The self-discipline of a literary youth
Author | Zhang Honglun
I have known Comrade Cai Jingang for some time.
To make a long story short, as early as the end of the 1980s, the author squatted in Shiyu Village, Wujing Town, and developed foreign exchange agriculture to purchase persimmon cakes. Unexpectedly, there was a literary youth group in the village and found me. The most important thing for them was to hear that my hometown was from Xinzhai Town, that is, the poet Cai Jingang who inquired about Xinzhai Village came to me.
At that time, there was only one meeting with Cai Jin, and Gein had sent poetry manuscripts to the commune communication group, and did not have a deep understanding. However, they were familiar with Cai Jingang and praised his poetry. For example, the poems published by Cai Jingang in relevant journals have received great repercussions. At that time, I was already working at the county foreign trade bureau and had been away from Xinzhai for many years. Although he had worked as a commune correspondent, little was known about the new literary youth of Xinzhai after the passage of time. Obviously, it failed to satisfy the inquiries of these literary youths.
With a certain curiosity, he took the time to go home and take a break from work to go to Xinzhai Village. After several inquiries, I found Cai Jingang's home. Stepping over the slightly low and old gatehouse, I saw a very small courtyard with only a few earthen grass houses. The tall, grand brick houses, which were almost newly built by the surrounding neighbors, formed a circle of encirclement, giving people a sense of depression and the uncomfortable taste of seeming to be struggling.
Cai Jingang greeted him from the house and handed his wife the baby who was still breastfeeding, with a forced smile and a tired face that was difficult to hide. My heart not only clucked a little tighter. Before the reform and opening up, the national circulation of "People's Literature" once sold 1.8 million copies. After the reform and opening up, society is keen on economic construction, people's sense of making money has become stronger, and there are fewer people who love literature. In the early 1980s, the circulation of "People's Literature" soon plummeted to only about 30,000 copies. In this environment, Cai Jingang, a literary young man with little achievements in his deep arms, fell into such a situation. It's a lot of people.
In 2019, when Xin Zhai founded the journal "Danshui Literature", he thought that Cai Jingang could write poetry, and I visited Cai Jingang again. Feeling near his house, he walked around a few times. But he couldn't find his home. Here are all new and high-grade series of new homes, which surprised my eyes. In the end, after being pointed out, I unexpectedly found his home, and it changed! That's changed! The first thing that catches the eye is that the gatehouse of his house is significantly higher than that of the neighboring houses. Innovative style and beauty! Upon entering the gate, the spacious compound is surrounded by tall new houses with steps and corridors. Its pattern, its new style, and its grade are all better than those of its neighbors.
When we met again, Cai Jingang brewed a pot of tea, and when he saw me, he sighed with some surprise, that is, he slowly said to me. It turned out that Cai Jingang, who was once obsessed with literary creation, suddenly looked back at the arrival of the tide of reform and opening up and deeply felt that he had no skills to earn money except for his love of literature. However, he was not willing to give up the long-awaited pursuit of literary creation, and in his painful contemplation, he seemed to have a kind of awakening, and he had a kind of spiritual bull energy - I was born to be useful! This heroic feeling and the momentum of the ancient literati who are determined to win have made him have the heroic courage to go to the end. There is nothing wrong with loving literature. The courage to inherit traditional culture is worth devoting one's life to. So he still ignores gains and losses, and ignores vested interests such as making money. I still study and study in my own way, including ancient Texts, especially good at studying the I Ching. In the process of hard work, whenever he gains something, he is often self-intoxicated, happy and happy! Spiritual prosperity has resisted the embarrassment and lack of economic interests.
Finally, the ego of a cultural aspirant grows up. There is a way that knowledge is power. The first to discover his cultural energy were some of his best friends, who saw him talk about astronomical geography and foresight such as the Earth Branch And Heavenly Stem, and often gave an example of the source of the left and the right. He was encouraged to go to the shop to make fortune telling. But he didn't want to be a jianghu entertainer, and he ate with only three inches of uncorrupted tongue. Instead, it starts from the discussion of the true talents and practical learning of the I Ching, and serves people with Bing. With such a conscience, its reputation is growing. The crowd of people asking him to serve is getting bigger and bigger. Over the years, there has been an endless stream of people from all over the world who have come to the door for help. Poor scholars who once lived simply with wider belts became richer and richer. In the author's vision, over the years, all the people of the people or the bottom of the cultural people, some of them have earned money by pulling sponsorship, and some have earned income by learning to serve the people in place. And Cai Jingang has gained a foothold in society by relying on his true talents and practical learning, at least economically, and has not become a laggard of the times.
Mr. Cai Jingang, who is good at self-training and self-cultivation, now, after people reach middle age, seems to have a kind of elegant feeling of "thinking of thousands of generations and seeing through thousands of miles", in recent years, he has often written some historical whispers. Often in just a few words, around the relevant historical allusions, character anecdotes, etc., quoting the scriptures to tell their own creative thinking, comments, and testimonials, people are refreshing. Although most of them are fragmentary lines, or fragmentary small texts, they always make people feel deeply novel, giving people a deep awakening and interesting life. Recently, I have been deeply touched by the new style, new fashion and new atmosphere of my hometown. He turned his pen sharply again, and from time to time he wrote some grounded, prose-tested words, which seemed to convey the passion and gratitude he had aroused in the present. A cultural person who has kept pace with the times is coming to people with a fuller spirit.
Zhang Honglun, a native of Linqu Xinzhai and a member of the Linqu Association, loves literature and making friends.