Father's long life

Author: Ye Zishan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: Read the excerpt: My father was asked to go with me to meet my father-in-law and mother-in-law, who lived in the same lane, just about thirty steps away. Entering the living room, Mr. Xia was already sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting. Upon seeing my father, he stood up, leaning on the desk on his right. The two elderly gentlemen clasped their hands and said, "We're getting old, we are." My brother-in-law Manzi and I had already arrived with the child, and for the first time, I addressed them as "Dad" and "Mom" according to Manzi's way. Mother-in-law smiled and said, "Aman had been knocking on the back door with a three-year-old, and when Yu Yan saw him, he still asked who he was looking for—he really didn't recognize him! Sister-in-law Ye said yesterday that Aman was coming back to his parents' house today, and his father couldn't stop thinking at night and couldn't sleep."
Sister-in-law Qiuyun brought a pot of boiling water to make tea. It turned out that Manzi was in the kitchen, laughing and crying with the two other sisters-in-law. How could all the words from the past eight years be told in one go. My father wrote in his diary: "Uncle's tuberculosis has worsened, with frequent fever and poor mood. He feels troubled by both household matters and major world events. Seeing me and Manzi return made him feel somewhat comforted."
This time, Mr. Xia was particularly excited and said he wanted to have a few more drinks with my father. The two sisters-in-law Manzi had prepared some "New Year delicacies," such as braised chicken, salted preserved meat, spicy eggplant sauce, roasted bamboo shoots, and so on, and warmed up the wine. The two elderly gentlemen drank slowly, chatted leisurely, and tried their best not to dwell on troubles. They also talked about editorial work and the Guowen Yulan. Mr. Xia asked, "Is my piece any good?" He was referring to the article he wrote earlier in the year, "The Structure of Reduplicated Words." My father replied, "Not only is it good, but articles about the structure of words have rarely been written—this is at least pioneering. Pei Yan was particularly enthusiastic, saying that with the dissolution of Tsinghua University, the Guowen Yulan should be handed over to Kaiping. Some professors had differing opinions, so they quickly gathered manuscripts, but it was too late to start. This issue will not be available until early next month. If we miss the deadline, there's nothing we can do—just adjust it issue by issue. However, there is one thing: academic journals often feature articles on old topics, which don't quite match the current situation."
A hint of a smile appeared on Mr. Xia's swollen face. He said, "I thought it would be like this. The other day, I had an idea: we could start a column called Modern Literature Selection and Review, selecting newly published articles from newspapers and magazines, in the style of Examples of Writing, with added comments. The comments should be concise and to the point, not saying too much. It's like using someone else's cup of wine to pour out my own frustrations."
My father said, "This is a good idea. It can be like The Hospital for Writing Diseases, declaring that we only review articles, not anything else." Mr. Xia smiled again, his eyes narrowed to a sliver. He said, "Isn't it everyone who strives for freedom of expression? Don't worry about it. I've selected the articles for you." He pulled out a drawer beside him and handed my father two clippings—signed by Zhou Xuliang, "The Path of Chinese Politics" and "Two Short Pieces." My father had likely already seen them and, upon reading the titles, said they were worth publishing again. During those hectic four days, my father managed to squeeze in two short reviews, without a byline, and published them alongside Zhou's original works in Issue 41 of the Guowen Yulan. The two articles in Issue 42 of the Modern Literature Selection and Review were also selected by Mr. Xia.
On the afternoon of March 17th, my father personally delivered the newly received sample of Issue 41 to Mr. Xia for review. In his diary, he wrote: "Uncle has been wheezing recently, with fever and poor appetite, lacking enthusiasm." But when my father visited my aunt's house for a while and returned, Mr. Xia's spirits improved unexpectedly. He had surely already read the Modern Literature Selection and Review in Issue 41—was it perhaps the medicine that lifted his spirits? My father wrote in his diary: "At five, I went to Uncle's place again and had a drink with him. Uncle drank two cups, while I drank half a liter. He said he had never had a proper drink with me since I returned to Shanghai, and tonight was a happy occasion, so he drank more. We talked about grammar and writing, not mentioning life's difficulties, and thus no complaints were voiced."
Mr. Xia handed my father the two modern articles he had selected. One was "Written Before Christmas," signed by Ma Yichu. The other was "Don't Fight Internally," subtitled "An Appeal from Twenty-six Chongqing Magazines," which was drafted by my father in early November last year for the Joint Supplement of ten Chongqing magazines and published in Issue 4, without a byline as per custom. Did Mr. Xia know that the author of this "appeal" was his father-in-law? He didn't say. My father took them without saying anything. The two short reviews were published alongside the original works in Issue 42, still without a byline. Of the two selected and reviewed articles, one became my father's solo performance, something the readers would never know. Nor would they know the behind-the-scenes coordination of this one-act play was the ailing father-in-law on his deathbed.
One selection, one review—alas, their last collaboration became an irreparable regret. Issue 42 of the Guowen Yulan would not be available until late April, and by then, my father-in-law had already entered his final days. The "father" in the text refers to Mr. Ye Shengtao, the "father-in-law" "Mr. Xia" refers to Mr. Xia Zun, and "Pei Yan" is the courtesy name of Mr. Zhu Ziqing.