One

  At the end of the 20th century, that last winter. I traveled 40,000 kilometers to explore human ancient civilizations, from the Middle East to South Asia and Central Asia. Everywhere was the sound of gunfire, every step was terrifying, life hung by a thread.

  That night, on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, a companion next to me received a long-distance call. Then he quietly told me that in China, there was also a student at Beida with the surname Yu who had published an article in the past two days accusing me of participating in a gang called Shi something during the Cultural Revolution.

  "What's with the stone?" I asked further.

  "I didn't quite catch that, the line cut off." My partner looked at me and said, "Come on, back then there wouldn't have been any gang organizations, let alone you..."

  Before I could finish speaking, several men with guns approached us. They were from the local gang.

  Two

  Finally back alive.

  Invitations from various countries are as numerous as snowflakes, asking me to give a speech at the turn of the century about the world I have witnessed, especially the increasingly rampant terrorism.

  But domestically, most newspapers were sensationalizing the accusations made by that university student from the north. I also figured out what he was saying: that during the Cultural Revolution, I had participated in a writing group called "Shi Yi Ge", not a gang organization, but they added one shocking label after another.

  "Shi yi ge?"

  I know this, it's Premier Zhou Enlai's business.

  I wrote in "Forty Years Ago" that in October 1971, Zhou Enlai began to clean up the mess of the "Cultural Revolution", and launched the cultural reconstruction in Shanghai. The first step was to order all universities to resume classes. Since it happened to be the 90th anniversary of Lu Xun's birth and the 35th anniversary of his death that year, he required the Chinese department to resume classes with Lu Xun's works as teaching materials, writing biographies of Lu Xun, and studying Lu Xun. As a result, two groups were established in Shanghai: one was the "Biography of Lu Xun" compilation group at Fudan University, and the other was the Lu Xun Research Group at the Writers' Association, both of which drew participants from various universities. I was assigned to participate in the first group but left halfway. The name of the second group was "Shi Yi Ge".

  I am unclear about when this latter group was established, who participated in it, and what articles were written about Lu Xun.

  I am even more unclear as to how "Shi Yi Ge" suddenly became a notorious name and was piled on my head, causing so many newspapers to condemn it?

  It is estimated that someone directed it, and also coincided with the cultural upheaval of the turn of the century.

  According to common sense, I should make things clear. However, I encountered three major difficulties -

  Once the tide rises, I will inevitably be left speechless and can only rely on the law, but this is really too time-consuming. Based on my observations of major human civilizations, especially the warnings about global terrorism, I must quickly make statements to various countries and cannot let personal reputation hinder important matters.

  Two, once the tide is stirred up, how can the real members of the "Stone Song" group dare to come out and explain? Most of them are elderly retired professors who no longer have the physical strength to debate with those people. If I want to clear myself, I would inevitably have to investigate and publicize the list of members in that group, which would hurt those old people.

  Three, to make this matter clear, it can only be revealed that the two groups were established according to Premier Zhou Enlai's instructions. However, this would bring a certain lifelong political harm to that Beida student. In fact, when Zhou Enlai initiated the cultural reconstruction, he was still a child who could barely speak, and now he is just being manipulated by others. Thinking of this, I feel heartbroken again.

  So I gave up self-defense, packed my bags and went to various places to talk about "The Contemporary Predicament of Major Civilizations". However, whether in Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, the United States, France or Hungary, Chinese readers who came to listen would ask me about Shi Yige.

  "Shi Yi Ge"?...

  "Shi Yi Ge"?...

  It turns out that around these three strange characters, domestic media such as Southern Weekend and Literary Report have been making a big fuss. Readers from various countries all thought I had escaped, and two readers living in South Africa repeatedly made kind suggestions: "Come to our place, it's far away from them, very quiet..."

  Misappropriating his name for tens of thousands of miles, I myself became more and more curious, wanting to know the content behind these three words. However, so many articles, although with a stern tone, did not tell me what these three words had done.

  As time went on, I gradually came to know that the one who initiated this incident was a Shanghai man surnamed Sun, whose application for professional title had been rejected by me; the one who made the most noise was a Hubei man surnamed Gu, who had once enthusiastically praised me but was refused by me; and the one who joined in later was a Shanghai man surnamed Sha, whom I had saved from death but who later made extreme left-wing remarks at a critical moment and was declared to have broken off relations with me by me. As for others, no matter how many there were, they were just cheering on.

  These three old men, plus that student, how did they create such a big scene? Of course it's because of the media.

  Three

  Curiosity is irrepressible.

  Although I am not familiar with all the members of the "Shi Yi Ge" group, I do know a few. I would like to find one or two of them to chat with and ask them what articles this Lu Xun research group has written since its establishment.

  Unfortunately, when the "Yi Ge Shi" group published their articles intensively, I was hiding in the mountains of Zhejiang and didn't get to read them. I remember once going down the mountain to forage for food, and at a newspaper stand in a small town, I saw an article with this name, but after reading two lines, I found it was just the popular clichés of the time, so I didn't continue reading. Therefore, now I want to get a rough understanding, also to say a few words for those retired professors who are worried and frightened.

  That time I returned to Shanghai from Taiwan and called a retired professor who must have attended this group. The professor was not at home, it was his wife who answered the phone.

  I asked: When was that group established? Who were the members at that time?

  I didn't expect that the professor's wife would say to me in a pleading tone over the phone: "So many newspapers, criticizing like this, it can't be said clearly. My old man is very weak and has severe high blood pressure, Mr. Yu, I'm afraid we can only trouble you."

  I felt a chill in my heart, hurriedly comforted him with a few words, and hung up the phone, deeply regretting this call. This elderly couple may have to be anxious for several more days.

  This road is broken and can only find a new way.

  However, the road to finding "stone" is not easy to find.

  How about trying from the direction of the attacker?

  Finally, I came up with a good idea.

  I published a "reward" in the newspaper, openly declaring that as long as those attackers could provide evidence to prove that I had written an article, a paragraph, a section, a line or a sentence with the pen name "Shi Yi Ge" that they accused me of, I would immediately pay my annual salary and publicly publish the evidence on national media. At the same time, I also announced the name of the lawyer handling this "reward".

  The benefits of this "bounty" are that it doesn't harm "Shi Yi Ge", and it also doesn't harm the attacker. To achieve these two points, I really spent a lot of thought.

  The Southern Weekend did not respond to my "reward", but in 2004, it published a photo of me and members of the "Stone Song" group together. The photo showed two people besides me, one of whom was that surname Sun initiator. As soon as the photo was released, the Southern Weekend dodged the topic of "Stone Song" and instead claimed that this surname Sun person had "investigated" my "Cultural Revolution issues". Then, based on the "materials" he provided, they conducted an "investigation", using several pages to publish a lengthy article. Although no problems were found in the "investigation", readers are often careless, leaving only a strong negative impression that I was both "investigated" and "cleared". This was spread through the newspaper's circulation of over 1 million copies, covering both China and abroad.

  The road of seeking "stone" unexpectedly led to such a dangerous and cruel scene.

  In accordance with Chinese convention, "the throat and tongue" have made such a show of force, that is to say, it's a "done deal", and an "ironclad" one at that.

  But after what happened with World News Daily Report in the UK, I think it's necessary to ask the editor-in-chief of Southern Weekend some specific questions.

  I had repeatedly asked the editor and reporter of this newspaper about these issues at first, but they just gave a simple response and didn't care anymore. As far as I know, many readers have also questioned them, including some legal professionals, but the newspaper did not respond either. However, today I still want to advise you, respected president, no matter how busy you are, please listen to these interesting questions I am about to raise.

  Four

  The first question: Your newspaper repeatedly confirmed that certain Sun's "investigation", so please ask, who appointed him? What institution does the appointer belong to? Why was he appointed? What was his occupation at that time? Did he have a work unit?

  The second question is: If a real "investigation" was conducted, why would this person put the "materials" in his own home? Is he the director of the archives or the head of the personnel bureau? If he were the director of the archives or the head of the personnel bureau, could he intercept and privately store these archival materials?

  The third question is: If he has hidden "materials" of mine, then he must also have hidden "materials" of others. So, how wide is the scope of "others"? How big is his home's "archive room"?

  Fourth question: These "materials" have been placed in his home, according to the time he said, it should be twenty-seven years. For such a long time, who was in charge? Was it him alone or did other family members also participate in the management? Were there safes? How many safes? Who kept the keys?

  The fifth question: I served as a university leader for many years in the 1980s, with a rank of deputy ministerial level. At that time, the main criteria for superiors to investigate and review officials were precisely their "performance during the Cultural Revolution", and it was very strict. Since he had materials on "clearing up" (the movement), why didn't he send them to my superior authorities at the time? What reason made him willing to commit the crime of "covering up" and "harboring"?

  Sixth question: The "materials" he provided are originals, not copies? If they are originals, which unit's seal is on them?

  Seventh question: If it is a copy, is it handwritten or was carbon paper used? Is the name of the copyist available?

  Eighth question: Where are these "materials" now? If they have been transferred to your editorial department, can I bring my lawyer and the staff of Shanghai Archives and Shanghai Personnel Bureau to take a look together?

  Ninth question: If these "materials" continue to be hidden in his home, can your newspaper send someone to lead the way and let me report to the police officers to search?

  ……

  Let's just ask nine for now, it would be too embarrassing to ask any more than that.

  I don't know if the boss understands: what has appeared here, from the very beginning, is not a "historical issue" at all, but may be a criminal case. Because forging documents, forging archives, and stealing archives are serious criminal offenses in any country.

  "Forging documents", "forging archives" sounds terrible, but President, can you help me think of other possibilities?

  I'm being a bit rude by asking this, but upon closer inspection of your newspaper, apart from publicizing that strange "investigation" in the form of "scoops", you also "interviewed" many "witnesses" to "prove" my "history". However, out of so many "witnesses", why isn't there a single one I'm familiar with? People who are familiar with me, why hasn't a single one been interviewed? Can this really all be blamed on that Sun guy?

  According to some friends familiar with that period of history, the first forgery should have occurred after the 11th Three Central Plenary Session negated the "Cultural Revolution", when they hastily destroyed a large number of materials and could only use forgeries to fill in; The second forgery should have occurred after I repeatedly rejected their title application as the head of the Shanghai Municipal Professor Evaluation Group; The third forgery should have occurred when many writers and media suddenly wanted to perform themselves by subverting celebrities. Of course, if your newspaper is suspected of participating, it won't be the first or second time.

  Apart from this matter, your newspaper has launched several large-scale attacks on me over the past decade or so, and I have not responded to a single one. Today, I would also like to ask the editor-in-chief to investigate which of these attacks contained true statements. If any were found, please let me know, even if it's just one or two sentences.

  Five

  In the "Stone One Song event", more sensational than Southern Weekend was Hong Kong's Apple Daily.

  Apple Daily reported on May 15, 2009: "Yu Qiuyu participated in the writing group organized by *** during the Cultural Revolution and was a member of Shi Yige's writing group. He published many major critical articles, using his pen to attack and kill people."

  These few dense and ridiculous lies have already collided with four serious legal issues, and they are being suppressed. First, let's talk about why the Hong Kong Apple Daily suddenly lost its mind and put a broken hat on me called "Shi Yige". Upon closer inspection of the article, it turns out that they were targeting a statement I made after the Wenchuan "5·12" earthquake. The original text of my statement is as follows:

  Some developed countries have established a humanitarian psychological order earlier, which is worth our study. However, in terms of the collective outbreak of great love and supreme goodness, they may not be better than the Chinese people. I have been to several natural disaster areas around the world for comparison. The fact that the whole nation participated in the rescue efforts during the Wenchuan earthquake proves that the Chinese nation is one of the few most excellent ethnic groups in human history.

  "After the 5.12 earthquake, I happened to have two American friends visiting me. They asked: 'Is China's 5.12 like America's 9.11, where the disaster made the whole nation more united?'"

  I replied, "No. '9-11' had enemies, hatred, so you launched two wars. '5-12' has no enemy, no hatred, Chinese people rely only on love to solve everything."

  At first, I didn't understand why this passage would trigger so much rejection from Chinese writers in Hong Kong and mainland China. Soon I found a dividing line: I am willing to seek love in China; they insist on seeking hate in China.

  At the same time, I saw some parents of students who died in the disaster demanding punishment for those responsible for the collapse of the school building. I sympathize with these parents very much, but I also know that such punishment has no precedent in the history of earthquakes around the world and is extremely difficult to achieve. Moreover, at that time, the crisis of the barrier lake was pressing down on our heads, so I worked together with psychologists from various countries to persuade the parents of the students who died to calm their emotions and return to their tents to rest. This act, which any kind-hearted person would do, was criticized by Apple Daily and other politicians as "obstructing petition".

  I have to say something about some Hong Kong writers. You haven't been to the earthquake scene or the "Cultural Revolution" scene, but you spend all day with some mainland scammers holding coffee cups and pointing fingers, completely reversing the nobility and shame in the disaster. Even you, parrot-like, talk about "Shi Yi Ge"!

  Six

  By this point, I think the reader is laughing too.

  A mysterious signature was put on my head by a mysterious person, and I couldn't shake it off no matter what. Not even a reward worked, not even an earthquake could shake it off! This is really too strange.

  Some people say that putting hats on others is a professional job for Chinese literati. Now there are many hands but few hats, how can they be removed?

  However, I still have some regrets: after wearing it for so long, I still don't know what kind of articles "Shi Yige" wrote.

  Finally, a sunny day arrived.

  In the summer of 2010, I was browsing through a bookshop at a railway station in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, and casually flipped through an issue of Shanxi-published magazine "Masterpiece Appreciation" (Issue No. 318)

  It didn't seem like much at first, but then his eyes lit up suddenly.

  Someone named Zhu Yong is angrily criticizing Shi Yi Ge for a fabrication from decades ago.

  "What's the fabrication?" It turns out that an article signed "Shi Yige" said that Lu Xun had a secret study outside his residence where he studied Marxist works.

  This person claims that "Shi Yige" is me, so the person who made up this nonsense is also me.

  Not only that, this person also accused my late friend Chen Yifei of participating in the "fabrication", because it is said that Chen Yifei had painted a picture of Lu Xun's study. That painting, I have not seen to this day.

  Anyone who is being framed as "fabricated" would not be happy, but I am overjoyed.

  For over a decade, I've been eager to find out what "Shi Yi Ge" had written. At this moment, I finally saw the most infuriating article from this group, and it's still infuriating even after several decades, so what is it?

  I immediately bought this magazine as if I had found a treasure.

  An article criticized as "fabricated" might appear in a children's book called "The Story of Lu Xun". In my impression, it was written by the worker-peasant-soldier students under the guidance of teachers after Fudan University Chinese Department resumed classes following Zhou Enlai's instructions. I certainly couldn't read it then. However, if there really is an article that says Lu Xun had a study outside his residence where he read Marxist works, then that wouldn't be "fabricated".

  Because Zhou Jianren, Lu Xun's brother, has said it publicly many times, the students just copied it.

  Will Zhou Jianren "fabricate"? It seems unlikely. Because although Lu Xun had a bad relationship with his younger brother Zhou Zuoren, he had a very good relationship with his youngest brother Zhou Jianren, and they frequently interacted in their daily lives in Shanghai during his later years. Zhou Jianren was also an honest person who wouldn't speak nonsense. Moreover, Zhou Jianren served as the Governor of Zhejiang Province and Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress during the "Cultural Revolution", so there is even less reason for people to disbelieve him.

  In fact, I have visited that study room before, it's very comfortable and not hard to find. During Lu Xun's time, Chinese intellectuals commonly read Marxist works, and Lu Xun had also read a lot of them. He even dared to invite Qu Qiubai, who was once the main person in charge of the CCP Central Committee and was wanted by the authorities, to his home, so why would he be afraid of reading those works?

  So this is the problem with "Shi Yi Ge"!

  Seven

  I finally put down the heart that had been hanging for over a decade, and I felt it was time to release the real name list of the "Shi Yi Ge" group. However, I still have a deep memory of Professor's wife's voice on that phone call, so I decided to wait a little longer.

  For now, I can only temporarily conceal my name and roughly mention a few sentences:

  In 1972, based on Zhou Enlai's instructions, a writing group for "The Biography of Lu Xun" was established in the Chinese Department of Fudan University. The group leader was a teacher from East China Normal University, and the deputy leader was a teacher from Fudan University. There were six members from Fudan University, one from Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, one from Shanghai Institute of Art, one from the Affiliated Middle School of East China Normal University, and one from Shanghai Theatre Academy, which was me, but I left halfway. Due to the scattered personnel, the group was reorganized into a "core group" consisting of the leader, deputy leader, one person from Fudan University, and one person from Shanghai Institute of Art.

  Later, according to Zhou Enlai's instructions, the "Shi Yi Ge" Lu Xun Research Group was established at the Writers' Association on Julu Road in Shanghai. I still haven't figured out when it was established today, and the group leader is still a teacher at East China Normal University. I don't know if there is a deputy group leader. There are two people from East China Normal University, three from Fudan University, two from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, and one from the Affiliated Middle School of East China Normal University. Because they all came from Zhou Enlai's same instructions, this group has some continuity with the previous group, although the personnel are different. I heard that they also organized the Lu Xun biography left by the previous group. Before this group was formally established, some students in the Chinese Department of Fudan University had used this pen name.

  These things have been over for forty years now.

  To today's critics, I have nothing to say, only one piece of advice: with a clear conscience, it's best not to hurt the already deceased great artist Chen Yifei, who cannot defend himself.

  Eight

  Well, the journey of seeking "stone" has basically come to an end, and I don't want to write anymore.

  The stone has been found. After passing through dense layers of thorns, I finally got the article and list related to these three words.

  Finally, I must say a word: for "Shi Yige incident", I would like to express my sincere gratitude. These three words brought me good luck.

  I'm saying this without any sarcasm.

  These three words brought me real relaxation.

  Originally, I was a person who found it difficult to extricate myself from various meetings and social engagements with ease. However, this lovely rumor saved me. Although those in power today know that this is just a rumor, they still show great deference to the rumor-mongers, fearing that they will cause trouble again in the media and disrupt social stability. As a result, those in power try their best to avoid me. For example, I have not seen any of the leaders of my city for over twenty years since I resigned from office, even in collective settings. In fact, this has been a great blessing for me, allowing me to escape from various titles and positions without having to make a big fuss, giving me almost all my free time. The achievements I have made over the years are all related to this. It seems like they abandoned me, but in reality, it was a blessing in disguise. With domestic noise following closely behind, I went abroad to lecture on Chinese culture. Conveniently, internationally, no one cares about any domestic titles. In short, I crossed the river by feeling for stones, and every step of the way has been bright and clear.

  Secondly, these three words made me realize the environment.

  Many people in China's cultural circle can see through a major slander that has been going on for years, but they don't want to. Perhaps because of the turmoil in the world, they have also become timid. The disaster of their peers has become a proof of their own safety, and the fallen wild goose has become the sunset under their window. Faced with this situation, I completely gave up any hope for cultural public opinion, and became independent after being expelled from all sides. Independent ecology, independent thinking, independent language, from small to large, from loneliness to grandeur. In the end, I have to be grateful for being expelled and enjoy being expelled. Like a discarded stone, it sang its own song. Isn't this the true meaning of these three words?

  Third, these three words make me stronger.

  It all started because I was fed up with this kind of slander, and I adhered to the "six no's": not reading newspapers, not going online, not taking official positions, not attending meetings, not using mobile phones, and not listening to rumors. As a result, I lost touch with the sensitive channels of my generation, but immediately became intimate with nature and merged with the giants of ancient times. Later, I also heard from friends that there had been waves of attacks against me, but because I was completely unaware at the time, I emerged unscathed. In the end, everyone saw that I remained physically and mentally healthy, calm and composed. This inadvertently provided a social model: true strength is not about gathering crowds, following the crowd, but rather going against the crowd, and then influencing the crowd. "Great courage appears timid", "great kindness has no friends".

  After careful consideration for a long time due to the above three reasons, I finally decided to formally adopt the pen name "Shi Yige".

  Then, use homophony to open a classical tea house called "Shi Yi Ge", and use homophony to open a modern coffee shop called "Shi Yi Ge". Or, simply call them both "Stone One Song", crisp and loud.

  Whether it's a small tea house or a coffee shop, on the wall at the entrance, there will always be posted various newspaper articles from over a decade ago that slander me and prove why I can have this title.

  If those retired professors who have been hiding behind this title for many years come, I will treat them for free; if they ask me to return this title to them, I'll let them go find Southern Weekend and Apple Daily. But they are already old, going to Guangzhou and Hong Kong would be tiring, so I'd advise them not to bother.

  I'll bring them hot tea and coffee, pat their shoulders, calm them down, and let them savor the inexpressible flavor of forty years.

  I've also grown old, and yet I still have the leisure to write a few lines. I think that most people who have reached an advanced age will be like those retired professors, remaining silent in the face of all sorts of clamor. Thus, it's pitiful for history, often recording the clamor as textbooks.