Gourd Bean Collection

Author: Zhou Zuoren
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-01-01
Features: In the past half year, I have written about thirty articles in total. Taking advantage of a half-day of leisure, I have compiled them into a small collection and titled it "Gua Dou Ji" (Gourd and Bean Collection). Why "Gua Dou"? Friends who are good at writing new eight-legged essays can make various speculations. Some say, "Because I enjoy discussing fate, this refers to 'planting gourds to get gourds, planting beans to get beans.'" Others say, "Because I love talking about ghosts, I used Wang Yuanyang's poem, 'Rain like silk on gourd and bean arbors.'" Still others say, "In's 'Farewell to the Ruined City,' it is said, 'The land was divided like gourds, and the beans were split,' which must be a lament for the times." Although the allusions are all correct, in reality, they are all wrong. My gourds and beans are just plain gourds and beans, like winter melons and long beans.
"I suddenly wrote 'Feng Yu Tan' (Talk of Wind and Rain) five months ago. In this past small half-year, I have written fewer articles, but I wanted to make a small conclusion, so I changed the title starting from 'About Lei Gong' (The Thunder God). Originally, it could have been called 'Lei Yu Tan' (Talk of Thunder and Rain), but the tone might be a bit too fierce, which might not be appropriate. Moreover, I have no particular fondness for China's Thunder God, and I don't want to provoke him. It's better to keep the original name and just add 'After Talk.' According to the 'Feng Yu' poem, there were originally three chapters, so this time it could be considered the 'swooping' part, but what I prefer is the chapter where 'wind and rain are dark, and the rooster crows endlessly,' which was originally the third chapter and should be assigned to 'Feng Yu San Tan' (Talk of Wind and Rain Three). This will have to wait until next year to write." This was written on May Fourth of this year, serving as the preface to 'Feng Yu Hou Tan' (After Talk of Wind and Rain). By now, I realize that half a year has passed in a blink. In the past half year, I have written about thirty articles in total. Taking advantage of a half-day of leisure, I have compiled them into a small collection and titled it 'Gua Dou Ji,' while keeping the name 'After Talk' for another purpose. Why 'Gua Dou'? Friends who are good at writing new eight-legged essays can make various speculations. Some say, "Because I enjoy discussing fate, this refers to 'planting gourds to get gourds, planting beans to get beans.'" Others say, "Because I love talking about ghosts, I used Wang Yuanyang's poem, 'Rain like silk on gourd and bean arbors.'" Still others say, "In's 'Farewell to the Ruined City,' it is said, 'The land was divided like gourds, and the beans were split,' which must be a lament for the times." Although the allusions are all correct, in reality, they are all wrong. My gourds and beans are just plain gourds and beans, like winter melons and long beans.
Or, I could be even more arrogant and call them 'Du Yuan Gua Dou,' or 'Du Guo Cai' (Vegetables from Du Garden). In my hometown, Ru Sanqiao wrote in the 'Yue Yan Shi' (Explanation of Yue Language) volume, "Du Guo is the rabbit country. Rabbit is also written as 'tu,' and 'tu' was originally pronounced as 'tu,' which was later misheard as 'Du.' Nowadays, the vegetables and fruits grown by gardeners in the Yue region, without passing through the hands of market vendors, are more expensive, and are called 'Du Guo Cai,' as their soil and dew preserve their true flavor. As for texts without sources, they are also called 'Du Yuan,' or sometimes shortened to 'Du Zuan' (fabricated). In the past, when Shen Wen Su was in the imperial academy, someone asked who wrote the official edict. Wen Su bowed and replied, 'Du Zuan' (fabricated). Everyone burst into laughter, only to realize it was a joke, which is recorded in Song Dynasty novels. Although it may not be necessarily true, it shows that this phrase has been around for a long time. The saying 'Du Zuan' (fabricated) started with Du Mo, not Du Zuan."
"Although the soil and dew preserve their true flavor is a bit too complimentary, it's not bad to take it as an ideal, meaning to learn from the best. Grown by gardeners without passing through the hands of market vendors, then it is naturally 'Du Zuan' (fabricated), so this is not a flaw. Only those who repeat what others say and speak trivialities are the ones who do it. The 'History of the Five Dynasties' says, 'The 'Tu Yuan Ce' (Rabbit Garden Manual) is the book used by village teachers to teach children.' In other words, it is the book used by rural teachers to teach village children, probably something like 'The Thousand Character Classic' or 'The Three Character Classic.' Although the book is simple, it has great influence. How could I hope to match it? In short, what Ru Jun said is all very good. I borrow it to write at the beginning of my small collection, and it is truly the best, though I'm afraid it's too good."
After rereading these thirty small essays, I couldn't help but sigh, "Too active! Iconoclasm (eikonoclasma) and moderation (sophrosune) are mixed together—what is this?" Some impatient friends think I should have talked about romance long ago. After waiting for a long time, I thought, "It's time to talk about it now, to talk about romance!" It's as if one character in the play 'Kuang Yan' (Mad Talk) said, "I'm afraid not talking about it would violate the formula." In reality, I haven't wanted to talk either, but I always can't be enough, still cursing Buddha and criticizing ancestors in the wind and moon. This is my flaw, and I can do nothing about it.
Or, some might suspect that criticizing Han Yu is archaic, and talking about ghosts is for leisure, which isn't necessarily wrong. But to be honest, it's just a bit of a clerk's style and a gentleman's attitude, no different from criticizing a monk for being bald. I feel that modern new figures are full of Ibsen's 'ghosts,' and those who read classics and uphold tradition are almost Han Wen Gong's followers. In the past, when Dang Jin didn't allow storytellers to talk about Han Xin in front of him, he wasn't necessarily afraid of the storyteller going to Han Xin's grave to talk about him. He was really afraid that the Han Xin being discussed was himself.
I don't like opera or old plays, and what I dislike isn't just the art but its influence. If I hear that I curse and am only hostile to 'Yan Neng Ji' (Collection of Yan Neng) and the little clown with a white nose, then my intelligence would be even lower than Dang Tai Fu's. Confucius said, "To know what you know and to know what you don't know is true knowledge." In Zhuangzi's view, this might just be small knowledge, but I think it's quite good. Starting from what I don't know, I have resolved not to talk about things I'm not very sure about, which has removed many thorns in my path, allowing me to move freely and choose only a few things I know a bit about to talk about.
In reality, what do I know? I can't even say that. But compared to other things, I have a special interest in biology, anthropology, child psychology, and the psychology of sex. Of course, it's just fragmented knowledge, but it's the only knowledge I have, so I can't help but value it accordingly. What I don't know are things like theology and literary speculation. I once laughed at myself, wondering if I truly understood the Dao from 'fairy spirits fighting.' The Dao might not be understood, but it has certainly helped me understand many problems and things. From this perspective, sacred things inevitably lose their luster, and there is a tendency toward iconoclasm. At the same time, I also praise moderation, because abstinence and indulgence are equally faults in sexual life, as British Alfred said, "The art of life lies in subtly blending giving and taking."
All of this is trivial and insignificant, but to explain why my opinions often conflict with both new and old authorities, I had no choice but to talk so much. I usually write articles concisely or vaguely, and honest people might be misled by them. Lately, my thoughts have become more controlled, and I worry that fewer people will be able to read freely. I have written these two sections at the end of the article, which is truly a break from the norm.
November 1, 1926, the author wrote this in Beiping, Zhi Tang.