Yingzi's Friend's Letter · Yingzi's Works Collection

Author: Wang Tan/Wang Xing (editors)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Yingzi refers to the late renowned Chinese medicine practitioner, Mr. Wang Renzhi. In the 1930s, while studying medicine in Shanghai, he came into contact with Marxism. In the early days of the War of Resistance, he actively participated in the salvation movement. In 1940, he joined the Communist Party of China and engaged in underground struggles. After the liberation, he served as a long-term leader in the health administration of our province, achieving significant accomplishments. People know more about Mr. Wang Renzhi's revolutionary career and medical achievements, but less about his early involvement in literary activities. The publication of Yingzi's Correspondence with Literary Friends and Selected Works of Yingzi not only allows us to understand Mr. Wang Renzhi from another perspective but also provides a valuable resource for the study of modern literature.
Mr. Wang Renzhi developed an interest in literature during his secondary school years and edited the weekly journal Naohe with friends. From 1932 to 1935, while studying medicine with his uncle in Shanghai, he wrote numerous novels, essays, and miscellaneous articles under the pen name "Yingzi" and befriended a group of writers and artists, engaging in frequent exchanges or correspondence with them. Some of these friendships became lifelong bonds. After joining the Communist Party in 1940, at the organization's request, to avoid exposing his identity as an underground member, Mr. Wang Renzhi ceased his literary writing.
The Yingzi's Correspondence with Literary Friends includes 145 letters from 12 literary friends to Yingzi, such as the writers Ba Jin, Bian Zhilin, Fang Jing, Huang Yuan, Jin Yi, Li Ni, Wang Shuming, Xiao Jun, and Zang Kejia, the actress Wang Ying, and the calligraphers and painters Huang Binhong and Lai Shaqi. These correspondents hold significant positions in the history of modern Chinese literature and art, and this collection of letters holds great historical value for studying their lives and thoughts.
For example, in a letter from Tokyo, Japan, on March 11, 1935, Ba Jin wrote: "When it comes to 'writers,' it's more interesting to read their works. I've had similar experiences. Sometimes, after meeting someone, I lose interest in reading their articles. Of course, great writers are an exception. Their lives and thoughts are in harmony." This passage actually elaborates on the relationship between a work and its author, offering valuable inspiration for today's literary workers. Huang Yuan and Xiao Jun both had close ties with Mr. Lu Xun and benefited from his teachings. In several letters they wrote to Yingzi after Mr. Lu Xun's passing, they expressed their reverence and nostalgia for him, revealing the profound influence Mr. Lu Xun had on the youth at the time.
In a letter dated December 2, 1936, Huang Yuan wrote: "Mr. Lu Xun's death was like a thunderbolt in a clear sky, striking every young person. Whether they were close to him or far away in remote villages, those living in isolated small towns watched a brilliant star cross the sky and vanish, leaving them in sorrow. For those who were closer to him, his influence was too profound. Even though he had passed away for a month and a half, and we had personally buried him, we always felt as if he was still alive."
In a letter dated February 12, 1937, Xiao Jun wrote: "This afternoon at six, we went to Mr. Lu Xun's home for dinner. It made me very sad. Last year, during the New Year's celebration, we ate there with him alive, but this year, only his photograph hangs quietly on the wall."
A responsible official at the Shanghai Lu Xun Memorial Museum was very excited upon seeing these letters, considering them invaluable materials. They immediately expressed the museum's hope to collect these letters and requested that Yingzi's family write an introductory article to be published in the Journal of Shanghai Lu Xun Studies.
Wang Ying's letters were the most numerous and had already been compiled during her lifetime and published in the Journal of New Literature Materials. The author of Wang Ying's biography, Malaya Lover, was so impressed by these letters that they believed they "authentically recorded Wang Ying's thoughts, emotions, life, studies, work, and whereabouts from early 1934 to 1942 during the turbulent times. The letters are entirely sincere and unfeigned, with joy, sorrow, anger, and happiness vividly reflected on the paper. This is a rare historical resource." They extensively quoted from these letters in the biography, even copying entire letters verbatim.
The second part of the book is Selected Works of Yingzi, which includes nine of Yingzi's novels, essays, and miscellaneous articles. There are still dozens of works by Yingzi that were published during his time or preserved as manuscripts, but this book selects only a few representative pieces, which can only be seen as a of his early literary activities.
Yingzi's early works were generally elegant in language, though they expressed more personal emotions. However, the overall sentiments were progressive and uplifting. At that time, he was just an amateur literary enthusiast in his late teens, and his understanding of literature was not yet clear. For example, Westbound Grass, with its beautiful and ornate language, was clearly influenced by the works of Ivan Turgenev and exhibited a certain aesthetic tendency. He later stated, "I once thought that literature was merely a means of leisure, but with Wang Ying's help, I realized that literature is a serious endeavor."
After being influenced by a group of progressive writers, Yingzi's works no longer focused solely on personal emotions. For instance, Winter Notes is a lyrical essay that compares Japanese imperialism to "frost," pointing out that "when the enemy threatens our existence with the force of frost and snow, roots will still sprout, and stones will not extinguish the spark of life." When he wrote the essay Living in the Memory of the Living in 1940, he was clearly influenced by Lu Xun and had already joined the Communist Party. The entire essay was filled with a sense of struggle.
(4) Regarding the original letters, they were handled as follows: Wang Ying's letters were donated to the Wang Ying Memorial Exhibition Hall in Wuhu, Wang Ying's hometown, in August 2003. The complete letters of Ba Jin and the other nine writers were donated to the Shanghai Lu Xun Memorial Museum in April of this year. Lai Shaqi's letters, calligraphy, and other items will be donated to the Lai Shaqi Memorial Museum in Hefei once it is completed.