literature, it is like a concentration of treasures.The library has a huge collection of books, including Chinese and foreign masterpieces.There, Yang Jiang eagerly read every book, especially foreign novels.At that time, she gradually understood that the subject she liked the most was actually the easiest.She still remembers the ancient Chinese proverb "the world is united but there are many worries, and the same goal has different paths", which she memorized in middle school, but she can neither be a doctor to save the sick, nor can she be a politician to govern the country and the people. In the mind, there is no need for it in the end.

Soochow University attaches great importance to foreign languages, and many books in the library are original English books.After reading a large number of original political and legal books and literature books, her foreign language level is getting higher and higher.This laid a good foundation for her to do translation in the future, and she translated many political science papers in English during her college years.

In this way, reading has become a major hobby of Yang Jiang.Once, her father asked her: "Ah Ji, you are not allowed to read for three days, how are you doing?"
Yang Jiang replied without hesitation: "It's hard."
"Why don't you read books for a week?"
"It's been a whole week."
After hearing his daughter's answer, Yang Yinhang smiled and said, "Me too."
His father had a deep influence on Yang Jiang.They are father and daughter, and also close friends. Every word of the father is deeply engraved in Yang Jiang's heart.The father is addicted to books, and the daughter is addicted to books.Every time Yang Yinhang bought a good edition of an old book, he always glued the curled or damaged book corners carefully, and then Yang Jiang reordered it with white thread and double thread.Yang Jiang knows that her father likes to be neat, so when stapling the book, only parallel lines are used, never intersecting, and knots must not be exposed.

Sometimes Yang Yinhang would be very busy, and the secretary ("shu" refers to letters, "ji" refers to notes, an old saying) had no time to copy, so Yang Jiang would help his father to copy.Sometimes, her third aunt, Yang Yinyu, would come to her for help.Yang Yinyu taught English and mathematics in a middle school. Whenever Yang Jiang went home during the holidays, Yang Yinyu would grab Yang Jiang and help her correct a large pile of test papers.Seeing that Yang Jiang is doing things fast, I always say "after all, young people are fast at doing things".She thought the barber shop was not clean, so she often grabbed Yang Jiang to help her get a haircut.So every time he saw Yang Yinyu coming, Yang Yinhang always said to his daughter: "Your good deal has come."
Yang Jiang doesn't like this third aunt very much.Yang Yinhang knows his daughter very well, so every time she comes to Yang Jiang for help, Yang Yinhang always protects her.Yang Jiang not only has a deep father-daughter love for her father, but also has a deep-rooted confidant love.Even after thinking about it many years later, the profound warmth still lingers in my heart.

The life of studying is simple and beautiful, and happiness always makes people feel that time seems to pass faster.In the third year of Soochow School, Ji Yu, the former principal of Zhenhua Girls' School, applied for a scholarship to Wellesley Women's University in the United States for her.This is a good opportunity to go abroad for further study. Parents handed over the decision-making power to Yang Jiang and let her decide her own future.

In the end, Yang Jiang decided to give up this opportunity. One reason is that the scholarship can only cover tuition fees, and studying abroad requires a lot of expenses to cover travel expenses and living expenses. She does not want to increase the burden on her family. After all, the expenses of a large family It was all on the shoulders of her father alone, and she couldn't bear to let him bear more.Another reason is that she already has a general direction for the future in her heart. She wants to continue her studies, but not to the United States, but to the graduate school of Tsinghua University to study her favorite literature major.

Some things that happened later made Yang Jiang firmly believe that her decision at the time was correct. Her eldest brother also died in [-] due to illness. This was undoubtedly a huge blow to her parents.The parents have reached a certain age and can no longer accept such a big blow, and the mother even cried out her eyes.

During the first summer vacation after returning from studying in Beijing, the family had dinner together, and his father jokingly mentioned something to Yang Jiang: "Ah Ji, Dad made a joke recently." It was during a court session, and the audience I waited quietly for him to speak, but after a long time, he still couldn't speak and kept quiet, so he had to postpone the hearing.

In fact, Yang Yinhang had a "small stroke" at that time.The indomitable father in the past got old at some point, Yang Jiang's heart ached terribly, her tears couldn't stop dripping down her face, and her father kept comforting her, saying that she was healed.

After that time, my father stopped taking cases and ended half of his career as a lawyer.He is so reluctant to give up, but the helplessness of the relentless years can only be experienced in his twilight years.At that time, there was a case in his hand that was not yet closed, and he needed to write a complaint. Before that, Yang Jiang wanted to write a complaint for his father many times, but his father was always worried that she would make a mistake and would not let her do it. Even if she wrote it, his father still did not rest assured Once again, if something is wrong, he will be severely criticized, saying that Yang Jiang is careless.

But this time, her father asked Yang Jiang to write, and she simply explained the general idea, and then Yang Jiang wrote it out. She was afraid that her father would be dissatisfied after reading it, and she was already prepared to be punished, but her father just changed it. A few words, without saying a word, just handed it in.

Yang Jiang was both happy and sad. He was happy that he finally helped his father, but sad that this might be his father's last case.Yang Yinhang's last case was settled with Yang Jiang's help, and he was paid [-] yuan. Later, he became a younger brother's tuition fee for studying at Shanghai Jiaotong University. Yang Jiang was very happy.

After returning to Beijing, through her continuous efforts, her dream of studying literature was one step closer. One year later, she was successfully admitted to the Department of Foreign Languages ​​of the Tsinghua University Graduate School, which became the pride of her parents.

If you collect footprints, it is like picking up the soles of shoes
Yang Jiang has always had a yearning for Tsinghua University. There is a stop for her literary dream there, like a lighthouse pointing out the direction for her, so she can set sail with confidence.

At that time, the Department of Foreign Languages ​​and Literature of Tsinghua University Research Institute and the Department of Foreign Languages ​​had the same teachers, but they were called the two departments to distinguish them. At that time, there were more than ten professors, all of whom were well-known scholars: Wang Wenxian, Wu Mi, Zhu Chuanlin, Chen Futian , Huang Zhongding, Huang Xueqin, Zhang Jiemin, Lou Guanglai and others are among them.

Among them, Mr. Wang Wenxian must be mentioned. He is a famous dramatist and an excellent teacher.He has lived in the UK for a long time, received a British-style education, and obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of London.He served as a professor and head of the Department of Foreign Languages ​​at Tsinghua University. Under his influence, Tsinghua University has emerged many talents in drama creation and drama performance, such as Hong Shen, Shi Huafu, Li Jianwu, Cao Yu, etc., including Yang Jiang.

There is another teacher——Mr. Wu Mi, who also graduated from Tsinghua University, and later studied abroad at the University of Virginia and Harvard University, and later served as a professor of the Department of Foreign Languages ​​at Tsinghua University.Qian Zhongshu was often taught by Mr. Wu Mi when he was in school, and Yang Jiang also took courses such as "Comparison of Chinese and Western Poetry and Prose" and "Translation Skills" by Wu Mi, which had a great influence on Yang Jiang's later translation work. help.

Influenced by her father, Yang Jiang read a lot of books in various categories when she was a child. She is not partial, and loves to read everything.When her father took a nap, she happily stayed in the study to read, and was unwilling to go out to play.

She was admitted to Tsinghua University, and as soon as she entered, she won the admiration of Mr. Liang Zongdai. At that time, Mr. Liang taught French, and the first class was dictation. Liang Zongdai was very surprised when he saw her answer.He asked her how she learned French, and she said, "Self-taught."
Relying on her own literary accomplishment and unremitting efforts, Yang Jiang was finally admitted to the Department of Foreign Languages ​​of the Graduate School of Tsinghua University, and also took Zhu Ziqing's prose class. At that time, Zhu Ziqing was already a professor of the Chinese Department, and his articles were amazing. Although there is no wonderful plot, everyone has their own understanding. This is the power of prose.

At that time, it was very lucky to be able to attend the class of Professor Zhu Ziqing. Everyone hoped to understand the essence of prose and writing with the help of the teacher, and they all looked forward to the teacher's tips or techniques.But in Teacher Zhu's first class, the first thing he asked everyone to do was not to introduce themselves, nor to open the textbook, but to leave an assignment and write an article called "Collecting Footprints".

There is an explanation in Jiangnan for the term "recovering footprints".It may be a summary and review before leaving.But everyone is going to pass away, and who should I share with when I sum it up?

(End of this chapter)