Portrait of Xu Zhimo

Author: Han Shishan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-01
Features: In the history of modern Chinese literature, Xu Zhimo was not only renowned as a poet but also celebrated as an essayist, with notable contributions to fiction, drama, and theater. Xu Zhimo was not merely a romantic intellectual but also an idealist with pure ideals. His passion for life was exceptionally vivid. He loved both urban and rural landscapes; he appreciated material civilization as well as the tranquility of mountains and waters. He often lingered in the ivory tower, yet he also expressed justice regarding social and political issues. Gentle as water, free as clouds, and unrestrained as the wind, Xu Zhimo's cultivation, emotions, thoughts, his relentless dedication to poetry, and his emotional investment in the fusion of Eastern and Western cultures—everything, in short, every step of Xu Zhimo's artistic life—was worth our careful savoring. Xu Zhimo was indeed one of the most misunderstood figures of the New Culture Movement. In terms of his education alone, from the preparatory program at Peking University to the graduate studies at Cambridge University, his academic pursuits never strayed far from the realm of social sciences. At Peking University, he studied law; in the United States, history and political science; and in Britain, political economy. Even in that era, and even among writers today, few possess such comprehensive training in social sciences. Moreover, his amiable personality, once thought to be innate, was revealed to be the result of diligent self-discipline and deliberate cultivation, as evidenced by his Diary of Studying in the United States. Just as love was merely a sideline in his life, poetry could also be considered a secondary pursuit. His aspiration was to reform Chinese society, eliminate outdated customs, and advance civilization, aiming to become a figure akin to the European Renaissance. Fortunately, fate favored him—he largely achieved his goals, though he lived only thirty-five years and had only a decade to act. As a writer, one can excuse their own ignorance but not their narrow-mindedness. The author even considered writing a separate biography of "the non-genius" Xu Zhimo to the shortcomings of the Biography of Xu Zhimo. This book is an attempt in that direction.