Author: Yang Wenjie.
Xie Wanfei Editor-in-charge: Zhou Wei.
Xie Wanfei. WeChat editor: Wang Xinyuan.
9 stories, 9 lives. In November 2023, writer Zhong Qiushi's latest collection of short stories "The Sky on the Earth" was published, which includes 6 short stories, most of which were created by Zhong Qiushi in the past three or four years. The exception to this is the novella "Days Far from Heaven", which was written more than 20 years ago. For the addition of this **, Zhong Qiushi believes that this can not only increase the sense of depth in the time of the **episode, but also help readers to contrast when reading works from different periods.
Like many of Zhong Qiushi's previous works, in this ** episode, a small town called "Kuncheng" appears many times. The word "Kuncheng" comes from Zhong Qiushi's hometown, the name "Kunyang" in Pingyang County, Wenzhou, Zhejiang. In Zhong Qiushi's own words, "For my writing, my hometown is both a starting point and a base place. The small town with the pseudonym 'Kuncheng' is my spiritual hometown in literature. ”
A new world that is more distant than reality
Chen Lijun, associate professor of the School of Literature and Literature of Zhejiang University and deputy director of the Institute of Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature and Culture of Zhejiang University, mentioned that for a long time before, some critics thought it was good, but readers often did not think it was good. This has also become a very difficult point in the theoretical study of modernization in contemporary China. In this regard, Zhong Qiushi chooses to use and simplify the complicated narrative routine of the pioneer**, and translate it into a usage that readers can understand.
But that doesn't mean Zhong Qiushi's stories aren't refined or legendary. On the contrary, almost every ** article that Zhong Qiuye has an unexpected "sense of horror". For example, in the first part of the episode, the protagonist Zhu Yiwei and Chen Wan signed the strange plot of the "Marriage Agreement for the Next Life". Or in the creation of characters, ordinary people in ** suddenly make a big jump and become fairies or ghosts.
When creating literary works, some writers care about the problem, story, or ideological connotation of the work. But literature is first and foremost the art of language, and Zhong Qiu happens to be a writer who cares about language and writing. When it comes to the processing of language and characters, Zhong Qiushi prefers conciseness and accuracy. Titles such as "Except for the Distance", "The Sky on the Earth", "Kuncheng in the Universe", etc., seem to be simple and concise, but in fact they have multiple meanings, presenting the intriguing special charm of Chinese characters.
Wang Xufeng, winner of the Mao Dun Literature Award and professor of Zhejiang A&F University, spoke highly of Zhong Qiushi's concise and accurate expression in his works, "The book of seeking truth looks very simple, but in fact, the text is very exquisite, and it is so exquisite that there is no trace. To a certain extent, it can be said that Qiushi inherited the advantages of Chinese vernacular literature, and at the same time, he is also a writer with relatively complete and thick cultural inheritance. Zhong Qiu's light and flavorful, soothing rhythm ** text was vividly described by Wang Xufeng as "oil painting-like language".
* Although the episode "Sky on Earth" tells 9 different stories, they all have a unified theme - a new world that is more distant than reality. In the book, Zhong Qiu uses light and poetic strokes to guide readers to explore the new alien space he has constructed, and to think about memory, death, ideals and beliefs and other issues together. The father in the article "Except for the Distance", out of the financial mistake of "me", set up a cell in his hometown to create a "new world", and was also recognized by "my" friends who returned to their hometown from the provincial capital. In this new space that is conducive to the exertion of idealism, Zhong Qiushi asks the world, what can we do outside the vulgar everyday world?What kind of world can you go to?
Explore the hidden rooms in the depths of your heart
A good writer must explore the hidden things in daily life, especially those in the depths of the human heart. In Zhong Qiushi's view, the formation of this view is inextricably linked to one of the three relationships that writers need to deal with: "man and self". Because only by going deeper and constantly opening up the hidden rooms in the depths of the human heart, the more secret things that can resonate can be excavated.
A bibliophile trapped in a marital siege, a scientist obsessed with the mysteries of the universe and time, and a rebellious teenager who grew up in a loveless family and a deformed environment, ......In Zhong Qiushi's eloquent storytelling, countless ordinary and unique characters come to life. In the small town of "Kuncheng", these have different appearances and different personalities.
1. People with complex emotions of joy and sorrow, although they live an ordinary and ordinary life, they also have the idea and pursuit of breaking through themselves and flying in the air.
In addition to "man and self", Zhong Qiu's discussion of two other relationships—"man and society" and "man and nature", also appropriately appears in his other works. Zhong Qiushi believes that writers need to have the ability to capture society and write works that are closely related to social life. In January 2023, "Kuncheng in the Universe", published in "Harvest", writes about the relationship between man and nature, not only the green mountains and green waters, and the air getting better, but also the meaning of people's survival on the earth, the relationship between people and the earth, and between people and the universe.
What are the criteria to be considered good?Zhang Yinmo, assistant to the editor-in-chief of Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House and planning editor of "The Sky on the Earth", answered the question: A good ** must have the power to soothe people's hearts. In the view of Zhegui, deputy editor-in-chief of Jiangnan magazine and vice chairman of Zhejiang Writers Association, "A good ** needs to provide a different world, that is, to build a new world outside the ordinary world, so that readers yearn for it." In this regard, Zhong Qiushi refined it into three criteria: good technology, good narrative, and excavation of people's hearts. He also emphasized that "a writer's ability to dig into his heart and explore the secrets determines the thickness and spiritual strength of the writer's literary works." ”
Some people say that Zhong Qiushi writes about female characters very precisely, and his respect for women has touched many female readers. "There are many unbearable and tragic stories in my work, but there is never a single woman who is a bad person. For female characters in the dark, Zhong Qiushi always unconsciously uses the emotion of words to support. Zhong Qiushi has written many poignant love stories, but in reality, he has no other emotional experience except for his beautiful and virtuous wife. Therefore, Zhong Qiushi, who lacks this experience, according to human nature and a certain logic of life, supplemented by literary imagination, successfully accurately reflected the development trend of those love stories. At the level of women's theory, Zhang Yinmo sighed: "Female readers at the ordinary level can feel respected and loved in **, which is a kind of literary comfort brought by the teacher of seeking truth." ”
Bring different works to readers
After coming to Jiangnan magazine as the editor-in-chief, all the office documents were handwritten by Zhong Qiu. These documents could have been handed over to other staff in the office to write, but in order to avoid the trouble and hard work caused by their change back and forth, Zhong Qiushi chose to write it himself. "Whether it is in daily affairs or writing and reviewing, Qiushi is very serious. Zhong Qiushi and Zhegui are both writers who create literary works, and both work as editors of Jiangnan magazine. The relationship between the two is "brother and friend", so that they have frequent exchanges on literary works.
Whenever Zhong Qiushi finishes writing a new work, he will show it to Zhegui before submitting it. The dual identity of editor and writer allows the two to look at their works from both the perspective of literary writers and editors. "The manuscripts I read when I was doing editing work, whether good or bad, were a kind of nutrition for me and Qiushi. In Zhegui's eyes, they can see some common mistakes of writers in poor manuscripts, so as to avoid themWhen encountering excellent manuscripts, it is good to learn and Xi, and at the same time, it can also stimulate their internal motivation as writers.
Zhong Qiushi subconsciously wrote down a sentence when chatting with his friends - "the contract of union in the afterlife", and after merging with his thoughts, it gradually extended into the short story ** "The Sky on the Earth". This is thanks to a small Xi of his life: in a notebook, he can record interesting, impactful, and touching materials in life at any time. When these latent materials meet the appropriate subject matter, the fragments of real life become part of the literary creation. "As a writer, all the work is contained in the big thinking, so that something open grows within the work. "It's not enough to have materials, you need to think about them in all aspects.
The twists and turns of a friend's life story is often the starting point of Zhong Qiushi's ** plot fermentation. Many years ago, one of Zhong Qiuye's work partners died unexpectedly while going abroad on business. When he saw his partner's pale and thin face with his partner's family, Zhong Qiushi, who was in a trance, began to think: What kind of order does death have for a certain life?What is the trajectory of fate?"I must devote myself more to literature, and I must spend my whole life trying to explore and decipher the meaning of life. At the moment when the eye-catching cross on the locomotive was far and near, Zhong Qiushi made it clear to him. Shortly thereafter, he wrote the novella "The Death of the Poet Hungary".
to be better than the other", this is Zhong Qiu's requirements for himself in writing, and it is also the belief he has always held. As a result, whether it is creating a short story or a medium length, Zhong Qiushi has been exploring the "unboundedness" of content and form. In the article "Kuncheng in the Universe", as a liberal arts student, he not only touched quantum mechanics and astrophysics, but also inquired about life in the pursuit of scientific knowledge, and in the form of emails, interviews, small talk, letters, news reports and other expressions. "It's really uninhibited!Zhong Qiushi said happily.
Zhong Qiushi, who is full of spiritual strength, always has "positive breath and desire" in his heart. He said frankly that as a writer who can self-shape, self-promote, and self-revolutionize, he hopes that he will continue to move forward and go to a higher place. Next, Zhong Qiushi will also bring more different works to readers.
Review: Yang Yue.
Reviewer: Zhou Wei.
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