Selected Prose Works of Ling Shuhua

Author: Lin Na
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Ling Shuhua, originally named Ling Ruitang, was known by the pen name Shuhua. She was originally from Fanchang County, Guangdong Province, and was born in Beijing on May 5, 1904. The Ling family was a feudal aristocratic household. Ling Shuhua's father, Ling Fupeng, had been a high-ranking official during the Qing Dynasty and possessed a high cultural attainment, often associating with scholars and artists. Ling Shuhua grew up in a strong literary and artistic atmosphere. At the age of five or six, she loved admiring and painting landscapes. Her father discovered her talent for painting and allowed her to study with renowned painters such as Ying Susuo, Wang Zhulin, and Hao Jiyu. She practiced painting orchids, bamboos, and landscapes every day for years, laying a solid foundation in painting. During her childhood, she also studied English with the "eccentric genius" Gu Hongming, who was knowledgeable in both Eastern and Western cultures. Every day, Gu Hongming would teach her to recite several English poems. "That short year laid a solid foundation for my English studies, and learning poetry also gave me some healthy enlightenment." (From "Reminiscences of the City I Know") In her childhood, Ling Shuhua also lived in Japan for two years with her family and learned Japanese. When the May Fourth Movement broke out, Ling Shuhua was studying at the Hebei Provincial Women's Normal School in Tianjin, where she began to show her talent for writing and often had articles published in the school magazine. In 1920, Ling Quanhua enrolled at Peking University, initially studying natural sciences for one year before transferring to the foreign language department to study English, French, and Japanese. She graduated in 1924 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. During her time at university, she began her creative activities. In 1924, she published short stories such as "'A Daughter's Life is Too Miserable'," "The Capitalist's Christmas," and "What Did I Do Wrong for Him?" in the supplements of the Morning News, as well as essays like "Harbin Street in the Morning Fog."
Excerpt: I remember about eight years ago, Mr. Da Li brought his brush and a large suitcase and arrived in Southampton, England. The customs officials, thinking that the heavy box must contain something worth a lot of duty, immediately gathered to inspect it. However, when they opened it, they found only scroll after scroll of calligraphy. They looked at it horizontally and vertically but couldn't make sense of it. At that time, Mr. Da Li could not speak a few words of English. They first exchanged smiles. Later, they found a dockworker to act as an interpreter, but the worker could not understand much either, only saying it was calligraphy hung on the wall. They asked why they were looking at it, but the worker could not answer. In the end, a young man who looked like a university student came to the rescue. He said, "I understand this is abstract art, an ancient Chinese art." The customs officials were finally satisfied and left with a smile after sealing the box. Mr. Da Li had little besides paper and brushes, yet he managed to live in London for nearly three years, holding three exhibitions. Later, he went to Paris for two or three months and held a calligraphy exhibition, selling some of his large-character couplets. A French artist offered to buy one of his large-character "Longevity" calligraphy for one hundred American dollars. However, because the gallery owner was too stubborn and insisted on selling it at the original price, it was left behind. Otherwise, this "Longevity" calligraphy might have been taken around the world by that artist, leaving a memorable story for Chinese calligraphy. That exhibition was the first of its kind in Paris. On the opening day, the gallery was packed with visitors, but no one paid attention to the paintings. We sighed, wishing we could invite the British customs officials to see this grand scene. They missed the chance to see the French people appreciate new art. They would never understand why calligraphy was hung on the wall. (British people had always been inclined to trust French artistic perspectives.)
During the calligraphy exhibition in London, a major newspaper, the News Chronicle, published a photo of Mr. Da Li squatting on the ground, writing calligraphy, with the caption: "This admirable little scholar traveled across the ocean to promote ancient Chinese culture." Some British people who had been to China came to the Chinese Association to admire the calligraphy. They naturally did not understand calligraphy, and some had never even heard of the term. Yet, they lingered in the exhibition hall unwillingly. A lady who had worked as a nurse in China for thirty years looked at the calligraphy and said to me, "It feels like I've really returned to China! I really can't bear to leave the hospital in Nanjing." Many others in the hall felt the same way, reluctant to leave. The scene deeply moved the British gentlemen who had been to China before.