01
There are three of my favorite modern poems. The first is "Farewell Cambridge" by Xu Zhimo, the second is "Rain Alley" by Dai Wangshu, and the third is It's Mu Xin's "Once upon a Time Slow".
I especially like Mu Xin’s slowness in the past, and the beauty of Mu Xin’s rhythm, artistic conception, and poetry. What I like even more is the poetry itself.
In the past, it was slow, even cars, horses, and mail were slow. There was only enough time to love one person in a lifetime.
Xu Zhimo is considered a top poet, and his poems written by Farewell Kangqiao are also extremely beautiful. However, good poetry does not necessarily mean good character. Xu Zhimo’s love is too much and too overwhelming.
Now, I know that people with literary talent may not necessarily have good character. Xu Zhimo is the best example. These men of letters never suppress their feelings and pursue them regardless of what they like. They never think of hurting the people around them.
When I was a child, my grandfather told me that we must first learn to be a person, and then do things. I have always remembered this sentence and have never forgotten it until now.
Dai Wangshu only knew such a person because he learned his Yuxiang style. This poem Yuxiang is beautifully written. At that time, I was thinking, whoever marries such a man will be happy for the rest of his life.
The apricot blossoms and misty rain are in the south of the Yangtze River, and the desert is windy and sandy in the north. It is the beautiful scenery that I yearn for most in my life. I have fantasized about this scenery more than once.
In the south of the Yangtze River where the fireworks are in March, the spring rain is pouring down, and the water drops are splashing on the eaves, on the bluestone slabs, and in the river, like a symphony. A girl wearing a pink cheongsam slowly walked past me. Her back became increasingly blurry in the rain. She held an oil-paper umbrella and walked away from my sight step by step, disappearing around the corner.
In Dai Wangshu's life, there was also such a resentful girl holding an oil-paper umbrella. She was as quiet and noble as a lilac. Her beauty fascinated Dai Wangshu, but he could not get close to her or forget her throughout his life.
The girl with the lilac-like face was Dai Wangshu’s first love—Shi Jiangnian
02
In 1927, Dai Wangshu received a letter from his friend Shi Zhecun. I was invited to stay in Songjiang for a while. Shi Zhecun was the editor of a magazine. Maybe he was not a famous person, but to Dai Wangshu, he was his benefactor.
Dai Wangshu's poems were soft and elegant, and were not taken seriously in the literary world at that time. There were exceptions to everything. Shi Zhecun admired him very much and published all his poems in the magazine he edited.
Dai Wangshu was grateful, and the two gradually became good friends. That day, Dai Wangshu went to Shi Zhecun's residence for a while and met Shi Zhecun's sister, Shi Jiangnian.
To say it was love at first sight would be an understatement. Shi Jiangnian is five years younger than Dai Wangshu. As the saying goes, there is a generation gap at the age of three. She respected and admired Dai Wangshu more.
In fact, not everyone likes to fall in love, but many people like the feeling of being chased. The feeling of being held in the palm of someone's hand and being cared for. Whether it is enjoyment or vanity, in short, this is human nature.
Shi Jiangnian is young and beautiful. She is a beautiful girl in her prime. Although she does not have the charm of a mature woman, she is lively, cute and energetic.
This kind of youthful beauty deeply attracted Dai Wangshu. Dai Wangshu now seemed to be in an endless desert, and he was a lost pedestrian who was about to die of thirst. Suddenly he saw an oasis. How could he not chase it?
Dai Wangshu has no wealth and is not a rich second generation. How can you pursue Shi Jiangnian? I had no choice but to use my special skills to write love letters and love poems.
I have become numb to the routine of these talented men in the Republic of China chasing girls. Whenever they meet someone they like, they write love poems. However, love poems cannot be eaten. No matter how much you write, you might as well take her to finish the noodles.
Facing Dai Wangshu's stormy expression of love, Shi Jiangnian enjoyed it happily on the one hand, after all, there was someone chasing him, but on the other hand, he was distressed, always pestering himself, and very tired.
In this way, one of them chased and the other hid. Shi Jiangnian neither refused nor accepted. Dai Wangshu punched the cotton with a very strong punch, which was very weak.
But people in love, especially those who are new to love, will not think about it so much. You will never look back until you hit the wall. If you have been ups and downs in love for many years, maybe you can. However, that also loses the innocence of love.
Everyone has a love for beauty. People like beautiful things, and so do people. You may like Hu Ge instead of Zhao Si. You may also like Jiang Shuying instead of Sister Feng. Because the former looks beautiful and feels comfortable.
When we first met, your appearance impression score was not as high as others. Although Dai Wangshu had a slender figure, he was definitely not handsome. In his early years, he had smallpox. Although the smallpox was cured later, there were still small pits on his face, which was certainly unsightly.
In fact, all of this is secondary. The most important thing is that Shi Jiangnian doesn’t like him. There’s really nothing we can do about it. If a person doesn’t like you, she won’t feel sorry for you. The biggest reason why humans are different from animals is that humans can think and have feelings.
If she has no feelings for you, she will not feel anything you do.
This is an irreversible proposition and irreversible.
Alas, since you can’t pursue it honestly, you can only cheat. Dai Wangshu actually threatened Shi Jiangnian with his own life and death. If he doesn't fall in love with me, I will die for you.
It’s really boring. She doesn’t like you, so what’s the use of you dying. There are three thousand weak waters in this world, why would you take this scoop from her? Have you become so despicable that you spend your own life begging for the love of others?
This meeting was considered to be effective. In order to prevent Dai Wangshu from seeking a life and death, Shi Jiangnian agreed to the engagement, but the premise was that he had to have a living guarantee and he had to study abroad.
In ancient times, men always said to their beloved women, "When I come back to be the top scorer in high school, I will be able to marry you, but when I come back, things will have changed."
In desperation, Dai Wangshu had no choice but to study abroad. In fact, he did not have a good life abroad. He did not attend classes well and usually made money by translating manuscripts. I miss class every now and then and want to come back from time to time.
This idea grew wildly for a while, but in the end it was useless. Three years later, he finally got his wish and could return to China. It's not the end of school, it's the expulsion.
If you want to be fired, just fire her. In order to win the beauty back, she has worked hard. However, when he came back, he found that Shi Jiangnian already had someone he liked.
This really made Dai Wangshu very angry. He slapped Shi Jiangnian in public and even published it in the newspaper. From then on, the two people never had anything to do with each other.
If I had never experienced love before, I might consider it from Dai Wangshu's point of view. I have paid so much for you, but why did you fall in love with someone else? Now, I feel even more like Shi Jiang. Year is right.
Dai Wangshu has done so much for Shi Jiangnian, it is impossible to say that he is not moved. However, touching is not love. If you choose to get married because of the last resort, you may suffer a lifetime of pain.
In fact, Dai Wangshu is not a dedicated person. In his later years, he married two more women, but both ended in divorce.
Because he could not forget Shi Jiangnian. Everyone always misses their first love. Because, first love is the first person to enter his heart.
From then on, the green plums withered and the bamboo horses grew old, and everyone I met was like you.
More love stories of the Republic of China: The taste of life is happiness in the Republic of China series