Selected Works of Yang Jiang: Essays II

Author: Yang Jiang / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: We need not speak of the literary value of We Three, nor of the fact that it was written by a famous author. Let us simply read We Three with the mindset of ordinary people about ordinary people, and what a profound impact it would have? They lived ordinary lives, yet were so pure and transcendent. Yang Jiang was delighted to buy 300 jin of coal flour mixed with soil to make 500 jin of coal briquettes—such a mundane life, yet how close it is to ours? As a great scholar, Qian Zhongshu, played with his beloved daughter like a mischievous child, hiding behind his desk and piano and shouting, "I'm not here!"—how can we find a deeper bond between father and daughter? Qian Zhongshu could draw mustaches on his sleeping daughter's face and funny faces on her stomach, revealing the deeply rooted, blood-bound affection between father and daughter.
Before, we only knew scholars and writers as rational learners, writers, thinkers, and contributors to great achievements in their fields. We rarely understood the ordinary yet extraordinary family lives of great scholars like Qian Zhongshu and Yang Jiang. Reading We Three not only gives us insight into their family life but also reveals the immense power of their spirit of adversity together and their shared efforts. They were both family and friends to each other. The expression of such,, and makes it impossible to summarize with just one word: "love."