January 26

This book collects 186 family letters written by Fu Lei’s family from 1954 to 1966， which were compiled by Fu Lei’s family members. It selects the essence of the contents about art discussion， family education， emotional communication， and interpersonal relationship and omits many tedious daily talks. Thus， it effectively and accurately reflects the spirit of Fu Lei’s Family Letters.

Dear son，

On New Year’s Day， I held a walking stick with one hand and put the other hand on your mother’s shoulder. In this way， I tried and managed to walk. These days， I’ve been sitting or lying but seem handicapped. I have to be served by others and cannot make a step alone. Perhaps I will return to normal life after a week’s recovery.

I expected to receive your letter in the new year， and we both waited for it as a gift. As expected， we received your letter yesterday morning， which was good news for us. My son！ We would surely have burst into tears if we had been on the scene. The highest and purest joy in the world is nothing more than enjoying art， especially the art expressed by my son’s hands and heart！ Besides， we are pleased that you brought honor to our motherland and that you brought joy to so many people with music！ At the thought that you will surely make greater achievements and endless progress， serving more people， encouraging them， and soothing their pains， we can’t help being excited！ What a sacred， glorious mission it is to carry forward the immortal works of immortal masters and spread them to every corner of the earth！ My son， you are so happy. Heaven is so generous to you. It’s my greatest pleasure and comfort that so many excessive flatteries and praises haven’t taken away your self-knowledge. People’s applause， embraces， and praises of celebrities haven’t reduced your modesty to art！ I’m gratified that my education was not in vain， and your twenty years of torture were not in vain！ You are strong （not being carried away by victories is the best proof of being strong）. As long as you are strong， I will feel relieved all my life！ The degree of achievement is not under our control. It depends on both manpower and talent. But as long as you are strong， you won’t be afraid of failure， setbacks， and challenges in interpersonal relationships， life， technique， and learning. From now on， you can fight for yourself.

Moreover， so many good teachers and friends are helping and supporting you. The famous works throughout history are nurturing your spirit at every moment！ My son， from now on， you will never be lonely and won’t be afraid even if you are alone！

I always keep “a pure heart of a newborn baby” in my mind. A newborn baby doesn’t know what loneliness is. When it is lonely， it will create a world and many soulmates！ As long as you always keep a pure heart of a newborn baby， you will never fall behind when you grow old， and you can always communicate with all the pure hearts in the world！ Your friend was right. The charm of artistic performance must come from a pure heart！ If our heart is not as pure as a mirror， how can it feel the souls of our ancestors？ How can it touch the hearts of our audiences？

Smangianka’s comments about Chopin’s piano concerto reminded me of your words about Richter playing Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto in the last two letters. All achievements must be truly appreciated.

The dean of the conservatory said that your performance was like a river， which reminded me of the symbol of Christophe. Uncle Tian said you used to regard yourself as Christophe in childhood， while your personality resembles Romain Rolland’s ideal. I hope you will be the bell of New China， ringing all over the world and ringing in everyone’s heart！ You will bring the flowing river to everyone’s heart and take them together into the ocean of endless music！ The world-famous Yangtze River and Yellow River are more magnificent than the Rhine！ The Yellow River comes from the sky， rushing into the sea， and never comes back！ A nation with such poetic soul and tradition should perform with mighty power.

You often say you live in contradiction and happiness， but I believe an artist will never make progress， evolve， and develop without contradiction. Contradictions are evidence of vitality. At present， what you feel is the contradiction between technique and ideal. You will experience repeated， greater contradictions in the future. The conflict between form and content， many unexpected contradictions in your mind， are waiting for you ahead. Don’t worry. When you overcome a contradiction， you will take a step forward！ You can never solve all the contradictions. Therefore， there is no end to art. There is not a perfect day in your life！ That’s why we need to pursue and exercise day and night for life. Otherwise， everyone would be the emperor who governed the state easily. Then it would be so boring！

Fu Lei’s Family Letters： Letters Between the Father and the Son

Fu Lei， Zhu Meifu， Fu Cong

Yilin Press

December 2022

68.00 （CNY）

Fu Lei

Fu Lei is a famous literary translator and critic in China. He translated a large number of books throughout his life. His translation works fully express the original spirit of the writers and are characterized by smooth language， rich expressions， and changes in emotional colors， which formed his translation characteristics.

Fu Cong

Fu Cong is a world-famous pianist and Fu Lei’s eldest son. In 1955， he won the third prize and the Best Performance Award of Mazurka at the 5th International Chopin Piano Competition. At the end of 1958， he graduated from the Warsaw Conservatory of Music （The Frideric Chopin University of Music） with excellent results ahead of schedule and moved to London， Britain. Then he served the

international music scene for more than 50 years and was honored as the “Piano Poet.”