Wang Zengqi → People and things! ~~~~

Deng Youmei

When Ceng Qi returned to the West, the newspaper asked me to write a mourning article, but I declined. My heart is in a mess. How much grief can a few eulogies express? After settling down, it is better to describe the memories calmly. Ceng Qi's popularity is good, and mourning articles written by friends can be seen in newspapers and magazines. I don't lack it.

Wang Zengqi and Lin Jinlan are my earliest friends after the founding of the People's Republic of China. I don't mean to brag about it. It was later that the two of them became immortals, which I couldn't catch up with. Forty-seven years ago, I was still at the stage where my eldest brother was almost the same as my second brother. Although Ceng Qi published a collection of novels and was a disciple of Mr. Shen Congwen, it didn't give him a halo, but he still hung a shadow. He was considered as a car running on another road. Jin Lan is the underground party member of Taiwan Province. She spent some time in a Kuomintang military prison. After she came back from a narrow escape, she was only fascinated by writing plays, but she wrote a lot but never acted (I haven't heard of anyone acting so far). By contrast, I was the most comfortable at that time. Born in Xiaoba Road, writing about workers, peasants and soldiers is both "left" and "rough" in criticizing Wu Xunchuan and other "struggles". Although the article is plain, it is considered as "strong party spirit". I have a close relationship with Ceng Qi and Jin Lan, and my kind comrades also reminded me: "Be careful when making friends, and don't be influenced by petty-bourgeois consciousness!" .

They didn't think I was "left" and I didn't think they were "right", so they became bosom friends. There is a difference between these two people. Jin Lan is a colleague of Beijing People's Art, and I pulled him into the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles. Complete equality. I drink his wine, he smokes my cigarette, and no one waits for each other to say hello. It's just that I'm not picky about what I drink. He wants a cigarette, but he has a clear goal. He refused to give it to me, pointing to my pocket and shouting, "Phoenix, Phoenix, there are good cigarettes in your pocket!" " "I had to take out the hidden good cigarettes and enjoy them. Think of Ceng Qi as a brother. Write an article and listen to his criticism with an open mind; I sincerely asked him to guide me in reading, and even copied his drinking method. Ceng Qi lives in Dongdan Santiao, and the Federation of Literary and Art Circles is in Xiagong Mansion, and commutes through Wangfujing. There is a small hotel on the roadside that sells fried sesame bean curd with sheep tail oil. On the way home from work, he often goes to bed and eats a plate of tofu. He invited me to go and paid the fee. Everyone needs two glasses of wine except tofu. He didn't advise me to drink it, but pointed to horse tofu and said to me, "Eating horse tofu is too greasy. You should moisten your throat. " Say that finish and sipped his wine. I followed suit and took a bite of sesame bean curd to moisten my throat. It didn't take long for me to drink it to a new level!

The obituary said that Zeng Qi was "77 years old", but I didn't believe it at all. He was only thirty years old until then. China people advocate "conceit in everything, less affirmation", and Wang Zengqi is a musical form. If you have only seen him "puffed up" after being old and thin, you will never think that he is a steady young man! When he was 30 years old, he looked like this: his thin face often had sparse whiskers, his back was slightly camel, his chest was slightly bent, and he wore a blue spring silk sheepskin robe with a beach face, and his buttons were never buttoned; Feet are high-quality leather shoes made in Hong Kong, which have not been polished for a long time; Holding a cigarette in his left hand and a cup of hot tea in his right hand. He always speaks in a consultative tone and has never seen him make a hullabaloo about. At an internal meeting of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, a leader observed him for a while and added something new to his speech. He said, "This is the new China, and our cultural cadres also pay attention to dressing up. Be neat and energetic, and don't be demoralized, okay … "His role can't help being demoralized. He is in charge of Lao She and Zhao Shuli. Responsible for the daily work of the editorial department of Speaking, Raping and Singing. "Say, rape and sing" is the official publication of the mass literary creation research society. Specializing in uniting and contacting writers who are idle literati in Beijing to sell manuscripts for a living (not quite the same as current professional writers), such as social romance writers Zhang Henshui and Chen, martial arts writer Lou Zhu, former editor-in-chief of Red Rose Pictorial, Dourgen's heir to the throne, columnist Jin Jishui, Nine Kings of the Qing Dynasty, revolutionary artist III in the Liberated Area, university professor, etc. Each has its own unique skills, and no one is a fuel-efficient lamp. However, Wang Zengqi can handle it with ease. He takes his works as his friends. These people sometimes don't get along, but I've never heard of anyone who has a problem with Ceng Qi. It depends on his "steady" style. The people in Wang Zengqi's office rely on their true colors, true temperament, factionalism, skill and fancy. Be modest and polite to everyone, simple and practical. Only when we really talk about problems, do you find that this person is knowledgeable and unique in writing, which makes you respect without fear and love without annoyance.

What makes me convinced and unfair is his style of forgetting personal interests for the public and obeying the needs of work. He is an intellectual who went to a university for the aged, and he was once a famous writer. According to the truth (the revolutionary truth learned in political class), he is full of individualism and lacks revolutionary spirit. So when he applied to join the party, the branch instructed me to keep in touch with him and "help". As a result, I found that his political consciousness was stronger than mine, and his individualism was more implicit than mine. I'm sprinting to write. In order to protect my writing time, I will push away everything that affects my writing. Wang Zengqi's first collection of novels, Encounters, was published in 1948, which caused a sensation in the literary world. I came to Beiping with a sensation and joined the Siye South Working Group the following year. He was ordered to return to Beijing in 50 years and has been an editor ever since. If you look up his works, you will understand that he has never written a novel since he took part in the revolution and was designated as a rightist. He devoted all his energy to editing. In every manuscript of Talking about Rap and Folk Literature at that time, we can see traces of his labor. He never complained about losing his writing time, and he refused to spread the hard work of the editor. Some authors have been famous for many years and still don't know that their debut is related to Wang Zengqi.

"Say rap" is located in a small Japanese building. Japanese houses have large closets to store discarded manuscripts. One day's contribution is 100, but the amount can be less than 1%. The waste manuscript in the closet is like a hill. If you want to find useful manuscripts from here, it's like looking for treasures in the mountains. The newly received manuscript has not been processed, and no one has taken the time to drill there. But Wang Zengqi actually found a masterpiece like gold in the sand from here. I have forgotten why and how he came to my house. I only remember that the manuscript was smeared in a mess, and the paper was full of typos and strange words made by myself, just like a gobbledygook. Any editor who reads this manuscript for the first time will be afraid and throw it back and forth after reading three or two pages. But after reading it with extraordinary perseverance, Wang Zengqi thought that thought and art were innovative! It is a rare masterpiece! I took the time to correct some almost unrecognizable typos and presented them to the editor-in-chief Zhao Shuli. Li Shu watched in amazement. Suoxing personally rewrote several paragraphs and polished several places before he got the publication of Talking about Rap and Singing, and the result was a blockbuster. From then on, China had a novel masterpiece "The Living Pond" and a writing star, Tran Dang Khoa Ross, but I didn't know that Wang Zengqi had contributed to it. Deng Ke is my old classmate, and his creative achievements left a deep impression on me, but I want to compete with Cang Xie for him. For example, he wrote several words "horse" in the manuscript, and four points were missing at the bottom (that is, horizontal simplified words). The preface and the following words have nothing to do with "horse". Wang Zengqi smoked half a cigarette in the face of this word, but he didn't recognize it at last. Fortunately, I met an expert like Kang Zhuo, and guessed that "a horse can't see four legs, isn't it lying down?" In order to write to Tran Dang Khoa seriously, his reply proved that he was reading Lie Down, and he was glad that the editor could recognize the words he created! How many such problems did Wang Zengqi encounter in the whole article? He has never spoken to anyone.

Of course, not everything Wang Zengqi did was convincing. Qi Jianhua, an expert in the army, invented the "accelerated literacy method", which created great achievements for literacy work. Wang Zengqi wants to find someone to write a "newsletter" (called "reportage" at that time) for "talking and singing" to publish. He is not convenient to direct others, so he asked me to interview with him and Jin Yao. I asked who wrote it? He said that we would discuss it after the interview. After the interview, he and Yao Jinxiang discussed as if to say, "You are the youngest of the three, of course you did it. You hand in a first draft, and the two of us revise it, which is a collective creation. " I stayed up all night that day and handed in the first draft early the next morning for them to revise. After the publication, I saw that the article did not change a word, but it had a rather strange name: "Golden Branch". I asked Wang Zengqi, "Who gave this name? What does the golden branch mean? " Wang Zengqi said: "Yao Jinqi, Jinzhi is Jin Yao's nephew!" I said, "You won't change what she wrote, will you?" Jin Yao rushed to say, "he has changed. Originally, I wrote about Wang Jin's nephew, which means Wang Zengqi and Jin Yao's nephew. He deleted the word Wang ... ",I didn't know this big move.

At that time, no one expected that Wang Zengqi would know Peking Opera, even he didn't know it. Some people in Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles specialize in opera reform. One of the vice-chairmen is Mei Lanfang. Moreover, the Cultural Bureau and the Federation of Literary and Art Circles are co-located, and the drama reform department is downstairs in the editorial department. Any troupe that wants to perform a new play should be asked to give guidance and review. Almost all the business cadres of the Cultural Bureau and the Federation of Literary and Art Circles have "certificates of passing the examination". If they want to go to the theater, they can enter the theater unimpeded. Almost everyone in our office building can sing opera, even the correspondent can lean on the stage to sing "Biography of jiepai", but no one has heard that Wang Zengqi also knows Peking Opera.

Ceng Qi's level of theatre attendance is good, and some opinions were not put forward by the person in charge. I watched Wazzi with him, and after watching it, he said, "It's a bit of a Greek tragedy! Zizi has a split personality and suffers from conscience and inner fear. He is a ghost in the daytime, kind, imaginative, deep and charming. This kind of freehand brushwork is the advantage of China's traditional drama art! " Look at Qiu's Yao Qi. In the first half, he praised the structure of the script and Qiu's singing skills. When Yao Qi and his son were tied to the donation ceremony, he applauded and said, "This is really a big event. It's a tragedy. " However, Ma sent troops to North Korea, smashed the golden urn, forced the emperor to pardon Yao's father and son, and took Yao Gang to the front to make meritorious deeds in killing the enemy. He shook his head again and again like a deflated balloon. When all the audience were smiling, Ceng Qi sighed again and again and said regretfully, "It's over, it's over, it's such a big tragedy, and such a frivolous ending is ruined!"

Ceng Qi prefers reading to going to the theatre. Ceng Qi was fascinated by reading The Scholars for some time. He was tired of reading the manuscript, so he told us a few chapters that he appreciated very much. He thinks the best part is the description of Jin Fan's father-in-law. At ordinary times, he raised his hand to Jin Fan and hit him, and he scolded him as soon as he opened his mouth. Jin Fan was ecstatic after raising his hand. He will hit Jin Fan on the mouth to cure the disease, but his hands are shaking, and he can't fight any more! It looks ridiculous, but it makes people's hearts beat when they think about it. The butcher is not the only one in China who has this mentality.

But no one expected that just after this chat, one day, with a little mischievous mood, he took the manuscript and said to everyone, "I didn't write anything and didn't play anything, so I got this." Which one of you wants to see Lian Fu Jie? "When I saw the title" Peking Opera Plays ",everyone in the room gave a sigh, as if to say," With you as a novelist of foreign school, Shanghai school and modernist school, can you also write Peking Opera? "

Several friends have read it one after another, and their opinions are similar. Everyone admires it, and no one says it's not good. Some said: "profound meaning, very literary"! Some said, "exquisite wording! It can be regarded as an elegant game. " But no one said it was suitable for the stage, and it would be popular on the stage!

This script is right there. The script was written in 1952 or the spring of' 53. He and I were still working in Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles. Then I went to the "Central Literature Workshop" to study, and he was transferred to the "Folk Literature Research Association" and left the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

1956 I graduated from the literature workshop and responded to the call of the great leader that "promising literary and art workers should go among workers, peasants and soldiers" and became a grassroots cadre in a construction company. One day, I suddenly got a call from Ceng Qi and said, "Hey, Fan Jinzhong was discharged from the hospital by Xi Xiaobo, and the rehearsal was held in Le Qing on Sunday. Do you want to see it? "

To be honest, I forgot the script. Nice to see the rehearsal. Not only did I go, but I also took a friend from a company who played Hu Qin in the troupe and a colleague from the Propaganda Department, and went to Dashilan early in the morning.

Not many people watched the rehearsal, mainly comrades from the drama reform department of the Cultural Bureau and colleagues from the Federation of Literary and Art Circles. Most of them are professionals.

As an amateur, Mr. Xi Xiaobo is quite literate. He is one of the few people in the pear garden who can write and write. It is even more difficult to find a suitable person to play Fan Jinzhong. However, Mr. Xi's voice has one characteristic: good timbre and weak volume. He is also a fan, although good, but slim and not exaggerated, so the play sounds interesting but not far away, and looks interesting and non-violent. This highlights the characteristics that plays are suitable for reading but not necessarily for acting. Therefore, after watching the play, friends feel that the words are elegant and profound, but they may not be accepted by the general audience. But the comrades in the drama reform department are still very supportive of this.

They said to me, "It's good that Zeng Qi can reach this level the first time he wrote a script. If he can write again in the future, he will definitely write better and better. "

I know very well that he is very happy at the moment and will not take writing plays as his career.

Sure enough, an early spring of literature and art will come soon. The central propaganda work conference called for a hundred flowers to blossom and a hundred schools of thought to contend. The shelves of newspapers and periodicals are put down, and they look kind and peaceful. The theme, genre and style of the article are diversified, which is really a bit relaxed and flexible. Wang Zengqi did not engage in script creation, but wrote his famous prose. Cars, Sewers and Children were published in People's Literature and Poetry. Sending an article drew applause. This is the first time that he has published a pure literary work in a national journal since he entered New China. It was also the period when I saw his spirit was the highest and he was complacent after we met. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Just entering May 1957, this newspaper issued "Why is this?" "Editorial, began an unprecedented anti-rightist struggle!

Rainbow Zeng Qi was destined to be anti-rightist all his life. Although he never shows sharp edges or writes sharp articles, he and I were invited back to Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles to attend a forum. He didn't speak when I spoke, but he was wrongly classified as a rightist like me. But when we became Rightists, our luck came to a scissors gap. I plunged into the deep pit and never recovered my breath. He has a ray of hope in every dark cloud. First, he met a more reasonable and considerate reform unit, which enabled him to maintain dignity and luxury in his work. Encountered with the resurgence of 1962 and 1963, he even continued to write novels such as One Night in the Sheep House. This is the first novel he published after the founding of New China. Then, when arranging his work, he relied on the help and support of relevant units in Beijing and enthusiastic old friends. He was transferred to Beijing Peking Opera Troupe for writing Fan Jinzhong Drama and became a professional screenwriter. At that time, I was in a remote transformation point and got the opportunity to go back to Beijing to visit my relatives. I'll send Lin Jinlan to Ceng Qi to congratulate him. We avoid talking about literature and only talk about eating and drinking. Ceng Qi specially made a bottle of "lotus white", a rock sugar elbow and a scrambled egg. He was quite proud and said, "Do you know? In the past, restaurants recruited chefs to test his cooking skills and scrambled eggs. The eggs are fried, and other dishes are also a cinch ... "

Unexpectedly, this transfer saved his life.

I hate Jiang Qing and the "model opera" she cultivated, but I still have to admit that "model opera" saved Wang Zengqi. In addition to being a rightist, Wang Zengqi took the blame for a historical problem, so he actively applied for membership in the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles, but it was difficult to do so. Fortunately, his "model opera" was appreciated by the standard-bearers, and the relevant parties carefully investigated its history, only to find that the so-called historical problem was an absurd joke, and the lavatory that had been held on his head for more than 20 years was removed. Otherwise, with this one, it is hard to guess whether we can survive the ten-year Cultural Revolution.

Wang Zengqi saved his life by "model opera", became famous in one fell swoop, and even went to Tiananmen Square, but he always stayed awake and never felt dizzy. At that moment, I was knocked to the ground and stepped on more than one foot. By this time, he had moved to the city to live. I went back to Beijing to visit my relatives and went to see him without saying hello in advance. He expressed his unexpected surprise. During the conversation, I said that I was happy with his situation and believed that he could better grasp himself in good times. He said: "I still have this self-knowledge. People just want to use my writing skills, and I have never thought about it. Keep calm and drink soup ... "In that case, his mind was not hot or faint, so after the collapse of the Gang of Four, he didn't say anything unclear. I have never made enemies with anyone, nor have I stumbled, and I have entered the era of setting things right. Of course, after this big storm, he felt a little tired, tasted a round of ups and downs, and was a little indifferent to the world. He really wants to have a rest. Then I can see the role of friends. Jin Lan knew Ceng Qi's mentality and told me many times: "We should take him with us and not let him be depressed!" As it happens, Beijing Publishing House is going to reprint several people's old works in the 1950s and compile them into a series. Wang Meng, Jin Lan, Liu Shaotang and I are all registered, but there is no Ceng Qi. Lin Jinlan suggested adding Wang Zengqi. The publishing house accepted the opinion, but Ceng Qi himself declined it. The reason is that some works before liberation are unwilling to accept, and they are not enough after liberation. After Jin Lan found out, he went to his house to argue with him, and even criticized and persuaded him to write another batch of novels or essays as soon as possible, so as to make up an episode for publication. He was moved by Zheng's best friend, and then picked up a pen to write novels and essays, which inspired the third wave of Wang Zengqi's writing career!

Wang Zengqi, who wrote "model operas", still shines brilliantly in the literary world in the new period, but he does not beautify and whitewash the notorious "model operas" because of this. This shows his personality and courage. When some people miss and beautify the "model opera" that once benefited them, and even argue that "Jiang Qing has little to do with the model opera", Wang Zengqi is not afraid of shame and dares to make a fool of himself, and proves with his own experience how Jiang Qing enslaved the art world and made it serve the reactionary politics of the Gang of Four. Wang Zengqi turned black and white not because he benefited from the "model opera", but because he was wrong to protect himself. I once said at a meeting that Wang Zengqi was a hero as far as he dared to deny the model opera!

(Originally published in Literature Freedom Talk 1997 No.5)