In the autumn of 2014, I first met Mr. Lou Yihua at a news event on a cruise ship on the Xiangjiang River, and a colleague in the industry introduced me: "This is Lou Yihua, a former Xinhua reporter, a famous writer. He is now a doctoral student at Beijing Normal University." I looked at him carefully, dressed in casual clothes, with large, dark eyes, a little handsome between the eyebrows, and humorous and funny conversation, which was very different from the imaginary image of a doctoral student wearing heavy glasses and a serious expression.
(A recent photo of Dr. Lou Yihua.) )
Later, because he participated in some activities together and gradually became acquainted with him, it was learned that he was not only a famous media person and doctor who won the National Journalism Award, but also a member of the China Photographers Association, a best-selling author, and a member of the Hunan Writers Association, who wrote "Opinions", "Play", "Zhang Guorong Flew to Heaven", "Mei Yanfangfei", "Saddam Hussein Legend", "Olympic 108", "Special Attention" and other works. At the end of 2014, Mr. Lou Yihua won the grand prize of "Top Ten Planners in China" with great expectations.
From a child who grew up in Songyan Town, Yuqing County, Guizhou Province, to a cultural person who has achieved fruitful results today, what kind of journey has Mr. Lou Yihua taken in the cultural field? With some familiarity with him, I called him on the afternoon of the winter sun to indicate the intention of the interview, and he gladly agreed. In the afternoon of Hee Hee, we met at the Flower Forest Cafe of Lin Ke University, and he looked a little tired after a slight cold, but he was refreshed when he talked about the past years. We talked over a cup of tea, and his story was told in the atmosphere of music flowing.
The "toss" of everything comes from curiosity
Lou Yihua, who was born in the 1970s, grew up in Songyan Town, Yuqing County, Guizhou, and his father worked in a central enterprise construction unit, and the nature of his work required him to travel around for many years. Unwilling to live a gypsy-like wandering life with her father, my mother chose to work as a farmer at home. In our country, this kind of half-worker and half-peasant family group accounts for a lot of proportions, especially in the period of large-scale construction in the motherland, one of the husband and wife to keep the rural hukou to leave a retreat is the idea of many people, unwilling to lose one acre and three points of land in the countryside, even if there is a chance to become a dual worker and not want. Lou Yihua, who grew up in this family structure, decided to write a novel for this group of people many years later, recording their story of throwing youth, blood and sweat on the motherland, hoping that the society will not forget them, and today's development is the result of the joint efforts of this generation.
In the family structure of half-worker and half-peasant, Lou Yihua lived in the countryside with his mother from an early age. In childhood, Shan Mingshui Xiutao cultivated Lou Yihua's curiosity and had a desire to explore the origin of things. Not content with the ready-made answers given to him by his elders and books, he likes to practice and get to know things, and the radio products at home have become the first practical object for him to satisfy his curiosity. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, when black-and-white television sets and tube radios had just entered the homes of ordinary people, Lou Yihua, a five- or six-year-old, stood in front of these fresh things and tilted his head: Why can the people in the picture move freely? Why does it make a sound? How do they do it?
"Once, when my uncle went out to catch a market, I secretly dismantled one of his tube radios. I spent an afternoon trying to figure out why it made a sound, how there were so many people in there, how could a small box hold so many people? They don't eat or drink, is there really a legendary dwarf? Before my uncle returned home, I managed to restore it. Lou Yihua recalled the funny story of his obsession with radio, with a sweet smile from time to time.
Not only the radio of his uncle's family, but also the television set and alarm clock at home have become the objects of his repairs, dismantled and disassembled, installed and dismantled, and enjoyed himself. This strong interest in radio led him to spend the evening studying for the college entrance examination, and also used the evening time to go to night school to study radio and electronics university courses. He didn't have much hope of getting into college, and he was ready to work as an electrician if he didn't go to college. He obeyed his father's instructions: If he has a skill in his hand, he will not be afraid to go all over the world. However, in the year of the college entrance examination, Lou Yihua played an extraordinary role, not only admitted to the university, but also admitted to China's famous institution of higher learning - Chinese Min University.
"I was still watching martial arts movies on the first day of the college entrance examination, and I deeply remember watching "The Yellow River Hero". After the Chinese exam, I feel very good, and the next other subject questions are also very correct. We volunteered first and then took the exam. I felt that the name Chinese Min University was very righteous, so I chose him. He recalled this "yin and yang difference" lightly, as if he had only received the favor of the god of fate once. But the god of fate never cared for the unprepared mind, and it was Lou Yihua's natural spirit of hard work that made him leap through the dragon gate and step into the door of a prestigious university. He also humorously said: "I don't know any of the teachers who wrote the question, born of peasants, no background, only back shadow." The subjects they came up with hit the muzzle of my gun. ”
Accidentally admitted to a prestigious university, Lou Yihua recalled the favor of fate after a few years of precipitation, but he had a completely different attitude from the beginning. He often asked himself, if he had not gone to college and worked as a farmer in his beautiful hometown, would his happiness have been stronger? After living in Changsha, a city-rich and comfortable capital, after the initial sense of happiness and freshness faded, Lou Yihua was also deeply confused, and he began to miss the innocent and simple rural years in his hometown when he was a child. Thinking that at present, many farmers squeeze into the city through various channels, but find that their happiness is thinner than before, and they can never find belonging, this contradictory state of mind makes them have to swim between the city and the countryside, in a dilemma.
Due to his liberal arts studies, Lou Yihua was unable to continue his studies in radio, but instead chose to major in journalism and communication. In the four years of adult study, it is the time when Lou Yihua's values are established. As his youth tightened up, he began to absorb all kinds of knowledge like a sponge, participate in academic clubs, book clubs, take literature courses, and frantically write in his spare time to earn living expenses. Not only did he write press releases as a correspondent for a newspaper, but he also wrote martial arts novels for some treacherous booksellers, earning a meager remuneration. Most of the profits are squeezed out by booksellers. He knew, but he still had to do it, and he said that this was an opportunity to exercise himself, even when he looked at the published books that were not his own name, and the content was indeed how many brain cells he had strangled and wrote in the grid, he rented out these books and sighed happily at his original manuscripts, drunk himself.
Einstein called curiosity "divine curiosity," but also thought it was a fragile sprout that could easily die. Here in Lou Yihua, curiosity not only did not die, but thrived more. Whether it was his curiosity about radio as a child, or his later writing of news and literature, he strived to be innovative and meticulous, and his journalism work has won various national awards many times. Photography is just his hobby, he has also played another world, he has participated in many domestic and foreign photography exhibitions, various competitions, and won various awards. Even the most grounded thing in life- cooking, he will try to make different colors, aromas, tastes, shapes, and nutrition dishes every day, he once challenged himself to make different dishes every day for a month, and asked people to verify, for this reason, and shared this research and love of food with people through writing columns.
He said that China is a country of eating, and everything has to do with eating. Therefore, there was his book "Play", the cover of the book impressively read: "The most playful China on the tip of the tongue!" This book does not directly write about eating, but it is like a Chinese eating culture that playfully dissects this society.
It is this curiosity that makes him a multi-disciplinary professional player with inexhaustible creative ability.
Favorite "writer" title
The transition from a media person to a writer is an important process for Mr. Lou Yihua. Photographer, planner, journalist, entrepreneur, writer all in one, writer! Perhaps one of Mr. Lou Yihua's favorite identity titles, he prefers to be called a writer Lou Yihua. Many writers have tried to answer this question about why they write. Yan Geling said that her original intention of writing stemmed from "writing is a secret addiction, can not write, the most wonderful part of me is dead." However, Mr. Lou Yihua's original intention is not so personal, and has a clear value orientation and purpose. Maybe writing itself can't change the world, but writing can change people's minds, people's minds can change the world, and a lot of spirit is a process of being sculpted. "I believe in the power of ideas, and I hope to influence the public and promote the development of society by writing reviews and essays." Lou Yihua said.
In the noisy social picture, find the exit of the problem and speak for many people in the social world. Although it is a little heavy to use words as a tool to carry a sense of social responsibility, in a pluralistic society, there must always be someone to make a voice, undisguised, and point directly to the stakes, which is the way he has found to benefit society after more than a decade of immersion in the media industry and witnessing everything in society. Lou Yihua believes that today's society is only obsessed with visible things, does not believe in the power of the spirit, will bring great disasters, adhere to independent and free thinking is very important. And to be an intellectual is to put forward some independent thoughts and criticisms of this ideology and liberal system.
Lou Yihua very much liked Su Shi's remark that "words must be the fault of the world". Since ancient times, people have attached great importance to the purpose of literary and artistic creation, advocating feelings and doing things, and opposing "moaning without disease". Literature must be able to expose the ills of society in order to cause healing. The reason why Su Shi was able to put forward such a theory of creation is related to the enlightened politics of the Song Dynasty, and if the author is to be able to write such works, he must have political foresight and the indomitable spirit of daring to uphold the truth. Lou Yihua hopes that his words can have a positive effect in the present, and perhaps in the future time and space sorting, there will be only a few words and people remembering, not in vain!
The work is the fruit of the writer's hard work. However, in today's literary world, there is a dilemma, many writers have good books, but they cannot be sold. Creating works and no one buying them is a very distressing thing for the author himself, so the literati since ancient times have always left a poor stereotype on the world. In this regard, Lou Yihua makes no secret of the "commercial motivation" of his writing: to maximize the value of his works. He is also committed to getting rid of the situation of "literati being poor and pedantic", he believes that the poverty of writers should not be the norm of life, and people should strive to live a life with a spiritual core outside of solving basic problems of survival. Of course, many writers hope that through normal writing, they can live a carefree life, but such a day may have to wait. Society's attitude toward writers may be a progressive attitude, after all, writers are the conscience of society!
Writing is a cultural product produced by writers, and only through the market circulation, readers buy it, read it, can realize its value, otherwise it is just a piece of waste paper. Literary works also have product attributes, just like tea, tobacco, and wine, and they need to find their demand market before they can realize their value transformation. Lou Yihua believes that it is not impossible to apply the concept of "fixing production by sales" in marketing to his creations. First studying the needs of readers and creating in a targeted manner can maximize the quantification of the value of the work, and can also avoid the dilemma of publishing the work but no one cares about it.
Literary works have multiple attributes, and he does not expect his works to last for a long time. He believes that any writer will create a literary garbage, and the classics are only a few. Whether it is British, Russian, Márquez, Or Hemingway, flaws will be found. But the work must first meet its readers. As Victor Hugo once said: "Publishing a book is like throwing a bottle of distress into the sea on a desert island, and with the tide of weather, with fate, the manuscript in the bottle will drift to where and when it will fall into the hands of whom, I have no idea, and because I know nothing, I am full of hope." ”
Freedom is a distant place that cannot be replaced
In the era of materialism, sitting in a nine-to-five job in the room is not the way of life that Mr. Lou Yihua pursues, which is why he refuses job opportunities in many government agencies. He loves writing, traveling, food, and photography, but Mr. Lou Yihua loves freedom the most. Freedom is human nature, but it is by no means a light water. To some extent, it is also a heavy burden, and in the process of truly embracing freedom, we will realize the difficulty of its internal and external demands. And his control of freedom is also the result of a long process of exploration.
After graduating from the National People's Congress, Lou Yihua, who had just stepped out of the ivory tower, dreamed of doing something great, and he was assigned to the Middle East Branch of the International Department of Xinhua News Agency. During this time, he often had to travel to different countries as a journalist. He has been to Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Germany, Japan and other countries, and his transnational experience has led him to look at his country with a new perspective in his review writing.
The similarities and differences between Chinese and Western cultures have always plagued generations of intellectuals. However, Lou Yihua has his own understanding of democracy and freedom, which are the shining values that prevail abroad. He believes that there are still many problems in our state system, but we have indeed made a lot of progress, gradually moving toward prosperity and strength, and the people's lives are stable. We long for a good system, but the system cannot solve all problems, not to overthrow it, it is solved, and it needs to rely on all-round factors. In this society with diverse values, various new trends of thought impact our ideological concepts through the Internet, which requires more learning to distinguish and self-education. In this different cultural contrast and even conflict, it gives him more space to think, Lou Yihua knows who he is more soberly, and also makes him more hopeful to live a different free life.
Time flies, three years of ph.D. is about to graduate, Lou Yihua plans to start writing after graduation, hoping to challenge himself to rely on words to support himself. Reading, traveling, writing, observing the world in his own way, making himself a rich and sound individual, so that each individual can live a tasteful life, Lou Yihua believes that this is the meaning of life taught to him by the youth burning because of rebellion! (QiaoJuan)
![Comrade Lou Yihua was invited to become a "big country brand think tank expert"[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)