Shen Ning from the United States: Feng Ziqi

Shen Ning from the United States: Feng Ziqi Almost before I could remember, I had become familiar with a calligraphy and painting hanging on the wall of my parents’ bedroom. Above are two tall pine trees, growing in...

Almost before I could remember, I had become familiar with a calligraphy and painting hanging on the wall of my parents’ bedroom. Above are two tall pine trees, growing together. The tree is very tall and quite straight. The trunk is very long and stretches into the sky. Only at the top of the trunk are there some branches and leaves, which looks a bit strange. Under such a tall tree, stood two children. They were so small that their faces could hardly be seen clearly. They were a boy and a girl, holding hands. When I was four or five years old and started to learn calligraphy with my parents, my father read the calligraphy and painting to me. In the upper right corner of the calligraphy and painting, there are two lines of words written in a vertical arrangement. The font is very interesting, like a child's handwriting. It is crooked but very beautiful. Father read the eight larger characters: Two pines have the same root, and they will remain green for a hundred years. A line of smaller words on the left reads: Happy wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Su Ruqinxun. The signature is: Feng Zikai. When I get older, I will know who Feng Zika is. Feng Zikai is a native of Tongxiang, Zhejiang Province. He belongs to Jiaxing Prefecture and is considered the same hometown as his father. My father was also very proud to tell me that he and Mr. Feng Ziyi attended the same No. 1 Normal University in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Mr. Feng Ziqi graduated from the school in 1919, and his father graduated in 1939. Twenty years apart, they are still alumni. However, his father did not know Mr. Feng Zika until he entered Chongqing Central University. Regarding my parents’ life experience at Chongqing Central University, I have recorded it in detail in another article titled “Disciples of the Emperor” and I will not repeat it here. But because this article is specifically about Mr. Feng Zikai, a special explanation must be made.

When collecting information about Mr. Feng Zika, I found that there are official historical records in China that openly state: The son Feng Chenbao and the daughter Feng Yiyin have been devoted to the compilation and research of their father's works for a long time. Such a mistake left me dumbfounded and dumbfounded. Now that we know that Feng Chenbao devoted himself to studying his father's works, how could we not know that Feng Chenbao was not a man, but a woman? I told my father about this mistake, and he couldn't help laughing for several seconds. Ms. Feng Chenbao and her parents were in the same class at Chongqing Central University for three years. Perhaps some people call Feng Chenbao a young master, so some "educated people" with no cultural knowledge regard her as the son of Mr. Feng Zika. As everyone knows, in old-style Chinese literati, in order to show respect, ladies are called young master and sir. If we honor Mr. Soong Ching Ling, shouldn’t we also treat the mother of the country as a man? Some people may be afraid of being misunderstood by those who are ignorant and unskilled, so they use the term "female young master". For example, Mr. Feng Zika's female young master Feng Chenbao will be much clearer. I don’t know why, but the world seems to have a hard time with Mr. Feng Ziya’s children. Now in Beijing, some people call Miss Feng Chenbao, the daughter of Mr. Feng Ziya, their son. Fifty years ago in Chongqing, some people also called Mr. Feng Huazhan, the son of Mr. Feng Ziya, their son. During the Anti-Japanese War, Chongqing's "Central Daily News" published an article about Mr. Feng Huazhan's winning in a college student academic competition, which included the words "thousands of dollars". That daughter is a respectful term for the other lady. The reporter regarded Mr. Feng Huazhan as the daughter of Mr. Feng Zika. In Chongqing at that time, Mr. Feng Ziqi and his wife read the report. After laughing, they said to their son: You'd better write to the newspaper and ask the newspaper to correct it, otherwise you may not be able to find a wife in the future. It is said that Mr. Feng Huazhan actually wrote a letter to the newspaper to clarify. It seems that the so-called literary and historical scholars in China are quite careless and make up the tradition at will without seeking a thorough explanation. Readers from all over the world, please be careful. What is printed in black and white must be thought twice and cannot be trusted easily. In fact, Mr. Feng Zika's daughter-in-law, Feng Chenbao, was not only in the same class as my father and mother at Chongqing Central University, but also in the same class as her own eldest brother, Mr. Feng Huazhan. Mr. Feng Huazhan was also a very good friend with his father and mother. Perhaps because of this, when his parents got married in Shanghai, Mr. Feng Zika would make a special calligraphy and painting as a gift. At home, we all call Mr. Feng Huazhan uncle. During the Anti-Japanese War, Mr. Feng Ziqi first moved to Yishan, Guangxi, and then to Zunyi, Guizhou with Zhejiang University where he taught. He arrived in Chongqing in 1942 and taught at the National Art College. His son, Mr. Feng Huazhan, later transferred from Zhejiang University in Zunyi to Chongqing Central University. In the same year, my father went to Chongqing alone and transferred from Jinan University to Central University to study. My mother also moved to Chongqing with her grandfather's family and transferred from Kunming Southwest Associated University to Central University. It is obvious that these three people, from three different places, all came together as transfer students at Chongqing Central University. According to my third uncle's recollection, he graduated from elementary school in Nan'an, Chongqing and was about to take the entrance examination for middle school. His mother encouraged him to apply for Nankai Middle School and took him to register and take the exam. At that time, Nankai Middle School was located in Shapingba, Chongqing, together with Central University. The exam took two consecutive days. In order to save the time and energy of traveling back and forth, my mother decided not to send my uncle back to Nan'an home after registration, so she discussed with her classmate Miss Feng Chenbao to stay at Mr. Feng Ziya's house for a night or two. At that time, Mr. Feng Zikai's home was on a flat land near the Central Radio transmitting tower in Xiaolongkan, Chongqing. A bamboo wall surrounded the small courtyard, and a small bamboo sign hung at the door with the words "Shaping House" written on it. The house is made of bamboo frames coated with lime plaster, and most of the furniture in the house is made of bamboo. At home, Mr. Feng Zikai wears a Chinese coat and trousers and a goatee. He is very kind to his mother and third uncle. While my third uncle was taking exams at Nankai Middle School, he stayed at Mr. Feng Zikai’s house for two days and three nights. Before leaving, Mr. Feng also gave his third uncle a small comic book of his. It was fate again. After graduating from college, Miss Feng Chenbao applied to teach English at Nankai Middle School and became my third uncle's teacher. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Mr. Feng Ziqi returned to Hangzhou, Zhejiang, his parents returned to Shanghai and Nanjing, and Mr. Feng Huazhan went to the United States to study. They went their separate ways, but kept in touch. After 1949, Mr. Feng Ziqi lived in Shanghai all year round, and his parents moved to Beijing. Although Mr. Feng Huazhan taught in Shanghai, his wife was in Beijing, so he often went north to be with his parents. The history of the exchanges between my family and Mr. Feng Huazhan’s family during that period is reproduced below. It was 1988, the tenth anniversary of my mother's death. The three of us children compiled a commemorative book and wrote letters to our mother's relatives and friends, requesting commemorative texts. Uncle Feng wrote and sent them.