The beauty of life imprinted by the military - starting from Shi Zhongshan's novel "Five Lakes and Four Seas"

Most of the objects of our daily aesthetics are objects other than people themselves, such as literary and artistic works, natural landscapes, etc. If one's life course is used as an aesthetic object, what will be the result? In the history of Chinese and foreign literature, there are actually many such works, such as autobiographical works that belong to this category. Only from the content point of view, autobiographical works often have more realistic components, and the aesthetics of life are not their main pursuit. Therefore, those non-realistic works that use life as an aesthetic object are often more aesthetically meaningful because they integrate the writer's exploration at the artistic level and the understanding in the sense of life.

In the recent works of military writer Shi Zhongshan, such as the prose collection "Reunion" with the theme of the writer's early life, the novella "The Tomb Keeper", which tells the story of a revolutionary predecessor who guarded the tomb of a martyr all his life, and the long novel "Born to Love" with the theme of public security, the creative tendency of taking life as the aesthetic object is very obvious. Compared with Shi Zhongshan's earlier series of fathers and courtyards represented by "Father Enters the City" and "Shi Guangrong and His Children", the youth emotional series represented by "Happiness Is Like a Flower" and "How Far Is Happiness", and the legendary series represented by "Devils Everywhere" and "Fast Gunner", although there are little changes in narrative style and formal structure, they reveal more philosophical flavors beyond literature itself outside the story. It can be considered that this change means that writers have entered a new realm of literary creation and life thinking at this age stage. Shi Zhongshan's recently launched novel "Five Lakes and Four Seas" allows readers to see once again that he has a new exploration and understanding under this creative tendency. After all, this is the theme of his more handy military service.

"All Over the World" tells the story of a rural youth from the 1980s to the turn of the century, from enlistment, promotion to career change. The protagonist Liu Tianyou was born in a family of mourners in the northeast countryside, and was later recruited into the army by the army's cultural and industrial corps, and his life path changed. After arriving in the army, Liu Tianyou quickly showed his talent on the stage, winning awards, joining the party, making meritorious contributions, and promoting cadres. During this period, he became acquainted with Fu Yao, the righteous daughter of the chief of staff of the army, because of music. Unexpectedly, this relationship eventually died for various reasons, and Liu Tianyou went to the border guard post as a platoon leader. At the border post, Liu Tianyou spent a difficult and unforgettable time. Soon after, he was recruited into the Military Region's Cultural and Labor Corps and returned to the stage. But at this time, the troops began to disarm, and he followed the trend. After arriving at the local government, he first worked in the government department and then resigned to "go to the sea". Just when business was going well, Liu Tianyou poured out his financial resources to hoard the goods stranded at the dock for some reason, and when the typhoon came, he was forced into a desperate situation. At the critical time, his comrades-in-arms reached out to him. Liu Tianyou, who survived the crisis, and his comrades-in-arms set up a "camouflage literary troupe", and a new life began again.

It should be said that Liu Tianyou's life story has a strong personal color, such as his musical expertise, tigan, love, marriage and encounters after going to the sea. He was a unique one, but he was also "one of the" in a large number of soldiers of that era - leaving the countryside to join the army, promoting cadres, changing careers... As Shi Zhongshan said: "'Five Lakes and Four Seas' is a personal growth history of Liu Tianyou, and to a certain extent, it also reflects the common experience of many people in the context of our times." Any of us can grow up without the times. While we are integrated into the times, the times are also carving us. In short, from Liu Tianyou's story, we constantly touch the pulse of an era and feel the echo of this pulse in the course of its life.

Moreover, Liu Tianyou's unique significance also lies in the fact that the military service constitutes a brand of life that Liu Tianyou cannot erase. He has had more than a decade of military career. His fate, emotional ups and downs, and even spiritual steps are closely related to the troops. From this, the novel gives us an aesthetic possibility - the aesthetic of life about the branding of military service. We can savor from Liu Tianyou's life story, what kind of beauty does the military branding this relatively unique life process have? What does it mean for the landscape of an individual's life?

In essence, such an aesthetic is in principle the same as our appreciation of sculpture, architecture, and fine art. As a novel, "All Over the World" provides us with many perspectives for us to carry out such aesthetic activities with a long period of time depth, a wider social life and a relatively rich character role. Among them, the big wind outlet that made Liu Tianyou never forget, in the author's opinion, is undoubtedly the best perspective.

After Liu Tianyou was frustrated in love, he went to the gale outpost as a platoon leader. Compared with the radiant stage, this place was once considered by him to be the trough of life, the punishment of life. He had pessimism and even despair, but after a period of time, he gradually gained touch around him and experienced sincerity and purity. Remoteness, hardship and loneliness made him re-examine the roads he had traveled and the people he had met, and to re-understand the military uniform he was wearing. Subsequently, his mind gradually became more independent and mature.

In the years since, at liu Tianyou's many life junctures, the wind whistle has repeatedly flashed in his mind. Before he left the army, "he remembered the wind and snow at the border point again, and his body stood up, as if he were walking on the patrol road facing the wind and snow at this time." The next stop is another boundary monument." When he encountered setbacks in his work in the government after he changed careers, "he began to miss his days in the army, and even the windy outposts that were full of snow and no one was inhabited." When he was desperate in the face of the typhoon, He stood on the dock and thought of the border post, when he was also lonely, and it was this loneliness that made him accumulate a kind of strength that has continued until now As if he had returned to the windy whistle, the wind was also blowing, and the smoke cannon blown by the wind was misty, and the soldiers used their backpack straps to connect themselves with their comrades, and they crawled the snow, and there were boundary monuments around them, and the national emblem was covered with snow, and they used their hands to pick up the snow and let the national emblem be exposed. In the vast sea of snow, looking at the bright national emblem, their hearts will always be shocked. The color of the national emblem has become the most beautiful scenery on the patrol road." When he got through the difficult situation and got his life back on track, "he suddenly understood that the wind whistle was a turning point in his life, and he learned to endure loneliness and learn to be strong." Life goes from this station to another, and each station is a punctuation point of life."

It is no accident that wind whistles appear repeatedly. If the military service is the brand that cannot be erased in Liu Tianyou's life, then the Gale Outpost is the most striking mark in this brand. It can even be said that after leaving the Gale Outpost, Liu Tianyou became a soldier in the true sense. This also makes us realize that the "Gale Outpost" is a very symbolic mark. From an aesthetic point of view, what it carries and transmits is the beauty of life imprinted by the military.

What kind of beauty is that?

From the different aspects involved in the "outpost of the gale", we can feel that it is the noble value beauty of hanging faith and belief high in the heart and accumulating into the true color of life; that is, the tenacious spiritual beauty of never giving up and daring to challenge the limits of life when encountering wind and rain; that is the character beauty of taking responsibility in the face of mission responsibility, without hesitation, and worthy of trust; that is, the pure beauty of emotions like a child with full love for life, doubly cherishing the true feelings of the world, and like a child; that is, wearing military uniforms into the bones, and taking the military camp as the spiritual hometown. The inner beauty of seeing comrades-in-arms as brothers in arms...

This beauty constantly strengthens the weight of the military brand in the life of the individual, so that the military brand is more shining in the life of the soldier. It always inadvertently and profoundly affects people's value choices, behavior patterns and even personality characteristics, and then becomes a life dynamic - the driving force to change the original possible life trajectory and achieve transcendence of life.

It is in this sense that the wind whistle belongs to Liu Tianyou, and the beauty of life it carries and transmits also belongs to people who have had military experience from generation to generation. In the heart of every good soldier, there may be a "strong wind outpost" hidden deeply. It could be an unforgettable highland, or it could be an unusually fierce battle; it could be a difficult task, it could be a life-and-death decision; it could be a flag that will never fade, it could be a battle song that makes people's blood flow; it could be a cat's ear hole, a minesweeper field, or it could be Shangganling, Songbone Peak... They became a soldier and therefore a soldier for the rest of their lives. As a result, they bloomed the beauty of the soldiers, and thus showed the beauty of the soldiers throughout their lives.

Come to think of it, such people have always been around us. From the war years to the period of peace construction, from the spirit to the white hair, from the military camp to all walks of life in society, they may be unknown in the sea of people, and many people may not even know that they have been soldiers, but when you understand their stories: what they have given up, what they are insisting on; what they care about incomparably, what they are deeply attached to; why they are silent, why they are fierce; why they dare to decide, why they are tearful... You will have more feelings for the true colors of soldiers and a deeper understanding of the beauty of life imprinted by the military.

The novel ends with a performance presented by the "Camouflage Literary troupe", and the finale program is the chorus "We come from all over the world": "We are all from all over the world, coming together for a common revolutionary goal..." Offstage, there were many veterans sitting, all singing to the melody. Liu Tianyou accompanied in the band, listening to the lyrics tears like rain. Because in this song, he seems to see himself, see his comrades-in-arms, and also see the veterans who are coming in line. Yes, they come from all over the world, leaving the most beautiful years of life in military camps of different eras, and being shaped by military camps of different generations, but in the end they all converge in the title of "people's children and soldiers". Therefore, no matter where they are, the beauty of life imprinted on them by the military will eventually become a vivid footnote to the spiritual character and cultural strength of the people's army.

Liu Tianyou is still a unique one, and the life story in "Five Lakes and Four Seas" is also limited, but standing on the high ground of life aesthetics, behind them is connected by the historical accumulation of the people's army for more than 90 years, shining is the glory of life built by generations of people's children and soldiers with youth. Perhaps so, we truly understand Liu Tianyou and "All The Worlds and All Seas", and truly understand all those lives that have laid a deep mark on the military. (■Li Zhenyu)

(Jiefangjun Daily)