Xu Huanyuan Li Shutong because of his writing Farewell , converted to Buddhism in his later years,

"The end of the sky, the corner of the earth, the acquaintance is half scattered, a pot of turbid wine is full of joy, don't dream cold tonight. ”

The "Five Friends of the World" were Xu Huanyuan, Yuan Xilian, Zhang Xiaolou, Cai Xiaoxiang and Li Shutong, and this five-person combination was "famous" in Shanghai at that time. It is said that at that time, as long as the people in Shanghai mentioned the "Five Friends of the World", they all praised each other.

In that era, the "Five Friends of the End of the World" were like stars.

The first time the "Five Friends of the World" met was in 1898, the year Li Shutong first arrived in Shanghai. This year, the biggest thing that happened in China was that the Empress Dowager Cixi staged a coup d'état, the Hundred Days Restoration was declared a failure, and Li Shutong was forced to flee from his hometown Tianjin to Shanghai because he was suspected of being a "fellow party of Kang Liang".

That year, Uncle Li, who was full of talent but did not make a big show, was 19 years old in the same year.

Uncle Li has always been particularly concerned about saving the country and the people, and his compassion for the world is stronger than that of ordinary people. This can be seen from the fact that he still supported the anti-Japanese resistance after he became a monk.

According to relevant historical records, the reason why Li Shutong was implicated after the failure of the Hundred Days Restoration was because he once publicly said that "the old Chinese Empire cannot survive without changing the law", and he even engraved a book on his own side:"Nanhai Kangjun (Kang Youwei) is my teacher"。

So why did Li Shutong choose Shanghai as the place of refuge at that time? The answer was that it was in every way very similar to the Tianjin in which he lived at the time, and more importantly, the Li family had a cabinet in Shensheng Yuqian Zhuang in Shanghai, where he could have no worries about food and clothing.

After arriving in Shanghai, Li Shutong rented a house in the Bu neighborhood of the French Concession, which is the area of today's Jinling East Road. Nowadays, this place is mostly inhabited by ordinary people, but at that time, non-ordinary dignitaries could not live in this kind of place.

Because the Li family has a lot of industries in Shanghai and other places, Li Shutong can naturally live a wealthy life at will. On weekdays, his food and living expenses are at the level of a superior person.

The Bu neighborhood is close to the south of the city, which is where the literati lived.

As early as a year before Li Shutong arrived in Shanghai, the remaining four members of the "Five Friends of the World", namely Yuan Xilian, a famous scholar from Baoshan at that time, Zhang Xiaolou, a calligrapher from Jiangyin, Cai Xiaoxiang, a Confucian doctor from Jiangwan, and Xu Huanyuan, a poet from Huating, had established the Chengnan Literary Society.

As one of the leading figures in Shanghai's poetry and literary circles, Xu Huanyuan organizes monthly literati gatherings, and occasionally organizes visitors and offers prizes for essays.

Li Shutong first contacted Xu Huanyuan and others because of the essay. The reason why Uncle Li contributed to the Literary Society is still unknown, and the world now only knows that several of his contributions have been well received by the insiders of the Literary Society, and soon, they officially invited him to join the Society.

At the end of 1898, Li Shutong went to the Chengnan Literary Society for the first time to participate in a class, on that day, he wore a velvet bowl hat with a white jade in the center, a satin robe, a curved vest, a fat braid tied at the back, a ribbon tied at the bottom, and thick-soled shoes with double beams. This is dressed elegantly, and you really can't learn it if you are not a first-class boy.

When Li Shutong stood in front of Xu Huanyuan and the others, they only felt that he was heroic and magnificent. And Uncle Li's demeanor in the conversation made them admire it even more. On that day, Xu Huanyuan and others had a feeling of hating him.

Li Shutong's first class was written by Zhang Puyou, a master of Song Confucianism at that time, and his title was: "Zhu Zi's learning comes from Yanping, and the purpose of the Lord Jing is different from Yanping and different from Lianxi, try to evaluate his theory".

Li Shutong worked sexuality when he was in Tianjin, and such topics naturally did not bother him. For the first time, Li Shutong was rated by Zhang Puyou: "Excellent writing, ranked first".

After several contacts, Xu Huanyuan, who was overwhelmed by Uncle Li's style and talent, decided to set aside part of his thatched cottage in the south of the city and invited his family to move in.

At the turn of spring and summer in the second year of Xu and Li's acquaintance, Li Shutong really took his family to live in the thatched cottage in the south of the city. Xu Huanyuan also specially hung a plaque of "Li Lu" in Li Shutong's study, from which Li Shutong's later nickname of "Li Lu Master" came from.

After moving to the thatched cottage in the south of the city, Uncle Li was in a particularly good mood, and he once expressed his joy after meeting his confidant in "Qingping Le, Gift Xu Fantasy Garden".

The collision between the strong and the strong has always been precious, and since then, because several literary talents often communicate and learn together, their creative inspiration has become stronger and stronger day by day.

In the year or two since he became acquainted with the "Five Friends of the World", Li Shutong successively wrote "Li Lu Poetry Bell" in the thatched cottage in the south of the city, and the chronicle poem collection "Xin Chou Northern Expedition Tears and Ink" in the seal carving "Li Lu Yinpu", etc., after these works were published, Li Shutong's reputation in Shanghai also grew.

Although Li Shutong and Xu Huanyuan have different growth backgrounds, they have a lot in common: they are both from famous families, they both love literature, like to read, drink, and visit famous mountains and rivers. Later, under the influence of Li Shutong, the other four gradually became interested in Buddhist culture.

In his spare time, Uncle Li also likes poetry and singing the most, and Uncle Li also specially wrote a group of poems "Drama for Cai Xiaoxiang" to Cai Xiaoxiang, one of the famous doctors of the "Five Friends of the World". Cai Xiaoxiang was born in a family of traditional Chinese medicine, he specializes in treatment, and is the author of "** Essentials", "Women's Secrets", "Secret Records of Prescriptions" and so on.

Because there is no one in the Shanghai world, Cai Xiaoxiang's "business" is so good that it is off the charts, and Uncle Li can't help but occasionally joke about him when he sees him, saying that he is "really envious like a happy person, and everyone calls Mr. As the name suggests, the meaning of this is that Cai Xiaoxiang is surrounded by female patients and called "sir" all day long, which is really a blessing.

In one of the songs of "Drama for Cai Xiaoxiang", Li Shutong also bluntly said that Cai Xiaoxiang "is willing to use the elixir in the sky to cure the short-lived flowers in the world." ”

It is unknown whether Cai Xiaoxiang is really as Li Shutong said, "I want to steal the elixir of life and heal the short-lived woman in the world", but Li Shutong is extremely close to him, and we have already glimpsed one or two from the poem.

It is said that Cai Xiaoxiang has always cherished Li Shutong's plays, and he loves these half-joking "singing and harmony" very much.

Like this kind of "singing harmony", Li Shutong and Xu Huanyuan, Yuan Xilian, and Zhang Xiaolou also often have it, but because of the long time, these "singing harmony" poems are scattered everywhere and disappear.

In addition to singing harmony, Li Shutong and other Tianya friends do most often to discuss the way to save the country and save the people, they often get together to discuss current affairs, and when they talk about excitement, they will also chant poems on the spot.

It is also because of this heart of worrying about the country and the people that Uncle Li's poems are completely different from those poems of his contemporaries that simply express emotions. In the later period, with the gradual manifestation of the Buddha nature in Li Shutong's body, Xu Huanyuan and others were also infected, and they even began to play a role in writing to make up for the deviation and remedy the evil, and make people's hearts turn evil to good, which also laid the foundation for their later relationship with the Buddha.

People say that there is no feast in the world that will not be dispersed, and such a beautiful existence as the "Five Friends of the End of the World" will also disperse one day.

In 1901, Zhang Xiaolou, one of the "Five Friends of the World", was hired by the Oriental Literature Hall to go to Yangzhou. Soon after, Uncle Li entered the special class of Nanyang Public School, Xu Huanyuan began to work hard in the sea, and Yuan Xilian became an official ......

The "Five Friends of the End of the World" gradually disintegrated invisibly, but the impact of those years on all of them has always been there, and their friendship has not changed.

In a sense, the disintegration of the "Five Friends of the End of the World" is the beginning of a turning point in the fate of the five people.

In just over ten years, the five of them have experienced various vicissitudes of life: Uncle Li traveled to many places to study, and after experiencing the death of his mother and son, he went to Japan to study alone; Xu Huanyuan's business has also experienced several twists and turns, during which he has experienced several life and death choices; After Yuan Xilian became an official in Danyang, he saw the deceit of officialdom; Cai Xiaoxiang is a doctor, but she is often tormented by various illnesses ......

In 1912, Cai Xiaoxiang, one of the "Five Friends of the World", died of illness at the age of 49. Since then, there are only four people left in the "Five Friends of the End of the World". Cai Xiaoxiang's untimely death was a great blow to the other four friends, and Li Shutong did not eat a drop of rice for several days when he heard the news of his death, and later, he also wrote countless mourning poems for this confidant.

In 1913, a winter day a year after Cai Xiaoxiang's death, a heavy snowfall fell in Shanghai, which set off the old Shanghai particularly bleak. Li Shutong suddenly heard a familiar voice shouting at the door, and he and Miss Ye Zi went out to see: it was his friend Xu Huanyuan, who had not seen him for a long time.

After seeing his friend, Uncle Li was naturally very happy, but just as he was about to invite him into the house, Xu Huanyuan suddenly burst out of a sentence: "Uncle and brother, my family is bankrupt, we will have a meeting later!" After saying this, Xu Huanyuan turned around and stepped on the snow and left.

Xu Huanyuan still had something to say, but because he was afraid that Li Shutong would see his tears, he had to choke up and turn around.

The moment he heard those words, Li Shutong was completely stunned, and he was like five thunderbolts for a while. He tried to stop him, but his throat couldn't make a sound, and he just watched his back slowly disappear into the snow.

That day, when Xu Huanyuan left, Li Shutong, who was standing in the snow, thought a lot, he thought of the scene when they used to write poems and paintings together, and also thought of the scene when they met for the first time, only at that moment, he clearly knew: everything will never go back.

After returning to the house at the urging of Miss Ye, Li Shutong's face remained as solemn as frost. After a long time, he struggled to spit out the words "play a song". Miss Ye Zi nodded slightly, then sat down and played the tune, and when the song sounded, Li Shutong's tears finally poured down.

In the slightly poignant sound of the leaves, Li Shutong tearfully wrote down "Outside the long pavilion, next to the ancient road, the grass is green." Ask when you will come, and don't wander when you come".

After the creation, Li Shutong sat down in a chair, and he intuitively felt: "The prosperity will eventually fall, like a dream without a trace." In his mind, he still had the back of Xu Huanyuan leaving on the snow, and the scene was really: "It's like a bird that has eaten all of its food and thrown into the forest, and the vast white land is really clean" ......

In the spring of the following year, Li Shutong came to Shanghai from Hangzhou for a vacation, and when he passed by the old site of the thatched cottage, he looked at the half-barren thatched cottage with emotion. Xu Huanyuan asked him to write an inscription on the flower banner painted by his deceased wife Song Zhen, and Li Shutong wrote it with a pen:

"The intimidation of the deceased does not do, the tragedy of the living, talk about the short, to mourn."

Four years later, Uncle Li resolutely became a monk in Hangzhou Hupao Temple. When he became a monk, Xu Huanyuan and the others did not know. When the news reached Xu Huanyuan's ears, he was surprised and thought of writing a letter to persuade him to return to the world. After thinking about it again and again, after mentioning the pen several times, he still didn't believe it after all.

In the following years, although the three friends of the "Five Friends of the World" except Li Shutong were all in the world, they all became more interested in Buddhism.

Yuan Xilian, the eldest of the five friends, has served as a judicial officer in Tianjin, Hangzhou, Wuchang, Danyang and other places for many years after joining the office, and he is also the most deeply influenced by Li Shutong among the five friends.

According to historical records, Li Shutong once recommended a copy of "An Shiquanshu" to him who was interested in becoming an official before becoming a monk.

The Book of Anshi was written by Zhou Anshi in the Qing Dynasty, and the high monk Master Yinguang had strongly recommended this book, and Li Shutong probably read this book under the influence of Master Yinguang.

In this book, Anshi Chow talks about the importance of compassion in the way of side references, and throughout the book, Anshi teaches people the truth of karma, and he even talks about how to do good in daily life.

Li Shutong's original intention at that time was to hope that his friend could feel the power of compassion, the impermanence of life and karma through this book, so as to help him judge and try cases.

When the book was handed over to Yuan Xilian, Li Shutong also said a sentence, he said: "You were a monk in your previous life, and in this life, remember to continue to practice and touch sentient beings with compassion." ”

Yuan Xilian has always been the best friend of Uncle Li, and he is naturally very easy to listen to what he says. After receiving the book, he began to study it day and night, and he quickly understood the harmony of the Dharma and the grandeur of the Buddha's power. At this time, thinking about Li Shutong's words that day, he suddenly realized that learning Buddhism is already an urgent matter.

Therefore, not long after Uncle Li left, Yuan Xilian actually set up a Buddhist hall in his official office. His subordinates were amazed to find that every morning, their boss began to kneel and recite the Great Compassion Confession.

It can be said that at this time, although Yuan Xilian was still in the world and an official in the officialdom, he had actually converted to Buddhism.

After he began to worship the Buddha, Yuan Xilian has always regarded Venerable Yinguang as his mentor, and he has always used Buddhism to restrain his words and deeds. No matter where he is in **, every time he faces a case, he does his best to track down the truth. During this period, he even retried countless unjust, false and wrongful cases. After a long time, the locals called him "Da Qingtian".

Can compassion really bless people? This question is difficult for ordinary people to answer, but in history, Yuan Xilian seems to have really helped the people with compassion.

When Yuan Xilian took office in Danyang, a fire broke out in the city, and because the fire was large, the well water was used up. Faced with this situation, Yuan Xilian, who wanted to cry without tears, had to silently recite the Great Compassion Mantra against the fire in order to extinguish the fire. Amazingly, after he silently recited the Great Compassion Mantra on fire for about a quarter ......of an hour, the fire was instantly extinguished because a building collapsed

After this incident, Yuan Xilian worshipped the Buddha more attentively. And the book "Anshiquan" given to him by Li Shutong has always been carefully treasured. For him, the book is a rare treasure.

In the summer of 1926, Master Li Shutong, who had been a monk for eight years, passed through Shanghai, and while waiting for the steamer, he visited the thatched cottage in the south of the city again with an indescribable feeling.

Master Hongyi saw many monks in the grass hall, and in a trance, he thought that he was hallucinating. At this time, the thatched cottage was completely devoid of the old man Xu Huanyuan, whom he had missed for a long time. After careful questioning, I found out that the cottage had already changed owners, and the current owner of the cottage was a hardware store owner. The reason why there are monks chanting scriptures in the thatched hall is because this thatched hall has been given to the monk by the owner.

Looking at the thatched hall that had been renamed the Chaochen Essence House, Master Hongyi's heart was intertwined with all kinds of complex emotions.

The scenery near the thatched cottage in the south of the city has changed: the original small river ditch is gone, and a new road has been built at the original river ditch; And the Jindong Bridge has naturally disappeared, and even the willows have been cut down one by one.

This kind of thing, how can Master Hongyi not let Master Hongyi feel the sadness of "things are not people".

After asking around, Master Hongyi found his former confidant Xu Huanyuan in a small dilapidated house on the side of the road near the thatched cottage. The two said goodbye, fourteen years later.

When Master Hongyi appeared at the door of Xu Huanyuan's house as a mage, Xu Huanyuan, whose hair was completely white, was lying on the table in the burrow, scribbling something with a brush. When they looked up, after a few seconds of looking at each other, their eyes were full of tears.

Looking at this gray-haired and haggard Xu Huanyuan, the sadness in Master Hongyi's heart needless to say. Knowing that he is now half-deaf and has been making a living by giving some private lessons, Master Hongyi is even more embarrassed.

The two of them talked for a long, long time in that hut that day, and after describing their current situation, Xu Huanyuan suddenly said: "We were still happy at that time, do you remember that I often went to you to read the new poems after you fell asleep?" ”

Xu Huanyuan's words instantly brought Master Hongyi back to twenty or thirty years ago, and the two of them who broke into tears and laughed recounted the past, like "an idiot talking about a dream".

After leaving that hut, Master Hongyi thought a lot about it on the ferry. He realized that although he had been a monk for nearly ten years, he still hadn't forgotten the past, and deep down he even had deep nostalgia. Especially, when he knew that other friends were not doing well, the more he cared about them.

In the autumn of 1927, Master Hongyi passed through Shanghai on his way north to visit relatives, during which he lived at Feng Zikai's house in Jiangwan.

After hearing the news, in addition to the deceased "Five Friends of the World" Cai Xiaoxiang, the other three friends, namely Xu Huanyuan, Yuan Xilian, Zhang Xiaolou and others went to visit. On that day, the four of them couldn't help but sigh again. At parting, someone suggested that the film be retaken. After the group photo, Li Shutong, who was full of emotion, also wrote an inscription on ** to commemorate it.

Perhaps under the influence of Master Hongyi, after this meeting, Yuan Xilian and others also became more determined to take refuge in Buddhism.

On a rainy day not long after the meeting of the four, Yuan Xilian saw a monk kneeling in front of him on the road to ask for a fare.

At this kneeling, all passers-by suddenly stopped and watched: how could a high-class person in a leather coat kneel against a begging monk?

Yuan Xilian naturally had his reasons for doing this, and he felt that since he had converted to Buddhism, he was a layman. Traditionally, only monks have accepted the prostration of lay people, and not the other way around.

Like Yuan Xilian, Xu Huanyuan and Zhang Xiaolou converted to Buddhism and became lay monks after that meeting.

Only two years later, Master Hongyi returned to Shanghai, by which time Xu Huanyuan had passed away, Zhang Xiaolou had gone to Chongqing, and only Yuan Xilian remained in Shanghai.

At this point, the "Five Friends of the End of the World" are scattered everywhere and have truly become the "End of the World".

It is worth mentioning that Xu Huanyuan finally died in the temple, and before he died, he repeatedly told his second wife Su Qin: He must train his son to be a serious person like Uncle Li, and let him learn the same art as Uncle Li when he grows up. The year of his death, Xu Huanyuan was 51 years old.

Knowing that on the day Xu Huanyuan passed away, Master Hongyi was doing everything as usual, but when he lay down at night, he suddenly recited the poem he had written when they first met, and when he recited, Hongyi always had ......tears in his eyes

Among the five friends, the latest to pass away was Zhang Xiaolou, who was as proficient in Confucianism and calligraphy and painting as Uncle Li. After returning to China after graduating from the University of Law in Japan, he successively served as a teacher at Nanjing Jiangnan Higher School and Liangjiang Excellent Normal School, and as a translator and compiler in Beiyang.

In the past, when the "Five Friends of Tianya" initiated the establishment of the "Calligraphy and Painting Trade Union" in Shanghai, Zhang Xiaolou, who served as the president, had first-class organization and management skills. After taking refuge in Buddhism, he claimed to be dusty and settled on the earth.

Like Xu Huanyuan, Yuan Xilian and others, Zhang Xiaolou's original ambition to save the country was to be an official. But because he didn't know how to be an official like Xu Huanyuan, he eventually lost his official position like his old friend. After losing his official position, he was destitute and had to rely on selling calligraphy and paintings and borrowing money from relatives and friends to survive.

Later, Zhang Xiaolou went to teach at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, which was presided over by Liu Haisu.

Zhang Xiaolou has few heirs in his life, and he only has one daughter named Zhang Manyun. In 1928, Zhang Manjun married Li Gongpu, a revolutionary who was about to study in the United States.

Li Gongpu is as dedicated to saving the country as Zhang Xiaolou, and Zhang Xiaolou is naturally very satisfied with such a son-in-law. After Li Gongpu returned to China, Weng and his son-in-law also cooperated to establish a declaration circulation library, an amateur cram school, and a semi-monthly magazine "Reading Life".

With the help of his son-in-law, Zhang Xiaolou's life finally stabilized. Among the "Five Friends of the World", he is the only one who can concentrate on calligraphy and painting and open an art exhibition.

It's a pity that Zhang Xiaolou's leisure life was finally broken after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War. In the face of the atrocities of the Japanese invaders, Zhang Xiaolou was indignant and drew a crab with limbs, and he also drew a bright red plum on top of the painting. The two sentences on the drawing paper are:

"The crab legs are short, how long will you be on the rampage? My life is only to learn the red plum and the noble. ”

Almost at the same time, when Zhang Xiaolou was actively resisting the Japanese, his friend Master Hongyi also joined the anti-Japanese team as a monk.

At the risk of being assassinated by the Japanese, Master Hongyi opened the altar to give a lecture under artillery fire, and he shouted the slogan "Reciting the Buddha does not forget to save the country, and the salvation of the country must be recited by the Buddha." He even wrote a banner with the word "martyrdom" to make his intentions clear. The inscription on the left side of this banner reads:

Sacrificing one's life for the protection of Buddhism, where the righteousness lies, how can you resign? ”

In addition, there are many efforts made by Master Hongyi to resist Japan. At the height of the Anti-Japanese War, Master Hongyi even organized monks to establish the "Jinjiang County Buddhist Wartime Ambulance Team". This life-saving team composed of monks carried out the rescue work vigorously in wartime.

During this period, Master Hongyi's actions naturally greatly encouraged Zhang Xiaolou, and on the other hand, Yuan Xilian, who was in Shanghai, also actively joined the anti-Japanese resistance. Since then, the only three remaining three people of the "Five Friends of the World" have stood together again.

In June 1938, in order to prevent the Japanese attack, the Kuomintang blew up the Huayuankou embankment of the Yellow River, and millions of people left their homes and became refugees.

Zhang Xiaolou was very worried when he heard about the situation of the local refugees, and then he rushed to Zhengzhou as soon as possible, and organized local anti-Japanese compatriots and lay people to help the Yellow River flood disaster compatriots.

Soon, in order to resettle the victims in Henan, he resolutely went to Huanglong Mountain, Shaanxi Province, where the victims were refuted. Just as he was helping the refugees through the difficulties, his beloved wife died of horror in the bombing of Chongqing by Japanese planes.

People say that "the world is safe and perfect, and it lives up to its promise", Zhang Xiaolou finally sacrificed his beloved wife for the people of Limin. His choice is almost the same as Uncle Li's resolute abandonment of his wife and monk for the sake of purifying sentient beings.

Looking at it this way, Zhang Xiaolou and Uncle Li are really on the same path.

On October 13, 1942, Master Hongyi, who had always insisted on resisting Japan, passed away in the evening room in Quanzhou at the age of 62. After the news of Master Hongyi's death reached Zhang Xiaolou's ears, he wrote many mourning poems in grief.

What Zhang Xiaolou never expected was that less than four years after Master Hongyi's death, his son-in-law, Li Gongpu, a patriotic democrat, was assassinated by Kuomintang agents. The blow of the death of his friends and beloved son-in-law made him slump from then on.

After Li Gongpu's death, Zhang Xiaolou's life became more and more difficult. After returning to Shanghai, he could only barely survive on the little pension given to the families of the martyrs by the Joint Publishing House.

Fortunately, the new China that Zhang Xiaolou's son-in-law had in mind was finally established. Looking at this new era in which the people are the masters of the country, Zhang Xiaolou is full of joy and sorrow. On the day when he finished offering incense to his son-in-law and Master Hongyi and reporting the good news, Zhang Xiaolou sat alone for a long time. After a long time, he muttered, "It's time for us to converge too." ”

In December 1959, less than a month after the death of Yuan Xilian in the "Five Friends of the World", Zhang Xiaolou died of stomach bleeding in Shanghai at the age of 74.

Since then, the "Five Friends of the End of the World" have finally gathered again under Jiuquan.

Come to think of it, these five friends who are independent-minded, brilliant in writing, full of compassion, and love the country and the people, will be able to chant poetry and paint together again.