The name "Liang" will not be unfamiliar to anyone who is familiar with China literature and art in the 20th century. Even if they don't fully understand his life, they must have heard of his anecdotes-at least, they should have read the words he translated: the popularity of poetry works by world literary masters such as Shakespeare, Goethe, Rilke and Valery in China is closely related to his vigorous translation and introduction. I believe no one will be surprised that the name of "famous poetry translator" is put on his head. As for Liang's status as a poet, it may not be that simple to gain recognition. The famous Wind of the Reed Flute is just a collection of old style words-new wine in old bottles? When vernacular Chinese enters people's lives more and more, when people pay attention to breaking all old forms, such collections will only be criticized and even ridiculed on a large scale. However, Liang disagreed with others. "What if it is a sentence? What if it can properly convey the throbbing and dizziness in my heart?" This is his reason and an excellent expression of his unique personality as a "poet". For Liang, himself, his actions and the "legend" of his life are enough to constitute a magnificent poem-although he wrote few poems, he even gave up poetry creation completely in the later period.
It takes a lifetime to complete a poem, and "lifetime" is destined to be the price paid by this poem. All people who can be called "legends" are like this. This is their destiny. At the beginning of the 20th century, such legends appeared one after another, which was the starting point of an era of great change. In cultural circles, Liang is a trendsetter. The young man succeeded, and the reputation of 16 as a "southern poet" accompanied him all his life. When I was studying in France, all the China compatriots I met were famous people-that was nothing. My acquaintance with Valery, a French symbolist poet, and the praise I received from romain rolland became his life experience. At the age of 28, he was hired as Professor Peking University, and young artists kept coming to visit him. Plus above
"Love" made him step into the ranks of "cultural stars" early, and attracted the public's attention with his strong and outstanding personality. The "autumn of pride" of life is spent in such a hurry, and then it faces great changes in life circumstances.
195 1 year, it was once widely rumored in Hong Kong, Macao and overseas that he had died in prison, and his "living" friends even held mourning activities for him. This was his first "death" experience, and the second "death" was in the early days of the Cultural Revolution. 1966, Liang was beaten and beaten, and manuscripts, photo albums, letters and celebrity calligraphy and paintings were destroyed and burned, so it was widely rumored that Liang died in Hong Kong for the third time. Liang, who didn't "die" twice, still has a strong personality and optimistic spirit. While devoting himself to "pharmacy", he also gave medicine to people. This may be something that many people never dreamed of. How did a generation of translation masters "degenerate" to the point of "pharmacy"? Actually, it's not surprising. Their family has a tradition of drug therapy, and their ancestral home is Baise, Guangxi, which is rich in herbs. It makes sense for Liang to fall in love with pharmaceuticals. If the times had not changed, Liang would not have become a famous pharmaceutical manufacturer.
Romantic, optimistic and argumentative Liang has changed from a translator and scholar to a "drug dealer" Liang. Since 19 17, she has formed an indissoluble bond with Guangzhou. The rest of his life-from 1956, Sun Yat-sen University organized a French major, and he was hired as a professor-was spent in Guangzhou. 1970, the Department of Foreign Languages of Sun Yat-sen University was merged into Guangzhou Foreign Studies University, and Liang was transferred to Guangwai with the Department of Foreign Languages as a professor of French at Guangwai, after which Guangwai became his last habitat. In Guangwai Campus, through a small attic built in 1950s and 1960s, at Yunxi Road 10, the reporter saw Liang's former residence. His former students and colleagues and former president of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies told reporters about Liang's life, looking at his familiar hometown with heartfelt pride and sad memories. A great poem has been completed, and the poem and the poet are finally integrated. Whether he is called a "translator" or a "scholar" or any other name, history has a wonderful color because of Liang's existence and his life poems. As a teenager, Liang published his poems in newspapers such as Yuehua Daily and Qunbao in Guangzhou.
With the advent of poetry, praise from all walks of life has followed. Dai Zong, who is only 16 years old, is known as the "Southern Poet". Reporters from various newspapers in Guangzhou heard the news one after another. Once, when a reporter visited, Liang greeted him and asked who the reporter was looking for. Seeing that he was young, the reporter casually replied, "Looking for your father Liang". Beam said slowly, "aren't you looking for a beam? I am Liang. "The reporter was surprised. Apart from his cultural achievements, Liang was also an educator and one of the pioneers of modern foreign language education in China, especially French education.
After returning from studying abroad at the age of 28, he became a professor and head of the French Department in Peking University, and died in Guangwai at the age of 80. Liang spent 40 years in the three-foot pulpit. With the passion of poets and the rigor of scholars, he trained a large number of foreign language talents for Peking University, Nankai University, Fudan University, Zhong Da University and Guangwai University, many of whom became famous poets, scholars or diplomats.
Liang spent the rest of his life in Guangzhou-from 1956, when Sun Yat-sen University organized a French major, he was hired as a professor. Xu Zhenhua, * * * reminisces about this legendary cultural celebrity. Liang was a trendy figure in the cultural circles of China in 1930s and 1940s. Born in Xinhui, Guangdong Province, 19 17 was admitted to Guangzhou Peizheng Middle School. Young people are successful, and 16 years old won the reputation of "Southern Poet". 1923 took the liberal arts course of Lingnan University and embarked on the journey of studying in France the next year.
During his stay in France, he met Valery, a French symbolist poet, and was praised by romain rolland, which became Liang's life experience. After returning to China, at the age of 28, he was the head of the French Department in Peking University, a professor and a lecturer in Tsinghua University. From 194 1 to 1944, he was appointed as the head of the foreign literature department of Fudan University and has become one of the famous professors and scholars.
His translation of Shakespeare's sonnets is regarded as "the best translation".
Nowadays, the academic evaluation of Liang is mainly to affirm his achievements in poetry creation, translation and literary theory. Xu Zhenhua, president of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, said in an interview: "Mr. Liang's nearly perfect Chinese translation of western poetry and his excellent and unique evaluation of modern western poetry theory show his profound understanding of foreign cultures; At the same time, he is an excellent cultural communicator in China, and his deep friendship with paul valery and romain rolland, which resulted from the translation of Selected Poems of Tao Qian, has become a much-told story in the history of cross-cultural communication. More importantly, Mr. Liang established his own poetic theory criticism system with modernity and nativity through the intersection of Chinese and western poetics and culture. Until today, his poetry building is still unavoidable for those who explore the way out of China's new poetry. "
Liu Mingjiu, a lifelong honorary academician of China Academy of Social Sciences, said that "Liang is a monument in the history of translation in China"; His translation of Shakespeare's sonnets has been completely included in The Complete Works of Shakespeare by many translators and praised by Yu Guangzhong as "the best translation of Shakespeare's sonnets". Although his translation of Goethe's Faust is only half published, it is considered by overseas scholars as the best Faust translation at present.
"He is full of passion for this brilliant world of color, sound, fragrance, taste and touch."
In ancient times, many literati were weak, but here in Liang, it was an exception. He pursued the beautiful ideal advocated by European humanists all his life, that is, the all-round development of human beings, and sound intelligence lies in sound physique.
There are many stories about Liang's strong physique and extraordinary physical strength. When he was in Fudan University, he was invited to attend an important school affairs meeting, but he temporarily went to a village dozens of miles away before the meeting. It is thought that he can't attend the meeting under any circumstances. As a result, he not only went back to school before the meeting started, but also carried a milk sheep on his back, saying that it was sold to him by farmers in the village. Liang's speed and arm strength immediately became bizarre, and he thought it was too common.
Matching his physique is Liang's strong and outstanding personality, so his public attention has always been high. In 1930s, Wen, an English professor in Peking University, wrote a passage in his book A Little Knowledge: "If someone has been immersed in a hard research topic for a long time and forgot what life is like, he should look at it and gain some understanding. In case someone is frustrated for some reason, look at the flames in Dai Zhong's eyes and the warm trembling of Dai Zhong's wet lips to awaken his due interest in the world of "five senses"; Because I have never seen anyone like Dai Zong in my life, so full of vitality and passion for this glorious world of color, sound, fragrance, taste and touch. "
After returning from studying abroad, Liang entered the literary world in China, and his reputation for being talkative spread rapidly.
He and the aesthetician Zhu Guangqian "almost never met without quarreling"; He unceremoniously accused his respected Li Jianwu of "abusing nouns"; He sarcastically said to his friend Liang Shiqiu, "I don't believe that any other country in the world-except Japan or the United States-can tolerate the head of the foreign literature department of a top university having the cheek to tell what he doesn't understand." Because of his incisiveness, writer Shen Congwen compared his writing style to "scolding an aunt on the street in Jiangbei".
So some people say that truth-seeking and eloquence have become Liang's way of life, and the article left a vivid description of Liang's argument with people in "Not a bosom friend" written in English:
"His debate is simply practicing martial arts, with hands, legs, head, eyes and body participating together."
Liang, a student of Fudan University, also recorded his academic argument with an old professor of Chinese Department until he had a big fight.
Just as Liang rose to fame and decided to display greater ambitions in China's literary world, he was involuntarily involved in the stormy waves of national destiny and experienced many ups and downs in the middle and old age. 1983 Liang rarely published his works before his death. Most of the time people saw him, he was collecting herbs and making medicines. This scholar, praised by the great French writer, "switched to Chinese herbal medicine".
In 2007, Xu Zhenhua, the current president of Guangwai (Guangzhou Foreign Studies University), 1972 enrolled in Guangwai French major. He remembered that Liang was then a professor in the French Department of Guangwai University, but he no longer taught no students, but focused on the research and development of Chinese herbal medicines.
"I remember that Mr. Liang went up the mountain to collect medicines himself, cooked medicines himself and distributed them to those in need free of charge. He doesn't care about his identity. Once I visited his house, he knew that I had rhinitis, and immediately took out an altar of medicinal liquor, saying that it could cure my rhinitis. In Liang Lao's home, the patient ate his herbs and there were many thank-you letters. "
"If I fall into Robinson's position, I can live to be Robinson."
Liang, who comes from a family of Chinese herbal medicines, can distinguish the different characteristics and medicinal properties of Chinese herbal medicines. He is familiar with many kinds of wild fruits and trees. He once said, "If I fall into Robinson's position, I can live to Robinson's."
Liang not only collected herbs, but also devoted himself to the research of pathology and medicine. He founded a pharmaceutical enterprise and personally grinded and prepared two kinds of Chinese patent medicines, namely "grass essential oil" and "green tincture", which really worked wonders and cured various intractable diseases of more than 500 people.
According to his wife Gan Shaosu, Liang did not take the old path of "fighting poison with poison" in traditional Chinese medicine, but adopted the method of "eliminating evil and strengthening the body". The two drugs he invented, especially the "green tincture", have the same anti-inflammatory and bactericidal effects as antibiotics, and can cope with many unexpected situations, but they have no side effects, and enhance the body's resistance and immune function. However, Liang's career change in his later years, from writing to writing, inevitably has a deep tragic color of the times. In fact, this regret has been printed in Liang's mind. Two years before his death, on his deathbed, he remembered his lifelong wish-to complete the translation of Faust (Volume II) to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Goethe 1982.
It seems that he still owes himself and many old friends an old debt, which will be paid back in his lifetime. The last wish did not come true after all. 1983, Liang died on his deathbed. Some people say that before he closed his eyes, he let out a roar.