Stars, the moon, the sun, Hu Shi's emotional world

Author: Jiang Yongzhen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: Due to Hu Shi's tendency to cherish his reputation and constantly worry about how history would judge him, he never easily left any emotional traces in his letters or diaries. Therefore, to understand Hu Shi's emotional world, what we must rely on are not the words he left behind but the stars and moons surrounding this "sun," the love, affection, resentment, and obsession revealed in their letters to him. Jiang Dongxiu's letters show her love, tolerance, and straightforward decisiveness toward Hu Shi. Wei Lianshi's letters are numerous and lengthy. Her early letters fully demonstrate her sensitive and unconventional personality; during their romantic phase, they overflow with her admiration, passion, longing, and sorrow for Hu Shi; after becoming close friends, they reveal her considerate care and concern for him. Cao Chengying's letters, though not many, pour out her fierce passion for love and hatred. Even the stars who left fewer letters each have their own unique expressions of love or even teasing toward Hu Shi. Therefore, although the subject of this book is Hu Shi; although from a male-centered perspective, these stars and moons may seem merely supporting characters orbiting this sun; and although in some brilliant passages, he not only plays the leading role but also doubles as the screenwriter, director, and audience, it is those stars and moons who dare to give and show love that truly bring blood, emotion, and color to this story. Their loves and hates, their longing, their struggles, and even their praise for love and desire are the most captivating essence of Hu Shi's emotional world.