Love Letters by Zhu Shenghao

By Zhu Shenghao

"Waking up, I feel so in love with you." 

"I value our meetings more than our separations, which is one of the tricks in life. Otherwise, there will be more sorrow than joy in being apart most of the time, and I will have to bear endless pain throughout my life."

"The suffering in the world is nothing compared to the fact that my soul has never been apart from you for a single day."

"I love Song Ch'ing Ju because she is so good. There was no one better than her in ancient times, and there will be no one better in the future. I absolutely cannot find anyone like her now, and I am willing to be baffled by her."

"My heart should have been cold long ago, but dare not to forget the beauty of spring for your sake. I do not want to have a more comfortable living environment, because there is already the comfort of your friendship, which is far more valuable than everything else."

 

Some people say: if there are ten measures of sweet words in the world, then Zhu Shenghao alone contributes eight measures. His love letters are so affectionate and sentimental that Song Ch'ing Ju was deeply attracted.

Zhu Shenghao is introverted and taciturn, but his letters to Song Ch'ing Ju are full of life, overflowing with youthful vigor, wit, distress, and humor. In 1942, the two got married, but in 1944, Zhu Shenghao passed away. These love letters witnessed a legendary and tragic love story. It is precisely because of this great love and the companionship of kindred spirits that Zhu Shenghao became a master translator of Shakespeare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Great Wall Publishing
• Release date: Mar 4, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224185054

Book preview

Love Letters

by Zhu Shenghao

Prologue

In 1929, Zhu Shenghao enrolled in Zhijiang University and in his final year, he met Song Ch’ing Ju. They shared similar interests and became close friends. After graduating in 1933, Zhu and Song maintained a correspondence and endured a decade-long love despite the challenges they faced. In 1936, Zhu began translating Shakespeare's plays, enduring hardships due to the war. After getting married in 1942, he persisted in his translation work under extremely difficult conditions. The great love between Zhu Shenghao and Song Ch’ing Ju led them to accomplish one of the most challenging projects in the Chinese translation field over the past century.

They spent only one year together on campus. Zhu Shenghao graduated from university earlier and worked as an English editor at Shanghai World Bookstore, while Song Qingru first studied at Zhejiang University and then taught in Chengdu. The two lived in different cities. When they parted, she gave him a pen. With this pen, Zhu Shenghao translated the complete works of Shakespeare, which amounted to 1.8 million words, and wrote over 540 love letters to her.

Zhu Shenghao is introverted and taciturn, but his letters to Song Ch’ing Ju are full of life, overflowing with youthful vigor, wit, distress, and humor. In his letters, Zhu Shenghao talks about everything, discussing ideals, life, love, and expressing his joys and sorrows, reading books, watching movies, exchanging poetry, and discussing translation. The main theme that runs through these letters is his infinite longing and admiration for Song Ch’ing Ju. His pen is able to evoke emotions, and his words sparkle with a passionate heart. His soul flows from the tip of his pen, sealed in envelopes, and flies into her heart. In 1942, the two got married, but in 1944, Zhu Shenghao passed away. These love letters witnessed a legendary and tragic love story. It is precisely because of this great love and the companionship of kindred spirits that Zhu Shenghao became a master translator of Shakespeare.

In terms of words alone, he is humorous and cute. He is reasonable and coquettish in his love letters, making people irresistible. Song wrote a letter to reject his confession, and he replied slowly, saying that it doesn’t matter if you reject me, don’t be so direct, you should write like this, I can easily accept it, and others can’t understand what it means. Song was amused by him and attracted by his talent. When it comes to his crazy energy, he is no less impressive than Shen Congwen.

Some people say: if there are ten measures of sweet words in the world, then Zhu Shenghao alone contributes eight measures. His love letters are so affectionate and sentimental that Soon Ch’ing Ju was deeply attracted.

The first Volume: Acquaintance and Affection

No. 1 Romantic

Song,

Thank you for giving me such a good task! I meant to refuse you, but I don’t want to reject you because you are so nice. I borrowed four volumes of Introduction to Chinese History and two volumes of Research Methods in Chinese History from the library. I originally planned to copy some key points, but after I came back, I ended up reading them all together. I managed to get some inspiration and wrote this nonsense article.

Why do you say I will get angry again? Does that mean you understand me? Wouldn’t I be happy if you understand me? Unless we struggle to find a way out of our own psychological conflicts, the external environment may not necessarily impose any restraints on our souls.

It is not necessarily true that people commonly dislike old things, especially in our ancient country where there are many people obsessed with relics. I often think that if China did not have thousands of years of ancient culture as its foundation, it might have some hope. No matter how valuable the old culture is, there is a need to destroy it in order to avoid hindering the growth of the new.

Being called as romantic, especially by those pseudo gentlemen, who always associate the term with something negative, is not really pleasant. But in reality, both you and I can undoubtedly be described as romantic. Our personalities are not