The Disasterous Journey of a Beard: Selected Essays by Zhang Youlan

Author: Zhang Yu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of my father, Mr. Zhang Youlan. From publishing an article in Shanghai Daily·Free Talk in 1921 to stopping writing in 1986 due to a stroke, my father devoted 65 years to writing. He wrote numerous serialized novels and works on classical literature, and his essays,, sketches, and short stories published in newspapers and magazines are countless. Over the past 50 years, only more than ten of his works have been published, including novels, selected ancient fables, and dramatic stories; while his essays and sketches in newspapers and magazines have never been compiled and published. Therefore, Mr. Nie Gongnuo gifted him a poem with the line "extraordinary writings lack" (meaning they were not published). To commemorate my father's 100th birthday, with the help and urging of our family, my daughter Zhang Tian and I searched and organized this manuscript, deciding to publish a collection of his sketches. Although this collection only includes a small part of my father's works, fortunately, they span from the 1920s to the 1980s, covering various historical periods. Based on the writing dates and content, the collection is divided into eight sections.
Section "Before Jishuitan Lake" includes works from the 1920s, primarily articles from a combined volume of Creative Daily and Beijing Daily·Literary Week. The articles from Creative Daily were photocopied by Zhang Tian in early 1990 from the Beijing Library to research her grandfather's literary activities in his youth. At the time, my father was bedridden in Nanjing and passed away before he could see them. The combined volume of Beijing Daily·Literary Week was later found by my father in a second-hand book stall during the late Cultural Revolution. Although only more than ten articles are included in this section, they provide some insight into my father's early literary creations. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, my father wrote columns for Xinmin Daily in Chongqing and Chengdu, publishing a large number of articles, but he himself did not leave any records. My father's old friend Chen Liyuan, who knew him well at Xinmin Daily, was particularly enthusiastic. After the Cultural Revolution, he had some of my father's column articles, such as "Curved News" and "Mountain City Night Songs," copied and given to him. In 1986, United Daily launched the column "Bashan Night Words," republishing some of his articles. Therefore, the second section of this collection is titled "Bashan Night Words," selecting articles from 1935 to 1943. For these two historical periods, due to their long history, it is extremely difficult to fully understand my father's works. Currently, we can only "catch a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg."
From 1963 to 1965, my father's peak period for writing essays and sketches, or perhaps his peak period for publishing works. The Hong Kong Ta Kung Pao launched the columns "Youlan's" and "New Readings of the Old," while the Hong Kong Wen Wei Pao launched the column "New Chapters in a Prosperous Era." Although some clippings may be missing, most have been preserved. The third, fourth, and fifth sections of this collection are titled "New Chapters in a Prosperous Era," "Youlan's," and "New Readings of the Old," respectively,ing these works. A few late works with similar content are grouped together.
After the Cultural Revolution, my father, now in his twilight years, began another peak period of writing. In addition to the column "Yanshan New Words" in the Hong Kong Wen Wei Pao and the column "Raising the Beard to Talk" in the Hong Kong Xin Wen Bao, he also wrote for numerous newspapers and magazines such as Xinmin Evening News, Nanjing Daily, Beijing Evening News, Travel, Encyclopedic Knowledge, and News Research Materials. The sixth and seventh sections of this collection are titled "Yanshan New Words" and "Raising the Beard to Talk,"ing most of the works from these columns. The eighth section "Old News Talk" is mostly late works, with a few exceptions, such as "It's a Bee, Not a Fly," which was attacked during the Anti-Rightist Campaign and published in Guangming Daily in 1957.
The articles my father published in newspapers and magazines cover a wide range of topics and styles: from insights gained through reading and historical anecdotes to personal experiences in politics, literature, and journalism; from reflective essays and sketches to news features on people and events. Regardless of the content, his writing is always humorous and light-hearted, making it highly enjoyable to read. Collecting and publishing these articles is a way to commemorate my father and to preserve some invaluable historical materials from being lost.