Xu Zhimo, my country’s famous modern poet, once said in an article: “I do not shy away from my ‘hero worship’”. His so-called "heroes" are such figures. In modern times, there are the great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, the French writer Romain Rolland, the Italian poet D'Annunzio, and the British Thomas Hardy... His reason: "Mountains, we love to kick high ones; people, why don't we want to get close to big ones?" For these heroes, he not only read and translated their works, but also said, "When I have the strength to climb, "I never let go of an opportunity to climb high." He wanted to see them personally and "see more heroes." This yearning led to a meeting between him and the great British writer Thomas Hardy.

Although Hardy is recognized as one of the important British novelists, his novels "The Return of the Native", "Jude the Obscure", especially his masterpiece "Tess", have won him great reputation , but in his early and later periods, his poems brilliantly demonstrated his "pure philosophy of life." It was these poems that first attracted the Chinese poet Xu Zhimo, who worshiped Hardy as a "hero" who "belongs to any era" throughout his life.

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In the process of Xu Zhimo’s translation of poems, Hardy seems to have the largest number, with dozens of poems. The first time it was published was in 1923. On November 10 of that year, two of Hardy's poems translated by Xu Zhimo were published in the "Novel Monthly". In 1924, he translated and published four more poems by Hardy. In March 1925, the magazine "Yu Si" published his translation of Hardy's poem "In a Hotel"; on May 20, 1926, in the "Morning Post Supplement Poetry", he published "The World-Weary Hardy (Hardy)" )" article. In order to prove his point of view, Xu Zhimo translated four Hardy poems in one breath. At this point, the introduction to translation can come to an end. Because not long after that, in the summer of that year, Xu Zhimo went to Europe, and met his favorite "hero" Thomas Hardy under the introduction of Dickinson, a British scholar and professor at Royal College of Cambridge University.

Before meeting Hardy himself, Xu Zhimo once drew a portrait of Hardy based on the descriptions in some articles and a little imagination: "If you had come to Dorchester a few years earlier, perhaps now, In the special countryside, you may meet the author of "Jude", a kind and amiable old man, wearing shorts and casual clothes, cheerful, with a short face and short jaw, walking leisurely on the street, saying hello , in reply, if you ask him about the famous places in Wessacks' novels, he will happily explain them in detail; when he turns around, he raises his hand, jumps on his bicycle, rings the bell, and heads towards the crowd. ” is a joyful and happy image. However, this is just imagination after all. What does the real Hardy, this literary "hero" look like?

To avoid being disturbed, Hardy built a house called Max Gate on the outskirts of Dorchester. Normally, he doesn't see visitors. Therefore, before that, Xu Zhimo asked Professor Dickinson of Cambridge University to write a letter. The letter says that Xu Zhimo is the Chinese translator of Hardy's poems and hopes to meet you. At that time, Professor Dickinson also said to Xu: The old man (referring to Hardy) is in such good spirits, be careful when he takes you for a walk in the Dorchester woods, he seems not to be tired at all. Dickinson was friends with Hardy, and he probably "enjoyed" the tiring treatment of walking with Hardy.

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One day in July 1926, the weather was exceptionally good. Carrying Professor Dickinson's letter of introduction, Xu Zhimo set out from London to Dorchester. Arrived around 3pm. After leaving the station, Xu Zhimo did not take a taxi because of the good weather. He only asked for the direction to Max Gate and headed towards his destination happily.

Xu Zhimo rang the doorbell. In the silence, the barking of the dogs in the house seemed harsh. A young maid wearing a white veil and wiping her hair came out and opened the door. After hearing Xu Zhimo's request, the young woman said: "Mr. Hardy is at home," and then added: "But you know that Mr. Hardy never sees guests." "Wait a minute," Xu Zhimo said quickly: "I'm here There is a letter, please pass it in. "Perhaps the maid didn't expect this foreign young man to have such a great reputation, so when she came out of the room, she had the most handsome smile on her face." "Mr. Hardy." I would like to see you. Sir, please come in."

Xu Zhimo walked into the living room and the maid went out. Hardy had not yet arrived, so Xu Zhimo was able to observe the furnishings in the living room: On one wall, there was a portrait of Hardy by the famous painter John Sargent, and on the other wall, there was a portrait of the British poet Shelley. On the bookshelf, there is also a large collection of Shelley. Xu Zhimo felt a little surprised: How could this old man like Shelley so much? From writing to content and form, the gap between the two of them is really big. Just as Xu Zhimo was thinking, there was a rush of footsteps on the stairs outside, accompanied by the sound of a dog's bell.

Hardy opened the door and came in. The old man is really short. For a moment, Xu Zhimo even felt that he was looking over and barely saw him. But the old man, the "hero" in his mind, finally came to him in reality. Before Xu Zhimo could express his admiration, Hardy suddenly pulled him to sit down. He kept saying "sit, sit".