First of all, what is the "Cambridge complex"
Cambridge is the seat of the famous Cambridge University in Britain and the birthplace of British culture and learning. 1922 changed from a special student in the Royal College of Cambridge University to a formal graduate student in the first half of the year, and returned to China in mid-August after half a year of formal life. This period of studying in Britain became a turning point in Xu Zhimo's life. The poet commented that Cambridge is "Ruyong is my hometown of spiritual attachment".
Cambridge has a far-reaching influence on Xu Zhimo. He ran from a closed country into a brand-new field of freedom, and his mind was greatly shocked. In Xu Zhimo's own words: "My vision was opened by Cambridge, my thirst for knowledge was touched by Cambridge, and my self-awareness was given to me by Cambridge." Xu Zhimo's popularity is largely due to Cambridge. Xu Zhimo's title of poet is also closely related to Cambridge ... Cambridge is Xu Zhimo's lifelong complex.
Second, the performance of Xu Zhimo's "Cambridge Complex"
The literati complex is embodied in the works of literati, and so is Xu Zhimo. "Cambridge complex" runs through Xu Zhimo's poems almost all his life. Xu Zhimo not only has two poems that miss his alma mater-Farewell to Cambridge and Farewell to Cambridge, but also has a famous essay "Cambridge as I Know It", which constitutes Xu Zhimo's Cambridge series. Among them, Farewell to Cambridge is a typical embodiment of Cambridge complex. Ye Jiaying once said, "All the best poets don't write poems with words, but spend their whole lives writing poems." Farewell to Cambridge is a poem written by Xu Zhimo with his life. It subtly conveys the most basic human feelings of the frustrated when they bid farewell to their alma mater, which is the charm of "Cambridge Complex".
Third, the root analysis of Xu Zhimo's "Cambridge Complex"
Why did Xu Zhimo love Cambridge so much all his life? The two years in Britain can be said to be the two years that Xu Zhimo dreamed of. This has a lot to do with his family background, study experience and love and marriage.
(1) Family background.
Xu Zhimo was born in Shixia Town, Haining County, on the north bank of Qiantang River. He is a stinking and arty wealthy family with obvious bourgeois life tendency. From an early age, Zhimo saw the destruction of the people's misery and aroused his determination to save the country and the people. He sympathized with the people's sufferings and was determined to save them in from the mire. From the age of six to eleven, Zhimo studied with Chajia and read the Four Books and Five Classics with him. Childhood Zhimo was an active, thoughtful, interesting and talkative child. He is not interested in reading, but he loves nature and often explores the forest alone. He loves life and says "life should be artistic".
He worships Liang Qichao most, and his articles and thoughts are deeply influenced by Liang Qichao. He is bent on flying and thinks that "the greatest mission in life is to be wings". Xu Zhimo showed the talent of a poet from an early age. He is a smart, lively and sincere person. The romantic Xu Zhimo was not bound by his father's thoughts, and his days in Cambridge after leaving his old country coincided with his ideal country.
(2) Travel experience.
The experience of studying in London, England has a great influence on Xu Zhimo's thought. During the "confused" period of studying in the United States, an English philosopher "summoned" him, namely Russell. "The golden light that penetrates the dark clouds on the sea at dusk in summer-calm, sharp and ever-changing." Poet Xu Zhimo used such poetic language to evaluate Russell's thoughts. To this end, he did not hesitate to give up his plan to study for a doctorate in Colombia and came to Britain only to "study hard with this 20th century Floriel". Mo Chi wanted to follow Russell to England, but Russell went to China. Mo Chi closed the door with a sieve. When he was in London, he met Dickinson and entered Cambridge University in England under his introduction.
In Cambridge, he deeply felt "the beauty, tranquility and harmony of nature" and "unexpectedly drowned your soul in the tacit understanding of starlight and waves" (Xu Zhimo: Cambridge as I know it). Xu Zhimo is obsessed with Cambridge and nature because he thinks that the real society is ugly, life is painful and only nature is pure and beautiful. The best way to save this society and people and the embarrassment of current life is to leave the degenerate civilization and return to the simplicity of nature. Only by approaching nature can we restore human childlike innocence and alleviate social symptoms. He received a bourgeois aristocratic education and a "smoking culture" in Cambridge. He worships England very much and likes Oxford and Cambridge very much. He likes to associate with British celebrities, has extensively dabbled in various world famous works, and has also been exposed to various schools of thought.
At that time, Xu Zhimo was well-off, broad-minded, and had a strong interest in communication, with many people, including Wells, Wei Lei, Cain, Dickens, Shi Qi, Jabbent, Mansfield and Foster. From these people, they have learned a lot about English literature, politics, philosophy, social psychology and religious beliefs. Its influence is self-evident. During this period, Xu Zhimo's political ideas and social ideals were conceived, and his self-consciousness-idealism was born. He wants to be an "uneducated individualist" himself. The profound influence of these communication experiences on Xu Zhimo is nothing more than enriching and condensing his so-called "Cambridge Complex". The environment in Cambridge not only contributed to and formed his social outlook and outlook on life, but also aroused his thirst for knowledge and triggered his creative ideas.
(3) Love and marriage.
Love plays an irreplaceable role in Xu Zhimo's life. Xu Zhimo once said, "Love and marriage are the only important things in life". Without love, Xu Zhimo could never become a poet, let alone be famous at home and abroad and remain immortal.
At the instigation of his parents and the words of a matchmaker, Xu Zhimo married a rich girl, Zhang Youyi. 1920, Zhang Youyi went to England with Xu Zhimo, but Xu Zhimo was thinking about his own poetic life. He went to his "sweet and lonely" He Kang River to enjoy his "really happy" time, and even stayed in He Kang River to dream. He wrote in "Cambridge as I Know It": "The night in Cambridge is a tonic for the soul. Ah! I am sweet loneliness and sweet leisure. Night after night, I saw me leaning against the railing of the bridge and staring at the western sky. "
The unforgettable love between Xu Zhimo and Lin also happened in Cambridge period. When Shima and Yin Hui were madly in love, Zhang Youyi came to England from China to look for Shima. Zhimo wanted to be with Yin Hui, so he proposed to divorce Xiaoyi, thinking that they should not continue their marriage life without love and freedom. Free divorce, stopping suffering and the beginning of happiness are Xu Zhimo's pure idealism. He is pursuing an ideal life, and he feels that life seems to be "shocked by great power". He wants to express and sing. Therefore, poems expressing love and life ideals, such as Love to Death, Listening to the Piano on a Moonlit Night, Ode to Youth, and The Spring Dream Blows Away by the Breeze, also constitute the important contents of his poems in this period.
Xu Zhimo's poems in that period were also deeply influenced by his love. In love, his poems are full of joy and longing for the future. When he was lovelorn, his poems were full of sadness and disappointment and disgust with the world. Hu Shi said: "His outlook on life is really a kind of' simple belief', with three characters: one is love, the other is freedom, and the third is beauty. He dreams that these three ideal states can be combined in one life, which is his' simple belief'. The history of his life is only the history of pursuing this' simple belief'. " This persistence in love has also enriched Xu Zhimo's indelible "Cambridge Complex".
Four. conclusion
The natural beauty of Cambridge, Xu Zhimo's lost dream here and his love for nature, life and life make him inseparable from Cambridge. Cambridge is full of the ancient, quiet and trance atmosphere that romantic poets need, and it is also a "truly happy" time in the poet's life. Therefore, it solidified the "Cambridge complex" that the poet could not solve. What's more, after leaving Cambridge, life is by no means as quiet as Cambridge, running around for a living all day, which has increased the poet's constant pursuit of Cambridge dreams. This may be the reason why the "Cambridge complex" will always accompany you!
Cambridge is the highlight of Xu Zhimo's short life, the turning point of his brilliant life and the cornerstone for Xu Zhimo to become Xu Zhimo. It is these two years of Cambridge life that condensed into an unusual "Cambridge complex" in Xu Zhimo's life.