top of page

Take my father's homesickness with you again

Zhou Mi

Updated: 1 day ago

Zhou Mi


A friend sent me a message about the "Haining Yanguan Tide Watching Scenic Area". It was rare that he thought of me who was on the other side of the earth during his trip to Jiaxing City. It was really touching. The first paragraph of the article reads: "Yanguan is a thousand-year-old ancient city and a world-famous pilgrimage site for watching the Qiantang River tide. The Qiantang River tide is also known as the Haining tide. Since ancient times, the world's wonder, the Qiantang River tide, has been known for its unique and magnificent beauty. The Yanguan Tide Watching Park and the surrounding areas such as Dakoukou and Laoyancang are the best places to watch the Qiantang Tide, a wonder of the world.



West Lake Scenery
West Lake Scenery

Born and raised in Taiwan, I have lived in the United States for 30 years. My ancestral home is Yanguan, Haining, Zhejiang. Although I have heard my father talk about the wonders and spectacular momentum of the Qiantang River tide since I was a child, and I have also seen it on TV, but I have never seen it. It is truly a heart-shaking thing to witness it with my own eyes.

In 2006, I flew to China for the first time to attend the 9th Conference of the Overseas Chinese Women Writers Association held at Fudan University in Shanghai.

Taking advantage of the meeting, I met with my cousin and two cousins ​​whom I had never met before and their families, and went to my mother's hometown, Sijing Town, Songjiang. Thanks to their warm hospitality, they drove me to Suzhou and Hangzhou for a short tour. On the Shanghai-Hangzhou Expressway, I saw the large billboard of Haining Leather City from afar, and my heart was beating fast. That was my father’s hometown, the hometown he longed for but could never return to. In the preface to his book The Essentials of the Book of Changes, he expressed his deep regret for not being able to attend his mother's funeral.

Carrying my father's sorrow with me, I was unable to rush back to my hometown due to my tight schedule and could only pay my respects to Haining in the distance. Our group went to Hangzhou to visit Lingyin Temple and tour West Lake, from the "Three Pools Mirroring the Moon" around the "Leifeng Pagoda Sunset" peninsula, passing by the West Lake where "Orioles Singing on the Waves" is located. Then we went to Louwailou for dinner. Then we visited the Zhejiang Provincial Museum and admired the Liangzhu cultural relics with a history of 6,000 to 7,000 years. This is one of the origins of Chinese culture. Many jade articles have turned grayish white, which corresponds to what we have learned in the book, thus enhancing our understanding of the Chinese culture.

Recognition.

When we passed by the Xiling Seal Society, we just walked around and left. Ten years later, I still regret that I passed by the seal society's gate and failed to explore the treasures.

In 2007, when I was doing research at the St. Louis Museum of Art, I came across the books and periodicals of the Xiling Seal Society and saw my grandfather's name, Zhou Chengde. It turned out that he was one of the founding members of the seal society.

The landmark building of Xiling Seal Society Garden is the "Avatamsaka Sutra Pagoda". The pagoda is octagonal and has eleven floors. It is built of white stone and has flying eaves carved on every two floors. Bells are hung on the eaves. It stands on the top of a solitary mountain behind Xiling Seal Society. There are stone inscriptions of the Diamond Sutra written by Jin Nong, one of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou in the Qing Dynasty, the Avatamsaka Sutra written by Zhou Chengde of Haining, and the Xiling Temple written by Master Hongyi (also known as Li Shutong), a good friend of my grandfather. "The inscription on the sutra written on the Huayan Pagoda". I had the opportunity to see my grandfather's handwriting in person that day, but I missed it. It's really a pity!

Since I successfully passed the college entrance examination and entered the History Department of National Chengchi University, I took time out to learn calligraphy, painting and seal carving, which I had long admired. Whenever I was practicing calligraphy under the lamp, my father would say to me with a sigh: "You are the only one who inherited your grandfather's interest." At that time, I learned that he had studied in Japan and graduated from Waseda University. My grandfather was not only the principal of Hangzhou Salt Administration Primary School, but also the author of many inscriptions for important temples and businesses in Hangzhou at that time. I think he was also a famous calligrapher in the early years of the Republic of China.

My grandfather once took my father to Hangzhou for a trip and bought him a toy car. This incident often lingered in my father's mind, and he often told my brother and me that his admiration for him was beyond words. Because the house was filled with the smell of boiling Chinese medicine for a long time afterwards, he and his grandfather never had the chance to play again. His father lost his father when he was ten years old, and he experienced the hardship of the family's decline. Fortunately, his older sister, who was married, supported him like a mother, so he was able to be admitted to the Department of Civil Engineering of Zhejiang University. At the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War, he joined the army. The brief relationship between my grandfather and my father is still quite sad to think about.

A friend once asked me whether my family had any calligraphy works by my grandfather. Even my father didn’t have a single piece of my grandfather’s calligraphy, let alone me, his grandson. Since the development of the Internet, I sometimes see my grandfather’s calligraphy appearing in gallery auctions, and I have tried to bid, but it is a long way to go.

Now that my children have grown up, it is relatively easy for them to travel abroad. I think I must take my father’s homesickness with me on this trip again. Visit the Xiling Seal Society that we just passed by. Visit Haining and admire the gentle tides that your father once witnessed.



Xiling Seal Society
Xiling Seal Society

[Attached is a letter from Zhejiang Daily dated June 5, 2016]

Hello Zhou Mi!

I am Zhang Jianmin, editor-in-chief of Zhejiang Daily Overseas Edition. We are very happy to receive your manuscript and thank you very much for your strong support for our overseas edition!

According to your manuscript description, I know that you come from a famous family and are the grandson of our Zhejiang celebrity Zhou Chengde. I am very happy and honored to meet you!

Your hometown is Yanguan, which is the best place to watch the Qiantang Tide in history. It was the time of the Qiantang Tide. Bai Juyi, who had served as the governor of Hangzhou in the Tang Dynasty, lived in his hometown, Xiangshan, Luoyang, in his later years. What he missed most was the three years he served as an official in Hangzhou, so when he was dying he wrote the poem "Recollections of Jiangnan" which has been passed down for more than a thousand years: Recalling Jiangnan, I miss Hangzhou the most. I search for osmanthus flowers in the mountain temple under the moon, and look at the lake from my pillow in the pavilion. When will I visit again? . I hope you have time to return to your hometown with your father’s homesickness. Watch the tide, enjoy the beautiful scenery, taste the local food, and breathe the hometown

The air will definitely make you miss home more! Welcome to come back to your hometown! You can contact me when you come!

Editor-in-Chief of Zhejiang Daily Overseas Edition: Zhang Jianmin

【appendix】

I remember where I saw your grandfather's calligraphy, but I can't remember the exact place. I checked the information. Your grandfather Zhou Chengde (1877~1935), whose courtesy name was Yishun, was also known as Yisheng, Tiesheng, Tieweng, and Guanwu Jushi. He was born in Yanguan, Haining. He was fond of calligraphy since childhood. He passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen and became a student on government academy.

Later he went to study in Japan and entered Seijo School for preliminary preparation. He was highly regarded by the school supervisor Inukai Tsuyoshi, who was an expert in calligraphy, and later was admitted to the Department of Natural History at Waseda University. He returned to China around the 26th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1900 AD) and was hired as a teacher at the Qiushi Academy in Hangzhou. Later, the college was renamed Zhejiang Higher School, and he taught at the Superior Normal School and the First Normal School. In addition to natural history, he also taught mathematics and calligraphy. He once participated in the literary group Nanshe and was one of the founders of Xiling Seal Society, and once served as its president. He met with Liu Yazi, Shao Lizi, Su Manzhu, Ma Yifu, Zhang Zongxiang, Li Shutong, Jing Hengyi and others. Chengde was obsessed with calligraphy and he would practice calligraphy every day regardless of the cold or heat. He copied Han and Wei dynasty inscriptions and Tang and Song dynasty calligraphy dozens or hundreds of times, over and over again, until he finally mastered the art and developed his own style. Kang Youwei called him "the only one in Zhejiang Province", and Zhang Taiyan wrote a couplet to exchange with him. Later, as all his friends in the school left one after another, Li Shutong shaved his head and became a monk. Chengde felt that his friends had faded away and the world was full of troubles. He gradually wanted to leave the world, so he gradually gave up his teaching position and made a living by selling calligraphy. His handwriting was widely circulated, and his couplets and screens can often be found in temples and mansions around West Lake. His large characters can often be seen in scenic spots in eastern and western Zhejiang, and are well-known throughout the country. He can also write orchids and bamboos in calligraphy, and his brushstrokes are very interesting; he can also make seals with the style of Qin, Han and Six Dynasties.


Ms. Zhou Mi is currently a researcher at the Asian Art Street Department of the St. Louis Museum of Art and a reporter for the World Journal. He won a scholarship from the American Maritime University and traveled to more than ten countries, and wrote his experiences in "One Hundred Days at Maritime University". He also published books such as "The World of Zhuangzi" and "Xiaolong's World in the Art Garden". Won the Excellence Award in the "Care Essay Contest" co-organized by Taiwan's New Life News and the Information Department. Won the third prize in the social category of the essay competition "Nebula Model of Humanistic Buddhism" organized by Tianxia Culture Mainland. In 2015, he was awarded the Edinghen Research Scholarship and went to the UK as a "Royal Oak Foundation Scholar" to study castles and ancient houses in different historical stages, as well as art collections of aristocrats.

4 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page