What kind of person is Xu Zhimo?

Xu Zhimo, this talented poet who is as imaginative as his imagination; this poet who has been active in the literary world for only ten years and has left many magnificent fruits that will never be forgotten; this person with a particularly kind-hearted temperament, everywhere he goes , people were attracted, cemented, and condensed together by him, like a great magnet. In November of the 20th year of the Republic of China, his plane crashed and he died at the peak of the southern peak of Mount Tai. He was only 36 years old. age.

When the bad news of the poet came out, people all over the country were shocked. His friends cried bitterly, as if they had lost a loved one, needless to say; even those who had only read some of the poet's works but had never met him were so sad that they couldn't help crying. It is rare that a person's death can cause such a significant reaction. Although it is not as widespread and long-lasting as the mourning for the death of Mr. Hu Shizhi in 1951, there is still a poignant emotion in our hearts, as if we regret that a wonderful flower in full bloom was suddenly destroyed by a storm, a shining pearl. , suddenly sank into the blue sea, never to be seen again.

I remember that not long after I was admitted to the National Wuhan University, my friend Professor Yuan Lanzi, who had been friends with the poet for many years, wrote a eulogy with great sadness. I also wrote an article in which I compared this talented poet to Shelley, Byron, and Keats. I also used the words of a foreign poet to say that Xu Zhimo, a poetic philosopher, was like a brilliant rainbow in the sky when he was alive. , death is like a spring thunder on the ground.

However, I don’t know the poet as well as Yuan Lanzi. I didn't know Shi Zhe well. When he was alive, I only met him twice and never exchanged a word with him. In the 14th year of the Republic of China, I developed a friendship with Yuan Lanzi in Shanghai, and occasionally met some of the friends Lanzi made while studying in England at her home. I remember one time, those classmates who studied in England had a banquet in a high-end hotel. Among them was the poet Xu Zhimo. Lanzi invited me to pay my respects. That night I got to know the true face of the poet I had admired for a long time. His appearance is probably very similar to what Mr. Liang Shiqiu described; his body is slender, his face is also long, his forehead is high and wide, his skin is fair, his nose is quite big, and his mouth is slightly wider, but when combined together, it looks unusual harmonious. Those big, bright eyes seemed to be covered with a hazy mist, always carrying a confused and trance-like look. These are exactly the eyes of a poet. Although the poet lives in this earthly world, his soul lives in a dreamland or a glorious world that we never know, so so be it.

The poet was endowed with extremely high literary talents, coupled with such an unpretentious appearance, countless girls fell in love with him and regarded him as the highest possible mate. I remember that Ms. Chen Jianwu, a female classmate of the Normal University, regarded herself as the highest and had very demanding marriage requirements. Her friend who was rejected as a matchmaker for her often said angrily to her: "Do you think you need a man like Xu Zhimo to be satisfied? But there is only one Xu Zhimo. There are countless girls who admire him, and I heard that he already has someone he likes. I think you will have to live as a "girl" in the future. Don't regret it then. 1 This was said in the 13th year of the Republic of China, when I was still in In Lyon, France, Kengo came to France to study. He told me personally that we laughed a lot. In the 11th or 2nd year of the Republic of China, Zhimo returned to China and taught at Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Mining University. He also edited the Morning Post supplement and published Many of his poems were well-known. The Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore came to China to give lectures, and he was his translator. He appeared all over the country and became famous. Although he had divorced his first wife, Ms. Zhang Youyi, he had not yet begun to pursue Lu Xiaoman. Perhaps even though he has pursued her, his traces have not yet been revealed, so this beautiful man in the new poetry world has become the "popular lover" of the girls in Peiping. Reading Liang Shiqiu's "Talking about Xu Zhimo", it turns out that there is a certain lady in Zhimo's autographed letter to Shiqiu. Because of this poet, unrequited love became a disease, and the poet almost left the soul of a beautiful woman. The poet thanked him by saying, "A lady is so passionate that you are already married." This shows how powerful his magic power was at that time. The second time I met the poet was at a girls' middle school in Suzhou. The principal, Ms. Chen Shu, had a close relationship with Zhimo and invited him to give a lecture at the school. I was teaching at Soochow University and Jinghai Women's Normal University in Suzhou at the time. Principal Chen made an appointment with me in advance. Go and listen. I remember that it was extremely cold that day. The poet wore a gray silk cotton robe, a dark gray coat, and wide-rimmed glasses. He was elegant and had the air of a jade tree standing in the wind. I heard that the poet had a habit of giving speeches. He held a speech and read it in public. Ordinary people don't know how to give a speech, so they just follow the script. However, the poet said that he was imitating the method of Oxford University. The topic of his speech that day has been forgotten for many years, and it is not within the scope of literature.

When the poet read the speech, there was a special tone, like a piece of music with a very beautiful melody, neither fast nor slow, Cong? p>

I remember that Mr. Hu Shizhi was also good at giving lectures. According to him, he had really worked hard on this. I think Xu Zhimo has probably tried hard to figure out the principles of singing, otherwise he would not have such outstanding performance. In recent years, I have also participated in several literary and art seminars or poetry readings, which must be held at night. In the middle of the speech, the lights were suddenly turned off, and the whole place was darkened. Then dim candlelight was lit. When the writer was reading, he would play the piano from time to time, and several girls would sing beside him. The writer performed passionately, rubbing his hands and feet from time to time, and frequently wiping away tears with a towel. I heard this is called "the totality of art". In fact, if a speaker is really eloquent, there will be no need for all these tricks.

Zhimo divorced his first wife Zhang Youyi and married the married woman Lu Xiaoman. Although it is commonplace today, it was an unusual event in the 15th or 16th years of the Republic of China. The older generation hates them deeply, and not all young people agree with them. I heard that when Zhimo and Xiaoman held their wedding in Peking, they asked his teacher, Mr. Liang Qichao, to witness the wedding, but the teacher gave them a severe lesson in front of the public. Ren Gong wrote a letter to his daughter Lingxian afterward, showing kindness and pity for his beloved disciple Xu Zhimo, but treating Xiao Man as a "disaster" and a "temptress". You see what he said: "I think he (referring to Zhimo) found such a person as a partner, and was afraid that he would suffer even more unlimited pain in the future, so he gave that person (referring to Xiaoman) a blow on the head to avoid killing Zhimo in the future. ." He also said that he loved Zhimo and was afraid that he would be destroyed, so he wanted to help him. Ren Gong also said that Xiaoman's divorce and remarriage were "the most immoral." (See the first draft of Liang Renggong's chronicle)

Later, Xu Zhimo died in a plane crash at the peak of Mount Tai. Everyone felt sorry for him, but also Blame this incident on Lu Xiaoman. According to various legends I heard: Xiao Man was originally a wealthy lady. After marrying her first husband Wang Geng, she became a famous social butterfly in Peiping and spent money like water. After marrying Zhimo, she was advised to smoke a few tubes of opium because of her heartbeat and dizziness, which would cause her to faint every time. She got better after a while, but over time she became addicted. Moreover, while dancing, drinking, singing, and going to big companies to buy things, they still don’t know how to be frugal with money. In order to honor this beloved wife, Zhimo not only taught at Shanghai Guanghua University, but also wrote poetry and translated Western classics. It is said that he earned about a thousand yuan in one month. (See Liang Shiqiu's talk about Zhimo, quoted from Lei'an's article about Xu Lu published in the supplement of "United Daily News") One thousand yuan, at that time, was more than three times the monthly income of three university professors. To buy rice, Considering the price of rice at that time, the best white rice was only six yuan more per load, and one thousand yuan could buy one hundred, fifty or sixty loads, so I thought this number might be inaccurate. However, if their monthly household expenses exceed 400 to 500 yuan, it will not be easy for them to afford it. Mr. Hu Shi once said in his article "In Memory of Zhimo" that Zhimo's life in recent years was a failure by his own admission. He also said that he has a poem "Life", which compares life to the cold, sticky, dark and long narrow tunnel composed of the entrails of poisonous snakes. After you fall into it, you have no way out except struggling and groping forward. The mood at that time was just as Mr. Hu said, "dark and terrible."

Mr. Shizhi had already left Shanghai to work as the dean of Peking University’s School of Liberal Arts in Peking, so he advised Zhimo to go to Peking University to do some homework part-time to get a change of air, and at the same time, it would also help his finances. I received my salary at the end of the month and it was delivered to my home in Shanghai. Because his friend worked for an airline company, he gave him a long-term free ticket, but who knew it cost him his precious life. If he hadn't been too tired for his family, he wouldn't have traveled north and south like this, and he wouldn't have had that plane disaster. The reason why his family is so tired is because of Lu Xiaoman's extravagant spending. Fortunately, Mr. Liang Baigong has returned to Daoshan for a long time. Otherwise, wouldn't the old man think that "unfortunate words are right"? Lu Xiaoman and I had met once before, when war was approaching Wuhan in the 38th year of the Republic of China. I took refuge in Shanghai, and the female writer Zhao Qingge introduced me to meet Xiaoman. She was living in Weng Ruiwu's house at that time. After Zhimo's death, Xiaoman was left homeless and relied on Ruiwu for a living. I don’t know if Weng Ruiwu has a wife or children. In short, Xiaoman lives in his home, and a cohabitation relationship is inevitable. Xiaoman has been ill for many years, and Yan saw us on the sickbed as well. I remember that her complexion was pale and bluish, her hair was disheveled, her teeth were all missing and she did not have another set, and her gums were black, which showed that she was deeply addicted to drugs.

However, despite his haggard appearance, the old charm is still there, and he greeted us with a gentle and polite manner. Weng Ruiwu stood in front of her bed, asking for tea and water frequently, like a seed of infatuation. I heard that Ruiwu came from a noble family and had a rich collection of antiques, famous paintings and calligraphy. He would sell some of them to make money. He also did some black market business, so he could not only afford Xiaoman's medicine and diet, but also pay a fee for her. A heavy opium tax.

In 1937, Zhao Qingge compiled an "Untitled Collection", which included articles by contemporary female writers, five or six years before Ms. Zhang Shuhan compiled "Haiyan Collection". The "Untitled Collection" contains my article "Remembering a Ridiculous Fantasy During the Anti-Japanese War" (now included in "Guihong Collection" published by Changliu Publishing House). I also collected a novel "Royal Hotel" by Xiao Man, which is about 20,000 words. At that time, the general criticism was that "the description is delicate and the techniques are novel." I also thought it was very good after reading it. I felt that this person had considerable literary talent. A slim and beautiful young woman like Lu Xiaoman is proficient in English and French, can perform Kunqu opera on stage, and can paint landscapes and flowers. It can be said that she is a versatile person with a beautiful face and a beautiful heart. How can anyone not love her? It is necessary to destroy the barriers of Chinese customs and ethics because of love, it is inevitable, and it is natural; it is also somewhat forgivable.

Xiaoman later published "Ai Mei Xiaozha", which I saw after arriving in Taiwan. Among them are love letters from Zhimo and Xiaoman. Although Xiaoman's writing seems to have little foundation in old literature, it is clear, natural and unique. Although she lives with Weng Ruiwu in a living relationship, she still misses Zhimo. When Qingge and I went to visit her, we saw a photo of Zhimo's death on her table, and a small vase of flowers in front of it. She wanted to publish a complete collection of Shimo's works, and many bookstores were willing to publish them for her. However, Shima still has a large number of unpublished works and diaries that are trapped in the hands of a certain few people, and they refuse to return them no matter what, so that the issue of releasing the complete collection is a failure. In the past few years, I heard that Xiaoman also died of illness in Shanghai, and the printing of the complete works is of course even more distant.

Now, with the efforts of Zhimo’s cousin Mr. Jiang Fucong and his old friend Mr. Liang Shiqiu, the complete works of Zhimo will soon be released by the Biography and Literature Society. This is really great news for the literary and art world. But I don’t know if the documents that were held in people’s hands have ever been returned to Upu Zhu. If not, it will still be a shortcoming. I don’t know why Zhimo’s works fell into other people’s hands. Why do people insist on not paying it back? If those works still exist, they will be published in the future, and the person who compiled the complete works of Zhimo will be fine with a "supplement". I am afraid that most of the poems of the genius Li Changji recorded in "Youxian Advocacy" will be hated by him. It would be a shame and a pity if so many people throw themselves into the toilet!

Now let’s talk about Shima’s works. Zhimo's first collection of poems, titled "Zhimo's Poems", was published in the summer of the 14th year of the Republic of China. I had just returned to China from Lyon, France. I read the newspaper and saw that this book was published by Zhonghua Book Company, so I wrote to buy a copy. It was a publication in the form of a Chinese book. The front and back covers are dark blue, bound with silk thread, and have the four words "Shimo's poem" embossed on white paper, presumably written by Shimo himself. The inner pages are made of high-quality serial paper, and the printed characters are in Song Dynasty style, which is quaint and elegant, and very cute. When I was in France, I often borrowed new domestic literature books from my classmates, and the morning newspaper supplements were often in my reading list. Some of Zhimo's poems, such as "The Cambridge I Know", have been read overseas for a long time. It is of course a pleasure to read all his works now. Unfortunately, this collection of poems was borrowed soon after, and when I asked for it back, the excuse was lost, so I apologized and settled the matter. In the 17th year of the Republic of China, this book was reissued by Crescent Bookstore and changed into a Western-style version. Many of the poems in it were also deleted. Thinking of the antique version still makes me nostalgic. Later he published several poetry collections such as "A Night in the Emerald Green", "Collection of Fierce Tigers", and "Wandering in the Clouds", all of which I have purchased. When the school entered Sichuan during the Anti-Japanese War, many books could not be taken with them, so they had to be stored somewhere. Eight years later, they returned to the original place where they had been sent. Several boxes were full of termites, and of course not a single word of Zhimo's collection remained.

“Xu Zhimo single-handedly laid the foundation of the new poetry world. The person who spoke was a good friend of Zhimo, but this sentence was often spoken by the opponents. Of course, these opponents were the so-called left-wing literati. So what was originally a heartfelt compliment turned into malicious ridicule. What they meant was: Well, a poet like Xu Zhimo had no status in the poetry world, but now it is said that he laid the foundation of the poetry world. Isn't it a big mistake? Is it funny? However, if we get rid of any prejudice and review Zhimo's contribution to the new poetry world, we will admit that this sentence is not an excessive compliment.

The three most prominent authors of new poems after the May 4th Movement were Hu Shizhi, Xie Bingxin and Guo Moruo. Mr. Hu is a person who "cannot be a teacher". His collection of poems is called "Attempt". He just wants to open up a path for new poetry and guide people into that garden. He does not want to be the master of that garden. Moreover, poetry is a thing, and "emotion", "fantasy", etc. are the only elements. A cool-headed and overly rational philosopher like Mr. Hu is not qualified to be a poet. Bing Xin was deeply influenced by Rabindranath Tagore from India. Her two collections of poems, "Spring Water" and "Stars", incorporated philosophy into the poems and the syntax was clear, meaningful and lovely. No wonder they became popular after they were published, but she could only write short poems with a dozen words each. , and it is one piece, never changes, and the approach is too narrow. Guo Moruo's "The Goddess" is devoted to imitating the West, and not only does it use Western vocabulary, but it is also filled with foreign characters between the lines, and the paper is full of kites, which are neither donkeys nor horses. Moreover, most of his poems are free verse, claiming to be heroic, but in fact they are too rough. As for those poets below the second rate, such as Yu Pingbo, Kang Baiqing, Wang Jingzhi, Cheng Fangwu, Wang Duqing, Qian Xingcun... Although they worked hard to write poems, they were not as good as What an impressive achievement. It was not until the 11th or 2nd year of the Republic of China that Xu Zhimo returned from England and published "See You Again at Cambridge" and "Ei Mansfield". Their majestic momentum, extravagant imagination, graceful mood, and gorgeous rhetoric not only made him famous It surpassed the ordinary poems at that time, and the genre was completely new. It is neither like "The Trial Collection" which sticks to the old poetry style, nor is it like "The Goddess" which plagiarizes the remnants of Whitman (Whitman, 1819-1892, an American poet who advocated free style), leading to a rash break that cannot be resounding. Now, of course this will arouse everyone's surprise, and give rise to the feeling that new Chinese poetry is truly born today. It is true to say that "Xu Zhimo single-handedly laid the foundation of the new poetry world."

The genres of Zhimo's poems changed frequently and rapidly. A poem he publishes today is a format, and tomorrow It's another kind of thing, and it will become another kind of thing in the future. You can't imitate him anymore, so I once joked that others walk on two feet, but he flies with wings. According to his friend Chen Xiying, he flew. The system of the first collection of poems, "Zhimo's Poems", has been compiled into statistics: "prose poetry", "free verse", "blank verse", "parallel verse rhyme", "odd and even rhyme", " "Zhang rhyme style" and so on. (The so-called "parallel verse rhyme" and "odd and even" here are all rhymes used in Western poetry, which are different from the parallel verse parallelism in old Chinese poetry.)

Zhimo later became the New Moon Poetry The pillar of the school. Although he also wrote prose poems and free verse before, he later advocated that new poems should have rhythm. People laughed at them and said that they were dried tofu, so they called them "square poems"; they also said that new poems should follow strict rhythms Having been liberated from the old poetic style and gained freedom, what about rhythm now? Aren’t we putting shackles on ourselves again? The Crescent Party replied: “We are just about to dance with shackles on.

Only if you can dance well while wearing shackles can you show your ability as a poet 1

I am also very happy with Zhimo's prose. The first collection of essays, "Autopsy", contains many good articles that you will never tire of reading. I also owned "Falling Leaves", "Roulette", and "Paris Claws". Unfortunately, like Shima's poetry collections, they were fed to those hateful blind insects!

Zhimo is an expert at writing prose. I once said: The cautious attitude in writing new poetry began with Wen Yiduo, and the cautious attitude in writing prose began with Xu Zhimo. Zhimo said in the preface to "Roulette Collection": "I dare say that I am indeed a person who is willing to write articles as articles." He also proposed that Western essayists such as G. Moor; W. H. The works of Hudson and others said: "This is the article. The article should be written like this, with perfect words and perfect artistic conception. Gao Yilieqi said that poetry is 'BestWordsinbestorder', but such prose is not 'BestWordsinbestorder' '. They make prose an independent art. They are magicians. In their writing, no word is alive. They can turn the ancient words into fresh, vulgar and elegant." This can be said to be Zhimo's self-praise.

I heard that Zhimo's only drama collection "Bian Kungang" was co-written with Lu Xiaoman. It is said that although the structure of the whole play was written by Zhimo, the outline of the story was written by Xiao Man. The Mandarin dialogue is also attributed to Xiao Man, so this play is the product of his and his wife's cooperation. According to Yu Shangyuan's criticism, this play is full of Italian dramatic atmosphere.

He said: "From modern Italian drama, we can see the close relationship between poetry and drama. We can see that they can understand the mystery of life and express it like a flame...Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the author is afraid that It is inevitable to have the influence of "Dead City" and "Mirage"... In fact, Zhimeng is essentially a poet, which is also revealed everywhere in "Bian Kun Gang". Let's look at the neatness of its words, the naturalness of its syllables, and the It has rich imagination, just look at the choice of characters..."

However, I admit that I am imbecile in drama, and I really don't know how to appreciate the drama "Bian Kun Gang". The reason is that poets should not put poetry into the mouth of vulgar people everywhere. For example, the protagonist Bian Kungang in the play is a stonemason and Lao Zhou is a blind fortune teller, but what they say is actually poetic and philosophical. Even senior intellectuals cannot express it. Only Zhimo himself can be a poet. Isn't this too unnatural?

The poet died in a tragic accident at the age of 36, which was a great loss to the literary and art world. But his early death was not a personal misfortune, because people's pity and condolences for him would be deepened because of it. The day before yesterday, I read an article entitled "Death in infancy". Poets who died young, such as Shelley and Byron, will always be young shadows in people's memory. The feeling of condolences is naturally different from that of their counterparts who have chipped teeth. I think this is quite reasonable. Moreover, "good things in the world are not firm, and colorful clouds are easy to scatter and glass is brittle." It is difficult for a talented poet to stay in this mortal world for a long time. The flash of light he left behind will shine on people's hearts forever. I remember that the poet once wrote a poem like this:

I am a cloud in the sky, occasionally projected in the center of your waves - you don’t have to be surprised,

There is no need to be happy,

The traces disappeared in an instant.

You and I meet on the dark sea, you have yours, and I have my direction; you may remember it,

It is best that you forget it,

The light that shines upon each other during this encounter!