Among the many schools of modernist literature, there is one called "Imagism", whose representative and namer is none other than Ezra Pound.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of European and American poets, influenced by Japanese haiku, began to focus on poetic intentions. Later, they discovered that Japanese haiku originated from Chinese metrical poetry, and then studied ancient Chinese poetry, thus forming the so-called "Imagist poetry".

Ezra Pound, in particular, has become so fond of Chinese literature that it is like worshipping Chinese characters. He believed that Chinese poetry and Chinese characters were so magical that he interspersed Chinese characters in many places in his long poem "Shizhang" to express some kind of mystical meaning.

You may have seen such a poem, in a Chinese vernacular poem, a few English words suddenly pop up, as if this can show nobility and compulsion. Pound's poem is the opposite, in a pile of English or Italian verses, a few Chinese characters suddenly pop up, and Western readers are confused.

"Oh, Zhou, finally seeing you!" Pound spread his arms and walked with a smile.

This gentleman's appearance looks very magical, with a slender face, a hooked nose, a pair of wide pants on the lower body, and a shirt and sweater on the upper body. The hair and beard were gray, and the roots stood on end, as if they were covered in static electricity, and as if they had just escaped from a mental hospital.

Zhou Hexuan and Pang De had a bear hug and said with a smile: "Mr. Pang De, I have admired my name for a long time!" ”

It is really a long-time admiration for the great name, and according to Pound's contribution to modern literature, it is more than enough to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. It's a pity that he was a die-hard fan of Mussolini, and after the end of World War II, he was condemned as "treason" by the United States, and he escaped prison by being admitted to a psychiatric hospital, and the Nobel Prize in Literature naturally did not have a chance for him.

Pound was a student of Yeats, a classmate of Eliot, and a teacher of Hemingway, all three of whom were Nobel laureates in literature.

Zhou Hexuan introduced: "This is Mr. Kong Xiangxi, Minister of Finance of China, and Mr. Chen Shaokuan, Minister of the Chinese Navy! ”

"Hello Mr. Kong!"

"Hello Mr. Chen!"

Pound used English.

Kong Xiangxi and Chen Shaokuan also greeted in English, but Chen Shaokuan spoke pure British English, and Kong Xiangxi spoke Shanxi Taigu flavor American English. In any case, Kong Xiangxi's English can be understood, at least better than Indian English and Japanese English.

"Sit down, everybody," Mussolini greeted him warmly, smiling, "Hahahaha, Mr. Pound is very interested in Chinese culture, and he is very happy to discuss literature with friends from China." ”

"I am also very honored that a Western writer like Mr. Pound can love and study Chinese culture." Kong Xiangxi was smiling when he spoke, but he was actually speechless in his heart. He came to Italy to seek a loan, and Mussolini had to pull him to talk about literature, about the literature of Nima as a ghost.

In fact, Mussolini did not want to negotiate a loan with China, and Chang Kaishen had completely offended him - because of Italy's brazen invasion of Ethiopia, China was imposing diplomatic sanctions on Italy at this time.

You heard it right!

At this time, China was imposing diplomatic sanctions on Italy.

At the beginning of the establishment of the Nationalist Government in Nanjing, China and Italy had a long honeymoon period, and Italy was the first country in Europe to upgrade its diplomatic relations with China to the level of ambassador. At that time, Mussolini said to Liu Wendao, the Chinese ambassador to Italy: "The country that can best represent Asian culture is your country, and the country that can best represent European culture is our great Roman country." Therefore, it is a matter of course that the two countries have been upgraded! ”

At the beginning, Mussolini waved his hand and directly invalidated more than 26 million taels of Geng, saying that Italy didn't want the money. Lao Jiang was so excited that he snorted and cried, and wrote a warm letter of thanks to Mussolini with his own hands.

Mussolini also supported the construction of the Chinese air force, and Chiang sent 250 Chinese officers to Italy to study. Because Mussolini liked black clothes and black pants, Lao Chiang asked all Chinese pilots to wear black clothes and black pants in order to shoot Mussolini's sycophants, and also ordered that Mussolini's big portrait be hung in the classrooms of all air force academies.

At that time, the relationship between China and Italy was even closer than that between China and Germany, until Chiang Lao announced sanctions against Italy......

The sanctions against Italy are naturally aimed at currying favor with Britain and the United States. And Lao Chiang did not dare to offend Mussolini, and it was not until Italy ate all Ethiopia that China officially passed the Italian sanctions bill. The two ends must not be offended, not only to the League of Nations, but also to save face for Italy.

But Mussolini's nose was crooked, and he scolded Chang Kaishen for being an inauthentic person, and even called Liu Wendao, the ambassador to Italy, to scold: "I spent so much money to train you China's air force, why do you want to sanction me?" China is so ungrateful! ”

Liu Wendao hurriedly explained: "The chairman's move is to win the League of Nations not to recognize the puppet Manchurian status and Japan's invasion of China. ”

Mussolini slapped the table suddenly: "This fool, the League of Nations has already sold you to Japan at a low price." Think about it, why does this bullshit League of Nations only sanction Italy, not Japan, which occupies northeast China? ”

As a result, the diplomatic relations between China and Italy have shifted from intimacy to distant.

Kong Xiangxi came to Italy to borrow money this time, it was purely a hot face sticking to other people's cold butts, and he was very good at asking for a penny. Because Mussolini was a super face-loving person, he could say anything to give him face, and he would even do it at a loss. If you don't give him face, hehe!

At this moment, Mussolini sat on the sofa in his study with a large cigar in his mouth, consciously or unintentionally showing off the many famous poetry collections on his desk.

Poetry collections are different from poetry collections, for example, Mussolini admired Gabriel D'Annunzio and leaned towards realism and aestheticism. This represents a kind of poetic taste, and Mussolini thinks that the poetic taste he likes should be the most awesome taste, so he wants all visitors to know this.

In fact, Mussolini's literary taste was separate. He professes that he loves passionate, combative, and realistic poetry, but the poems he writes are full of lonely petty bourgeoisie, and 200 percent of the flavor of literary youth.

In Mussolini's study, the entire wall is full of books, and it seems that there are more books than the German Führer Hitler. But there are differences, and Hitler's collection of books was varied, ranging from biographies to witchcraft regimens. Mussolini, on the other hand, had a clear preference for pure literature and intellectual theory, and most of them belonged to philosophical, literary, and theoretical books.

This may be the difference between the two, the same Nazi dictatorship, Hitler directly declared literature illegal, equating literature with politics. As for Mussolini, although he also persecuted some writers and artists, he was generally more relaxed, as long as you don't write articles to trouble him, Mussolini is still very supportive of literary creation and exploration.

Placing a cigar on the ashtray, Mussolini, with his big ears and stout physique, suddenly stood up and recited the poems of his teacher, the famous Italian poet D'Annunzio. In an affectionate and subdued tone, he closed his eyes slightly: "The breeze beats its wings, and on the tender sand, it writes vague words. The breeze blows to the white embankment, spits out a low and low whisper, and the autumn waves convey ......"

"Good!"

At the end of the recitation of an Italian poem, Kong Xiangxi clapped his hands and applauded loudly.

Zhou Hexuan was also applauding, applauding sincerely, because Mussolini's recitation was really good. If this guy doesn't play politics and goes to be a poetry reciter, he probably can eat a mouthful.

Pound commented: "Mr. D'Annunzio's "Summer Ballad" is like an oil painting depicting summer, which is very imagery. In my opinion, the most important thing in poetry is imagery, and Chinese poetry has done a particularly good job of this. Can three friends from China recite Chinese poems in Chinese? It's not modern poetry, it's ancient poetry. ”

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "Minister Kong is a descendant of Confucius, and the poetry is an heirloom, so you can have a poem." ”

"I'll forget it, don't get an axe." Kong Xiangxi waved his hand and refused.

Mussolini laughed: "Just come to you, come to you, don't shirk!" ”

"Then I'll ...... Come on? ”

Kong Xiangxi stood up as he spoke, and chanted in a Shanxi Taigu accent: "As soon as the half-acre square pond is opened, the sky and clouds and shadows wander together." Q: Is that clear? For there is a source of living water. ”

Pound immediately said: "I know this poem is Zhu Xi's "Reading Books", but it sounds a little different. ”

"Who did you listen to before?" Zhou Hexuan asked.

"A Japanese poet," said Pound, "I don't have very good Chinese, and I only know some simple Chinese characters." My understanding of Chinese literature comes from Japanese friends. ”

"Maybe it's an accent issue." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.

Reciting the same ancient Chinese poem with a Japanese accent and a Shanxi accent would sound the same.

Pound commented with a yearning face: "This song "Reading Books with Feelings" is very beautiful. The half-acre pond opens like a mirror, and the sky and the shadows of the clouds reflect each other, and a beautiful natural picture is outlined in just a dozen words. Chinese Chinese poetry is so beautiful, breathtakingly beautiful, I wish I was born in China! ”

It is true that the American poet who mixed Chinese characters in English poetry has gone crazy with his admiration for Chinese literature.

Mussolini frowned and said, "It's too short, it's too short, are Chinese poems so short?" ”

"Chinese Chinese poetry never uses fancy rhetorical ornamentation, it is concise, vivid, magnificent, accurate, and full of meaning, which is also the creative concept pursued by our Imagists," Pound quickly corrected the name of the ancient Chinese poem, and said to Zhou Hexuan, "Mr. Zhou, you can also recite a Chinese poem." If you come to the prime minister, let Your Excellency the Prime Minister appreciate it. ”

Zhou Hexuan thought to himself: Since you like imagery, Lao Tzu can sing a song "Qinyuan Spring Snow" for you, but I am afraid that Kong Xiangxi and them will listen to the fried hair.

Zhou Hexuan often gave speeches and practiced in private, and his level of poetry recitation also improved. He cleared his throat and recited: "You don't see the water of the Yellow River coming up from the sky, rushing to the sea and never returning. You don't see the sad white hair of Gao Tang Mingjing, and the morning is like green silk turning into snow at dusk. Life must be happy, don't make the gold bottle empty to the moon...... Five-flowered horses, daughters and daughters, Hu'er will exchange for fine wine, and sell eternal sorrow with you! ”

Zhou Hexuan's tone was subdued, and his emotions progressed layer by layer, even Kong Xiangxi listened to it with some enthusiasm.

"Okay, great!"

Pound shook his head and praised: "I have heard this Chinese poem recited by Japanese friends. But his recitation is far inferior to Mr. Zhou's recitation, which is as comfortable as drinking ice water in the hot summer! ”

"The beauty of poetry transcends borders, and I like the recitation of this poem very much," Mussolini found it a little interesting, "Mr. Zhou, can you translate the meaning of the poem?" ”

Zhou Hexuan immediately translated the poem into Italian, and Mussolini listened to it with great brilliance. Although the poems he wrote by himself were lonely and petty, he particularly appreciated the open-minded and enthusiastic works, and immediately clapped his hands and said: "It's really well written, especially those few sentences, life is proud, you should indulge in joy, don't let the wine glass empty to the moon, God must have created me meaningful, and millions of family assets will come back." It's the same as our Italians, and the author of this poem has an Italian heart. ”

Mussolini was very fond of "Will Enter the Wine", and specially asked Zhou Hexuan to write the whole poem and annotate the Chinese verses in Italian.

Seeing this situation, Kong Xiangxi immediately took the initiative to join, and used ancient Chinese poems to curry favor with Mussolini, hoping that the other party would agree to the loan as soon as he was happy. I have to say that although Kong Xiangxi looks like a pig, he really has goods in his stomach, and his ancient literary skills are strong.

It's a pity that Mussolini, although happy, did not mention the matter of borrowing, and dodged all kinds of giggling detours.

Until he left Mussolini's study, Poundra lived in Zhou Hexuan and whispered: "Zhou, I want to learn Chinese and translate ancient Chinese works." Can you help? ”

"Of course." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.

Pound is still very famous in the West, and he has translated ancient Chinese classics, which is very beneficial to the spread of Chinese culture.