Reminiscence of the Inkstone: Literature "The Good Companion"

Author: Chen Zishan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-12-01
Features: This book takes the essence of the famous magazine Liangyou from the 1930s as its blueprint, compiling works by literary masters of the time, including short stories and essays. It is a modern selection of works that blend classics with fashion.
Preface: Liangyou Picture Magazine (abbreviated as Liangyou magazine) was founded in Shanghai in 1926 by Wu Liande, a native of Guangdong, who served as its founder and first editor. This man was extraordinary. In those days, the "Guangdong Gang" had made a big splash in Shanghai's economic life, but most were involved in the retail and food industries, with very few investing in news media and publishing. Wu Liande possessed commercial acumen and carved a unique path, achieving remarkable success quickly. Not only did Liangyou magazine, but also the Liangyou Book Printing Company, became pillars of Shanghai's cultural industry in the 1930s.
Liangyou went through fives after Wu Liande. Besides Wu, the successive editors were Zhou Shoujuan, Liang Desuo, Ma Guoliang, and Zhang Shenheng, representing both the "Swan and Butterfly" school and the rising stars of new literature. Under Liang Desuo's tenure, Liangyou flourished, and under Ma Guoliang, it reached its golden age. It became wildly popular, influencing all corners of China, earning the reputation of "Everyone read Liangyou, Liangyou was everywhere." Its fame even spread to Southeast Asia and Europe, making it a comprehensive Chinese picture magazine.
When the War of Resistance broke out, Liangyou suffered misfortunes, facing closures and revivals through, ultimately becoming its last gasp, losing its former glory. In recent years, with Li Ouwan using Liangyou as an example of "modernity construction" in Chinese urban culture in Shanghai Modern: A New Urban Culture in China (1930–1945), and with Ma Guoliang in his long Liangyou Yijiu treating Liangyou as a witness to the lost glamour of 1930s Shanghai, the magazine has regained immense value. Thus, to carry the legacy of 1930s Shanghai fashion culture, Liangyou is indispensable.
However, beyond the Liangyou people already familiar with—such as the Liangyou of advertisements, fashion, modern women, and international and domestic movie stars—there are still many more Liangyous. It is not hard to notice the Liangyou of politics, the military, the economy, science, humanities and geography, natural landscapes, ethnic minorities, sports, art, and photography, all vibrant and captivating. Among them, the Liangyou of literature is the most richly diverse and ever-changing, making it the most appealing.
The authors of the literary Liangyou are truly numerous, including literary giants of modern China from Lu Xun and Hu Shih onward. It nearly captured all the prominent figures in the modern Chinese literary scene. More importantly, the novels and essays published in Liangyou include both fashionable writings in the market-oriented era (which naturally accounted for a significant proportion), such as Mu Shiying's The Black, Guo Jianying's A Woman Who Doesn't Know Sorrow, Fei'er's The Abandoned Man, and Lin Weiyin's The Solution to a Mystery; as well as the sincere calls for the masses from left-wing writers, such as Tian Han's The Thorny Path, Mao Dun's The Stock Exchange, Shi Yi's The Roar of the Spinning Wheel, Ding Ling's The Diary of Yang Ma, Mu Mu Tian's Reminiscences of Northeast, and so on.
There are also excellent works on historical themes, such as Wang Jiaxi's After Fame, Zimu's The Crane of Huating (it is clear that "Zimu" is a pen name, and the editor reveals that he was a renowned master of the May Fourth New Literature Movement. Upon investigation, he turned out to be one of the initiators of the Literary Research Society, Wang Tongzhao).
Moreover, many outstanding works by liberalist writers are included, such as Hu Shih's Please Take a Look in the Mirror, Shi Zhecun's Spring Sunshine, Ba Jin's The Fragrance of Roses and The Last Night in Guangzhou, Yu Dafu's Shanghai Tea Houses, Lu Fen's The Lamp of Life, and Lao She's Seeing Happiness When Looking Up.
Additionally, there are many brilliant works by artists, such as Xu Beihong's I in India, Feng Zishan's The Symbol of Shame, Ma Sitong's Childhood Reveries, and Ye Qianyu's Ancient Charm of Beijing.
Among them, many are undiscovered manuscripts that have never been compiled. Lin Yutang's highly important On Picture Magazines is not included in any of his collected works.
Although literary works did not occupy a prominent place in Liangyou, with only one or two published per issue, giving the impression of being somewhat deliberately selective, the literary Liangyou was truly a "blossoming of a hundred flowers" and a "symphony of many voices." If it is true that Liangyou provided a platform for famous and unknown Chinese writers of the 1930s to express their views and engage in exchanges, opening up a "public space" for 1930s Shanghai urban literature and culture, then this aligns with historical facts.
Compiling this book, The Memory of Zuguolu, is precisely to showcase this rare feature of the literary Liangyou. I believe readers can savor it fully.
This book takes the essence of the famous magazine Liangyou from the 1930s as its blueprint, compiling works by literary masters of the time, including short stories and essays, and is a modern selection of works that blend classics with fashion. Liangyou Picture Magazine (abbreviated as Liangyou magazine) was founded in Shanghai in 1926 by Wu Liande, a native of Guangdong, who served as its founder and first editor. This man was extraordinary. In those days, the "Guangdong Gang" had made a big splash in Shanghai's economic life, but most were involved in the retail and food industries, with very few investing in news media and publishing. Wu Liande possessed commercial acumen and carved a unique path, achieving remarkable success quickly. Not only did Liangyou magazine, but also the Liangyou Book Printing Company, became pillars of Shanghai's cultural industry in the 1930s.
Liangyou went through fives after Wu Liande. Besides Wu, the successive editors were Zhou Shoujuan, Liang Desuo, Ma Guoliang, and Zhang Shenheng, representing both the "Swan and Butterfly" school and the rising stars of new literature. Under Liang Desuo's tenure, Liangyou flourished, and under Ma Guoliang, it reached its golden age. It became wildly popular, influencing all corners of China, earning the reputation of "Everyone read Liangyou, Liangyou was everywhere." Its fame even spread to Southeast Asia and Europe, making it a comprehensive Chinese picture magazine.
When the War of Resistance broke out, Liangyou suffered misfortunes, facing closures and revivals through, ultimately becoming its last gasp, losing its former glory. In recent years, with Li Ouwan using Liangyou as an example of "modernity construction" in Chinese urban culture in Shanghai Modern: A New Urban Culture in China (1930–1945), and with Ma Guoliang in his long Liangyou Yijiu treating Liangyou as a witness to the lost glamour of 1930s Shanghai, the magazine has regained immense value. Thus, to carry the legacy of 1930s Shanghai fashion culture, Liangyou is indispensable.
However, beyond the Liangyou people already familiar with—such as the Liangyou of advertisements, fashion, modern women, and international and domestic movie stars—there are still many more Liangyous. It is not hard to notice the Liangyou of politics, the military, the economy, science, humanities and geography, natural landscapes, ethnic minorities, sports, art, and photography, all vibrant and captivating. Among them, the Liangyou of literature is the most richly diverse and ever-changing, making it the most appealing.
The authors of the literary Liangyou are truly numerous, including literary giants of modern China from Lu Xun and Hu Shih onward. It nearly captured all the prominent figures in the modern Chinese literary scene. More importantly, the novels and essays published in Liangyou include both fashionable writings in the market-oriented era (which naturally accounted for a significant proportion), such as Mu Shiying's The Black, Guo Jianying's A Woman Who Doesn't Know Sorrow, Fei'er's The Abandoned Man, and Lin Weiyin's The Solution to a Mystery; as well as the sincere calls for the masses from left-wing writers, such as Tian Han's The Thorny Path, Mao Dun's The Stock Exchange, Shi Yi's The Roar of the Spinning Wheel, Ding Ling's The Diary of Yang Ma, Mu Mu Tian's Reminiscences of Northeast, and so on.
There are also excellent works on historical themes, such as Wang Jiaxi's After Fame, Zimu's The Crane of Huating (it is clear that "Zimu" is a pen name, and the editor reveals that he was a renowned master of the May Fourth New Literature Movement. Upon investigation, he turned out to be one of the initiators of the Literary Research Society, Wang Tongzhao).
Moreover, many outstanding works by liberalist writers are included, such as Hu Shih's Please Take a Look in the Mirror, Shi Zhecun's Spring Sunshine, Ba Jin's The Fragrance of Roses and The Last Night in Guangzhou, Yu Dafu's Shanghai Tea Houses, Lu Fen's The Lamp of Life, and Lao She's Seeing Happiness When Looking Up.
Additionally, there are many brilliant works by artists, such as Xu Beihong's I in India, Feng Zishan's The Symbol of Shame, Ma Sitong's Childhood Reveries, and Ye Qianyu's Ancient Charm of Beijing.
Among them, many are undiscovered manuscripts that have never been compiled. Lin Yutang's highly important On Picture Magazines is not included in any of his collected works.
Although literary works did not occupy a prominent place in Liangyou, with only one or two published per issue, giving the impression of being somewhat deliberately selective, the literary Liangyou was truly a "blossoming of a hundred flowers" and a "symphony of many voices." If it is true that Liangyou provided a platform for famous and unknown Chinese writers of the 1930s to express their views and engage in exchanges, opening up a "public space" for 1930s Shanghai urban literature and culture, then this aligns with historical facts.
Compiling this book, The Memory of Zuguolu, is precisely to showcase this rare feature of the literary Liangyou. I believe readers can savor it fully.