Reminiscence of the Juguolu

Author: Chen Zishan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-03-01
Features: This book takes the essence of the famous magazine Liangyou from the 1930s as its blueprint, compiling the works of literary masters of the time, including short stories and essays. It is a modern selection of works that blend classics with fashion.
Foreword: Liangyou Picture Magazine (abbreviated as Liangyou magazine) was founded in Shanghai in 1926 by Wu Liande, a native of Guangdong. This man was quite remarkable. During that time, the "Guangdong Gang" had made a significant impact in Shanghai's economic life, but most of them were involved in the retail and food industries, with very few investing in news media and publishing. Wu Liande had a keen business acumen and carved a unique path, achieving remarkable success quickly. Not only did Liangyou magazine, but also the Liangyou Book and Printing Company, became pillars of Shanghai's cultural industry in the 1930s.
Liangyou went through five chief editors 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 began to flourish, and under Ma Guoliang, it reached its golden age. It became wildly popular, with influence spanning the Great Wall and the Yangtze River, earning the reputation of "Everyone read Liangyou, Liangyou was everywhere." Its fame even spread to Southeast Asia and Europe, making it a comprehensive Chinese magazine.
When the War of Resistance broke out, Liangyou suffered misfortunes, facing closures and revivals through, ultimately becoming its end and losing its former glory. In recent years, with Li Oufan using Liangyou as an example of "modernity construction" in urban culture in Shanghai Modern: A New Urban Culture in China (1930–1945), and with Ma Guoliang in his long Liangyou Yijiu presenting Liangyou as a witness to the lost glamour of Shanghai, the magazine has regained its value. Thus, with a connection to the fashion culture of 1930s Shanghai, Liangyou is an indispensable part.
However, beyond the Liangyou people already familiar with—such as the Liangyou of advertisements, fashion, modern women, and international and Chinese film stars—there are still many more Liangyous. At least, 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 truly diverse and captivating. Among them, the Liangyou of literature is the most richly varied and ever-changing, and in a sense, the most appealing. The authors of the literary Liangyou are truly extensive, including literary giants of modern China since Lu Xun and Hu Shih. Almost every prominent figure in modern Chinese literature is included.
What's more, 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 Shiyin's The Black, Guo Jianying's A Woman Who Doesn't Know Sadness, Fei'er's The Abandoned Man, and Lin Weiyin's The Solution to a Mystery; as well as the sincere calls of left-wing writers for the masses, 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 Mute'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, it turns out to be Wang Tongzhao, one of the initiators of the Literary Research Society); and many outstanding works by liberalist writers, such as Hu Shih's Please Take a Look in the Mirror, Shi Zhencun'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.
In addition, there are many outstanding 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 Old of Beijing. Among them, many are undiscovered manuscripts, such as Lin Yutang's highly important On Magazines, which is not included in any of his collected works.
Although literary works in Liangyou do not occupy a prominent place, with only one or two published per issue, giving the impression of being somewhat deliberately reserved, the literary Liangyou is truly a "blossoming of a hundred flowers" and a "murmur of a thousand voices." If it is said that Liangyou provided a platform for famous and unknown Chinese writers of various tendencies in the 1930s to express their views and exchange ideas, opening up a "public space" for urban literature and culture in 1930s Shanghai, it should align with historical facts.
Compiling this book, The Reminiscence of Zhu Gulu, is also to showcase the extremely rare feature of the literary Liangyou, and I believe readers can savor it from it.
This book takes the essence of the famous magazine Liangyou from the 1930s as its blueprint, compiling the works of literary masters of the time, including short stories and essays, as 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. This man was quite remarkable. During that time, the "Guangdong Gang" had made a significant impact in Shanghai's economic life, but most of them were involved in the retail and food industries, with very few investing in news media and publishing. Wu Liande had a keen business acumen and carved a unique path, achieving remarkable success quickly. Not only did Liangyou magazine, but also the Liangyou Book and Printing Company, became pillars of Shanghai's cultural industry in the 1930s.
Liangyou went through five chief editors 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 began to flourish, and under Ma Guoliang, it reached its golden age. It became wildly popular, with influence spanning the Great Wall and the Yangtze River, earning the reputation of "Everyone read Liangyou, Liangyou was everywhere." Its fame even spread to Southeast Asia and Europe, making it a comprehensive Chinese magazine.
When the War of Resistance broke out, Liangyou suffered misfortunes, facing closures and revivals through, ultimately becoming its end and losing its former glory. In recent years, with Li Oufan using Liangyou as an example of "modernity construction" in urban culture in Shanghai Modern: A New Urban Culture in China (1930–1945), and with Ma Guoliang in his long Liangyou Yijiu presenting Liangyou as a witness to the lost glamour of Shanghai, the magazine has regained its value. Thus, with a connection to the fashion culture of 1930s Shanghai, Liangyou is an indispensable part.
However, beyond the Liangyou people already familiar with—such as the Liangyou of advertisements, fashion, modern women, and international and Chinese film stars—there are still many more Liangyous. At least, 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 truly diverse and captivating. Among them, the Liangyou of literature is the most richly varied and ever-changing, and in a sense, the most appealing. The authors of the literary Liangyou are truly extensive, including literary giants of modern China since Lu Xun and Hu Shih. Almost every prominent figure in modern Chinese literature is included.
What's more, 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 Shiyin's The Black, Guo Jianying's A Woman Who Doesn't Know Sadness, Fei'er's The Abandoned Man, and Lin Weiyin's The Solution to a Mystery; as well as the sincere calls of left-wing writers for the masses, 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 Mute'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, it turns out to be Wang Tongzhao, one of the initiators of the Literary Research Society); and many outstanding works by liberalist writers, such as Hu Shih's Please Take a Look in the Mirror, Shi Zhencun'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.
In addition, there are many outstanding 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 Old of Beijing. Among them, many are undiscovered manuscripts, such as Lin Yutang's highly important On Magazines, which is not included in any of his collected works.
Although literary works in Liangyou do not occupy a prominent place, with only one or two published per issue, giving the impression of being somewhat deliberately reserved, the literary Liangyou is truly a "blossoming of a hundred flowers" and a "murmur of a thousand voices." If it is said that Liangyou provided a platform for famous and unknown Chinese writers of various tendencies in the 1930s to express their views and exchange ideas, opening up a "public space" for urban literature and culture in 1930s Shanghai, it should align with historical facts.
Compiling this book, The Reminiscence of Zhu Gulu, is also to showcase the extremely rare feature of the literary Liangyou, and I believe readers can savor it from it.