About 50 kilometers northwest of London, there is a small town called Luton. In a quiet village to the east of the suburbs, there lived a famous figure, Bernard Shaw.
From 1906 until his death, George Bernard Shaw lived in this country house.
Bernard Shaw is 76 years old this year, and his beard has turned silvery white, but he does not look old at all. He is still as energetic as when he was young. He was reading a magazine article and laughing to himself.
Said: "Metaphor is a universal way of thinking and cognitive means for human beings. This explanation is really interesting."
"An interesting person is here to visit you." His wife Charlotte suddenly said standing at the door of the study.
George Bernard Shaw immediately stood up and said with a smile: "I want to greet the little guy personally."
Bernard Shaw received a letter from Zhou Hexuan a few days ago. In his reply, he agreed that the two of them would meet in these few days. George Bernard Shaw quickly came to the living room and saw that Zhou Hexuan had already come in and sat down, accompanied by an astonishingly beautiful woman.
young woman.
Mr. Bernard Shaw, who was already very old, couldn't help but feel a little upset. He withdrew his gaze and shook hands with Zhou Hexuan and said, "Hello, guest from the East."
"Hello, Western humor master," Zhou Hexuan introduced with a smile, "This is my girlfriend Vivian."
Vivien Leigh quickly bowed and shook hands, as if worshiping an idol, even her body was trembling slightly.
Old Lady Charlotte personally brought the coffee, smiled at Zhou Hexuan and Vivien Leigh, sat down next to them and said: "Zhou, I read your paper on Shakespeare's drama research and linguistics, it's really refreshing.
"
"It's just my little idea." Zhou Hexuan smiled.
George Bernard Shaw's wife was no ordinary person either. She was an early member of the Fabian Society, an Irish activist, and actively engaged in the feminist movement. Today's feminism is true feminism, and they advocate equality between men and women, especially political equality.
.
What's more, the Fabian Society directly helped to establish the British Labor Party, and it has existed as a think tank for the Labor Party for decades. Bernard Shaw's wife Charlotte, as an early member of the Fabian Society, has more knowledge and insights than most men today.
Better.
Of course, no matter how outstanding a woman is, she is still a woman, and jealousy is inevitable.
According to legend, Charlotte once used a telescope, like a secret agent, to spy on her husband and his lover's secret trysts. It is estimated that Hedong Lion's Roar should have happened more than once or twice.
Bernard Shaw was also good at playing, and at least two lovers were exposed. Last year, London's Cansta Press also published a special "Correspondence of Bernard Shaw", which was all written by Bernard Shaw to the British actress Ellen Daly.
love letter.
Moreover, Bernard Shaw had a hobby when it came to women. As long as the lover he really liked, no matter whether the other party had a husband or not, he would try every means to make his lover bigger. When he was in his 60s, he successfully made an American actress in her 20s work for him.
When he gave birth to a child, the husband of the other party unexpectedly became his father without knowing it. The illegitimate child did not find out until he was middle-aged that he was George Bernard Shaw's son.
Bernard Shaw held his pipe in his mouth, lit a match and said: "Zhou, I heard that you have established an international anti-war organization?"
"Yes, our pursuit is world peace." Zhou Hexuan said.
George Bernard Shaw smiled and said: "Then I must participate. It would be a pity to miss this kind of thing. By the way, you have publicly called for a boycott of fascism, so what do you think of communism?"
Zhou Hexuan blinked: "I'm just like you."
"Hahahaha!" George Bernard Shaw laughed, "It's so funny."
Bernard Shaw's attitude towards communism was very subtle. He sympathized with the Russian October Revolution. He studied books such as "Das Kapital" when he was young. He even went to the Soviet Union to celebrate his 75th birthday last year. But the "progressive socialism" he advocated in the UK
, but believes that socialist reform should abide by the British Constitution, abide by ethics and morals, avoid the use of violence, and use a gentle way to promote Britain to become a socialist country.
Zhou Hexuan said that his attitude is the same as that of Bernard Shaw. He does not support the theory of "gradual socialism", but believes that the development of socialism or communism should respect specific national conditions and adopt different methods. For example, the authoritarian, backward and corrupt Tsarist Russia must
Relying on violence to overthrow the old rulers; in Britain, which has a sound social system, it must take a gradual route. Relying solely on violence is completely unworkable.
Zhou Hexuan said: "I firmly believe that the future world belongs to socialism."
"Me too." George Bernard Shaw smiled.
Zhou Hexuan is not talking nonsense. Looking at the Western countries after World War II, the entire Europe is moving closer to socialism, and countries such as Britain and France have continued to carry out socialist reforms.
Bernard Shaw soon talked about his experience in the Soviet Union and commented: "The Soviet Union's first five-year plan developed very smoothly. Although it had various flaws, it achieved amazing achievements. As long as the Soviet Union is given another ten years to develop,
, will definitely be able to catch up with, or even surpass, the UK.”
"I think so too," Zhou Hexuan said, "but the key point in Europe and the whole world lies in Germany, not the Soviet Union. Germany is now like a pot of hot oil that is gradually boiling. If it touches a little bit of cold water, the oil will splash everywhere.
.”
Bernard Shaw nodded and said: "Germany is indeed in a bad situation. Hitler is about to lead Germany on a dangerous path. Although anti-Semitism is a European tradition, Nazi ideas are still too radical. The most alarming thing is that Nazi ideas have begun to gain traction.
The majority of the German people agree. One Hitler is not terrible, but tens of millions of Hitlers are too terrible."
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "As an Asian, I actually don't care much about the European form. In the Far East, Japan is the dangerous beast. They have shown their claws and are ready to tear up and devour everything in front of them."
"Really?" Bernard Shaw said in surprise, "I don't know much about this. But I sincerely wish China and hope that China can get rid of colonization by foreign powers and become a truly free country."
"Thank you for your blessing. Perhaps Mr. Bernard Shaw can go to China to see it in person." Zhou Hexuan said.
Even if Zhou Hexuan does not invite him, Bernard Shaw will go to China next year to inspect China's resistance to Japanese aggression. He smiled and asked: "When will you return to Asia? I can go with you."
"Really? That's great, it will be next month." Zhou Hexuan said happily.
Vivien Leigh was a little disappointed sitting next to her. She originally wanted to listen to Bernard Shaw talk about drama art, but the two women kept talking about political issues, and Vivien Leigh was not interested at all.
Although Bernard Shaw was the Tarzan Beidou in the British theater world, he preferred to be a political theorist, and he indeed made considerable theoretical contributions to the political reform of Britain in the coming decades.
Bernard Shaw should be lucky that he was born in a country with a relatively stable political environment. The "gradual socialism" he participated in proposing can be realized step by step by forming a political party. In contrast, Chinese colleagues, such as Zhang Junmai, Li Huang and others, they formed
The political party can only serve as a foil to the Kuomintang. Without its own guns, it is impossible to achieve its ideals.
Of course, neither as a dramatist nor as a political theorist, these two identities are not what Bernard Shaw is most famous for.
The vast majority of Chinese people have an impression of Bernard Shaw as a joker. Even in the 21st century, the Internet is still full of all kinds of jokes about Bernard Shaw.
For example, a little girl wrote to George Bernard Shaw and said: "You are the writer I admire the most. To show my love for you, I plan to name my little poodle after you. What do you think?" George Bernard Shaw
He wrote back: "Dear child, I fully agree with your sincere hope. But the most important point is that you must discuss it with your little poodle and obtain its consent."
Another example is the founder of American modern dance, Isadora, who jokingly wrote a letter to woo Bernard Shaw, hoping to have a child with him so that she could have both her beauty and his wisdom. George Bernard Shaw actually wrote back: "If the child looks like me
, and what should I do if my brain is like yours?”
Even after George Bernard Shaw died, he was still making jokes. The epitaph on his grave reads: "I have known for a long time that no matter how long I live, this kind of thing will definitely happen."
If Bernard Shaw lived in the Internet age, he would definitely become the greatest joker.
