Zhu Ziqing

Name in Chinese
朱自清
Name in Wade-Giles
Chu Tzu-ch'ing
Related People

Biography in English

Chu Tzu-ch'ing (22 November 1898-12 August 1948), essayist, scholar, and poet, was head of the Chinese department at Tsinghua University for many years. He was best known for his distinctive pai-hua [vernacular] essay style. Although his native place was Shaohsing, Chekiang, Chu Tzu-ch'ing was born in Kiangsu. Both his father and his grandfather were minor officials in the Ch'ing dynasty and had lived at Yangchow, Kiangsu, for most of their lives. Chu Tzu-ch'ing spent his early years there and usually identified himself as a native of Yangchow. Chu received a traditional Chinese education, and, after being graduated from middle school, he entered Peking University in 1917. He changed his name from Chu Tzu-hua to Chu Tzu-ch'ing at this time. As a university student, he studied literature and philosophy and began to contribute articles and poems to Hsin-ch'ao [renaissance] and Hsin Chung-kuo [new China], influential pai-hua [vernacular] magazines of the May Fourth period. After being graduated from Peking University in 1920, he returned south to become a school teacher and to pursue his interest in writing poetry. His lifelong friendship with Yu P'ing-po (q.v.) began either at Peking or while Chu was teaching at the Hangchow First Normal School.

In January 1921 the Literary Research Society was organized in Peking. Its membership included Cheng Chen-to, Chou Tso-jen, Mao Tun (Shen Yen-ping), Yeh Sheng-t'ao (qq.v.), and Wang Tung-ch'ao. The attitude of this group was that literature should reflect social phenomena and should present and discuss problems related to life in general. Chu Tzu-ch'ing at once joined the Literary Research Society and thus became a member of the first influential literary group formed in China after the May Fourth Movement. Subsequently, Chu served briefly as dean of studies at the Yangchow Middle School. Later in 1921 he moved to Woosung to teach at China College, where Yeh Sheng-t'ao, who was later to become his literary collaborator, was also teaching. Together with Liu Yen-ling, Yeh Sheng-t'ao, and Yu P'ing-po, Chu edited a new monthly journal entitled Shih [poetry], the first Chinese periodical devoted to modern poetry. Chu Tzu-ch'ing contributed four poems to the first issue, which appeared in January 1922. The following year, his long philosophical poem "Hui-mieh" [destruction] appeared in Hsiaoshuo yueh-pao [short story magazine] and won him wide literary recognition. This poem was described by Yu P'ing-po as a masterpiece, and it had great impact on the modern poetry then emerging in China.

In 1924, while teaching in Chekiang, Chu published Tsung-chi [traces], his first collection of poems, in which deep feeling and quiet elegance characterized his style. A year later, through the recommendation of his friend Yü P'ing-po, Chu Tzu-ch'ing joined the faculty of Tsinghua College in Peking. He began serious research on classical Chinese literature and began to write prose rather than poetry. With the publication of his initial volume of collected essays, Pei-ying [the back view], in 1928, he gained recognition as an essayist. Increasing academic responsibilities accompanied his growing literary prominence. In 1930 he became acting chairman of the Chinese department at Tsinghua when Yang Chen-sheng left that post to become president of Tsingtao University, and he also served as a part-time lecturer at Yenching University. Chu Tzu-ch'ing spent the academic year 1931-32 in Europe, his only period of residence outside China. Traveling by way of the Soviet Union, Germany, and France, he arrived in England in September 1931. He spent seven months in London studying English literature and philology. Then he made brief visits to Paris, Berlin, and other cities.

Chu Tzu-ch'ing resumed teaching at Tsinghua in the autumn of 1932 and remained in Peking until the Sino-Japanese war broke out in mid1937. During this period he taught both at Tsinghua (where he headed the Chinese department) and at Peking Normal University. He also continued to do research on Chinese poetry and literary criticism. He wrote and published numerous personal and critical essays as well as two volumes of literary sketches and essays. At this time Chu Tzu-ch'ing came to know Wen I-to (q.v.), who had come to teach at Tsinghua.

When war with Japan broke out in July 1937, Tsinghua University moved, first to Hunan, and then to Kunming, where it was located until 1946 as part of Southwest Associated University. During the early war years, Chu continued to head the Chinese department of his university, but gradually the physical difficulties and nervous strains of wartime existence in west China undermined his health. His friend Wen I-to assumed Chu's responsibilities as head of the Chinese department, and, in the summer of 1940 Chu moved to Chengtu, where he spent a sabbatical year.

In October 1941 Chu returned to Kunming. Despite persisting poor health, he resumed an active program of teaching, research, and writing. In 1943 Chu published Lun-tun tsa-chi [miscellaneous notes on London]. During the later war years he collaborated with Yeh Sheng-t'ao in writing three books on the teaching of Chinese. In June 1945 Chu, suffering from a stomach ailment, went to Chengtu to spend the summer. By the time he returned to Kunming for the new semester, Japan had surrendered, and the war was over. In the spring of 1946 Chu resumed his position as head of the Chinese department. However, the political and intellectual tensions in the refugee universities in west China increased; agitation against the Kuomintang and the National Government was met by stern official suppression, affecting both students and faculty members. In public, Chu counseled moderation and caution. Personally, he was deeply affected when his close friend Wen I-to was assassinated at Kunming on 15 July 1946. On 18 August, despite rumors that Nationalist agents might break up the gathering, Chu delivered an address at the memorial service held at Chengtu for Wen I-to and Li Kung-p'u, a member of the China Democratic League who had been assassinated at Kunming four days before Wen was killed. Two days before the memorial service took place, Chu Tzu-ch'ing produced his first poem in 20 years, an elegy inspired by the death of Wen I-to. In October 1946 Chu Tzu-ch'ing returned to Peking and to the Tsinghua campus. In addition to his academic responsibilities, he undertook the task of organizing and editing the works of Wen I-to. He also published several important studies of Chinese literature. Chu became increasingly antagonistic toward the control measures of the National Government, and the leftward trend of his thinking is revealed in his post- 1945 writings.

Although Chu's health began to fail again in the spring of 1948, he continued to work and to write. In August, after undergoing a stomach operation, he developed nephritis. Even when he was in critical condition, his mind remained clear, and one of his last acts was to remind his family that he had signed a petition protesting American aid to Japan and rejecting flour sent by the United States to the Chinese Nationalists. Chu Tzu-ch'ing died on 12 August 1948, at the age of 50. He was cremated the next day, and his ashes were buried in October in Wan An Cemetary west of Peking. He was survived by his second wife, whom he had married in 1932, and seven children. Chu's first wife, the daughter of a prominent Yangchow doctor, had died in 1929 of tuberculosis.

For nearly 30 years Chu Tzu-ch'ing played an active role in China both as a writer and as a teacher of Chinese. His early poems were distinctive in that they retained some of the best traditions of classical Chinese poetry while dispensing with most of its restraining conventions. Some of his essays, such as "Pei-ying" [the back view], "Chiang-sheng teng-ying-li te Ch'in-huai-ho" [splashing oars and lantern light on the Chinhuai river], and "Ho-t'ang yueh-se" [lotus pond by moonlight], have been acclaimed as being representative of the best Chinese prose of the period. "Pei-ying," though less than 2,000 characters in length, is notable for its sincerity and simplicity. It has been reprinted in many middle school textbooks. Chinese students often used Chu's descriptive travel sketches as composition models. An independent and influential stylist, Chu wrote vigorous colloquial Chinese. Lu Hsün said that his work challenged the old literature, and Yeh Shengt'ao believed that Chu was one of the first modern writers to achieve a distinctive style in pai-hua.

Chu consistently maintained that literature should be serious in purpose. Thus, while Lin Yü-t'ang (q.v.) was publishing Lun-yü [the analects] and Jen-chien-shih [the human world], two magazines devoted to humor, Chu was helping to edit T'ai-pao, a journal supported by Lu Hsün and dedicated to serious literature. Chu Tzu-ch'ing advocated a discriminating approach to the Chinese literary heritage, and he edited and annotated many classical texts. During the last two years of his life (1946-48), he published a number of works designed to bring Chinese literature and literary criticism to a wider audience: Ching-tien ch'ang-t'an [chats on the classics], Shih-yen-chih pien [poetry as a medium of ideas], Hsin-shih tsa-hua [notes on new poetry] , Lun ya-su kung-shang [for the few and the many], and Piao-chün yü chih-tu [criteria and standards]. The four-volume edition of Chu's writings published at Peking in 1953, Chu Tzu-ch'ing wen-chi [Chu Tzu-ch'ing's collected works], contains his most representative work, including essays and literary criticism. Chu Tzu-ch'ing, as revealed in his writings, was modest, thorough in research, and patient with other people. During the last ten years of his life, when he was under constant physical, nervous, and financial strain, he bore his burdens with good spirit and continued to work to the limit of his capacities. His diary (unpublished), contains a detailed account of Chu's life and activities from September 1931 to the beginning of August 1948.

Biography in Chinese

朱自清
原名:朱自华 字:佩弦 号:实秋
朱自清(1898.11.22—1948.8.12),散文家、学者、诗人。任清华大学中文系主任多年。他的白话散文特别有名。
朱自清原籍浙江绍兴,但出生在江苏,他的祖父和父亲都在清朝当过小官,多年居住在江苏扬州。朱自清幼年在扬州度过,所以自称是扬州人。
朱自清幼时受传统式的教育,后又进中学,毕业后,于1917年进了北京大学,此时改名朱自华为朱自清。在大学时代,他攻读文学、哲学,常常在五四时期的著名白话文刊物《新潮》、《新中国》发表论文和诗歌。1920年毕业后回南方,当学校教师,致力于撰写诗歌。他和俞平伯的毕生友谊,始于在北京的时期,或在杭州第一师范教书时期。
1921年1月,文学研究会在北京成立,会员有郑振铎、周作人、茅盾(沈雁冰)、叶圣陶、王统照。这个社团的主张是文学必须普遍反映社会现象,揭示和探讨人生问题。朱自清很早就参加了文学研究会,成了五四运动后在中国的第一个有影响的文学团体的一名成员。朱自清曾短期内担任过扬州中学教务长,1921年稍晚时候去吴淞中国公学教书,后来在文学上成为他的同道的叶圣陶也在那里教书。朱自清和刘延陵、叶圣陶、俞平伯等人一起,主编月刊《诗》,这是中国的专门发表新诗的第一份刊物。1922年1月创刊号上,朱自清发表了四首新诗。第二年,他在《小说月报》上发表了一篇哲学长诗《毁灭》,得到文学界广泛赞扬。俞平伯称赞这是一篇杰作,对当时正在中国出现的新诗具有巨大的影响。1924年,他在浙江教书时,出版了他的第一部诗文集《踪迹》,集中的作品显示了他那深邃的感情和闲静的特有风格。
一年后,朱自清经他的朋友俞平伯的介绍,到北京清华学堂任教,开始对中国古典文学作系统研究,并转向更多地写作散文。1928年出版了他的最早的一本散文集《背影》而被公认为散文家。随着他在文学上的成就,他的学校工作任务也日益加重,1930年当杨振声辞去清华学堂中文系主任职务,就任青岛大学校长时,朱自清被任命为清华中文系代理主任,同时,他又在燕京大学兼课。
1931—1932年,他休假去欧洲,这是他唯一一次去国外。他经苏联、德国、法国,于1931年9月抵达英国。他在伦敦花了七个月时间,研究英国文学和语言学,以后又去巴黎、柏林等城市作短期访问。
1932年秋,他又回到清华教书,他在北京一直到1937年中日战争爆发。这一期间,他在清华(任中文系主任)和北京师范大学同时教书,他还继续从事研究中国诗歌和文学批评的工作。他写作和出版了许多有关作家和文艺评论的文章和两册文学随笔、散文集。这时,他认识了闻一多,闻也到清华来教书。
1937年7月,抗日战争爆发,清华大学迁校先到湖南,后到昆明。在昆明,清华作为西南联合大学的一个组成部分一直到1946年为止。在抗战初期,朱自清仍任中文系主任,但是战时四川的物质上的艰难和生活上的紧张,使他的身体健康逐渐恶化。他的朋友闻一多担起了中文系主任职务。1940年夏朱自清去成都休养一年。
1941年10月朱自清回到昆明,尽管健康状况仍然很坏,他继续从事繁忙的教学、研究、著述工作。1943年他出版了《伦敦杂记》。抗战后期,他和叶圣陶合写了三本有关国文教学的著作。1945年6月,他因患胃病去成都度暑假。
新学年开始,他回到昆明时,日本已经投降,战争结束了。1946年春,他重返中文系主任的岗位。迁居西南的这所大学里的政治形势和思想状况日渐紧张,反对国民党和国民政府的活动,遭到官方的残酷镇压,激怒了学校中的师生。在公开的场合中,朱自清主张缓和和谨慎,而他个人,则因为他的挚友闻一多于1946年7月15日在昆明被刺身死而深为愤慨。8月18日,朱自清不顾传说国民党特务要破坏会场,在成都召开的闻一多、李公朴追悼会上发表了演讲。李公朴是民盟盟员,他在闻一多被刺杀前四天在昆明被刺身死。在追悼会举行前两天,朱自清发表了二十年来唯一的一首诗,以悼念闻一多的去世。
1946年10月,朱自清回到北京清华园。他除了学校教学工作之外,还负责编订《闻一多全集》,他又出版了几篇有关中国文学的重要研究著作。朱自清对国民政府的统治手段日益愤怒,他在1945年后的著作中,表露了他的左倾思想。
1948年春,朱自清不顾身体健康再度恶化,仍然坚持工作和写作。8月间他作了胃切除手术后,又并发了肾炎。他在临危的时候,神志仍很清晰,临终前嘱咐他的家人应牢记:他曾签名反对美国援助日本和拒绝领取美国援助国民党政府的面粉。1948年8月12日去世,终年五十岁。次日火化,他的骨灰于10月间埋葬在北京西郊万安公墓。他在1932年续娶的妻子尚在,有子女七人。朱自清的前妻系扬州名医的女儿,因肺病于1929年去世。
三十多年来,朱自清作为著作家和中文教师在中国占有重要地位。他早期的诗作一方面显著地保存着中国古典诗歌的优良传统,同时尽量摒弃它的呆板陈规。他的一些散文,例如《背影》、《浆声灯影里的秦淮河》、《荷塘月色》,被誉为这一时期中国优秀散文的代表作。《背影》虽短短的不到二千字,但以它的诚挚、纯洁而见称,在许多中学教科书中载有此文。中国的学生们常常以朱自清所写的游记为作文范本。朱自清的写作是生动而通俗的,他是一位独特的、有影响的散文家。鲁迅说过,他的作品可以与中国古典文学媲美,叶圣陶认为他是第一批近代白话文创新作家之一。
朱自清坚信文学必须有严肃的目的,因此当林语堂出版两种幽默刊物《论语》、《人间世》时,朱自清就主编了得到鲁迅支持的《太白》杂志,致力于严肃的文学。
朱自清主张有区别地对待中国文学遗产,他编注了不少古代典籍,在他生命最后两年中(1946—1948年),出版了一些目的在于向广大读者介绍中国文学和文学批评的著作,例如:《经典常谈》、《诗言志辩》、《新诗杂话》、《论雅俗共赏》、《标准与尺度》。四卷本的《朱自清文集》,1953年在北京出版,选编了他的散文和评论的主要代表作。
从朱自清的著作中,也显现出他的平易近人,好学钻研和待人大度。他生命最后的十年中,虽然经常处于体力、精神、经济上的重压之下,但仍然以顽强的意志,继续不断地奋力工作。他的日记(未发表)记载了从1931年9月到1948年初有关他的生活和活动的详情。

 

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