Not long ago, Xie Mian, a ninety-year-old poet and professor at Peking University, disappeared from the WeChat Campaign Daily Record List. 120 took him to the hospital emergency room.
In the short article "Bone Change", Xie Mian recorded the accident: "As the saying goes, I was not 'reborn', but I was 'reborn'. With the help of modern medical technology, tough artificial bone is implanted into the body, he said: "I need an indomitable 'zhengzheng iron bone'." ”
Imagine Xie Mian enduring pain rehabilitation exercises, imagine him using a walker to move the "Zhengzheng Iron Bone", and be touched by his strength and optimism. Even more emotional, he concludes the essay by writing that personal distress and misfortune are nothing. I'm still worried about a war somewhere in the world. I'm upset about it. At the beginning of the year I prayed for the eternal life of Picasso's dove of peace, and it remains so.
Xie Mian didn't like to sing old songs, didn't like to talk about old things, and didn't like to nag. He loves the title of "twenty-year-old professor" and the nickname "old naughty boy", but he is not a shallow optimist, because he has long been aware of the suffering of the world.
I dreamed of becoming a poet
When he was a child, Xie Mian's family was very poor. Students have to go on outings during the holidays, but he can't afford to pay the travel fee, plus his clothes are very torn, and he can't talk to his family, so he uses the excuse of being sick and not going. He reads Bai Juyi's poems at home to forget the pain outside. That was the first consolation poetry gave him.
"My grades in school are mediocre, mathematics, physics and chemistry are not good, that is, I am biased toward literature, my composition is often praised, I like to write poetry, I learn He Qifang, Lin Geng, Xu Zhimo, Dai Wangshu, and my classmates you write a sentence I write a song and poetry." The homework was not too good, the love of poetry grew day by day, and he began to publish works at the end of 1948. "Xie Mian loves poetry and once dreamed of being a poet. But fate took him down a different path.
At that time, the tuition fee of Xie Mian's Fuzhou Sany School was to pay 100 catties of rice. His tuition depends on two people: one is li zhaoxiong, a primary school teacher, and his brother is the school's trustee, with his help Xie Mian can be reduced by one-third of the rice; one is a sister, selling dowry and jewelry to support Xie Mian.
That summer, Fuzhou was liberated and the troops came in. In August, Fuzhou was very hot and it was the rainy season, and the soldiers were carrying all their bags and weapons, as well as mud and sweat, and even blood, and sleeping on the street with their clothes. Xie Mian was touched and followed the school to bring water to comfort the troops. Whether it was the light, the ideal, or the hope that he had known before, it was all abstract, and it was not as good as the scene he had witnessed on the streets of Fuzhou. Later, the troops mobilized at the school, hoping that intellectuals would join in, but Xie Mian did not consult his parents and made up his mind to join the army.
In the September 16, 1949 issue of xingmin daily, Xie Mian used Xie Yuliang as a pen name to publish "I Have Entered the Ranks of the Revolution": "I am not alone, because I live with the people. I will not be disappointed, because, I have faith! I had the courage, so I was able to move forward resolutely. ”
During the six years of the army, Xie Mian spent most of his time living in the grass-roots company stationed on the island, marching, training, garrisoning, repairing fortifications, preparing for war, and the life of the troops enabled Xie Mian to change his previous habits of freedom and looseness, and became punctual, disciplined, not procrastinating, no matter how much pain he endured alone, did not yield and did not fear, and always overcame the difficulties of life with tenacity and perseverance. In the years that followed, Xie Mian maintained this quality.
Because of his "overseas relations," Xie Mian was ordered to be demobilized before the formal implementation of the rank system. While waiting for the Civil Affairs Bureau to assign work, Xie Mian reviewed all the homework of the high school. He filled in three volunteers: the first choice was Peking University, the second wish was Peking University, and the third choice was Peking University.
After only three or four months of study, xie mian entered Peking University as he wished, passing the college entrance examination.
From enthusiast to researcher
From Cai Yuanpei to Ma Yinchu, Peking University has a long list of shining names. Xie Mian is thankful to be in the environment and atmosphere of their lives. Peking University brought Xie Mian more of a psychological inheritance of national distress and a sense of mission for modern Chinese intellectuals.
In the Department of Chinese of Peking University, Xie Mian participated in the Peking University Poetry Society, and later edited "The Red Chamber" and served as the leader of the poetry group. In his junior year, he and his classmate Sun Shaozhen and others wrote "Overview of the Development of New Poetry in China", which was an important turning point in Xie Mian's transformation from a reckless and naïve poetry lover to a researcher.
"Before that, not only was my own understanding of new poetry partial and fragmented, but there was no history of new poetry in academia. We would like to sort out the whole through our own efforts. ”
"It has become one with my life, it is my faith." The youth that truly belonged to Xie Mian began in the late 1970s. Although he was middle-aged at this time, he really felt the brightness of the new sun overhead.
On May 7, 1980, Xie Mian published "In the Face of the New Rise" in Guangming Daily, which caused great repercussions in the poetry circle. He said that he had read the young man's poems and was full of joy, knowing that this was the hope of poetry.
Obscure poetry developed from underground to aboveground, and many people think of it as eccentric poetry. Xie Mian also disagreed that poetry could not be read, but he advocated that some poems should be allowed to be read and understood. The world is diverse, and the art world is even more complex. Even bad art should be allowed to be explored. After the trend passed, everyone believed that obscure poetry promoted the development of poetry to a certain extent and changed the original poetry pattern.
All along, Xie Mian believes that the love and writing of literature are diverse, and all kinds of writing, various genres, and various doctrines should be respected, and as long as they have contributed to literature, they should be respected and cannot stick to a corner. Literary workers should respect writers and poets to express their wishes and feelings, and choose the way they write. "I respect the freelance of every writer, not because of what I personally like or don't influence judgment. I stand for tolerance. Xie Mian said.
Xie Mian was at the forefront of contemporary Chinese literary criticism. Zhang Jie's "Children from the Forest" was published in Beijing Literature and Art in July 1978, and he wrote a review of "The First Place Late" in the 10th issue. However, his light on the study of new poetic theory obscured the others.
Crowned in 1980
Xu Jingya, Xie Mian and Sun Shaozhen (from left)
Poetry that keeps pace with the changes of the times
On April 26, 1980, Xie Mian recorded in his diary his and his colleagues' initial thoughts on a future journal: "On the car, I studied the poetry circle (tentative name), or the editorial board of poetry research. Gao Hongbo participated in the discussion. ”
The journal was later titled "Poetry Exploration". The incident began with a fierce debate about the new poetry trend at the Nanning Conference in the spring of 1980. Everyone revolved around the evaluation of the obscure poems that appeared at that time. Two completely different views produced sharp confrontations, which aroused people's vigilance and attention to the study and construction of poetry theory. After that, the poetry critics excitedly walked to the broader poetry scene of the Guangxi Folk Song Festival with the expectation of the upcoming poetry climax. Walking all the way from Nanning to Guilin, I saw the vigor and vitality of the early spring of the new era, and talked about the aspirations and memories of reviving and rebuilding Chinese poetry.
At the end of 1980, the inaugural issue of Poetry Exploration was published, with Xie Mian as editor-in-chief. Poetic Exploration and Obscure Poetry rightfully became primroses of China's new Renaissance era, testifying to that era of dreams and passions, to the regeneration and rise of new Chinese poetry. As a research journal on the theory of new Chinese poetry, Poetry Exploration has conducted a planned review and research on many important poets since the 1940s, with forward-looking and problem-aware throughout. For more than forty years, all the trends and phenomena in the poetry world, "Poetry Exploration" has witnessed and spoken, has insight, has a position, has a debate, and can be consistently united, behind which is the editor-in-chief Xie Mian and his fellow poets' sincere love for poetry, the tolerance of academic supremacy, and the harmonious and different gentleman's style.
In Xie Mian's critical style, reflection is a particularly important and respectable feature. "As long as it's a voice that goes through my own thinking, I'm reckless. There may have been some criticism at the time, but after a long time, maybe I was right. He once said frankly, "I am dissatisfied with the current state of poetry." The poets whispered and touched themselves, and I was not satisfied with the poetry that had nothing to do with us, and that had nothing to do with social progress and the upward movement of the human heart. ”
Xie Mian felt that he was right. He didn't care if others approved. Some people see the surface of Xie Mian and think that he speaks with enthusiasm and is a passionate person, but they do not see his calm side and serious thinking side. "I am a comprehensive person, the interaction is very open, drinking wine and eating meat and delicious scenery, but I am serious about doing learning. Books that have not been read, questions that have not been considered, and no nonsense. Xie Mian said that the reason why he dared to express his opinion on the new poem was because he read a lot. He read a lot of things in the corner of the new poem, so he has a say, "Scholars must also love themselves, and what they don't understand can't be talked about." I also have deficiencies in my knowledge, and I am also grateful to others for pointing them out. If you don't understand, you can't pretend to understand. I dare not say when I encounter classical literature. I dare not say that it is right, and it is a taboo for scholars to say it indiscriminately. ”
Xie Mian rarely sang praises to contemporary literature. He believes that there are several points of great importance in the current poetry creation: First, the scale is too small, and the style is too low. Little sadness, little joy, little realm, but also quite self-appreciation. He expected a kind of poetry to have a big atmosphere. He is not opposed to showing the ego, on the contrary, he believes that personal feelings are very worth cherishing, and the more delicate the performance, the better. But the poet can not always be like this, the reason why Du Fu is called "poetry saint" is because he has "Spring Hope", as well as "Three Officials and Three Farewells" and "Northern Expedition", and his poems have both personal emotions and family and country care.
Revisiting "Critics Weekend"
At Peking University, Xie Mian established the "Critics Weekend" literary and art salon, which lasted for more than ten years, and this academic salon is a way for students to conduct academic exchanges and academic research under the guidance of teachers: teachers guide, plan, and produce topics (or students think of several topics for the teacher to judge and decide), and assign students reading materials and scopes related to topic selection. Then the designated students make a keynote report, the teacher comments, and the students discuss.
The topic selection of the salon has standards and thresholds, and is determined according to the importance of scholarship, the strength of academic rationality, and the degree of certain degree of correlation with reality, and discussed according to the needs of students' learning, academic development and growth layout, and academic mindset pattern. This method is also an academic training and scientific research attempt for students to independently undertake academic research tasks under the guidance of teachers. "From a certain point of view, this is also a continuation and development of the great tradition of Peking University." Xie Mian said that the spirit of Peking University stems from the great "May Fourth", the purpose or essence is academic independence, freedom of thought, and the courage to eat crabs, dare to take risks, and devote themselves to innovation, just like Mr. Lu Xun said, "Peking University is often new."
"Academic communication is carried out in this way, in fact, it is a kind of communication of thought and heart communication. It seems that we are talking about academic issues, but in fact it is more about the communication of ideas and beliefs. In this form of free discussion, teachers and students increase their understanding of each other. Xie Mian felt that for teachers, every "Critics Weekend" gathering was an examination of the students' recent learning status, and for the students it was almost a face-to-face examination, but this examination was very relaxed and very comfortable, and it was carried out in an exchange that promoted knee-to-knee conversation, equality and freedom, and free speech. Through the barrier-free exchanges on the "Critics Weekend", teachers will be very aware of the characteristics of students' thinking, academic attainments and the degree of sharpness of their thinking.
This is an era of "feeding back". In this way, teachers will also find their own deficiencies in the process of communication, and find themselves to make up for the "lessons" of some works, which may have become popular among students, and teachers must also learn like young people in order to maintain the youthfulness of mentality and academic vitality. At the same time, this process is also a process in which students compete with each other. The students learned about each other's learning, and recently paid attention to the problems they were thinking about, what good books, good works, good movies, good performances, exhibitions, and so on have been there recently. This is a collision and intersection of information, knowledge, thoughts, and wisdom, and this kind of discussion and exchange is a realm of "such as a discussion, such as grinding" and "talking and laughing". The "Critics Weekend" is just one example of how students are concerned about the realities of literary and artistic development.
"At Peking University, to give voice to our voice, to send out the voice of our scholars, especially today's young scholars, tomorrow's academic circles are the mainstay, we should give voice to the current situation of the literary and art circles." Xie Mian said. No matter when, he pays close attention to the current state of creation, the state of commentary, and the state of the audience, always grasping the living things, grasping the living reality, the current situation of literary and artistic development, which is a kind of time and mentality of "now in progress".
"Poetry and food not to be missed"
Rejecting tediousness is Xie Mian's attitude towards food, and it is also his attitude towards life.
On January 10, "Only Poetry and Food Cannot Be Missed: The New Book Sharing Meeting of Foraging" was held online and offline, and the total number of live broadcast views reached 300,000. "Foraging" records the stories and experiences of Xie Mian traveling south and north, traveling east and west, eating and drinking spicy, recording the people and things encountered because of food, which not only reflects the interest and love of interesting and cute "foragers" for food, but also reflects Xie Mian's concept of life and attitude towards life.
Xie Mian said to himself: "Foolishness is also blunt, nature may be peaceful, handling things may be graceful, but inside is a raging flame - passionate, resolute, even fierce, is this a taste of food?" No, maybe it's a quest for a realm of life. ”
Sun Shaozhen, an old classmate, found early on that Xie Mian's mind was beating with two strings: one played a variation full of childish fairy tale colors, and the other played on the thoughtful theme of a mature scholar full of mission. For Xie Mian's "Foraging", he commented that "he was pious, hungry and refined, earthy and foreign, hungry and naïve, and hungry for liuhefeng." "Mencius Zhizi Shang" cloud, food color, sex also. Past generations of scribes, heavy color, light food, Xie shi heavy food light color. Contribute new themes to Chinese prose. Pioneering new categories of aesthetic 'censorship'".
"It should be salty and not salty, do not eat; it should be sweet and not sweet, do not eat; the oil is not oily, do not eat." This is Xie Mian's gastronomic motto, and what he likes is the taste of the food itself. He does not seek how "noble" the food is, nor does he pay attention to the "pomp", but only cares about whether it is authentic and authentic. Every time I went to Chongqing, I ate in a hotel, "the same, unwilling, decided to 'rebel'." Privately made an appointment with two or three friends, found a noodle restaurant, a bowl of Chongqing noodles, three yuan, a little luxury, plus a bowl of 'pea fried', but also a few yuan. Great joy, shouting, this is the end of Chongqing! He wrote in Noodle Chronicles.
Xie Mian is a university student, but he has more human feelings. Literature is like its people, and food is like its people. Attentive, serious and living up to all the food. Meng Fanhua, a student of Mr. Xie Mian, recalls an experience in the mid-1980s: "At that time, I accompanied him to various parts of Fujian, and on the side of the street in Fuzhou, he bought fish balls with ease and stood on the street with me and others to eat leisurely. ”
The "Pie Contest" initiated by Xie Mian is widely circulated, the fixed competition location is the pie shop in Changping Sun City, the event has been held for three or four years, the restaurant owner is very happy to see a group of dozens of people, but after the table, the gang only orders pies, peppery soup and garlic. It is said that Xie Mian's highest record is to eat eight and a half, peking university professor Hong Zicheng also participated in it to eat six, won the "rookie award", and will not eat pies after the game.
Xie Mian wrote in "Foraging": "We can learn from gastronomy: pluralism, compatibility, synthesis, complementarity, priority, priority, speed, depth, overlap, and all aspects of intersection. ”
He is recording the "way of taste", but also the way of the world, the way of life, and the way of the realm. The way to eat is to be diverse. A table of wine, sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty, five flavors and miscellaneous, let the mouth taste a hundred flavors, so as to change people's taste prejudices and habits, is the way to eat, is the norm. And sometimes when he reads a literary work or some other work, he has to read it. For the connection between food and learning, Xie Mian advocates: "Doing learning is experience, experiencing life, experiencing scholarship, then it needs to be meticulous, to understand its source, to understand its personality, to understand its many changes and creativity, which is related to our diet." ”
For critics, for scholars, where does this taste to seek come from? What is 'taste' and how can it be embodied as a 'Tao'? Xie Mian said that eating seems to be very tacky. Everyone's enjoyment of the mouth looks very vulgar, in fact, there are many truths in it, and these truths cannot be experienced by ordinary people, and we must strive to understand these truths, where the "taste" is, and what kind of "Tao" it embodies.
The principles of life, diet and learning are the same, and they are the same here in Xie Mian. Therefore, Wu Sijing, a professor at the College of Literature of Capital Normal University, said that "Foraging" is also "a special poetic work."
End
At Peking University, Xie Mian's lecture is quite reputable.
"A lot of people don't know how hard teachers are. Different from ancient Chinese, teaching contemporary literature, in order to teach a lesson, read materials, write a manuscript, the content of the lesson alone is more than 10,000 words. Xie Mian said that contemporary literature is changing with each passing day and is a discipline that is constantly "growing", especially after the 1980s, the degree of creative freedom has increased, and relevant publications and literary materials have "flooded". Xie Mian was particularly distressed, and he couldn't do it, so he didn't do it. The basic law of literary history research and literary criticism is "subtraction" rather than "addition", and it is necessary to constantly select valuable things from those mixed states. The difficulty of these tasks is often difficult to know without being immersed.
Poetry criticism is what Xie Mian has always insisted on doing. When he had better energy, he wrote a comprehensive review a year. "I volunteer for poetry. Tracking all the way, maintaining close contact and contact with new poetry creation, recommending and commenting on young poets' poetry, some of them are not much meaningful, but they consume a lot of energy. Xie Mian said that a person can only do one thing in a lifetime, with the exception of outstanding people, such as Wang Guowei and Wen Yiduo. The knowledge they had done was too great, and Wang Guowei studied all the way down from the Oracle. Wen Yiduo is proficient in everything from the Book of Poetry, Chu Ci, and Zhuangzi to the seals and paintings, which is amazing. The average person can only do one thing.
"All my life I have only done literature, literature has only done poetry, poetry has only done new poetry, and new poetry has only done contemporary poetry. My talent may be in other ways, I am interested in gardens, clothing, food, etc. But decades later, I've only done one thing. ”
Source Beijing Daily
Author Comfort
Process Editor Tai Shaofeng