Collecting newspapers is collecting history, and behind the aromatic ink is a precious memory

Spread out a newly published newspaper, page after page like a flat wheat field, looking rich and bright. The afternoon sun poured down from the shutters, spread out on the newspapers, and flowed silently... In the grandeur of time, I met and knew each other' wonderful.

Collectible newspapers. Photo/Wancheng

Reading newspapers is my habit. A newspaper is rich in connotation, you can appreciate the registration written by celebrities, look at the editorial department and date indicated in small print under the masthead, browse the newspaper eye and the first edition of the news, of course, it is indispensable to learn the special edition of the essay, discuss the article of the special edition, and finally pay attention to the advertising, notices and other content.

After reading a newspaper, some readers will cut out the valuable "tofu blocks", and then paste them into categories and put them into a book of materials. At that time, I loved to cut and paste, a pair of scissors, a bottle of paste successively stacked more than twenty scrapbooks, and also named them, such as "Digest", "Scenery Here Alone", "Documentary Big Stroke" and so on. Later, I felt that cutting and pasting was laborious, so I directly collected the newspaper.

Newspaper reports at the time of Macao's return to the motherland. Photo/Wancheng

I always think it's a pity that people use newspapers to paste glass and pad tables, and I say in my heart: keep them and keep them for data preservation. When I got the idea, I started collecting newspapers.

The oldest one I have preserved now is the 1953 Binhu Newspaper, which was sponsored by the Changde Special District and distributed to the vast number of farmers. My first mimeograph tabloid was called Ascendas, hosted by a high school in Anhua. Recently, I cleaned up and found this newspaper, which published an essay by me, "Singing Hengshan Mountain." This is the first time I have published an article in a private newspaper. I found out that the deputy editor of this newspaper is Yang Tenghua, who is now a well-known writer, and we have participated in a networking event together a few years ago. I immediately contacted Tenghua to confirm this matter, saying that the name of the literary newspaper was him, and he spoke fondly of their enthusiasm and dedication in running the newspaper at that time.

Once I went to Tianjin for a meeting, I started to buy newspapers from Changsha, bought them on the train, and continued to buy them when I arrived in Beijing, and when I arrived in Tianjin, I had a big bag of newspapers. I couldn't move, so I went to the post and telecommunications office to buy two cardboard boxes and mail them back before the meeting. It's a love of newspapers. Because of my love, I also served as the editor-in-chief of my own family and edited and printed the "Home" newspaper within my family.

My collection of newspapers. Photo/Wancheng

Cut a piece of time to read the newspaper and slowly flow. Newspapers record the events of the day, the river of life is a cluster of waves. The river of time is silent, and we can pick up one of the waves and taste the taste of that period of history. For me, every newspaper records not only the events, but also the camaraderie behind the newspaper.

Zhang Tao, a classmate who works in Guangdong, knows that I love newspapers, and has been mailing them from the commemorative newspapers of the 50th anniversary of the National Day and the "new millennium", which has continued a deep friendship. He sent a copy of the new millennium "Guangzhou Daily" with more than 200 pages, introducing the major events that have taken place all over the world in each hundred years, which can be called a historical work with pictures and texts. Mr. Wang Jimin, a newspaper collector and writer in Qingdao, once sent me his collection of newspapers, which can be called treasures.

National Day series of newspapers. Photo/Wancheng

During the National Day in 2019, friends from Beijing, Guangdong, Heilongjiang, Changsha and other places have sent me various commemorative newspapers for the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China, enriching my National Day series of tibetan newspapers.

In March last year, Mr. Huang, a Beijing netizen, said at a forum that he wanted to give me a newspaper. A few days later, a long envelope with a beautiful stamp on it arrived. This "China Lei Feng Bao" is dignified and heavy. It is said that it is heavy because its composition, printing, and distribution are all done by the voluntary labor of the masses, and it is the first newspaper in the country that specializes in praising Lei Feng Jiao Yulu-like figures. Holding the Lei Feng newspaper, people were touched.

Because of my writing, I have many exchanges with literary societies in various places, and some newspapers have been donated to me by literary societies in various places, such as "Cradle of Journalists", "Reading Time and Space", "New Composition" and so on.

Others are sample newspapers where the articles were published. One of my historical essays entitled "How 'Butterfly Loves Flowers and Answers Li Shuyi' Was Publicly Published" was published in Hunan Women's Daily, Haikou Evening News, Middle School Language Daily, Wencui Bao, and other newspapers. The sample newspaper received is not only a souvenir, but also to understand the newspaper's newspaper style, article requirements, etc.

Newspapers during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Photo/Wancheng

My collection of newspapers is both informative and monumental. Informative newspapers such as literary tabloids and digest newspapers throughout the country; special newspapers such as "New Millennium", "Wenchuan Earthquake", "National Day", "Beijing Olympic Games", "The Return of Hong Kong", "Return to Macao" series, etc., each series is collected by well-known newspapers from all over the country. Such as "Xinhua Daily", "Southern Metropolis Daily", "Crystal News", "Shenzhen Special Economic Zone News", "Global Times" and so on.

The old dream of time is gone, and the mood of love is still there. The process of reading the newspaper collection contains my unique memory and beauty. In any case, these beauties are blessed by time and will not easily escape.

Reading the newspaper can make the heart become quiet and determined, in those tedious and lengthy journeys, in those idle after tea and dinner, open the ink fragrant newspaper, the subtle "rush" sound is heard, look in front of the eyes, listen in the heart, like tasting glutinous rice wine, the taste is wonderful. Good articles in newspapers can nourish good moods, good moods fly like birds to the clouds, and the whole world is a fragrant smell.