A Free Spirit with Principles

By Tian Xiangyu

A Free Spirit with Principles

By Tian Xiangyu

Lyu Tongyu accepted our interview on October 13th,2015, the day of the 111thbirthday of his father Lyu Zhengcao.He didn’t look like a man of 73: though he was not dressed warmly in the bitingly frigid October air in Beijing,his face shone with the robustness of a man half his age. He doesn’t have a private car. Instead of taking a taxi,he got to the interview by subway and bus. As his usual transportation is a scooter, he does not go more than five miles from his house on a sunny day.

The journalist was surprised to see him coming by bus. He smiled and said: “My father could even play tennis when he was 90 years old.The simple life makes us healthy and comfortable. It also brings longevity.”He is right. His father Lyu Zhengcao died at 106 years old, making him the longest living general of the founding fathers of the People’s Republic of China.

Lyu Zhengcao had acted as General Zhang Xueliang’s lieutenant and secretary,and participated in the war against Japanese invaders and the War of Liberation. He served as the Minister of Railways after 1949, and made great contributions to the development of the railway systems in China. In spite of his great achievements and contributions to the country, Lyu Zhengcao always told his children modestly, “I only did three things in my life: fighting against Japanese invaders, building railways, and playing tennis. I like all three of those things, so I dedicated my life to them; I feel very good about my life. I have no regrets.”

Lyu Tongyu said that his father never interfered with their studies and work, and he would never seek any bene fit for them by using his power.He didn’t care if his children would be rich or powerful. He just wanted his children to live a carefree life with principles, just like their father did.

“My father’s motto is ‘being freespirited with principles,’” said Lyu Tongyu. His father never forced them to do anything. Lyu Tongyu was naughty in his childhood. His father would never criticize him as long as he didn’t violate the rules. But if he violated them, his father would rebuke him.

2015年10月13日，父親呂正操誕辰111周年那天，呂彤羽接受了采訪。呂彤羽看起來根本不像73歲的老人。10月的北京已經有些冷，穿著單薄的他卻紅光滿面。他沒有專車，也沒有打車，是自己擠地鐵、坐公汽過來的。如果天氣好，去的地方不超過5公里，呂彤羽的交通工具是一個小滑輪車。

見記者面露驚訝之色，呂彤羽笑著說：“我父親90多歲時還打網球呢。越是隨意簡樸的生活，越是過得健康舒適，也更容易長壽。”他說得沒錯。他的父親呂正操活了106歲，是中國享年最長的開國上將。

呂正操曾任張學良的副官、秘書，后參加抗日救國運動、解放戰爭；新中國成立后出任鐵道部部長，為中國的鐵路發展作出了卓越貢獻。戰功赫赫、貢獻卓著，但呂正操總是對子女們說：“我一輩子只干了三件事：打日本、修鐵路、打網球。這三件事都是我喜歡、也一直努力去做的，所以這一輩子，我過得特別自在舒適。”呂彤羽說，父親從不會在學業和工作上對子女指手畫腳，更不會用自己的職位為他們謀福利。他也不管孩子能不能當官掙錢、出人頭地。他唯一在意的，是孩子們能否像他一樣，自在隨意又守規矩。

“父親的人生信條是‘自在隨意不逾矩’。”呂彤羽說，父親在任何事情上都不強求。呂彤羽小時候特別淘氣，無傷大雅的事情父親從不批評，但干了壞規矩的事兒，肯定會被父親狠狠說一頓。呂彤羽小時候和別人打撲克，人家偷牌他也偷，不然只能輸。父親發現后罵他：“正經活不會干就學做假，這樣下去，一輩子都干不成事。”從那以后，呂彤羽無論是學習考試，還是大學畢業后搞科研，一直都實實在在，從不投機取巧。

從中國航天科工集團退休前，呂彤羽有機會升到正局級，但當官后就不能再做科研工作。猶豫不決的他去征詢父親的意見，呂正操說：“不要考慮當多大的官，重要的是你能做多少事。”父親的話提醒了他。呂彤羽不再糾結是否升職，而是繼續埋頭搞科研直到退休。呂正操從不過問幾個子女的職稱、薪資，他掛在嘴邊的一句話是：“給國家做實在的工作，比炫耀一些虛的東西更踏實自在。”所以，每每有聚會，其他人都穿名牌、開豪車，有秘書、保鏢貼身跟隨，呂彤羽總是一個人踩著滑輪去赴約。他不覺得沒面子，反而發自內心地感到自在閑適。

在呂彤羽看來，父親“自在隨意”的人生哲學，是建立在從不停止學習、思考和鍛煉從而身心健康的基礎上的。出身貧寒農家，后來在戰場上出生入死的呂正操學識淵博，愛好廣泛。上世紀50年代，北京的網球場屈指可數，會打網球的人很少，呂正操就約人一起打網球。后來在他的積極主張下，中國有了自己的國家網球隊，隊員們也有了自己的網球訓練館。呂正操晚年還迷上了橋牌，常常和專業運動員過招。除了體育運動外，呂正操還天天讀書、寫日記。呂彤羽說：“父親自稱是雜家，哲學、經濟學、歷史、文藝等書籍都看。他總是告訴我們，買書是為了讀，而不是收藏。當有人送他精致的名著收藏本的時候，父親總是轉贈給圖書館。”

呂正操寫過一首七絕，其中兩句是這樣的：“最喜夕陽無限好，人生難得老來忙。”呂正操打網球打到90歲，打橋牌打到97歲，98歲時還在游泳。看書、寫日記的習慣，則一直保持到他離開人世。呂彤羽說，父親少時挨餓受凍，戰場上受過傷，但他成為開國將領中能夠活到百歲的老人，這與他自在隨意不逾矩的人生態度不無關系。父親的這種人生態度，是他和子孫后代最珍惜的傳家寶。

（摘自《婚姻與家庭·社會紀實》2015年第12期）

Once when playing poker with friends, he found that a player had hidden cards up into his sleeve, so he used the same trick, feeling that he would never win otherwise. His father was very angry about it when he found out, and scolded him, “Why didn’t you learn good behavior? You just learned how to cheat. You will achieve nothing if you behave like this.”

Since then, Lyu Tongyu kept his father’s words in mind. No matter whether of a test at school or a research after graduation, he always worked diligently and earnestly, and never took any shortcuts or used any tricks to get ahead.

Lyu Tongyu once had an opportunity to be promoted as director general before he retired from the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, but he would not be able to do research if he took on the role of an administrative of ficer. He hesitated and then decided to ask for his father’s opinion. Lyu Zhengcao said, “Don’t think about the power. What matters is your ability.” His father’s words were a real eye-opener. Lyu Tongyu stopped worrying about the promotion and devoted his last years to scientific research before retirement.

Lyu Zhengcao never asked his children about their professional titles or salaries. He often told them,“Actual contributions to the country will bring you more peace and joy than to show off fame and wealth.”Therefore, Lyu Tongyu always went to parties and gatherings alone by his scooter, while other people drove luxury cars and wore designer clothes with bevies of beautiful secretaries and entourages of strong bodyguards following behind. He did not feel insecure about the conditions of his life, in fact he was perfectly comfortable with it, and didn’t feel that he lost face in front of his friends.

Lyu Tongyu believed that his father’s philosophy of “being freespirited” was established on the basis of continuous study, thinking, and exercising, which gave him a sound health both physically and mentally.Born to a poor farmer’s family, Lyu Zhengcao was very knowledgeable in a great many fields, and had a wide variety of interests. The fact that he had experienced life and death on the battle fields gave him perspective.

There were very few tennis courts in Beijing in the 1950s, and even less people who played tennis, but Lyu Zhengcao still managed to find tennis companions. China had its own national tennis team because of Mr. Lyu’s proposal, and players then had their own training facilities. Lyu Zhengcao became fascinated with the game of bridge in his old age and often played with professionals. Besides sports, he also read books and wrote in his diary every day. Lyu Tongyu said, “My father called himself a polymath. He read philosophy,economics, history, art, and other books. He always said that books were bought to read rather than for collection. When someone gave him a collection of classics with exquisite hard covers, he would often donate them to libraries.”

Lyu Zhengcao once wrote a poem,in which he said, “I most love the colorful kaleidoscope of radiant rose that paints the sky a fire at dusk, how auspicious it is for the days to be full and fruitful, even at life’s sun sets.”

Lyu Zhengcao played tennis until 90 years old and played bridge until he was 97. He even swam at the age of 98. He kept the habit of writing diaries and reading until he passed away.Lyu Tongyu said that his father had suffered a lot during childhood and had been wounded on the battle fields,but the reason why he could live to over 100 years old was that he had maintained a positive attitude towards life. His father’s motto of“being free-spirited with principles” is the most valuable treasure left to him and his offsprings.

(From Marriage and Family,December 2015. Translation: Li Li.)

自在隨意不逾矩

文|田祥玉