Appreciation of Zou Taofen's "My Mother"

The full text can be divided into three parts:

The first part (1-2) explains the mother’s surname and early death.

The second part (3-6) recalls four episodes about the mother, showing the mother's love, kindness, competence and dedication.

The third part (7-8) explains with infinite regret that the mother was still young when she died, summarizing the mother's good qualities.

Appreciation

The most touching words in the first clip of my mother looking at the lanterns on her back are: "I recall from now on that I lay on her back and saw her sleepily. "This is a lovely image of mother written from the feelings of a child. There is not much pen and ink, but the image of mother is lifelike."

The most touching detail in the second excerpt, in which the mother burst into tears while telling the novel, is: "Often when it comes to the tragic situation of the orphan girl in distress or the injustice of the adopted woman, both of them will burst into tears. "It flowed to her cheeks." This detail is true and vivid, showing that the mother is full of emotions and has deep sympathy for women in need.

The most touching detail in the third clip of my mother crying for me is: "I was sobbing myself, and at the same time I could hear my mother who was sitting next to me sewing and crying with tears streaming down my face. "This detailed description shows the mother's infinite compassion and love for her children.

The most touching part of the fourth clip is when my mother stayed up late to make new shoes for me: "I watched helplessly as the sweat on her forehead flowed down, and she kept making cloth shoes with stitches. --Made for me. Everything was quiet at this time, only the ticking of the bell and the faint smell of mother's breathing could be heard. "This text contains descriptions of the characters' appearance and actions, as well as descriptions of the environment, with a quiet tone. The environment sets off the mother's hard work. This text was written from my vision, hearing, and feeling. It is quite sincere and touching.

The full text expresses the author's gratitude and nostalgia for his mother, his deep sympathy and profound thinking about the fate of women who were suppressed and buried in the old society

Original text

My mother

Zou Taofen

Speaking of my mother, I only know her as "Zhejiang Haining Cha", but I still don't know what her name is! This small thing can also express the difference between the present and the past. Today's unmarried women are of course very "brave" in disclosing their names, but even married women do the same in disclosing their names. Not long ago, most married women had to add their husband's surname to their own surname; usually people's names only had three characters, while married women's names often had four characters.

When I was young, I knew that Zhu Hu Binxia, ??who served as the editor of the "Women's Magazine" published by the Commercial Press, was considered a revolutionary and "progressive" woman at the time. She entered into an old-fashioned marriage, so much so that her stubborn uncle declared that he would shoot her to death with a pistol, but she still added the character "Zhu" to the character "Hu"! Recently, many women still use their own names after marriage, without adding or subtracting from them. This meaning means that women gradually have their own independent status and do not belong to anyone else. But in my mother's time, not only could I not learn how to use "Zhuhu Binxia", it was almost as if there was no name at all! I say "as if" because women at that time did not have names, but in fact they seemed to have no need for them.

Like my mother, I heard people in her natal family call her "Miss Sixteen", people in her husband's family call her "Miss Fourteen", and later my father called her "Miss Sixteen". Official, people call her "Mrs." There is never a chance to use her own name! I think this situation can also imply the status of women in feudal society.

My mother died when I was thirteen. The year I was born was in September, the year she died was in May, so we, mother and son, were actually together for only eleven years and nine months. The sporadic memories I have of my mother in this article are just a shadow of the past eleven years.

The first impression I can remember of my mother was when I was about two or three years old.

It's funny to say that the old master who was the first to be invited only needed four oceans a month for repairs (of course for board and lodging), although these four oceans were already a very expensive thing for my mother to raise. When I was ten years old, I was reading "Mencius Meets King Hui of Liang", and the teacher's monthly stipend had been increased to twelve yuan, which was a threefold increase. At the end of the year, my father would "clean up" my daily homework and listen to my recitations in person at night. He was very strict and placed a bamboo board two fingers wide on the table. I stood with my back to him and recited the book. When I couldn't recite it, he mentioned a word and asked me to turn around and put my palms on the table. He picked up the bamboo board and knocked it down hard. I suffered this pain. Pain is an unavoidable feeling in the body of flesh and blood. Of course I cried uncontrollably, but I still had to hold back the tears and turn around to carry it again. Unfortunately, there was another interruption and I couldn't memorize it anymore. He mentioned another word and typed it again. "Mencius" who was sobbing and carrying the enemy from his previous life when he "met King Hui of Liang"!

I was sobbing, and at the same time I could hear my mother, who was sitting next to me sewing, crying with tears streaming down her face.

I know in my heart that when she saw me being beaten, she also felt the pain that stabbed her heart, and expressed her full sympathy to me, but she always managed to speak in a staccato voice with sobs. "Well played"! She swallowed her tears because she loved her son; she forced herself to say "good job" because she wanted her son to make progress. From now on, this kind of education method is really barbaric! But I dare not blame my mother, because at that time there was only such a barbaric education method; now I think of my mother crying with me when she saw me being beaten. That kind of motherly love still makes me miss my loving mother. After memorizing half of "The King of Liang Hui", my right palm was swollen to half an inch high. I looked into the light and it was bright, like a silkworm's belly full of mature silk. My mother carried me to bed with tears in her eyes, gently covered me with the quilt, and kissed me several times on the forehead.

When I was eight years old, my second brother was six years old, and I had a younger sister who was three years old. None of the clothes, shoes, and socks for the three of them was made by their mother herself. She also often receives requests from external female celebrities to do the work, so she is very busy. When I was seven or eight years old, I already felt uneasy when I saw my mother working so hard. I remember one summer night, I suddenly woke up from my sleep. Because the back of my bed was right next to the back of my mother's bed, I could see my mother from the tent making shoe soles alone under the lamp. I thought of my mother again. After a lot of hard work, I tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. I really wanted to get up and spend time with my mother. However, if a child does not sleep well late at night, he will be scolded by adults. Even if he wants to get up to accompany his mother, he will be scolded a few times and will never be allowed (at least this was my mentality at the time). So I came up with an excuse to give it a try, and called my mother, saying that it was too hot to sleep and that I had to get up and sit for a while. To my surprise, my mother actually allowed me to get up and sit next to her. I watched helplessly as the sweat dripped down her forehead, while her hands kept making cloth shoes - for me to wear. At this time, everything was silent, only the chiming of bells could be heard, and the faint smell of mother's breathing could be heard. I secretly thought about how my mother was tired of working late at night because I had to wear shoes, and I felt unspeakably guilty. Sitting with my mother seemed to alleviate some of the uneasiness in my heart. At that time, I was full of these thoughts, but I didn't dare to say a word to my mother. After just sitting for a while, my mother rushed me to bed again. She said that the child couldn't sleep well, so why did he get up? Now that my mother is gone, she still doesn’t know that her little son had such a mental state that he dared not talk about.

My mother was only twenty-nine when she died, leaving behind three boys and three girls. On the night of her death, she was very conscious, holding back tears and calling her children one by one to give instructions. The thing she was most reluctant to part with before her death was her children.

My mother is just an ordinary mother, but I feel that her lovely character, her hardworking spirit, and her capable talents are all buried in a family in feudal society. Nothing meaningful, otherwise she would have become a more contributing member of society.

I also feel that there are countless women like my mother who have been buried and buried!

Midnight on January 10, 1936?

About the author

Zou Taofen (1895-1944), named Enrun, was originally from Yujiang, Jiangxi. Born in Yong'an, Fujian. Journalist, politician, publisher. Graduated from Shanghai St. John's University in 1921. Since editing "Life" weekly in Shanghai in 1926, he has been engaged in news and publishing work all his life. After the September 18th Incident, he opposed the non-resistance policy of the Kuomintang government. Founded Life Bookstore in 1932. In early 1933, he joined the China Civil Rights Protection Alliance. In July of the same year, he was forced to go into exile overseas, traveling around Europe and the United States, and visiting the Soviet Union. He returned to China in August 1935 and participated in anti-Japanese and national salvation activities. He successively edited the "Popular Life" weekly, "Life Daily" and "Life Star Magazine" in Shanghai and Hong Kong, and served as the leader of the Shanghai Cultural Circle Salvation Association and the National National Salvation Federation of all walks of life. The following year, seven others including Shen Junru and Li Gongpu were arrested by the Kuomintang government. He was released after the Anti-Japanese War began. He successively edited publications such as "The Anti-Japanese War" and "National Anti-Japanese War" in Shanghai, Hankou, and Chongqing, actively promoting unity in the Anti-Japanese War and opposing compromise and surrender. In 1938, he was selected as a member of the National Political Suffrage Association. After the Wannan Incident, he was forced to go into exile in Hong Kong and resumed publication of "Popular Life". After the Japanese army captured Hong Kong, they moved to the Dongjiang guerrilla zone in Guangdong, and in 1942 to the anti-Japanese democratic base areas in central and northern Jiangsu. The following year, he secretly went to Shanghai to treat cancer. Died of illness on July 24, 1944. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China accepted the application in his suicide note and was posthumously recognized as an official party member of the Communist Party of China. His works include "The Complete Works of Tao Fen" and "Collected Works of Tao Fen".

Reference materials

Baidu Library: /view/7c42e39a852458fb760b566f.html