In December 1933, on a passenger ship from Shanghai to Nanjing, Zhu Xiang, a 29-year-old young poet, stood on the deck, staring at the rolling river. This former Tsinghua genius, who was admitted to a prestigious school at the age of 15, studied in the United States at the age of 23, and worked at Anhui University after returning to China, fell into deep despair at the moment. His life should be dazzling, why did he come to an end on this cold winter night?
Zhu Xiang's life was full of controversy and contradictions. He is talented, but he has an arrogant personality; the pursuit of freedom, but also the dignity; longs to be recognized, but frequently offends peers. Just a few years ago, he also published a long article satirizing Wen Yiduo and Xu Zhimo, which caused an uproar in the literary world. From Tsinghua Park to Shanghai Tang, from the American campus to Anhui University, Zhu Xiang's footprints are all over the world, but he has never found his inner belonging.
At this moment, Zhu Xiang, who was standing at the bow of the boat, looked back on his short but ups and downs life. What kind of mental journey made this once high-spirited genius finally choose suicide? What kind of frustration and loss did he experience? What was he thinking about in the last moments of his life?
Zhu Xiang's childhood and adolescence
In 1904, Zhu Xiang was born in a prominent family of eunuchs in Yuanling County, Hunan Province. As the fifth child in the family, Zhu Xiang has shown unique characteristics since he was a child. His father, Zhu Shoupeng, was a member of the Hunan Provincial Advisory Bureau, and his mother, Liu, came from a famous family and had a rich collection of books, which laid a solid foundation for Zhu Xiang's early education.
In that turbulent era, the Zhu family still maintained the traditional way of education. The young Zhu Xiang began to recite the Four Books and Five Classics every morning, and his memory was amazing, and he often remembered it. The elders of the family were often pleased with his intelligence and thought that the child would definitely do something in the future.
However, Zhu Xiang's difference is not only reflected in his ability to learn. From an early age, he showed a great importance for "decency", a trait that stood out in the rural environment of the time. Once, when a banquet was held at home, Zhu Xiang, who was only five years old, insisted on wearing a neat long horse coat to attend, although it was the height of summer that day, he still stubbornly maintained a dignified demeanor, and he didn't care about sweat-soaked clothes. This almost paranoid behavior made his family cry and laugh, and also earned him the nickname "Five Fools".
Zhu Xiang's maverick style seemed out of place among his peers. The children in the village like to play and play, but he is always alone, holding a book and reading quietly. He believes that children who play all day are lacking in self-cultivation and that being in the company of them will only undermine his own dignity. This withdrawn personality made Zhu Xiang have few friends in his childhood, but he didn't seem to care, but instead immersed himself in his own spiritual world.
As he grew older, Zhu Xiang's talent became increasingly apparent. He was not only proficient in ancient literature, but also developed a keen interest in the emerging vernacular literature. In that era of alternating between old and new cultures, Zhu Xiang's thinking was constantly changing. He began to question some of the traditional ideas and longed to reach out to the wider world.
In 1919, at the age of 15, Zhu Xiang was admitted to Tsinghua School (later renamed Tsinghua University) with excellent results. This news caused quite a stir in the local area, and people praised this "prodigy" one after another. For Zhu Xiang, being admitted to Tsinghua University not only means academic success, but also an opportunity for him to get rid of the nickname of "Five Fools" and prove his worth.
However, after entering Tsinghua University, Zhu Xiang did not find a sense of belonging as he wished. On the contrary, his withdrawn personality is even more prominent in this celebrity-filled institution. Tsinghua Park gathers elite students from all over the country, most of whom are active and well-informed. Although Zhu Xiang excelled academically, he seemed incapable of socializing. His stubbornness and obsession with "decency" often baffled his classmates.
Despite this, Zhu Xiang's literary talent was still fully displayed. He began to publish poems in the school magazine, and his writing was beautiful and delicate, with the charm of traditional poetry and the innovative spirit of new literature. His works quickly attracted the attention of the literary world and was hailed as a rising star in the new poetry world.
However, the contradiction between Zhu Xiang and Tsinghua has deepened. He believes that the rules and regulations of the school are too rigid and limit the development of students' personalities. In order to challenge school rules, he often deliberately tardiness or absenteeism. In a public speech, Zhu Xiang even boldly proposed that the breakfast roll call system should be abolished and students should be allowed to choose courses freely. While these actions won the approval of some of his classmates, they also brought his relationship with the school's management into an impasse.
In the end, Zhu Xiang was expelled from the school for violating school rules many times. This news caused quite a stir in the intellectual circles at the time. Some people think that Zhu Xiang is a warrior who pursues freedom, and some people criticize him for not knowing how to cherish the hard-won opportunity. For Zhu Xiang himself, this expulsion incident was both a relief and a heavy blow. On the one hand, he is happy to be freed from his shackles, but on the other hand, he has to face the reality of an uncertain future.
In this way, Zhu Xiang, who was only 17 years old, left Tsinghua Park with full of talent and confusion about the future and embarked on a new journey of life. The contradictions between his talent and stubbornness, between ideals and reality, will continue to play out in the years to come, pushing the fate of the young poet in a more complex direction.
The literary world initially became famous
After leaving Tsinghua Park, Zhu Xiang resolutely embarked on a journey to Shanghai. This was the most prosperous city in China at that time, attracting countless literati and artists to chase their dreams. In the early spring of 1921, Zhu Xiang arrived in Shanghai with enthusiasm, which opened an important period for him to emerge in the literary world.
When he first arrived in Shanghai, Zhu Xiang was faced with a completely unfamiliar world. The hustle and bustle of this place was completely different from everything he had experienced before. In order to make ends meet, he had to put aside his literary ambitions for a while and work as a proofreader at a small newspaper. Although the work is boring and boring, Zhu Xiang has not given up writing. Every day after work, he would fight at night and write poetry.
Opportunity always favors those who are prepared. In the spring of 1922, Zhu Xiang met the poet Liu Naou, who was already well-known at that time, at a literary salon. Liu Naou was impressed by Zhu Xiang's talent and took the initiative to recommend Zhu Xiang's works to the editor-in-chief of the "Morning Post Supplement". This recommendation opened the door to the literary world for Zhu Xiang. His poems began to appear frequently in well-known journals such as "Morning Post Supplement" and "Novel Monthly", which attracted wide attention in the literary world.
In 1923, Zhu Xiang met his fiancée, Liu Nijun. Liu Nijun is a well-educated intellectual woman, and her talent and temperament deeply attracted Zhu Xiang. The two fell in love soon after they met, and often discussed literature together and imagined the future. Liu Nijun became an important source of inspiration for Zhu Xiang's creation, and many popular love poems were written during this relationship.
It was in this year that Zhu Xiang launched his first poetry collection "Summer". This work embodies Zhu Xiang's unique poetic style, which combines the grace and subtlety of traditional poetry with the imagery and techniques of Western modernist poetry. "Summer" caused a sensation when it was published, and literary critics praised it highly. The famous writer Yu Dafu even praised Zhu Xiang as "a new star in China's new poetry scene".
The success of "Summer" not only allowed Zhu Xiang to gain a firm foothold in the literary world, but also brought him financial returns. He was finally able to quit his job at the newspaper and devote himself to his work. During this period, Zhu Xiang's creativity reached its peak, and he continued to write not only poetry, but also prose and novels.
In 1924, Zhu Xiang joined the "Morning News Poetry Engraving" initiated by Xu Zhimo, Wen Yiduo and others. This poetry group gathered some of the best new poets in China at that time, and Zhu Xiang's participation was undoubtedly another affirmation of his talent. In the "Morning Post Poetry Engraving", Zhu Xiang had the opportunity to exchange ideas with other poets, which greatly broadened his creative horizons.
However, just as Zhu Xiang's career was booming, his character weaknesses were gradually revealed. He became more and more conceited about his talents, and his words and deeds in literary circles became more and more acute. He often criticized the works of other writers in public without mercy, and while this behavior showed his literary insights, it also created many enemies for him.
In particular, at a literary seminar, Zhu Xiang publicly attacked the poems of Xu Zhimo and Wen Yiduo, who were highly regarded at the time, calling them "lacking depth and being too flashy." This remark caused an uproar in the literary world, and many people began to distance themselves from Zhu Xiang, and some even secretly slandered his works.
Despite this, Zhu Xiang still went his own way. He insisted that literary creation should pursue truth and profundity, and should not succumb to worldly tastes. This stubborn attitude, although it cost him some opportunities, also won a group of readers who really appreciated his talent.
In 1925, Zhu Xiang and Liu Nijun officially married. After marriage, Zhu Xiang's creation became more vigorous, and he began to try to create long narrative poems. At the end of the year, he completed the long poem "Strawberry", which depicts the spiritual plight of urban intellectuals with delicate brushstrokes, and is hailed as a milestone in the history of the development of new poetry.
However, as his fame grew, Zhu Xiang also felt more and more pressure to create. He began to frequent the literati liquor stores in Shanghai to relieve his sorrows. This lifestyle not only influenced his creation, but also brought a haze to his marriage. Liu Nijun's repeated persuasion was fruitless, and the relationship between the two gradually became tense.
Just when Zhu Xiang was caught in the dual dilemma of creation and life, an unexpected opportunity came. In early 1926, he received an offer of admission to the University of Colorado in the United States. This is an opportunity that Zhu Xiang has always dreamed of, and he hopes to broaden his horizons and improve his creative level by studying abroad.
In this way, with a vision for the future, Zhu Xiang embarked on a ship to the United States. What he didn't know was that this journey would not only change his creative career, but also completely change the trajectory of his life.
The experience of studying in the United States
In September 1926, Zhu Xiang stepped on the campus of the University of Colorado in the United States. Located at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, this university is known for its beautiful natural environment and strong academic atmosphere. For Zhu Xiang, who has just arrived in a foreign country, everything is new and challenging.
The initial language barrier brought a lot of trouble to Zhu Xiang. Although he started learning English when he was in China, he still felt unable to communicate in practice. In order to overcome this difficulty, Zhu Xiang spends a lot of time practicing English every day, and even takes the initiative to meet American classmates and try to integrate into the local life. This spirit of hard work soon led him to make significant progress in the language.
At the University of Colorado, Zhu Xiang majored in English and American literature, as well as some philosophy and psychology courses. This interdisciplinary approach to learning has greatly broadened his knowledge and brought new inspiration to his work. He began to try to combine the techniques of Western modernist poetry with the artistic conception of traditional Chinese poetry to create a unique poetic style.
In the spring of 1927, Zhu Xiang published his first English poem in the United States, "Dawn on the Rocky Mountains", in the school magazine. The poem depicts the magnificent scenery of the Rocky Mountains with delicate brushstrokes, and at the same time contains the poet's longing for his hometown. This poem was not only appreciated by teachers and students in the United States, but also reprinted by a local literary magazine, making Zhu Xiang emerge in the American literary circle.
However, life as a student is not all smooth sailing. Due to limited economic conditions, Zhu Xiang had to work part-time to make ends meet. He has worked as a school librarian and as a waiter at a local Chinese restaurant. Although these experiences were hard, Zhu Xiang gained an in-depth understanding of all aspects of American society and provided rich material for his creations.
In the summer of 1928, Zhu Xiang ushered in an important turning point in his study abroad career. His mentor, Professor Robert Frost, a well-known poetry theorist, took a fancy to Zhu Xiang's talent and invited him to participate in a two-week poetry writing camp. In the creative camp, Zhu Xiang had the opportunity to communicate with outstanding poets from all over the United States, which greatly stimulated his creative inspiration.
After the creation camp, Zhu Xiang wrote the long poem "Stranger". From the perspective of a Chinese student, this poem profoundly depicts the loneliness and reflection on cultural clashes in a foreign country. As soon as "Stranger" was published, it attracted wide attention and was hailed as an important bridge for cultural exchanges between China and the United States.
At the beginning of 1929, Zhu Xiang received the exciting news that his poetry collection "Strange Land" was about to be published by a publishing house in New York. This is Zhu Xiang's first bilingual poetry collection in the United States, which collects the excellent works he wrote during his study abroad. The publication of "Strange Land" not only made Zhu Xiang gain more recognition in the American literary circle, but also laid the foundation for his future return to China for development.
However, just when Zhu Xiang's career was booming, an unexpected news broke his peaceful life of studying abroad. He received a letter from home and learned that his father had died of illness. This bad news brought a huge blow to Zhu Xiang. During his last year in the United States, Zhu Xiang's creative work decreased significantly, and he began to frequent bars to drink to relieve his sorrows.
In June 1930, Zhu Xiang graduated from the University of Colorado. In his farewell speech before leaving the school, he looked back on his study abroad career fondly and thanked his teachers and friends who had helped him. He said that this experience not only made great progress in his academic career, but also gave him a deeper understanding of Chinese and Western cultures.
After graduation, Zhu Xiang did not return to China immediately. He decided to stay in the United States for a while longer, hoping to further improve his creative skills. He first traveled to New York, where he visited some friends in the literary world, and then to Boston, where he spent a fulfilling summer vacation.
While in Boston, Zhu Xiang met Qian Zhongshu, a Chinese scholar who was a visiting scholar at Harvard University. The two hit it off at first sight and often stayed up all night talking about literary creation and the differences between Chinese and Western cultures. This friendship had a profound impact on Zhu Xiang and provided him with new ideas for his future creations.
In the spring of 1931, Zhu Xiang, who had spent nearly five years in the United States, finally decided to return to China. Before leaving, his mentor, Professor Frost, gave him a book of autographed poems and encouraged him to continue on the path of poetry creation. With this precious gift and the rich experience accumulated in the United States, Zhu Xiang embarked on the ship to return to his homeland.
On the voyage back to China, Zhu Xiang composed a group of poems "Homecoming", which recorded his expectations and apprehensions about the upcoming new life in the form of poems. What he didn't know was that a new era full of opportunities and challenges awaited him, and his life would take a huge turn in his life.
Literary achievements and life difficulties after returning to China
In the autumn of 1931, Zhu Xiang set foot on the land of the motherland after a five-year absence. With the knowledge and experience accumulated in the United States, he devoted himself to the Chinese literary scene with enthusiasm. However, he soon discovered that the literary environment in China had changed greatly from the time he left.
When he first returned to China, Zhu Xiang was warmly welcomed by the literary circles. His study abroad experience and the publication of his poetry collection in the United States, "Strangeland", have won him many praises. Xu Zhimo, the editor-in-chief of "New Moon" magazine at the time, personally invited Zhu Xiang to join the editorial team, which was undoubtedly a great affirmation of his talent.
During his work at Crescent Moon magazine, Zhu Xiang was not only responsible for the editing of the poetry column, but also often published his new works. He skillfully combines the modern poetry techniques he learned in the United States with the artistic conception of traditional Chinese poetry to create a series of innovative works. Among them, the long poem "Homecoming" is particularly eye-catching, which depicts what a wanderer saw and heard after returning to China with delicate brushstrokes, which not only loves the motherland, but also contains thoughts on the current state of society.
In the spring of 1932, Zhu Xiang published his first collection of poems after returning to China, "Selected Poems of Zhu Xiang". This collection of poems is a collection of masterpieces written during his study abroad and after returning to China, and has been well received by critics. The famous writer Yu Dafu praised in his commentary: "Zhu Xiang's poetry has the sharpness of Western modernism and the grace of classical Chinese poetry, which is an important milestone in the development of new poetry." "
However, as time passed, Zhu Xiang began to feel an indescribable creative dilemma. The increasingly severe political situation and social problems in China made him feel that merely writing poetry "for art's sake" could no longer meet the needs of the times. He began to try to incorporate more social care into his poems, but this attempt was questioned by some.
In 1933, Zhu Xiang wrote the long poem "The Cry Under the Iron Hoof", which depicted the anger and resistance of ordinary people in the face of foreign invasion with strong patriotic feelings. The poem caused an uproar upon its publication, with some praising it for its courage to confront reality, while others criticized it for being too politicized and deviating from purely artistic pursuits.
This controversy has brought a lot of pressure to Zhu Xiang. He began to frequent the tavern to drink to kill his sorrows. This lifestyle not only affected his creation, but also brought a crisis to his marriage. His wife Liu Nijun tried to persuade him many times to no avail, and the relationship between the two deteriorated day by day.
In the summer of 1934, Zhu Xiang accepted an offer from the Central University in Nanjing as a professor of Chinese. This job provides him with a relatively stable environment and also gives him more time to think and create. In class, Zhu Xiang not only teaches students poetry creation skills, but also often discusses the relationship between literature and society with students. His teaching style is very popular with his students, and many students see him as a spiritual teacher.
However, Zhu Xiang's creative enthusiasm is gradually waning. In 1935, he published only a handful of poems, in stark contrast to the prolific early years. Some speculate that this may be because he is stuck in a creative bottleneck, while others believe that he is looking for a new creative direction.
At this moment, an unexpected opportunity came to Zhu Xiang. In early 1936, he received an invitation from the University of Iowa in the United States to serve as a visiting scholar for a year. This invitation made Zhu Xiang see the possibility of temporarily escaping the current predicament.
However, just as Zhu Xiang was about to accept the invitation, Japan's full-scale war of aggression against China broke out. In the face of national crisis, Zhu Xiang resolutely gave up the opportunity to go to the United States and chose to stay in China. In his reply to the University of Iowa, he wrote: "I cannot leave at a time when my homeland is being invaded. As a poet, I have a responsibility to use my pen to speak for the country. "
During the war, Zhu Xiang wrote a large number of patriotic poems, such as "National Mourning" and "Ode to the War of Resistance", which had a wide impact on society and inspired the patriotic enthusiasm of countless people. At the same time, he also actively participated in anti-Japanese rescue activities, went to the front line many times to comfort the soldiers, and used poetry to inspire the military and the people.
In 1938, in order to escape the war, Zhu Xiang moved to Chongqing with the Central University. In this mountain town, he continued his teaching and creative work. Despite the hardships of life, Zhu Xiang felt that he had found a new motivation to create. In a letter to a friend, he wrote: "At this critical juncture for the survival of the nation, I finally understood the true meaning of poetry. It is not only the expression of personal feelings, but also the cry of the national spirit. "
However, the long-term displacement and overload of work made Zhu Xiang's health deteriorate. In the winter of 1940, he was hospitalized due to illness and had to suspend his teaching. On the sickbed, Zhu Xiang still did not put down the pen in his hand, he wrote a group of poems "Sickbed Collection" intermittently, recording his profound thoughts on life and the fate of the country with the unique sensitivity of a poet.
In this way, Zhu Xiang spent the last few years of his life in the torment of creation and illness. Despite his deteriorating health, his poetry reached a new peak. His works not only have a deep concern for the fate of the country, but also a deep reflection on personal life, showing the wisdom and feelings of a mature poet.
Zhu Xiang's poetic style and literary contributions
Zhu Xiang's poetry creation career spanned more than 20 years, and his poetry style has undergone many changes, and finally formed a unique "Zhu Xiang style". This style integrates the essence of Chinese and Western poetry, and occupies an important position in the history of the development of new poetry.
Zhu Xiang's early poems were heavily influenced by classical Chinese poetry. In 1925, the poem "Spring", which he wrote while studying at Tsinghua University, showed a strong classical artistic conception. The sentence in the poem, "The catkins are full of spring garden, and the fragrance of flowers is drunk with tourists" not only has the rhythmic beauty of traditional poetry, but also does not lose the expressiveness of modern poetry. This inheritance and innovation of tradition laid the foundation for Zhu Xiang's future poetry creation.
While studying in the United States, Zhu Xiang was exposed to a large number of Western modernist poetry. He was particularly fond of the works of Eliot and Pound and tried to incorporate their creative techniques into his own poetry. The long poem "Stranger", written in 1928, is a representative work of this period. This poem uses the technique of stream of consciousness, breaks the traditional narrative structure, and presents the complex state of mind of a Chinese student in a foreign country in a fragmented way. This innovative expression caused quite a stir in the Chinese poetry scene at that time.
After returning to China, Zhu Xiang's poetry style began to develop in a more localized direction. He tried to combine the techniques of Western modern poetry with traditional Chinese culture to create a unique kind of "modern Chinese poetry". The poetry collection "Selected Poems of Zhu Xiang", published in 1932, contains many such works. For example, the poem "Spring in the South of the Yangtze River", although it adopts the form of a free body, the image of "the south bank of the river is covered with smoke and rain, and the small bridge and flowing water" is full of the charm of traditional Chinese landscape painting.
After 1933, as the domestic situation became increasingly tense, Zhu Xiang's poetry began to pay more attention to social reality. In his works, there is a large number of content that reflects the suffering of the nation and patriotic feelings. For example, the poem "The Cry Under the Iron Hoof" depicts the anger and resistance of ordinary people in the face of foreign invasion with strong patriotic feelings. The poem's language is more straightforward and powerful, in contrast to his earlier graceful and delicate style.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Zhu Xiang's poetry creation entered a new stage. He wrote a large number of battlefield poems, such as "National Mourning" and "Ode to the War of Resistance". These works not only maintain a high artistic standard, but more importantly, they assume an important function of boosting morale and motivating the people. Zhu Xiang's battlefield poems, with their unique artistic charm and strong patriotic feelings, occupied an important position in the literature of the Anti-Japanese War at that time.
In his later years, although Zhu Xiang was seriously ill, his poetry creation reached a new height. In 1940, he wrote a group of poems "The Collection of Beds", which is a representative work of this period. In concise and profound language, this group of poems explores major themes such as life, death, and war. For example, in the poem "Life": "Life is like a candle, swaying in the wind." I don't know when, suddenly extinguished. In just a few words, it speaks to the fragility and impermanence of life. This kind of reflection on the nature of life makes Zhu Xiang's late works have a deeper philosophical meaning.
Throughout Zhu Xiang's entire creative career, it can be seen that he is constantly exploring and innovating. His poetic style has undergone a transformation from traditional to modern, from personal lyricism to social concern, but he has always maintained his persistent pursuit of art. Zhu Xiang's creative practice provides an important example for the development of Chinese new poetry.
Zhu Xiang's contribution to modern Chinese poetry is not only reflected in his creation, but also in his theoretical research and teaching work. During his tenure at the Central University in Nanjing, Zhu Xiang taught a number of courses in poetry creation and poetry theory. The textbook "Modern Poetry Creation Course" compiled by him systematically introduced the creative techniques of modern Western poetry, and played an important role in cultivating a new generation of poets.
In addition, Zhu Xiang was actively involved in translation work, introducing a large number of modern Western poems to China. His translations of Eliot's The Waste Land and Pound's Psalms have given Chinese readers access to the classics of Western modernist poetry. These translations greatly enriched the creative resources of the Chinese poetry circle at that time.
Zhu Xiang's poetry creation and theoretical research have had a profound impact on the development of Chinese new poetry. His works have been widely used by later poets, and the poetry theory he put forward still has important reference value today. It can be said that Zhu Xiang has opened up a unique path for the development of modern Chinese poetry, and his contribution will forever be engraved in the history of Chinese literature.