The Chronicle of Erli Tang (Illustrated and Revised Edition)

Author: Tang Yu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-01
Features: Midlife worries, youthful; East and West, home alike; Blood and rain, trivial matters; Thorny paths, ordinary life; Annual reviews become crimes, jests and chats all escalate (Wu Zuguang); Warn your descendants against jests, "Second-Rate Hall" ruined my life all my life. — Wu Zuguang
Author Tang Yu, the house he built was a favorite gathering place for literary and artistic circles at the time, jokingly called "Second-Rate Hall," and he was also titled "Master of Second-Rate Hall." From then on, his life's fortune and misfortune were inseparable from "Second-Rate Hall." What is "Second-Rate Hall"? During the War of Resistance, some cultural, theatrical, cinematic, artistic, and journalistic figures from Shanghai and other places who moved to Chongqing were inclined to progress and demanded democracy had no place to stay and temporarily gathered in the home of Mr. Tang Yu, a "well-known good person" (as reported in the Cultural Ministry's notice to rectify the reputation of "Second-Rate Hall" in August 1979, issued by Xinhua News Agency, it was a place for the Party and some non-Party figures to connect).
Since there was no house number, Xia Yan erected a wooden sign in front of the house, inscribed with a pleasant name like "Yilu" (or "Bilu"). Frequently visiting here were Wu Zuguang, Lü En, Ding Cong, Fang Jing, Zhang Zhengyu, Yu Feng, Huang Miaozi, Zhang Guangyu, Sheng Jialun, Sa Konglao, Shen Qiuwo, Dai Hao, Jin Shan, Zhang Ruifang, Gao Ji, and Gao Fen, among others. These young comrades at the time, lacking stable jobs, lived a nomadic life. Some jokingly called them "second-rate scoundrels," and their place of residence was playfully referred to as "Second-Rate Hall" (Guo Moruo was also invited to write the "hall name").
Unbeknownst, a decade or two later, the tides changed—purges, the Anti-Rightist Campaign, the Cultural Revolution—where "annual reviews and yearly inspections became crimes, jests and casual talks all escalated" (Wu Zuguang). From then on, they could not live in peace. Everyone who had stayed or visited there was spared none, and countless unrelated people were also implicated. These cultural elites who were sacrificed early (or again) during the Cultural Revolution suffered immensely through this catastrophe.
With the rectification of variouscases after the overthrow of the "Four Gangsters," and as some "secrets" were gradually "declassified," readers urgently needed to learn the truth about the persecution of victims, including those at "Second-Rate Hall." In April 1997, Anhui Literature and Art Publishing House published Mr. Tang Yu's memoir, Chronicles of Second-Rate Hall. This book was eagerly awaited by readers concerned about this "incident."
The author, Mr. Tang, is an optimistic and open-minded person who does not believe in fatalism. Although he has been living overseas, his confidence in the country's future led him to write about his half-century of experiences, despite his advanced age and frailty, in a seemingly light but deeply moving tone. These articles were not only published overseas but also compiled into this book, Chronicles of Second-Rate Hall.
The book is divided into five parts: "Stormy Days," "Chronicled Hardships," "Reminiscences," "Immortal Tales," and "Supplementary Notes," respectively narrating the author's life experiences and the tragic fate of "Second-Rate Hall" from various perspectives, such as the Cultural Revolution's trials, revolutionary experiences, old and new friendships, and personal observations and reflections.