3. I Continue My Studies in Beiping

Abstract

In the late 1920s, two older male cousins, Zhenliang and Xuliang and two older female cousins, Shuzhao and Shuxian, from the home of the author's uncle Zhou Da moved to Tianjin from Shanghai. The four of them took great pleasure in Chinese and British literature, and they brought with them numerous works of literature. Zhou Yiliang's favorites were Shuihuzhuan and detective fiction. He was so deeply moved while reading such works. Zhou Yiliang had aspirations of going to a university in Beiping to continue his studies. In 1930 he took the examination to a special Chinese literature course at Yanjing University and passed with the highest mark of all who sat for it. In the summer of 1931 Zhou Yiliang applied to enter Furen University, abandoned Chinese literature and switched to the History Department. Entrance into Yanjing University proved to be a major turning point in his life. Keywords: Beiping; British literature; Chinese literature; Chinese literature course; Furen University; History department; Yanjing University; Zhou Yiliang