Writer Observation | Zhao Yi: Maintain the state and continue to move steadily and farther

Editor's note: Since the 21st century, the global economy, science and technology have developed rapidly, culture and art have interacted closely, the time and space distance between people has suddenly shortened, and people's communication methods, social and cultural forms have all carried the unique characteristics of this era. In this regard, focusing on science, art, psychology, medicine, ethics, environment and other related topics, the New Hainan Client Culture Channel and the Hainan International Communication Center invite well-known writers, poets and scholars from the mainland to jointly launch a series of interviews with "Writers Observation", so please pay attention to it.

The timing alternates and everything is renewed. Looking back on 2021, I have experienced confusion, laughter and pride, and brilliant achievements, full of indelible memories and eternal nostalgia. Looking forward to 2022, standing on the threshold of the New Year, we not only feel the warmth and hope of the New Year, but also feel the dreams and expectations of the future.

In the past year, writers and scholars have, as always, used their affectionate brushstrokes to depict the changes of the times, and wrote the grandeur of the world with Han Mo Danqing. The years are hurried, the page of 2021 has turned over, in the new year, what are the expectations and prospects of writers and scholars?

In this issue, the New Hainan Client Culture Channel and the Hainan International Communication Center interviewed the famous writer Zhao Yi and brought her views.

Interviewee: Zhao Yi, a native of Chengdu, Sichuan. Chinese University of Arts, Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts, Tsinghua University, Ph.D. student, Department of Chinese, Tsinghua University. Engaged in theoretical criticism and fiction writing. For theoretical criticism, see Contemporary Literature, Southern Literature, Contemporary Chinese Literature Studies, Novel Review, Chinese Culture Forum, etc., and other novels and prose works can be found in Beijing Literature, Yangtze River Literature and Art, Chinese Writers, Tianya, October, etc. A recently published collection of commentaries, Looking for Color: The Dimension and Identity of Literature. He is a member of the Chinese Writers Association and a member of the Youth Working Committee of the China Literary and Art Critics Association.

1. Looking back on 2021, what did you gain from writing?

Zhao Yi: In 2021, we will continue to focus on theoretical criticism and novel writing. A number of critical articles have been published on the theoretical criticism front, dealing with current writers' works and literary phenomena, as well as world literature and Chinese contemporary literary classics. In the Sichuan People's Publishing House, the review collection "Looking for Color: The Dimension and Identity of Literature" was prepared. The novel "Reconciliation" was published in Tianya, which happened to be a magazine in Hainan, and the novel has been reprinted in partial anthologies and annual anthology. He also published essays documenting a handful of travels over the course of a year. The biggest gain is to get closer to the truth of literature from the interaction and complementarity of theoretical criticism and creation, and I seem to prefer literature.

2. In 2021, one thing that makes you feel more deeply, can you talk to us?

Zhao Yi: Participating in the Tenth National Congress of the China Writers Association and attending a grand event in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing has a sense of loftiness and mission.

3. How many books did you read in 2021? Are there any books worth noting?

Zhao Yi: There is no counting, and my job is to be a professional reader. My favorite book of 2021 is a theoretical book, Ge Fei's "The Boundaries of Civilization", which not only prompts a variety of specific methods of reading classics and textual analysis, but also guides each of us in how to behave in modern civilization and social life, and is a book that gives me a lot of things and a lot of strength, full of insight and wisdom.

4. Which cities did you go to in 2021? Which city do you have a unique feel for?

Zhao Yi: Went to Yibin Lizhuang, Chongqing Wulong, Yichun Tieli and Zhuhai. The first two places belong to the nostalgia (I am a Chengdu native), especially the food, which is the most memorable. The area around Xiaoxing'anling was the first time to go, and it was in the middle of summer, which was very different from the cold zone in the common impression, and everything was lush. Looking at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in Zhuhai, the sea breeze blows, and in the waters of the Lingling Ocean at the mouth of the Pearl River, there is no longer any need to "sigh zero Ding in the ocean".

5. How would you rate your 2021 and can you talk about your writing plans for 2022?

Zhao Yi: 2021 should be regarded as no waste. The New Year will continue to maintain, do a good job of theoretical commentary, read more books, and then combine creation, in short, to be stable and far-reaching.

6. Where is your hometown? Are there any special Spring Festival customs?

Zhao Yi: My hometown is in Chengdu. Special customs may be in food culture, we generally do not make dumplings much, or eat hot pot, drink sheep soup more. The wide and narrow alleys, Jinli, Wenshu Monastery, Chunxi Road, etc. that the Spring Festival loves to visit are also mostly related to "eating", such as dumplings, dragon copyers, dan dan noodles, spicy rabbit heads, bowl chickens, three cannons and so on, all of which are shouting and selling along the street, and there is always one thing that makes you stop.

7. Will you still watch the Spring Festival Gala with your family? Compared with when you were a child, what is the meaning of the current Spring Festival Gala in your heart?

Zhao Yi: I will watch it together. The Spring Festival Gala is a long-term thought and a New Year's ceremony. For example, this year, I am ready to stay in Beijing for the New Year, but the family will definitely gather in the WeChat group at the Chinese New Year's Eve night, watch the Spring Festival Gala and discuss the Spring Festival Gala, think about it is very lively, very New Year's flavor.

8. Do you like the Chinese New Year? What is the most familiar taste of the year in your heart?

Zhao Yi: I like it. Holidays can always make people feel relaxed and happy, and the taste of the year also includes this comfortable state of mind.

9. What is the thing you are willing to spend the longest time during the Spring Festival holiday?

Zhao Yi: Maybe it's still reading and writing, and I also make up for some dramas.

10. What have you not done in the past year? Any expectations for the coming year?

Zhao Yi: There is still some time that has not been used well, and I hope that the New Year will reduce some regrets.

New Hainan Client, Nanhai Net, Nanguo Metropolis Daily reporters Liu Xinting, Cai Qianlan, Hu Yalan