Reminiscences of Lu Xun: Miscellaneous Pieces

Author: Editor-in-Chief: Yang Liangzhi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-01-01
Features: Excerpt:
Sun Yat-sen, Song Qingling, Lu Xun, and Yang Xinfu once held positions in the Nanjing Provisional Government in 1911, but they did not meet until both joined the China League for the Defense of Rights and Democracy in 1927. In the summer of 1932, when Yang served as the secretary of the Academia Sinica, he invited Lu Xun to join the League. That autumn, Lu Xun, Cai Yuanpei, and I were all elected as executive committee members of the League. At that time, the white terror was severe. Lu Xun lived in Hongkou District, Shanghai, in a difficult situation, as there were many Nationalist secret agents and police monitoring him. At every meeting of the League, Lu Xun and Cai Yuanpei attended punctually. Lu Xun, Cai Yuanpei, and we discussed fervently how to oppose the white terror, how to rescue political prisoners and detained revolutionary students, and how to provide legal defense and other assistance to them. Although the League accomplished some work, it ceased operations after Yang Xinfu was assassinated in June 1933. At that time, Lin Yutang, a member of the League, requested that the League stop its activities, saying that otherwise all its members would be assassinated. The British literary giant George Bernard Shaw once had lunch at my home, and several members of the League were present. He had already received a warning from the British government and rarely spoke at my place. At that time, Lin Yutang talked endlessly with him, leaving no opportunity for Lu Xun and others to speak with Shaw.
My last encounter with Lu Xun was at the Soviet Consulate in Shanghai. There, the Soviet ambassador to China, Bogomolov, hosted a banquet, and Lu Xun was also present. After the banquet, Soviet films were shown. After the film ended, Bogomolov asked Lu Xun for his opinion on the movie—he naturally hoped Lu Xun would praise it highly, but Lu Xun replied, "We Chinese now have thousands of Shaboyang fighting." Later, due to tuberculosis, Lu Xun could no longer go out. The Soviet government invited him to rest at a sanatorium in Crimea, but he declined politely. One morning, I suddenly received a phone call from Feng Xuefeng, whom I had met once at Lu Xun’s home. When I visited Lu Xun’s home this time, Feng Xuefeng accompanied me into the bedroom. I found the great revolutionary lying in bed, having passed away suddenly. His wife, Xu Guangping, was crying by his side. Feng Xuefeng told me he did not know how to handle the funeral and said that if he took the lead, he would surely be killed by the Nationalist reactionaries. At that moment, I thought of a lawyer—Shen Junru, the elderly. I immediately went to his law office and asked him to help purchase a plot of land at Hongqiao Cemetery for Lu Xun. Shen agreed immediately and went to handle the matter promptly. At that time, the white terror was severe, and speaking at Lu Xun’s memorial service was a life-threatening risk. I delivered a eulogy at the service, and it may have been recorded by someone. I remember Hu Yuzhi from the Xinhua News Agency was also present.