Wang Shitang's anecdote.

In the 22nd year of the Republic of China (1933), it was sunny at noon in mid-spring. At that time, Mr. Yu Youren, then president of the National Government Supervision Institute, walked alone to the antique shop on Guozhan Road in Nanjing City to see the copybooks. This shop has a long history and the ancient houses have a rich collection of various copybooks. The owner's name is Zhang Xiyuan, and he is an old man in his seventies. He is honest, elegant and amiable. The store said that when Xiyuan saw Mr. Yu Youren leafing through ancient book copybooks, he quickly handed him a copy of "Cao Zhang Thousand Characters". Yu Youren took this post and turned over a few pages, trying to put it down. Lao Zhang Man Xiyuan stood beside him and asked what dynasty this book was from. Yu Youren said, look at this copybook, at least it was written by people in the Song Dynasty. Zhang Xiyuan asked him to look back again, and Yu Youren continued to look back. He turned to the last page and saw that it read "In September of the 10th year of the Republic of China, Governor of Ba County, Hanzhong Road Town, Shaanxi Province, Wang Shitang Golden Gate Book". Suddenly, Mr. Yu Youren was surprised and said, "Judging from this post, this person is not only good at Cao Zhang, but also proficient in calligraphy in the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties. He is indeed a contemporary master. I am willing to ask this person to be a teacher, but I don't know where he lives? " Lao Zhang Man Xiyuan took out an envelope from his desk and showed it to Yu Youren. He looked at the envelope: "From Wang Shitang, No.9 Nanzheng Lotus Pond, Hanzhong Road, Shaanxi Province." He said: "Xiyuan, a gentleman has the beauty of an adult. I wonder if you can finish it? " The old man in Xiyuan said: Do you want me to write to the king first to make things clear? Yu Youren said: "People who believe in not going are too simple and too slow. Could you please come to Hanzhong and send me an invitation? " At this point, Zhang Xiyuan's master readily agreed. The next day, Mr. Yu Youren personally delivered 1600 yuan, and said, "500 yuan is your round-trip fare, 500 yuan compensates for your business losses, and the remaining 600 yuan is given to Mr. Wang Shitang as a gift." The owner of Xiyuan started from Beijing and took the train to Luoyang to exchange goods with his peers. He visited xiangshan and Longmen, took a train to Kannonji, Shaanxi Province, changed to a carriage and arrived in Xi 'an, visited the forest of steles, stayed at Anshantang in Xi 'an, exchanged goods, then took a carriage to Baoji via Fengxiang, crossed the Qinling Mountains by a slide bar, crossed Fengxian County and went south to Hanzhong. Along the way, I enjoyed the Longmen statue in Luoyang, praised the precious stone gate on the inclined plank road, and bought some thirteen products of Han and Wei Dynasties. I spent the night in the earth temple. The next day, when I went downhill through Gou Wei Bay, I saw three huts in the ravine. On the door is a Wang Ti couplet written by Zhou Menglin, a calligrapher in Hanzhong in the early years of the Republic of China. "Close the door to hide the stars and the moon, open the window to collect wild clouds." Turn a corner, there are seven thatched huts on the roadside, with three-foot-long square lanterns hanging in front of the eaves and white paper stuck on all sides, which reads: "Officials walk on the platform, merchants are home, it is not too late to vote for 28, and chickens crow early to see three or three" and so on. Door frame couplets: "Chicken crows in Maodian, frost walks on the bridge" is a book written by Wei Suo, a calligrapher on the same footing as Xishu and Wencheng Chongqing. Seeing these elegant scenery, the scene of rain and dew in abandoned villages and wind and dew in wild shops is on the tip of the nose, which is really fascinating. I delivered the goods at Baocheng Post Office, took a short rest, and arrived at Mr. Wang Shitang's residence (the former site of Zhu Changhao's Wang Fu Garden) in the southeast corner of Hanzhong Lotus Pond at noon. I met Wang Shitang, an old man who had accumulated iron, explained my purpose and presented Yu Youren's calligraphy and gifts. Wang Shitang was very enthusiastic about Mr. Zhang Xiyuan's long journey and lived in Xiyuan's home. A few days later, the family affairs were arranged, and they took their eldest son Wu Xia, their daughter Xia Yun and Mr. Zhang Xiyuan to Beijing. After arriving in Xiaguan, they stayed at Linjiangchun Hotel and telephoned Mr. Yu Youren. At 7 o'clock the next day, Yu Youren personally took Shi Bo and his son to his mansion for a banquet, calling Wang Shitang a teacher. Wang Shitang stood up and said, "Although your husband is about the same age as Lu Sheng, Lu Sheng's expectations are too shallow, and many of his peers have exceeded their boundaries. Please call Shi Bo directly. " Yu Youren said, "Respect is better than obedience. Let's be good friends. "Italy will keep Wang Shitang in the government. In a few days, I will recommend Mr. Wang Shitang as the secretary of the Supervision Institute of Nanjing National Government. After a few days in office, Wang Shitang felt very inconvenient and unaccustomed to life here. One day, Wang Shitang said to Yu Youren, "There are many antique shops on Zhanyuan Road. I want to live there in order to collect calligraphy and literature and study in Germany." Yu Youren knew his secret (Wang was addicted to cigarettes, so it was inconvenient to stay in the official residence for a long time), so he had three mansion rooms across the hall rented for the king. After living for two months, the National Government Supervision Institute awarded him a letter of appointment as a third-level secretary. Wang Shitang only goes to the supervision office several times a month, with a monthly salary of 300 yuan. From then on, Yu Youren often talked with Wang Shitang about poetry and papers, exchanged calligraphy and became close friends. Who knows that when Wang Shitang met the public only in July, he suddenly became ill and was ineffective after many treatments. On February 4 of the same year, 65438 died. Mr. Yu Youren was very sad and was buried in Wawa Bridge, Niutoushan, Nanjing. The tombstone reads: "The tomb of the great calligrapher Mr. Wang Shitang, the tomb of Yu Youren, the foolish brother of the world, respects the book. "