Four Sisters of Hofei : A History (9781439125878)

by Chin, Annping

  “If I can’t study . . .” I-ke chuan-chi (A Turning point) in Shen Ts’ung-wen, San-wen-hsüan, pp. 122–23.

  Hu and Shen Jeffrey Kinkley, The Odyssey of Shen Congwen, p. 83; Chao-ho’s diary in Shen and Chang, Chia-shu, p. 16.

  “Because I love her . . .” Chao-ho’s friend, Miss Wang, included with her letter to Chao-ho a note Shen Ts’ung-wen had given to her, asking her to explain Chao-ho’s behavior toward him. Chao-ho copied both letters into her diary. Shen and Chang, Chia-shu, pp. 5–6.

  Hu Shih Ibid., p. 6.

  Miss Wang on Chao-ho Wang’s letter in ibid., p. 9.

  “I have been living . . .” Chao-ho’s diary, 7/4/30, in ibid., pp. 11–12.

  Chao-ho and Hu Shih Chao-ho’s diary, 7/8/30, in ibid., pp. 14–16.

  Hu Shih’s letter Copied into Chao-ho’s diary, in ibid., pp. 22–23.

  “Just as I . . .” Chao-ho’s diary, in ibid., p. 16.

  stubbornness Shen’s letter, copied into Chao-ho’s diary, in ibid., pp. 18–19.

  Chao-ho and Yun-ho Chao-ho’s diary, 7/12/30, in ibid., p. 20.

  Hu Shih’s letter Copied into Chao-ho’s diary, in ibid., pp. 22–23.

  “Mr. Hu only . . .” Chao-ho’s diary, 7/14/30, in ibid., pp. 23–24.

  “This is a weakness . . .” Ibid., p. 24.

  Chu Kan-kan Ibid., p. 20.

  Yun-ho on Chao-ho Yun-ho’s essay on Le-i, Shui, no. 9 (December 1998).

  “I am able to see the moon . . .” In Shen and Chang, Chia-shu, pp. 39–41.

  two letters Ibid., pp. 18, 22.

  “But nature won’t allow it.” Ibid., p. 41.

  “Housewife” Shen Ts’ung-wen, Shen Ts’ung-wen wen-chi (hereafter, Wen-chi), vol. 6, p. 325.

  “After she graduated . . .” Ibid., p. 329.

  dark and plump See Chang Yun-ho’s description in Chang-chia chiu-shih, p. 109.

  “reciting the classics . . .” See Chao-ho’s essay “I Have Come to Soo-chow” in Shui, no. 5 (June 1997).

  destroying dolls Yun-ho’s diary, 10/23/84.

  “he had known many women . . .” Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wen-chi, vol. 6, p. 331.

  “Let a man of country stock . . .” Chang Yun-ho, Tsui-hou, p. 58.

  “disenchanted” See “Housewife,” in Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wen-chi, vol. 6, pp. 331–32.

  pawnshop receipt Kinkley has a somewhat different version of this story. See Odyssey of Shen Ts’ung-wen, pp. 317–18, n. 36. Chang Ch’ung-ho also has her version in her essay on Shen Ts’ung-wen in Hai-nei-wai, no. 28. In this essay, she also included some charming scenes from the early days of her sister’s marriage.

  Little Ninth as a child Kinkley, Odyssey of Shen Congwen, p. 22.

  “Everyone needs . . .” Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wen-chi, vol. 6, p. 327.

  “loggy” and “like sandbags” Ibid., p. 333.

  “a deeper meaning” Ibid., p. 328.

  letter of 1/12/34 Shen and Chang, Chia-shu, pp. 47–48.

  letter of 1/13/34 Ibid., p. 49.

  letter of 1/16/34 Ibid., pp. 47–54.

  letter of 1/17/34 Ibid., p. 59.

  letter of 1/18/34 Ibid., p. 62.

  “you are in my pocket” Ibid., p. 61.

  letter of 1/19/34 Ibid., pp. 63–65.

  he composes a self These words—and the idea—are borrowed from Wallace Stevens, “The World as Meditation.”

  letter of 1/9/34 Shen and Chang, Chia-shu, pp. 45–46.

  like the grapevines . . . Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wen-chi, vol. 6, p. 334.

  the “union university” John Israel, Lianda, pp. 13–14, 19.

  “I think that . . .” In Shen and Chang, Chia-shu, pp. 92–93.

  “You understand the temperament . . .” Ibid., p. 78.

  “You have always blamed me . . .” Ibid., pp. 78–79.

  “a waste” to use express mail Ibid., p. 76.

  “You are doing your best . . .” Ibid., p. 124.

  “life was simpler and happier” Ibid., pp. 81–82.

  two long letters . . . They are dated 11/6/37 and 8/19/38. Ibid., pp. 80–83, 120–26.

  “I am someone . . .” Ibid., pp. 82–83.

  Chao-ho’s brisk response Ibid., p. 94.

  Chao-ho on Shen’s writing Ibid., pp. 92, 79.

  “Your original countenance . . .” Ibid., p. 79.

  letter from Yuan-ling Dated April 13, 1938. Ibid., pp. 114–15.

  Shen losing his patience Ibid., p. 120.

  Chao-ho slow to act Ibid., pp. 124, 89, 127.

  Shen’s letters to his brother Yun-liu Quoted in Shen Hu-ch’u’s essay, Tuan-chü (Reunited), in the appendix to Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wu-ts’ung hsün-fu te pan-ma, pp. 175–211. Tuan-chü is a charming and moving essay by the younger son, Hu-hu, about his parents and about their life together.

  “In the air . . .” Ibid., p. 176.

  suggested Chao-ho do some translation Shen and Chang, Chia-shu, pp. 107, 95.

  Lung-lung and Hu-hu See appendix to Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wu-ts’ung, p. 177.

  university moved to K’un-ming See Israel, Lianda, pp. 13–60.

  “He jostles his way . . .” See appendix to Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wu-ts’ung, p. 176.

  “The old man went to the mountain . . .” From Lü-yen (Green nightmare) in Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wen-chi, vol. 10, pp. 92–93. The description of the Ch’eng-kung house appears in one of the three autobiographical stories Shen wrote during the war. I checked with Ch’ung-ho about this, since she had lived in the same house with Shen and Chao-ho for a year. Ch’ung-ho said that this was indeed the house she knew and that the history of the house was accurate.

  “My brother and I . . .” See appendix to Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wu-ts’ung, p. 178.

  life around the wooden table Ibid., pp. 178–80.

  “When your mom . . .” Ibid., pp. 180–81.

  Beat the Drum . . . Ibid., p. 184.

  Liu Wen-tien See Israel, Lianda, pp. 143–44.

  use of particle See Shen and Chang, Chia-shu, p. 105.

  “You have gotten rid of my style.” From interview with Chao-ho.

  “This smile should have . . .” Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wen-chi, vol. 10, p. 105.

  Shen and “housewife” Ibid., pp. 105–6.

  “That prince had the most beautiful pair of eyes . . .” Ibid., pp. 116–17.

  “Gazing at the Rainbow” See Kinkley’s discussion of this short story in his Odyssey of Shen Congwen, pp. 254–56, and also his translation of this story in Shen’s Imperfect Paradise, pp. 463–81.

  “not only lacquer boxes . . .” Chang Ch’ung-ho, Wo-san-chieh-fu, Shen-erh-ke, in Hai-nei-wai, no. 28; also quoted in Ling Yü, Shen Ts’ung-wen chuan, pp. 439–40.

  train ride Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wu-ts’ung, pp. 181–83.

  “Although we were reunited” Ibid., pp. 183–85. For a description of Shen lying on the slope behind his Yunnan house, see Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wen-chi, vol. 10, pp. 83–89.

  Shen’s friend Ting Ling See appendix to Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wu-ts’ung, pp. 185–86.

  “At this moment . . .” In Shen and Chang, Chia-shu, p. 132.

  “Once I am apart from you . . .” Ibid., p. 134.

  “Young Hu-hu said . . .” Ibid., pp. 137–38.

  Peking during the siege See appendix to Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wu-ts’ung, p. 189.

  letter to Mr. Chi-liu Quoted in ibid., p. 189.

  Shen’s critics See Kinkley, Odyssey of Shen Congwen, pp. 265–66; Ling Yü, Shen Ts’ung-wen chuan, p. 419.

  Shen defending his position See Kinkley, op. cit., pp. 265–66.

  the beginning of Shen’s illness See appendix to Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wu-ts’ung, pp. 193–94.

  “ravings of a madman” See Shen and Chang, Chia-shu, pp. 148–49.

  letter with gloss Ibid., pp. 151–53.

  another letter from Chao-ho Ibid., p. 155.

  Ting Ling See Spence, The Gate of Heavenly Peace, pp. 217–19, 250, 240–41. See also Kinkley, Odyssey of Shen Congwen, pp. 202–5.

  “Let’s
not say any more . . .” In Shen and Chang, Chia-shu, p. 157.

  suicide attempt See appendix to Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wu-ts’ung, p. 198.

  visit to Ting Ling Ibid., p. 196.

  why Chao-ho sought reeducation See the discussions in Kinkley, Odyssey of Shen Congwen, p. 267; Spence, The Gate of Heavenly Peace, p. 324; and Ling Yü, Shen Ts’ung-wen chüan, pp. 423–25.

  Chao-ho as an athlete Chang Yun-ho in Tsui-hou, p. 63.

  Chao-ho in a cadre suit See appendix to Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wu-ts’ung, p. 197.

  “Dad was stricken . . .” Ibid., p. 201.

  Shen and music See Shen and Chang, Chia-shu, pp. 160–64; See appendix to Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wu-ts’ung, p. 199.

  “looked like Jesse James . . .” See appendix to Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wu-ts’ung, p. 201.

  “retired on impulse” See James Hightower’s translation of K’ung Chih-kuei’s poem “Proclamation on North Mountain” in Birch, Anthology of Chinese Literature, vol. 1, pp. 169–73.

  Shen’s letter about the author of Notes In Shen and Chang, Chia-shu, p. 255.

  “Thank you for sending the essays . . .” Ibid., p. 235.

  an “editor’s view” from Chao-ho Ibid., p. 286.

  the letter three days later Ibid., p. 289.

  Shen’s letter from his Tsingtao retreat Ibid., p. 287.

  Chao-ho’s analysis of Shen Ibid., p. 315.

  Shen’s writings on material culture See Kinkley, Odyssey of Shen Congwen, pp. 270–71, 431–35.

  coming back to Feng-huang In Shen and Chang, Chia-shu, p. 257.

  letter from Ch’ang-sha Ibid., pp. 259–60.

  postscript Ibid., p. 319.

  Chapter 13: Ch’ung-ho

  “Outside my window . . .” Chang Ch’ung-ho, Ch’iang-feng, collected in Ch’iu-shui, no. 18 (1987), pp. 43–44.

  fox spirits and a crack on the wall Ibid., pp. 44, 45.

  the blind nun Chang Ch’ung-ho, Shan-mien, collected in Hai-wai hua-jen tsou-chia san-wen-hsüan, pp. 86–89.

  airplanes Chang Ch’ung-ho, Feng-cheng, collected in Ch’iu-shui, no. 20 (1988), pp. 34–36.

  Chang Tsung-chang See his biography in Boorman, Biographical Dictionary of Republican China, vol. 1, pp. 122–27.

  “Big Precious” Ch’ung-ho wrote a version of this story in 1937; it was published in Hai-wai, pp. 89–91.

  K’un-ch’ü club in Tsingtao Chang Tsung-ho, Ch’iu-teng i-yu (Words recollected under the autumn lamp), collected in Shui, no. 14 (August 2000), pp. 15–16.

  Pien Chih-lin See Twentieth Century Chinese Poetry, translated and edited by Hsu Kai-yu, pp. 159–160.

  aunt in a “big boat” Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wen-chi, vol. 10, p. 116.

  Liu’s bombast See Israel, Lianda, pp. 143–44.

  “Yu, yu, cry the deer . . .” In The Book of Songs, p. 133; slightly revised from Waley’s translation.

  Chang Shih-chao See his biography in Boorman, Biographical Dictionary of Republican China, vol. 1, pp. 105–9.

  Chang and Shen’s clash in 1925 See the biography of Chang Shih-chao in ibid.; see also Shen Yin-mo lun-shu ts’ung-kao, p. 256.

  “Ours are two schools” Shen Yin-mo lun-shu ts’ung-kao, pp. 242–43.

  Shen Yin-mo’s early learning Ibid., pp. 146–47.

  “with solid fingers and an empty palm” Ibid., p. 95.

  Shen writing poetry Ibid., pp. 255, 259, 249–50.

  “practice ‘by the pond’ ” In Sun Ch’ien-li (Sun Qian-li)’s Shu-p’u (Treatise on calligraphy). See Chang Ch’ung-ho and Hans Frankel’s translation in Two Chinese Treatises on Calligraphy, pp. 1, 3.

  “In the beginning . . .” Shen Yin-mo lun-shu ts’ung-kao, p. 112.

  “the postures of wild geese . . .” See Chang and Frankel, Two Chinese Treatises on Calligraphy, p. 3.

  “The mind has forgotten itself . . .” Wang Tseng-ch’ien, quoted in Shen Yin-mo lun-shu ts’ung-kao, p. 49.

  “Remember the path . . .” Chang Ch’ung-ho, T’ao-hua-yu (Peach Blossom Fish), 1 and 2. Unless otherwise indicated, the translations of Chang Ch’ung-ho’s poems are my own. Hans Frankel also translated these two poems in Peach Blossom Fish, which is a collection of Ch’ung-ho’s poems published in 1999.

  P’eng bird In Chuang Tzu, The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu, p. 29.

  calligrapher’s wrist See Chang and Frankel, Two Chinese Treatises on Calligraphy, p. 13.

  “Along the Chia-ling River . . .” Chang Ch’ung-ho, “Going Home after the War,” slightly revised from Hans Frankel’s translation in Peach Blossom Fish.

  “broken balustrade” and “battered veranda” From the poem “A K’un-ch’ü Rehearsal in Soochow after the War,” by Chang Ch’ung-ho.

  wedding cake In Hans Frankel’s essay about Shen Ts’ung-wen, Hai-nei-wai, no. 28 (November–December 1980), p. 33.

  “Travel weary . . .” Chang Ch’ung-ho, “Small Garden No. 2” (Hsiao-yuan, 2), as translated by Hans Frankel in Peach Blossom Fish.

  “In the past . . .” Chang Ch’ung-ho, “Small Garden No. 8” (Hsiao-yuan, 8). The last line is Hans Frankel’s translation.

  “The road is long.” From Chang Ch’ung-ho’s poem Chiang-kuei (Just about to return to China).

  1This is not the Soochow in Kiangsu province but the one in Anhwei.

  1Hofei here refers to Hofei county, which is not to be confused with Hofei city. Until early in the twentieth century, it was one of five counties under the jurisdiction of Lu-chou prefecture. When the republican government abolished the prefecture (chou) as an administrative unit, the prefectural capital of Lu-chou was renamed Hofei city. The Changs were originally from Hofei county. In the 1870s, the great-grandfather of the Chang sisters also built a lavish residence in the prefectural capital.

  2The criticisms he received in Communist historiography were mainly through his association with Li Hung-chang.

  1The average income of an urban middle school teacher in the 1920s was about 450 silver dollars a year.

  2Each unit is dan, which is about 133.3 lbs.

  3These four texts and their commentaries were the basis for the civil service examinations from the fourteenth century until the examinations were abolished in 1905.

  4The prose and verse represented in this hefty compendium span nearly two thousand years. The collection was very popular during the nineteenth century, which explains why Chang Hua-k’uei wanted his own woodblocks of all seventy-five chapters. But there was another reason. The compiler, Yao Nai (1732–1815), was an Anhwei man from T’ung-ch’eng county, which was about sixty miles south of Hofei.

  5Ch’ung-ho was quoting Granny Liu, who said this about the Chia family in Story of the Stone, the eighteenth-century novel by Ts’ao Hsüeh-ch’in. Granny Liu was a clodhopper and clown but also a sharp observer of what life was like among the wealthy and powerful.

  1Iron trees (tieh-shu) are never in bloom.

  1According to the genealogy the Chang family compiled recently, Wu-ling was Po-chi’s third son. It is possible that Chang Hua-k’uei made a mistake in his letter.

  2In the family genealogy, Ch’iao-ling was considered the fourth son because his older brother Wu-ling was adopted into another branch.

  3Wu-ling’s third son is also called Ting-ho, but the ting in his name is a different word.

  4“Big Dog” was Tsung-ho’s milk-name. The Chinese call their children cats, dogs, pigs, or worse, in order to trick the gods into believing that there is no point in trying to snatch their children away because their children mean nothing to them. But the diminutives also express affection.

  5This is an expanded version of the Confucian canon, which was most popular during the T’ang dynasty. It includes the Odes, the Classic of Changes, the Classic of Documents, three ritual texts, three commentaries of the Spring and Autumn Chronicles, the Book of Filiality, Confucius’ Analects, and an ancient dictionary called Erh-ya.

  6“Magnificent tower” (ch’iung-lou) refers to the palace on the moon.

  7The opera was based o
n the biography the Han historian Ssu-ma Ch’ien had written about the warrior Hsiang Yü. Hsiang Yü, knowing that he would be killed in battle the next day, “rose in the night and drank within the curtains of his tent.” Ssu-ma Chi’en continued: “With him were the beautiful Lady Yü, who enjoyed his favor and followed wherever he went, and his famous steed Dapple, which he always rode. Hsiang Yü, filled with passion and sorrow, began to sing sadly, composing this song: ‘My strength plucked up the hills, / My might shadowed the world; / But the times were against me, / And Dapple runs no more. / When Dapple runs no more, / What then can I do? / Ah Yü, my Yü / What will your fate be?” (Revised slightly from Burton Watson’s translation of Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s Records of the Grand Historian, Han Dynasty I, p. 45.)

  8Ch’in-ts’ao was the prostitute, and Ch’in Kuan was the poet. Both were connected to the great poet Su Shih: one was Su’s lover, and the other, his disciple. Someone must have used the poem to frame the three figures together in a story, but it is unlikely Ch’in-ts’ao was the author of this poem.

  9Wu-ling’s children called their own mother Da-da and their stepmother Ma-ma (mother).

  10Chang Hsü was from Wu, where Soochow is now situated. He lived during the fifth century and was noted for his elegance. The ruler of the Southern Ch’i dynasty used to point to the willow in front of the Ling-ho Temple, saying, “This willow is so lovely and charming, just like Chang Hsü when he was a young man.”

  11This idea comes from a well-known poem of the third century. The poem, “The Seven-Step Verse,” was meant to reinforce stories about the poet Ts’ao Chih’s strained relationship with his brother Ts’ao P’i, who was, at the time, the ruler of the Wei dynasty.

  12The title of Tu Fu’s poem is “Ch’u-chiang-hsing.”

  1See chapter 1 for descriptions of T’ai-jen in the Classic of Odes.

  2In 1926, one silver dollar was equivalent to approximately fifty cents in U.S. currency.

  3See Sidney Gamble, How Chinese Families Live in Peiping (New York and London: Funk and Wagnalls, 1933), p. 317; also quoted in Yeh, The Alienated Academy, pp. 195–96. The figures Wu-ling’s son Huan-ho gave are not consistent with Wei Pu’s in the 1932 yearbook. Since Wei Pu was the chief administrator of the school at the time, I have decided to use his.