Hardy, Russell and Xu Zhimo

Xu Zhimo, a famous modern poet in China, once said in an article, "I am outspoken about my hero worship". His so-called "hero" is such a character. There are Indian poet Tagore, French writer romain rolland, Italian poet Gabriele Dannunzio and British Thomas Hardy in modern times ... His reason: "Mountain, we love to kick high; Man, why don't we want to be near the big one? " For these heroes, he didn't just read and translate.

Moreover, "when I have the strength to climb, I never miss the opportunity to climb." He wanted to kiss them, "to pay tribute to more heroes." This desire contributed to his meeting with Thomas Hardy, a great English writer.

Although Hardy is recognized as one of the important British novelists, his novels The Return of the Native, Jude the Obscure and especially Tess have won him great fame. However, in his early and later poems, his "true and pure philosophy of life" was well displayed. It is these poems that attracted China poet Xu Zhimo for the first time and made him worship Hardy, a "hero" of any era.

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In the process of Xu Zhimo's poetry translation, it seems that Hardy has the largest number, reaching dozens. Time, first published, was in 1923. Two Hardy's poems translated by Xu Zhimo were published in Novel Monthly in June 165438+ 10/0. 1924, he translated and published four Hardy's poems. 1925 In March, Yusi magazine published his translation of Hardy's poems in a hotel. On May 20th 1926, the article "Hardy (Hardy)" was published in the supplement of the Morning Post. In order to prove his point, Xu Zhimo translated four Hardy's poems in one breath. At this point, the introduction to translation can come to an end for the time being. Because not long after that, in the summer, Xu Zhimo went to Europe and met his favorite "hero"-Thomas Hardy, under the introduction of Dickinson, a British scholar and professor at the Wangs College of Cambridge University.

Before meeting Hardy himself, Xu Zhimo drew a picture for Hardy according to the descriptions in some articles and a little imagination: "If a few years ago, maybe now, you might meet the author of Jude in the countryside of Dorchester, an amiable old man, wearing shorts and casual clothes, with a short face and a short chin, walking leisurely in the street and greeting." Turning around, he waved, jumped on his bike, rang the doorbell and walked towards the crowd. "This is a happy and happy image. However, this is imagination after all. What is the real Hardy, a "hero" in literature?

For fear of being disturbed, Hardy built a house named Max Gate in the suburb of Dorchester. Generally speaking, he doesn't see visitors. So, before this, Xu Zhimo asked Professor Dickinson of Cambridge University to write a letter. The letter says that Xu Zhimo is a Chinese translator of Hardy's poems, and I hope to meet you at this moment. At that time, Professor Dickinson also said to Xu: The spirit of the old man is really good. Be careful that he takes you for a walk in Dorchester Forest, as if he will never get tired. Dickinson and Hardy are friends, and he is likely to "enjoy" the fatigue of walking with Hardy.

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1926 One day in July, the weather was exceptionally good. With a letter of introduction from Professor Dickinson, Xu Zhimo set out from London for Dorchester. Arrive after three p. m. After leaving the station, Xu Zhimo didn't take a taxi because of the good weather. He just asked the direction to Max Gate and went to his destination happily.

Xu Zhimo rang the doorbell. In the silence, the dog barking in the house is very harsh. A young maid with a white veil came out to open the door. After hearing Xu Zhimo's request, the young woman said, "Mr. Hardy is at home," and then said, "But you know that Mr. Hardy never sees guests." "Wait," Xu Zhimo said quickly. "I have a letter here. Please pass it on." Perhaps the maid didn't expect the foreign youth's face to be so big, so when she came out of the room, "the most handsome smile was piled on her face." "Mr Hardy wants to see you. Please come in, sir. "

Xu Zhimo walked into the living room and the maid went out. Before Hardy came, Xu Zhimo could observe the furnishings of the living room: on one wall hung a portrait of Hardy by the famous painter John Sargent, and on the other wall hung a portrait of the English poet Shelley. On the bookshelf, Shelley's big library is obviously placed. Xu zhimo felt a little surprised: how can this old man like Shelley so much? Judging from the text, content and form, the gap between the two is really big enough. Just as Xu Zhimo was thinking, there was a rush of footsteps on the stairs outside, accompanied by the ringing of dogs.

Hardy pushed the door and came in. This old man is really short. For an instant, Xu Zhimo even felt that looking at him, he could hardly be seen. But the old man, the "hero" in his mind, really came to his side after all. Hardy pulled Xu Zhimo down before he could express his admiration in advance. He kept saying "sit, sit". Next, Xu Zhimo was forbidden to speak (it seems that he had understood the visitor's opening remarks), so he asked a series of questions in a quick tone and a somewhat dry and old voice: "Are you from London?" "Dickinson is your friend?" "Is he all right?" "Are you translating my poem?" "How did you translate it?" "Do China's poems rhyme?" Obviously, there is no need to answer the previous question. Dickinson has introduced the relevant situation in her letter.

For the last question, Xu Zhimo, who is also a poet, answered beautifully: "We (China) used to have only rhyming prose, but recently …" Hardy suddenly interrupted him and said that he didn't want to listen to "recently". Hardy certainly agrees with rhyme. He made an analogy: throw a stone into the middle of the lake, and the waterline will overflow, and the rhyme is a ripple, which is indispensable. Hardy went on to say that lyric poetry is the essence of literature and an unbreakable diamond. No matter how small things are, glory can't be worn away. I don't value my novel. Nothing is more difficult than a good poem. "Poetry must be a living thing." He also made such a hair growth: practicing calligraphy and learning to write poetry; Poetry is the secret of words.

During the conversation, Xu Zhimo was also observing the "old hero" in his mind. Hardy's face is like an equilateral triangle with an acute downward angle, and his cheekbones are very wide; His eyes are small, but deep, and it is not easy to see colors and expressions. As is common in commonly published photos or portraits, Hardy's most obvious sign is the cheek skin that falls loosely on both sides of his mouth. His head is completely bald, with only a little white hair on his temples. On the whole, his wrinkled turtle face is like an ancient rock. ...

Hardy asked Xu Zhimo: What happened to your writing? This is extremely difficult, isn't it? Hardy even said: Why not throw it away (in China) and use English or French instead? Isn't it more convenient? This surprised Xu Zhimo. He thought, Hardy can be said to be a talented poet who knows all kinds of languages, and even wants us to throw away those words that have been used for thousands of years! It's incredible. The relationship is so important that Xu Zhimo can't help arguing with Hardy. Hardy probably didn't talk seriously, so he discussed a few words with each other, and the master didn't stick to his point of view.

Because it was already afternoon when Xu Zhimo arrived, the conversation lasted for nearly an hour, which was a little late. At this time, Hardy's big dog seemed to be a governor, running around on Xu Zhimo, panting and scratching. Hardy looked at Xu Zhimo, who was a little nervous and embarrassed, called the dog away and said, Let's go for a walk in the garden. Xu Zhimo understands that the host is going to Fujian. He thought, after so much trouble, he must leave some souvenirs. He found Hardy and expressed his demands. Hardy turned his head and saw Xu Zhimo with a camera in his hand, speeding up the pace. He said, I don't like taking pictures. Once an American came to take pictures of me, which caused me a lot of trouble. Since then, I have not allowed tourists to take pictures. As if knowing the visitor's next request, Hardy sealed his mouth first: I won't sign anyone either, okay? As he spoke, he quickened his pace, as if afraid that Xu Zhimo would force him. When he reached the garden, Hardy stopped and said loudly, Come here. Here are some flowers. I'll choose two for you as souvenirs. OK or not? He picked two small flowers, one red and one white, and gave them to Xu Zhimo: they can be put in a skirt. He urged again, you just caught the bus at six o'clock now. Forgive me for not being with you, goodbye, goodbye ... Old Hardy waved and walked straight into the door.

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According to secular ideas, Hardy was so stingy that he didn't even invite guests to tea. But at that time, Xu Zhimo was full of gratitude. What are you dissatisfied with having such a rare opportunity to meet a hero? Hardy, in Xu Zhimo's view, is a first-class figure like Leonardo da Vinci, Shakespeare, Goethe and Byron. It's lucky to see him. Do you still care about having a cup of tea?

Shortly after returning to China, Xu Zhimo translated a poem written by an old poet not long ago: A Self-report on Hardy's 86th Birthday to express his admiration for this great man. 1928 1 month, Hardy, who Xu Zhimo thought should live to 100, died. When the news came, Xu Zhimo's mood could be imagined. He immediately wrote a long commemorative article on Thomas Hardy. In the article, he not only introduced the grand mourning activities in Britain after Hardy's death, but also spoke highly of Hardy's achievements in various aspects:

"In these four years, we have lost two great philosophers of this era, Francis of France and Hardy of England. This is not only the loss of the literary world, because they are in charge of their own galaxies and radiate their own brilliance. Obviously, they are twin towns in the field of human thought since the end of 19, and their lives and deaths deserve people's permanent commemoration. I say "human" because we can't distinguish a nation from a country in the ideological and spiritual fields. ..... We miss them, just like we miss the master who created everything, and we only think that the praise that language can express is unnecessary. We just need to show their kindness in Zhuang Jing's silence. They are eternal. Stars in the sky. "

Besides commemorative articles, Xu Zhimo also rushed to translate three of Hardy's poems: The Moon, A Week and Wen Ya Canyon. The first two articles, together with commemorative articles, were published in March 1928, issue 1 of New Moon magazine. Gentleman (a narrative poem with strong lyrical color. 150 lines) was published in1the third anniversary supplement of Modern Review in June, 928.

Hardy, who did not enjoy the highest reputation in poetry, became the singer who translated the most poems by China poet Xu Zhimo. (Not only the above examples, the New Biography of Xu Zhimo published in Taiwan Province Province also quoted four translated poems by Xu Zhimo. These early translated poems were all written by Hardy. ) Among the great "heroes" in the world, Hardy is still the one most described, introduced and commemorated by Xu Zhimo. But judging from the time, the two met for less than an hour.

Of course, Xu Zhimo is an admirer of great intellectuals. However, there is no doubt that they have something in common. Admiring the real "hero" is undoubtedly the nature of being close to the light and hoping that one's heart can be illuminated by the sun; This may be the kindest and most convenient way for human beings to be kind and pursue wisdom.