poet and essayist

poet and essayist

Xu Zhimo (January 15, 1897 - November 19, 1931), formerly known as Zhang Xun, was renamed Zhimo when he studied in the United States. The pseudonyms used include Nanhu, Shizhe, Haigu, Gu, etc. Xiashi people, Haining, Zhejiang. Modern poet, essayist, poet of new moon school, member of new moon poetry club.

He graduated from Hangzhou No.1 Middle School in 1915 and studied in Shanghai Hujiang University, Tianjin Beiyang University and Peking University. In 1918, he went to Clark University to study banking. He graduated in ten months, got his bachelor's degree and won the first prize. In the same year, he transferred to Columbia University's Graduate School in New York and entered the Department of economics. In 1921, he went to study in Britain and became a special student in Cambridge University, studying political economy. During his two years in Cambridge, he was deeply influenced by western education, romanticism and aestheticism in Europe and America. He established his romantic poetic style. The Crescent Society was founded in 1923. He was a professor of Peking University in 1924. In 1926, he was a professor of Guanghua University, Daxia University and Nanjing University. In 1930, he resigned from Shanghai and Nanjing. At the invitation of Hu Shi, he became a professor of Peking University and Beijing Women's normal university. On November 19, 1931, Xu Zhimo took the "Jinan" postal plane to the north. On the way, because of heavy fog, the plane touched a mountain and died. His representative works include farewell to Cambridge and a night of jade.

Life of the characters

Early experience

During the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Songting was the ancestor of the Xu family in Xiashi. Xu Zhimo is one of his people.

Xu shenru, Xu Zhimo's father, was an industrialist in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. In 1897, Yutong bank, the first bank in Xiashi, was founded by joint venture. Later, Renhe silk and cloth company was established. He became the richest man in Xiashi.

Xu Zhimo was born on December 13 (January 15, 1897) in the 23rd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty. Xu Zhimo was born in Xiashi Town, Haining County, Zhejiang Province. According to the genealogical arrangement, he was named Xu Zhangxun. His father Xu shenru gave him another name when he went to the United States to study in 1918. He was deeply influenced by western education, romanticism and aestheticism in Europe and America. He established his romantic poetic style.

Xu Zhimo is the only son of the eldest grandson of the Xu family. He has lived a comfortable life since he was a child. Shen's cousin is Xu Zhimo, Xu's niece.

Course of study

In 1908, he studied in a family school, entered Xiashi Kaizhi school, and became a teacher of Zhang Shusen.

In 1910, when Xu Zhimo was 14 years old, he left his hometown and came to Hangzhou. After being introduced by his cousin Shen Junru, he was admitted to Hangzhou Fu middle school (renamed Zhejiang No.1 Middle School in 1913, now the predecessor of Hangzhou high school and Hangzhou No.4 Middle School in Zhejiang Province). He was in the same class as Yu Dafu and Li Linsi. He loved literature and published his paper on the relationship between novels and society in the first issue of the school journal friends. He believed that novels are beneficial to society and should be advocated. This is his first work in life. At the same time, he was interested in science. And published "radium ingot and the history of the earth" and other articles.

In the summer of 1915, Xu Zhimo graduated from Zhejiang No.1 middle school, and then entered Shanghai Baptist College and Seminary (the predecessor of Hujiang University, now Shanghai University of Technology). In October of the same year, he was arranged by his family and married Zhang Youyi, daughter of Zhang run, a wealthy man in Luodian, Baoshan County, Shanghai.

In the autumn of 1916, Xu Zhimo, who was active in nature, did not finish his Baptist College course. He left Shanghai and went to Tianjin Beiyang University (Tianjin University) to study law.

In 1917, the law department of Beiyang University was officially incorporated into Peking University, and Xu Zhimo also joined Peking University. During his two years of College in the north, he added new content to his life and injected new factors into his thoughts. At school, he not only studied law, but also studied Japanese, French and political science, as well as Chinese and foreign literature, which aroused his interest in literature. During this period, he made a lot of friends and made friends with celebrities. Introduced by Zhang Junmai and Zhang Gongquan, he worshipped Liang Qichao as a teacher and held a grand ceremony to worship his teacher. Liang Qichao has a great influence on Xu Zhimo's life, and his position in Xu Zhimo's mind is decisive. Although Xu Liang had a close relationship between master and apprentice, their ideological differences still existed. Xu Zhimo, who had accepted bourgeois democracy and freedom, was desperate to pursue his ideal life. He wanted to fight for freedom of marriage and love.

When he was a university student in the north, he personally experienced the scene of warlord scuffle and witnessed the massacre of innocent people. He hated the society and decided to study abroad to seek a prescription to change the reality of China and to carry out the "ideal revolution" in his mind.

Xu Zhimo left Peking University in 1918 and left Shanghai on August 14 of the same year to study banking in the United States. In his first year of study abroad, he entered Clark University in Uster, USA. then he entered the Department of history and took courses in sociology, economics, history, etc. in order to become a "Hamilton" of China in the future. He graduated ten months after entering the University. He received his bachelor's degree and first-class honorary award. However, he was not satisfied with this. At that time, he transferred to the Graduate School of Columbia University in New York and entered the Department of economics. As a result, Xu Zhimo gained a wide range of knowledge of philosophy and politics.

In 1919, the wave of "May 4th" revolutionary movement spread to the Chinese students in the United States. Driven by patriotism, Xu Zhimo took part in patriotic activities organized by local students and often read magazines such as "New Youth" and "new trend". At the same time, his interest in learning gradually shifted from politics to literature, so he got a master's degree in literature.

In 1920, Xu Zhimo had been in the United States for nearly two years, but he was tired of the madness and greed of the capitalist class in the American capitalist society, and he was attracted by the British philosopher Russell. Finally, he got rid of the temptation of Columbia's doctorate and bought a boat to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Unexpectedly, Russell's personal life changed unexpectedly, which made him unable to achieve his goal Following Russell's long cherished wish, he studied in London School of economics for half a year. When he was feeling bored and wanted to change his way, he got to know Lin Changmin and his daughter Lin Huiyin. Because of Lin Changmin's introduction, he got to know the English writer Gauss Warsaw Dickinson.

In 1921, due to Dickinson's introduction and recommendation, Xu Zhimo entered the Royal College of Cambridge University (now Cambridge University) as a special student. Study political economy. In Cambridge for two years, he was influenced by western education, romanticism and aestheticism in Europe and America. He began to write new poems.

From 1921 to 1922, Xu Zhimo also lived in England for two years. He received bourgeois aristocratic education in Cambridge and accepted the "smoking culture". He liked to associate with British celebrities. He extensively studied all kinds of famous works in the world, and also came into contact with all kinds of ideological schools. During this period, his political ideas and social ideals were bred, and his self-consciousness, Li, was embryonic He wants to be a "disciplinarian individualist". The environment of Cambridge not only promoted and formed his outlook on society and life, but also triggered his creative ideas. He began to translate literary works. He translated several short stories by the British writer manshfeld, the novel "the vortex dyke child" by Fugou in Germany, a story "Wujia gives way to nialan" in Medieval France, the dead city by Danon Xuewu in Italy and gandide by Voltaire. At the same time, he wrote a lot of poems. His "Rage of spiritual revolution, all washed down on both sides of your charming River" (Xu Zhimo: "goodbye to Cambridge") is the most classic. His idols are no longer Hamilton in the United States, but Shelley and Byron in England. He "changed his way" to become a poet.

The course of literature

After returning to China in 1922, he published a large number of poems in newspapers and periodicals.

In the spring of 1923, Xu Zhimo set up a club in Beijing to make up plays, hold annual meetings and lantern festivals, and also recite poems and paint. Out of his interest in Tagore's new moon, an anthology of poems, Xu Zhimo proposed to use the word "new moon" as the name of the club, hence the name of the club. In the same year, he joined the Literary Research Association.

In 1924, he founded modern poetry review weekly with Hu Shi and Chen Xiying, and became a professor of Peking University. Tagore, the Great Indian poet, was a translator during his visit to China.

Before 1925, in addition to composing poems, Xu Zhimo also contacted members of the Crescent society to engage in dramatic activities. In October, Xu Zhimo took over the supplement of morning post. In the same year, he was a professor of Peking University. He went to Europe and traveled to the Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, France and other countries.

On April 1, 1926, Wen Yiduo was editor in chief of the supplement to the morning post "Shiju" in Beijing. At that time, Wen Yiduo had returned from the United States and participated in the compilation of Shiju. In addition to Wen Yiduo in charge of the third and fourth issues and Rao mengkan in charge of the fifth issue, all the issues are edited by Xu Zhimo. Xu Zhimo also wrote the preface to poetry magazine and poetry magazine holiday. The writers of Shijian devoted themselves to the creation of Chinese New Metrical Poetry and the discussion of poetic art. Therefore, the establishment of the morning post poetry marks the formation of the new moon poetry school. In the same year, he and Lu Xiaoman moved to Shanghai and became professors of Guanghua University (the predecessor of East China Normal University), Daxia University (the predecessor of East China Normal University) and Nanjing Central University (renamed Nanjing University in 1949). Founded new moon magazine.

Spring of 1927

Chinese PinYin : Xu Zhi Mo