Speaking of the name Wei Yang, people in the Shanghai reading circle are not strangers, he not only likes to read and collect books, but also a senior writer with a lot of writing. His books and phrases involve a wide range of contents, such as "The Essence of Old Books", "Paper and Ink Shou Yu Jinshi", "People and Books Are Getting Old", "Go with Wei Yangtao", etc., which are favored by book lovers.
In his spare time, Wei Yang likes to go to the used book market or chat with the cultural elders. Reading books, writing, and making friends are the three major pleasures of Wei Yang's life.
Looking for books and collecting books, not for the sake of collecting books, only for the use of books
Wei Yang, whose original name was Wang Weiqiang, worked as a worker, regimental cadre, secretary, editor and journalist after graduating from high school. After work, he began to write new poems, taking the pen name of "Wei Yang", "'Wei' has some connection with books, because there is a saying of 'Wei Bian Sanjie'; 'Yang' is open water, and I prefer water." ”
In the early 1990s, Wei Yang published the poetry collection "The Weight of Gold" and joined the Shanghai Writers Association. At that time, many old poets in Shanghai were still alive, and Wei Yang often visited them to talk about poetry and life together. Ding Jingtang, a famous scholar of literature and history and a publisher, once published a collection of poems, "The Dream of the Stars", and Wei Yang asked him for some advice on writing poetry. During the chat, Ding Jingtang took out many old books to show Wei Yang, saying that he had been studying Lu Xun, Qu Qiubai and the "Left Alliance" writers since then, and liked to run to old bookstores to find old books and published many monographs. After that, Wei Yang began to follow Ding Jingtang to get up literary historical materials, and as soon as he got started, he couldn't swing it. The Xinhua Bookstore, which he used to go to, could no longer meet Wei Yang's needs for reading, so he also learned from his predecessors and began to go to the old bookstore to look for books. "From Shanghai to Hong Kong, from Beijing to Nanjing, I have visited countless old book stalls and old book shops in the past thirty years. Looking for books, collecting books, not for the sake of collecting books, just for the use of books, looking for anecdotes in old books, providing 'energy' for my writing. ”
↑ Ding Jingtang handwriting
Wei Yang's types of books and books are relatively mixed, basically related to his hobbies and work industries. In order to create new poems, he collected thousands of books of various poems. One hundred years after the birth of the new poem, three important early poetry collections, such as Hu Shi's "Attempt Collection", Guo Moruo's "Goddess", and Yu Pingbo's "Remembrance", he successively included them. Wei Yang had worked in the bank for 25 years, so he did not easily let go of the old books and periodicals related to finance, and wrote some financial old stories based on these materials in his spare time. In addition, he has been interested in calligraphy and fine arts since he was a child, and some books in this area will be collected, and over time, he has also developed a certain scale. Especially in the prints in the art books, he has successively collected the "Soviet Printmaking Collection" written by Lu Xun, the "New Woodcut" edited by Yang Keyang, and so on.
Gradually, Wei Yang also became a famous "book collector" in the reading circle. Of course, Wei Yang collected books for the purpose of reading, but he also understood those who only "collected books". "Collecting books is a broad concept, for individuals, it is to collect books that they like, books that are useful, or books that are valuable and can appreciate. There's nothing wrong with that. Generally speaking, the collection of books always refers to the old books, but I have book friends and have a room full of new books that are not old, which is also a collection. Because he has a habit of cleanliness, he never stains old things. There are also people who specialize in collecting celebrity signature books and special collections of rough edges, which can be called 'collection of books'. Reading and collecting books are two concepts. Some people only read and don't buy books; some people only collect books, collect books, and don't read. Both can coexist, the so-called 'green vegetables and turnips, each has its own good'. ”
↑ An early version of Guo Moruo's "Goddess" in Wei Yang's collection
In all of Wei Yang's collections, comic strips are a special one, which carries his childhood memories. "When I was about five or six years old, because I didn't have the money to buy books, I could only go to the book stalls in the street lanes to read comic strips, which were called villain books at that time. For a penny or two, I can sit and watch for most of the day, until it gets dark and my mother calls my name and calls me home. Although illiterate, looking at the pages in a row can roughly understand the story in the book. "Railway Guerrilla", "Red Rock", etc. were all watched at that time, and the memory is deep. It can be said that comic strips were my first reading initiation. "Later, when Wei Yang was looking for books, he saw some comic strips, and because he was nostalgic, he also accepted some of them." In his free time, he also writes small essays and introduces villain books to the children now. Some book friends happened to be compiling related books, invited me to participate, and wrote the book "Appreciation and Collection of Comic Strips". The book was printed in two consecutive editions, indicating that it was also popular with readers. ”
Through reading, I became acquainted with the elderly of culture
Wei Yang likes to read old books, in his view, generally more than 50 years of books can be called old books, these books with "traces of changes in the times and relics", is the best material carrier for book writing.
Shushu is Wei Yang's main form of writing in the past twenty years, "My understanding is that shushu is prose essays about books, which is a writing tradition that came down from Tang Tao and Jiang Deming. The process of writing books and sayings is also the process of accumulating historical materials, reading and learning. ”
The famous bibliophile Jiang Deming likes to collect old books from the Republic of China period and has also written many books, in which he once said to Wei Yang, "You also like to search for new literary versions on the stalls, it can be said that we are the same good friends." Wei Yang regarded Jiang Deming as a guide on the road of writing calligraphy, "His book articles and those editions of books and shadows have pointed out the direction for me, a latecomer." Jiang Deming was very concerned about Wei Yang's writing, and he often encouraged Wei Yang, and every time he saw Wei Yang's article from the press, he would mention it in the letter. In addition, he will provide Wei Yang with valuable writing resources. Once, the two were chatting at Jiang Deming's house, and when they said goodbye, Jiang Deming took an old book from his desk to give to Wei Yang. Wei Yang took a look at it, it was Ma Guoliang, the editor-in-chief of "Liangyou Pictorial", whose Republic of China edition novel collection "Lulu", was overflowing with surprise.
Wei Yang said that the writing of books and words should follow the principle of "sentences have a basis and everywhere has a history". Once, he found a thirty-two-folio small periodical "Xiao Xiao" in a used bookstore, including a total of three volumes, including the inaugural issue, because he did not know much about this journal, so he wrote to Jiang Deming for advice. A few days later, Jiang Deming wrote back: "The small magazine "Xiao Xiao" has been purchased and stored for nearly forty years, and Mr. Cheng Tang Tao told me that it was compiled by Mr. Jin. I had contact with Mr. Kim and asked him to write a manuscript. He greeted him and wished him peace and health. "The Mr. Jin mentioned in the letter is Jin Shengyao, a master of literature and history. Later, when Wei Yang visited Elder Jin, he learned in detail about his experience in compiling "Xiao Xiao", and finally wrote a small essay on "Jin Sex Yao and < Xiao Xiao >". "Of course, my calligraphy works are not perfectly written, nor can I say that I am satisfied, but I can count them as 'every word is hard'."
↑ Famous writers and screenwriters Shen Ning and Wei Yang
Wei Yang's books, in addition to writing old books, will also write about cultural elders related to books. Starting from Ding Jingtang, Wei Yang made many cultural elders intermittently through reading. Most of them have found their old books, and then they know themselves, and there are many topics to talk about. "I was about forty at the time and loved chatting with people over eighty because the things they knew, to me, had never been seen before, and sounded fresh and curious. In Shanghainese, this is called 'rolling old road'. In my dealings with the elderly, I learned a lot, especially their indifferent and detached attitude towards life. Today, the old people have passed away one by one, and I myself have become a little old man. ”
More than ten years ago, Wei Yang happened to see a copy of the old book "The Comedy of Spring" on paper in the old book stall, and immediately bought it. He thought that huang Zongjiang, the translator of the book, might be the brother that Huang Zongying often talked to him about. Therefore, according to the address given by Huang Zongying, Wei Yang sent the book to the residential area of the Bayi Film Factory in Beijing, hoping to ask Huang Zongjiang to sign his name. Unexpectedly, he waited for a long time, the book did not wait, but waited for a letter from Huang Zongjiang: "Brother Wei Yang: I was overjoyed to see "Spring Joy", this book was written by Feng Yi on my behalf, and it has been 60 years away. I thought you were sending me, and when I read Guizha again, Fang knew that I was asked to sign it. So let it go to me, how? So strong thanks. Zongjiang 2005, 11, 7. This small episode of "horizontal knife to win love" made Wei Yang and Huang Zongjiang become "yearless friends" after that.
↑ Famous children's literature writers Shengye and Wei Yang
Because of the mutual gift of books, Wei Yang has formed a deep friendship with many cultural elders. These stories were written by Wei Yang into his first book collection, "People and Books Are Getting Old". In the following ten years, Wei Yang has successively published collections of books and phrases such as "Paper Ink Shou Yu Jinshi", "The Essence of Old Books", "Book Series Shadow", "Long and Short Records of Old Periodicals", and soon, the latest book and talk work "Words about Ba Jin" will also be published.
The joy and bitterness of book hunting
Wei Yang has been looking for books for many years, and has a habit of liking to put his experience of searching for books and treasures on paper, and has probably saved hundreds of thousands of words of book search diaries. Previously, he selected these diaries and published two books, "Go with Wei Yang Taoshu" and "Taoshu Road", and this year, he wanted to write another book "Taoshu at Home" to form a "Taoshu Trilogy".
In the past 30 years of book hunting, there are naturally many stories to tell. And look at a diary: "January 1st, Saturday, sunny and cold." Meteorological reports say temperatures reach minus five degrees Celsius today. Despite the cold, wear a fleece hat and go out in fully armed winter attire such as double gloves and scarves. Ride to Yunzhou Stall today. The books that I liked were all successfully purchased and the price was right. This is a good omen for the first day of the new year, with a good start..." This is a true portrayal of the winter book hunt. There are also diaries to prove it: "July 25, Sunday." It was another thirty-eight degree heat day. Book diggers want to practice three nine in winter, three volts in summer, and quan should be a kind of morning exercise, born in sweat, which is really a cool thing and a good recipe for weight loss. Riding to the Temple of Literature this morning, I was sweating profusely. While looking for books, while sweating, still happy to do so, more than ten books, the price is also cheap. Two short narratives write the bitterness and voice of the bibliophile.
Despite the hard work, Wei Yang can still find a lot of fun in Tao books. Once, he saw a stack of "Soviet Literature and Art" on the stall, and the big red cover was really eye-catching. In his early years, when he listened to the translator Mr. Cao Bao, he said that he was engaged in Russian translation in the 1940s, and the first translation of the Soviet writer Platonov's short story "The Old Man" was published in "Soviet Literature and Art". "Soviet Literature and Art" was sponsored by the Soviet rogov, but the editors were mostly Chinese scholars such as Jiang Chunfang and Ge Baoquan. Wei Yang picked up a total of six volumes, gently inquired, and the stall owner replied, "Go to thirty yuan together." "The rare old periodicals of the Republic of China, on average, are only five yuan a volume, which is equal to a free gift, which really makes me laugh." In the jargon, it's called 'picking leaks'. Wei Yang said that the joy of looking for books lies in the fact that there are often serendipity.
Today, Wei Yang's family already has a collection of 10,000 books, and also contains a number of writers' letters, manuscripts, and literati calligraphy and paintings. There are more books, and storage has become a problem. There are more than a dozen bookshelves and bookcases in the house, standing on top of the sky, placed separately, and each row is two layers of books inside and outside. Bookshelves and bookcases stretch from a small study without windows to the aisles, living rooms and balconies, storage rooms, and almost every room has book boxes and stacks of books except the bathroom and kitchen. "At first, there were few books, which could be classified and easier to find. Later, the more books were found, there was nowhere to put them, and they could only pile up a pile of books in the east of the home, occupying a lot of family territory, and they were very unwilling to go. ”
Wei Yang, who was over sixty years old, considered that his age was getting older and his body was not as tough as before, and he had begun to "reduce the number of elite troops" and gradually deal with some unused books. He said: "When you are older, you should consider scattering books, and letting books circulate in the hands of people who need them is the best destination for books." (Reader's Daily all-media reporter Dong Xiaoyue)
Editor: Wang Xin Responsible Editor: He Jian Review: Zhou Hua