The well-known writer Qiong Yao passed away in Taiwan, China on the afternoon of the 4th at the age of 86. The news came, shocking readers and viewers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. What few people know about Qiong Yao when she was young is that in the 1940s, Qiong Yao’s fat

Well-known writer Qiong Yao passed away in Taiwan, China on the afternoon of the 4th at the age of 86. The news came, shocking readers and viewers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

What few people know about Qiong Yao when she was young

is that in the 1940s, Qiong Yao's father Chen Zhiping taught at Tongji University, and Qiong Yao studied in the "Shanghai Sixteenth District National Primary School" in her childhood, which is now the No. 1 Central Primary School in Hongkou District.

Chen Zhiping and his wife have two sons and two daughters. The eldest daughter and son of the twins were born in Chengdu in the spring of 1938. The eldest daughter was named "Chen Zhe", which is Qiong Yao. In the autumn of 1945, Chen Zhiping was hired as a lecturer in the "Public Science" of Tongji University, which moved to the ancient town of Lizhuang in the suburbs of Yibin, Sichuan, and taught part-time at the attached middle school. After moving back to Shanghai from Lizhuang, the original Wusong school building was destroyed by Japanese artillery fire. In order to solve the housing problem for teachers, the school rented some rooms in the Jinshan Building, an annex of the Bund Licha Building (i.e. Pujiang Hotel, now the China Securities Museum) not far from the school. As a teacher's dormitory, Chen Zhiping's family also lived here, and the office was located at No. 2066, Sichuan North Road (now Xinxing Fuxing Junior High School).

Qiong Yao has a desk at home. During the day, my father prepared lessons and corrected homework on the desk. At night, my mother spread quilts, and the desk became the bed for Qiong Yao and her siblings. Qiong Yao once recalled: "When I was 9 years old, my father taught at Tongji University, and our family moved to Shanghai. I remember on the first day of school, my mother held my hand and stood in the corridor of the National Primary School in the 16th District of Shanghai, watching the high school students. Poster for grade students."

It was while "watching the posters of senior students" at the Central National School in District 16 of Shanghai that Qiong Yao was deeply touched and became obsessed with writing. She often used daily conversations between her parents as material to inspire her parents. Laughing until my stomach hurts. Of course, there is also her own shadow in it. Soon, she asked her father to help her send the novel "Poor Xiaoqing" to Shanghai's "Ta Kung Pao". On December 6, 1947, the "Modern Children" column of the ninth page of "Ta Kung Pao" published the debut novel "Poor Xiao Qing" by 9-year-old Qiong Yao. Interestingly, "The Little Locomotive Not on the Tracks" by Chen Bochui, editor-in-chief of the "Modern Children" column of "Ta Kung Pao" and children's literature writer, was also published at the same time.

"Poor Xiao Qing"

Text/Chen Zhe Published in "Ta Kung Pao" on December 6, 1947

Xiao Qing is a ten-year-old girl, very beautiful, but very thin. Her father works in a factory and earns a small salary every month. Her mother is busy doing housework at home and making clothes for Xiaoqing to wear.

Xiaoqing originally studied in a primary school. Because she couldn't understand her classmates, all her classmates bullied her. But she worked very hard, so the teacher liked her very much. Later, her father lost his job and she could no longer continue studying.

After she lost school, she felt very sad and restless day and night, so she became ill. Her mother was very anxious and wanted to see a doctor but had no money.

Later, Xiaoqing’s father borrowed tens of thousands of dollars and hired a doctor. The doctor hurriedly wrote a prescription for 50,000 yuan. Xiaoqing's mother gave him 50,000 yuan, and the doctor took the money and left. Xiaoqing's father took the prescription and bought the medicine. He gave it to Xiaoqing and she gradually recovered.

But her family was even poorer, so her illness had just recovered, and her mother asked her to help others. Xiaoqing was very loyal, so the owner loved her very much and gave her one hundred thousand yuan a month. Xiaoqing was completely satisfied. Give it to mother.

She did this for several months, and her body became even more unhealthy due to overexertion. Sometimes she would suddenly faint on the ground. But she can't rest! She gritted her teeth and endured all the pain, working non-stop, and finally fell ill again. This time the illness was very serious, and she had no money to hire a doctor. After three days of this, Xiaoqing died.

Alas! Such a good child had no fault at all, so why did she die?

"Ta Kung Pao" on December 6, 1947 Source: Shanghai Library's "National Newspaper and Periodical Index Database"

In May 1988, Mr. Chen Bochui published an article "Send to Qiong Yao from afar" in the Chaohua Supplement of "Liberation Daily", in which he recalled, "In the early summer of 1947, Ta Kung Pao was preparing to publish every day Publish a supplement. I remember that the supplement for the weekend edition is "Literature" co-edited by Ba Jin and Jin Yi; The supplement on Sunday is "Modern Children", which I am responsible for editing. A reader who is only nine years old sent me an article titled "Poor Xiao Qing", which I read with sincere feelings and beautiful writing. It was published. Unexpectedly, today, forty years later, I accidentally discovered the "New World". I learned that this young writer whose original name was Chen Zhe was Qiong Yao, a famous writer who enjoys a high reputation in Taiwan's literary world."

In May 1988, Chen Bochui published the article "Send to Qiong Yao from afar" in the Chaohua supplement of "Liberation Daily"