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"The old days became slower, the cars, the horses, the mail were slow, and there was only enough to love one person in a lifetime." Mr. Mu Xin wrote in a poem "Once Upon a Time Slow". However, when the progress of science and technology has reached the point where we do not have to wait for the fish and geese to pass on the book, the carriage and horse to pass on the book, and can communicate with others anytime and anywhere, the distance seems to be deepened. Life has become as fast as a torrent, not allowing us to slow down to listen to our own inner voices, to gaze at each other's appearance, but also to wrap us up and keep moving forward, trying to ignore the anxieties that have always plagued us: money and values, gender prejudice, literature and art, depression and burnout, isolation and home, fleeing from the north, Shanghai and Guangzhou...
Then try to slow down, get rid of the overwhelming instant information, return to the classical way of communication, and receive a "Letter from Yu Lai" from the young writer Zhu Yujie to you.
Starting from the spring of 2020, Zhu Yujie opened the "Yu Lai Letter" column on the public account to write letters with friends from afar or around him to exchange some confusion in his heart. In this way, it lasted for more than a year, and he and scholars, writers, and artists completed more than thirty correspondences, and the heart songs of the special period were conveyed and collected into this "Letter from Yu".
Good luck
In the current era of instant messaging, letters seem to be romantic imaginations that only exist in the old time, but the content that letters can carry and the temperature of retention are beyond our usual imagination.
"Can we once again find a way of dialogue, establish the possibility of deep communication, and reach the wider world together?" Rather than stumbling alone in the darkness, I yearn for the conversation between you and me, like lighting a torch in the night and reflecting each other's faces. ”
In a letter to philosophy professor Chen Jiaying, Zhu Yujie shared an old letter she had encountered, a correspondence between two workers thousands of miles apart forty years ago, talking about the classical music they loved together, about Tchaikovsky and Johann Strauss, and asking each other to transcribe tapes of these musicians with tape recorders. "Such a letter has existed in the world for forty years, the paper is yellow, thin as a cicada's wing, and when it is read again, it still feels alive, so infectious." Teacher Chen Jiaying has experienced the twists and turns of the times, and in his reply to Zhu Yujie, he also shared a precious personal letter he kept, which is in the preface of "Yu Lai Letter".
Living in the present, the author Zhu Yujie has many confusions that are no different from contemporary young people: love, loneliness, isolation, identity anxiety, gender bias, separation and death, travel and art, burnout and mourning, isolation and home...
She wrote these confusions and feelings on letterhead, sent them to friends, and received sincere sharing and responses. Reflections on this era, 30 questions about "how to live this life well", converged into six series of reciprocal letters in "Letters from Yu".
"There is no such thing as a proper life, and there is no need for the best of times, and there is no need for us to worry about it. But if you can't avoid burning, enjoy the burning, half seeking, half resisting. ”
The first series of "Letters from Yu" is about women, "walking with them". Zhu Yujie discussed with the writer Yan Lianke the image of women being written in literature, and said that Yan Lianke's new works are involving the largest rural women in the female group, but the least vocal channels, and the most neglected, "their voices should be heard more."
Writer Liao Jing also shared with Zhu Yujie her views on the female narrative in the current creation, those real problems that exist in women's lives are far from being recognized, "women's stories have not been told too much, but too little."
"When literary and artistic youth became mothers", this is another life experience shared by writer Li Ge to Zhu Yujie. It was while hiding part of the self in pain, feeling the vivid sense of life of the baby, reading the Japanese haiku "the baby looks at the daffodil", and suddenly realizing the cleanest gift in the world. The little rabbit sighed, being gentle by such an image to the point of soft heart and ears, a mess.
She asked about the small sense of happiness in life, and talked about food and childhood memories with Chen Xiaoqing, director of "China on the Tip of the Tongue", "It is also good to be a foodie in a down-to-earth manner." In the process of creating a garden by a person, the writer Shi Kang invests the time in his life that cannot be ignored in flowers and plants, and they have also become a reference for himself.
The concentration of craftsmanship in the spirit of craftsmen will also bring great comfort to people, she told the writer Ge Liang about the demise of ancient skills, "one of the ironies of life, you obviously carry a priceless treasure but carelessly, time has passed to appreciate the connotation of its rich meaning, and there is always a time difference between possession and understanding."
"We'll never be able to make that 'best' decision. But it doesn't matter, you don't have to be perfect in everything, and finding some certainty in confusion and vacillation is one of the important meanings of life. ”
Loneliness and depression are the chronic diseases of our time. Writer Li Ximin does not shy away from his depression, talks about his painful experience when he cannot control his emotions, and also talks about the helplessness of depressed patients who are misunderstood by ordinary people as "temperament" and "mental illness". Bunny also shared the story of a very good friend who suffered from depression, and also suffered from nothing to do for the other party, but gained some comforting feelings in reflection: "Whether we have faced our own dark side, our sadness may need to be seen more." 」 ”
Regarding the core of this book's letter collection, we have discussed many key words, Zhu Yujie's correspondence with friends involves many common experiences and confusions in the current era, is this a "book of answers" that can point out the mystery?
No, these epistles are not meant to provide a panacea, but the most valuable thing is to listen to each other sincerely and to know yourself more clearly in this complex world after understanding that you are not an island.
In the era of fragmented reading and writing, writing a long letter is not only to pass it on to the other party, but also to give yourself an opportunity to precipitate and dredge. The author writes in the afterword:
Writing a letter is not only written to the other party, but also to oneself, it is a spontaneous question, but also a self-purification, suitable for people like me whose thoughts are chaotic, let the inner voice flow out, through the clouds and mountains, pull out the layers of thorns, and gradually see a real self.
Communication is not a one-sided talk and listening, but a solemn heartbeat, expecting the same sincere echo. Reading this book, you may experience a self-grooming and clarification in it, and have the idea of slowly writing a letter. This echo is exactly what the author wants to receive, so she left a letter for you in the book:
We look forward to hearing from you. May we be "believers" all our lives.
(This article is published with the permission of CITIC Publishing Group)
Non-fiction | Chinese original | A collection of letters
"Letter from Yu: 30 Questions on "How to Live This Life""
Good luck to Yu Yu
CITIC Publishing Group
October 2021
"Letters from Yu: 30 Questions on "How to Live This Life" is a true and sincere correspondence collection, which is our questioning of the world, but also our reflection and determination of the way of life we have chosen. More important than the search for consensus is mutual understanding and tolerance. The gorgeous appearance will always fade, and I hope that we can all accept our true selves and reveal our hearts in the most simple way.
Zhu Yujie invited 30 scholars, writers and artists to ask questions in the form of letters, focusing on topics that are of great concern to young people at present, such as: love and loneliness, identity anxiety, gender bias, idealism and concept of money, bereavement and burnout, isolation and home...
Duty Editor | Little Fairy
Duty Editor-in-Chief liu Yihan |
The 2022 Good Book Selection Is in The Call!
The "Reading Lamp Book Critic Award" is sponsored by Tencent Group + Reading Group, co-organized by QQ Reading, WeChat Reading, Tencent News, and undertaken by the Searchlight Book Critics Association.
We pay tribute to those good books that have "the beauty of literature, the truth of thought, the importance of history, the concern for the present, elegant narrative, and beautiful expression", creativity, imagination, and exploration.
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Books are mainly aimed at the general audience, mainly fiction and non-fiction.
1: Fiction
1) Novels (novels + short story collections)
2) Genre novels (long genre novels + short and medium genre novels)
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Biography, history, feature essays, essay collections (geography, travelogues), ideas, culture, popular science
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3: Separately list the good books (book lists) of translation imported from abroad, and select them from the above two types of nominated books
Publisher's Recommendation Standards
Books published between January and December 2021
Chinese mainland published
Reprints and reprints are not included
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