Between "Me" and "World" (Yusi Society Research)

Author: Chen Li
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Unlike Gu Jiegang, among the important writers of the Yawen Society, Fei Ming can be said to be a relatively "pure" intellectual. Before the establishment of Yawen, Fei Ming had already made a name for himself in the literary world (starting in 1922, he began publishing works in The Struggle Weekly, edited by Hu Shi). However, he truly rose to prominence in the literary world and became one of the pillars of the Beijing School, largely thanks to Yawen and Zhou Zuoren, who was then the editor of the Beijing edition of Yawen. In 1921, when Fei Ming was still teaching at an elementary school in Wuchang, he began corresponding with Zhou Zuoren. In 1922, he enrolled in the preparatory division of Peking University, and in 1924, he officially entered the Department of English at Peking University, deepening his connection with Zhou Zuoren. In August 1934, when Zhou Zuoren visited Japan, he told Japanese reporter Inoue Komei that Fei Ming was one of his "most successful students who had made a name for themselves in the literary world." After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Fei Ming left Beijing and returned to his hometown, Huangmei, in Hubei. Zhou Zuoren, who remained in Beijing, wrote two articles in 1938 and 1943Fei Ming, showing his deep affection for him. In the last article, he said, "Fei Ming is one of the few who truly understands my intentions." Fei Ming also regarded Zhou Zuoren as his mentor. His 1934 work, Mr. Zhichang, is filled with praise for Zhou Zuoren's character and writing. When discussing Zhou Zuoren's writing, he said, "The Confucian classics and the teachings of sages have always been regarded since ancient times as the duty of governing the state and bringing peace to the world. There is little else one can do besides this; only the issues of women and children have troubled many refined scholars. I often recall these many things from Mr. Zhichang's quiet demeanor, and it almost makes me uneasy. It is easy to fall into conventions without realizing it, and sometimes it is hard to say how far we are from barbarism. Mr. Zhichang, however, governs his family and cultivates himself with a natural spirit, so much so that I cannot help but praise him." When discussing Zhou Zuoren's writing, he said, "Modern Chinese prose, from its inception to the present, is said by many to be the most enjoyable to read, and Mr. Zhichang is undoubtedly the most enduring." According to preliminary statistics, Fei Ming wrote a total of 29 articles in the Beijing edition of Yawen, ranking third in quantity after Zhou Zuoren and Liu Banong. His most notable article published in Yawen was the novel The Story of the Bamboo Grove (published in the 14th issue, signed "Feng Wenbing"), The Monks of the Fire God Temple (published in the 18th issue, signed "Wenbing"), and Untitled (published in the 73rd issue, which was part of his novel The Bridge, signed "Feng Wenbing"). The pen name "Fei Ming" first appeared in the 89th issue of Yawen, with the article Untitled III, signed "Fei Ming." In the article The Forgotten Diary, published in the 128th issue of Yawen, there is a diary entry dated June 10, 1926, which says, "Since yesterday, I no longer want my name. I have chosen a new name, calling myself Fei Ming. In the past four years, I have truly shed many shells, and especially in the past year, I have shed them in a strange way. Let yesterday be a day." This diary entry reveals the origin of the name "Fei Ming." Another entry in The Forgotten Diary, dated June 11, 1926, discusses both Lu Xun and Zhou Zuoren, which is quite interesting: "I don't plan to go out recently. If I do, I'll just go to some random place for fun. Yesterday, I read Lu Xun's Diary of a Ride on Horseback in the 87th issue of Yawen, and I really felt his laughter was bitter. What made me even sadder and more painful was that the stories I had written recently were all about the tales, while he was jokingly trudging along this thorny path barefoot. I also had this strange thought: if he were executed, I would definitely go to care for his corpse and shoot him. Thus, I thought of going to visit him, but I was afraid he might be sleeping and that I might disturb him. Instead, I thought of Baodao Bay." This diary entry is somewhat like a fable, indicating that Fei Ming initially held Lu Xun in great respect but ultimately aligned himself with Zhou Zuoren. The "breakup" between Fei Ming and Lu Xun occurred after the founding of The Camel Grass in 1929. Before Lu Xun took over the magazine and moved it to Shanghai, Fei Ming still published many articles in Yawen (Fei Ming's first article in the Shanghai edition of Yawen appeared in the 9th issue of Volume 4, titled Untitled XIV, his 18th article appeared in the 44th issue, and his article Professor Li appeared in the 50th issue). P254-255