Volume 2: The crown and the hat are all over the capital, and the spirit is full of energy and enter the foggy city Chapter 2 Writers
Subtitle of this chapter: Who is Mr. Hongjian?
Our Master Yuan did not think too highly of himself. As early as a month ago, he had already become one of the famous writers in Seres. He was destined to be a great writer who "had no predecessors before him, and no successors after him. Thinking of the vastness of the universe, he was alone and shed tears"...
This five-character ancient poem that is well-known to the Seres is naturally "Climbing the Youzhou Terrace" by Chen Ziang. The Youzhou Terrace, also known as the Golden Terrace where King Zhao of Yan spent thousands of gold coins to buy bones, is located in Daxing, Beijing.
Of course, if old man Chen Ziang knew that this shabby place with no human hair in the Tang Dynasty would be worth 70,000 to 80,000 RMB per square meter 1,300 years later and become a veritable Golden Platform, he probably wouldn't even be able to cry... Well, he would definitely go back to Sichuan to buy a house.
After the Qing dynasty took the pill, the atmosphere in Beijing changed. The big teahouses in the city closed down one after another. Some teahouses changed their appearance and style to avoid being eliminated.
For example, the front of Yutai still sells tea, but the back has been converted into an apartment. The front only sells tea and melon seeds. The kitchen has been moved to the back, which is dedicated to providing meals for the apartment residents. The teahouse has also been greatly improved: all are small tables and rattan chairs, with light green tablecloths on the tables. The large painting of "Eight Drunken Immortals" on the wall, as well as the shrine of the God of Wealth, have been removed and replaced with fashion beauties - advertisements for foreign cigarette companies. The note "Don't talk about state affairs" has been preserved, and the words are written in larger letters..
February 1, 1920 was the fifth day of the Chinese New Year of the Dog Year. Boss Wang of Yutai fired a string of fireworks to welcome the God of Wealth in the morning and then took down the door to open the business. However, he had made an appointment with someone today and would not receive any guests after noon. A group called the "Literature Research Society" had reserved the place for a meeting.
Boss Wang was a businessman who was afraid of getting into trouble with the law. He had inquired about this "Literature Research Society" and found out that it had nothing to do with the rebels in the south. It was just a bunch of gentlemen in long gowns who had nothing to do after eating and "talked about literature and academics".
However, if Yuan Hongjian heard the name "Literature Research Society", he would definitely be furious, because he had been troubled by this group of guys in the Chinese language exams back then.
The Literary Research Society was formally established in Beijing on January 4, 1921. At its peak, it had more than 170 members, and these people were so famous. Let's put it this way, a hundred years later, almost all the members of the Literary Research Society have their own Baidu Encyclopedia entries. In other words, all modern writers who appeared in the Chinese textbooks of the nine-year compulsory education, except for Tianmo Churen, all others, including Lu Xun, were related to this organization .
The gentlemen in long gowns came in in twos and threes, and after sitting down, they started chatting enthusiastically. However, Wang, the shopkeeper, had no idea what new terms they were using, and he felt annoyed listening to them.
Shopkeeper Wang simply walked to the gate and saw a rickshaw stopped. But the man in the rickshaw was totally unaware and was only focused on reading the magazine in his hand.
The driver had no choice but to remind him, “Sir, Yutai is here!”
"Ah..." The gentleman in the car just woke up from his dream, took out a few dimes and said, "No need to change."
Shopkeeper Wang recognized the gentleman and hurried out to greet him, "Mr. Shen, you're here?"
This young man in his early twenties had a handsome face and a pile of magazines in his hands. He said casually, "Oh, Shopkeeper Wang, are my friends here?"
"Mr. Shen, they are all here, waiting for you. Let me get it for you." Shopkeeper Wang stepped forward attentively and wanted to help him get the magazine.
"No, no, I can do it myself."
As he said this, he walked hurriedly into the teahouse.
Upon seeing Mr. Shen, a young man with a Hujian accent said loudly and familiarly, "Brother Yanbing, why are you here just now? We have been waiting for you for a while."
I guess there is no need to say much about who Shen Yanbing is.
"Xidi, I'm going to the Commercial Press to pick up this issue of New Youth."
The Fujian native with the courtesy name Xidi was named Zheng Zhenduo.
Another young man who spoke in Wu dialect said, "Oh, looking at you, Yan Bing, there must be a good article in this issue of the magazine."
"Brother Shengtao, you really understand me. I really saw a great article on it."
The Suzhou native’s name is Shengtao, so his surname must be Ye.
"Oh, Brother Yanbing, what's a good article?" There was also a Cantonese man sitting there who was quite impatient. He stood up and tried to snatch the magazine from Shen Yanbing's hand.
"Dishan, look, this is the novel..."
Xu Dishan from Guangdong is named Zankun. He, like Ye Shengtao, Shen Yanbing, and of course Chuan Lin Beitui, uses his pen as his name.
"Wives and Concubines?" He took the magazine and read a few lines before his expression changed. He looked at the author's name, turned around and asked the oldest bespectacled gentleman in the audience, "Brother Xingshao, is Hongjian the new pen name of your brother, Mr. Lu Xun?"
Brother Xing Shao, also known as Zhou Zuoren, raised his glasses and asked in confusion, "Hong Jian? I have never seen my brother use this pen name. Does this novel look like it was written by my brother?"
Shen Yanbing shook his head and said, "In my opinion, this is definitely not your brother's work. Compared with the vernacular writings of Mr. Lu Xun and Mr. Hongjian, it is even more... well, maybe even more mature."
"Oh, let me see it." Zhou Zuoren became very interested when he heard it. He stood up and picked up a copy of New Youth magazine...
If Mr. Hongjian had seen Shen Yanbing, Zheng Zhenduo, Ye Shengtao, Xu Dishan, and Zhou Zuoren, all five of them gathered together to read his "Wives and Concubines", it would have been a great comfort to him. If he had known that there would be such a "luxurious" scene, he would have definitely given a few reading comprehension questions at the end of the novel.
"Brother, what do you think of this article "Wives and Concubines"? "
At this time, Zhou Zuoren had already returned to his home, and his elder brother closed the book and sighed, "What a great Hongjian! He seems to know how to write in vernacular Chinese. I am not as good as him! "
Mr. Lu Xun was a literary master after all, and he saw through the power of "Wives and Concubines" at a glance. Compared with all the vernacular novels written by writers at that time, including himself, the vernacular used by Su Tong, a later writer, is naturally more complete in form.
The real master habitually lit a cigarette and took a few puffs and said, "Xing Shao, don't you think the writing style of this novel is also very clever?"
Zhou Zuoren nodded and said, "That's true. It also denounces the old society's cannibalism. Compared with your novel "Diary of a Madman", this one is more pointed and subtle."
Just as he said, "Wives and Concubines" is much more "peaceful" than "Diary of a Madman". But this peace reveals the reactionary nature of feudal society even more.
Lu Xun put out his cigarette, picked up a piece of paper and a pen, and said, "I will write a letter to Chen Zhongfu and ask him about the background of this Mr. Hongjian!"
The Chen Zhongfu he mentioned was Chen Duxiu, the editor-in-chief of New Youth.
