In the more than twenty years as the director of the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature, Shu Yi's collection of historical materials and contributions to the development of literary undertakings will not be forgotten by future generations.
Mr. Shu Yi
Shu Yi lingered on the bed for many years. I had contact details, but couldn't bear to bother him. On April 21, we saw the bad news of Shu Yi's death that afternoon on WeChat, which was unbelievable...
On April 18, 1994, I accompanied Li Jisheng and Xu Ju to Beijing Hospital to visit Mr. Cao Yu in the company of Shu Yi and Dian Xi. Entering the ward, Shu Yi told Cao Yu: "This time, Ba Lao entrusted his younger brother Li Jisheng to donate the publication "Equality" compiled when he studied in France in the 1920s to the Museum of Modern Literature. It's the most complete set in the world. After hearing this, Cao Yu said, "This is really a treasure!" You have to keep it. Then he added, "Ba Lao is really powerful, he has preserved these books, letters, and photos from decades ago so well, powerful, really powerful!" We all laughed. Seeing this, he immediately explained: "What I said was a joke, and it meant that I was capable of doing great things. He laughed at himself and made everyone happy.
At this time, I saw Shu Yikou hanging in the river. Taking advantage of this excitement, he took out a commemorative envelope and asked Cao Yu to sign it as a souvenir. Unexpectedly, Cao Yu not only signed his name but also wrote: "Always be an honest person." This is thanks to the atmosphere created by Shu Yi, which has this unexpected surprise.
Beijing Hospital, April 18, 1994 (front row from left: Shu Yi, Cao Yu, Li Jisheng; back row from right: Wan Fang, Dian Xi, Xu Ju and Lu Zhengwei)
On March 27 of the following year, Shu Yi accompanied Zhai Taifeng, Zhang Kun and Li Wei to the ward to report to the new museum of ba lao on the progress of the project. After Shu Yi entered the door, he put the sand table model on the small table and began to report to Ba Lao on the location, design, and function of the building. Ba Lao looked at the model of the new museum and said, "I have been writing for seventy years because I rely on ideals and oppose money worship. I am very happy to see the development of the Literature Museum, our future is very bright, and it is a good thing to unite and work together. Then, Shu Yi told Ba Lao that the relatives of the writer Tang Tao wanted to sell Tang Tao's collection of books, and the price was 400,000, and 5 units were competing for it. Tang Tao's family used this money to set up the "Tang Tao Fund". Ba Lao advocated buying these books, and said that Tang Tao's books were treasures, and Tang Tao had bought books with all his life's money.
In the late 1990s, when I was replying to readers in Ba Lao, a letter from Jiang Hanyu and his wife in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, caught my attention. The letter expressed his willingness to donate some money to the Museum of Literature. Soon, 2,000 yuan was transferred to me, and I immediately transferred it to Shu Yi. There have been several times, hundreds of them; there have been dozens. No matter how much, you will always receive a receipt from him.
Shu Yi designed the plan for the new museum of Ba Jin Lecture Literature Museum
In January 1997, Shu Yi took the management personnel to museums around the world to investigate and learn from the scriptures. After arriving in Shanghai, I accompanied them to visit five or six venues such as the Shanghai Library and the Shanghai Museum. Every time he went to a place, he would carefully inquire and carefully record. In the hospital room, Shu Yi smiled and told Ba Lao that this time he had collected Wang Tongzhao's long scrolls and literature, and also talked about fighting for funds to buy Tang Tao's books before the museum opened. When he consulted Ba Lao, Ba Lao said, "I am waiting for the museum to open." Shu Yi then said, we all carry your brand, things are much easier to handle. After hearing this, Ba Lao smiled and said, "Don't smash the sign." ”
Shu Yi has a provenance for every detail of the sculptures, boulders, murals, door frames, display cabinets and other details planned and designed in the museum, and he can say an interesting story, even the design of the medallion, he does not let go, using a "comma", which means that the development of the museum of literature will never end. I've also seen him take the old hand model. The following summer, Shu Yi came to Ba Lao's place of stay in Hangzhou. He took out the plasticine and placed it on the small wooden board of the wheelchair, and I saw Ba Lao stretch out his right hand and put it on the mud. Shu Yi pressed hard with both hands. Seeing this, I am worried that Ba Lao's "osteoporosis" cannot withstand such a squeeze.
The handprints are cast and installed on the gate of the Museum of Literature. When I visited the Museum of Literature, the original bronze hand model had already been "held" by readers to show the true color of brass. When I praised his unique creativity, he told me that there are 11 places like this in the Literature Museum that have traces of Ba Lao, so that future generations can remember the truth of "drinking water and not forgetting the people who dig wells".
The doorknob of the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature is Mr. Ba Jin's hand model
In 2008, Wenyou Taolin designed a "well bar pot" for Shu Yi, and Shu Yi sent paintings and inscriptions. I unfolded to see the "Three Towers of Jiaxing" painting and the inscription "Brilliant Water Town". In the water town of Jiangnan, why do you have a special love for Jiaxing? I learned from the poem he gave me: "Water Country Fish Lingsang, Nanxun Silk Aya." Generations of great winds, hundreds of high-spirited". From this, we can see his intentions: Jiaxing not only walked out of Wang Guowei, Mao Dun, Feng Zikai, Xu Zhimo and other masters, but also the ancestral hometown of Ba Lao.
As the son of Lao She, Shu Yi has been the director of the Literature Museum for more than 20 years with the support of Xia Yan, Bingxin, Ba Jin, Cao Yu, Xiao Qian and other predecessors, who donated a large number of literary materials and "treasures" to the Literature Museum to enrich the collection.
Shu Yi's collection of historical materials and contributions to the development of the literary cause will not be forgotten by future generations. (Lu Zhengwei)