The Complete Works of Xu Zhimo's Classical Prose

Chapter 64 Appendix
Profile of Xu Zhimo

Xu Zhimo (1896-1931), a famous poet and essayist in modern my country.People from Haining, Zhejiang, Han nationality.Originally named Zhang, word Sen, changed his name to Zhimo when he was studying in the United States.Xu Zhimo is a representative poet of the Crescent School. He has used pen names such as: Nanhu, Shizhe, Haigu, Dabing, Yunzhonghe, Xianhe, Delete Wo, Xinshou, Erer, etc.He once studied in the United States to study banking, and later went to the United Kingdom to study political economics as a special student at the University of Cambridge in London.During his studies in Cambridge, he was deeply influenced by Western education and European and American romanticism and aesthetic poets.Xu Zhimo advocated the rhythm of new poetry and made important contributions to the development of Chinese new poetry.

He began to create new poems in 1921. He is an important initiator and participant of the New Moon Society, and one of the founders of the movement of rhythmic new poems.He once co-organized the weekly "Modern Review" and the quarterly "Poetry", served as a professor at Peking University, Guanghua University, Daxia University and Nanjing Central University, and the editor-in-chief of "Morning News Supplement" and "Poetry" in Beijing. In 1927, he participated in the founding of Crescent Bookstore.In the following year, the "New Moon" monthly magazine was founded and served as the editor-in-chief. In 1930, he served as a member of the China-UK Culture Fund Committee and was elected as a member of the British Poetry Society. In 1931, he was elected as the director of PEN China Branch.On November 11 of the same year, he took a China Airlines "Jinan" postal plane from Nanjing to the north. Due to fog, the plane touched a mountain near Jinan, and Zhimo died. He was only 19 years old when he died.

Xu Zhimo pursued "love", "freedom" and "beauty" all his life. Although his life was short, he made immeasurable contributions to world literature and Chinese literature.His fresh and beautiful poetic style had a huge and profound influence on later generations.

Chronology of Xu Zhimo

[1896]

Born on January 1 in a wealthy businessman's family in Xiashi Town, Haining County, Zhejiang Province, his father is Xu Shenru, the chairman of the Xiashi Chamber of Commerce, known as the "Kip Rock Giant".

[1900]

Entered the family school to study with Sun Yinxuan.

[1907]

Entered Kaizhi School in Xiashi Town to study.

[1909]

In winter, he graduated from Kaizhi Academy.

[1910]

In the spring, he entered Hangzhou Fu No. [-] Middle School to study. Among his classmates were Yu Dafu and others.

[1913]

In the spring, Hangzhou Fu No. 7 Middle School was renamed Hangzhou No. 1 Middle School.In July of that year, "On the Relationship between Fiction and Society" was published in the first issue of the school magazine "Friends Voice".

[1914]

In May, the poem "Walking Li Renlian" was published in the second issue of "Friends Voice".

[1915]

Graduated from Hangzhou No. [-] Middle School and was admitted to Shanghai Hujiang University.

On December 12, following the arrangement of her parents, she gave up her studies at Hujiang University and returned to Xiashi to marry Zhang Youyi.After marriage, he transferred to Shanghai Baptist College to study.

[1916]

Spring, dropped out of Shanghai Baptist College.In the autumn of the same year, he transferred to the National Beiyang University (today's Tianjin University) law preparatory course.

[1917]

The law department of Beiyang University was merged into Peking University. After completing the preparatory studies, Zhimo entered Peking University to study law and political science.

[1918]

On April 4, Xu Zhimo's eldest son was born in Xiashi. He was named Jikai, with the character Rusun and his nickname Ahuan.

In June, introduced by Zhang Junmai, he studied under Liang Qichao.

On August 8, I took the Nanjing ship and went to study in the United States from Shanghai.

In September, he entered the history department of Clark University in the United States to study.

[1919]

In June, graduated from Clark University and won the first-class honor award of Clark University.

In September, he began to study for a master's degree in economics at Columbia University.

[1920]

In September, he completed his graduation thesis "On the Status of Women in China" at Columbia University and obtained a master's degree.

On September 9, he left the United States and rushed to the United Kingdom via Paris.

In October, he entered the University of London to study for a doctorate degree in the School of Political Economy, and met the British writer Wells, and his interest in literature became stronger.

[1921]

In March, his wife Zhang Youyi, who was far away in China, came to the UK, and Zhimo and his wife got together.

Soon, under the recommendation of Dickinson, he was transferred to Royal College of Cambridge University as a special student, and he had already started to write new poems at this time.

In August, Zhang Youyi became pregnant again, and Xu Zhimo asked her to have an abortion.The two disagreed, and Xu Zhimo filed for divorce from Zhang Youyi.

In October, Lin Huiyin's father and Xu Zhimo left without saying goodbye, and left London to return to China.

At the end of October, I met Russell, whom I had admired for a long time.

In autumn, Zhang Youyi left Xu Zhimo and went to Paris to join her second brother Zhang Junmai.

[1922]

In January, Zhang Youyi left Paris to join her seventh brother in Berlin.

On February 2, Xu Zhimo's second son was born in Berlin, named Desheng and nicknamed Peter.

At the end of March, Xu Zhimo arrived in Berlin, where Wu Jingxiong and Jin Yuelin testified and divorced Zhang Youyi.

In August, he departed from Cambridge University and returned to China.

On October 10, he arrived in Shanghai on the ship "Mishima Maru".

On November 11, "Xu Zhimo, Zhang Youyi's Divorce Notice" and the new poem "Laughing to Solve Troubled Knots" were published in "New Zhejiang · New Friends".

[1923]

Initiated the establishment of the "Crescent Society", and at the same time worked as the English secretary in the Songpo Library in Beijing.

On August 8, his grandmother who lived in Xiashi, his hometown, passed away, and Xu Zhimo went back to attend the funeral.

[1924]

In January, Peking University officially hired Xu Zhimo as a professor of the English Department.

On April 4, at the invitation of the Beijing Lecture Society, Tagore visited China.When Tagore arrived in Shanghai, Xu Zhimo went to greet him on behalf of the northern academic circles and served as Tagore's translator.

On April 4, Xu Zhimo accompanied Tagore from Shanghai to Beijing.

On May 5, Xu Zhimo accompanied Tagore to Taiyuan and other places.

In July, Xu Zhimo bid farewell to Tagore in Hong Kong.

In November, Shanghai Commercial Press published "Manshu Feier" jointly translated by Xu Zhimo and Chen Yuan.

In December, the "Modern Review" weekly was founded in Beijing and was the main contributor.

Dong, met Lu Xiaoman.

[1925]

On March 3, at the invitation of Enhou, Xu Zhimo set off from Beijing, passed through the Soviet Union, and went to Europe to meet Tagore.

On March 3, the second son Desheng died of illness.A week later, Zhimo rushed to Berlin to visit Zhang Youyi.

In July, he went back to China to visit the sick Lu Xiaoman.

In August, the first collection of poems "Zhimo's Poems" was published by Zhonghua Book Company.

At the beginning of September, Lu Xiaoman was forced to follow his parents and went south to Shanghai to meet Wang Geng.Xu Zhimo also arrived later and stayed at Jiang Baili's house with his parents.

At the end of September, feeling hopeless about the matter with Lu Xiaoman, he returned to Beijing disappointed.

On October 10, he took over the post of editor-in-chief of "Morning News Supplement".

On October 10, Lu Xiaoman rushed to Beijing immediately after the divorce, and found Xu Zhimo after seeing Xu Zhimo's poems in the "Morning News Supplement".

[1926]

In June, the collection of essays "Falling Leaves" was published by Beijing Beixin Book Company.

On August 8, an engagement ceremony was held with Lu Xiaoman in Beihai.

On October 10, with Liang Qichao as the witness and Hu Shi as the introducer, they married Lu Xiaoman in Beihai.

On October 10, he went south to Shanghai, planning to follow his father's order to move to the newly completed new house in Kip Shek.

In December, because of avoiding the war, he and Lu Xiaoman moved back to live in Shanghai from Xiashi.

On December 12, he gave Lu Xiaoman the book "Manshufeier's Diary" as a New Year's gift, and wrote an inscription on the book: "A book produced by pure spirit and for pure spirit."

[1927]

In April, Beixin Book Company published the translated work "British Manshfield Fiction Collection".

On July 7, he founded Xinyue Bookstore with Hu Shi, Yu Shangyuan and others.

In August, he served as a professor of Shanghai Guanghua University and a professor of Soochow University College.At the same time, the collection of essays "The Scales and Claws of Paris" was published in Shanghai Crescent Bookstore.

In September, Shanghai Xinyue Bookstore published a collection of poems "A Night in Emerald and Green".

[1928]

In January, the collection of essays "Self-Dissection" was published by Shanghai Crescent Bookstore.

On March 3, Xu Zhimo became the editor-in-chief, and "New Moon" magazine was launched.

On June 6th, feeling unsatisfactory in her married life, she traveled abroad at the invitation of En Houzhi, and went to Japan, the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and India successively.

In August, the revised "Zhimo's Poems" was published by Shanghai Crescent Bookstore.

In November, after returning to China, the most famous masterpiece "Farewell to Cambridge" came out.

[1929]

In January, he served as a professor of the English Department of Shanghai Guanghua University and Nanjing Central University, and also served as the chapter editor of Zhonghua Book Company.

Autumn, this lecture on "Autumn" at Jinan University in Shanghai was later published by Zhao Jiabi Jiaoliangyou Book Company.

[1930]

In April, the novel collection "Roulette" was published by Zhonghua Book Company.

In August, he resigned as a professor at Central University.

In December, there was a student riot at Guanghua University, and he resigned and left.

In winter, he served as a member of the Sino-British Cultural Foundation.

[1931]

In January, he co-founded the quarterly "Poetry Magazine" with Chen Mengjia and Fang Weide, and served as the editor-in-chief.

In February, at the invitation of Hu Shizhi, he left Shanghai to work as a professor in the English Department of Peking University and concurrently as a professor at Beijing Women's University.

On April 4, my mother passed away and returned to Xiashi for the funeral.

In August, the collection of poems "Tiger Collection" was published by Crescent Bookstore.

On November 11, he took the "Jinan" postal plane from Nanjing to Beiping, and when he arrived near Jinan, the plane hit a mountain and crashed. He was killed and died at the age of 19.

(End of this chapter)