Chinese Li Terature

CHINESE LI TERATURE Monthty 1 rc64 CONTENTS STORIES TheMzttiage of Late Sistet-Tsung Pa 3 A Night in the Open-Kuan Hua Love-seeds-,fs nm a Ven-tben 39 Emetald \flaves and a Silvet Sea (a poenr)-N, Saylsogt a,8 \rRIT'INGS OF THE LAST GENERATION Shipw t eck-V arg T nry1- c ls ao ,I Green Bamboo Hetmitage-lYa T w-hsiang 66 'fwo Poemc-IV'en Chieb 7t SELECTIONS FROM THE CLASSICS Anecdotes of the \Tarting States 79 An Eatliest Votk of Prose-Trung Sbu 81 NOTES ON DRAMA The Actot's Conttadictions-.f bu Chiang 92 Peking People's Art Theatte-Choa Liang IOI INTRODUCING A CLASSICAL PAINTING "Ladies on a Spring Orting"-Tm Hai ro9 RECENT PUBI,ICATIONS Pocket Libtaty of Litetatute 174 CHRONICLE 120 PLATES Sheep-.S'bih Lu 3t19 A Gitl of 'Iung Nationaltty-Ho Yun-lan 78-79 l,adies on a Spring Outing-Cben Hung-shou (1598-7652) I1O-III No.1,1964 Front Cover: l'-lowerc (tradltional painting) by Chen Chiu-tsao Tsung Pu CH IN E5 E LITERATU RE montl)l! EDITOR: Mao Tun ASSISTANT EDITOR: Yeh Chun-chien The Marriage of Late Sister A howling notth wind, swirling down ftom the sky, shook the valley and spread a layet of yellow dust ovet the snow-bound fields. On this bittet winter day north of the Great $7all the wind bit into the fesh like a whip. Even the birds refused to leave their nests. But along the twisting mountain trail that connected the villages of Peach Orchard and Nestling Dale strode an old man in his sixties. Dress- ed in a sheepskin robe and afirhat, he was tall and thin. His stub- born bristly beard was covered with icicles. He walked quickly" emitting frosty breaths that were like puffs of white smoke. Everyone fot miles around knew Grandpa Four. FIe was an expert from Peach Orchard Village. Trees under his care always produced unusually heavy yields. A few days ptevious, the commune adminis- tration had asked him to drop in ofl Nestling Dale and help them plan the layout of a new otchard. Now, he v/as on his way. After the formation of the commune Grandpa Fout ftequently rrent out on such missions. He had been to more than half of Published by Foreign Languages Press Pai Wan Chuaog, Peking G7), China Tsung.llu, a woman wtitcr born in 1928, is an editot of the monthly Sbijie Venxae Printed, in tbe People's. Republic ol Chino (\Ttrtld Literature). the forty-odd villages which constituted the commurre, and he worked to visit her family, she cloes it without the groom." The implication just as efficiently them as he did People for for his own village. was that even a newly-wed wouldn't follow his btide to such a were delighted, he himself was pleased. He ahvavs wenr out hap- wtetched place. pily and returned home smiling. But today, on his way to Nestling In r9y6 when higher agricultural co-operatives.were set up a chan- Dale, for some reasorr, his expression was dark and truculent. nel was dug which brought water from a spting in Peach Orchard. Anger had kept him from eating breakfast. Ife had charged out But although Nestling Dale was no longet arid, it remained poor. of the village. Actually, there was no need for him to go in such Of coutse contlitior-rs were much better than before, but compared nasty weather. llowever, he was anxic:us to get those trees planted with Pcach ()rchartl the village \vas still quite backward. in as soon as Grandpa Nestling Dale poss.ible Four never delayed an Thete hacl been little coming and going between the t$/o places, assignment. At the same time, he also had some private business despite theit ptoxirlrity, and certainly there were no intermatriages. to conduct. The night before, his only child, Late Sister, had spoken The only exception occurred when the widow of a down-at-the-heels to him about her manrage. He had been over forty when the g-irl Peach Orchard landlord married an old Nestling Dale bachelor who was botn-his wife had died in childbirth-and they had been together couldn't find anyone better. The woman was addicted to adotning through thick and thin ever since. He was, very glad when she an- her face with a thicl< coat of powcler. People noticed its resemblance she a nounced had found nice young man. But when she said that to a screenwxll at the south end of Nestling Dale which had been the future groom 'was from iust Nestling Dale, Grandpa Four's brows whitewashecl, and so she acquired the nickname "southetn Screen- knit in a frown. He dicln't sleep v'ell all night. He couldn't rvait to wall." to get Nestling Dale and collect evidence to be used against the match. "\il/ith so many boys wanting her in Peach Orchard, why must That was why he now looked so grim. my Late Sistet want to marry into Nestling Dale, like that Southern For generations rro Peach Orchard had family been willing to let Screenwall? What a loss of face!" Grandpa Four fumed as he fought their daughtet malry a Nestling Dale boy. You could hardly blame his way through the buffeting wind. Gtandpa Although less Four. the villages were than five li apart, and He knew his daughter's disposition. She stuck to her tasks-the both were situated the area between the Sangkan and the in River same as he. Late Sister was the assistant leader of the village's Southern Mountains, they were as different as heaven and earth. orchatd te^m, good worket atound the house and in the field. Het Ftuit ttees gtew on Peach Orchard's mountain slopes, and the ^ village liquid eyes seemed to be perpetually smiling. But she was not given had springs udth fresh sweet summer they had water. In no end of much to talk, and usually worked in silence. "FIow like het mother," ftuit, in winter they had more grain than they could store, From the old man thought with a sigh. the distance their houses resembled tall buildings rising along the Late Sister was also a Youth I.eaguer, and she knew her own mind. slopes on both sides of the Shaho Stream. Peach Orchard girls When he asl<ecl her: "Are you sure about Liang Chun-tai ?" She looked seldom married out of the village, and if they did it was only to go to at him with her large shining eyes and nodded without a word. the neighbouring town. This was particularly trlre after liberation, When he tried to question her further, she only lowered her gaze when the landlords were overthrown and the livelihood of the people and concentrated on the hemp she was shtedding. The fine strands of Peach Orchard took an obvious turn for the better. were likc e mass of silver floss on the bdck platform bed. Nestling Dale, on the contrary, had neither fruit trees nor good As a matter of fact Grandpa Four was not the backuzarcl feudal water. Located in a gorge, it had only a single well, and z poor one type who insisted on choosing his child's marriage partner. Ife at that. People had to take tutns wotking it. \Vater to them was didn't know anything about Liang Chun-tai. It was just that Peach more precious than oil and the village was famed for its poverty and Orchatd people generally were coritemptuous of Nestling Dale. aridit1.. They had a saying: "Once a Nestling Dale girl marties The local school teacher once criticized this attitude. He called and moves away, she's gone for good. Even when she comes home it "village chauvinism." However, Grandpa Four couldn't help 4 Part of Ne stling Dale's plan for catching up was to plant an orchard. The commune wri sctrrling lrirrr to help thern clo it. "We'r,e got to push along fast," hc thought. "The quicker everybody gets to socialism, the bettcr." lrrstinctively, he hastened his steps. 'When lre arrivccl in Ncstling Dale the wind seemed to have less- ened a bit. Ile wi;retl thc iciclcs from his beard with a handkerchief and enterctl the villrgc clrcst hiuh. It rvas very still. The streets 'nvere deser:tccl, "l)rolrrrlrlv all rcstirrg orr their warm platform becls," he muttercd. llctching tlrc pt'orluctirrn lrrigrde comlrotrncl, he found it empty. IIc lxLngcrl u cr.ruplc o[ tin'rcs on tlrc Lrcl<ecl doot, but nobody answercrl. Anglily, lrc rctr-rrnerl t() thc strcet. "Are the cadtes all loaling ut lronrc? No wonder the i,illage is poor!" Just thetr he saw l little boy with the recl tie of the Young Pio- neers ar:ouncl his r-rcck come out of a house, The bcy was carrying a manure l;askct rnd scoop. "Come here, child," Granclpa Four called. "Who are you looking for, grandpa," the boy askecl courteously. "Your Party secretary, or your btigade chief." "Both of them are awrry-" "Then ask your grandfather to come out," Grandpa Four demarrded irtitably. Puzzled, the boy replied: "My gtandfather died several years ago." being influenced. Vhen he considered the matter calmly, he was Grandpa Four was stumped. The child went on: "If the assistant able tcl say to himself: "After all, we'te all part of the same people's brigade chief will do, he's at the white clay diggings. Shall I take you commune.

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