Selected Essays of Li Liewen

Author: Li Liewen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Li Liewen was born in Xiangtan, Hunan in 1904. His great-grandfather, Li Jinlian, served as the magistrate of Tainan, Taichung, and Quanzhou successively. After the First Sino-Japanese War, Taiwan was ceded to Japan. Li Jinke, his great-uncle, led the people in resisting the Japanese occupation forces but was defeated and committed suicide by drowning. His grandfather, Li Zexiang, served as the magistrate of YuHang, Zhejiang. His father, Li Muzong, graduated from Hubei Public Railway College and worked as a station master in several places before holding a position in the Hunan Provincial Military Governor's Office, where the family's fortune further declined. In late 1919, at the age of 15, Li Liewen came to Shanghai. With the help of his cousin who worked at the Commercial Press, he was hired as a clerk in the Translation and Compilation Department, where he was responsible for copying, organizing, and proofreading manuscripts. In the summer of 1921, Zheng Zhenwen, the head of the Translation and Compilation Department, was appointed as the president of Xiamen University. Impressed by Li Liewen's talent, he took him on as the secretary to the president's office. However, due to his attachment to the publishing house, he returned to the Commercial Press in the spring of 1922 and was promoted to assistant editor in the Chinese Language Department of the Translation and Compilation Department. Starting in 1921, he began publishing short stories, which were later collected into "Bozhong" and published by Shanghai Tai Dong Publishing House. Simultaneously, he compiled and annotated four ancient books: "The Journey of Tripitaka to the West," "Commentaries on the Five Dynasties History," "The Remains of the Great Family in the Xuanhe Era," and "The Popular Stories of Jingben," all published by Shanghai Commercial Press. With some earnings from his writings and financial support from his cousin-in-law, Huang Song, Li Liewen left for Japan to study in June 1926. Upon arriving in Japan, Li Liewen attended a preparatory school to improve his Japanese language skills. After six months, he entered the preparatory department of Tokyo Imperial University. Soon after, due to overworking, he contracted "neurasthenia." Following his doctor's advice, he took a month-long leave to rest in Ito. During his recovery, the respected Japanese avant-garde writer Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, whom he admired, committed suicide. This deeply affected him. He had already been influenced by Akutagawa's "view of a lonely life," and this event further deepened his depression. His teachers and classmates encouraged him to change his environment, and he himself felt that studying literature in Japan was not as rewarding as studying in France, where French literature seemed to be richer. In September 1927, he completed his studies in Japan and returned to Shanghai. At that time, I was reading the plays of Maeterlinck, and I casually praised them a few times. Unbeknownst to me, this perfectly aligned with the interests of Madame Langtry, who was an avid fan of Maeterlinck's works. She immediately began discussing Maeterlinck with me, pointing out all the books of his works she had on her bookshelf and even showing me several letters he had written to her personally. She also had her daughter Denize bring over some for me to see. Within an hour, this elderly lady, as if we had known each other for a decade, talked about everything. She told me that she had been living in Fontainebleau for five years. Her husband had been the head of the French Bank branch in Montlu?on, which was very close to Fontainebleau, so they had lived there for a long time. After her husband's death, she moved here with her two daughters. Both she and her older daughter Denize were FBITLRLLELETTRES, often publishing poems and short stories in Parisian magazines and newspapers, and also editing materials for two publishing houses. They had already published several poetry and fiction collections. However, she repeatedly emphasized that relying solely on their writing was not enough to sustain them. They were only able to live a quiet life in this picturesque city thanks to some property left by her husband. Her younger daughter, Yvonne, studied law and had worked at a law firm in Paris. Later, as her earnings were not substantial enough to keep her away from her mother, she decided to quit her job and return home to help manage the household. Madame Langtry's candid and warm conversation was truly rare. Seeing how kind she was to a foreign young man she had just met, one could only imagine how loving she was to her own daughters. Watching the family's warm and affectionate demeanor, I felt truly envious. After sitting for a long time, I stood up to leave, and the hostess had already shaken my hand and said goodbye. Suddenly, she asked how I found school life and if I was accustomed to it.