Scholar Changes a Birthday Poem

Yu Ling (1907-1997) studied Russian in his college days but later he became a playwright. During World War Two， he stayed in Shanghai. He organized a troupe and wrote and staged many influential plays. In 1943， Yu Ling came to Chongqing， the then wartime capital of China. As his 37th birthday fell on February 23， his friends including Guo Moruo， Xia Yan， Liao Mosha， Hu Sheng， and Qiao Guanhua held a birthday party at a small restaurant. At the party， friends jointly composed a short poem in honor of the playwright. Then Guo Moruo， a calligrapher， was asked to write out the poem. Guo read the poem again， feeling dissatisfied with its tone. He thought a birthday poem should be more upbeat and convey a sense of hope. So he deftly rewrote the poem， using most of the words in the original poem. All the people present at the birthday party applauded when they saw the new poem.

Cao Yu Appears in His Own Play

Thunderstorm is generally regarded as China’s best modern drama. Cao Yu (1910-1996) wrote it in 1933 at the age of 23. Before he wrote a series of timeless dramas， he was also a highly active actor and director. In the winter of 1936， Cao Yu met with some friends in Nanjing and they decided to stage Thunderstorm. Cao Yu’s acting and interpretation of the hero was still vividly remembered decades later.

Master’s Disciple and Knife Maker

One day in 1933 when Qi Baishi was holding a lecture at the Beiping School of Art， Zhang Fengming， a knife-making master， came to the school to deliver the carving tools to Master Qi. When Qi saw the business card handed in by the janitor， Qi asked the janitor to usher the master knife-maker in. Qi then wrote on the blackboard saying that Zhang’s knives were the best tools for seal engraving. It was Qi Baishi’s female disciple Liu Shudu that introduced Zhang to Qi. Qi appreciated the tools by Zhang. Liu Shudu excelled in carving seals herself. She once carved two seals for Lu Xun， which Lu Xu liked very much.

Yu Dafu Helps Chen Congwen

When Shen (1902-1988) came to Beijing to try his luck at writing， he was only 18. He lived and worked in an attic at a hostel. The winter was so cold and he was so poor that the young writer wore only two jackets and wrapped himself up with cotton bedding. Yu Dafu (1895-1945)， then an established writer， came to visit Shen. He was surprised to find Shen was so young. He encouraged Shen to keep writing. Yu asked Shen to a dinner at a nearby restaurant. After paying the bill of 1.72 yuan， Yu and Shen went back to the attic room and chatted for a while. Before leaving， Yu left the change of 3.28 and a gray wool scarf to Shen. Shen was so touched that he put his head on the table and wept.□