From the article "How I Learn German" by Lu Yuan Li

Mr. Luyuan and Mr. Qian Chunkun, two giants in China who translated and introduced German poetry, are one south and the other north. Both of them translated the German classic Goethe's Faust, and also translated a lot of poems by Schiller and Heine. Both of them have the talent of poets, each with his own strong points, and each with his own strong points in translation. I have translated several German literary works myself in the past, but in recent years, I have paid more attention to English literature because of its diverse interests. Even so, I haven't forgotten German literature. Lvyuan began to write poems when he was young, and his talent was revealed. At the age of 20, his first collection of poems, Fairy Tales, came out. Since the mid-1940s, he has translated and published literary works one after another and jumped into the literary world. After the national liberation, I worked in the International Propaganda Department of Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China. 1955, bad luck arrival, he fell into Hu Feng's counter-revolutionary case. After a year's trial and investigation, the facts have been ascertained, and the original assumed charges are unfounded, but they have not been released. Since then, I have been locked up for seven years and spent a long time in prison. However, instead of being depressed, he responded to adversity with perseverance and spent six years learning German. After publication, it can be used as a tool to translate and introduce German poetry, and shine brilliantly. After reading this readme of Luyuan, what I admire most is, of course, his indomitable will, but there are other ideas to write down for people who care about the fate of intellectuals to think about with me. One of my feelings is to think about the sufferings of China intellectuals before the end of the Cultural Revolution from Luyuan's experience. I consider myself lucky. Although I always stepped on the tightrope trembling after exercise, I was not knocked down. It was not until the dark clouds had enveloped me for a long time before the Cultural Revolution that I began to be impacted until the storm sweeping the earth was completely over. A few years ago, at a meeting of retirees held by my former unit, one of my former leaders, Comrade party member, publicly stated that my past treatment was unfair. I am very grateful to the leader for his fair words, which I believe are also from her heart. However, what happened to intellectuals (I mean intellectuals as a whole) in the past 20 years after the founding of the People's Republic of China can be summarized by more than the word "injustice". Expulsion, exile, reform-through-labour and imprisonment, how many people are tortured both mentally and physically, their talents are gradually lost, and their lives pass by with the years. Even if they are lucky enough to survive, what they lost will never be recovered. Frankly speaking, or harshly speaking, the long-term intellectual policy was really a policy that made people lose confidence and self-esteem, treated the Lebanese people like dirt, and completely reversed "noble" and "stupid". It is a unique example that Lvyuan is still allowed to learn and master a knowledge in prison. His spirit of self-improvement is admirable, but how can he be tolerated if he is not imprisoned in the "first good area" that Luyuan himself said? Those who were imprisoned and imprisoned on trumped-up charges in those years can only be honestly reformed and "reborn". In some people's minds, the best way to reform their minds is to do heavy physical labor different from ordinary ones. In the "transformation", how can you read miscellaneous books and learn a foreign language besides the supreme "treasure volume"? Of course, there is another side to the story. Because of China's vast territory, different regulatory systems in different places, and because of the long time and changes in political conditions, the regulations and policies for treating prisoners are also lenient and tight. Therefore, in a certain area, at a certain time, prisoners may be able to take time off to read books. But at that time, it can only be said to be an example or a special case. Generally speaking, reading business books is forbidden. Don't say that reading casual books in prison, even in the "bullpen" or the May 7th cadre school, is also contrary to the reform (the last stage of the May 7th cadre school, with lax management, is an exception. Whether to allow reading seems to be a system and a rule, but in fact it is related to personal dignity and spiritual freedom, which are almost as important as life. I might as well give an example I read recently here. Professor Zhao Lisheng is a famous historian in China. In his later years, he taught at Lanzhou University (once owned by Northwest Normal University) and unfortunately encountered the "anti-rightist" movement. 1958 was reclassified as a rightist and sent to work in Shandan Normal University Farm in Hexi Corridor. This is a place only a few hundred miles away from Jiabiangou, where thousands of people starve to death. Professor Zhao Lisheng came back alive because his youngest daughter (Evonne, who died at the age of 18) was released generously. As for why he didn't starve to death in the reform-through-labour camp, the professor's descendants explained that it might be because he was weak and had little calories. There is another reason that I can't help but mention that Zhao Lisheng always has a copy of Mandarin or Zuo Zhuan in his hand, whether he releases his horse during the day or sleeps on the floor at night. Although I don't believe that reading can satisfy hunger, I am sure that reading can relieve some mental stress. I think most people who have let go of their work under cadre schools and reformed their minds will feel the same way. Luyuan also said in the article, "In order not to lose my mind and be submerged in it, I had to learn from Ah Q and vulgarize the truth of' survival of the fittest'" and read some books. This nightmare era has finally passed, but the shadow it left is probably still haunting some people who have experienced it! The second feeling of reading Luyuan's self-reported article is to marvel at how simple the thinking of China intellectuals is. This problem starts with Luyuan's final choice to teach himself German. Since the prison allowed him to study, he first read the foreign documents collected by his family at home. But what to read in the future? He listened to Nehru's autobiography instead of reading novels, because novels "tease feelings" and are not conducive to maintaining a calm mind. He decided to read something that made his mind "simple, mechanized and even withered" to bear the pressure of imprisonment. What book should it be? Reading mathematics, it is difficult to find a step-by-step teaching material, and I am worried about giving up halfway. He wants to learn a foreign language. He wants to learn a difficult foreign language that has never been contaminated in the past. After some groping, I finally decided to learn German. What is the reason? Quote Lv Yuan's own words: "Learn strange German well and read several classic works of Marx carefully, and you will understand how you have fallen on the wrong road of literature and politics." My understanding of this sentence is that although Luyuan used the word "slip" and thought he was wrong, his real idea was to find out the merits of the matter seriously. Did he misunderstand or distort Marx's words, or did his critics attack and frame him on the pretext of Marx's theory, or perhaps the translator misinterpreted Marx's words and made him feel wronged. You need to read the original work first and see what Marx says before you can understand it, otherwise everything will be a muddled account. I think it is naive for Mr. Luyuan to try to solve political right and wrong problems with a nerd. Recall that one person's thoughts commanded the thoughts of hundreds of millions of people across the country, and one person's thoughts determined the principles and policies. Where is the era of reasoning and distinguishing right from wrong? Hu Feng confessed his literary views and was falsely accused of being a hidden counter-revolution, which made hundreds of people suffer. It was obviously an unjust case, but it took nearly 30 years to be rehabilitated. Who dared to speak for him then? Writing here, I really think of another great scholar whom I respect, the famous aesthete and translator Lv Ying. At a meeting criticizing Hu Feng, everyone shouted to overthrow the counter-revolution, and only Lu Ying defended Hu Feng, thinking that Hu was just a mistake in literary thought. After Hu Feng was identified as a covert counter-revolutionary, he was the only one who dared to visit. Such a person who openly went against the trend of the times was naturally unacceptable to society at that time. As a result, at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, he was taken to the farm as an "unstable element", first the Paradise River, then the Tea Lake, and forced to work. Lu Ying once again showed his unswerving ignorance. When they were sent to the labor camp, others took clothes and food, but he took an English typewriter and translated Shakespeare's sonnets to the farm. In order to go to the farm to continue his cultural career, he also took several large bags of candles in case of power failure. It is not difficult to imagine what would happen if such an untimely person landed in Lake Chad-he was buried in the wilderness. 1969, another mound was added to the wasteland tomb in western Chad. It's a pity that he died at the age of 55. Mr. Qian Chunkun has also done stupid things that don't understand the times. He was originally based in the medical field and had a stable job. Being too obsessed with German literature, translating poetry can't help me. In the early 1960s, he quit his job and volunteered to be a freelance translator. As a result, the "Cultural Revolution" came, and the cultural heritage he regarded as an arch wall suddenly turned into dirt, and translating foreign literature became a crime of promoting and cultivating toxins. Not only is there no translator, but it is also difficult to make a living and support a family. Shortly after the Cultural Revolution, I went to Shanghai and paid a special visit to Mr. Qian's home on Nanjing West Road. Talking about the hardships of the past 10 years, he said that he was deeply saddened by the sufferings of his family because of one thought. I sometimes wonder why these people who have shown great wisdom in their professional expertise and made outstanding achievements are "confused about major issues" and fall behind the situation politically. In the intellectual world, why do some people think faster and can easily participate in the chorus of the times, while others are always out of step? Further exploration, I found these "time laggards" (this name is not appropriate, let's just call it that! ), most of them were "pioneers" in their early years, belonging to the "Left" of progress, and some even took part in the revolution. When I was studying in Chongqing before liberation, I was forced to drop out of school because of my participation in progressive literature activities. Lv Ying has a deeper relationship with the revolution. In 1930s, she took part in the "December 12th" movement in Beijing. 9? Student movement. What influenced them to "keep pace with the times"? This rather complicated problem is by no means something I can make clear in this essay, and I have mixed feelings. I can only make a superficial explanation here. In my opinion, a common fault that intellectuals love to make is to cherish their hobbies too much-even if they are unable to write books and translate world famous works, they always roll around among books and become boring nerds. They value what they like more than anything else, just like their own lives. No matter what earth-shaking changes take place in the outside world, they cling to it. In the eyes of smart people, they are "persistent disabled people" and "stubborn people", but they themselves believe that they have acquired the most precious wealth in the world, or that they have mastered the true meaning of life. As a result, in the turbulent tide of the times, it was suddenly submerged and became the victim of "old and outdated things", and tragedy happened. Nowadays, the chaotic times have become a thing of the past. Most of these victims have died, but so many innocent and sincere hearts will never be forgotten by future generations.