"Liu Qing is known as the father of Shaanxi literature, and today's more well-known Shaanxi writers, such as the three big trees of Shaanxi literature that we often say- Chen Zhongzhong, Lu Yao, and Jia Pingwa, are all influenced by Liu Qing in different senses or to varying degrees..." Speaking of Liu Qing, the kind and elegant teacher in front of him talked and his eyes were bright, and he was Wu Jin, a professor at the School of Literature and Media of Xi'an Translation Institute.
Dream as a horse ● search up and down
When he was a child, Wu Jin was diligent and studious, and especially liked to read. At that time, there were not many books, and it was not easy to find, so he looked everywhere, and after reading the limited collection of books at home, he borrowed them from relatives and classmates, rented them at Xinhua Bookstore with the money he saved, or simply went to a small book stall... Most of the books he read were novels, such as "Water Margin", "Red Flag Spectrum", "Bitter Cauliflower", "Oxfly" and so on. After middle school, although it was during the "Cultural Revolution", I also read classic masterpieces such as "Dream of the Red Chamber", "Midnight Night", "Around the World in Eighty Days", and essential Lu Xun novels... The vivid characters in the books are clearly engraved in his memory. His compositions are sometimes read aloud in class by the language teacher as sample texts, or on the blackboard newspaper in the classroom, which further stimulates his interest in reading, and has since planted a seed of love for literature in his heart.
After the "Cultural Revolution" and going to the countryside to join the team, Professor Wu Jin was very eager to have the opportunity to study. After the college entrance examination was resumed, he was admitted to the first batch of college students at that time, and despite the opposition of his family, he resolutely chose the Chinese major of Shaanxi Normal University. During his time at the university, he doubled down on his hard-won university life, desperately acquired knowledge, and in 1982, he stayed on to work in the administration because of his academic excellence. In 1984, Professor Wu Jin continued to pursue graduate studies at beijing broadcasting institute (now renamed communication university of China) and returned to Shaanxi Normal University after completing his studies, where he began a teaching career for decades.
In 1995, Professor Wu Jin went to the United States to study. He overcame difficulties such as unfamiliarity, old age, poor English, and economic embarrassment, and finally gained something. In 1998, Professor Wu Received a Master's Degree in Asian Studies from St. John's University in New York, USA, and a Ph.D. in Chinese Literature from the University of Oregon in 2005. After ten years of studying abroad, Professor Wu Jin entered a knowledge system that was profoundly different from what he had learned in the past, which not only broadened his academic horizons, but also made solid preparations for later research.
Teach people to seek truth ● Teachers are benevolent
For decades, Professor Wu Jin has worked diligently and tirelessly. Recalling the scene when he first became a teacher, Professor Wu Jin looked embarrassed, "The first time I went to the podium was in 87 years, and I was really nervous when I first went to class to face the students. "Because of my lack of experience, I often prepare what I would have to talk about for two hours, and then I finished it in one hour. In order to adapt to the role as soon as possible, Professor Wu Jin constantly explored the teaching methods suitable for himself, and gradually gained a deep understanding of how to take a good class. "Going to class is a conscience job," Professor Wu Jin admitted, although each lesson is invested a lot, it may not be presented in various performance statistics, "but you put the class well, students do learn from your class, and your own feelings are different." ”
With the changes of the times and the development of society, various new forms of teaching are constantly emerging. Professor Wu Jin said that the various new teaching activities that are currently popular at present do have an effect, and they also need to continue to learn, keep pace with the times, and absorb and apply in a targeted manner. Although he does not use much electronic equipment in class, he can also keep students in a good state of listening to lectures, that is, he realizes that it is very important to "grasp students with the content of the lectures". "There must be sufficient information, there must be strict logic, there must be accurate expression, there must be appropriate rhythm, there must be passion." "When you look students in class, you know how well you're doing in class." Speaking of this, Professor Wu Jin had a serious face, "I cherish the 45 minutes of each class. He could not tolerate students gossiping, playing with mobile phones or even sleeping in class, but he tried not to simply stop it, but to mobilize all means to attract students' attention. Professor Wu Jin believes that our students are all adults, and for them, learning to think for themselves and deducing the results they should have from the logic of things themselves is more important than simply mastering knowledge.
Low-key and introverted ● scholarly style
Professor Wu Jin, who likes to think, was very interested in the characters in famous works such as "Dream of the Red Chamber" when he was in middle school, and he had the desire to study, although he admitted that the impulse seems to be very naïve today, but after all, it is the starting point for future research.
After returning to China in 2006, Professor Wu Jin quickly threw himself into research activities centered on Liu Qing and the History of Entrepreneurship. After years of hard work, he has published more than 30 papers in important academic journals such as Literary Review, Modern Chinese Literature Research Series, Journal of Shaanxi Normal University, and Cultural China, and won several awards after the publication of his book "Liu Qing's New Theory", showing his influence in Liu Qing research and Shaanxi writer research.
There are many outstanding writers in the modern and contemporary literary circles, why do they have a unique affection for Liu Qing? Professor Wu Jin said that liu qing was originally used as a research object purely because of hobbies, because he had read "History of Entrepreneurship" in middle school and liked the book and the characters in it very much. With the in-depth understanding of Liu Qing, he himself was also affected by the invisible and profound influence of Liu Qing's personality. Liu Qing is a very low-key person, although he wrote a huge work "History of Entrepreneurship", and took root in Chang'an Emperor Fu for fourteen years, making great sacrifices for the literary cause, but he believes that all this is natural, not sacrifice but work needs, and has always refused to be interviewed by the media to take photos and propaganda reports. In Professor Wu Jin's body, you can also see such a low-key and introverted Liu Qing imprint.
Talking about the experience of doing scientific research, Professor Wu Jin said that doing scientific research is a "very hard work". "It is not easy to say what no one else has said, but also to make the academic community accept and recognize it." For young teachers how to do a good job in scientific research, Professor Wu Jin also put forward some pertinent suggestions. He believes that to write an insightful paper, it is first necessary to understand the research results of predecessors, and to make very adequate preparations, and this "understanding" and "preparation" is not only a list and simple classification of these existing achievements, but to discover the value of those things that predecessors ignored; secondly, to spend time and energy polishing their own articles. "To find fun from scientific research", not just to use scientific research work as a stepping stone for appraisal titles; the topic can be selected as smaller, but it is necessary to dig deeper and extract valuable content. "It's a blessing to find a subject that deserves your full commitment."
Alpine flowing water ● Get to meet the sound
In the 1980s, Professor Wu Jin, who was still teaching at a public university, never imagined that one day he would establish some kind of relationship with the Xi'an Institute of Translation and Interpretation. At that time, the words "Harvard of the East" in Western translation appeared in newspapers from time to time, which made Professor Wu Jin feel "shocking". "There are many colleges and universities in Shaanxi, not to mention that compared with Harvard, that is, compared with Peking University and Tsinghua, they are far away, so there is a private college that says that it is necessary to create 'Oriental Harvard', which I think is commendable." "The old dean had a very ambitious goal at the beginning", which left a deep impression on Professor Wu Jin.
The real connection with the Western translation was in 2016. Sincerely invited by the school and after a field visit, Professor Wu Jin officially joined The Western Translation and served as the dean of the School of Literature of Xi'an Translation And Translation University.
"To be honest, I came to Western translation is stressful, because although I have worked in colleges and universities for most of my life, I have not been the main person in charge of a certain aspect after all," Said Professor Wu Jin, who had just arrived in Western translation, with trepidation. However, Chairman Ding Jing's sentence "Don't worry, let go" is like a reassuring pill, giving him great motivation, since then he boldly provoked the heavy responsibility of the College of Literature (later changed to the School of Literature and Media), which was nearly 4 years, and paid a lot of effort for the development of the college, so that the college has shown a vigorous atmosphere in teaching (including daily teaching, teaching competitions, teaching systems, etc.), scientific research, master's degree, team building, teacher training, internship training base expansion, campus culture construction and other aspects.
"The teachers of the Western translation all have their own characteristics, which actually surprised me." Professor Wu Jin said sincerely. He noticed that the teachers of the Western translation are very attentive in their lectures, have a strong ability to control the classroom and the rhythm of teaching, have their own style, and understand the situation and psychology of students, which is no less than that of teachers in public colleges and universities.
Looking back on the 6 years of Western translation, Professor Wu Jin sincerely sighed that "Xi'an Translation Institute has the grace of knowing me". "There are many private schools in Shaanxi, and there are many well-known professors, and xi'an Translation Institute specially invited me to come here, and I feel a kind of respect, so I really want to do something for the Translation Institute." The rhetoric is simple and sincere.
Only strive for the day and night ● success has me
In 2019, Professor Wu Jin was transferred to the editorial department of the journal. Previously, Professor Wu Jin and several like-minded teachers spontaneously ran a literary journal "Breathing". With a passion, this bimonthly magazine, from writing, editing to proofreading, reviewing, from the beginning of the volume to the afterword, he and his colleagues do everything themselves, volunteered to run the magazine for more than ten years, and enjoyed it. This magazine has become a learning garden for many literary enthusiasts, and has also accumulated rich experience in running a journal.
Over the past two years, Professor Wu Jin has led colleagues in the editorial department of the journal to work hard, work hard to build academic content, build a communication platform, and form a benign interaction, fully mobilize the initiative and enthusiasm of teachers in the school, build a bridge of communication between the journal and the author, continuously optimize the academic ecology of the school, and make unremitting efforts to create a high-quality, publicly available, and influential academic journal to achieve a win-win situation between the journal and the author. There is no end to the day arch, and the contribution is not like the sea. Professor Wu Jin said that in the future, he will also write more and ask more high-quality manuscripts, and strive to do his own work, "There is a hot light, willing to make a modest contribution to the development of the school." ”
Cultural people ● ignite dreams
In the 1980s, many literary youth had a "writer's dream". Professor Wu Jin said that literature takes human emotions as objects of appreciation to observe, and good works will make people have the empathy of "having a sharp mind and a sharp mind". Although it may not be immediate, it will certainly play a subtle role. Excellent literary works do not necessarily have very rich social connotations, but they will make people have a deeper understanding and thinking about life and the world.
With the popularity of electronic products such as computers and mobile phones, the current literary ecology has undergone obvious changes. In Professor Wu Jin's view, in this era of uneven information, fast food culture and everyone is self-media, literature has changed from niche appreciation to practical writing, but this does not mean that literature does not need to be oriented to the public. Each era has its own specific art appreciation and level of appreciation, but literature will still exist in a certain fine way. Only something of value can stand the erosion of time. People who like literature may not always become writers or engage in literary research, but it is still important to be able to write good articles. Practical writing should also have good reading ability and writing ability. "Of course, good articles aren't just for literature." Professor Wu Jin said meaningfully.
For how to learn the liberal arts well, Professor Wu Jin also gave his own suggestions. "There aren't actually many shortcuts, the most important thing is to read more, think more and write more." He said that he should be able to sit on the cold bench and endure loneliness. In the era of mobile phones, it is necessary to collect all kinds of information, read some fragmented things, but also read some more serious articles, read some fine works, and read some classics. Professor Wu Jin stressed that some works should be read extensively, and some should be read intensively, especially celebrity poems or classic theoretical works, and they should be read to a very familiar degree, so that they can be easily used when needed and applied freely. Not only to read more, but also to think more, to practice more, to choose the right angle to think deeply, to make the brain in a state of high excitement in the process of writing, so that the spark of thought will burst out, but also to write a good work.
The famous educator Cai Yuanpei once said, "Educators are not for the past, not for the present, but for the future." Born in this great era, young people are at the right time to make a difference. Professor Wu Jin believes that the students of Western translation are very smart, "students in different majors, their characteristics are different, and their performance styles are also different." "For example, literature students are quieter and introverted, while art students are flexible and willing to present themselves... "Our translation school is talented, they are all energetic people, they are very thoughtful." Professor Wu Jin sent a heartfelt message to the young students: Aim high and focus on the present. As long as there are lofty goals, firm beliefs, down-to-earth, step by step, will eventually reach the other side of the ideal.