At the intersection, there will be waves
——Postscript to the non-fiction literature "The Great River Struggle".
He Guixiang
Many times, I wonder how mediocre and uninteresting I would have been without the first author. Yes, it was she who lit up me and my life. It makes me different from what I used to be, different from others.
The first author, Zhou Shujuan, is my wife.
This is our third book together. In the first co-signed work "Our Xuzhou", she is her and I am me. In the second co-signed work "Jia Wang Zhenwang", she has me, and I have her. In this third co-authored work, "The Two Shores of the Incense", she is me, and I am her.
When people are middle-aged, they feel more fortunate - not only for the two of them to go through a half-life journey hand in hand, but also for the two of them to share the same interests and hobbies, and the same spirit and soul. The British writer Maugham said in "The Blade": "There are gregarious wolves and single wolves." "The same is true in literary creation and in life.
Thanks to the first author, for all the collecting and writing that went into completing this book, every departure under the scorching sun, every day of sweaty writing, all of which unmistakably told me how powerful the power of love is! Of course, writing isn't just about hard work. Her extensive study and in-depth reading allowed her to discover more knowledge, stories, characters, and connotations in that field when she presented each interviewee. This is of great significance to our understanding of the present and the characters we write. For example, her long-term exploration of "Dream of Red Mansions", her substitutional interpretation of the talented woman of Zhangmen in Changzhou, her encounter reading of "Drifting in the Sea" by the ancient Korean official Choi Pu, and her immersive understanding of guqin, flowers and trees, inkstones, silk, embroidery, and photography...... Although this book is only a story or a piece of insight, it makes this book have richer cultural nutrients. Shouldn't a responsible writer allow his readers to receive more valuable information from the article?
In the process of creating this book, we often talk about the excellent qualities of the predecessors, such as Lu Fengzi's talent is higher than the sky and the ancient road is warm, Yang Shouyu's righteousness and study and innovation, and more ancient - Mi Fu's obsession and unconventional, Tang Shunzhi's upright and love for the people like a son. We also often talk about the various excellent qualities of today's people in our writings, such as the courage of the preface and the text, the righteousness of Shan Weilin, the tranquility of Sun Yanyun, the spelling of He Jinghua, and the strength of Li Min and Xia Zhengping...... It turns out that excellent qualities are not only reflected in the ancients, but also in the warm light of human nature in today's people.
Today's people have become ancients, and they will continue to shine in the depths of history. Yes, the ancients and the present people, without exception, the light of their humanity has converged into a brilliant galaxy that reflects the historical sky. We are among these people with noble character, and we really have a luck of "not knowing the sky and water when we are drunk, and the boat is full of dreams and pressing the galaxy".
The writer A Lai said in "Travels to the Western Highlands": "Reading history, whether it is the history of dynasties or local history, is diligently engaged in the construction of 'national mythology'. The center has always been those who are at the center of power. Han literature and history is the emperor's ministers as the protagonists. The history of Tibetan literature is a great monk. It's hard to see the little people. In the history books, there is almost no mention of their fate and feelings in the transition of the times. At this time, we have to thank literature for leaving some sporadic portrayals of the living conditions of ordinary people at that time and place. It is precisely with this consideration in mind that our brushstrokes in this creation are aimed at a group of ordinary people on the banks of the canal in the new era.
The protagonists who appear in this book have a "unique skill". Some skills have entered a wider life, and some capable people have entered a wider world.
In the process of collecting and writing, we try to witness and test the "work" with people. In the mutual verification of people and "work", there is actually a small ambition hidden - along their lives, to sort out and discover the inheritance, flow and innovation of traditional Chinese art and traditional skills.
In the course of history, how far have the people of today come compared to their predecessors? How to let future generations understand the current state of existence and emotional quality? We hope to take this creation as an opportunity to preserve a possibility and a path for future generations, and also mark a coordinate for our own literary journey.
The reason why such an ambition was born is to drag people back a little from the endless pursuit of power and wealth, so as to return to their hearts, to themselves, to tradition. In doing so, the aim is to give us a broader perspective on Chinese traditions, Chinese skills, Chinese humanities, and Chinese spirit.
Our protagonists, because of their research, live not only in the traditions of the past, but also in the inheritance of today, and even more in the light of the future. All writing is a writer's self-observation, self-discovery, self-enlightenment, and self-growth. Others are others in our eyes. In other words, a considerable part of the "they" we present in our pen are actually ourselves. We start from "ourselves", listen, record, and present them, but we unconsciously bring our knowledge and understanding of life, character, culture, etc. This kind of rush actually goes both ways – they inspire us with their achievements in various fields, and they inspire us with their unique qualities in the course of life's struggles.
Thank you to all the respondents. If this book is well written, it can only be said that there is a certain agreement between us and the interviewee in terms of spirit and personality. Isn't the wonder of life illuminating each other by "this one" and "that one"?
Thank you to the enthusiastic people who linked us and the interviewees. They are Yang Jialiang, Xu Bingrong, and Zhao Weikang in Suzhou, Wei Ping and Sun Meng in Wuxi, Ma Yan and Ji Ping in Changzhou, Li Xiang in Nanjing, Fang Xiaowei, Xia Lu, and Zhao Yaguang in Yangzhou, Zhu Yue'e and Yu Zhaowen in Huai'an, Huo Yun, Lu Shuyan, Ding Huaming, and Liu Chengjun in Suqian, and Qin Linwen and Lu Feng in Xuzhou. Their names appear in this book in this way, and they may appear as protagonists in other works next time. Let's create together.
Sometimes, too, it is true that there is a sense of separation. My son has been studying in a foreign country for many years, from undergraduate to doctorate, standing on the peak of science, and thinking about traditional Chinese culture, which not only leads poetic parents to look at a more expansive distance, but also leaves parents a lot of time and space - traveling, reading, collecting style, writing, and discussing, so that we don't have to worry about trivial things. Because of work, the time we spent together was extremely short, but we had an unexpected gain - leaving each other with the possibility to think and the impulse to express independently. In such a situation, the reunion and reunion are precious because of the anti-expectation, and the emotional relationship and spiritual formation between family members are intimate. A family of three, each busy with their own affairs, and happy to share those gains in their own fields. In this way, our writing is wonderful, belonging to both this family of three and to each member of the family.
The book, from "motion" to writing, took more than two years. When isolated, read thousands of books - the courier faithfully draws our reading map; Thousands of miles in the sun – the ticket faithfully guards the secret of our walking. Every time she approached the canal, and even thought of the canal, she helped us with her long, wide, deep and clear - this is a tough river, but also a healing river.
The priest does not withdraw the qin for no reason. This is also a period when we are in a difficult situation and trying to break through - and the experience in between is enough to write a book or two. Fortunately, people who love literature can be loved by literature. Literature is the refuge and peach blossom that we can have and use religiously, allowing us to transcend and transcend.
Every life is a big river. When you read this work, it is as if the river of our life flows through your life. We believe that the river of your life has also flowed through us. At the intersection, there will be waves.
Thanks for all the encounters.
Just as every drop of river water nourishes a life, every strong feeling of life is also infused into every grain of words. I hope that every chapter is a field of flowers, and every word is a flower, where there are jasmine, roses, freesias, and wild thistles. If you look around, the flowers are blooming on both sides of the river. Please look down and smell the fragrance of flowers wafting on both sides of the river.
Before this book was published, another of our works was selected for the creation project of the large-scale reportage "100,000 Miles of Mountains and Rivers - New Practices and New Pictures of Chinese-style Modernization in Jiangsu". A new journey is about to begin, and the "South Gate" of Jiangsu - Zhenze Ancient Town, Wujiang District, Suzhou City is waiting for us.
Looking back, the creation of documentary literature has been going on for seven or eight years, and at this time, it is inevitable to think of the "north gate" of Jiangsu at the starting point - Jiawang District of Xuzhou City. From the "Wang" of "Jia Wang Zhenwang" to the "Ze" of Zhenze, it happens to be strung together by the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in "The Great River", or the still water flows deeply, or the big water soup soup, or the ocean is unbridled.
We have never left the river in our lives, and so has our literary life. Hundreds of thousands of words, such as big beads and small beads falling on jade plates, played our "river trilogy" - the river of Jiangsu, the river of the canal.
Let's see you in the next work.
He Guixiang, formerly known as He Guixiang, male, from Nantong, Jiangsu, graduated from the Department of Chinese of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, member of Jiangsu Writers Association, member of China Reportage Society, senior editor, and leading talent in the news and publishing industry of Jiangsu Province. He has won the first prize of the 24th China Journalism Award, the 12th "Five One Project" Award for the Construction of Spiritual Civilization in Jiangsu Province, the 10th Ge Gongzhen Journalism Award in Jiangsu Province, and the first Hanfeng Wenhua Award in Xuzhou City.