Four Seasons in Jinan Written by Lao She

Lao She's "second hometown" is the ancient city of Jinan. He vividly described a beautiful Jinan in his prose.

Lao She lived for 67 years, and he spent 42 years in Beijing. The remaining 25 years are: 5 years in Britain, 0/year in Singapore/kloc, 7 years in Shandong-4.5 years in Jinan, 2.5 years in Qingdao, 6 months in Hankou, 7.5 years in Chongqing and 4 years in the United States.

But in Lao She's life's prose, there is almost nothing about new york, London (briefly talking about studying in Britain) and Singapore, very little about Hankou, Chongqing and Chengdu, and only two or three about Qingdao, that is, Beijing-not much; Only Jinan, he not only wrote, but also wrote a long series, and they were all so elegant, so refined, so moving and so poetic!

This is really a strange and wonderful phenomenon in the history of literature. Don't compare it with Lao She himself. Even compared with any modern writer living in Jinan, even in Shandong and Jinan, there is no second person in the world.

How to explain this phenomenon? I'm afraid I can only say: Jinan and Lao She are predestined friends, and Lao She has a special liking for Jinan.

This is a strange romance between a famous modern writer and a famous historical and cultural city.

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When Lao She wrote Jinan, she first published a group of essays with the general title of Some Impressions.

In "Some Impressions", Lao She used a poetic language to push a distant and dreamy medieval city from far and near to readers:

"If there is a medieval ancient city in your fantasy, there is a sleeping tower, a narrow ancient stone road, a generous stone wall, a Qingxi flowing around the city, reflecting the mountain shadow, and a little girl with a red robe and green pants is squatting on the shore. If you have such a realm in your fantasy, it is a Jinan. "

"Please come in autumn. That city, that river, that ancient road and that mountain shadow are all prepared for you all year round. But with the autumn scenery in Jinan, Jinan has changed from a simple painting to a quiet and beautiful poem. This poetic autumn color of Qiu Guang is unique to Jinan. God gave the art of summer to Switzerland, the West Lake in spring and Jinan in autumn and winter.

"The medieval old city, with this autumn sound, is Jinan, a poem."

This "impression" of Jinan is not only like a freehand brushwork of Song Dynasty ink landscape painting, but also like an impressionist modern oil painting.

Lao She not only wrote about autumn, winter and summer in Jinan, but also wrote about spring, spring, summer, autumn and winter, the change of seasons, the separation of light and shadow, and the colorful spring breeze in Jinan.

In order to highlight the unique charm of Jinan and expand the imagination of readers, Lao She not only came to Switzerland, West Lake and Jinan for comparison, but also constantly invited London, Florence (Italy), Nanjing, Beiping and Qingdao to set out and refer to Jinan, making the picture more artistic.

Shi Yun: Lotus on four sides and willow on three sides, a mountain city and half a lake city.

When you write about Jinan, you have to write about its mountains and waters.

Lao She seems to have been born with sincere closeness to mountains and deep admiration for water. The description of Jinan landscape in his prose is more like "reading" than writing, and it is a "dialogue" that he never tires of seeing. No wonder it is so vivid, so clever, so vivid and so human.

Please see how Lao She wrote about the mountains in Jinan:

"Jinan was held in the mountains; In autumn, the grass on the mountain is between yellow and green, the pine tree is green, and almost all the other leaves are red and yellow. Even on treeless mountains, there are more colors-sun shadow, grass color and stone layer, which can match all kinds of stripes and shadows. With the warm blue sky, I feel comfortable and safe. I just want to lie on the hillside and sleep forever like sleeping. " (spring breeze)

This is the mountain in Jinan in autumn.

"The hill has surrounded Jinan, except for the mouth in the north. This circle of hills is particularly lovely in winter, as if Jinan were put in a small cradle. They all whispered, don't worry, it will be warm here. Really, people in Jinan laugh in winter. As soon as they saw those hills, they felt that they had landed and relied on them. " (Some impressions (continued 6))

This is the mountain in Jinan in winter.

"There are one or two peaks floating at the top of the green trees. Because the green trees are too dense, you can't see the house and hillside behind the trees, so you can't guess what is behind the shade; Deep and great, people can't help but take a deep breath. " "Turn the auditorium, you see the south mountain, green. The field in front of the mountain is green. A green sea, mountains are those high green waves. " (Informal Park)

This is the mountain in Jinan in summer.

Please see how Lao She wrote about the water in Jinan:

"Where is the water better than Jinan? There are springs-there are springs everywhere-there are rivers and lakes, which are divided by shape. Whether it is spring water, river or lake, it is so clear and sweet. Oh, Jinan is the sweetheart of' nature', right? " "If nothing else, just talk about the green algae in the water. I'm afraid nothing can compare with that kind of green except the green in God's heart. " (Some impressions (continued 4))

-This is the autumn water in Jinan.

"What about water? Instead of freezing, it is steaming on the green algae. Algae are so green that they suck away all the green they have stored all the year round. The brighter the sky, the greener the algae. With these green elves, the water can't bear to freeze. In addition, weeping willows with long branches need to be photographed in water. You see, looking up slowly from the clarified river, the sky, mid-air and sky are so clear and blue from top to bottom, and the whole is an ethereal blue crystal. " (Some impressions (continued 5))

This is the winter water in Jinan.

I would like to ask, since ancient times, which literati can be so familiar with Jinan's landscape, know each other, write so poetically and at your fingertips like Lao She?

If the mountains and rivers of Jinan are well known, it can be completely recognized that you have met an eternal confidant only by these immortal words!

However, our Lao She didn't stop there.

Qianfo Mountain, Baotu Spring and Daming Lake are three famous scenic spots in Jinan. At that time, Lao She seemed to complain about these three famous places, saying that they were neither big nor well-known, let alone lakes.

However, he still can't help but use special words to describe it.

Lao She not only wrote a few strokes for Qianfo Mountain in many articles, but also wrote an article about Baotu Spring and Daming Lake.

In the appreciation of Baotu Spring, he wrote down the words that are well-known and passed down through the ages:

"Spring is great. The spring pool is almost square, with three springs in the west and a stream in the north. Look at those three big springs. They roll all year round. If you stand and stare for three minutes, you will feel the greatness of nature and make you afraid to look again. Always so pure, always so lively, always so bright, adventurous, adventurous, never tired, never back down, only naturally have such power! "

Writing about the victory of Jinan mountains and rivers, Lao She did not forget the beauty of Jinan products.

Fresh, white, gorgeous, bright, moist and sweet Jinan green onions, the "three beauties" aquatic products of Daming Lake-common vegetables, water bamboo, white lotus roots, and even the graceful Bai Lianhua (see "eating lotus") that can be enjoyed and eaten with wine are all seen in this article.

In this way, there are cities, rivers, ancient roads, mountain shadows, towers and stone city walls, Qianfo Mountain, Daming Lake and Baotu Spring, as well as Lishan Mountain, Queshan Mountain, Huashan Mountain, Lixiating, Tiegong Temple, Arctic Pavilion, Kaiyuan Temple Ancient Stone Pagoda, Xiahe, Chunliu, Pucai and Maotu Spring.

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However, if Jinan in Lao She's prose is limited to the victory of these mountains and rivers, then he is not Lao She with profound cultural criticism consciousness, but just a romantic pastoral poet or essayist.

No matter out of sincere love for Jinan, strong dissatisfaction with the gray status quo at that time, and deep thinking about the ancient national spirit and cultural mentality of the Chinese nation, Lao She will not fail to pay attention to the "people" under this natural beauty, nor will he fail to face up to the imperfections caused by "man-made" in those natural beauty.

Maybe it has something to do with living in Europe. As soon as Lao She arrived in Jinan, he felt the narrow, disrepair and backwardness of Jinan traffic.

In Arriving in Jinan (I), Arriving in Jinan (II) and Later, Roads and Cars, he used humorous words to describe the thin horse and broken car in Jinan, the generous old stone road, and the narrow alley where people in the car were in danger of hitting the wall with a slight tilt of their heads. Humor and exaggeration are full of criticism.

In Appreciation of Baotu Spring, Lao She described the congestion, fragmentation, noise and chaos around the famous spring, and said sadly, "This is another way for China people to conquer nature, that is to say, any gift given by nature to China people will make it ugly."

Lao She wrote in "Spring in Daming Lake" and "Greater Imagination" that there was no lake in Daming Lake at that time: "Originally this lake was a lake, but it was processed into many ditches." "Now the lake is not clear water, but how many pieces of land have been opened up by the dam. There are several ditches outside the' land', and the yacht goes along the ditch, which is to swim in the lake. "

Lao She wrote in Yuan that there is no social education to cultivate people's wisdom in Jinan, and the people lack basic scientific knowledge. At this point, we have no reason to despise Yuan's "foreign devils".

Lao She wrote about bundles of Chinese herbal medicines used to treat diseases in Medicine Collection-orange peel is covered with black mud, and Bupleurum root is covered with horse manure, so people have no health concept.

Lao She wrote in "Playing Monkey" that uneducated citizens don't know what sports are and regard modern sports as "playing monkey".

Lao She wrote in "Estimated Clothes" that ignorant villagers rushed to buy Japanese estimated clothes in commercial ports and didn't know what it was like to resist the enemy.

Lao She wrote in Memories of the National Day Double Ninth Festival that the people lacked the minimum education of enlightenment and patriotism, and went to Qianfo Mountain with great excitement despite the national disaster. Not many people keep diaries of September 18th and May 3rd.

In "Jinan in Three Months" and "Hanging Jinan", Lao She lamented the danger of Chen Jinan's death, wrote that the people were numb, lax and disorganized in the face of foreign aggression, wrote about the heroic resistance of soldiers, and wrote about the perfunctory of officials and the stupidity of warlords.

In these articles, Lao She is very concerned about the municipal construction of Jinan, the sufferings of the lower classes, and their spiritual poverty and lack of enlightenment.

It is not difficult to see that in this series of essays, Lao She wrote Jinan with two sets of pen and ink and two colors, half hating and half laughing. He wrote the unique landscape victory of Jinan in a kind style full of poetry, appreciation and praise, but unfortunately, this natural beauty was greatly weakened because of the sloppy, perfunctory and unplanned authorities and the poverty, conformity and ignorance of the people. He wrote the gloomy and backward society and the ignorance and numbness of the people in a humorous and cold style, and made a good criticism and ridicule.

These humorous or solemn words, or cynical or cynical words, all reveal a tearful smile, an anxiety caused by the urgent need for cure, and a hatred caused by deep love.

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As an unparalleled bosom friend and confidant of Jinan, Lao She not only wrote a series of excellent essays for Jinan, but also outlined a quite complete Jinan in the 1930s. Those immortal words describing Jinan's landscape are well-known and can be passed down through the ages. It is also reflected in his profound cultural perception and recognition of Jinan.

According to Lao She's experience before coming to Jinan, the life in the cultural circle of the ancient capital Beijing Banner cultivated his early cultural character, and he didn't know much about the Central Plains culture before going abroad. 1930 At the beginning of the year, Lao She returned to China by a seagoing vessel from Singapore and was invited to Jinan soon. Jinan accepted the wanderer who had been wandering overseas for six years with his simple feelings, and the ancient city with strong cultural atmosphere in the Central Plains broadened Lao She's cultural vision.

Lao She easily found the intersection of his new life in this thick soil and quickly integrated into the cultural environment of Jinan. Here, he lived happily for four years, worked diligently for four years, absorbed and pondered for four years. The four years in Jinan became the freest, warmest, most stable and unforgettable time in his life.

All these have profoundly influenced Lao She's feelings and understanding of Jinan. It should be said that Lao She has his own cultural value judgment and urban aesthetics on cities and urban lifestyles. He doesn't like or even reject some cities, but he agrees with Jinan.

In the article "Hanging Jinan", he wrote: "It seems to be firmly established in the culture of China, and the city wall is not enough to hinder the communication between the city and the countryside; It is not easy to find people and expressions who call themselves foreign slaves. It makes people feel more comfortable. A person who doesn't take dancing and champagne as his ideal life will naturally feel a little dull and lovely when he arrives here. " He said affectionately: "Every corner here seems to have some traces of life; Every small change will cause some feelings; Even the wind and rain seem to contain infinite affection. "

This kind of cultural and emotional identity makes Lao She involuntarily regard herself as more than half of Jinan people. He called Jinan "my second hometown".

Even as a "second hometown", he often can't help but "offer suggestions" for Jinan-

Lao She put forward in "Spring in Daming Lake": "If we can recover all the land, dismantle the earth dam and dig deep into the bottom of the lake, it will be bright at once: the lake is not small, but Jinan has a lot of cool springs";

When appreciating Baotu Spring, he suggested: "A big fire burned all the sheds in the south of the spring pool the year before last. Have a chance to change! Create a park with sprinklers everywhere! Build a swimming pool in the east! There are many people who want this ";

In "Greater Imagination", Lao She imagined: "The city is at the foot of the mountain and the lake is in the city. Is this a beautiful city? Look again, or think again, is that wall a fairyland? " "On the river bank, if there are some daughters who are more beautiful than Jinan women (this naturally refers to the clumsy dress of Jinan working women at that time-the author's note), wearing white shirts or red coats, like some big flowers, looking at their own reflection and singing while washing?" ; ……

What a fist! You are worried about me, Jinan!

Of course, now it seems that due to the limitations of the times, Lao She's ideas may not all be appropriate, but in the overall consciousness, it is a brilliant modern urban governance concept.

Not only that.

After leaving Jinan, the yearning for a new and more sober Jinan and the incomparable nostalgia for Jinan condensed in Lao She's heart and turned into a beautiful "Jinan Dream"-

"I will see more green willows in Hecheng River, and there are white stone benches under Liu Yin, where people can rest. I will see the dilapidated city walls become wide and open roads, and the countryside and the city are integrated; You can see the fruit trees in Nanshan in the city, and you can know the news in the city in the country. I will see Daming Lake returning farmland to the lake, with 10 hectares of white lotus. I will see Baotu Spring turned into a bathing place, swimming with strong young men and women. I will see thousands of chimneys around Maanshan. Use Boshan coal, Jiaodong tobacco as gold thread, Lubei cotton as fine cloth, Taishan cherry, Laiyang pear and Feicheng peach as exquisite cans. Grapes and apples in Yantai are made into fine wine for compatriots all over the country to enjoy. Zhong Gang, glass ceramics, cotton fabrics, silk lace and other industries have begun to take shape, which can be reasonably improved and developed to enrich the country. I hope that Jinan will become the real home of the brain in the province, and how many roads, rivers and train telephones will be used to send the sober string of its smart hotspot city to the coast of the East China Sea and the foot of Mount Tai. " ("Hanging Jinan")

In Jinan in Three Months, Lao She said firmly: "From the moment I got on the bus, I silently decided that I must go back to Jinan, I must go back to Jinan! When I come back, Jinan will be more beautiful and dignified than I know. "

Unfortunately, however, Lao She finally failed to return to Jinan.

However, after all, he wrote a beautiful Jinan in prose and left it to future generations. So that everyone who wants to know and like Jinan later can't help reading these beautiful words.