Reading Xiao Hong's Biography of Hulan River late at night

"She escaped from Hulan and didn't find her own house until she died. She has been staying in different hotels. China lost a housewife or aunt and gained a wanderer, a free chaser and an original writer in literature. "

A talented person has fallen all his life.

The living environment in Hulanhe Town is closed, stuffy and lifeless. Except for the eldest grandson and daughter-in-law of Lao Hu's family who "ran away with others" and the "Russian Russians" mentioned by Bo Er, they are basically completely isolated from the outside world. The material life of the small town is primitive and backward, and the spiritual world is ignorant and numb, which in turn intensifies the closure and backwardness of the living space of the small town. They are mutually causal and vicious circle.

All aspects of the people's survival in Hulan Town are very simple, and the material life is also very simple. "Cooking a little salt beans is one year", which is a natural and primitive life state during the farming period. "However, buy a piece of tofu to eat." This heroic feat of crossing the heart and self-deprecating without humor contains how heavy bitterness poverty and backwardness have given them. Their way of life is very simple. "When winter comes, they will wear cotton-padded clothes, and when summer comes, they will wear light clothes." Year after year, they will be cold and summer, and they will be sick and sick. Their purpose in life is simple: "People live to eat and dress"; Their ideal of life is simple. Five-year-old children say that when they grow up, they "open tofu houses". Their life requirement is simple: "I just want to eat and wear warm clothes." Of course, they are also hardworking, simple, patient and kind, but if these qualities are combined with mental diseases such as ignorance, numbness, barbarism, superstition and conservatism, then these qualities, especially kindness, will become quite cruel and terrible. This deformation allows them to tolerate all ugliness and reject all new things. Hu Popo killed a healthy little reunion daughter-in-law with a stupid trilogy: beating people, jumping out of their minds and taking a hot bath; Miss Wang married Feng Waizuizi herself, which violated the feudal tradition of "matchmaker's words", so the neighbors braved the cold to "visit", "discuss" and "preach" and attack by public opinion. As a result, Miss Wang died in the cold autumn night, and the kind people abused the young woman with their tongues.

The profound point of the human tragedy in this story is that it was not the landlord class that slaughtered them, but those "kind" mothers-in-law, Mrs. Lao Yang and their grandma on Wednesday, and these "cannibal" slaves were full of "kindness" and eloquent. Feudal backwardness destroyed their spirit and distorted their souls. This once again proves Mr. Lu Xun's incisive assertion: "China people have always lined up a feast of cannibalism, some people eat, some people eat, and some people eat." Their character made them victims of the feudal system, and they also became victims unconsciously, becoming "unknown and unconscious killing groups". They ruined the beauty of little reunion's daughter-in-law and the love of Miss Wang.

Xiao Hong specially wrote a book about the various forms of "big mud pit" in sunny days and rainy seasons, and the "happiness" it brought to people. It can not only satisfy people's eyes of watching and eating dead pigs and chickens, but also satisfy people's entertainment, pleasure and negotiation after dinner. Imagine how much fun people in small towns will lose without it and become more "lonely". In fact, it is a portrayal of the original life of a small town. "The big mud pit has actually become a symbol and symbol of Hulan County." It has become a part of town life. It "symbolizes the evil influence and weakens people's enterprising and upward spirit." "Jumping to the Great God" is a popular cultural custom in the early Northeast.

Little reunion 12-year-old daughter-in-law is lively and cheerful, and her husband's family regards her as a monster, and follows the old adage of "daughter-in-law who slaps her face" and conducts cruel discipline. First, I was beaten, then I was distracted, and finally I took a "hot bath" three times a day. Little reunion's daughter-in-law was really tortured to death by "kind-hearted" "spectators" such as the owner's aunt and Aunt Xi. They stripped off her clothes, watered her, pressed her head and enthusiastically shouted to participate in and appreciate this feat. Those "spectators" are "not sleepy with excitement, and those who want to go home to sleep are also refreshed. No fewer than thirty people came to watch the excitement, all with bright eyes and full of energy. Look, I passed out after washing once, but it's unimaginable after washing three times. Therefore, people who watch the excitement are full of mystery. " As a result, little reunion's daughter-in-law was burned alive. The "spectators" enjoyed the various scenery of Hulan River with relish. They looked around with interest at all kinds of joys and sorrows of the "big mud pit"; Women chase their children and they look around with interest; Those who jumped into the well and hanged themselves looked around with interest; People who sell dough twists and tofu look around with interest; Women and children with crooked mouths looked around with interest.

In a word, "watching" has become an important way of life for these villagers, an ancient way of entertainment and a unique way of spreading gossip. They are not only numb to the fate of others, but also numb to their own lives. The writing of spectator shows that the writer's criticism of feudal culture not only stays on the surface of barbaric habits, but also goes deep into the national cultural psychology and personality, suggesting the withering of these people's internal vitality. "Xiao Hong depicts the soul of the sleeper through the human and social aspects of the spectator, and reveals what kind of life the people in Northeast China have experienced from generation to generation-the attitude towards life, life and fate, and the psychological basis and thinking form of adopting this attitude. In the criticism of history and culture, there is a desire to transform soul of china. " Therefore, in this sense, Biography of Hulan River is a soul of china chorus. The novel aims to criticize the damage of feudalism to the people's spirit and transform the people's numb souls. Because Xiao Hong has long recognized that "China people have a morbid soul", it is an effective way to oppose feudalism to "try to correct it" and expose "feudal exploitation and oppression".

Xiao Hong's Biography of Hulan River points the critical edge to the deep cultural level of people's values and ways of thinking in the northern land. As the cultural carrier in this novel, there are mainly "big mud pit", "jumping" and "taking a hot bath". Such a cultural carrier gave birth to a more culturally meaningful subject-"spectators" group. Especially the combination of subject and carrier has the historical thickness and philosophical strength of cultural criticism.

Xiao Hong once said to Luo: "Maybe everyone is anonymous and doesn't know his true colors. I don't know if anyone will read what I wrote in the future, but I know that my scandal will last forever. "

Sure enough! Decades after her death, people chewed her gossip more than paid attention to her talent; Her anecdotes are more valued than her achievements.

"When my father hit me, I was in my grandfather's room, always facing the window, from dusk to late at night-the snow outside the window floated like white cotton; The lid on the heater vibrates like an accompaniment instrument. "

Later, grandpa died, and the only person who gave her love and warmth left her.

Xiao Hong in childhood

/kloc-at the age of 0/4, Xiao Hong was betrothed to Wang Enjia, the second son of the first gang of the provincial defense forces, by his father's decision. Wang Enjia belongs to a dude and is a heavy smoker.

/kloc-in the autumn of 0/930, Xiao Hong graduated from junior high school. Despite her father's opposition, she resolutely betrayed her family, fled her marriage and came to Beiping to enter the middle school attached to Women's Normal University.

She can't imagine the consequences of running away, and the road to study is difficult. 193 1 year, Xiaohong returned to her hometown in confusion, and her angry father immediately put her under house arrest. My aunt and seven aunts, who were similar in age, sympathized with Xiaohong's experience and helped her escape in the middle of the night.

As the weather gets colder and colder, Xiao Hong, who has been wandering in Harbin for more than a month, has to take refuge in Wang Enjia, who is studying in Harbin, in order not to freeze to death.

1932 During the Spring Festival, Wang Enjia's mother knew that her son was with Xiaohong, so she cut off financial aid and Wang had to compromise with her family. Xiaohong was pregnant at that time, but she was abandoned.

The pregnant Xiaohong couldn't afford the rent and was held hostage by Wang Enjia at Dongxing Shun Hotel. In order to avoid being sold to a brothel after production, she turned to Pei Xinyuan, editor-in-chief of the supplement of Harbin International Association for help, and Jun Xiao and other young artists visited Xiao Hong in the hotel one after another.

Xiao Jun studied in Wujiang Pavilion of Northeast Army and became a famous writer in the future.

2 1 year-old Xiao Hong touched 26-year-old Xiao Jun with a poem full of bitterness and sadness: "Qingxi is singing over there, and the leaves here are green, girl, spring is coming! Last year in Beiping, I was eating green apricots. This year, my fate is worse than qingxing! "

In August of the same year, the Songhua River burst its banks. Because Xiaohong owes too much money, the hotel won't let Xiaohong go. Jun Xiao rented a boat at night and saved Xiaohong from the water with a rope.

Xiaohong was sent to the hospital for labor. Because there was no money to pay the hospitalization fee, Xiao Junyong forced the doctor to save his life with a knife. After the child is born, it is given away because it is unable to raise it.

After leaving the hospital, two like-minded young people lived together. Under the influence of Jun Xiao, Xiao Hong began to publish articles in the supplement of International Association. 1933, she wrote her first novel "Abandoned Children" under the pseudonym "Elegy".

After the publication of this novel, she published many novels and essays one after another and embarked on a literary journey.

From Xiao Hong's love seed to her final death in a foreign land, the most unforgettable years in her life are those years when she shared joys and sorrows with Xiao Jun.

In the most difficult time, they pay the rent and empty their pockets, and there is no extra money to rent bedding; In the winter when Harbin is dripping into ice, they drink water from the washbasin and chew a piece of dry food together all day.

No food, no meals. "Housing" has become the biggest problem. Two people who are hungry and cold, warm each other, and many contradictions in personality and outlook on life are temporarily covered up.

They didn't go out to eat mutton soup and pig's head until Xiaojun found a job as a tutor and had a better life.

This period of life called "no youth but poverty" by Xiao Hong is the best time in her life.

1934165438+1At the beginning of October, two people went to Shanghai to see Lu Xun. Soon, her first novel "Life and Death Field" under the pseudonym "Xiao Hong" was published in Shanghai, which caused a great sensation in the literary world.

In the preface to the field of life and death, Lu Xun praised Xiao Hong's description that "the people in the north, who are strong in life, often have a thorough paper;" The meticulous observation and deviant writing of women's works add a lot of brightness and freshness. "

Therefore, Xiao Hong became a well-known female writer in China literary world at that time, and was known as the "literary goddess of the 1930s".

At that time, Xiao Jun has also become a powerful writer. It stands to reason that when living conditions improve, they should follow the example of Mei Qi and mutual appreciation.

But the vast new world exacerbated their rift.

Once, he was her peach blossom source and her refuge. Her fiery body and soul were given to him. He is like a lonely traveler, trekking in the desert, dying and meeting an oasis. She sips, she absorbs, like a child who longs for love, exhausting all her lust.

But the combination of little women and big men is very good. It is my light and heat that warms your cold and illuminates your boundless darkness with my bright moon. If the engagement is not good, it is the opposite, or there is a big difference.

What's more, she won't be at arm's length and don't know enough is enough. She was born a moth. When she met him, she gave everything and went all out.

But when all he needs is a stream, the vast ocean you give him will drown him; When he wants tenderness and obedience, your disobedience becomes a thorn in his heart.

The most fatal thing is that his affair kept reaching her ears at that time, which led to their constant contradictions, and the grumpy Xiaojun finally punched her.

In his later years, Xiao Jun admitted that Xiao Hong was not his final destination: "She is simple, honest, stubborn and talented. I love her, but she is not a wife, especially not mine. "

1July, 936, in order to get rid of contradictions, Xiao Hong went to Japan alone.

Xiao Hong called her time studying in Japan a "golden age", which is incredible to many people. After all, there is so much pain, whether it is Xiao Jun's betrayal of his feelings or the death of his beloved life mentor Lu Xun.

That time, maybe it was the most peaceful time in her life. There was no drift from place to place, no quarrel and abuse. All the bitterness of life was because of the mountains and rivers, because she was temporarily blocked thousands of miles away, and she didn't feel so sad.

During this period, she stayed up all night and wrote many works, such as Red Orchard, Lonely Life and People Outside Home.

However, as the rift between the two becomes a ravine, it is inevitable to go their separate ways.

They broke up publicly in early April of 1938, but when they broke up, she was pregnant with Xiaojun's child.

However, those who have enjoyed the warmth cannot stay in the extreme cold for one more day.

After Xiao Hong and Xiao Jun broke up, she gave her other marriage to Duanmu Hongliang, a northeast writer.

Cured the sore in front of me, but dug out my heart.

Duanmu is tall, thin, soft-spoken and gentle, which is in sharp contrast with Xiao Jun's rough, bold and wild nature. When many writers argued before, Duanmu generally stood on Xiao Hong's side.

Xiao Hong was particularly gratified that Duanmu Hongliang "not only respected her, but also boldly praised her works for surpassing Xiao Jun's achievements". This is something that other friends have never done.

You can't compete with Qi Fei, even if you live a solid and warm life, it is good to know the pain and know the heat; It's also good to live a life full of fireworks with that man without fists and tears of despair.

1938 In April, Hu Feng, who presided over the wedding, suggested that the couple fall in love. Xiao Hong said frankly, "Duanmu Hongliang and I have no romantic love history. Just when I decided to be separated from Saburo forever, I found Duanmu Hongliang. I don't expect much from Duanmu Hongliang. I just want to live a normal husband and wife life. There is no quarrel, no struggle, no disloyalty, no ridicule, only mutual understanding, love and understanding. I deeply feel that a person in my present situation does not need a birthright. But Duanmu made sacrifices, and I feel very satisfied at this point. "

Xiao Hong and Duanmu Hongliang took a group photo.

But what she didn't expect was that she didn't get the redemption of love.

Shortly after the marriage, the Japanese bombed Wuhan, and Duanmu Hongliang worked as a war correspondent, leaving Xiao Hong pregnant to go to Chongqing alone. She once described her feelings like this: "I seem destined to go on alone ..."

Later, Xiao Hong came to Chongqing after suffering. /kloc-at the end of 0/938, Xiao Hong gave birth to a son in Bailang's family. On the fourth day after delivery, the child died prematurely.

1940, Xiao Hong left Chongqing with Duanmu Hongliang and flew to Hong Kong. When Hong Kong fell, Xiao Hong agreed to let him leave first, so he left Xiao Hong and fled alone.

From1June 1940 to1June 19941June, she completed the most mature works in her life at an amazing speed in a shabby house, amid poverty and illness: Ma Bole, Biography of Hulan River and March in a Small Town. "She seems to have predicted that time is running out, and she will try to give off the last and brightest light."

1942 65438+1October 12. Xiao Hong, who has been troubled by a chronic disease for a long time, gradually feels exhausted. She was misdiagnosed as laryngeal cancer by quack doctors and had an operation. After the operation, Xiaohong couldn't eat or talk, which was very painful.

65438+1October 18, Xiaohong, whose condition deteriorated rapidly, was transferred to Queen Mary Hospital by Duanmu Hongliang and Luo.

Late the next night, she felt that her time was running out, so she wrote on a piece of paper: "I want to stay with the blue sky and clear water forever and leave the half of The Red Chamber to others to write! I was left out for half my life ... I died first, unwilling, unwilling! "

On October 22nd, 65438/kloc-0, Xiao Hong passed away with endless disappointment.

After Xiao Hong's death, half of her ashes were buried in Repulse Bay, and the other half was bought by Duanmu Hongliang and secretly buried in St. Stephen's Girls' Middle School in the middle of the West Ring Road.

1957, Xiao Hong's ashes were moved and buried in Guangzhou Yinhe Cemetery. I have been wandering all my life and have never been back to my hometown until I die.

In the biography of Hulan River, she wrote:

This lament for those who struggled at the bottom of the times and destiny and were finally quietly destroyed seems to be a portrayal of her short and bumpy life.

There are only two tragedies in life, one is fate tragedy and the other is character tragedy.

The former, with no eggs under the nest, was caught by the torrent of the times, the precipitation of society and the haze of family, and was crushed until it was damaged and sacrificed.

In the face of being abandoned several times, as Xiao Hong said: "Women have low sky, thin wings and heavy burdens around them."

She used her weak body to fight countless times, but most of the time she jumped from the den to another quagmire.

I have been ill all my life, have no money to see a doctor, have no fixed address, family and work, and have been fleeing, fighting and being abandoned constantly.

Xiao Hong once went to a shop on Beijing Road with writer Shu Qun. She stopped in front of the children's wear window and muttered to herself how tall her first child would be if she could live.

As for the tragedy of character. Some people say, "People can't get around their own personality, and often fight with themselves with knives and collars when all is silent and there is no way out."

Those who can be defeated, the soldiers are not bloody; If you can't overcome it, you will be trapped in your own "dead hole". Children who have not been cared for by love since childhood have always asked her to seek a warmth and a light. She tirelessly rushed to all the directions of hope, trying to repair and cure those defects and hidden diseases in her life, with the intention of temporarily living in troubled times and suffering, making her stubborn and unwilling to sink, and giving her the same happiness as ordinary people.

But in the end, she failed again and again, just like Kuafu died day by day, until she died on the road.

She died in the era by accident, a quack, and her own longing for life, freedom and love.

"She escaped from Hulan and didn't find her own house until she died. She has been staying in different hotels. China lost a housewife or aunt and gained a wanderer, a free chaser and an original writer in literature. "

1942 65438+76 years ago1October 22nd, she passed away with endless regrets.