From 1909 to 1911, he applied to teach at Hongxi Primary School in Xicang Town, Wuxi. During this period, Xu Zhenya was keen on writing old-style love poems. He wrote more than 800 old-style poems and contributed to the Nanshe Series founded by Liu Yazi in Wujiang. He was introduced to Nanshe by his brother Xu Tianxiao.
At this time, Changshu was located in the center of the commercial and hedonistic triangle of Shanghai, Suzhou, and Wuxi. Its pastoral scenery and soft culture were welcomed by the citizens. The so-called beauty of heaven and earth is favored by stories about boudoirs, the so-called virtuous ladies and courtesans, talents, beauty, gentleness, and suaveness. All kinds of new and old stories that make ordinary people chatter after meals and make their cheeks sweet, form the framework of the novel form of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School. Generally speaking, the artistic spirit suggested by this school of novels is not in tune with contemporary politics. It is full of self-appreciation and self-absorption. When Xu Zhenya was in his hometown, he had no love life and the love life he longed for was suppressed. During the three years of teaching in a rural primary school in Wuxi, he fell in love and had an unforgettable relationship with a beautiful and well-educated widow surnamed Chen who lived in the rented place. His love story ended in tragedy. In 1912, with this silent ending, he left Wuxi and went to his brother in Shanghai to assist him in running the Civil Rights Newspaper. At this time, the Republic of China was just taking shape, warlords were busy competing in the north, and the Shanghai Concession was temporarily peaceful. Xu Zhenya, as an old-school literati, naturally wrote romantic novels with the help of newspapers, a form of mass communication. Summarizing Xu Zhenya’s novel and publishing career, he first joined the Civil Rights Newspaper and serialized the novel "The Soul of Jade Pear". After becoming famous, he founded "Novel Series", "Novel Quarterly" and Tsinghua Book Company. After the creation of "The Soul of Jade Pear" and "The History of Xue Hong's Tears", there are also works such as "Yu's Wife", "Two servant girls", "The Hatred of Orchid Girl", and "The Story of Lovesickness". Due to the continuous changes in family love, Xu Zhenya was depressed and his behavior became decadent. The bookstore went bankrupt and it was difficult to maintain it. So in 1934, he sold the bookstore in Shanghai to a friend and returned to Changshu. In Changshu, he opened an antique shop called "Le Zhen Lu" to sell his calligraphy and seal cutting works. At that time, Xu Zhenya, who was only in his forties, already suffered from serious lung disease and his energy was not as good as before. He could only make a living by writing books and engraving seals for others. It is said that when he was in Shanghai, he was famous for his calligraphy. The Communist Party's "Guide" magazine asked him to inscribe the title of the magazine. In November 1937, after the Japanese captured Changshu, Xu Zhenya fell ill and fled to the countryside of Yangyuan, Changshu. He died of illness that year at the age of 49.
Calligraphy