Chen Meilin (1932-), a native of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, studied at Zhejiang University in his early years and later taught at Nanjing Normal University for a long time. He is a senior professor and doctoral supervisor in this school. According to the statistics of Literature and Art Research magazine in 2006, from 1976 to 2005, the research papers and monographs written by Chen Meilin accounted for one-seventh and one-quarter of The Scholars respectively.
Today, Chen Meilin is already a famous scholar in The Scholars. However, back to 60 years ago, it is hard to see that he will be attached to The Scholars all his life.
Wen | Yao
/kloc-in the autumn of 0/950, I was admitted to Chen Meilin Yixin of Zhejiang University and wanted to create and be a writer. At that time, he had many contacts with teachers such as Sun Xizhen and Wang Xiyan, all of whom were "poetic children". He also served as the head of the literature and art society of Zhejiang University, and his poems were often written by him in the program of poetry reading at the school party. 195 1 year, Zhejiang Federation of Literary and Art Circles organized students of Chinese Department of Zhejiang University to experience life in salt areas, and Chen Meilin was one of them. Helpless language barrier, he expected that the masterpiece reflecting the life of the salt people would not be written. 1953, in response to the call of the first "five-year plan", Chen Meilin graduated early and was assigned to a school as a teacher, giving up his career "writer's dream".
From 65438 to 0958, Chen Meilin was transferred to Jiangsu Normal University (now the predecessor of Suzhou University) to teach. At that time, Qian Zhonglian, a famous literary research expert in Qing Dynasty, was the head of the teaching and research group of ancient literature, and Chen Meilin was the deputy head. Although engaged in literature teaching in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Chen Meilin's research focus is still not on scholars. In the special era, it is not easy for scholars to find a suitable research path. Later, Chen Meilin went to Nanjing Normal University to teach and spent many years with the famous poet Tang Guizhang. However, with such an enviable relationship with Ci and the opportunity to invite famous teachers, Chen Meilin did not embark on the road of Ci studies.
/kloc-in the summer of 0/959, Chen Meilin was taken in Dongshan, Dongting, Suzhou (information piece).
Perhaps, somehow, God has secretly linked Chen Meilin with scholars. In 1970s, People's Literature Publishing House invited Nanshi Normal University to preface The Scholars, and the school set up a special working group, in which Chen Meilin participated. Although forced to quit, his half-life career began like this.
There is no special knowledge about the study of The Scholars, but he always has great interest and sympathy for Wu. In Chen Pi's The Scholars, he used a dignified pen to "expose" a little thing about Wu's life in Nanjing: "Winter is bitter and cold, and there is no shelter from the cold. He (referring to Wu) invited friends to' go out of the south gate in the month and go ten miles around the city-catch Ming, enter the west gate of the water and laugh. It's called' warm feet' every night. "Wu from feudal imperial clan to a well-off family, and then into poverty, can't help but speak for him.
In his early years, Hu Shi wrote in the Chronicle of Wu that "in previous years, you walked and sniffed, and in Huai, the Zhongshan Dynasty resumed its night. Gold is the end of the bed, and a strong man is ashamed of everyone. " Poetry, etc., inferring that "Wu's property was lost by his whoring on the Qinhuai River". Unable to agree with Hu Shi's point of view, three versions of Wu's life were published in 1977, which objectively restored Wu's complicated life changes. This not only makes the research further, but also tarnishes Wu Ping's reputation. Chen Meilin not only wrote an inscription for Wu, but also promoted the in-situ protection of Wu site. He once submitted a proposal to restore the waterside pavilion in Qinhuai, Wu, so that people who visit Qinhuai today can still use it to miss the past.
From the initial research on Wu's family background, life, friends, thoughts and academic support, to the mid-term research on the works and comments of The Scholars, and then to the combing and review of the whole research history of The Scholars, the research on The Scholars has been promoted layer by layer and achieved fruitful results. Although he once said modestly: "Sixty years of alfalfa career and forty years of' the scholars' trekking are nothing more than teaching poetry in the lecture hall or writing books." However, his arduous journey and finally remarkable academic achievements are undoubtedly very enlightening. On the occasion of Mr. Chen's birthday, the author interviewed Mr. Chen and asked him to talk about his study and scholarship for decades.
Q: 1985, Mr. Wang wrote an academic appraisal for you, saying: "Teachers in our school were trained by Mr. Wang and Mr. Xia Quchan in their early years, which laid a solid foundation for China ancient literature." Can you talk about your relationship with two famous scholars, Wang Huanbi and Xia?
A: I was admitted to the Chinese Department of Zhejiang University on 1950. At that time, there was a famous Chinese teacher, Zheng Dian was the head of the department, and Xia was in charge of the classical literature class. Teachers include Lu, Sha Menghai, Ren Mingshan, Wang Huanbi and others. I graduated from 1953 for the needs of national construction. However, during all kinds of study and sports in Zhejiang University, I was elected as the team leader and participated in the teacher's "sports", so I had more contact with the teacher. 196 1 year, Miss Xia was invited to give lectures in Nanjing, Suzhou and other places, accompanied by me. 197 1 He wrote to me and said, "I remember sleeping on the floor with you when I participated in the land reform in Jiaxing at the beginning of liberation."
Mr. Wang gave us the course "How to use reference books" in his early years. He has rich experience in library work and his teaching is vivid and practical. What impressed me most was that Mr. Wang taught us not only to be familiar with "bibliography" books, but also to be "close to" books. We usually walk around the library and read them on the open shelf, so that future research may come in handy instead of going to the library and reference room when books are needed. Q: I heard that you decided to become a professional writer at an early age. How did you switch to the study of ancient literature?
A: When I was in middle school in Nanjing, I liked to write about Doby, so 1950 was admitted to the Chinese Department of Zhejiang University. 195 1 in the summer vacation, Chen, chairman of Zhejiang Federation of Literary and Art Circles, said that there were three kinds of working people's lives in Zhejiang at that time, which were not reflected in literary creation, namely tea farmers, salt people and fishermen. President Chen personally went to Hangzhou Longjing Tea Farm to experience life, and later published the novel Spring Tea. Fishermen have other writers to write. As for the salt people on the east bank of Yuyao Temple, they arranged for me and two other Zhejiang University students to experience it. We stayed in a salt house by the sea for a month and didn't write a word when we came back. Because we can't communicate, I can't understand the local dialect, and they can't understand my Nanjing accent.
1953 joined the work early after graduation and was assigned as a teacher. 1958, I was transferred to Jiangsu Normal University to work with Mr. Qian Zhonglian. Mr. Qian is in his fifties, and I am only in my early twenties. He declared that he would not teach novels and operas, and asked me to put up with it. Since then, I have entered the field of ancient literature research. However, I have not completely let go of my dream of creation. At that time, many ancient opera works were not widely printed, students could not understand the original works, and there was a gap in classroom teaching. I think Kong's Peach Blossom Fan and Li Yu's Kite Wrong have all been adapted into novels, and the works of playwrights such as Shakespeare and Moliere have also been adapted into novels and become well-known masterpieces. Therefore, I rewrote some plays and legends to meet the needs of teaching. After 1980s, these papers were published in the name of Legend of Yuan Zaju, which received good response. Later, foreign languages press also asked me to rewrite The Peony Pavilion and The Palace of Eternal Life into novellas. Most of these books have been translated into English, German and French. And spread it overseas. Q: Why did your research finally focus on scholars?
Most of my research work is for teaching. Scholars engaged in research are also out of work needs. 197 1, People's Literature Publishing House invited our school (Nanjing Normal University) to organize scholars and rewrite the preface. At that time, the school set up a four-person working group to write separately, and finally I wrote the first draft, which is the post requirement. The first draft I wrote was approved by People's Literature Publishing House. Soon, due to changes in the political situation, the Preface was rewritten by others. But I didn't give up the study of The Scholars and started my own research. After long-term operation, scholars have become my key research objects. Q: The advancement of the study of The Scholars is closely related to the discovery of new materials. Can you talk about how you mined data in your early years?
A: Sima Qian said, "Read his books and want to meet his people." To study The Scholars, we must go to Quanjiao, the hometown of Wu. In the 1970s and 1980s, some scholars and I had the opportunity to go to Quanjiao for information. I consciously did "interviewing people" and "looking for books". I met Wu Zhibang and Wu Ping who claimed to be descendants of Wu. But later people can't talk about any useful information. On the "book search", I found "The Orchid of Pepper from Kangxi to Wu". In the earlier research, I noticed that Hu Shi's Chronicle of Wu was compiled in the ninth year of the Republic of China (1920). Wu Guodun was Wu's great-grandfather, and the Record of Quanjiao compiled by Kangxi preserved a large number of artistic and literary materials of Wu family members. After discovering this material, I took the lead in introducing it into Wu's research, which provided valuable help for the academic community to re-understand Wu's family background.
Q: Chen Yinque once said: "There must be new materials and new problems in an academic era. Using this material to study problems is a new academic trend in this era. " In addition to new materials, your research on scholars often has a unique perspective. For example, Wu's proposition and Confucian classics, please elaborate?
A: On 1977, I published On Wu's Scholarship in the Journal of Nanjing Normal University. This paper holds that Wu has made great achievements in the study of The Book of Songs and Historical Records, and refutes the view that scholars have an anti-Confucianism tendency. After reading this article, Mr. Duan Xizhong said to me, "After the founding of New China, Confucian classics are no longer taught in colleges and universities. How can someone your age write such an article? "I thought for a long time. You graduated from Zhejiang University and are a disciple of Ren Mingshan. " Mr. Ren is a famous professor of Zhejiang University, who was once praised as "the first person in Jiangnan Confucian classics". But I didn't learn primary school and classics from teacher Ren, so I dare not pretend to be a disciple. However, I still feel that when Mr. Ren talked to me alone, he repeatedly told me to pay attention to expanding the scope of study, not just staying in "literature", and introduced me to read Pi's History of Confucian Classics and Ma Zonghuo's History of Confucian Classics in China. Later, I had a little common sense about Confucian classics, which was not unrelated to the teacher's advice. Q: Besides focusing on research and development, your academic orientation seems to be "conservative". For example, The Scholar of Chenpi, which was published on 20 14 and will be reprinted this year, adopted a very traditional novel criticism style.
A: Criticism is an important form of China's ancient literary criticism. Since the Ming Dynasty, a large number of famous critics and critics have emerged in the field of fiction. For example, Li Zhuowu criticized The Water Margin, Shi Mao and his son criticized The Romance of Three Kingdoms, Zhang Zhupo criticized Jin Ping Mei, and Zhi Yanzhai criticized A Dream of Red Mansions. In the eighth year of Jiaqing (1803), scholars also reviewed the famous couch thatched cottage.
After in-depth study of scholars' comments, I think the role of comments can not be replaced by general theoretical articles, and general text appreciation is also difficult to reach. Therefore, in the late 1970s, I considered injecting new aesthetic connotation into the study of The Scholars with traditional criticism. 1989 Jiangsu ancient books publishing house published a new batch of my scholars. In 2002, it was revised and published as A Brief History of Liangbu Brown's Criticism of Confucianism. 20 14 was published by the Commercial Press in the overprint of Chen Dai. This book will be reprinted this year, so it is still very popular with readers.
Zhang Chao, a man of the A Qing Dynasty, said: "When a teenager reads, it is like a glimpse of the moon; Reading in middle age is like looking at the moon in court; Reading in old age is like playing the moon on the stage. The depth of experience is the depth of income. " My research experience on The Scholars has also changed with my experience, which is mostly reflected in the comments. Generally speaking, the value of research is not entirely determined by stylistic forms, but they are related. In the field of novel research, the traditional form of criticism is not out of date, and its unique value is still indelible. Q: Scholars' research is often interfered by various external forces. How did you break through the limitations of the environment and rush out of your own world?
Chen Meilin: I did get some criticism because I was immersed in my own research, but Tang Guizhang and other old gentlemen often encouraged me to leave it alone and do my own thing. I think as long as a person does what he loves, what he should do and everything well, there will be no place for him in society.
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