The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

Indeed, as Du Yuesheng said, no matter how powerful those youth gang leaders are, it is impossible for them to enter the cultural and fashion circle. The salon of the French Consul General in Shanghai did not invite any members of the gang, and even if they came, they could only watch the gate from the outside.

Zhou Hexuan was taken aback when he walked into the living room, Nima's salon was too big, there were nearly thirty people in it, no matter how spacious the living room was, it seemed crowded.

In addition to the wives of consuls from various countries and Western celebrities in Shanghai, Zhou Hexuan also saw a few familiar faces. Such as Xu Zhimo, Lu Xiaoman and his wife, such as Liang Desuo, editor-in-chief of "Liangyou" pictorial, painter Zhang Daqian, and Xu Beihong's wife Jiang Biwei (Xu Beihong did not come, he is learning woodcarving in Jiangxi).

Another American female reporter, Smedley, attracted Zhou Hexuan's special attention. She came to China as a reporter for the German "Frankfurt Daily", but she actually belonged to the International Communist Party. Later generations have data showing that she is very likely to be a Soviet spy.

Sitting on the sofa was an ordinary-looking woman named Zheng Yuxiu. Her husband had just become the mayor of Nanjing. She herself was also a member of the Central Legislative Council, the director of the Shanghai Judicial Office, and a member of the Shanghai Party Committee of the Nationalist Party. This is extremely rare in the "conservative" Republic of China. It doesn't matter if a woman is a writer, poet, painter, or activist, but she has become an important politician by her own ability.

Zheng Yuxiu's most famous deed is the "rose branch incident". At that time, she was only a student studying in France. Because she was proficient in English and French, she was specially hired as an interpreter for the Chinese delegation at the Paris Peace Conference.

During the Paris Peace Conference, Foreign Minister Lu Zhengxiang received instructions from the Beiyang government to sign the traitorous contract. Zheng Yuxiu was quick-witted, broke off a rose branch in the garden, hid it in his sleeve against Lu Zhengxiang, and threatened, "If you want to sign, I will not let you go with this gun." Lu Zhengxiang was frightened and did not dare to go to the Palace of Versailles , so missed the signing time, thereby preserving China's right to take back Shandong in the future.

The most dazzling woman in the living room is undoubtedly Song Meiling. She is currently in Shanghai to raise funds for Chang Kaishen, and often attends various celebrity gatherings. This time she was also invited by the wife of the French Consul General in Shanghai.

All parties in the Central Plains War are short of money, and the Central Army is of course no exception.

Just last month, Chang Kaishen was short of money and asked Song Ziwen for military expenses many times. Song Ziwen spread his hands: no money.

Song Meiling begged her brother bitterly, but Song Ziwen still refused to pay the military expenses. In desperation, Soong Meiling handed over all the properties under her name to her brother to sell them off, and Soong Ziwen tried every means to raise money.

Sitting next to Song Meiling was Song Ziwen's girlfriend Tang Ying. Tang Ying's elder brother is Song Ziwen's friend and secretary. The two have been flirting for a long time, but Tang's father objected to his daughter's association with Song Ziwen, so they have not been able to get married for a long time.

Yes, after Song Ziwen was robbed of Zhang Leyi by Zhou Hexuan, he did not go back to find Miss Sheng Qi who had been waiting for him for more than ten years, but made a new love - Tang Ying.

Historically, Song Ziwen and Tang Ying had an extramarital affair. Later, Tang Ying's elder brother died (assassinated) because of Song Ziwen, and he cut off the idea of ​​continuing to associate with Tang Ying out of guilt, otherwise he might be another outsider.

Tang Ying was just in her early 20s at this time. She was young and beautiful. In a few years, she would become a top socialite in Shanghai.

As soon as Zhou Hexuan appeared in the living room, Mrs. Gan Gelin took the lead in applauding: "Welcome Mr. Zhou to our salon!"

After a burst of applause, Soong Meiling came forward to shake hands with a smile and said, "Hello, Mr. Zhou, I have long admired your name."

"Hello, Ms. Song, nice to meet you." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, but he was thinking about Zhang Xueliang and Song Meiling's gossip.

Everyone met and greeted each other. Zhou Hexuan sat on the couch on the right, and Lida, the daughter of the French consul, came to sit next to Zhou Hexuan.

At the beginning, everyone was talking about the novelty of Shanghai. Mrs. Gangelin began to lead the conversation, turned to French literature, talked about Hugo, Flaubert, Balzac, Dumas Perese and Dumas Petit. Immediately afterwards, the Goncourt Literature Prize was brought up, and by the way, Zhou Hexuan's "Goddess" was discussed.

Zhang Daqian didn't know anything about it, he just smiled and didn't speak the whole time. Xu Zhimo, Lu Xiaoman, Jiang Biwei and others talked endlessly, this is their familiar field, commenting on many French writers one by one.

Xu Zhimo made no secret of his admiration for Zhou Hexuan, and praised: "Brother Mingcheng's "Goddess" is a masterpiece, whether it is in terms of content, theme or plot, it can keep pace with Balzac."

Zhou Hexuan said humbly: "Zhimo is admirable, I dare not compare it with Mr. Balzac."

A young man named Li Nianzu smiled and said: "Speaking of Mr. Zhou, I just came back from the United States last month. The most popular thing in the United States is "Titanic". Drama, stage play, musical... various forms Everything, and I heard that there are people who want to adapt "Titanic" into an opera."

"Is "Titanic" a masterpiece by a great writer? Why haven't I heard of it?" Tang Ying asked suddenly.

"I know, I know," Rita, the daughter of the French consul, held up the English version of "Titanic". "This is Mr. Zhou's latest work, which is called the most classic love novel in the early 20th century by American critics."

Song Meiling said with a smile: "It turns out that Mr. Zhou's works are so popular in the United States. I must read this book when I come back."

"It's an honor." Zhou Hexuan said.

Song Meiling seemed to have heard her husband mention the relationship between Zhou Hexuan and Zhang Xueliang, and she suddenly asked: "Mr. Zhou is well versed in the past and the present, and has a good understanding of Chinese and Western cultures. What do you think of the current battle situation?"

Zhou Hexuan asked with a smile: "Madam Jiang, do you want to hear the truth, or lies?"

"Of course it's the truth." Song Meiling said.

"It's a mess." Zhou Hexuan said.

"What kind of mess?" Song Meiling asked again.

Seeing that everyone was watching him, Zhou Hexuan said with a helpless smile: "This war was undoubtedly initiated by Commander-in-Chief Jiang. All forces are overdrawing China's national power and fighting the largest civil war since the late Qing Dynasty. The central army fought in a mess, and the local coalition forces also fought in a mess. If Feng Yuxiang's "great achievements" had not aroused Yan Xishan's fear, the central army would have been driven out of Henan and Shandong long ago. Once the local coalition forces hit Jiangsu and Anhui , Commander-in-Chief Jiang had no choice but to electrify and go to the field. Fortunately, Yan Xishan was short-sighted and had no tolerance at all, and now the two sides have reached a stalemate."

Song Meiling asked: "Which side does Mr. Zhou think can win?"

Zhou Hexuan said: "I can only say that there are too many internal conflicts in the local coalition forces, and there is no hope of victory."

"Mr. Zhou thinks the Central Army will win?" Song Meiling said happily.

"That's the only way." Zhou Hexuan shrugged.

Mrs. Gangelin interrupted suddenly: "Today we will not talk about politics, but art and literature."

Xu Zhimo said: "I really like Brother Mingcheng's recent song "Far and Near". You, look at me for a while, and look at the clouds for a while. I think, when you look at me, you are far away, and when you look at the clouds, you are very close. Write It’s so beautiful and intriguing.”

"It's not as good as Brother Zhimo's "Farewell to Cambridge." Zhou Hexuan and Xu Zhimo praised each other.

Smedley said suddenly: "Mr. Zhou, Professor Toynbee recently published two historical papers in a row. He said they were co-authored with you. Can you tell me about this?"

"Of course," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, "Mr. Toynbee called this series of papers "Historical Studies", and I prefer to call it "History of Human Civilization". There are hundreds of countries, large and small, in the world. It can be divided according to different civilizations. For example, East Asia belongs to Chinese civilization. North Korea, Japan, Vietnam and other countries are all branch civilizations of Chinese civilization. Each civilization has a common law of origin, growth, decline and disintegration. The existing major countries It can be summarized into three models, namely the Greek model, the Chinese model and the Jewish model..."

Zhou Hexuan talked about human civilization, which is a relatively new concept for everyone. Since the audience is a history novice, Zhou Hexuan tried to explain the profound things in a simple way, and did not talk about those awkward technical terms, but only cited interesting examples of various civilizations, and told them as short historical stories.

For example, the demise of the Greek city-states and the Roman Empire, which aroused the interest of the foreigners present here. If you just throw out a few anecdotes about Plato and Socrates, you will immediately get a lot of applause.

Salon, a thing belonging to the upper circle, is also the best way to become famous.

Zhou Hexuan completely became the protagonist of this salon, and the people who participated in the party went back and spread the word, which immediately made Zhou Hexuan's reputation resounding in Shanghai's foreign circles and cultural circles.

Smedley later wrote in "Oriental Insights": "He (Zhou Hexuan) is the darling in the salon. He talks about the most cutting-edge historical academic views loudly, but he can make people who don't know history understand. With relish. He has an aura about him, as if the sun is shining brightly, no one can ignore his existence..."