Neishan Bookstore and Lu Xun's Japanese Friends Circle

Lu Xun had an indissoluble bond with Japan all his life. From the time I went to Japan at the age of 2/kloc-0 to my death at the age of 56, my contact with the Japanese was basically unbroken. According to the textual research of scholar Mr. Wang Xirong, there is not a year in which the Diary of Twenty-four Years does not mention the communication with the Japanese. There are only 209 Japanese people who have been in contact for a lifetime. The record of the last two days of Lu Xun's life may be the best footnote of his relationship with Japan:

Lu Xun and Yamamoto Ishihiko, President of Uchiyama Completion and Reconstruction Society, took a group photo at Shanghai Xinyue Pavilion (1936 February 1 1).

That is to say, at the end of Lu Xun's life and in the first time after his death, besides his wife and children, there were several Japanese people waiting for him. This fact reveals a kind of nervousness. In this regard, Japanese scholar Ito Tiger Maru said:

Perhaps these are trivial things, but it happened when Japan's war of aggression against China had begun and it was only a matter of time before all-out war broke out. 193 1 year, the manchurian incident happened. 1932, the first Shanghai incident happened again. At that time, China people's feelings for Japan had deteriorated extremely, and attacks on Japanese people in Shanghai were also common. (Ito Tiger Pill "Lu Xun and the Japanese")

1933 In the early summer, Lu Xun and Neishan finished filming and took photos in front of Neishan's apartment.

Lu Xun's circle of friends is quite contrary to reality at first glance, and the later it is, the more inappropriate it is. But no one's circle of friends was built overnight and wishful thinking. Lu Xun's circle of friends is not only the reflection of the writer's life transformation and personality tempering from youth to old age, but also the result of various causes and waves in the great era, which objectively reflects the changes of Sino-Japanese relations in the first 30 years of the twentieth century.

one

From the period of studying abroad (1902- 1909) to Shaoxing and Hangzhou (195438+09 12), Lu Xun's circle of friends mainly came from China, and most of his limited Japanese was teachers and colleagues, so he could not talk about Japanese friends in the real social sense. It is worth mentioning that in April of 1908, Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, Xu Shoushang and other towns moved to No.7, Luzi, Shifandi, Xipian Town. Because five people live together, they are named "Five Societies". The original tenant of that house turned out to be Natsume Soseki, which became the initial "contact point" between Lu Xun and Soseki. During their stay in Wushe Renju, the five of them jointly hired a helper's daughter named Yutai Yoko, who later became Zhou Zuoren's wife. But Lu Xun lived in * * * for half a year, and then returned to China. As soon as Lu Xun withdrew, Wu She dispersed.

During the Xia Guang period (1926- 1927), Lu Xun kept in touch with Japanese friends except Yan Guwen and Xin Daoxiao. At present, it seems that the only thing that can be determined is Masayoshi Yamayama. Yamayama is a reporter for Japan's Yonhap News Agency. At that time, he was translating The True Story of Ah Q, which was "quite difficult to translate", so he asked Lu Xun face to face. "During the conversation, Lu Xun said that he hadn't eaten Japanese cakes for a long time, so they went to a Japanese shop in Shamian and ate and talked under an old banyan tree by the Pearl River." (Wang Xirong)

Lu Xun's circle of friends in Japan expanded rapidly during his stay in Shanghai (1927- 1936), which was also the last nine years of Lu Xun's life, which coincided with the tense and stormy period in the history of Sino-Japanese relations. The biggest media that led to the blowout of Lu Xun's circle of friends in Japan was Neishan Bookstore. After Fu Zi this year, I said at a publishing event that the most famous reader of Neishan Bookstore was Lu Xun, who regarded the bookstore as his living room and convenience store. Needless to say, in the living room, Lu Xun is the protagonist of Neishan's famous "ramble meeting", and even has exclusive seats. One of the functions of Japanese convenience stores is to pay various public service fees. Although there was no title of "convenience store" at that time, in terms of function, Neishan Bookstore did assume a similar role. According to some data, sometimes even the rent, water, electricity and coal fees of Lu Xun's apartment are paid by Neishan Bookstore and then written off from the book.

Huajia Town translated by Liu Ning, Kyushu Publishing House, 202 1 edition.

Neishan Bookstore, located in northern Sichuan.

two

According to statistics, among the Japanese friends made by Lu Xun, Neishan introduced more than 160 people. In Shanghai in the twenties and thirties of last century, Neishan Bookstore was such a place: some didn't, and cultural people would take a dip when they were free. There may be no clear purpose. Finding a favorite book is a kind of gain. It's not a pleasant thing to meet someone before, and sometimes you can even have both. Lu Xun's Diary 1928 February 23rd:

In the evening, I went to Neishan Bookstore to buy a book "Literary Revolution" ... I met Yan Gujie Mountain, and gave me a book "The Story of the Three Kingdoms", five plays by The Journey to the West, "The New Way Xiaojun" and 74 novels, songs and movies, as well as a book "The Legend of Tang and Song Dynasties".

Kazuo Uchiyama (1885- 1959)

1932 65438+ 10, and the "1.28" incident brought about a sudden change in Lu Xun's life, which was the closest experience to the war in the writer's life. At that time, Lu Xun had moved to Ramos apartment, and in front of him was the Japanese Marine Corps Command. Lu Zhai "suddenly met the line of fire, the blood blade blocked the road, and the flying pill entered the room. It was really a matter of life." On the morning of the incident, Neishan sent a message to Lu Xun that someone had shot at the headquarters from the apartment building. In order to avoid suspicion, Lu Xun's family was asked to move to a bookstore for temporary shelter. So, "I squatted upstairs in the bookstore for a while" and stayed for a week. It was not until February 6 that the writer "tried to find a way in Neishan" and "took women and children into the British Concession" and set up a branch of Neishan Bookstore. When it rains all night, the house will leak. "During drifting, Yinghai suddenly got a rash." This is the third time that Lu Xun took refuge in Shanghai, and it is also the longest time, which lasted 49 days. March 19, "I went back to my old apartment in the morning. In the afternoon, I visited Mr. Lian Tian and presented two cans of beef and a bottle of whisky. " (Lu Xun's Diary 1932 March 19) Lu Xun's gratitude to Lian Tian's brothers is revealed not only in his diary, but also in the postscript of his essays. The composition of Lu Xun's circle of friends in Japan is eclectic. In fact, I personally value the friendship between writers and ordinary people other than literati like Lian Tian Brothers, and I think we can see the true nature of people better from it-this is another story.

three

The "1.28" movement was a turning point in Lu Xun's Shanghai era. Since then, I have entered my twilight years, and my mentality has changed a lot. The situation at home and abroad is becoming more and more complicated, the white terror is getting worse, and the future of Sino-Japanese relations is worrying. There are constant internal struggles in the left-wing cultural circles, and some progressive literary and artistic leaders are also biased against Lu Xun. At the same time, some tabloids poured dirty water, slandered Tomoshi Uchiyama as a "Japanese spy" and even said that Lu Xun was suspected of being a traitor. In this regard, on the one hand, Lu Xun sternly refuted and defended his friends, but he also began to breed some sense of burnout. In this case, more and more Japanese people feel like lovers. 1in June, 935, Mori Yoshiro, the leader of the oriental literary world, came to Shanghai and met Lu Xun at the invitation banquet in Neishan. They talked a lot. After returning home, Chang Ke published an interview in the newspaper, describing Lu Xun as gloomy, saying that he "saw a gorgeous camphor coffin on the road and suddenly had the idea of lying in it". This is completely out of context, which makes Lu Xun very helpless.

When Lu Xun took refuge in Qianaili, he took a group photo with his Japanese friends (first from left).

The communication gap with Japanese writers is getting deeper and deeper, so that Lu Xun "finds it difficult to communicate the opinions between Japanese writers and China writers for the time being. First, the situation is different from life. " The conclusion is: "It's better to stop for a meeting with (Japanese) celebrities." But even so, the face of Neishan boss can't be ignored. I still have to introduce it when I come out. However, the mood is not as good as before. 1936 In May, Lu Xun met Saneatsu Mushakoji in Neishan Bookstore. Supposedly, the "initiator" of the Birch School and the theoretical core of the New Village Movement are highly respected writers and painters in the first two weeks. Lu Xun also translated his novel "A Youth's Dream" and commented that the humanitarian spirit he advocated "can cure many chronic diseases of China's old thoughts", but when they met for the first time, Lu Xun gave each other a certain sense of distance, "few words, very kind" (Mu Shahao's second language

Lu Xun 193 1 year presented a poem to Wan Zao in Neishan ("Wu Qishan" is the homonym of Wan Zao's Japanese name).

Compared with celebrities from all walks of life, Lu Xun is more relaxed and comfortable when interacting with ordinary people such as dentists, businessmen and tailors. In fact, in Lu Xun's eyes, the "boss" (Kazuo Uchiyama) basically belongs to this category, but his family has a big career and complicated social relations. He is an overseas Chinese leader among the Japanese, and he also has many intersections with Lu Xun in his works. Friendship with Liantian brothers is a "trip" between people that Lu Xun values very much (in Japanese, the meaning of ties and associations). Both brothers are employees of Neishan Bookstore. My brother An Tian Shouxian went to the bookstore to be an accountant, and was also responsible for mail order, ordering and dunning. He also edited a pamphlet, Culture and Education, which can be obtained free of charge in the shop. The title of the Exchange was written by Lu Xun, which means "cultural exchange". My younger brother, Lian Tian Chengyi, is an artistic young man, simple and honest, and entrusted him with the things in the shop at the critical moment, including taking care of Lu Xun's family. Neishan boss is very practical. In Lu Xun's diary, there are as many as 23 descriptions about Pu Tianshou, including business entrustment, mutual gifts and banquets. Lu Xun compiled Qu Qiubai's translation "The Forest at Sea", which was typeset and printed in Shanghai, sent to Japan by Putian Shou and published in Yanbo Bookstore. Lu Xun also took the initiative to ask Cai Yuanpei to write a banner for the life of sickle field ("The wind blows in Jiangpu, the dawn breaks in Qian Fan, the moon sets in the mountain city, and a flute falls"), which has been preserved in Japan ever since. After the Japanese version of History of Zhina's Novels was published, Lu Xun had only five sample books, namely one signed by Fukuda Shou, which is now in the Lu Xun Museum in Beijing. His younger brother Yasunari Fukuda helped Lu Xun a lot when he moved and fled several times. Lu Xun was "very ashamed" and expressed it in publications more than once. Seeing that during the "1.28" war, Cheng Yi took care of himself and his family wholeheartedly, joined the militia, and helped the invading army in the rear, which made Lu Xun lament the mental poison of militaristic education on a generation of Japanese youth. From the evolutionary perspective of caring for teenagers, Cheng Yi was constantly inspired and influenced, which made him realize the problem and make sincere reflection. After Cheng Yi's tuberculosis recurred, he returned to China to recuperate and went to Lu Xun's house to say goodbye before he left. 1934 in may, Cheng Yi died. After learning the obituary, Lu Xun wrote in his diary:

In the afternoon, I heard that An Tian Jingcheng passed away yesterday. Recalling the friendship of helping each other the year before, I was amazed.

Cheng Yi left a will: "The tomb can be smaller, but please point it to Shanghai." This is the first time that Lu Xun wrote an epitaph for the Japanese. A year later, An Tian visited Lu Xun and presented Cheng Yi's legacy, the oil painting Still Life Chrysanthemum, which was displayed on the bookcase in the reception room on the first floor of Lu Xun's former residence.

The sincere friendship of Japanese civilians represented by Lian Tian brothers should be one of the important considerations, even if it is not the biggest reason why Lu Xun did not leave the Japanese concession in his later years, it is an emotional "trip". Mr. Wang Xirong said: "In his contact with some Japanese, Lu Xun also had some estrangements and misunderstandings between them, which bored him. Lu Xun wanted to leave this area several times and move to the French Concession. Even the house is optimistic, but for various reasons, he finally failed to move. " ("Those Japanese who associate with Lu Xun")

spend freely

But at the same time, we should also see that even in the last stage of Lu Xun's life, his trust in the completion of Neishan has not wavered. In fact, I know not only Neishan, but also Lu Xun's Japanese friends. In Lu Xun's circle of friends in his later years, the author personally valued the existence of Yuji Matsumoto, president of the Shanghai branch of the Alliance Communication Agency. In the mid-1960s, Matsumoto recalled several contacts with Lu Xun in his memoir Shanghai Times (Shanghai Bookstore Press, March 2005,No. 1 edition).

At the beginning of this article, Lu Xun mentioned his last visit to Neishan Bookstore and exchanged views with Japanese doctor Okuda Xinghua on the current situation. Matsumoto was there. On the same day (193610/October 17), Chiang Kai-shek held a military meeting in Hangzhou. Matsumoto should have just sent out the press release and rushed to Neishan Bookstore. He joined several Japanese people to talk with Lu Xun and wrote a conversation between Dr. Okuda and Lu Xun in his memoirs:

"Mr. Lu Xun, how do you think Japan-China relations will be stable?"

"The situation will get worse and there will be a big commotion."

"What do you think is the basis for the gradual deterioration?"

"I thought there were two kinds of people in the world, the strong and the weak. They can never be good friends, and they always quarrel. Therefore, as long as the weak do not become stronger, the quarrel will not stop. In other words, as long as China's armament is not as strong as Japan's, it will be impossible to achieve goodwill or coordination between Japan and China. Even if two equal parties quarrel, it is only a minor injury. This is boring, so I am very friendly. " Lu Xun answered, then lit his favorite cigarette and took a deep breath.

"Let's not talk about the big picture. We are talking about the current Japan-China negotiations. "

"Now the negotiations will gradually deteriorate. I don't know what the Japanese are thinking ... I don't know what China is thinking ... It is most dangerous for two people who know nothing to negotiate together. I think so, too. It's like holding a cow in the dark. "

Finally, Mr. Lu Xun put his right index finger on his forehead and said clearly in a low voice, "This may be my intuition, but there seems to be conflict." (Shanghai Times)

In recent years, when talking about Lu Xun, there is always a voice (such as Li Ao), saying that Lu Xun only scolds China people, not Japanese people, and has never been cruel to Japan in his life. But Matsumoto recorded in his memoirs that in the last month before his death, Lu Xun had clearly revealed his belief to Jing Chun Yamazaki, an economist who came to Shanghai:

In order to liberate our compatriots of the oppressed nation, even if the Republic of China becomes a desert, we will never stop opposing imperialism. (Shanghai Times)

Although Matsumoto's memoirs about Lu are not long, his love for Lu is beyond words:

The next day (2 1), around 4 pm, I went to the international funeral home. There is a square tent about 15 square meters on the north side of the center of the venue, and there is a coffin on the high platform. At this time, the coffin ceremony has ended. I walked into the tent and faced the body of Mr. Lu Xun, kneeling three times and worshiping nine times. Out of the tent, I looked around the wall of the venue. The wall is covered with all kinds of elegies and couplets sent by friends and related groups ... full of friendship of friends, respect and regret for old friends. There is no more beautiful and solemn form ... I will never forget that feeling. (Shanghai Times) (Editor: Sun)