Broad life and progress, where are the students now
Yang Yi, the translator of Wuthering Heights (and the first translator of the title into Chinese), died on January 27. She was the same age as the May 4th Movement, and was born in Tianjin in 1919 into a large feudal family. In the book “One Hundred Years, Many People, Many Things”, she looked back at this time coincidence in this way, thinking that she was “born at the right time”: “I am not interested in politics or theory, and I have never I have never understood it, and at the same time I am alienated from all kinds of sports, but my most basic judgments and attitudes, or you can say common sense and values, are all given to me by the new culture. This also includes the old-fashioned family. manner.”
“One Hundred Years, Many People, Many Things” is Yang Yi’s oral autobiography, compiled and written by Yu Bin, and it has just been published not long ago. Fortunately, we can continue to learn about a centenarian through this book after her death The ups and downs of life, and the times she lived in. The excerpts below describe what Yang Yi saw and heard when he left Tianjin during the war and was preparing to go to the Southwest Associated University. A young girl’s desire to escape from a patriarchal family and her thoughts on how a broken family and country should live are vividly written on the paper. And a more spiritually free and open life is waiting for her.
From UNU to CUHK (Part 1)
Oral: Yang Yi
Written by: Yu Bin
“Yunnan”
I got on the boat on the afternoon of July 7th, and stopped at Tanggu at night. I didn’t move at night, and I left the port the next morning. Mother, Aunt Seven and a group of people went to the pier in Tianjin to see them off. The “Yunnan” of the British Swire company. It was a very big boat, and it was the first time for my mother and others to board the boat. She didn’t cry either. But when she was helping me organize things at home, she shed tears. Still ask me, are you willing to leave home? Are you willing to give up these babies?
I like to collect all kinds of things, records, photos of celebrities… There are several boxes of handkerchiefs alone, there are six boxes, twelve boxes, all put in a big box. But I don’t have any feelings of parting. I have always wanted to leave this house, like Juehui in Ba Jin’s works, this time I really want to leave, I want to be free! I was still in a ball of excitement on the pier, too. When the boat left the pier, the people on the boat were waving to the people on the shore, and there were also Japanese on board. Their relatives and friends threw ribbons on the boat, chattered loudly in Japanese, and shouted: “Sayonara!” It was very annoying. Later, when we met the Japanese on the boat, they just bowed, so we ignored them if we could.
I didn’t travel alone. From Tianjin to Kunming, I went with people from Bank of China, which was arranged by Bank of China. There are grades along the way. The family members of the president, vice president, and old president (that is, my father) are treated the best. For example, I take a second-class boat, and I live in a hotel and suite in Haiphong. People in the Bank of China don’t get this kind of treatment. Even Hong Wu from my seventh uncle’s family only lived in third class. Uncle Qi was the vice president of Bank of China in Tianjin at that time, and Yang Hongwu was his youngest son, whom I called “A Maodi”. Among the family members of the Bank of China who went on the same boat, only he and I finally arrived in Kunming. We both entered the UNGA, and we have a very good relationship.
In the past passenger ships, the second class cabin was the best, two people shared a room (there is also a “big dining room”, which is also a two person room), there is no first class cabin above the second class cabin, and single rooms have to be special There will be special arrangements for the characters. I don’t know what the third-class and fourth-class cabins are like. The second-class cabin is separated from the bottom, so it should be possible to go down. This is the first time for me to travel far (I only went to Peiping a few times by train before), Did not dare to walk around. It seems that the fourth-class cabin is not so good, most of the people who sleep in the fourth-class cabin are exile students-in fact, many of them are young masters at home, and those from poor families can’t afford this trip.
Although it is separated, those below can eat at the restaurant above, and Yang Hongwu came to eat at the top to say hello. Of course, we have to be able to afford it. We are all arranged by the Bank of China. I don’t know what the price is for eating in restaurants. I think it is quite expensive, because they all eat western food. At that time, no matter where you were, eating western food was more expensive. During the meal, the second-class passenger attendants will come to the room to invite them, and they will call the waiters “boy”. They all speak English-the British ship. In the evening, there was a dance in the dining room, and men and women were well-dressed. I haven’t been there, I think the dancers are different from me.
The movie “Titanic”
I like to watch the scenery on the deck. I have never been out on a boat, so everything is new. There is also singing, singing the song “Go sailing with one heart, the sea breeze makes me worry, and the waves make me worry…”. Living in the third class with Yang Hongwu was Li Baochen, who taught music at the Beiping Art College. We knew each other because of Hongwu’s relationship. We sang together every day, one song after another. In fact, I am not worried at all, I am very happy to sing, but when I get out of Tanggukou, I start to get seasick, which is not fun. I started throwing up and didn’t want to eat anything. Li Baochen said, what if I don’t eat? Forced me to drink some tomato juice or something.
After sailing for several days, I had to stop in Shanghai for a day, so I spent a day in Shanghai and stayed at Yan Huiqing’s house. Few people know the name of Yan Huiqing now. He engaged in diplomacy in the late Qing Dynasty. He has served as minister, deputy foreign minister, and foreign minister. He also formed a cabinet in the Beiyang government and served as prime minister. He is a veteran. I don’t really know what those official titles are. I just remember watching a movie or a newsreel when I was in elementary school. It was a diplomatic occasion. We were too young to know the background of the incident. We just thought it was fun to see a classmate’s father appearing in the movie. We watched Yan Jiansheng together, which made her feel a little embarrassed.
As I said before, Yan Jiansheng and I, Yan’s daughter, studied together in China and the West for ten years. Because of the classmate relationship, the two adults also have contacts. My mother was always discriminated against because of her status as a concubine, and she didn’t have much to do with the wives of wealthy families, and the Yan family was an exception. Uncle Yan and Aunt Yan (that’s what I call them) were very open-minded people. I don’t put on airs, so my mother is very willing for me to make friends with Jiansheng. In fact, the mother and the master of the Yan family haven’t met very much. After all, she is the concubine, so it doesn’t matter how she is called. There was only one indirect contact, when I was having dinner at her house, and her dog kept scrambling around under the table, and it wouldn’t go away even when I pulled it, which somehow made a hole in my clothes. Aunt Yan saw it after dinner, asked about the situation, bought a piece of material the next day and sent it to my mother, expressing her displeasure. My mother has always remembered this, and she has a particularly good impression of the Yan family. I also like to play with Jiansheng, and I am also happy to play at her house, because there is no restraint at her house. Once when I was playing hide-and-seek, I ran into the study, and Uncle Yan was right there. I didn’t know where to hide, so he motioned me to get under the table and helped me cover.
After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Yan Zongsheng’s family moved to Shanghai. In Shanghai, the boss of the Yan family (we all call him “Brother Yan”) picked me up and went home. Jiansheng was preparing to study in the United States. As soon as Aunt Yan saw me, she said, don’t go (meaning, don’t go to Yunnan), and go to the United States to study with Jiansheng. I will support you. Your mother will definitely be willing. I know that my mother mostly agrees (she is most at ease with the Yan family), and I don’t object to studying abroad, but I have agreed with Mr. Da Li to wait for him in Kunming. Don’t consider anything else.
In Shanghai, Brother Yan drove me around in his car. His family has three cars, the one that drove me was a convertible, it drove to a beautiful swimming pool that was just repaired, it was very modern, many movie stars came here to swim, we didn’t go swimming, we bought drinks and ice cream and sat by the side to watch , There are quite a few people who don’t swim and eat cold drinks to watch, just like when I went to the dance hall of the National Hotel in Tianjin, I didn’t dance, just watched the excitement. Such a swimming pool is not only for fitness, but also a place for high-end consumption. Shanghai is known as “Ten Miles of Foreign Market” and “Oriental Paris”. It is much more fashionable than Tianjin. Brother Yan took me around, which also opened my eyes. At that time, I was looking at the freshness, and at the same time, I thought to myself, the Japanese have all invaded, and it is still like this, isn’t this called “drunk life and dream death”?
Movie “Romantic Died”
ten days in hong kong
A day later, I boarded the ship again and headed for Hong Kong. Hong Kong is the destination of this route. From Hong Kong to Haiphong, Vietnam, I will change to the French steamship company. Waiting for the ship schedule, I stayed in Hong Kong for another ten days.
In Hong Kong, I lived at Bian Baimei’s house, which seemed to be a large villa on the hillside in the Repulse Bay area, called “Wanjing Building”. Bian was the governor of the Bank of China appointed by my father to succeed him. Bian is from Yangzhou, who studied in the United States, and speaks English with a dialect flavor. Apart from this, in other aspects, he is very foreign. —Speaking of which, it’s also related. I have a cousin, from the Seventh Uncle’s family, named Yang Yiru, who is the second young lady of the Bian family.
This time, many people from the Bank of China went to Hong Kong together, saying it was a trip, but in fact they were withdrawing from the Japanese-occupied area. The Tianjin-Hong Kong office that had been established in Hong Kong was just making preparations. Since we were going to the rear to study, we followed along so that someone would take care of us. After arriving in Hong Kong, Shu Yunzhang, who was the vice president of Tianjin at the time, told the children of the Bank of China that life in the rear area was very difficult, and advised us not to go. Sure enough, most of them stayed behind. Another time, Bian Baimei invited a few people who insisted on going to the rear to have a meal. Before the meal, he spoke, saying that we should not forget to save the country after reading, and that we can go to the rear and stay in Hong Kong. also can. I can’t remember anything else, I just remember that we were hungry and hoped that he would end soon, but he still talked on and on. I didn’t think about staying at all, I just thought about the agreement with Mr. Da Li – “See you in Kunming!”
Living in Bian’s house, I had nothing to do, so I went around by tram alone. It doesn’t matter if you can’t speak Cantonese and can’t ask for directions, as long as you can take a car anyway. Besides playing by myself, I also made an appointment with Li Baochen to go shopping together. He is a teacher, and he is familiar with Mr. Da Li. He told me once – we made an appointment to meet at the station. As soon as I saw him, I jumped off the car before it stopped. He said that I have not arrived yet. The station car will not stop, if you jump off, you will fall. I said, Mr. Li, I saw you.
We always talked about music together, and he would lead me to buy things and so on. One day in Hong Kong, I really ran around. The Bian family notified me during the day that there were foreign guests coming at night, and my cousin also told me to come back on time. It means that when guests come, you can’t wait for the meal to arrive. I said I went to play with my classmates and didn’t come back to eat. In fact, there is no such thing, I walked alone. As a result, when I walked to Queen’s Road, it was actually a red-light district. It was a bit chaotic. I didn’t understand the red-light district. .
As a result, I came back very late after shopping, the guests left early, and I didn’t expect to call back to say something. The people in Bian’s family were very anxious. They heard me tell me where they went, and they said to me with a straight face: How did they go to such a place? ! How do you explain to your family when something goes wrong? ! I was dissatisfied: I didn’t bring any money with me, so what’s your plan for me? In fact, they said that it was not safe for me to go to that kind of place without being accompanied by a girl.
The movie “The First Incense”
I like to wander around, of course, because I am curious about Hong Kong, and I find everything new when I see it. At the same time, I feel that staying at home is too restrained. The Bian family is well-mannered—foreign style, with a colonial flavor. Their cooks are all foreigners, and they come to you with a tray after dinner: “Coffee or tea?”. Respectfully. It was quiet during the meal and no one spoke. I like to eat western food, but I feel tense, it is really a pain. Once after eating, in the living room, my cousin said, listen to something you play, I was at a loss, and asked what to play? She could say anything, and I played “The Blue Danube.” The cousin’s original intention was probably to break the embarrassment of having nothing to say, which is also a way of socializing in the Western style, but I think it is like acting. Of course, it was also because I didn’t like rich people. When I was in Tianjin, I don’t know whether it was at our house or somewhere else. The young master and grandma of the Bian family were there, and they talked about how the Japanese occupied Tianjin and how the situation would deteriorate. The young master said that there was nothing to be afraid of: “We are American!”. It means that the Japanese dare not touch the Americans. I was very disgusted when I heard it, and thought, you are not Chinese anymore? ! Bian Baimei said that he could stay in Hong Kong, and I was also out of place: If we want to resist the Japanese, are we afraid of hardship?
On the night when the guests were coming, I used an excuse to hide out. In fact, it’s okay not to speak, but I just feel awkward. It is also a foreign school, but I am much more comfortable in Yan’s house, and I don’t feel that way at all.
During that time, Bian Baimei’s daughter, who was studying in the United States, happened to be back in Hong Kong for vacation, and she kept arguing with her father. She is not interested in what major her father wants her to study in order to study for graduate school. She has an elder brother and a second brother, both of whom are not very good at school, but her grades are very good, Bian Baimei always wants her to inherit him. The father and daughter spoke English, and I was beside them when they quarreled. I was very embarrassed, so I lowered my head and drank coffee. I watched movies in Tianjin with Chinese subtitles, and I was used to listening to the original English soundtrack. Listening to them sentence by sentence was like a dialogue in a movie, and I still remembered it after a long time. Later, at Chongqing Central University, Mr. Chen Jia asked us to practice writing novels in English, so I wrote one. I forgot what the title was, but I just remember that it was about a girl who wanted to leave home, want revolution and freedom. It is written about myself. At the beginning, the girl is arguing with her parents. The first sentence of the novel is: “You demand too much of me, I refuse.”. In fact, it is the original words of the Bian family’s father and daughter when they quarreled. When I wrote the novel, I didn’t know that she committed suicide, she had depression, and she was hanged in the United States.
(The above is excerpted from “One Hundred Years, Many People, Many Things”,
Provided by Yilin Publishing House)
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