Jiang Xun, the pictures in this article are all provided by Xing Na.
In a commemorative essay, Xing Na recounted the development path of Jiang Xun's bookstore career over the years and the pressure that came with it. Jiang Xun was born in 1970 and was born as a painter. After graduating from Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts, he first worked as an art editor in Shenyang's "Poetry Tide" magazine, and then transferred to Beijing "Poetry Journal" magazine. During this period, he was also painting and selling money from it. After that, Jiang Xun set up the Boiling Rain Mountain House to act as an agent for book publishing, "all the money earned was used to buy books/engravings... The almost crazy collection makes the home more and more full. ”
When there was a problem in the company's operation, Jiang Xun began to borrow money. But out of his almost unlimited love for books, Jiang Xun has never stopped the career he loves, cooking rain mountain house, Wenjin engraving museum, Tianji, model bookstore... A book-related institution opened, and Jiang Xun also made up "all the money earned to his career." The pressure in that is enormous.
Xing Na said in the article: "From the perspective of the practitioner's wife, the physical bookstore has been hanging on the line, and it is impossible to make ends meet, even if it is a model bookstore + poetry space, the first church bookstore in China, and the world's widely acclaimed bookstore, we still can't maintain our daily operations." "In order to keep the bookstore running, they sold their houses during the epidemic. In this interview, Xing Na said, "A house of more than 10 million yuan is not a big deal, but when you have 6 bookstores, each bookstore is a city view." You can rent a house without a house, but if there is no bookstore in a city, there will be no light in the city. ”
She also quoted a sentence from Jiang Xun, saying: "A person, in this life, is the most difficult to do one thing." Although he died unexpectedly, Jiang Xun completed what he saw as the "most difficult" life, and he has been doing one thing all his life, which is books.
Jiang Xun.
Zhang Jin, a reporter from the Beijing News |
Beijing News: Mr. Jiang Xun has many identities, among which the identity of "bookstore person" is very important to him, and he has also made great contributions in the field of public reading. After the death of Mr. Jiang Xun, what will be the status of operation of the bookstore?
Xing Na: The operating situation is unresolved, because basically all bookstores are facing the state of having to pay rent, all bookstores. Jiang Xun has used a lot of thought on the "most beautiful reading space", but at the same time, he is using his debts owed outside to pay off these things, so now the model bookstore has a big dilemma, a very big dilemma. The first was the pressure of rent, and the second was that he had owed a lot of money outside in order to maintain the operation of all the bookstores.
Beijing News: What do you think we readers can do?
Xing Na: I hope that everyone can pay attention to the reading itself. Jiang Xun said before that culture has a temperature. In my opinion, Jiang Xun may have left us forever, but the space he provides will definitely leave some imprint on the book for all readers.
Beijing News: Mr. Jiang Xun's love for books is unlimited, which has also infected many people. Did he ever talk about why he loved books?
Xing Na: Because in his opinion, if there is a book, there must be a win. Most people don't understand his love of books, but I think like he said, people can't have a habit of intercourse. How much dedication a person can make to something is related to the person's will. So when he opens a bookstore, he insists on what he loves. He has always said a word: a person, in this life, it is the most difficult to do one thing. So when we sold our house at that time, I didn't blame him at all. But the dilemma I'm having now is that the house we're renting now is about due on the first day of the Chinese New Year, so I have to empty the place where I live now on the first day of the New Year.
Beijing News: Mr. Jiang Xun has also published poetry collections, how do you see his identity as a poet?
Xing Na: He has always written poetry, from a very young age. His first job was in Shenyang Shichao magazine, and then he was transferred from Shenyang Shichao magazine to Beijing Poetry Magazine, so poetry actually occupies a large part of his life. Most of his previous collections are collections of poems. The poet now seems to be a very ethereal classification of professions. He has a very good relationship with Mr. Kitajima, including Ouyang Jianghe and Zhai Yongming, and their relationship is very good. He also likes to collect poetry collections, and his modern poetry collections and Republic of China poetry collections are very numerous.
Beijing News: Is there some intrinsic connection between his poetic temperament and his almost idealized love of books?
Xing Na: Like he said, reading is his belief, and books are his belief. Probably everyone will think that making money is more important, for him, he subsidizes all the money he earns in his bookstore. At that time, one of his closest friends said a word, saying that when Jiang Xun did not open a bookstore, he would be able to make money.
Beijing News: In order to run a bookstore and sell a house, there seems to be a serious contradiction between books and life, how do you feel?
Xing Na: The Model Bookstore is Jiang Xun's career. I don't think it's okay to sell 1 house. A house is more than 10 million, but when you have 6 bookstores, each bookstore is a city view. You can rent a house without a house, but if there is no bookstore in a city, there will be no light in the city.
Beijing News: What is Mr. Jiang Xun's daily life like?
Xing Na: He needs to work every day, he probably goes out at eight or nine o'clock every morning, works until 2 a.m. every day, and continues to work after he comes back. His clerk described him as saying something very good, listening to the sound of Jiang Xun's leather shoes banging in every day in the church. I tell him every time that your shoes are too loud and you need to be lighter. He was in a hurry.
Beijing News: Through your description and some people's commemorative texts, it can be seen that Mr. Jiang Xun is a person with great vitality.
Xing Na: Right. For me, bookstores are his business, and I try my best to hold on and keep these bookstores going, but I don't know how much energy I have to do it. Whether this bookstore can continue or not may not be up to me.
Written | Zhang Jin
Editor| Zhang Ting
Proofreader | Guo Li