we three

Qian Zhongshu, the most brilliant scholar of the Republic of China era, and Yang Jiang, who excelled in both creative writing and translation, are legendary figures in contemporary Chinese literature. However, this literary couple's life also bore witness to the incompatibility between politics and culture. In 1996, their only daughter, Qian Yuan, passed away, followed two years later by Mr. Qian. With her life partners gone, Ms. Yang first sought solace in translating Plato's Phaedo, a dialogue between Socrates and his students before his death. This year, at the advanced age of ninety-two, she penned We Three, a memoir of 63 years of family life. Ms. Yang's unique style portrays the bittersweet experience of remembering loved ones in her twilight years, profoundly moving in its simplicity. The second chapter, describing Mr. Qian's departure from home in his later years due to illness, reveals an indescribable deep affection between husband and wife, as well as the trauma inflicted upon this family by the times. The poignant yet unsentimental tone prompts readers to pause and reflect.

The Qians were highly respected in academic circles, and their bestsellers, Fortress Besieged and Washing, further enhanced their fame. However, little was known about their family life. In 1998, Mr. Qian's death deeply saddened the cultural world. But it is little known that his and Ms. Yang's only daughter, Qian Yuan, had passed away before them (in 1997). With her lifelong companion and only daughter gone, Ms. Yang's emotional state in her later years is unimaginable to most. Four years after the passing of her life partner, Ms. Yang, at 92 years old, meticulously documented 63 years of ups and downs and every detail of their unique family, compiling it into the memoir We Three. The book is divided into two parts: In the first part, Ms. Yang, with her usual insight and unique style, recounts the emotional experience of the family of three relying on each other during their last few years, presented in the form of a dream. The second part, with plain and moving language, records the little-known arduous journey of this family from 1935, when the couple went to study in England and happily welcomed their beloved daughter in Oxford, until Mr. Qian's death in 1998, spanning 63 years. Though heaven and earth, life and death, are separated, profound affection remains unbroken. Ms. Yang, alone in her quiet contemplation, silently pours out her heart to her loved ones on the other side. As an old-school intellectual, her writing is restrained and subtle; an indescribable sense of kinship and sorrow permeates the lines, touching every reader.