Four Sisters of Hofei : A History (9781439125878)

by Chin, Annping

  Tu Fu writes . . . From the poem “I Hear That the Imperial Army Has Just Recovered the Land North and South of the River,” in Tu Fu shih-hsüan, p. 149.

  Wu-ling’s poems Collected in Shui, no. 5 (June 1997).

  Chapter 8: The School

  the dean’s words Wei Pu’s “Foreword #4” in the 1932 Le-i Yearbook. A 1932 graduate of Le-i had sent her copy of the yearbook to the sisters’ youngest brother, Huan-ho, who in turn shared it with me. This book remains the most important source I have on Le-i Middle School. It includes forewords by Chang Wu-ling, Wei Chün-i (the school’s principal and also Wu-ling’s wife), and the dean of the school (Wei Chün-i’s brother); a short history of the school; the school’s song; photos of the nineteen graduates, each with a short biography written by a fellow classmate; sample writings from all the graduates; and posting of the requirements for entrance, the enrollment figures for each year, and the fees and tuition.

  Wu-ling’s foreword “Foreword #2” in the 1932 Le-i Yearbook.

  school song 1932 Le-i Yearbook.

  T’ai-po and Yü-chung Ssu-ma Ch’ien, Shih-chi, fourth chüan, in Chung-hua edition, p. 115.

  Confucius on T’ai-po Analects, 8:1 (revised from Lau’s translation, p. 92).

  Le-i’s history Yun-ho’s account in Shui, no. 9 (December 1998).

  class of 1932 “Class History,” in 1932 Le-i Yearbook.

  bobbed hair Yun-ho’s essay in Shui, no. 9 (December 1998).

  Le-i’s tuition Last page of 1932 Le-i Yearbook. Compared with Wen-hsin Yeh’s figures in The Alienated Academy, this seems a bargain.

  Chang children’s tuition Huan-ho’s essay in Shui, no. 3 (October 1996), p. 2.

  faculty 1932 Le-i Yearbook, p. 70.

  Hou and private schools See Chung-kung tang-shih jen-wu-chuan (Eminent figures in the history of the Chinese Communist Party) (hereafter, CKTSJWC), vol. 8, p. 132. CKTSJWC gives a detailed account of Hou’s life and his activities in education and politics. Yeh also wrote about Hou’s talent as a fund-raiser in The Alienated Academy, p. 147.

  Chou Fo-hai See Chou’s biography in Boorman, Biographical Dictionary of Republican China. See also pp. 173–74, 176 of this book.

  Hou’s radicalism See CKTSJWC, pp. 133–39.

  Chang Shu-sheng Tsou-i, p. 559.

  Nanyang College See Yeh, The Alienated Academy, pp. 93–94, 98–100; CKTSJWC, p. 135.

  expulsion See CKTSJWC, p. 135.

  “How could they . . .” Ibid., pp. 139–40.

  “free school” Ibid., pp. 136–38.

  Mao, 1924 Mao Tse-tung nien-p’u, vol. 1, p. 126; CKTSJWC, p. 145.

  Hou in Shanghai See CKTSJWC, p. 146; Yeh, The Alienated Academy, p. 147.

  Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1925 See the documents and analysis of the history of the CCP in The Rise to Power of the Chinese Communist Party, edited by Tony Saich, pp. 149–51, 104–5. See also Philip Short, Mao, pp. 148–49.

  CCP branch unit See Saich, Rise to Power, pp. 149–50; CKTSJWC, pp. 149–50.

  alliance and clash See Jonathan Spence, The Search for Modern China, pp. 334–54; 1932 Le-i Yearbook, “School History”; CKTSJWC, p. 152.

  after leaving Le-i See CKTSJWC, pp. 153–267.

  CCP and girls’ schools See Short, Mao, p. 119.

  Soochow authorities See CKTSJWC, pp. 151–52.

  May Thirtieth See Short, Mao, p. 153.

  May Thirtieth and Le-i Hou’s Communist biographers claimed that it was Hou who helped the Le-i students to organize the benefit concert and that he even performed during it. This contradicts their earlier statement that Hou arrived at Le-i in the fall of 1925. The 1932 Le-i Yearbook also places Hou’s arrival in the fall. See CKTSJWC, pp. 149, 151; 1932 Le-i Yearbook, “School History.”

  “Le-i gave more money” Quoted in Chang Huan-ho’s essay in Shui, no. 3 (October 1996), p. 3.

  students’ three dramas For a translation of Autumn in the Palace of Han (Han-kung-ch’iu) , see Anthology of Chinese Literature, compiled and edited by Cyril Birch, pp. 422–48. The Ruse of an Empty City (K’ung-ch’eng-chi) and The Story of Hung-fu (Hung-fu-chi) are collected in Hsi-tian, vol. 1, pp. 401–16, and vol. 3, pp. 2036–60. The Story of Hung-fu was based on an earlier, tenth-century story by Tu Kuang-t’ing. One can find a summary and a history of this drama in English in The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, pp. 210–11, 823–24.

  Wild Cherry Blossoms A translation of this play is found in Kuo Mo-jo, Five Historical Plays, pp. 1–86. Kuo himself discussed the writing of this play in Kuo Mo-jo chü-tsou ch’üan-chi, vol. 1, pp. 330–32. See also David Roy’s discussion in Kuo Mo-jo, pp. 96–97.

  Kuo and Marxism See C.T. Hsia, A History of Modern Chinese Fiction, pp. 98–100.

  students’ writings 1932 Le-i Yearbook, pp. 1–68.

  “Rich and Poor” Ibid., pp. 13–21.

  Chapter 9: Nurse-Nannies

  Wang Kan-kan Yü-ho’s essay in Shui, no. 2 (June 1996), pp. 7–8. Other than this essay on Wang Kan-kan, most of the stories about the nurse-nannies were drawn from interviews I had with the Chang sisters and brothers.

  “Big Sister Kuo” Ibid.

  “The Destiny of Rebirth” See Ch’en Tuan-sheng, Hsiu-hsiang hui-t’u tsai-sheng-yuan ch’üan-chuan.

  Meng Li-chün and the emperor Ibid., 12:19a–b.

  Ch’en Tuan-sheng Indiana Companion, p. 236.

  ending of the original story See Ch’en Tuan-sheng, Hsiu-hsiang hui-t’u tsai-sheng-yuan ch’üan-chuan, 16:14b.

  “Kuo, the Lunatic!” Shui, no. 2 (June 1996), p. 8.

  “When Ch’en She . . .” Ssu-ma Ch’ien, Shih-chi, 48 chüan (slightly revised from Watson’s translation in Records of the Grand Historian, vol. 1, Han Dynasty, p. 1).

  “like a great wind rising” Watson translation, p. 1.

  “Ch’en She, born in . . .” Watson translation, pp. 12–13 (with romanization changed).

  Death of the daughter-in-law Shui, no. 2 (June 1996), p. 7.

  “Kao Kan-kan, standing nearby . . .” Ibid., p. 8.

  Chapter 10: Yuan-ho

  Ling Hai-hsia’s family Ling Hai-hsia, unpublished memoir, pp. 1–2.

  Ling’s education Ibid., pp. 1–28.

  Ling on Yuan-ho Ibid., p. 31.

  Ling in Le-i Ibid., pp. 31–32.

  Ling’s career Ibid., pp. 33–34.

  reunion Ibid., p. 34.

  Haimen Middle School Ibid., pp. 32–53.

  plans for Yuan-ho’s future Ibid., pp. 35–44.

  1931 to 1935 From the chronological biography Yun-ho wrote down for her sister based on Yuan-ho’s own account, in Yun-ho’s diary, 11/27/84.

  Chou on Ku From Chou Ch’uan-ying’s memoir, K’un-chü sheng-ya liu-shih-nien, p. 60. Chou’s book gives a moving account of the life of a k’un-ch’ü actor in the first half of the twentieth century. It is also the most reliable source we have on the history of the Ch’uan-hsi troupe.

  “Holding my cup . . .” Hung Sheng, Ch’ang-sheng-tien, p. 108.

  He paces back and forth Ibid., pp. 108–9.

  “A Mother’s Reunion” This is a scene from The Thorn Hairpin (Ching-ch’a-chi), which was one of the most widely performed dramas during the Ming dynasty. Hsü Ling-yun’s analysis of this scene is in his book K’un-chü piao-yen i-te, pp. 104–20. The quote is on p. 110. For a short summary of this play in English, see Indiana Companion, p. 725.

  “Written While Plastered” Collected in Liu-shih-chung ch’ü, the Tsai-hao (Variegated brush) volume, pp. 31–34.

  Chou on Li Po In his memoir, Chou Ch’uan-ying has a chapter on how to bring elegance to Li Po’s drunken state when performing this scene. See pp. 144–56. The quote is from pp. 146–47.

  entertainment center Chou Ch’uan-ying, K’un-chü sheng-ya, p. 53.

  competition Ibid., p. 86.

  “In front of the stage . . .” Hsi-chü yüeh-k’an 1:1, quoted in Lu O-t’ing, K’un-chü yen-ch’u shih-kao, pp. 273–74. Lu’s book on the history of k’un-ch�
��ü opera performance is simply the best work of its kind. Lu has examined a huge amount of material and made wonderful use of the “minor pieces” (hsiao-p’in) tradition, drawing heavily from memoirs and “occasional writings.” Few cultural historians could match his range and scholarship.

  “Three silver dollars . . .” Shen-pao, February 22, 1879; quoted in Lu, K’un-chü yen-ch’u shih-kao, p. 274.

  “family troupes” Ibid., p. 123. Many Ming authors had written about the “family troupes,” the most notable being Chang Tai. Lu gives several examples in his book (pp. 123–32).

  reception halls or luxury boats Quoted in Lu, K’un-chü yen-ch’u, pp. 120, 203.

  dinner theater Quoted in ibid., p. 205.

  dancers of Ch’i See Ch’un-ch’iu ku-liang chuan-chu, under Duke Ting, tenth year, pp. 458–59. The Han historian Ssu-ma Ch’ien also included a version of this story in his biography of Confucius in Shih-chi, 47 chüan, pp. 1915–16.

  actors as “lowly” See T’an Fan’s discussion in Yu-ling-shih, pp. 164–82.

  from poor families See Chou Ch’uan-ying’s and Hou Yü-shan’s accounts of their childhood and families: Chou, K’un-chü sheng-ya, pp. 3–4, 18; Hou, Wu-t’ai sheng-huo pa-shih-nien, pp. 162–68. The quotes are from Hou, pp. 165–66.

  philosophers’ views of entertainers The writings of the Legalists and the Mohists also reflect a negative view of entertainers. See also Confucius, Analects, 18:7.

  “Family Instructions” Quoted in T’an Fan, Yu-ling-shih, p. 143.

  actors in demand Lu, K’un-chü yen-ch’u, p. 143.

  Yuan Mei David Nivison, The Life and Thought of Chang Hsüeh-ch’eng, pp. 262–65; Arthur Waley, Yuan Mei, p. 109.

  life of an actor See Chou Ch’uan-ying, K’un-chü sheng-ya, p. 74.

  guest artists and opera clubs See Lu, K’un-chü yen-ch’u, pp. 81–84, 322–24. Traditional guest artists were different from the amateurs of the last century. They were often men living on the edge of respectability—musicians, painters, calligraphers, seal engravers, doctors, merchants, and writers living off literary commissions. The opera clubs in the 1920s and 1930s were a lot more eclectic; many scholars and officials, and their families, took part in these gatherings.

  Nanking opera club Hou Yü-shan also remembered this occasion in his memoir. See Hou, Wu-t’ai sheng-huo, pp. 204–5.

  “Seeing one of his . . .” Quoted in Lu, K’un-chü yen-ch’u, p. 348.

  Ku playing Emperor Ch’ung-chen In Chou, K’un-chü sheng-ya, p. 60.

  boys in Ch’uan-hsi See Chou, K’un-chü sheng-ya, p. 15; also in Yun-ho’s diary, 12/4/84. It was Yuan-ho who told Yun-ho about these details of Ku’s life during Yun-ho’s visit to California in 1984.

  “Five- mu Plot” Chou, K’un-chü sheng-ya, p. 15.

  Mu Ou-ch’u See the biography in Boorman, Biographical Dictionary of Republican China, vol. 3, pp. 38–41. Mu Ou-ch’u also wrote a memoir, collected in Shanghai-t’an, Shanghai-jen, but most of this work is about his experience in America.

  school endowment See Chou, K’un-chü sheng-ya, pp. 11–12; Lu, p. 345.

  origin of name Ch’uan-hsi Confucius, Analects, 1:4. In the sixteenth century, the Confucian thinker Wang Yang-ming added a lot more meaning to the idea of ch’uan-hsi.

  “We were all . . .” Chou, K’un-chü sheng-ya, p. 57.

  the “star system” Ibid., pp. 57–58.

  Yen and partner withdraw support Ibid.

  “Mu Ou-ch’u and others . . .” Lu, K’un-chü yen-ch’u, p. 348.

  Ch’uan-hsi troupe after Yen and T’ao Chou, K’un-chü sheng-ya, p. 58.

  finding work Ibid., pp. 65–66.

  actor who played chief eunuch Yun-ho’s diary, 12/4/84.

  the desperate ones Chou, K’un-chü sheng-ya, pp. 74–76.

  Ku’s partner Yun-ho’s diary, 11/2/84.

  Yen’s scholarship support See Yen Hui-yü chi-nien wen-chi, pp. 77–79; and Chen-chiang wen-shih tzu-liao, p. 165.

  actors’ work See Chou, K’un-chü sheng-ya, pp. 42–44.

  Miss Yen Her name is Yen Chung-wan. See her essay about her growing up and her relationship with her father in Yen Hui-yü, pp. 92–101.

  Yen Hui-yü’s character See Yen Hui-yü, pp. 93, 96.

  Ku’s particularities Yun-ho’s diary, 12/2/84.

  “emphasize naturalness . . .” See Li Yü’s chapter on training women to sing and dance for an opera troupe in Hsien-ch’ing o-chi, vol. 1, 7:31b–33a; see also Lu’s discussion on this in K’un-chü yen-ch’u, pp. 164–65.

  prosperity, 1938 to 1939 See Poshek Fu, Passivity, Resistance, and Collaboration, pp. 46–47. See also discussion by Parks Coble in Yeh, Wartime Shanghai, p. 64.

  after 1939 Fu, Passivity, Resistance, and Collaboration, pp. 46–47.

  stock speculation Ling Hai-hsia’s memoir, pp. 54–55.

  Yen and Chou See Yen Hui-yü, p. 172; Chen-chiang wen-shih, pp. 152–53.

  end of “solitary island” See Fu, Passivity, Resistance, and Collaboration, pp. 120–21; Coble, pp. 66–67.

  Yen after return from Hong Kong See Yen Hui-yü, pp. 3, 171–73; Chen-chiang wen-shih, pp. 147–67.

  Ku Ch’uan-chieh as Yen’s student Chen-chiang wen-shih, p. 165.

  theaters closed down See Fu, Passivity, Resistance, and Collaboration, p. 121.

  actors in occupied Shanghai See Chou, K’un-chü sheng-ya, p. 74.

  “Ku-chin” Yale’s Sterling Library has all fifty-seven issues of Ku-chin, and they make interesting reading. In his book on occupied Shanghai, Poshek Fu has a whole chapter on this magazine; see Passivity, Resistance, and Collaboration, pp. 110–65.

  “that nothing is excluded . . .” Ku-chin, no. 29, p. 1106.

  food Ibid., no. 50, pp. 1843–44; no. 49, pp. 1809–10.

  “They catch . . .” Ibid., no. 29, p. 1106.

  Chi Fang See biography in Biographic Dictionary of Chinese Communism, 1921–1965, edited by Donald Klein and Anne B. Clark, vol. 1, pp. 163–66.

  jasmine flowers Ling’s memoir, p. 63.

  “I don’t know . . .” Ibid., pp. 66–67.

  Ku’s next projects Yun-ho’s diary, 11/28/84.

  Chapter 11: Yun-ho

  My conversations with Chang Yun-ho in the summers of 1996 and 1997 are the main source for this chapter. Some of the materials overlapped with what she had written in her diary, and some appeared in Yun-ho’s own autobiographical essays, especially those collected in the two volumes, Chang-chia chiu-shih and Tsui-hou te kuei-hsiu, that she published in China in 1999.

  Lord Kuan Lo Kuan-chung, San-kuo yen-i, p. 4; slightly revised from the translation in Indiana Companion, p. 23.

  “His manly spirits . . .” Moss Roberts’s translation, Three Kingdoms, p. 585.

  Death of Lord Kuan Ibid. (romanization changed).

  the abbot P’u-ching Ibid. (romanization changed). The opera that is based on this scene from the novel is Peking opera, not k’un-ch’ü. The script is a condensed version of the novel; it is cruder and less compelling than the original, but it has more popular appeal. For the text of this opera, see Kuan-kung hsien-sheng (Lord Kuan has become a divine sage) in Kuo-chü ta-ch’eng, pp. 247–53.

  conversation of Lord Kuan and the abbot P’u-ching Lo Kuan-chung, San-kuo yen-i, pp. 982–83 (my own translation).

  Wang Chüeh-wu Yun-ho, from a 1979 draft of this story.

  a child’s eyes Li-chi chu-shu 47:2a.

  “her quick eye . . .” Chang Yun-ho, Chang-chia chiu-shih, p. 62.

  Shanghai private colleges Yeh, The Alienated Academy, pp. 102–12, 195–205.

  “When Flowers . . .” Chang Yun-ho, Chang-chia chiu-shih, pp. 59, 62.

  “arrest the present” Ibid., pp. 63–65.

  “Oblivious of her tumbling hair . . .” Hsi-hsiang-chi (Western Parlor) in Liu-shih-chung ch’ü, pp. 77–78. “A Fine Occasion” is scene 27 of “Western Parlor” (Hsi-hsiang-chi). This Ming dynasty opera was adapted from a much superior work Wang Shih-fu had written in the thirteenth
century. The later, Ming version, also called the “southern version,” was set to k’un-ch’ü. The music is beautiful, but the language in the libretto has become obviously sexual and vulgar.

  Hangchow papers I could not find a copy of any local paper of that date, not even in the municipal archives in Hangchow.

  “When they bombed the area . . .” Chang Yun-ho, Chang-chia chiu-shih, p. 85.

  Yu-kuang’s letter Ibid., pp. 96–97.

  Chao-ho wired money Ibid., p. 98.

  ways to borrow money Chang Yun-ho, Tsui-hou, p. 66.

  August 13, 1968 Ibid., pp. 82–83.

  “Just as I . . .” Ibid., pp. 83–84.

  Chang Fei and Chao Tzu-lung Ibid., pp. 84–88. The description of Chang Fei in the Three Kingdoms is found in Lo Kuang-chung, San-kuo, p. 4 (the translation is my own).

  “Every person . . .” Chang Yun-ho, Tsui-hou, p. 86.

  “stay-at-home tiger” Chang Yun-ho, Chang-chia chiu-shih, pp. 147–52.

  home to Soochow Ibid., p. 153.

  “My relationship . . .” Ibid.

  Lieh Tzu The Book of Lieh Tzu, p. 49.

  letters Chang Yun-ho, Chang-chia chiu-shih, pp. 151–52.

  “My third sister and I . . .” Chang Yun-ho, Tsui-hou, pp. 65–66.

  Heart Sutra Pan-jo hsin-ching wu-chia chu, 13b–18a.

  “A Fine Occasion” Hsi-hsiang-chi in Liu-shih-chung ch’ü, pp. 77–78. (See also note to page .)

  diary Yun-ho’s diary, 8/2/84.

  Chapter 12: Chao-ho

  letter of June 1931 Shen Ts’ung-wen and Chang Chao-ho, Ts’ung-wen chia-shu (hereafter, Chia-shu), pp. 38–39. This collection of “Family Letters” also includes several of Chao-ho’s diary entries from July 1930.

  childhood in Feng-huang Shen Ts’ung-wen, Wo tu i-pen hsiao-shu (Reading a small book) in Ts’ung-wen san-wen-hsüan (hereafter, San-wen-hsüan), pp. 7–20. The quotes are from pp. 7, 10, and 12. “Reading a Small Book” is a lovely essay from Shen’s autobiographical collection (Tzu-chüan) about life in Feng-huang.

  becoming a soldier Wo shang hsü-tuo-k’e (I Have been to many classes) in Shen Ts’ung-wen, San-wen-hsüan, p. 40.