A collection of
letters and manuscripts that reveal
extensive life details and literary
views of renowned writer Qian Zhongshu
will go under the hammer in
June, despite Qian's 102-year-old
widow, Yang Jiang, saying it is
"very inappropriate" to publicize the
family's private
communications.
The sale includes
a 207-page manuscript in pen of
Qian's collected works Ye Shi
Ji, and the original copy of
Gan Xiao Liu Ji (Six Chapters
from My Life "Downunder"), a humorous
memoir by Yang, a renowned writer
and translator in her own
right.
They will appear on
the Beijing-based Sungari International
Auction's spring auctions on June
21.
Qian died in 1998 at the
age of 88.
The materials belong
to Li Guoqiang, a long-time family
friend in Hong Kong.
Li
met Qian in 1979 when Li then
worked as the editor-in-chief of Wide
Angle magazine. Li acted as the
coordinator when Wide Angle's parent
company was to publish the two
books. Li established a close
relationship with the family, and
received the manuscripts as a gift
in return for his mediation
efforts.
During that time, Li
exchanged frequent letters with the
couple and their only daughter, Qian
Yuan, who died in 1997. More than 80
of the letters will be
auctioned.
In the handwritten
letters, most in calligraphy, Qian
Zhongshu shared his views on
literature and famous writers and
scholars such as Mao Dun, Lu
Xun and Shen Congwen. The comments
present the wit and erudition that
Qian is well-known for.
Yang
called Li to express her disapproval
with the sale after she learned
about it on Monday. Yang reportedly
told Li: "I gave you the
manuscripts as a memento, and the
letters are totally private communications
between us. Why do you want to
make them all public?"
Li
replied that he knew nothing about
the sale, and that it was "his
friend" who did it. He promised
to send Yang a "written
explanation".
Sungari has declined
to comment on the sale, or
whether the auction will be
canceled.
A Sungari senior
executive who spoke on condition of
anonymity told China Daily that they
have great respect for Qian and
Yang, and have no intention to
hurt the family's
feelings.
Manuscripts and letters
of prominent literary scholars and
writers have recently become sought-after
in the art market.
Last
year, a series of documents relating
to the philosopher and reformist Liang
Qichao (1873-1929) fetched 67 million yuan
($10.9 million) in a sale in Beijing.
The mainland's leading auction houses
also consider holding special sales of
documents of celebrated writers and
artists of modern China.
"In
a time that typing on computer
replaces handwriting, manuscripts become rare
and valuable subjects of research,"
said Wu Yiqin, deputy director of
the National Museum of Modern Chinese
Literature.
"They provide vivid
traces of writers' revisions and
corrections, drawing a picture of
their flows of thoughts. They tell
people stories beneath lines of
words."
Wu added that while
letters speak the rich emotions of
writers and their opinions of a
lot of issues other than literature,
"letters can be seen as 'cultural
fossils' in the era of text
messages and Weixin (an instant-messaging
app)."