Selected Essays of Sun Fuyuan

Author: Lin Na
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Sun Fuyuan wrote in articles such as "Three Brothers," "Medicine," "Youth Fashion in the Xinhai Revolution Era," "Memoir of Gu Zhongyong," and "Mourning Mr. Lu Xun" about his youth, mentioning that he "had once visited the white coffin of the martyrs at" and participated in the "Armed Speech Team" during the Xinhai Revolution. From 1918, when the New Culture Movement flourished, to the eve of the failure of the Great Revolution in 1927, these ten years were the most brilliant period in Sun Fuyuan's life. In 1918, Sun Fuyuan entered Peking University to study. In 1919, he joined the shocking "May Fourth Movement." That year, he became an assistant editor for the of the, marking the beginning of his "newspaper career." After ceased publication, Sun Fuyuan moved to the in July 1920, initially editing the "Literary Column" in the seventh section. After the establishment of the Literary Research Association in 1921, Sun Fuyuan resigned from his lecturer position at Peking University to become a full-time editor for the. On October 12, 1921, he took over the "Literary Column" in the seventh section of the, transforming it into a four-page insert named《》, which he edited. In China, newspapers had-like features as early as the Qing Dynasty, but they were not always designated as separate sections. The term "" first appeared in print with Sun Fuyuan's《》. With the support of pioneers like Lu Xun, Sun Fuyuan revolutionized the publication, turning《》 into a comprehensive that attracted attention from the literary community, introducing new ideas and publishing new literary works. On May 5, 1922,《》 launched a special issue on "Marx Memorial," and on November 7 of the same year, it published a special issue on "Russian Revolution Memorial," pioneering the introduction of Marxism and Russian revolution. During the early stages of the May Fourth New Culture Movement, nearly all writers published their works or translations in《》, and many renowned international writers were also introduced in the newspaper.《》 became a fertile ground for the growth of new literature and a window for connecting Chinese and foreign cultures. Sun Fuyuan actively engaged in literary circles with a dual stance—rebelling against feudalism and building a new culture—and gained widespread fame. On a certain day in October 1924, Lu Xun's satirical poem "My" was edited by Sun Fuyuan for《》. The night before it was published, Sun Fuyuan discovered that the poem had been removed by the acting editor, Liu Mian. Enraged, Sun Fuyuan resigned from his position as editor of《》 the next day "in protest." After this young man, still "unshaven," left《》, he deeply felt the need for "institutions where texts could be freely published." With Lu Xun's strong support, he founded the《》 weekly in November 1924, advocating the " style," which became the birthplace of Chinese short essays (as described by Wang Dioren). On December 5, 1924, the was launched, and Sun Fuyuan was invited by the editor-in-chief of the, Shao Biaoping, to serve as the editor. He transformed the into a vibrant space for the literary and artistic expressions of emerging writers and the dissemination of their ideas. Lu Xun published over 40 translated works in the. Excerpt: While lecturing in Shaanxi, we earned 300 yuan in a month. Three of us left within a month, and Lu Xun and I discussed: "If we have enough travel expenses, we should spend the money in Shaanxi." Later, we learned that the theater school and theater were in financial need, so we donated some money to them. Another gentleman had little interest in art, so we left it to him. The workers at Northwest University were very hospitable, and Lu Xun advocated giving them more money. Another gentleman said, "Workers are neither our fathers nor our sons; we don’t know when we’ll be back next time; I think giving more money is meaningless." Lu Xun didn’t say anything at the time but later told me, "I don’t approve of his saying we don’t know when we’ll be back next time. If he wants to give less, let him. We should still give more as planned." Lu Xun lived a very simple life at home, with his clothing, food, and housing mirroring his student days. Despite serving as an official for over a decade and teaching for more than ten years, he never indulged in the trivial entertainments that most people could not avoid, such as gambling, old opera, or brothels. His colleagues at the Ministry of Education knew him as a strange man but also understood that this strangeness was simply his scholarly nature, and they respected him. He usually wore old cotton clothes, like an ordinary university student. Even in the freezing winters of Beijing, Lu Xun always wore single-ply pants with his suits. One day, Zhou Laotaitai told me that Lu Xun’s pants were still from his study abroad three decades ago, patched so many times that she couldn’t stand it anymore. So, she asked Zhou Tai Tai to make a padded pants for him, hoping he would wear it without noticing, but unexpectedly, he threw it out. The old lady thought that sometimes my words could still earn the teacher’s trust, so she asked me to persuade him. Lu Xun’s reply, however, was not ordinary: "A single life cannot always focus on comfort. Not only do I not wear padded pants, but even my quilt is old cotton that hasn’t been replaced in years. I don’t want to replace it. Look at my bed frame—I never want to replace the rattan or palm mat, nor do I want to replace the thick mattress. Life is too comfortable, and work will be exhausted by life." Indeed, Lu Xun’s room only had a bed, a wicker basket, a wooden box, and a desk. If he had to leave at any moment, he could roll up his bedding, grab either the wicker basket or the wooden box, and be on his way. He was always on the path of struggle, never dreaming of a more comfortable life. Though he lived in a family, his life was completely that of a bachelor.