You are the april day of the world

Chapter 49 Appendix 3: Letters ([-])
The fierce battle on the whole front of Longhai made me very excited. I am familiar with that area, and my whole heart seems to be rolling on it. Many people seem to read the news and only have a bunch of inland county names in their impressions. !I really want to join the army in Shanxi, I don't really know what to do!

Second brother, I'm in a bad mood today, and I'm afraid I'll write a letter full of bad words. Forgive me, I'm going to stop writing.

This letter was temporarily used as a vanguard of apologizing, and I knew at the time that my friends would definitely miss it. I don’t know why I didn’t write the letter, as if I was punishing myself-a bad temper broke out!

Hui Yin
To Liang Sizhuang
Si Zhuang:

I haven't sent you a letter since I came here, and I didn't have much time during the trip.Every time I write a letter to Peking, I always think that everyone can pass it on, so I don't write another one.Even the letter from Sanye, Lao Jin, etc. gave us the impression that everything is as usual, everyone is well, I don't need to worry about it, or I have to go back in a hurry.But it has been two weeks since I left, and I always feel that it is time to go back. I am willing to drive any strange car at any strange time, as long as it can save time.Especially in the past few days, I am very disappointed in the construction. The big temples I visit are either full of garbage, or they have been replaced by simple and irrelevant houses in the late Qing Dynasty, and they are painted with blue and white "The world is the public" and other things. School.Everywhere I go is a sweaty trek, and when I walk to work, it is always the hottest time from eight in the morning to six in the evening.These three days have been really exhausting.I didn't eat well, and it was too hot to eat too much.So all sorts of things, we're in much less spirits than last week.

After working hard last week, I must go to a good place, either with beautiful mountains and rivers, or the dazzling ancient ruins, which makes people forget the reason!Qingzhou is very majestic in appearance, the city spans the mountain side, the river surrounds the city, and the stone bridge crosses the city. The weather is broad and bright, and the trees are lush and tall.At night, when the mountain wind blows, it seems to be full of hope, but the result is nothing.Linzi is even worse, and there are several ancient temples and giant Buddhas.We got out of the train in the heat, changed cars, foreign cars, and it was easy to get there. Only at noon when we were already disheartened, we saw a stone statue of the Northern Wei Dynasty!The temples are all destroyed!

Are you staying in the North House now? Where does Boo live?Have you invited any guests?

If you want anything, please don't be polite, just ask Chen Ma to prepare it.Did Sima get his coat back yet?It's so hot, I can't quite imagine (I can't imagine), people wear it, has her clothes been made?It's all about missing.

Hastily
Second sister-in-law
Being bitten by fleas all day long, sitting in a third-class train and being embarrassed to scratch all over my body, I ended up covered in bags!
To Liang Zaibing
Baby:

Mom doesn't know how to tell you many things, so now I'll tell you one by one.

First, I left Taiyuan for Mount Wutai on June 26, and I couldn’t receive any letters from my family, so I didn’t see any of the letters written by you and Uncle Jin, my little brother (the letters were kept until I arrived. home, only transferred from Taiyuan).Second, not only did my father and I fail to receive letters, we couldn't even read a newspaper on the way, so we didn't know anything about the troubles between Japan and China!

Third, we rode mules and carts on the road. We walked very slowly and were busy with work, so we didn't go to Dai County until July [-]th. Only when there were newspapers and telegrams could we know any news from outside. .At that time, I heard that the trains to Peking, Pinghan Road and Tongpu Road were no longer connected, so I didn't know how anxious I was!
Fourth, fortunately, the Pingsui Railway was not broken, so my father and I hurriedly made a detour to Datong and returned to Peiping on Pingsui Road.Now I draw a map and you look at it, and you can understand.

Pay attention to the Great Wall, Taiyuan, Mount Wutai, Daixian, Yanmenguan, Datong, Zhangjiakou and other places, as well as the Pinghan Railway, Zhengtai Railway, and Pingsui Railway.You can understand everything.Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng visited Mount Wutai in Shanxi in late June 1937 and discovered the Foguang Temple, the oldest wooden structure in China at that time.They didn't know the (later called) "Marco Polo Bridge Incident" had happened after they left the mountain in mid-July, and hurried back to Peiping by detouring the Pingsui Line.The daughter, who was under eight years old, was spending the summer vacation at the seaside of Beidaihe with her eldest aunt, cousin, and cousin.

Fifth, (now you should understand the route I'm taking) I want to tell you that I miss you and my little brother very much on the way, but I can't receive letters.When I arrived in Dai County, I was even more anxious when I heard that there was a little war in Peiping.Fortunately, we are closer from Dai County to Datong than to Taiyuan, and it is very convenient to take the Pingsui Road train back from Datong (see the map).But someone told us that Pingsui Road only leads to Zhangjiakou, so we are really anxious to death now!
Sixth, I actually went back to Xizhimen Station (you can't enter Qianmen Station), I really liked it.I arrived home at seven o'clock in the morning and had breakfast with my family. I couldn't be happier.

Sixth, you know that they always want our "North China" area, and this time they sent troops to attack us for a small matter!Now the soldiers on both sides have stopped, and they are holding a meeting to discuss a "peaceful settlement", and no one knows whether they will fight or not in the future.

Seventh, anyway, you are safe with your aunt, sister and brothers in Beidaihe, so I won't ask you to come back.Our place is also very calm for a while, so you don't have to worry about it.We hope that the matter can be settled without fighting; but if the Japanese want to occupy Beiping, we are all willing to fight. At that time, you will follow the big aunt, and we will stay in Peiping until we win the battle.I think we Chinese should be brave now, not afraid of anything, and determined in everything.

Eighth, as a child, the most important thing now is to have good health and study well, and nothing else matters.Now that I'm at the beach, I'll have fun.You know that your mother and father are safe in Peking, not afraid of war, let alone Japan.A few days later, there were two "sixths" in the original letter; Lin Huiyin obviously did not realize that a long-term war of resistance against Japan had actually begun.

If the matter is completely calmed down, I will come to Beidaihe to see you again. If it is not settled down, I will have to wait.Brother, Sangu will come to Beidaihe in two days. Your place must be very lively.

Ninth, please help me learn to swim more.If you can learn to swim, this trip to the beach will be more interesting.

Tenth, listen to your aunt.Tell her that her parents are very grateful to her for taking care of you and "gaining pounds" for you.The clothes and books you want will be sent.

mom
To Fairbank, Fei Weimei
一
Hearing a piece of music I knew as a little girl on the boat sailing home across the Indian Ocean—it was as if the moonlight, the dance performance, the tropical starry sky, and the sea breeze had all flooded into my soul again, and that little piece of so-called youth , like a brisk but short moment in a song, it strikes like a phantom, half sad, half glorious, but it just makes me feel at a loss.two
For three days my own mother literally drove me to hell on earth.This is not an exaggeration at all.On the first day, I found that my mother was a little weak, and there was an ominous atmosphere in the house.I had to talk deeply about the past with my half-brother in order to build a mutual understanding and keep the present close relationship alive.

It left me exhausted and hurt, and by the time I went to bed I wished I'd died or had never been born into a family like this... I know I'm actually a happy and lucky person, but the early family wars I have been so permanently scarred that any remnant of it would bring me back to my past doom.

three

Sicheng and I have spent hours sorting out old files and stuff.Along the trajectory of life, I have accumulated so many miscellaneous things!It is beyond words to express our sorrow as we look at the remains of the past, built on so many people and so much love, all of which are now under threat.Especially since we are wretchedly in an atmosphere of pessimism, with little future ahead... If our nation's calamity comes especially swiftly and violently, we can only respond in one way or another swiftly and aggressively.Of course there will be difficulties and pain, but we will not sit here with empty fists and be threatened with humiliation of our "face" at any moment.Four
Since the two of you came to us and injected me with new energy and a new perspective on life and the future in general, I have become younger, more lively and more alive.I myself am amazed and filled with gratitude every time I think back on everything I have done this winter.

As you know, I was brought up biculturally and it cannot be denied that bicultural contacts and activities were essential to me.Before the two of you really entered our lives at No. [-] (Beizongbu Hutong), I always felt that something was missing, something was missing, there was a spiritual poverty that needed nourishment, and your "blue letter" fully made up for it up to this point.On the other hand, my friends in Beijing are all older and more mature than me.They don't provide much fun, instead they always seek inspiration and something new from Sicheng and me.I often feel drained.

Those picnics, horseback rides (and a trip to Shanxi) this fall or early winter have changed my whole world.Just imagine if there is no such thing, how can I survive the tension, confusion and depression brought about by our nation's frequent crises?Riding a horse also has its symbolic meaning.Outside the Qihua Gate, which I always thought was the Japanese and their targets, now I can see rural alleys and vast fields in the dead of winter, strewn with slender silver branches, silent temples and people A bridge to cross occasionally with romantic pride.

五

In the first Japanese air raid on Changsha, our house was almost hit directly.The bomb fell just fifteen yards from the gate of our makeshift house, in which we lived in three rooms.At that time we—grandmother, two children, Sicheng and I were all at home.Both children are sick.Nobody knows how we weren't blown to pieces.

Hearing the hellish cracking sound and the first two explosions a little further away, we ran downstairs and our house fell apart.Instinctively, we each grabbed a child and ran for the stairs, but before we could get down, the nearest bomb went off.

It tossed me into the air with my little brother in its arms, and threw me to the ground unharmed.At the same time, the house began to rattle and rattle, and the windows, doors, partitions, roof, and ceiling all of which were covered with glass all collapsed and hit us head-on.We rushed out the side door into the smoky street.

As we were running towards the Union University dugout, another bomber dived.We stopped, thinking that we couldn't escape this time, and we would rather get closer, so as not to leave a few alive to bear the tragedy.The bomb didn't go off and landed on the other side of the street we were running.All of our stuff - which is running out now - was salvaged from glass shards.Right now we are renting here and there with friends.

Every night we went to find those old "Saturday friends" and visited everywhere, trying to find a little family warmth in the homes of those whose wives and children also came here to share the national disaster.Before the air raids, we still used to have dinner together, not in the restaurant, but admiring my own handicraft on a small stove, and we actually did everything in those three huts, which used to take up an entire building in Beizongbu Hutong number three.We exchanged lots of nostalgic laughs and sighs, but overall our mood wasn't bad.

We have decided to leave here and go to Yunnan... Our country is still not organized to the extent that we can be effective in the war, so that so far we are only a "war burden".That being the case, why not make room and go to a farther corner.Even that place (Kunming) will be bombed someday, but there is no better place to go right now.six
Once again, miraculously, we came to a house on the edge of the cliff, and let us go in for the night... After that, there was another episode after another about these broken cars, accidental breakdowns, smelly inns, and so on.Facing the magnificent scenery from time to time makes people feel more distressed than ever.Jade belt-like mountain streams, red leaves and whitish thatch in autumn mountains, floating white clouds, ancient chain bridges, ferries, and authentic small Chinese towns. This letter was written after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War. In November 1937, the Liang family moved south and temporarily lived in Changsha. period.

I really want to tell you one by one in detail, and if possible, also note my own special emotional reactions.

Seven

It was not until the morning of the third day that he took a slow train back to Kunming.We didn't sleep well the two nights he was missing, but seeing him again, with a slight injury to his jaw, was a great surprise.I learned the first-hand news and results of this air battle, but the whole city still doesn't know about it.

These eight boys had high morale, simple hearts, a direct and simple faith in our country and in this war, and they were all in enviable health.They are trained to use their skills without thinking and give their lives when needed.All of them were silent.

Somehow, they all attached to us with an innocent childishness.There was a deep affection between us.They come to see us or write to us as if they were part of their family.Many of them went to the front line, and some of them defended our lives in Kunming.One, I told you, played the violin very well and was very sweet.Recently decided to get married.Don't ask me what will happen to his girlfriend if he gets married and has an accident.We just can't answer these kinds of questions.

This letter is about the thoughts and feelings of Lin Huiyin's family after walking a section of the mountain road in the dark when Lin Huiyin's long-distance bus suddenly "broken down" on the top of the "1937 Plates", which is famous for being infested by bandits, in the middle of the night on December 12, 24.

The people mentioned in this letter are the pilots Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin met in Huang County. At this time, they had graduated from the aviation school and began to officially serve in the Air Force.One of the planes made an emergency landing on the Guangxi border during an air battle.

Eight

Although I am 27% sure that the Japanese devils will never drop bombs on this remote town of Lizhuang, the [-] planes that flew over our heads an hour ago still make my hair stand on end-there is a sense of being bombed at any time A strange fear.They flew upriver to bomb somewhere, possibly Yibin, and now they are back, still arrogant, flying over our heads with terrible roars and sinister intentions.I was about to say it made me sick, but then it occurred to me that I was already sick enough, and this was just making me sicker for a while, with the temperature rising and my heart beating uncomfortably fast... Right now, in any corner of China And no one is safe from war.Whether or not we are engaged in actual combat is inseparable from it.

Sicheng is a slow person, willing to do one thing at a time, and he is the worst at handling miscellaneous housework.But miscellaneous events rushed at him like trains of various lines that could arrive at Grand Central Station at any given time.I may still be the station master, but he is the station!I might get run over to death, but he never will.Lao Jin (who is here on vacation) is the kind of passer-by who either sees off or picks up people, disturbs the traffic slightly, but always makes the station more interesting and the stationmaster happier.

Jin Yuelin added:

In front of the station master and the station where he was typing, the passengers were at a loss as to what to say and what to do, apart from seeing trains passing by.I don't know how many times I've passed Grand Central, but I've never met the station master.But here I actually saw both the station and the station master.Otherwise I'd probably confuse the two.

Liang Sicheng wrote at the end of the letter:
Now it's the turn of the station: its main girder is seriously tilted due to poor construction, and the ugly steel bracket designed and constructed by Xiehe Hospital has been seriously worn out after seven years of service (Liang was injured in a car accident in his early years, and has been wearing the special steel support of Xiehe Hospital. waistcoat), the heavy wartime traffic passing below me seems to have shaken my foundations.Nine
Just because China is my motherland, I have seen it suffer in one way or another for a long time, and my heart is pierced like a knife.I too suffer with it.Over the years, I have endured great suffering.It is not at all easy for a person to go through one revolution after another in his life.Because of this, whenever I feel that someone is taking matters that involve the lives and deaths of millions of people lightly, I cannot forgive him in any way... As a "wounded man of war", I can't move freely, and my mood is sometimes irritable .I waited in bed for four years, looking forward to this "Victory Day".What happened next, I didn't think about it.I dare not think too much.Now, victory has really come, but there is also a civil war, a protracted war of attrition.I probably won't live to see the day of peace (or, I've been vaguely looking forward to it, so to speak).I died so anxious and irritable in the torment of the disease, it was really miserable.

Ten

(End of this chapter)