After reading Fan Jinshi's oral autobiography "My Heart Returns to Dunhuang", the WeChat reading APP automatically pushed Yang Dai's "Walking to the Edge of Life" to me.
It is said that the experience of the elderly is a book, and the use of reading is endless, not to mention such a wise old man! "Walking to the Edge of Life" was written by Mr. Yang Dai at the age of 96 in "struggling with his old age, illness and busy struggle", although the number of words in this book is not too much, but it is a generation of scholars in their twilight years of concentrated thinking on many issues in life, is the condensation of her century-old wisdom.
"The wisest wife, the most talented woman." The world knows that Yang Dai is Qian Zhongshu's wife, but in fact, she is also a quite accomplished scholar. I had read her "Bath", and a few years ago, I read "The Two of Us", and I was impressed by her wisdom, humor, peace, and warm writing style, which is an extraordinary old man.
We often say "elegant aging", but few people can maintain an elegant posture in old age, because behind this elegance is a full heart and a rich spirit. Seeing the photos of Mr. Yang Dai's old age, I can't help but think of my grandmother, she will always be so plain and calm, these intellectuals who have come from the old society, women who can be respected as "Mr.", have their own unique style.
"Walking to the Edge of Life" is a collection of philosophical essays, when writing this book, Mr. Yang Dai was 96 years old, at such an age, there can be such a clear organization, profound thoughts, how not to sigh! After walking through thousands of rivers and mountains, passing through strong winds and waves, there are poetry books in the chest and ink belly, such an old man really has to bow to her all the years.
"I'm standing on the edge of life, looking backwards and looking forward. Looking back, I have lived a lifetime, a lifetime, for what? I want to explore the value of life. Looking ahead, if I go further, there will be nothing? "It is said that when people reach a certain age, they will think about life, but scholars have solidified it into words and become the spiritual enlightenment of future generations." The book is divided into two parts, the upper part is Mr. Yang Chen's inquiry and reflection on truth, life and death, fate, and the value of life, and the second part is an annotated prose of the previous part.
Mr. Yang Dai once said: When I was young, I thought that not reading books was enough to understand life, and only later did I find that if I did not understand life, I could not read books. "Walking on the Edge of Life" needs to be read slowly, this book of wisdom written by the author for a hundred years of life, those discussions and questions about life and death, ghosts and gods, spirits and flesh, is it possible to read quickly and understand? You must think slowly, read it often, and constantly think in life.
Reading Mr. Yang Chen's writings often makes people lament the profound knowledge, clear memory, and open-minded attitude towards life. Like Ji Xianlin, they were old and strong, their desire for material things had reached their lowest point, and their pursuit of the spiritual world had not slackened for a day. If you don't really understand the meaning of life, if you don't understand the ultimate of life, how can you be so optimistic and open-minded, and how can you be so free and naughty!
Mindset is never about age. "I'm good now, very well-behaved, although old, don't want to be lazy, willing to make a little progress every day, better myself in every way, live every day well". At the end of the book, there is Mr. Yang Dai's "Sitting on the Edge of Life - Mr. Yang Dai's 100-year-old Answers". Whether it is trapped in the isolated island of Shanghai during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, or was assigned to clean the toilet during the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Yang Dai has always held the faith in culture, even after a hundred years old, the old man is still pursuing self-improvement, his own progress, this positive attitude towards life, how not to make posterity awe-inspiring!
To read the words of the wise is to read the world and read life. In the past few years, the famous masters have passed away one after another, and an era has ended, but the literary classics they left behind have an eternal reading charm, read more those words, they will let you find: in addition to the fly camp dogs in reality, there are also the stars and the sea, poetry and far away.
Original Wu Bo Canglang Meiwen