[Qingwei Zhao Tongbin Poetry and Prose Column 19] I think of Mr. Liu Zaifu
Text/Zhao Tongbin
Mr. Liu Zaifu has been going abroad to the United States for more than ten years. In the first few years, I thought of him a lot. Because at that time I was teaching literary theory at the university, I often quoted his views. Naturally, I can't forget his magnificent theories of "literary subjectivity" and "character combination theory", and wen and people remember the scene when he awarded me the master's degree completion certificate and his dragon flying phoenix dance inscription on the title page of the book. But since he flew out of his homeland from the south in the summer of 1989, he has become like a yellow crane, and there has been no news of him. After that, although I was still dancing and inking, I had turned into a fast-paced news unit and became a "mouthpiece", and I knew very little about things in the literary world. Although it is impossible not to pay attention to the "speculation" under the conditions of the market economy, it seems that Wang Shuo, Yu Qiuyu and Yu Jie have come to the foreground in the literary world, and Liu Zaifu has long been diluted into a distant background and has been forgotten by people.
Occasionally flipping through the recent "Reading" magazine, the title of which was Liu Zaifu and his eldest daughter Liu Jianmei's epistolary dialogue article "The Joy of Writing in Two Places" was published. My surprise is self-evident, and I silently read in my heart: Long gone, Teacher Liu! I can't wait to read it. After two times, it was still unfinished. Although the text does not provide more information about Mr. Liu's life, I can still see that he is now more comfortable and peaceful and more relaxed and thoughtful. For this reason, I was excited for a while. Look through the photo with Mr. 12 years ago and the "Wenhui Monthly Magazine" with his portrait as the cover, as well as his books, class notes and everything related to them. Seeing things and thinking of people, remembering deeply. The image of the gentleman gradually came alive in front of his eyes...
Liu Zaifu is a humanitarian. His deep-hearted concern for mankind and the universe is manifested in his macroscopic sense of responsibility, his kind and easy demeanor, and of course, his free and broad heart. As he said in "The Joy of Writing in Two Places": "Although knowledge can create people, knowledge can also be transformed into power to corrupt people." Once they have knowledge and corresponding names, they may regard themselves as 'higher human beings' and begin to compete for the position of fame and look down on the workers and peasants at the bottom of society. Many scholars, though well-known, are corrupt and very selfish and cold. This kind of life is to exchange knowledge with the devil with temperament. From this passage, we can see Mr. Liu Zaifu's outlook on life and values. His words and deeds are consistent, from yesterday and today, we can assert his tomorrow.
When I was studying in Beijing in 1988, Liu Zaifu was the director of the Institute of Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the editor-in-chief of Literary Criticism. The position of power was already hot, but because of the publication of several treatises such as "Lu Xun's Treatise on Aesthetic Thought", "Reflections on Literature", and "TheOry of Character Combinations", it became the hottest figure in the literary world at that time. Mr. Liu Zaifu is not, he maintains a normal mentality. He never participated in non-academic controversies mixed with many personal attacks, and neither "Goethe" nor "lack of virtue" was left to him, nor could he influence his research and creation. As two young scholars said of him: "Liu Zaifu won the largest fortification with his undefendedness." At that time, I was a student under his subordinates, although I was the head of a class, but compare my "class leader" with his "director". There is nothing else to say but "funny". However, even so, following Mr. Liu Zaifu's theory of "equal personality", there are many interesting exchanges between "class leader" and "director". Let me give you an example. Mr. Liu Zaifu had just published a new book, "Tradition and Chinese", and the students elected me, the class leader, to ask Mr. Liu for this book. Of course, I am obligated, but my heart is beating a drum: from an economic point of view, dozens of books do not seem to be a problem for Mr. Liu; but in terms of fame, will he be arrogant and not allowed? When I hesitantly climbed up the building of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences with the heavy trust of my classmates, the end was overjoyed. At that time, Mr. Liu Zaifu was presiding over the summit of the Institute of Culture and Research, and when he saw me recruiting him, he hurried out of the conference room, and while "fiercely" holding my hand, he smiled and asked: "Is there anything wrong?" As soon as I said what I meant, he immediately laughed and said, "No problem, I'll have someone send it to you tomorrow!" As he spoke, he twisted my right arm behind my back like a police officer catching a thief. I was amused by him, and on the porch were the pleasant laughter of the "director" and the "class leader". really. The next morning, each of our classmates held a copy of "Tradition and Chinese" signed by Mr. Liu Zaifu.
Mr. Liu Zaifu has carried out many large-scale theoretical constructions and published nearly 10 collections of prose poems. We read deep reason in his poems, and we read ethereal poetry in his papers. From this, I am reminded of his speech of the fusion of reason and poetry..."
December 2000
My view of prose
Prose lyricism is a completely authentic life flow.
The writing of people, objects, and painting scenes in prose is full of irreplaceable true feelings, true interests, and true thoughts that other genres cannot replace.
The character of the prose is "clear water out of the hibiscus, natural to carve", and the Mannerism has nothing to do with it.
The breadth, depth and strength of prose are expressed in the resonance of emotions, the precipitation of ideas and the abundance of expressions...
About the Author
Zhao Tongbin is a member of the Chinese Writers Association, the Chinese Prose Literature Society, the Chinese Poetry Society, and the chairman of the Heze Writers Association. He has won more than 170 provincial awards and published more than 10 books.
Editor: Ma Xuemin
One point number Qingwei Heze creative base