In the history of Chinese and foreign literature, the relationship between father and son has long become an eternal literary motif. In the new work "The Road to the Father", Ye Zhaoyan tells the story of a father and son, writes the era memory of three generations of intellectuals in a family, reflecting the social changes of more than half a century. He said that he hopes that after reading the new work, readers will be able to observe the relationship between themselves or the two generations around them.
△ Writer Ye Zhaoyan
On the afternoon of March 12, Ye Zhaoyan visited Nanjing Pioneer Bookstore and the readers to explore this most complex and subtle emotion that is sometimes close at hand, but difficult to get close to, and the most complex and subtle emotion in the world.
Contemplate and reflect on the relationship between two generations
After the publication of "The Road to Fatherhood", it attracted a lot of attention, and many reports labeled the theme of the novel as "Chinese-style paternity". Ye Zhaoyan admits that although in some interviews he mentioned the "Chinese-style father-son relationship", in fact, when he first wrote, he "didn't think much about this topic". As a novelist, he thinks more about the narrative of his works and the reading experience of readers.
△ "The Road to Father" Author: Ye Zhaoyan Translation Forest Publishing House
In Ye Zhaoyan's view, for the same writing subject, writers can use tv series or movies to write. At the beginning of writing, he hoped to use the narrative method of the film to tell the story in two hours, so that the reader could read it in one night, "After all, the writing is too long, who wants to spend so much time to see." 」 Ye Zhaoyan laughed.
Some critics believe that "The Road to Fatherhood" deals with a 400,000-word subject in 40,000 words. Ye Zhaoyan said that the reason why he wrote such a novella is, on the one hand, to prepare for future novellas, on the other hand, it is also a kind of return: "Our generation of writers, like Yu Hua and Su Tong, began to write novellas in the literary world. There was a particularly interesting phenomenon in the literary world in the 1980s, when everyone became famous in publications. Publications are equivalent to a cinema, and everyone's work is staged in the cinema. When I wrote the novella, I had a very fond memory of my youth, when I first started writing. ”
So what was the original intention of writing "The Road to Father"? "I hope to be able to write something different, say something different, write something different about relationships, and I think more about the three words 'different.'" Ye Zhaoyan said that he did not want to explore a certain relationship, and hoped that after reading the novel, readers would be able to think of the relationship between themselves or the two generations around them. "That was my original wish as a book writer."
△ The original author and screenwriter of "Children of The Joe Family" has not yet died
Last year, the TV series "Qiao Family's Daughter" caught fire, and this family drama set in Nanjing resonated with many viewers. The image of the selfish father Qiao Zuwang in the TV series and his relationship with his children have also caused discussion on the Internet. The original author and screenwriter of "Joe's Daughter" talked about her understanding of the relationship between the two generations after reading "The Road to Father". In her opinion, many people in real life are not actually prepared to become fathers or mothers, because raising children is an overly heavy responsibility, just as Qiao Zuwang cannot become a good father, and the character of Zhang Xiyi in the book is also an "eternal spiritual son".
The "original family" that cannot be escaped
At the event, the guests also discussed the influence of their parents on their lives and their thinking on the relationship between the two generations.
As we all know, Ye Zhaoyan comes from a family of scholars, his grandfather Ye Shengtao is a famous writer, educator and publisher in the history of modern literature in the mainland, and his uncle Ye Zhishan and father Ye Zhicheng are excellent writers and editors. Although Ye Zhaoyan himself rarely precedes people and has a family lineage, it is still inevitable that he will be introduced as "Ye Shengtao's grandson" on some occasions. Ye Zhaoyan confessed that he had actually always wanted to get rid of such a role.
"It's really embarrassing for someone like me to be a 'grandson' everywhere. I feel like I've worked hard enough to write a lot of things over 40 years. One of the good things about my family background is that it's not easy to be proud, but it's also really hard for me to be successful and fulfilled. My daughter is the same, having published seven or eight books, and her experience is that there is no excitement in publishing books, because my father has more books. Despite some complaints, Ye Zhaoyan still frankly stated that becoming a writer was inseparable from the influence of his family environment.
△ "The Road to Father" illustrator and painter Zhao Yun
Similar to Ye Zhaoyan, the illustrator and painter Zhao Yun of "The Road to Father" is also from the Shuxiang family, and she is the daughter of the translators Zhao Ruihong and Mr. Yang Yuan. Talking about the influence of his parents on himself, Zhao Yun said: "I am particularly sober and aware that without them, there would be no me. The literature they loved and the art that my mother didn't learn were all integrated into my blood, which was inseparable. I walked out of myself again with their encouragement. The deepest impression left by his father Zhao Ruihong was the back of the person who always sat at the desk and worked hard. In her opinion, although her father was "very pedantic, particularly naïve, and timid," he was definitely a very good father, "and every time my brother and I left home, my father stood at the door of our little courtyard and watched us go away." ”
After the broadcast of "The Daughter of the Qiao Family", a colleague of a relative asked Wei Xi whether her father was similar to Qiao Zuwang, "I quickly declare that my father is not such a person." Wei Xi said that her father was out of town for many years because of his work, and she was not close to his father, "Even one night, when our father and daughter were facing each other, I felt very embarrassed." You will feel that it is difficult to communicate, and it will be very diaphragm. Late one night I watched a movie in which the daughter naturally sat on her father's lap and talked to him. I was in tears, I had never communicated to my father like that. ”
But the feelings between blood are natural, "My father is 80 years old this year, and I suddenly feel that I am beginning to be inexplicably cordial. I found him going to the bookstore to buy my books to read, and he was very proud of me. Because my home is quite far from the unit, every night he will wait for me to text him to tell him that he is home safely. Wei Xi said that he was particularly grateful to Teacher Ye for writing such a work, and he also hoped that everyone would definitely read it and reflect on the relationship between himself and his father.
△ The scene of the event
Yang Wei: Ye Zhaoyan is the best writer in Nanjing
It is worth mentioning that it was the strong support of her mother Yang Wei that made Zhao Yun decide to take over the work of drawing for "The Road to Father".
"The editor of Yilin Publishing House came to my mother's house to ask me for a manuscript and offered to draw illustrations for the book. At that time, I was a little nervous, first of all, I had not read Ye Zhaoyan's book, and the time was also more tense. Can I take on this job? The 103-year-old Yang Wei encouraged Zhao To paint next to him, "She said Ye Zhaoyan is the best writer in Nanjing, you must paint him." When the delivery time approached, it coincided with the birthday of her mother Yang Wei, and Zhao Yun had to return to Nanjing every year to celebrate her mother's birthday. But this year, my mother advised Zhao Yun not to come back, "We must complete this job well, we must have faith in our words, so I am also especially grateful to my mother." ”
In order to draw a good illustration, Zhao Yun read the book and made a character table and notes. Because he experienced the same historical stage, Zhao Yun naturally grasped the emotional atmosphere of the book and accurately restored the scene of the times: "For example, in the past two days, when the sun came out, how people 'sunbatheed'; I also used old envelopes and simple stationery; what clothes and bags the postmans wore at that time, what bags they carried, I experienced." ”
(Photo courtesy of Publisher Editor Zhou Dongmei)