In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

A Journey o f Twenty-Seven Year s Lin Beili Translated b y Shirle y Chan g Lin Beili (19 J 6-?), originally named Lin Yin, was a poet from Minhou, Fujian. I. M y Motiv e fo r Writin g I will write down here the story of a twenty-seven-year-old woman . Readers will probabl y conside r i t strange , fo r th e collectio n whic h include s thi s narrative already indicate s its nature. But why do I not directly say: "I will write down my own story here"? Let me now explain th e reason, which i s my motive fo r writing . It must have bee n lat e June tha t I received a letter from m y friend L ! Attached t o i t wa s a lette r fro m M s Huang , a n edito r wit h Plowin g Publishing Company (Gengyu n chubanshe). She asked me to write my life to b e publishe d i n a collectio n o f wome n writers ' autobiographies . I instinctively thought , "Sa y no ! Ho w ca n I write m y autobiography ? I'v e never writte n anythin g an d i f my story were included i n the collection , i t would be completely ou t of place." But another thought entere d m y min d with eve n stronge r force : m y refusa l woul d greatl y disappoin t L . H e ha d been so kind to me that I could not bear the thought of letting him down . Indeed, I should no t le t him down . Before the n I had rea d man y autobiographie s an d ha d foun d mos t o f them unsatisfying. The writers (either men or women) ofte n love d to write about ho w the y struggled , ho w the y conquere d difficulties , an d how the y had made sacrifices t o benefit others . What meaningfu l an d practical live s they ha d led ! Al l th e tal k o f their endeavor s an d sacrifice s wer e nothin g but a beautifu l an d splendi d curtain . M y lif e concern s n o struggle , 94 • LI N BEILI conquering, or sacrifice. I will definitely not brag about myself. I will simply write dow n m y journe y o f th e pas t twenty-seve n years , realisticall y an d objectively. I t wil l b e a s if I were writing abou t somebod y else . As everybod y knows , a grain o f seed wil l grow accordin g t o th e soil , climate, and planting methods. All species are the same, their nature stem s from thei r habitat. Human beings are no exception. Therefore, I must write down my background, m y family an d my education a s follows, so that yo u can understand how I became who I am. At the same time, one might have a glimps e o f my parents' generation , thei r world , a s compared t o mine . II. M y Birt h i n 191 6 The Second Year of the First World War It could be said that war never left me. I was born in the second year of the First World War, and now it is the fourth year of the Second World War . When capitalis m progresse d t o imperialism , powerful nation s becam e aware of the cruelty and terror of war and tried to avoid an unprecedente d slaughter. But vying ever more heatedly for economic benefits i n colonized countries, th e tensio n accelerate d i n imperialis t countries . Not lon g afte r fierce internationa l competition , th e Firs t Worl d Wa r brok e ou t i n th e autumn of 1914. At th e second anniversary of the First World War — July 27, 1916 , at dawn, when th e sky was overcast with red clouds and the su n gradually rose above the horizon, overshadowing the glare of gunfire, I was born i n a corner i n Shanghai . The Downfall of Li Yuanhongs Constitution, Yuan Shikais Loss of Power, and the Wars Among ; Northern Warlords Although th e honorabl e M r Zhongshan 1 succeede d i n 191 1...

Share