The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

An apartment near Peking University.

In the early morning, after Shen Congwen finished washing, he shouted to the neighbor: "Chongxuan, Jiang Wei, are you going to Peking University today?"

"What are you going to Peking University for?" Ding Ling opened the door and asked.

Shen Congwen said: "Peking University resumes classes today, and the new principal is Mr. Zhou Hexuan."

"Really Mr. Zhou?" Hu Yepin ran out excitedly.

Shen Congwen asked back: "You don't know?"

Hu Yepin and Ding Ling used to live in Xishan. After Zhang Zuolin took control of Beiping, they lived in seclusion and even decided to flee to the south. Later, I found out that I belonged to the young people, and I didn't fall into Zhang Zuolin's eyes at all, so I felt relieved.

Shen Congwen and them are good friends and neighbors. Not long ago, the three moved together near Peking University and actively engaged in literary creation. Shen Congwen's "Fireside" was even selected for publication in the "Novel Monthly", and his reputation grew day by day.

They had read the latest issue of "Novel Monthly" and were amazed at Zhou Hexuan's "Goddess". Shen Congwen also wrote a letter to Zhou Hexuan, asking for advice on literary creation. He often did this kind of thing, and he also wrote to Lu Xun, Yu Dafu and others.

After breakfast, the three went to Peking University together. Although they are not students of Peking University, they have all published works through Peking University Xinchao Club, and often come to the school to participate in activities.

When we reached the playground, the number of people gradually increased.

Shen Congwen mingled into the crowd of students, only waiting for Zhou Hexuan to speak on stage, his ears were full of whispers from the students.

"Why did Zhou Hexuan come to be our new principal? It's so strange."

"Oh, it would be great if Principal Cai could come back."

"Hehe, Cai Yuanpei, he has completely forgotten about Peking University."

"Don't talk nonsense! Principal Cai stayed in Shanghai because he was afraid of being wanted by the warlords."

"You are talking nonsense. Ren Kecheng, the head of the Ministry of Education, sent a telegram to invite Cai Yuanpei to return to school. He refused to come back!"

"Anyway, you are not allowed to speak ill of Principal Cai!"

"He Cai Yuanpei can do it, why can't I scold him? The teachers and students of the school have been looking forward to him for half a year. Where was he when Peking University was most difficult? He was happy and happy in the south!"

"..."

That resentment is great, like a girl who was abandoned by a heartbroken man.

Around 8 o'clock in the morning, the teachers of the school also came to the playground and urged the students to line up.

Zhong Guanguang took the lead to appear on the stage and said: "Teachers and students, today is a happy day for the resumption of classes at Peking University. This semester, we have wasted two months. I hope everyone can work hard and work hard in the remaining time. , make up all the homework that was delayed... Next, I invite Mr. Zhou Hexuan, the principal, to give a speech!"

"Crack clap clap!"

The applause was not loud. Zhou Hexuan, the principal, has not yet been recognized by the students. It is one thing to be a scholar, another thing to be a principal, and his prestige is not enough to convince the public.

Zhou Hexuan walked to the microphone. It was quite big and looked a bit like a car steering wheel. Seeing the noisy voices under the stage, he didn't speak immediately, but just stood there and waited without saying a word.

Shen Congwen said in surprise, "Mr. Zhou is so young!"

"Don't make a sound, you are disrespectful to people." Ding Ling reminded.

The other students seemed to be aware of this, and gradually the noise became quieter. They all looked up at Zhou Hexuan and waited for him to give a speech.

"I know you are not convinced," Zhou Hexuan's first sentence broke the students' minds. "I am 28 years old. I have neither graduated from a prestigious school nor been a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Education. I am not qualified to be the principal of Peking University. Peking University is What? The first national university in China, inherited the orthodoxy of Taixue, and established the ancestral court of the university, everyone present is the pride of heaven! And I, just a reckless person wandering in the rivers and lakes, with no achievements, no fame, no talent and no virtue, indeed I am not worthy to be your principal!"

Having said that, the audience completely fell silent.

Zhou Hexuan continued: "To tell you the truth, Zhang Zuolin personally appointed me as the president. It is Zhang Zuolin who sent troops to surround Peking University and put Peking University in a desperate situation. He is a reactionary warlord, and I am the lackey of the reactionary warlord!"

"boom!"

The scene was in an uproar, and the students whispered to each other again, looking at Zhou Hexuan in surprise.

Ma Yuzao asked in surprise, "What the hell is he trying to do?"

"Keep listening." Zhong Guanguang said with a smile.

Ma Jue took his younger sister Ma Yan's hand and looked at the guy on the stage curiously. They are still in middle school and elementary school, but they usually live in Peking University, and today they came to see the excitement. Ma Jue said with a smile: "Daddy, is the headmaster really daring to speak out, isn't he afraid of offending people?"

Ma Yuzao said thoughtfully: "Sometimes it's a good thing to speak up in person."

"I think that what he said is a bit like Mr. Lu Xun." Ma Jue muttered.

No matter how surprised everyone was, Zhou Hexuan went on to say: "Men and women should introduce each other when they are dating for the first time, so that everyone can know the basics. Let me first talk about myself. My ancestral home is Zhili. If I do something stupid in the future, you If you want to dig my ancestral grave, you can look for tombstones in Zhili, and the family surnamed Zhou may be my ancestor.”

The teachers and students were already stunned, this damn even came out to dig the graves of the ancestors, the more he said, the more outrageous he was.

"During the Gengzi period, my ancestors died in the flames of war, and my father took me and my mother to flee to Nanyang to join relatives. I was only two years old at that time," Zhou Hexuan began to describe his fabricated life experience, "The Chinese are hardworking and simple, and the aborigines are lazy and stupid, so The economy of Nanyang is in the hands of the Chinese. My distant uncle is a wealthy Nanyang businessman. He not only owns hundreds of acres of fertile farmland, but also opens mines and does business. So I enjoyed good fortune in my childhood, until I was eight When I was 18 years old! My uncle’s mine was occupied by foreigners, and the manor was burned and killed by rebel natives. I escaped by hiding in the wine cellar. I know that this is the collusion between foreigners and natives, and killed my uncle’s whole family, including me. His parents also died here! But this kind of thing is too normal in Nanyang, the Chinese are rich, but they are regarded as fat pigs to be slaughtered. Why? Because China is too weak to support her people!"

Zhou Hexuan's acting skills are very good, he always roared out after speaking, his face was full of sadness.

The teachers and students present were also gradually attracted by his "life experience", and abandoned distracting thoughts and stopped to listen.

Zhou Hexuan said: "I was a beggar and a newspaper boy in Nanyang. When I was very hungry, I would become a thief. At that time, my biggest dream was to have enough food every day, and to have a house to avoid the wind and rain. What is China? ? I don't know, that has nothing to do with me."

Shen Congwen thought to himself: It turns out that the creation of "Goddess" originated from Mr. Zhou's own experience.

"When I was ten years old, I stole bread from a missionary and was caught on the spot," Zhou Hexuan sneered. "He didn't hand me over to the police, but took me in as a servant. But he is not a kind person. Not only did I have to work, but I was often beaten and called a piggy by him. But I have to thank him for teaching me to read and write English. Then I went to America with the missionaries and it was a bad one Country. You have never stayed abroad, but don’t regard the big powers as a paradise. The poor there may not live better than the Chinese people. In British factories, many children die or become disabled every year. And the United States, which advertises democracy , the first class is whites, the second class is Latin Americans, the third class is blacks and native Indians, as for the Chinese, the status may be better than that of animals. I have seen Chinese people being beaten to death, and the American police are watching It was hilarious. That’s when I started thinking, what the hell is China? Why am I Chinese? What’s wrong with China?”

Yeah, what happened to China?

The students were either sad or indignant, or silent, all immersed in Zhou Hexuan's story, but forgot his identity as the principal.

Zhou Hexuan was changing the topic step by step, and he did it.

Well, keep fooling around.