Qilu Evening News Qilu One Point reporter Shi Wenjing
In the summer of 2021, an unfamiliar Beijing mobile phone number appeared on the mobile phone of Wang Fangchen, a famous writer and chairman of the Literature and Painting Committee of the Shandong Provincial Federation of Social Organizations. The voice of an old friend who has been missing for more than a decade came out. She had just read the short story "Fengqi Wu" selected by xinhua digest, and couldn't help but find out Wang Fangchen's new mobile phone number after arriving in Jinan, and eagerly told him about her excitement after reading it. A novel to find an old friend, and get the other party to read deeply empathy, Wang Fangchen is quite touched by this matter.
"Fengqi Wu" was originally published in "Beijing Literature", the text of the work is exquisite, the narrative is accurate and expressive, full of charm, and deeply rooted in the essence of ancient tradition. The reporter learned that more than half a year later, the short story collection "Fengqi Wu" will be published soon, and Wang Fangchen's latest long story "Above the Earth" and the novella collection "Extraordinary Mirror" will also be published one after another. Since 2020, Wang Fangchen has created and published hundreds of thousands of words of long, medium and short stories, and the long novel "Flower Bureau" has been well received after its publication, and the creation of short and medium stories is also constantly breaking through the self.
Recently, Wang Fangchen was interviewed by Qilu Evening News Qilu Yidian to talk about his recent writings and works. He said that writing is life, living is writing, constantly writing, paying attention to human survival, human existence itself, and carefully cultivating his own "plane tree" through works.
Writer Wang Fangchen
I have something to say about traditional culture
Qilu Evening News Qilu One Point: In 2021, your short story "Fengqiwu" has brought a very strong reading feeling to many readers. After writing a batch of old street novels represented by "Honest Street", he came up with this amazing work. This novel has been continuously selected by many literary anthologies such as Xinhua Digest, Novel Monthly, Sinan Literature Anthology, Works and Controversy, and Yangtze River Literature and Art Good Novel, and has been fully affirmed by readers and peers. Can you talk about the origin of the creation of "Fengqi Wu"?
Wang Fangchen: Because of the epidemic, these two years are very special years. The profound impact of the pandemic on human development will become more apparent over time. Since the covid-19 pandemic in 2020, I have had the heart to concentrate on mobilizing all my literary perceptions to create short stories. On the one hand, the hustle and bustle of the world on the Internet, on the other hand, I managed myself strictly, and I tried my best to immerse myself in the writing of novels. As of March 2021, I've written fourteen short stories and two novellas. Although I stayed at home most of the time, I never felt as connected to the times and the world as much as I did during this time. The joys and sorrows that are closely connected with the world are like a tidal wave, constantly pouring into my novels through the keyboard.
I have a clear design for the novel I'm starting to write. In several interviews last year, I repeatedly emphasized that the old streets and alleys of Jinan are my own fertile soil for literature. I looked back there. "Fengqi Wu" is written about Honest Street, and "Whispers of Micro Life" is written about Wuku Street.
In the past few years, it has experienced some time shifts, and the mentality has changed more or less. This can be seen from the title of the novel "Whispers". I first wrote "Whispers" and then wanted to write a novel that was more comfortable to read. What is it called comfort? Of course, it is a dream come true, it is the phoenix that inhabits the wu, it is what it is, it is born at the right time. I believe that this is also an ancient dream shared by mankind, so I want to write "Fengqi Wu".
Qilu Evening News Qilu One Point: "Fengqi Wu" has a shell of a traditional martial arts novel, Miao Fengsan and Lu Yifu, two martial arts masters hidden in the folk city well, with special skills, but hidden deeply. The novel revolves around miao fengsan who makes steamed buns, Lu Yifu who is a tailor, and his attitude towards traditional martial arts culture. How did the two wonderful characters Of Miao Fengsan and Lu Yifu come about?
Wang Fangchen: The character of Miao Fengsan in "Fengqi Wu" is in "Honest Street", and the disciple Lu Yifu is newly fictionalized, in order to make the two complement each other and complete each other. They are confidants, there are similarities and differences, there are hidden and dew, there are collections and releases, so that they look good. They are soul and spirit. In order for them to have a natural emotional affinity with people, there is no more suitable than a "micro-student" who makes steamed buns and a "micro-student" who makes clothes.
Qilu Evening News Qilu One Point: The opening paragraph of "Fengqiwu" reads: "We are very much like having a big dream. How long are the dreams? I'm afraid I'll have to continue to do it for my children and grandchildren..." Your novels continue to explore tradition and reality, culture and morality, and pay attention to such grand propositions as how people face and understand tradition. The same is true of Fengqi Wu. Why the constant focus on tradition? Why is the topic of tradition and modernity discussed in the streets, such as two martial arts practitioners, rather than through the intellectual community?
Wang Fangchen: I have something to say about cultural traditions. This is the foundation of what makes a nation. But in fact, there are many misconceptions about this. When you think of tradition, you think of the old, and you think of an unbearable pressure, a shackle, a clamp. In my opinion, as long as it is an excellent traditional culture, there will be an indelible vitality, nature will be forever young, and it does not matter whether it is traditional and modern, it is an improvement to human life and helps human society to develop towards happiness and light. At the same time, culture is not a signboard. Young literary critic Cui Qinglei's interpretation of "Fengqi Wu" is very pertinent. He said that the phoenix perched in Wu is the root of tradition. This take root is not to reshape temples and plant flagpoles on the earth, but to internalize the excellent tradition and internalize it into an invincible spirit. In view of this, we can see that Miao Fengsan is as steady as Mount Tai, and his body is as light as a swallow.
I put the topic of tradition and modernity on the two urban figures who once practiced martial arts on Honest Street, one is that the traditional cultural characteristics of kung fu are particularly distinctive, and the other is that ordinary people and so on are more common than the intellectual group. They have reached a certain level, and they also have the style of intellectuals. In the novel, it is written that when you look at it, you will recognize Miao Fengsan as a "gentleman celebrity", which is what it means. In the novel, there is an intellectual, an expert in folklore studies, which is somewhat funny compared to the two.
Love short stories, carefully cultivate their own "plane tree"
Qilu Evening News Qilu One Point: You said that "Honest Street" writes about the world's hearts of the people in a city, and the demise of Honest Street heralds the fragmentation of traditional values and the rebirth of the moral system of our entire society. From traditional values, cultural ethics to the relationship between tradition and modernity, what is the internal relationship between "Fengqiwu" and "Honest Street"? Is "Fengqi Wu" an extended exploration or an answer to the questions that "Honest Street" thinks? How will the writing of old street novels be laid out?
Wang Fangchen: Looking at it now, the previous "Honest Street" said a kind of "broken", like a soul-breaking knife, cutting a crack in the original moral and cultural curtain. Honest Street begins with Razor in Damascus. To "Fengqi Wu", it is "Standing". Where is "Standing"? "Standing" is internalized in the spirit of "culture" as Cui Qinglei speaks. People internalize excellent traditions and excellent cultures as something that can enrich and nourish our spirit and make our souls clear. I believe that this is also the end point of all cultural research, and it is the "core" of cultural research. In this sense, "Fengqi Wu" answers the questions that were considered in the previous Honest Street series of novels. As I said, my writing about the old streets and alleys of Jinan will continue. The novelist and scholar Fang Wei told me that he was expecting me to write another long story about Jinan in the same way that I would write these short stories.
Qilu Evening News Qilu One Point: Your novel has a distinct overall style, pursuing the metaphorical connotation wrapped in the appearance of reality. So, what kind of concept do you want to express through "Fengqi Wu"?
Wang Fangchen: A big dream has been from ancient times to the present. The pursuit of an ideal life, regardless of race, will not give up. All the writers in the world are ultimately idealistic, and I am no exception. "Fengqi Wu" writes about the dreams of honest street people, of course, the dreams of the Chinese nation, and even the dreams of human beings. You ask me what kind of concept I express, and I simply tell you that this concept is these three words with very national characteristics - "Fengqi Wu".
Qilu Evening News Qilu One Point: Mr. He Shaojun believes that short stories are the plane trees you have in the creation of novels, and "Fengqi Wu" is a very accurate metaphor for the artistic realm of your short stories. Mr. Mo Yan also believes that your novels are close to the times and the characters, and they are wonderful. Your "Big Chunk Standing", "Old Bones", "The Door of Stability", "Baojunzhi", "Old Husband Returns home", "Extraordinary Mirror", "Graceful Wanfu", etc., from the countryside to the city, from history to reality, the theme is changeable. Why are you passionate about short stories?
Wang Fangchen: In the past, I didn't understand, but after listening to the comments of literary critic Hu Ping at my creative seminar in 2016, I suddenly realized that I had always been unconsciously paying attention to the existence of human beings. Because of the concern for the existence of people, there is no urban and rural areas, no identity, class, occupation. This allows my writing to be freely switched between different fields. Teacher Hu Ping's words made me feel like I was enlightened. Teacher Hu Ping believes that this is philosophical thinking. After that meeting, Wang Chunlin and I visited the Thousand Buddha Mountain and continued to exchange views on this.
Like Mr. Hu Ping, Mr. He Shaojun is a contemporary literary critic, and his affirmation of my short works has made me feel close to me. Particularly pleasing to the eye is his metaphor of the "plane tree". Mr. Mo Yan's evaluation is also my own creative requirement. This involves at least two aspects of my short story creation, one is the realm, and the other is the seamless integration with the times.
I've never loved short stories as much as I did in recent years—cultivating my own "plane tree." In fact, I used to be proud of having more novellas, and at one point there were more novellas than short ones. If I have to say preference, I prefer "Fengqi Wu", "The Mirror of the Extraordinary", and "Bao Junzhi". I chose "Baojun Zhi" because the novel pushes love to all living beings in the world.
Qilu Evening News Qilu One Point: How to look at the difficulty of creating short stories? What is the difficulty of writing "Fengqi Wu"?
Wang Fangchen: I adhere to a principle, writing should be long and long, short and short. Looking back on my own creation, I have a regret that I have put too much effort into the creation of short and medium stories, and as for the long novels, only "The Boss" and "Public Enemy" have waited for a few.
The difficulty of creating long, medium and short stories is different, and you can't stop because of the difficulty. The difficulty of writing "Fengqi Wu" lies in the fact that I intend to cover more life, so it needs to be more refined, and the text should be less than more, and more spiritual. Its choice of classical charm is not blind. After writing this work, what I felt was two words: "comfort". I feel like I've spoken the words of my whole life, and I'm relieved.
Writing is life, and living is writing
Qilu Evening News Qilu One Point: The new work "Above the Earth", which will be published in March, focuses on the revitalization of the countryside, can you reveal the writing process of the new work?
Wang Fangchen: "Above the Earth" is a support work of the China Writers Association. I was prepared a long time ago to think about how to write a novel with a different rural revitalization theme. Suddenly, one day, the inspiration flashed, and immediately opened the computer and wrote the "introduction" of the novel. This "introduction" determines the structure and language style of the novel. When I finished writing short stories, I immediately started writing "introductions" and started from the top of Tarzan. Mount Tai is a Chinese sacred mountain. Shandong writers must not write about Taishan. The novel writes about the abundant rural affairs of the earth, involving reality, history, myths and legends, and folk songs. The whole creative process was very smooth.
Qilu Evening News Qilu One Point: After writing the absurd "Flower Bureau", he also wrote realistic theme works. What are the writing goals and plans set at the moment?
Wang Fangchen: I don't have any tricks. I think, probably because for me, writing is life, and living is writing. In July last year, after the completion of "On the Earth", it was cared for and valued by the relevant leaders of the Innovation and Research Department of the China Writers Association and the Shandong Provincial Writers Association. I did not rush to take it out, but after repeated "filtering", I submitted the manuscript to China Writers for publication in the 3rd issue of 2022. Before the Joint Publication of the Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House and the Shandong Literature and Art Publishing House, experts may be invited to discuss and listen to the opinions of experts. Then, he continued to write short stories and a long story about the life of the old streets and alleys of Jinan, because the human dream of "phoenix perched in Wu" never ends.