Bi Shumin: Truthfully write about the complex aspects of human nature

Bi Shumin

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"My personal values and methodology are to hope to reach a bright ideal by means of cleanliness." A few days ago, in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network, writer Bi Shumin said so.

"When a person lives, he must maximize his own happiness, and let others feel happier because of your existence." In 2007, when Bi Shumin's novel The Female Psychologist was published, she wrote this sentence in her preface. 14 years later, the urban healing drama "Female Psychologist", adapted from Bi Shumin's novel, was launched, and the psychological counselor Horton analyzed the causes of the psychological problems of many clients and helped them get out of the past haze and embrace life again.

The birth of the novel "Female Psychologist" is related to a special life experience of Bi Shumin. At that time, in order to help her good friends get out of the psychological haze, Bi Shumin studied psychology with Lin Mengping, a professor at the University of Chinese in Hong Kong, at Beijing Normal University, so after "doctors and writers", Bi Shumin added the resume of "psychology student".

After completing her studies, Bi Shumin opened a psychological counseling clinic to get close to people in need and then write novels. "I hope that people will pay attention to mental health, pay attention to the rapidly changing times, and think about how to have a strong heart to meet the endless challenges."

After writing well-known works such as "Kunlun Death", "Reservation Death", "Red Prescription", "Blood Linglong" and so on, Bi Shumin's works in recent years have been related to travel. As a writer who loves to walk, Bi Shumin feels that only when you go out will you see a different culture and history, "go to unknown places, see different cultures, and you can immediately enter a state of thinking."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bi Shumin, who is nearly 70 years old, learned to shop online, hold video conferences online, and have more time to read and write. And when there was an opportunity to go to the desert to see the stars, she agreed without hesitation. "Life is beautiful, we should cherish life and maximize our happiness."

China Youth Daily: The "Female Psychologist" that is being broadcast is adapted from your novel published in 2007, what is the impact of your study and counseling experience in psychology on your creation?

Bi Shumin: I went from studying psychology at Beijing Normal University in 1998, to opening a clinic later, to completing this work in 2007, with a span of 10 years in between. Before that, I had worked as a doctor, read some psychology books, and listened to some classes scatteredly, but the foundation was very weak, so the learning process was very hard. I remember the first day of class, the teacher talked about a lot of psychological terms, I don't know what it means, I can only check the information quickly after class... Every day new knowledge comes and goes, and I can't finish it.

Forgive me for praising myself, I was really studying very hard at that time, so the situation slowly improved. One day the teacher said to me, Bi Shumin, do you know? Your classmates are already jealous of you... The teacher explained to the students: "Bi Shumin used to be a physiological doctor, and writing is 'human science'. In the process of studying psychology, she transferred her knowledge from other fields here, and through unremitting efforts, she made progress..."

For me, psychology is a science that not only learns knowledge, but also helps me a lot. At that time, China was in an era of rapid change, and the experience of opening a psychological clinic made me understand that everyone is challenged, and every day there are new experiences and new problems emerging. I especially want to express these questions and use psychological knowledge to help everyone. Driven by this idea, I wrote The Female Psychologist.

China Youth Daily: What is the process of adapting the novel into a film and television drama?

Bi Shumin: As soon as the novel was published, some institutions bought the copyright. The AUDIENCE OF THE TV SERIES IS SO WIDE, I am very happy that my desire to "help others" can be expressed in another art form.

But it is difficult to adapt the script, from the completion of the novel to the present, has experienced two rounds of TV series copyright transfer, 10 years later, has not been filmed. This time, after everyone's efforts, the TV series was finally presented, and the results could finally be seen.

China Youth Daily· China Youth Network: "Female Psychologist" tells the story of psychological counselor Horton finding himself and helping others to help himself, what are the considerations for the setting of this character?

Bi Shumin: I want to sincerely express my expectations for this industry. Psychological counselors are not perfect, they are not perfect, and each psychologist has his own problems to face and deal with. It is not that you have to cultivate yourself into a vajrayogini body and become a very perfect person in order to become a psychologist, and a psychologist can grow with the client.

China Youth Daily: The touch of many real experiences will inspire your writing?

Bi Shumin: Writing that is completely divorced from personal experience is not true, writing must come from life, but it is not a "photographic copy" of life, but it must be processed through art. Just as Horton in the novel is not me, the story of the visitor in it is not a transcription of people and things in reality.

The Horton I want to present is the image of a psychological counselor who is constantly trying to learn, constantly reflecting, and constantly growing. She also encounters many problems, but the problems can not stop her belief in self-growth, so she becomes stronger day by day, more powerful to help others; the visitors in the novel are also through their own efforts and the help of psychological counselors, a little more forward than before.

China Youth Daily: How do you balance real touch and artistic processing when creating?

Bi Shumin: Everyone has a different degree of proportion, for me, try to get closer to the truth of human nature, I hope to write a more beautiful story. There is no good story, the reader can't read it; and only a good story, without really touching the essence of the problem, is not my pursuit. I hope to write about the darkness, the truth, the light, the effort and the struggle of human nature, and then it will be interesting and suspenseful for the reader to read.

China Youth Daily: Your novels never shy away from revealing the dark side of human nature.

Bi Shumin: I personally don't have too good expectations for human nature, and the darkness of human nature is also part of human nature. Many young people are disappointed when they first enter the society, and they exclaim: "Ah! Didn't expect the world to be like this! ”

The reason why young people have a particularly deep depression and depression may be because they do not have enough understanding of these issues, so when I start writing as a novelist, I will truthfully write about the many complex aspects of human nature. If we wishfully imagine life as smooth sailing, that is not a warm thing. I know that life is "muddy", but I am still brave enough to move forward.

China Youth Daily: What impact has the COVID-19 epidemic on your life in the past two years?

Bi Shumin: A big influence on me is that I learned to shop online in the ancient years! I also learned to hold video conferences and be judges online. Because I have fewer outings, I have more time to study, study and work.

The trip was significantly reduced, but there was an event somewhere earlier that invited me to the desert to see the stars, and I went right away. At such a moment, you can still see the vast starry sky and the vast universe, and you will feel that life is particularly beautiful. We should strive to cherish life and maximize our happiness.

China Youth Daily: What is your life and creative status now?

Bi Shumin: I'm basically like an old farmer, working at sunrise and resting at sunset. I get up early, take advantage of my energy and clear mind, deal with the most difficult problems first, and then write and read in a step-by-step manner.

Sometimes, I can read 4 books at the same time in a day. In the previous paragraph, I read the works of a female writer, and the style and content of each of her books are different, some write history, some write modern. I wanted to know more about the writer's views and language style.

China Youth Daily: Many of the works you have created in the past have brought comfort to the hearts of readers, how did your inner strength come about?

Bi Shumin: If any reader says so, I am very happy. Of course, I can't give people "strength" continuously, and I also have moments of sadness, sadness, depression, and loneliness, which are all normal parts of life.

At this time, I will exercise, do housework, find good friends to chat, and read. Reading is the most beautiful thing in the world.

China Youth Daily, China Youth Daily reporter Shen Jiequn Source: China Youth Daily ( November 30, 2021 11th edition)

Source: China Youth Daily