[Introduction] Su Wei was a junior of Zhang Chong and and a close neighbor of Yale . He often came to ask for advice and learned calligraphy and poetry. Zhang Chonghe once dictated his story to Su Wei intermittently. After Zhang Chonghe personally reviewed and revised it, he published the book "Tianya Wandi".
Let me do my work, you can go and get a Chinese Ph.D!
In January 1949, Zhang Chonghe and her American husband Fu Hansi boarded the ship "General Gorton" in Shanghai Port. , went to the United States and began to open a new page in her colorful life. "When we first arrived in the United States, because Hansi's parents lived in Stanford, we lived in his house for a while. Later, Hansi found a job at the University of Berkeley, and we settled in nearby Berkeley." Mr. Zhang said in He changed his sitting posture on the sofa - the old man always sat with a dignified posture and a neat appearance, and told me -
"Hansi's PhD majored in Norman language studies, but when he returned to the United States, he didn't want to go back to the United States. He was studying Norman, and he wanted to switch to Chinese. Zhao Yuanren They were at Berkeley at the time, and they encouraged him. But you know, he already has a Ph.D., so it is not that easy to change his major. Ah." The old man squinted his eyes, as if he had returned to that troubled time, "We were very poor at that time and had little money. Hansi had been working part-time in Berkeley, and his job was not considered part-time. The Chinese Department sometimes teaches Chinese history, and sometimes compiles publications - a publication called "Chinese History Translation Series". From 1949 to 1959, for ten years, Hansi did not have a full copy. -time (full-time) job. ""I was working in the library at Berkeley, but I had a full-time job. I knew he was stuck on a Chinese-related degree, so I said, "I'll do it." , you go and study for a Ph.D. in Chinese!'" The old man's tone became short and firm, reminding people of the independence, perseverance, and self-help that this "Fourth Miss Zhang Family" developed because she left home at a young age. Self-improvement personality. "I worked as a full-time librarian at the Berkeley Library for eight years. Hans later applied to Harvard's Chinese doctoral program. In 1959, Hans got his first official job teaching Chinese at Stanford. We stayed at Stanford for two years to teach literature. I stopped working during those two years. The children were still young and needed to be taken care of. I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. "Your two children..." I was about to say. When he asked, the old man took over, "Both of our children are adopted. I hugged the boy when he was in Berkeley. He was just born at that time and he is turning fifty this year. When I got to Stanford, I adopted another one, a girl..."
Zhang Chonghe and her husband Fu Hansi
The old man suddenly became silent. I know that in the United States, it is generally impossible to hire a nanny to take care of children. This person has been in " The "fourth young lady of the Zhang family" who grew up in the arms of a nanny and a nanny started from scratch with her husband in a foreign country and raised a pair of children. During this period, the old man did not say much about the hardships he experienced.
" Hansi arrived at Yale in 1961. Yale initially offered him the position of associate professor, and our lives settled down. I resumed my work at Yale and taught part-time in their art department, mainly teaching Chinese calligraphy, until I retired at the age of seventy. "
" Over the years at Yale, I have had two very good friends. One is Anna. She is a Chinese who came from Taiwan in the early years. She studies Chinese and knows Kunqu opera . Her teacher is a student of my former teacher. She plays the flute very well. Over the years when I sang Kunqu Opera, she always played the flute to accompany me. She has been working in the Chinese Department of the United Nations. She is now over 70 years old and has been retired for several years. The other one is Mimi. She is an American. She used to work at the Yale Museum, and later went to Seattle, where she became the stepmother of Bill Gates. "I was shocked: "The Bill Gates you are talking about is the world's richest man who established the computer kingdom of Microsoft - Bill Gates?" "Yes," the old man smiled and nodded, "When I met Mimi, she She was still a student of Hansi, and she learned calligraphy and cursive writing from me. She later stayed at Yale to work and became the director of the Museum of East Asian Art.She is a very kind person. It is not easy to raise a child alone after a divorce here. I have been helping her. Later she went to the Seattle Museum and met Bill Gates’ father there. Last year, Mimi invited me to go to the "Antique and Present" exhibition I held in Seattle and organized it herself. I also met Bill Gates there. ”
Unexpectedly, Zhang Chonghe, who has been extensively connected with various wonderful figures in modern Chinese history throughout her life, also had an affair with Bill Gates, a wonderful figure who changed the history of the contemporary world, during her years at Yale. With such an indirect but close connection.
Guzheng and Guqin: What is the difference between Beijing and Kunming?
That day, He Chong casually chatted with the old man about this topic -
I said, I noticed that in Chinese traditional art, Guqin and Kun Opera are two special categories. They form a circle of their own, calling themselves "Qin people" and "Qu people"; their gatherings are called "Qin Hui" and "Qi Hui"; they like to entertain themselves on a small scale, called "Qin people". "Paiqu", "playing the qin"... I also mentioned that the difference between the two musical instruments, the guqin and the guzheng, is very similar to the difference between Kun Opera and Peking Opera.
The old man nodded in agreement and said with a smile: "I am used to singing Kun Opera, and I know how to do it." I think Beijing opera is too noisy. "The old man chuckled and said: "Actually, I also learned to sing Peking Opera, and I also found Cheng Yanqiu to be my teacher.
The old man responded with a smile: "I can't be counted as one of Cheng Men's disciples. I'm not a good student. I couldn't continue learning after a few days. I'm still not used to Peking Opera. I find it noisy. I like the quietness of Kun Opera." Therefore, Cheng Yanqiu will not recognize me as a student, although I like to listen to Cheng Pai's plays. "
Then we chatted about Peking Opera. Many of the old man's opinions also surprised me secretly, "I don't like Ma Lianliang's plays. He sings too beautifully and sweetly. I think he is oily. I can't be like that. sing. "
"Everyone likes her, but I may not like her." The old man suddenly came up with a new topic, "Just like Lin Huiyin , everyone likes her. When she was in Kunming, she loved to talk and was always the center of attention. As long as she was around, everyone had to listen to her. When no one else was talking..." The old man suddenly stopped.
Zhang Chongping was rarely there on weekdays. There was no character in her words. But after a while, she remembered something again and said with a smile: "But I have a good impression of Lu Xiaoman . She is very gentle, doesn't talk much, and can sing. She paints landscapes, flowers and birds, and her paintings are very realistic..."
Lin Huiyin and Lu Xiaoman, both of whom are famous for their romance with Xu Zhimo (you can also add Liang Sicheng , Jin Yuelin ) became famous in the Republic of China era. In fact, the two of them, like Zhang Chonghe, were talented women in the Republic of China - different representatives of a new generation of women. Looking at the old man Chonghe in front of him. , I was comparing silently in my mind (of course, I didn’t dare to speak).
I smiled: "Mr. Zhang, it seems that you don’t know many of these cultural celebrities in the Republic of China. "
Zhang Daqian's wild goose friend
Every time I visit Mr. Zhang, I always like to listen to her tell some stories about people from the Republic of China era. Next to the desk where she practices calligraphy, there is a picture of Zhang Daqian with a beautiful beard leaning over the water and giving A photo of a wild goose feeding. I don’t know how many times the old man told me the story of Zhang Daqian and the wild goose -
During the Anti-Japanese War, Zhang Daqian once "faced the wall" in Dunhuang for several years, in the cave of the Dunhuang Grottoes. Copying and painting. One evening while walking by the Crescent Moon Spring at the foot of Mingsha Mountain, he rescued an injured wild goose. Every day from then on, he would bring the food that was extremely scarce at the time and go to the spring to feed it. Dayan. Dayan gradually recovered and became good friends with Zhang Daqian. Every night, no matter whether it was rainy or sunny, she would stay by the lakeside, waiting for his arrival and walking with him. This feeding photo was taken by the Central News Agency reporter who was accompanying him at that time. Photographed by Luo Jimei on the spot. However, as the days passed, the day for Zhang Daqian to leave Dunhuang was approaching. Zhang Daqian was afraid of making his Dayan friends sad, so he led everyone to board the car and leave early.Unexpectedly, as soon as the car drove past Crescent Lake, there was a wail of wild geese in the sky. Everyone looked up and saw a wild goose circling overhead, chasing the car and making a sharp chirping sound. Zhang Daqian quickly stopped the car. As soon as he jumped out of the car, the wild goose swooped down from the sky and flew straight into his arms. Zhang Daqian hugged Dayan and shed tears. He stroked the wild goose, and the wild goose clung to him for a long time. Everyone was frightened by this scene of humans and wild geese relying on each other. For a long time, Zhang Daqian patted the wild goose and released her into the air. The wild goose gave a sharp chirp, spun around, and finally disappeared into the blue sky of the desert. Zhang Daqian waved his hand, boarded the car and left...
Every time he said this, Mr. Zhang had tears in his eyes. "The emotions of animals are actually completely connected with the warmth and coldness of the human world." Mr. Zhang murmured.
I stared at that photo for a long time. There is a small black human-shaped stone leaning against the edge of the photo frame. "I picked this up by the Crescent Spring in Dunhuang later. Look, does it look like a small standing Guanyin?" Mr. Zhang said softly.
Author: Su Wei
Editor: Weizhong
