Year-end Series (5)
Editor's Note:
If 2020 is the "stress" year for mankind to encounter the epidemic, then in 2021, mankind has entered the "response" year after the epidemic, began to adapt to a new way of life, adjusted its relationship with life and the world, and looked for a path for self-development in the "post-epidemic era".
It's a goodbye, and it's a reunion—saying goodbye to your former self in the midst of change, and reuniting with your new self in the midst of change.
At the end of the year, the Daily Supplement designed a questionnaire with nine simple questions but many different answers. Here, we have chosen those wonderful, sincere, and interesting answers to be published as a record of 2021 and this era.
Guests
Sasu, real name Bow Yun, is an IT engineer-turned-veteran journalist, writer, writer, television host, and japan expert at the China Public Diplomacy Association. His works involve many fields such as history, culture and even animals, such as "The Country Breaks the Mountains and Rivers", "Watching neighbors burn", "Neighbors with Ghosts", "Ten Cases in Beijing" and other best-selling at home and abroad.
Open
Writers, literary critics, screenwriters, works mainly involve literature, drama, film and other cultural fields, mainly reviews, but also write plays, essays, novels. Zhang Ailing is a literary researcher and screenwriter of the drama "Love in the City".
Lee Kai-chiu
Screenwriter and columnist, author of "Wuxia Mathematics", "Wuxia Chemistry", "Wuxia Physics", "Tea in Ancient Paintings", "Eating an Interesting Song Dynasty Banquet" and other books.
1. For you personally, if you were to record the year with three keywords, which three words would you choose? Why?
Sasu: Sorrow, patience, ease.
Zhang Chang: My life has always lacked planning, I think this is a problem for me, but I can't change it. Thanks to this question, I have to look back on the year. From the perspective of the epidemic alone, this year is indeed much more relaxed than in 2020, and although the smoke is lit everywhere from time to time, it is also quickly eliminated. In the past two years, "wearing a mask" and "sweeping the health code" have become a common thing in everyone's life, and we seem to have learned how to get along with the new world and ourselves, and this powerful ability to learn and accept is the sorrow of life, but also the light of human beings, and it is really "the intersection of sorrow and joy". So to record the year, the three words I chose would probably be: rebirth, gratitude, and perseverance.
Li Kaizhou: Sleepy, discarded, studying.
In the past, I rarely felt tired when I worked, and when I was the craziest, I could write more than a dozen columns at the same time, and I didn't delay calling friends to drink a lot of wine at night. In 2021, over forty years old, not only is it easy to get tired, but also more and more like to be lazy. When I got up in the morning, I was ambitious and fierce to write six thousand words. The result? Write a beginning and want to shut down. Looking at the contract, the deadline for delivery is still early, simply postponed to the next day. The Master said that when a person reaches forty, he is not confused, and I now feel that when a person reaches forty, he is a year of sleepiness.
This year, only a small script was received, and there was a long-planned book manuscript. Everything else that I don't think is my strength and that requires a lot of energy to deliver, is abandoned, no matter how much money it is.
I bought a whole host of books on applied mathematics, cryptography, and programming algorithms online, and i bought courses in sociology, economics, and physics on application software. When you don't want to write, read books and type code; when you cook, walk, wait for people, and queue up, listen to audio lessons. These courses may not have anything to do with what I'm going to write, but I'm just curious and want to figure it out. There may also be a psychological factor of "not letting life be wasted" - in the past, there was a sense of guilt when I did not write, and now I use learning to eliminate guilt.
2. This year, the negative impact of the epidemic on us is self-evident, but from your perspective, what is the positive enlightenment it brings to society? If so, tell us about your experience or opinion.
Sassou: When the coronavirus suddenly appeared in the world, the earth seemed to have pressed the pause button. At a time when the world is still in turmoil, China's social and economic rejuvenation in the post-epidemic era is not only showing a path of hope for Chinese, but also for the people of the entire world. The epidemic has changed the environment of human existence, brought obstacles to interpersonal communication, and the changes of the times have forced us to try some new ways of life, such as online education, online conferences, online training... As we go, people find that we can accelerate the development of society and launch more new dreams.
Zhang Chang: Xin Abandoned Disease's "Partridge Heaven and Sending Ouyang Guorui into Wuzhong" wrote: "Do not avoid the spring yin on the horse late, spring has not come when there is no yin." The human show turned idle to see, and the road was rugged and tired. Positive revelation may be the meaning of this phrase.
Human calamities are always there, and the real catastrophes and catastrophes will not, for us, be epidemic diseases, but the fall of conscience, the degeneration of civilization, the degradation of morality, the desolation of human nature, and the loss of reverence in one's heart and the exile of the self.
Li Kaizhou: There are two positive revelations: First, let us humans learn to bow our heads high, and perhaps from now on, we can learn to be in awe. Second, let me, who was originally beautiful in the rough, forced to develop hygiene habits. Before the epidemic, some girls were seen wearing masks on the street and subconsciously thought they were squeamish. Now I also wear a mask, and if I go out too soon to wear a mask one day, I will be ashamed, I will be insecure, and I will feel like I am running naked.
3. Which "new thing" entered your life this year?
Sassou: Watch movies at home with VR devices without affecting others.
Zhang Chang: This year I renovated my home in Shanghai. I sometimes think, if it has personality, then it should feel that I am right about it? This is the first home I bought, after past renovations that were outdated and dilapidated, and 20 years later, this is a special thank you to it for giving me a sense of mental stability when I was younger.
In addition, this year, I adapted a drama of the same name based on Zhang Ailing's original novella "Love in the City", directed by Ye Jintian and starring Wan Qian and Song Yang, and will soon be performed in Beijing. This is the script written in 2019, originally intended to be performed on the occasion of Zhang Ailing's centenary of birth, because the epidemic has been delayed for a year, and now it can be staged, which is fortunate for me, which is also one of the reasons why I chose the three keywords of "rebirth, gratitude and persistence" in 2021.
Lee Kai-chiu: Script kill. I have known about script killing before, and I also know that some screenwriter friends who have yellow contracts during the epidemic have changed their careers to get script killing. But this year I really went to a store to experience a script killing, which was particularly fresh. Unfortunately, I went there once, because the players were all young people in their twenties, and they thought I was old.
4. Work, study, socialize, mentality... Eating and living, health and leisure, consumer entertainment... What was your most positive change this year? A little more detail?
Sassou: The possibility of a long-term pandemic has greatly affected our lives, and my partners and I feel that we are slowly adapting to this new environment. In fact, the young employees of the studio find that life and work are a very new and painful thing to mix, and even the professionalism can not stand the need for children to change diapers - if you are in the office, there is nothing you can do, now... Well, we have to have the ability to change diapers and brush up on the news at the same time.
Zhang Chang: At my age, there should be no more special changes in my mentality every year. Some persistence, some compromise, are natural selections for the development of one's personality to this day. This year, I may be more deliberate in avoiding people with different values, trying to stay away, and for some people who know their nature, I will be more willing to listen. In all my choices, I may be more and more adhering to the principle of "less is more".
Kai-Chiu Lee: Quit smoking successfully. I started smoking from the year I graduated from college, almost 20 years old. I started quit smoking in the early summer of this year, and I endured not smoking for 20 consecutive days, and finally succeeded. The reason why I have to quit smoking is that I want to live for a few more years, and the other is to hone my will - people are middle-aged, if they can't even quit smoking, they want to make a big cause in this life. Of course, I quit smoking and couldn't do a big job.
5. In 2021, what are your most proud, regretful, and painful moments?
Sassou: The most proud moment was to "spell" a German girl from a hundred years ago into today's Fun Garden, where she took a picture a hundred years ago. The epidemic has slowed our pace, and finally there is time to secretly do a little such a crossing.
The most regrettable and painful thing? Let's forget about this topic, there is no regret medicine in the world, but when it comes to pain... Only by knowing that there are a thousand kinds of suffering in this world can we understand what Chinese is, and we have been accustomed to it for thousands of years.
Zhang Chang: I am not a person who regrets much, I will basically think about it before doing a thing, and if I do it wrong, I will also choose to learn a lesson and look forward.
The most proud thing is not, there is no very painful thing, so the most painful thing can not be talked about, but it is true that I have relatives who died this year, and when I got the news, I was a bit wooden and comforted my family. I didn't cry at the memorial service, but many days afterwards I had a dream, and when I woke up crying, my heart was still pounding, and I realized that it had been pressing on the bottom of my heart.
For me, the death of every loved one is actually a part of me. I never envy a person who lives too long, who has experienced more life and death than others, and those countless lives and emotions stripped from his own blood should be a cruel punishment for him.
Li Kaizhou: The most proud thing seems to be that there is none, and the most regrettable one is to participate in the dinner party, in front of a girl who owns a pet, deliberately spit and talk about how to cook dog meat, which is too hurtful, too under-beaten, too immature.
6. What are some good books or film and television dramas, variety shows, and exhibitions in 2021 that you will never forget? Which two would you recommend to everyone? Why?
Sasu: The first to recommend Wu Jing's "The Wind with My Father", a film that I like very much, because the story it describes takes place in my hometown of Hebei, and it is a true and wonderful interpretation of Yan Zhao's wind bone. We were touched by "Riding the Wind", because in our veins, we have the same blood as Ma Renxing and Ma Chengfeng martyrs, and their immortal loyal souls are passed down in the blood of our descendants.
The second is "Miyazaki and Ghibli's World 2021 - Beijing Animation Culture Exhibition", in which the "Totoro House" allows us to see the strength of human beings on the stage of fairy tales... There is also the hope that life will not change, whether it is happy or painful. Looking at the children's smiling faces, we know that Beijing is still that Beijing, the earth, or the earth.
Zhang Chang: Like the life I have lived over the years, I will read a lot of books, and I will see a lot of good books during this period, but it seems that there is no absolute winner who recommends which one and which one is not recommended. Mr. Yu Yingshi, who just passed away this year, "Retracing the Journey of Hu Shi" and "The Two Worlds of the Dream of the Red Chamber", the former opened my eyes, the latter won my heart, not much introduction, everyone finds to read.
Another experience is that I have deeply felt that Chinese literature over the years has slowly become "vernacular" literature, the charm, tone, texture and color of the text are no longer the pursuit, and shallowness, bluntness, bluntness, and personality elimination have become common features, so I encourage people to write articles that should read more ancient texts and chase the advantages of the Ming and Qing vernacular, that is, "Water Margin", "Dream of the Red Chamber", etc. There is an old book written by Li Chunyang called "The Crisis of the Vernacular Movement", which can be seen.
In terms of movies, this year I watched a large number of old Chinese and foreign movies, among which Hu Jinquan's "Empty Mountain Spirit Rain", "Legend in the Mountain", "Heroine", "Dragon Gate Inn" and so on represent the dual orientation of Chinese literati films and genre films, Fei Mu's "Confucius" I think is his best movie, Taiwan in addition to Hou Xiaoxian, Yang Dechang, Wang Tong, etc. are also worth watching again. I watched almost all the films of Masaki Kobayashi, Leone, Buñuel, Woody Allen, Lee Cangdong, Truffaut, Billy Wilder this year, and each director successfully attracted me with his uniqueness.
Li Kaizhou: I have not seen the exhibition, nor have I watched variety shows, and I have read a lot of good books. The book that impressed me the most, and at the same time the one that made me the most harvested, was Ma Boyong's "Fifteen Days of Two Capitals". I originally wrote the script, not good at designing suspense, after reading this book, I learned some relatively mature suspense skills.
7. If there is a time machine, is there a moment in 2021 that you want to start over? What exactly is the reason?
Sasu: Of course, it's New Year's Day in 2021, and going back to that day can take the year back. This year, people's impact on the epidemic has moved from resistance to counterattack - not only in the vaccine counterattack, but also in their own efforts to break out of the haze. We are adapting to this new era, and although some things are not easy, people's tenacity is even more moving. In this year, I saw Mr. Liu Yida use his time at home to write a new book, I saw the PICO Bird made in China create a magnificent space for everyone in every inch, I saw the splendor of "Chosin Lake", and the new ideas in online conferences. If the time machine can take us back to these moments, we will still be touched by the achievements under pressure.
Zhang Chang: I will miss the past, but I don't want to repeat any moment. I think that any moment that time gives us has the dual virtues of "perfection" and "regret", or regret because of perfection, and perfection because of regret. I think that everything that is perfect is, first of all, because it has something to regret. I have no extravagance, nor do I want to make up for any regrets that have passed, and excessive cleanliness on the road of life is a kind of utilitarianism and a tacky thing. Spring, summer, autumn and winter are good precisely because they are absolute and flawed, and no one can replace anyone, and no one is worse than anyone. To make up for the shortcomings, to some extent, it is equivalent to returning to mediocrity, such as Du Fu's "Absolute Sentence": "Let the Road Spring come well, and the wind will be strong!" Blowing flowers goes with the water, overturning the fishing boat. "The truth is this.
Li Kaizhou: On the day of the Chongyang Festival this year, I received a notice from the copyright agent that a small book had been sold in foreign languages, and the publisher had also prepaid a not small amount of money. I couldn't put any leftover buns in my kennel, so I quickly reported good news to my daughter-in-law, and then I had the urge to squander and go to the street stall to buy three egg cakes in one go. If there was a time machine, I would be willing to go through that moment over and over again.
8. It's almost the last day of 2021, do you have a word you want to say the most but don't say? What is it? To whom?
Sassou: I want to say to skyline – thank you. With this sentence, I am grateful to all the friends who have brought us peace and good memories, and with gratitude, there is warmth and the most beautiful taste in the world. Those amazing epidemic prevention personnel, those teachers who went to the classroom during the epidemic... I wanted to give this thank you to a specific friend, but I found that it was not comprehensive to give it to anyone.
In the era of the epidemic, it is easy to have a lot of irritable emotions, and people are prone to face difficulties with extreme thinking. However, I have seen that most Chinese can use peace and tenacity to reproduce the courage of their ancestors in one disaster after another. Being able to uphold this peaceful mentality reflects the maturity of a nation and is also the biggest obstacle for us to overcome temporary difficulties. In the face of pressure and difficulties, Chinese always have a way, talk less, and do more.
Zhang Chang: Say to yourself, "You are still far from being able to work hard."
Lee Kai-chiu: I want to say a word to my son: "Well, I shouldn't have forced you to learn things that you may not be good at, especially programming." But this sentence is only written here, and it must not be said to the face, because the child will give up when he really hears it - he can still continue to learn, although the code written will always be like a dog, but it is better to write a little than not to write.
9. For the upcoming 2022, you must have set yourself some small goals, Flags, choose three to share with us (and whether they can be achieved or not)?
Sasu: First, under the premise that the epidemic can be controlled, together with the friends of the "Daily Supplement", we will once again go out of the pace of exploring the world; second, the two or three books at hand will be written for the readers; third, we are safe, everyone is safe, and the world is safe.
Zhang Chang: I am a lazy and habitual person, everything but by the heart and the call of things, but also often pushed by others to go, see this problem, I think, maybe in 2022 I should set some specific goals, I don't know if this "should set goals" idea, counts as a "small goal" I set.
Li Kaizhou: In 2022, three books must be handed over: "Wuxia Programming", "Wuxia Creatures", and "Between Man and God: Civilization Built on Witchcraft". This goal is impossible to achieve or not, because the contract has been signed. There is another small goal, but may not be achieved, that is, weight loss success.