Zhou Hexuan returned to Shanghai by boat and unexpectedly met Fairbank and Fei Weimei at the dock.
"Mr. Zhou, what a coincidence." Fairbank smiled.
Zhou Hexuan nodded and said, "Yes, what a coincidence. Where did you come from?"
Fei Weimei said: "We have just returned from an inspection trip to Fuzhou. Where is Mr. Zhou?"
"I went to Xiamen to visit an eminent monk." Zhou Hexuan said.
Fairbank was very interested in this: "Are you a Buddhist? I know only a little about Buddhism. Maybe I will write a paper on Buddhism in the future."
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "Then you can visit Master Taixu. I think you should be able to chat."
"Maybe," Fairbank said, "I came to Shanghai this time to visit customs officials and find detailed historical information about China's customs."
Zhou Hexuan said: "I happen to have a house in Shanghai. If you two don't mind it, you can stay with me for a few days."
"Thank you, Mr. Zhou." Fei Weimei immediately thanked her happily. They are not rich. They have spent almost all their money after traveling for several months for inspections. In addition, the rent in Shanghai is expensive, so they can save a lot of money.
The rent is really hard to come by.
Several people took a rickshaw and soon arrived at the garden house on Haig Road.
As soon as he got home, the servant reported: "Master, Mr. Xu Zhimo came to visit two days ago and said that if you come back, give him a call to let him know."
"I understand," Zhou Hexuan nodded and ordered, "These two are Mr. Fei and Mrs. Fei. You take them to choose a guest room."
"Okay, sir," the servant said respectfully, "Mr. Fei, Mrs. Fei, please come with me."
After the two foreigners went upstairs, Zhou Hexuan called Xu Zhimo: "Zhimo, do you have something to do with me?"
"Mingcheng... um, I..." Xu Zhimo hesitated, as if there was something he couldn't say.
Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "Come to my house and tell me in person if you have anything."
"Okay, see you later!" Xu Zhimo immediately hung up the phone.
Zhou Hexuan put down the phone, opened the suitcase he carried with him, and carefully took out four calligraphy works, which were calligraphy works by Master Taixu, Master Chang Xing (the current abbot of Nanputuo Temple), Li Shutong and Lu Bicheng.
The calligraphy of these four people each has its own characteristics——
Lu Bicheng's writing is a regular script, which is characterized by its straightness, elegance and elegance, but its shortcoming is that it is more graceful and lacks aura.
Master Chang Xing writes in running script, which is characterized by free and easy writing, quiet and elegant. Look at his words and know his heart. This is a mountain hermit with a peaceful temperament. But there are also shortcomings. His writing and starting are too correct.
, seems to be free and reclusive, but in fact it is bound by some rules and regulations, and it is difficult to truly let go.
What Li Shutong wrote was a set of regular scripts. To be honest, Zhou Hexuan couldn't appreciate it because he thought it was not as good as the one written by Lu Bicheng. Before becoming a monk, this master took the Fa Wei stele and his calligraphy followed a vigorous and majestic path. But after he became a monk,
His style immediately changed drastically, but the change became incomplete. His words were full of conflict and depression, hiding a tangled emotion, as if he had not yet completely freed himself from the world.
What surprised Zhou Hexuan the most was the calligraphy of Master Taixu. The content was very simple: "Namo Amituo Buddha - Taixu."
Perhaps from a professional calligraphy perspective, Monk Taixu's calligraphy is not as good as that of top calligraphers, but his writing is really tasteful. If I use a four-character idiom to describe it, it would be "calm and leisurely". How do you think about it?
Comfortable.
Without the rigidity of Lu Bicheng, the restraint of Master Chang Xing, and the entanglement of Li Shutong, Monk Taixu showed a kind of detachment. Judging from his handwriting, Monk Taixu has reached the state of "not sticking to external things".
Zhou Hexuan carefully admired the four calligraphy works. Soon Fairbank, Fei Weimei and his wife put away their luggage and went downstairs. They chatted about modern Chinese history.
About half an hour later, Xu Zhimo came in a hurry. After he entered the living room, he saw two foreigners there and was stunned for a moment: "Mingcheng, who are these two?"
Zhou Hexuan introduced: "They are Mr. Fairbank and Mrs. Fairbank."
"Oh," Xu Zhimo reacted immediately, shook hands enthusiastically and said, "Hello, Mr. Fei, hello Mrs. Fei, I am Xu Zhimo, and I have often heard brother Shi mention these two people in his letters."
Hu Shi was their common friend, and the two of them immediately became closer and chatted freely.
It's just that Xu Zhimo seemed a little absent-minded, as if he was hiding some trouble.
Fairbank soon noticed something strange, took the initiative to go back to his room to sort out information, and disappeared instantly with his wife.
Zhou Hexuan asked: "What's wrong?"
Seeing that there were no outsiders in the living room, Xu Zhimo said hesitantly: "Ming... Mingcheng, I'm a little tight on money. Can you help me a little? I'll pay you back when I get the royalties."
"How much?" Zhou Hexuan asked.
Xu Zhimo was a little embarrassed to say it. He raised a finger and said: "One thousand yuan." He quickly explained, "Mingcheng, don't get me wrong, this money is not given to Xiaoman to squander. She formed a
There is a Chinese women's calligraphy and painting group, and there is also a personal exhibition, so I really have some trouble making ends meet."
"No problem, no need to explain so much." Zhou Hexuan smiled.
"Thank you very much." Xu Zhimo breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhou Hexuan just felt sad for Xu Zhimo. A great poet and talent all over the country actually lost his face because of 1,000 oceans. A few years ago, Xu Zhimo would never have borrowed money. Even if he wanted to borrow money,
I borrowed it in a relaxed and casual manner, instead of being so rigid and rigid now.
After thinking about it, Zhou Hexuan sighed and said, "Hey, Zhimo, you'd better communicate more with your family. My father-in-law is getting older, and he still wants you to go back."
Xu Zhimo smiled bitterly: "It's a bit difficult."
The Xu family is very rich. They can raise even one million yuan, not to mention one thousand yuan.
Zhou Hexuan has a good relationship with the old man of the Xu family. After all, they are partners and they run the women's underwear business together. He also hopes that the Xu family and his son can reconcile.
Unfortunately, there was Lu Xiaoman in the middle. The Xu family was not willing to let Lu Xiaoman enter the house, so Xu Zhimo could only choose to fight on his own.
Historically, after Xu Zhimo died in an air crash, Mr. Xu continued to pay Lu Xiaoman's living expenses on a monthly basis even though he hated his daughter-in-law. It was not until one day that Weng Ruiwu stayed at Lu Xiaoman's house all night, so Mr. Xu cut off Lu Xiaoman's living expenses.
The benevolence and righteousness are gone.
Xu Zhimo didn't seem to want to talk more about this matter, so he casually opened the "Historical View of Freedom" brought back by Zhou Hexuan. This was incredible, and he actually read it for half an hour without letting go of the book. He said happily: "This Buddhist classic is the end of the road."
Everything in the world is the most reasonable! Mingcheng, can you lend me this book and take it home to read?"
"Whatever, if you like it, I'll give it to you." Zhou Hexuan said.
"Thank you so much!" Xu Zhimo smiled and continued reading.
Zhou Hexuan looked at Xu Zhimo's joy and suddenly felt something was wrong: Is this guy going to become a Buddhist or a monk?
It is very possible that the "Historical View of Freedom" talks about freedom and liberation, and Xu Zhimo is stuck between his father and his wife and it is difficult to escape. Maybe he will become a monk when his brain gets hot.