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has the torch been passed down in this life?

what about that faint ray of light?

have you ever regretted anything in your life?

zhong shuhe closed his eyes, shook his head, and answered in a confused accent: "no."

have you ever been angry?

"have."

the head of the bed was raised to a suitable 35 degrees, and he was half lying and half sitting, with his left hand hanging by his side and his right hand writing on the low table above the bed. at 4 pm in the midsummer, he woke up from his lunch break and continued to proofread the manuscript, doing so every day until late at night.

zhong shuhe is 93 years old. a stroke three years ago knocked him to the hospital bed. only his right hand can move. his swallowing and expression abilities are also greatly damaged. sometimes, in order to speak clearly, he needs to be still for a while and accumulate strength, and it seems that he has used all his strength. "half dead." he joked to himself, but his thinking ability was not affected. he pointed to his forehead, which is something he is still very proud of.

as a publisher, zhong shuhe started his career in 1979 at the age of 48, just after being released from a labor camp and rehabilitated. at the age of 26, he was labeled a rightist and dismissed from his public office. he was not allowed to do writing work for 22 years, including 9 years in prison. after resuming work, he raced against time to compile a series of large books. he told his family that he had wasted too much time and had to race against time.

now, he can no longer run, and can only fight against time tenaciously. he was trapped in bed, and drinking a sip of water might cause him to cough violently, but he still pulled the rope with all his strength and refused to let go. in any era, even in his lowest days, he always had confidence in china and the future.

on march 1, 2017, 87-year-old zhong shuhe was at his home in changsha, hunan province. photo/provided by the interviewee

reading upstairs

the large living room was deserted, and it was cool and quiet. on the three walls were stacked a series of magnificent books, including the "towards the world series" (100 books) edited by zhong shuhe himself, "the complete works of zhou zuoren's essays" (14 volumes), and "records of the qing dynasty" and "four series of books" that he used as materials. the latest set is the ten-volume "collected works of zhong shuhe" published in 2023, which includes most of his articles throughout his life.

but new books are still published one after another. in the past two years, he has published several revised collections of essays, and he personally proofreads every word. the book he is editing is a collection of letters from old friends, which contains 555 letters written to him by deceased teachers and friends. the first letter is from zhou zuoren, and the rest are from celebrities such as qian zhongshu, yang jiang, and shu wu. however, some executors are unwilling to publish their wills, so in the end, they may only be printed as internal materials to prevent them from being lost.

zhong shuhe was not happy, but he had no choice. last year, the publishing house published a book called "fan yong's letters", which included 11 letters he wrote to the publisher fan yong. he did not ask for his authorization in advance, but he did not care and was very supportive. "because these letters of mine are also of some academic value," he personally compiled the catalog, and when his fingers slid over the names in the catalog one by one, it was as if he was caressing his memory, "this may be my last important book."

having edited books for half his life, zhong shuhe is known for his toughness. after the reform and opening up, he selected and published a book called "zhitang book talk", which was the first new book signed by zhou zuoren in mainland china after 1949. then, he started to reprint "zhou zuoren's self-edited collection". doubts, oppositions and rebukes came one after another. amid the controversy, he published an advertisement for "reprinting zhou zuoren's works" in a beijing newspaper, starting with the sentence: "people are people, and articles are articles." looking back now, the old man showed a slightly cunning expression: "that was my own 'speech'." in case others couldn't hear it clearly, he wrote the word "speech" on the paper.

he didn't like going downstairs in the first place, and now he can't even get out of bed. in august 2021, he suddenly had a stroke. at the end of 2022, he was infected with the new coronavirus and was admitted to the icu. he got shingles again in the first half of this year, and in the summer, he had a fever from time to time. time is not kind to the elderly, but he has passed one level after another. "i have things to do." he said to his daughters. the youngest daughter, zhong xianxian, felt that editing and proofreading books were a breath of relief for her father.

the house on the 20th floor was moved into in 2000. it is the old building of the hunan publishing bureau. 20 is homophonic with "nian", so zhong shuhe named the house "nianlou". after retirement, he opened a column "learn from its shortcomings" in newspapers and magazines, selecting some ancient texts with less than 100 words, with translations and interpretations. later, it was compiled into "nianlou learn shortcomings", which became his best-selling book. "nianlou" became famous. he jokingly "reflected" that thinking deeply and thinking hard is not necessarily a good thing, and that obsessing about something is not necessarily beneficial, because marx said: "thinking makes people suffer."

the suffering that zhong shuhe endured in his life was indeed mostly caused by thinking.

in 1957, zhong shuhe, who worked at the new hunan daily, was labeled a rightist. the charges against him amounted to 48 crimes, which were compiled into a booklet. many people in the newspaper were labeled rightists, including his colleague zhu zheng.

zhu zheng was born in the same year and month as zhong shuhe, only three days earlier than zhong. they entered the new hunan daily in the same batch and have known each other for more than 70 years. in the first half of this year, zhu zheng visited zhong shuhe on crutches. zhu zheng became the editor-in-chief of hunan people's publishing house in 1985, but he is famous for his research on lu xun. his biography of lu xun has been reprinted for half a century. when he was almost 90 years old, he summed up his merits and demerits in the hunan publishing industry and believed that his greatest contribution was to recommend zhong shuhe.

in 1979, zhong shuhe ended his imprisonment and returned to changsha. his wife zhu chun and zhu zheng went to the station to pick him up. zhu zheng, who was already working at the hunan publishing bureau, recommended zhong shuhe to the director of the publishing bureau. the director hesitated: "i heard that zhong shuhe is very proud and difficult to lead." zhu zheng said seriously: "i am recommending you a capable editor, not a well-educated perfect person." after the director interviewed zhong, he immediately decided to hire him. in fact, zhu zheng, who has a gentle personality, is also a proud person. when he was young, his articles were sharp. feng xuefeng, an expert on lu xun studies who had read his manuscripts, reminded him in a letter not to be so proud. lifelong friends, like-minded people seek each other.

people who have not experienced that kind of turmoil and fear may find it difficult to understand: how can a person who has suffered such harsh blows and been beaten repeatedly still remain calm and proud? how can he live with such a strong sense of strength? zhong shuhe laughed hard several times and answered: "i am actually the most powerless. i only know that it is not my fault."

“you have no choice but to go out into the world”

on the streets of changsha in 1958, scholar zhong shuhe was looking for an opportunity to make a living by physical labor. he saw that delivering goods by pallet truck was also a trade, which was the most physical work that required no cultural knowledge, so he became a pallet truck driver, but found it difficult to make a living. his wife zhu chun was also labeled a rightist. they already had three daughters and another one was in her belly. he gradually developed the skills to survive on the streets, learned to carve mimeograph steel plates, and worked as a wood mold worker, electroplating worker, draftsman, etc. at night, he went home and read behind closed doors every night. "if you don't read, you will suffocate," he said.

it was not until 22 years later that, in a small office at hunan people's publishing house, the 48-year-old zhong shuhe picked up his pen again, sat next to an old colleague from 22 years ago, and learned to be a book editor. a lot of time had been wasted, but fortunately, the renewed enthusiasm had not diminished.

in 1979, reform and opening up had already begun, and china was taking great strides towards the world. that year, the magazine "reading" was re-published, and the first issue published a headline article "no forbidden zone in reading". zhong shuhe could not wait to start his grand plan and began to edit the "towards the world series", while still brewing zhou zuoren's writings in his heart.

when he was a child, he read a book called "the spread of western learning to the east" on his father's bookshelf at home. it was the autobiography of yung wing, the first chinese overseas student in the late qing dynasty, who opened his eyes to the world. the young zhong shuhe would never have thought that the confusion, questioning, exploration and gains revealed in this old book would haunt him again in another era in the future. after being labeled as a rightist and imprisoned, he did everything he could to find books to read, made up for the lessons of "zizhi tongjian" and the twenty-four histories, and continued to pay attention to such late qing works. in his long and secret reading career, he has seen more than 300 overseas accounts of late qing figures. in this niche field of history, he has become an expert.

when he started to make books, his first idea was to select 100 such works and launch the "towards the world series". in the winter of 1980, the first book in the series, "a new record of traveling around the world" written by li gui, was launched. in 1876, as a representative of the qing dynasty's business community, li gui was invited to philadelphia, the united states to participate in the world expo held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the united states. he then visited cities such as new york, london, and paris, crossed the pacific, atlantic, and indian oceans, and completed a round-the-world voyage. before he went abroad, few chinese believed that the earth was round. by 1986, the first series of 35 books in the "towards the world series" were published one after another, which caused a lot of repercussions in the cultural circle in a few years. at this time, zhong shuhe had been transferred to the editor-in-chief of the newly established yuelu publishing house.

he edited books and also looked for answers, doing research with the enthusiasm of an academic. he wrote detailed prefaces for each book, ranging from 7,000 to 8,000 words to 30,000 to 40,000 words. some chapters were originally published in top historical academic journals. many predecessors encouraged him to publish the preface separately, including qian zhongshu. qian zhongshu saw an article he published in "reading" and took the initiative to ask for an introduction and invited zhong shuhe to his home for a chat. when "towards the world - modern intellectuals exploring western history" was published, qian zhongshu, who never wrote a preface for others, took the initiative to write a preface and said with emotion: "even if you are reluctant, your feet seem to be dragging iron shackles and iron balls, you have to go into this world."

the 1980s was the era of series books, such as the commercial press's "chinese translation of world academic masterpieces", sichuan people's publishing house's "towards the future series" and various philosophy and literature translation series, which introduced foreign ideological resources and were in great demand. "towards the world series" took a different path, looking for prescriptions in a pile of old papers.

zhong shuhe recalled to china newsweek that he did not have any great ambitions in compiling this series of books, "i was just interested and had some information. but they were all the result of my own thinking. i did not repeat others, and i did not want to repeat myself." he likes a sentence by the french poet musset: "my cup is small, but i use it to drink water."

in 1989, after serving as the editor-in-chief of yuelu publishing house for five years, he resigned and the publication of the towards the world series was interrupted. he transported all the remaining materials back home for safekeeping. it was not until more than 20 years later that the project was restarted and he served as the editor-in-chief again. in 2016, the remaining 65 volumes were published. it took more than 30 years to complete the 100 volumes.

unexpectedly, the ups and downs of life are all in this

as an editor, his fame did not extend beyond the publishing industry. it was not until 2017, the year after the publication of the towards the world series, that he won the paju book award special award in south korea. since then, the nearly 90-year-old publisher has become more and more famous, with visitors, condolences, and interviews coming one after another, and his collection of essays has been reprinted. people have rediscovered this old man and the old-school intellectual spirit he preserves.

“although i loved reading and writing when i was a student, i never thought of making writing my career,” he once concluded. “i never expected that my life would be filled with ups and downs.”

he had seen too many tragedies in his life, but he had never had that dark thought. in prison, during the most difficult days, he wrote a letter to encourage his wife zhu chun: "we still have to eat and read. even if we are asked to die, we must not die."

"i live on the 20th floor. if i want to die, i can just jump down," he pointed to the balcony two meters away, "but now i can't go there even if i want to." he then laughed with difficulty.

some of the writing and editing works by zhong shuhe.

there were hardships and gains. reading and thinking also made him meet his lifelong friends. as early as 1955, zhong shuhe and three other colleagues at the newspaper, zhu zheng, zhang zhihao, and yu runquan, were labeled as a "reactionary clique". the four young people who originally had little friendship became close friends because of this.

"i have never edited an award-winning book," zhu zheng said with a smile in the living room whose walls were filled with old books, "but the topics chosen by zhong shuhe are all very good." compared to publishing, zhu zheng's real passion and ambition lies in academics. he once complained about zhong shuhe's writing of "nian lou xue duan", thinking that he should not write small articles, but do more important research. but zhong shuhe felt that his old friend overestimated him, and that he was not good at academics. two years ago, zhu zheng published a research work of one million words, and there were not many unfinished ambitions after that. zhong shuhe wrote an inscription for him in an admiring tone: "i am happy to see the great work completed, shining like a torch in the night. i woke up and cried out before my death, and i meet zhu zi again today."

in this internet-famous city where milk tea, night markets and entertainment programs constantly emphasize the importance of living in the present, these two veteran editors represent another perspective: people not only live in the present, but also live in history.

zhong shuhe once quoted a foreigner's comment on yung wing to explain the original intention of the "towards the world series": "a country that can produce such a person can accomplish great things. the future of this country will not be humble... it can be seen that china itself has strength." he also talked about the state of mind of huang zunxian, a late qing figure: "he always followed the trend of history and cared about major events in the world. although he was listed in the blacklist, he always had confidence in the future and believed that 400 million people would definitely wake up from the nightmare of more than 2,000 years."

zhou zuoren had inspired him during his downfall. in 1963, while working on the streets, he came across an old book signed by zhou xiashou and was moved by the writing style. later, he learned that it was written by zhou zuoren. he liked zhou zuoren's articles and thought they contained an "honest, calm, and positive" attitude. he went to a small shop and bought a few sheets of red horizontally ruled paper, a small bottle of ink, and a brush, and wrote a letter to zhou zuoren solemnly.

he actually got a reply. zhou zuoren sent a book to the hunan rickshaw driver as requested, and also copied a passage from the british writer ellis for him, which said: "we hold torches in our hands and run along the road. soon someone will come from behind and catch up with us. all our skills are in how to pass the bright and fixed torch into his hands, and we ourselves will disappear into the darkness." zeng guofan inspired him in another way. zhong shuhe believed that zeng guofan's ability and knowledge were first-class, and he was the highest representative of the old chinese culture.

this is consistent with the original intention of compiling the "towards the world series". he once wrote: "if we don't find the root cause of the disease lurking in our cerebral cortex and heart and liver blood vessels, it is impossible to create a healthy self and healthy offspring. in this sense, we have the responsibility to clean up all the cultural accumulations of the past... from confucius to hu shizhi, zeng guofan is no exception."

this passage may serve as a summary of his life's efforts. that turbulent era has always lurked in zhong shuhe's body. his life experiences and efforts may be more full of vitality than all his words. a few years ago, he had a thought of writing an autobiography. his daughter zhong xianxian said that now her father is not so obsessed with it. first, there are already many self-narrations in his articles throughout his life, and second, he may not be willing to look back on many sad pasts. "i may not be able to write anymore," zhong shuhe said calmly, "now, i face death calmly."

works by zhong shuhe.

two trees

living to over 90, bedridden zhong shuhe still tries to control his life. nanny xiao xie said that after he fell ill, his temper became bad and he got angry when she advised him to rest. she understood that he felt that time was running out. now, he cherishes the half of his body that can still move. when the doctor wants to give him an injection or an iv drip in his right hand, he insists on giving it to the diseased limb, and he wants to protect his right hand that can still write and turn pages.

nian only had zhong shuhe and the nanny who had worked for the zhong family for more than 20 years upstairs, and the daughters did not live together. when communicating with zhong xianxian about the visit, she asked the visitor to talk to her father in person. even if his words were already slurred, he would arrange everything himself, and even the closest people did not dare to do it for him.

in front of this little daughter, the strong zhong shuhe showed the most vulnerability. in 1961, during the difficult period, the family was struggling financially, so the couple discussed sending their little daughter to an orphanage established by the state in inner mongolia. inner mongolia had relatively sufficient milk and meat, and accepted thousands of orphans from all over the country. zhong xianxian was only 3 years old at the time. unexpectedly, within a year, the orphanage was disbanded and she was adopted by a farmer and lost contact since then. after zhong shuhe was released from prison, he tried every means to find her whereabouts. at this time, she was 21 years old and had a one-year-old daughter.

on the day she returned to changsha, her family met her at the station. zhu chun hugged her daughter after a long separation, but she pushed him away in a fit of anxiety. the unfamiliarity caused by years of separation stood between the two generations. zhong shuhe was editing the "towards the world series" at the time, and he was buried in the pile of manuscripts in the office, fighting with words. zhong xianxian quarreled with him every time she came to him, clamoring to go back to inner mongolia. she was not used to the new city, and the couple's work and family registration were not resolved. when his daughter cried, the father also stopped writing and cried.

"my father was a sentimental man, but he was also very contradictory. he had a strong sense of love for his children, but he was also very independent," said zhong xianxian. "he longed for family affection, but was unwilling to get involved in tedious affairs."

for many years, zhong shuhe and zhu chun did not have a good talk with zhong xianxian about that past. zhong xianxian understood, because his parents had experienced too much, displacement, separation and death were common. but his daughter found it difficult to let go, and it took more than ten years for her to slowly heal. the crying and tears of those years also repaired the missing family affection and made the two generations less estranged. "i want to quarrel and go crazy, which is also a process of building feelings." during the years when zhong shuhe was the busiest, the couple often took their little daughter and the family of three to the park and eat snacks on the only day off every week. in order to find a job for his daughter, zhu chun asked her to take his job and retired 5 years early.

when he was released from prison, zhong shuhe made two resolutions for the rest of his life: to be a good father and a good husband. during his nine years in prison, zhu chun worked as a wood model maker in a factory to support his family. zhong shuhe wanted to rebuild his life.

after zhu chun resumed work, she only worked for a few years. as a former excellent writer, her greatest professional achievement in life may be a sixth-level wood model worker. two years before her death, zhong shuhe moved the books crowded in the study to the living room and moved to the living room to work. she then had the study alone and had her own room. she read the news and wrote articles on the computer without being disturbed. those were the two years when she wrote the most in her life. "at the age of 77, i finally have a free space. this is the result of the old man moving the study. to be honest, i never thought of it before." she wrote. that was her last article.

after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, zhu chun said calmly: "i was not defeated in 1957 or 1970. this time the disease is severe and i am old. i may be defeated, but i will not be too ugly or cry." the day before her death, in the hospital, zhu chun asked her daughter to go home to see if zhong shuhe had eaten. the last thing she said to zhong shuhe was: "don't sleep too late."

one day after zhu chun passed away, at an art exhibition, zhong shuhe was silent for a long time in front of a painting. the painting showed two trees, with a poem inscribed on it: "maybe one day/one will die/and the other/will still accompany its dead branches." the lonely old man's eyes were blurred with tears, "if zhu chun were still alive, i'm afraid i wouldn't be so weak."

in his later years, he had achieved success and fame, but his daughters only felt regret that their mother passed away too early. "if she could see the social recognition that zhong shuhe received in his later years, she would feel more... worthwhile and think that she had good vision." zhong xian said with red eyes, "we all think that the most successful thing in our father's life was to find our mother."

zhong xianxian felt that his mother had a sunny and open-minded personality, while his father was thoughtful. zhu chun was not as argumentative as zhong shuhe, but he was in tune with him on major issues. in prison, zhong shuhe made a bamboo pen holder for zhu chun, engraved with delicate bamboo leaves and a poem: "a thousand tears on a bamboo branch." "that pen holder must have made my mother spiritually satisfied," zhong xianxian said. half a century later, the pen holder is still on the bookshelf in the living room.

they followed their hearts and were willing to pay the price for it. zhong xianxian said that his parents insisted on one thing throughout their lives: not to follow the crowd, but to stick to the "tao" in their hearts.

did he pass down a torch in this life? zhong shuhe felt that he himself did not have any torch to pass on, "i'm not that arrogant." what about a faint ray of light? "of course there is." he nodded and asked the visitor, "do you have it?"

reporter: ni wei