The autumn of the ancient capital

Author: Yu Dafu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: Classics are the treasures left behind by time, portraying and annotating human nature. The significance of classics lies in their enduring freshness, remaining an unchanging landscape on the bookshelves of readers through the ages. In the ever-changing flow of time and life, classics are the words, sounds, and expressions that have conquered time. Those sincere statements, those fearless cries, those reflections on the human spirit, awaken our past hopes, inspire our present courage, and free us from emptiness, vanity, and doubt about the future. The images of these wise people and their timeless words purify our souls, shake our spirits, and teach us what can be missed but not forgotten, and what is fleeting yet invaluable.
Indeed, every era should have its own literature. But classic literature belongs not only to its own time but also to later generations of readers who can appreciate and share an artistic connection with it. Tracing the footsteps of modern Chinese prose in the 20th century, whether it’s the early "Yushi School," the "Lunyu School," Bingxin’s prose praising maternal love, Xu Zhimo’s "Wild Horse Running" prose, or the prose of Yang Shuo, Qin Mu, and Liu Baiyu, once hailed as new classics, or even Yu Guangzhong on the other side of the strait who vowed to "" (cut off the of prose), or the recent "great cultural prose" and "little woman prose," they are united at least in one aspect: "I write with my own hand, I speak with my own voice."
Regardless of the style, whether it’s the rigid critique of current politics leaning toward essays or the soft, melodramatic, and self-pitying, or the sorrowful and tearful, prose, in a sense, can serve as a sanctuary for the soul or a refuge for the spirit. Art is independent, and prose must be personal. Dafu was a great patriot, and patriotism was the spiritual pillar of his life. He was known for his lack of petty concerns, but when it came to major principles, he was unyielding to death. In the 1920s and 1930s, he was closely associated with Zhou Zuoren, and Zhang Zhiping was also a co-founder of the Creation Society. However, when he learned that Zhou and Zhang had surrendered to the enemy, his stance was resolute. He was upright, innocent, but also stubborn, willful, unsophisticated, and ignorant of power politics. He had a deep, passionate love for his country, his close friends, and especially his homeland. Passionate love is the highest form of love, and the word "" (zhi) carries no negative connotation. The line "" (a generation of extraordinary elegance and extraordinary passion) is perfectly fitting for Dafu.
《Autumn in the Capital》expresses his boundless longing and attachment to the autumn scenery of the northern region. The five scenes vividly depicted in the text are not clearly related in time or space but are all equally discussed. Narrative, description, lyricism, and argumentation alternate throughout. On the surface, they seem unrelated, yet they are cleverly connected, enhancing the emotional depth of the author’s portrayal of the capital’s autumn and expressing the essence of autumn color, autumn mood, and autumn atmosphere in a profound and thorough way. It reflects the author’s devotion to autumn but also his love for life.