British writer

In the room, the three Japanese were staring at Lu Shi.

They have already felt that this young Chinese student has a profound influence on Natsume Soseki, and can even change Natsume Soseki's decision with just one sentence.

But when you think about it, it’s not surprising.

Who is Lu Shi?

The man at the helm of The Mirror!

It is precisely because of his discerning eye that "I Am Cat" became a huge success in the UK.

The three of them behaved respectfully, maintaining the standard sitting posture, with their hands clasped in front of them, showing great piety, and there was no trace of relaxation on their faces, only admiration and respect.

We looked at it curiously,

"Meow~"

The little guy probably thinks the Japanese are interesting.

Lu Shi actually found it very interesting.

Regarding age,

Shimazaki Fujimura, born in 1872, 29 years old;

Hasegawa Tatsunosuke, born in 1864, 37 years old;

Masaoka Zigui, born in 1867, 34 years old.

Compared with them, Lu Shi, who was in his early twenties, was just a young boy, but he was respected so much, which was completely opposite to the current situation of seniority in Japan.

Lu Shi pondered for a moment,

"Mr. Hasegawa, to be honest, I quite like your "Floating Clouds"."

Hasegawa was shocked,

"Ah this..."

He turned to an ecstatic expression.

Lu Shi said: "If I remember correctly, the protagonist's name is 'Utsumi Bunzo', right?"

Hasegawa nodded repeatedly,

"Yes! Wen San is an upright young man who desires to be self-denial and serve the public. However, in the officialdom, this kind of integrity and incorruptibility cannot get the recognition and protection it deserves. On the contrary, he is ostracized by his colleagues and suppressed by his superiors. In the end, Unable to realize one’s ideals.”

Lu Shi said "hmm" and recalled the content of the novel.

In "Floating Clouds", Hasegawa ponders the emptiness and uncertainty of life, as evidenced by the novel's title.

This inevitable "nihility" is a common sentiment among Japanese writers.

When Hasegawa saw Lu Shi without saying anything, he asked, "Professor Lu, do you appreciate the core of my work?"

Lu Shi smiled and did not answer directly.

He thought for a few seconds and said:

"

‘The water in Canglang is clear and can be used to wash my tassel;

The water in Canglang is turbid, you can wash my feet. ’

"

Hasegawa's expression changed.

Lu Shi quoted "Canglang Song", Chu Ci,

This is what the fisherman said to Qu Yuan. It means that when the water in the Canglang is clear, wash my crown and hair (the tassel refers to the hatband tied around my neck), and when the water in the Canglang is turbid, wash my feet. While persuading Qu Yuan to go to trial, he assessed the situation.

Hasegawa lowered his head,

"It seems that Professor Lu does not approve of it."

Lu Shi took a sip of water and said nothing.

Hasegawa said dissatisfied: "Professor Lu, do you remember what Qu Yuan said?"

Lu Shi couldn't help but become interested.

"Interesting...you actually know "Chu Ci"?"

Sinology has always occupied an important position in Japan and continues to the modern era, but "Chu Ci" is indeed a bit biased.

Hasegawa explained: "I worked for your court."

Lu Shi was surprised,

"Ah, is that so?"

Hasegawa continued: "Qu Yuan said, 'Can it be as white as Hao Hao but covered with the dust of the world?' That's it."

I recited it correctly.

Lu Shi glanced at the other party and said with a smile: "This may be somewhat convincing to others."

Hasegawa's entire face turned red.

He stopped writing novels on the grounds that "literature is not a lifelong career for a man", and then joined the world and became a translator, editor, teacher, and even a cadre of the Beijing Police Academy in the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, Qu Yuan's words have nothing to do with him.

The atmosphere in the room was a little strange.

"..."

"..."

"..."

For a full minute, no one said a word.

Lu Shi spread his hands,

"Mr. Hasegawa, it's nothing. Have you ever heard of Yuan Zhen?"

Hasegawa nodded and said: "Of course I have heard of the great poet of the Tang Dynasty. 'Poor and lowly couples are saddened by everything'~"

"Forehead……"

Lu Shi was a little confused, but he didn't expect that the sentence that impressed him the most was,

He coughed softly and said: "That is indeed a famous saying, but what I want to say is 'Once upon a time, the sea was difficult to make water, except for Wushan, it was not cloud'. You must have heard this sentence."

Hasegawa nodded,

"Yes, this sentence is very famous."

Perhaps to ease the embarrassment, Masaoka Shiki on the side also interjected: "This should be done to commemorate your lover, right? The sea is so deep and wide that it dwarfs the water elsewhere... It is really well written!"

His tone was not hypocritical.

Lu Shi said: "But Yuan Zhen took a concubine two years after his wife died."

"puff!"

Natsume Soseki just took a sip of water and sprayed it directly.

"real or fake?"

Lu Shi said, "It's true. Yuan Zhen himself was weak and sick, and he had a young daughter to take care of. He didn't hide it when he took a concubine."

He looked at Hasegawa,

"So, if your behavior is inconsistent with your work, there is nothing to be ashamed of."

Hasegawa: "..."

He felt even more ashamed.

After a few seconds,

"A sensation in your private Marseille!"

He actually gave me a big salute and actually kowtowed.

Lu Shi couldn't help but feel speechless in his heart. He got to know the Japanese better and quickly avoided the other party's face. He said, "No, no, no! You must not sit down! Don't talk about age, just based on seniority, I am your junior."

Dogeza is a Japanese "etiquette", which is to prostrate yourself to the ground to apologize or petition.

Hasegawa said: "Please forgive me, Mr. Lu."

Lu Shi could only forgive,

"Forgive. I forgive you."

I don’t even know what to forgive the other person for,

Didn't I just comfort the other person that "the behavior is inconsistent with the work, and there is nothing to be ashamed of"?

Ten thousand grass and mud horses galloped past Lu Shi's heart.

Hasegawa stood up,

"Thank you Professor Lu for your magnanimity."

Lu Shi was speechless, and after a while he said, "Okay, I accept your thanks."

He finally saw how powerful the Japanese were and decided not to talk for a while, so he honestly moved his chair back and took a sip of tea.

Natsume Soseki whispered: "Lu, this Masaoka-kun came to see me..."

Lu Shi turned his head,

"You don't need to consult me, just make your own decision."

Natsume Soseki was speechless;

People from my hometown want to borrow the fame of themselves and "I Am Cat", but essentially they are borrowing the fame of "Mirror".

Therefore, Lu Shi has the right to speak.

But seeing the way he was giving up, Natsume Soseki couldn't say anything else.

He turned to Masaoka Shiki,

"Masoka-kun, let's continue the topic we just talked about."

Masaoka Zigui looked at Lu Shi carefully, and then said: "You and I are the same age and are old acquaintances, so let's skip the unnecessary red tape and get to the point. Just now, I mentioned the "Cuckoo" magazine, you You should still be willing to lend a helping hand, right?"

In the history of Japanese literature, "Azalea" has made a profound mark.

It is worth mentioning that the magazine was named because Masaoka Shiki suffered from lung disease in 1889 and occasionally coughed up blood. It was named after the cuckoo’s cry of blood.

It was also because of this that Masaoka changed his name to Zigui.

And Natsume Soseki did contribute to "Azalea\

,"In April 1899, he published the article "British Literary and News Magazine" in the magazine, and in August he published the article "Review of Novel". Later he went to London to study.

He was just 32 years old at the time, and his literary talent was already unstoppable.

Natsume Soseki pondered,

"you say."

Masaoka Zigui said seriously: "Japan also has literature and poetry! To strengthen ourselves, we must do what Yamazaki Muneken and Matsuo Basho did. You have read my "Basho Miscellanies" before, what do you think of that work? ?”

Yamazaki Soken was revered by later generations as the "ancestor of haiku", while Matsuo Basho was called the "saint of haiku" by the Japanese.

Both men played a decisive role in the development of Japanese haiku.

As for Masaoka Zigui himself,

In the evaluation of later generations, he is also considered to have made a great contribution to haiku. He is the author of "Essentials of Haiku" and the "Cuckoo" he presided over, which has the potential to unify the entire haiku poetry world and has a great influence.

Natsume Soseki couldn't help but feel a little moved.

If we can really promote haiku, we will surely be famous for generations to come.

He looked at Lu Shi,

"Lu, do you still remember the haiku I mentioned to you before?"

Lu Shi nodded and said, "Well, I also know a song by Matsuo Basho, 'Beside the ancient pond of tranquility, a frog makes a quiet sound when it enters the middle of the water.'"

Although these three lines may seem silly when spoken in Chinese, they have a special charm when sung in Japanese.

Zhenggang Zigui closed his eyes and listened quietly.

Later, he praised: "The tranquility is elegant. Professor Lu's Japanese is very standard. Of course, the main reason is that Basho's poem "Ancient Pond" is well written. The moment the frog jumped into the ancient pond, the surrounding silence was the same as the frog jumping into the pond. The movement is perfectly combined, and there is a subtle aftertaste of emotion.”

Lu Shi was speechless,

"I'm just doing my best. This is the only song I know how to sing."

Masaoka Shiki asked curiously: "Just one song is enough to be knowledgeable. Where has Professor Lu heard haiku?"

Lu Shi said: "After all, it was introduced to Japan from China, so it is not difficult to draw inferences from one example. Plus, I already understand Japanese, so I can remember it after listening to it once."

There is nothing false in this statement.

However, Masaoka Shiki's eyebrows jumped and he said: "Professor Lu, haiku is a kind of classical short poem in Japan. It consists of three sentences with seventeen tones as one, the first sentence has five tones, the second sentence has seven tones, and the last sentence has five tones. Requirements Strict, subject to 'Jiyu' restrictions."

Lu Shi could tell that the other party was not trying to popularize science, but correcting it.

Maybe it's because my sentence "introduced from China" just now was a bit harsh.

Lu Shi thought about it for a while before he remembered that "Jiyu" refers to the seasonal terms used to express spring, summer, autumn, winter and New Year.

In addition to terms expressing climate such as "showers" and "snow", there are also names of animals and plants such as "cherry blossoms" and "cicadas". In addition, customs such as "Yangchun noodles" are also commonly used.

These are all overused ideas in Chinese poetry. Can they be used as examples?

Lu Shi glanced at Masaoka Shiki and said, "Mr. Masaoka, does Matsuo Basho have a saying, 'In the long summer, the grass and trees are deep, and the warriors leave traces of their dreams'? This should be a reference to 'The country is broken, the mountains and rivers are there, and the city is springing with deep grass and trees.' It seems that there is no problem when I say that haiku comes from China."

Zhenggang Zigui was confused.

"Mr. Lu, didn't you say that the only song you could sing was "Guchi"?"

Lu Shi spread his hands and said, "Yeah, I can only sing one song, but I can memorize many songs. Another example is, 'It rains on the journey, and the whole life is spent in the rain.'"

This haiku is adapted from Su Shi's "Ding Feng Bo\

,"High school students can memorize it.

Masaoka Zigui looked surprised, obviously he didn't expect Lu Shi to be so familiar with haiku.

He argued forcefully: "Most Japanese haiku poets can write Chinese poems, so naturally there are many cases of converting Chinese Chinese poems into haiku."

The corner of Lu Shi's mouth curled up,

"Yes. Although the forms of haiku, waka, and Chinese poetry are different, they have the same interests. Among them, haiku and Chinese poetry have many similarities, because haiku is derived from the quatrains of Chinese poetry."

Masaoka Shiki:! ! !

If the expression just now was one of surprise, then now it is one of fright.

He couldn't catch his breath and coughed violently.

"Cough cough cough cough..."

Shimazaki Fujimura on the side quickly supported Masaoka Shiki and called: "Sir! Sir!"

Zhenggang Zigui raised his hand,

"It's okay. I'm fine."

When he looked at Lu Shi, he couldn't help but tremble at the other person's profound knowledge.

Because what Lu Shi said just now is exactly what Zhenggang Zigui said in "Letter to a Singer\

,"Unexpectedly, he was attacked by Zi's spear and attack Zi's shield.

It's just that no one present, except Lu Shi and Masaoka Zigui, knew the inside story, so they were a little confused and stared at each other.

Natsume Soseki asked curiously: "Masaoka-kun, what's wrong?"

Masaoka Shiki couldn't answer.

Lu Shiming didn't say that he had already saved enough face for him.

So, he also...

"A sensation in your private Marseille!"

Doge seat!

Lu Shi was so beaten up that he had two big heads and two heads. He quickly moved away from the direction where the opponent was kowtowing.

He really couldn't help complaining: "Why do you think you Japanese are like this? One or two...Oh, I finally understand what shame culture is."

Shame culture comes from "The Chrysanthemum and the Knife\

,"Lu Shi did not agree with the core views of that book.

After all, the author is a person who cannot speak Japanese at all and has never been to Japan in his life. This "academic work" hastily been pieced together in less than a year based on stereotypes and brainwashing. It is good if it is not garbage on the street.

But there is still merit in the content about shame culture, a hidden gem in the ocean.

What's more, Lu Shi was indeed taken down by Tu, so he couldn't believe it.

Zhenggang Zigui lowered his head and said: "The "Book of Rites: Doctrine of the Mean" says, 'Knowing shame is close to courage', and 'shame' is not necessarily a bad thing."

Looking at the other party's "Book of Rites", Lu Shi immediately corrected: "The 'shame' of 'knowing shame is almost courageous' is different from your 'shame'. The former is because you feel ashamed because you have done something wrong, and the latter is because you have failed. And feel ashamed."

Zhenggang Zigui was stunned,

"What's the difference? Won't you face failure if you do something wrong? Both...well..."

Suddenly, he was speechless.

After a while, he said: "Professor Lu, you are right, we should reflect on it."

Lu Shi was speechless for a while, but he didn't expect that he would send a reflection paper to the Japanese.

He waved his hand casually,

"fine."

Masaoka Shiki sighed, as if he didn't want to stay here any longer, and said to Natsume Soseki: "Natsume-kun, I leave it to you to contribute to "Azalea"."

After saying that, he bowed deeply to Lu Shi and left directly.

Hasegawa and Shimazaki Fujimura looked at each other, quickly said goodbye to Riku Toki and Natsume Soseki, and quickly followed.

The three left Blea Road.

Hasegawa asked: "Sir, why... why did you suddenly..."

Shimazaki Fujimura on the side also looked puzzled.

Masaoka Shiki said: "Professor Lu is indeed a leader in history. He really understands us Japanese very well."

Hasegawa:? ? ?

Shimazaki Fujimura:? ? ?

The two of them still didn't know what was going on.

Masaoka Zigui said seriously: "What he just said woke me up. As he said, I don't seem to be ashamed of doing something wrong, but...I was discovered, I failed, too' Shame on you."

Hasegawa was stunned for a moment, and then fell into deep thought.

Shimazaki Fujimura on the other side said: "Is there any difference?"

Hasegawa whispered: "Shimazaki-kun, you are still too young. We take right and wrong too lightly, and failure too seriously. We even have a set of apology 'rituals' to deal with failure, and the 'ritual' is carried out It’s over, some mistakes are gone.”

Shimazaki Fujimura: "..."

He remained silent, still not understanding.

Masaoka Zigui looked towards the sky and murmured to himself:

"What fate will we face in the future if we keep doing this?"

He didn't dare to think about it.

The autumn in London brought a cool breeze, but it felt like the whiplash of winter cold on his body. He didn't know whether it was caused by psychological effects or lung disease.

He said: "Shimazaki-kun, continue to complete the book "Broken Ring" according to your idea. When you complete it, you may understand."

Shimazaki Fujimura nodded confusedly,

"Okay. But, Mr. Natsume... alas..."

Zhenggang Zigui did not take over.

Natsume Soseki became popular in the UK, which is certainly important to the Japanese literary world.

However, the really powerful one was Lu Shi.

The brief contact made Masaoka Zigui realize who was the Bole.

He whispered: "I read "The Insignificant Year 1587" before and thought it was mediocre and far less comprehensive than "Guns, Germs and Steel". But after contacting Professor Lu today, my mind changed. , I even want to ask him to write a book to analyze us Japanese."

Shimazaki Fujimura was surprised,

"Him? A Chinese?"

Masaoka Shiki corrected: "A Chinese who can recite haiku."