A crossover bridge that walks away from the road, a mysterious round dermatitis born on the arm, a male college student who wants to revitalize tribal civilization, a generation of claws that have been forgotten by time... In the writer Shen Dacheng's pen, the world is the fragments that make up the materials of life, and the fragments form a kaleidoscope, and people walk around in it, wandering in search of answers.
Back to reality, Shen Dacheng is both a writer and a small clerk. She worked as an advertising copywriter for ten years and later became a magazine editor. For her, work and creation are just as important. Only work, it will be boring; only creation, life will lose order, and there is less interest in connecting with people. She thus positioned herself as a "small staff writer".
White cat in the garden. Image courtesy of Shen Dacheng.
In Shen Dacheng's view, compared with other internet buzzwords that describe work, the term "small clerk" is neutral, it does not criticize the structure, nor does it self-depreciate, giving people a sense of freedom and independence, doing what you want to do, and resigning if you don't want to do it.
What's more, small clerks don't shy away from failure. "Small" is not only a human status, but also represents front-line, ordinary, grass-roots work. She shared a passage from the science fiction novel "The Abyss": "It seems that Bruell believes that older appearance indicates some special authority. He doesn't realize that if an older person sits in a pile of low-ranking young people, he or she is an out-and-out loser. ”
Recently, Shen Dacheng's new work "The Lost Man" was officially published, containing fifteen newly created short stories. In this issue of reverse popularity, we connected Shen Dacheng in Shanghai and chatted with her about the double reality of "small clerks". What we are curious about is that as a senior in the workplace with rich work experience, how does Shen Dacheng view the current work dilemma of young people? How does she balance creation and work? For her, is writing a resistance to the mundane everyday? What new ideas can staff writing in literature provide for the current work dilemma?
"The Lost Man", by Shen Dacheng, | of the Ideal Country Taiwan Straits Publishing House, July 2021.
* In order to facilitate everyone to listen to long programs, reverse pop has been launched on multiple audio platforms such as Small Universe, Himalayas, NetEase Cloud Music, Apple podcast, etc. Search for "reverse pop" on the above platforms can also be listened to!
*本期音乐：Melt Into The Blue - The Fin、Friday I'm in Love - The Cure
*The caption is from the stills of the Japanese drama "The New Life of Kai".
Anchor | Qing Qingzi, Zhang Ting, Xu Yuedong
Author | Qingqingzi
Audio clip | Zhang Wanqi
Edit | Qingqingzi and Luodong
Proofreading | Chen Diyan