#头条创作挑战赛#
The writer Tang Nuo is probably the most famous reader in contemporary China. He worked for many years in publishing companies and then devoted himself to writing, where he excelled in essays, book reviews, and won several literary awards. In the eyes of the public, he reads almost everything, and Xu Zhiyuan calls him "the first reader in the world". "Reading", a hobby that is difficult to become a career, has been taken to the extreme.
Every morning, Donno would walk into a familiar café and start writing until he left at two o'clock in the afternoon. He doesn't stay at home, "otherwise it's easy to use the excuse of looking up a vintage or information and going elsewhere." Up to now, Tang Nuo and his wife Zhu Tianxin have changed about 14 cafes, usually because the shops have closed.
Donno has lived this life for more than twenty years. At the age of 65, he felt the time rush to his face, accompanied by the aging of his body organs, the wear and tear of the cartilage in his knees, and he could no longer walk for long periods of time. He said that one day Zhu Tianxin's eyes suddenly saw things very clearly, and the first reaction of the two was to see a doctor, "When people are old, it is unlikely that their bodies will change well."
Tang Nuo with his wife Zhu Tianxin
As the days passed, Donno felt more and more the importance of time. He doesn't take any books with him to the café now, because reading books is more interesting than writing, and "you have to force yourself to do nothing but face the damn manuscript and think about those damn sentences."
Writing speed is also an issue. Donno still insisted on handwriting. In 2018, when "Thirteen Invitations" went to Taipei to interview him, he could write about 10,000 words a day, but now he can only write 6 or 7,000 words a day. Because of repeated revisions, there is always not much content left, and the content that can be completed in a day is only about 300 words.
Hsu describes Don Nuo as a modern-day hermit: living in Taipei, "reading and writing in the morning and grocery shopping and cooking in the afternoon." Without cell phones, emails, and just wandering through books, Borges, Calvino, Kundera, The Left seemed to be a more real world. ”
Donald, on the contrary, does not want the public to see this life choice as heroic and noble, because "it is a value sequence in itself, depending on what you really think is important in your heart."
He recalled that when he was young, his friends had a party to drink, and his friends said to him: "I envy you the most, you don't have to go to work every day." He smiled and said nothing. But if you mention it again and again, your heart will be angry: "When you receive your salary and year-end bonus, remember to envy me." ”
Donno's choice of value was foreshadowed. In the seventies and eighties of the last century, Taiwan's literary and artistic circles were full of stars. In 1977, 19-year-old Tang Nuo, together with Zhu Tianxin, Zhu Tianwen's sisters, high school classmate Ding Yamin and others, founded the literary magazine "Sansan Jikan", and two years later established Sansan Bookstore.
33 Literary Society, 1st Tang Nuo on left, 2nd Zhu Tianxin on left, 1st Zhu Tianwen on right
Sanmao once described the youthful and talented atmosphere of the "Sansan" at that time in his prose: "With Sansan, I just refused to talk about any big truths, went to relax, and did everything I could to do things that were not in line with etiquette. ”
It was a golden age, when the lost traditions of modern Chinese literature were blooming on the islands, and they carried on the old traditions and created new languages. And Donno, who grew up in this era, has never been the one he is well known.
While Donno's peers and friends shine with novels, reviews, films, and music, it took him a long time to find a way to "convey" himself, and he published his first book at the age of 45.
Donno when he came to the mainland to participate in the book launch event
Over the years, one of the things Donno has done "most thoroughly" than his friends has been reading. Many world-class writers and works have entered the Taiwan region and even the entire Chinese reading circle because of his introduction. According to him, at that time, "literature was the basic fact of human existence".
In Beijing in October, the sky was full of ginkgo, and Tang Nuo's new book "Seeking the Sword" had just been published in the mainland, and Ten Point Character Zhi met him at the publishing house. Tang Nuo still retains the temperament of a traditional literati, and after introducing himself, he will bow slightly and say "there is labor". He Xi used to say "that's pretty much it", which means that a question is answered, but the thinking can be deeper.
Don Nuo's new book "Seeking the Sword" will be published in 2023
Through Donald's perspective, we hope to understand how individuals can maintain their belief in the culture of reading and writing in an era when it is far less than it was yesterday, and to what extent will it shrink if it is destined to shrink, how will his reading and writing change in his twilight years, and how does he view the age-related social problems of today?
Under a question, the conversation can always find many branches, but this is not to digress, but to hit the real problem more substantially. It's a similar reading experience to Donno's work. He hesitates, repeats, rarely makes judgments, and does not simply take a stand. You can feel his tendencies, but you can also discover the details that are obscured and the courage of the writer along the way.
To do something for the rest of my life, I found it
"Professionally, I am retired, but my career is a life choice and destiny"
10 Point Portrait: What is it like for you to grow old, and how has it influenced your reading and writing?
Donald: Writing and reading are things I've been doing, and I've never been interrupted in between. Reading has been going on for decades, and writing has been going on for 20 years, starting at the age of 45, and it has become my daily routine. What really changed was when I suddenly realized how old I was.
One day, I suddenly realized that I was facing a world so young. Relative to me, everything doesn't stop getting younger. But my age is steady, which brings a sense of vividness to reading and writing, as if I can go a little deeper each time. As life experiences continue to be enriched, inner thinking and reading preparation may be better.
For example, the novel "St. Petersburg", which is a modern novel, is not easy to read, and can only barely follow the main axis. But now, following the author's casual description, I will see how the people of St. Petersburg live, what food they eat, and what the sky looks like in front of their eyes. These novel details are very interesting.
I often say that this is probably the best thing that has happened to me in recent years, to offset the discomfort of aging.
Therefore, when people get older, they not only lose things and die a little more every day, but more things are constantly running in and accumulating in a positive direction. If you don't let go of yourself, you definitely have the opportunity to make yourself far better than when you were young, better than when you were middle-aged, and even reluctant to go back when you were young.
Go back and make yourself stupid? Why did I finally get myself here.
I once joked with Xu Zhiyuan, can you believe it, when we walk on the street together, I must have seen more things than you. He said it couldn't be. I say you only notice beautiful girls, but I'm old and don't have such a biological drive, I will see middle-aged people who are actively rushing next to me, old men squatting on the side of the street smoking, aunts sweeping the floor, taxi drivers...... I must have seen the world richer than you.
Yes, at my age, there will be an unexpected freedom. You can also see more details when you are reading a book, so rereading is something I do all the time.
Borges once said that there are two kinds of people's sense of time, one is to go in a positive direction, we know that there is an end, but it is not easy to know where it is, time is peaceful, even, stable, and undisturbed;
At such an age, people no longer have the widest and more diverse paths than you young people, and the choice becomes more important.
Ten Point Portrait: So what's next for you?
Donnell: If you're talking about abstract, big goals, I don't. Or rather, don't I already have one?
I'm not talking about occupation, my occupation in Taiwan is a retired old man, who gets basic labor insurance, NT$20,000, and receives it once a month. There is no retirement in the cause itself, it is a human life choice.
Confucius said, "If I have been studying the Book of Changes for a few years", hoping that God would let him live a few more years to deal with the Book of Changes properly, he has already realized that end. My teacher, Zhu Xining, as a novelist, wrote until the last moment, and only completed one-sixth or one-fifth of "Hua Taiping's Family Biography", depending on which came first, death or finishing.
Translator Liu Musa and novelist Zhu Xining are husband and wife. The picture is from the documentary "Wishing for the Future".
It's not as serious or sad as I say, it's just a matter of working every day. You've written it so far, and you can't afford to throw it away.
Every time I finish a book, I feel like I'm temporarily empty, and I've done everything I can to say everything I know. But after turning a corner, it seems that there is something to write again. In my current position, I don't have a generous salary, and if I measure success by the way the world measures, I am closer to a loser. But for me, I don't feel sorry for myself at all, and I can say that I am very proud. I don't think I've done anything wrong here.
In his speech at the graduation ceremony, the principal of a school in the United States said, "I thought that meaningful things should be told in four years. After saying this, he stepped down from the stage, and the audience applauded. So if I have any plans, I just keep reading and writing.
Delay twenty years and grow old again
"Japan's baby boomers, Taiwan's gnawing old people, and Chinese mainland's lying flat generation are all like immortals who will die"
10 Point Portrait: Italy issued a decree "prohibiting the dependence of parents over 30 years old". As you mention in your book, this means that thirty is the age when a person has to face the world and go it alone. At first hearing it was somewhat comforting. But the reality is that from the moment we graduate, we have to face the problems of independence and employment, and people today seem to be being pushed to face the world earlier?
Donno: Your reaction was peculiar because for a lot of people, 30 is too short (laughs), and I write in my book that you can be 35 years old.
As we all know, the United Nations WHO has adjusted the age division of people: before the age of 45, they are considered young, until the age of 60 they are middle-aged, 60 to 75 years old are the most interesting, they are called "young old people", which seems to be very ambiguous, and the world has not yet decided what to think of them; after the age of 75, they are officially old people, and it is time to call it a day, and we can finally let them go.
Everybody is getting bigger and older in 20 years, and that's the reality we face today.
Back to the Italian decree. First of all, it doesn't mean that you can't do anything before the age of 30 and you have to rely on your parents, but you can also step out of childhood early and officially enter the next stage - middle age.
When I think back to myself, and all the people I can think of in history, I am very convinced that middle age is worth living, and it can be said that almost all the things that human beings have done are concentrated in the field of middle age.
Why middle-aged? I'm trying to explain this in terms of biology and society.
Biologists are almost conclusive that man has the longest childhood in the biological world, and this is an evolutionary accident. From the perspective of life form, the human fetus is still in an embryonic state, which needs a longer growth period and the latest reproductive maturity period. The period of maturity of most organisms, which we can rudely think of as the time when reproductive functions appear.
But does the human being mature when there is a reproductive function? No, our childhood is constantly extended, and this is no longer just an evolutionary accident, but a human achievement.
We realize that children are not yet mature and cannot think and act independently. We are willing to give the child a longer preparation time, so that he can be more capable and better to enter his life state. For example, the extension of national education and the protection of the law.
The society is richer, and we can support you for a few more years. Even today, 50-year-old people in Taiwan still say that they "don't have time to grow up," which is inconceivable.
Old age is another case. There is almost no old age in the biological world, and when the reproductive function disappears, you can probably die, or even die. Old age is superfluous, and it is people who begin to have the ability to keep the old alive.
Therefore, middle age should be the basic form of life. You face the world alone, and you have to defend yourself to the death. You have to take care of the elderly, but you also have to continue to extend the next generation, you have to take full responsibility for yourself, and even the decisions you make have to bear by yourself, which is a completely different state of life.
So when we keep prolonging our childhood, we will squeeze it into middle age. When young people are not willing to grow up, there will be fewer things to do as part of the main body of life. The younger generation is reluctant to come out of childhood, and we still haven't found a clear solution.
For example, the gnawing old people in Taiwan, China, the baby boom in Japan, and the "employment ice age" have a long history. My friend's child, who is in his 40s, still doesn't go to the attic room, has to have meals delivered to the door, and has studied for a master's degree, but has not worked a day. Another girl is 28 years old, and her mother needs a spoon to feed her for food. These are all extreme examples, but have become a problem of the times. They can only rely on their parents to work hard in the economic upswing era, most of them have cars and houses, and they can support them for a while.
Japanese drama "My Business is a Long Story"
10 Point Portrait: Recently, the phenomenon of "full-time children" has also appeared in the mainland. Young people take a leave of absence to live with their parents and work in exchange for some financial support. What do you think of this phenomenon?
Donno: I understand the word. What I care about is that parents' emotions, time, and money are not things that can be withdrawn infinitely, and one day they will run out, and we will eventually have to face the world alone. There will always be an imbalance between parents and children, which we cannot completely overcome, and the war between the two generations can easily happen here.
The issue is complex, and different puzzles arise as social consciousness changes. For example, there is also a social atmosphere in the mainland where "lying flat." There is a similarity between lying flat and gnawing at the old, most of them hope that they will not fight with the world, shrink their desires to the lowest point, and use the least actions to not let themselves feel disappointed. This phenomenon has not only started in the past two years.
The first thing I noticed was 30 years ago when homeless people appeared in Japan. In the past, we had a fixed image of such a socially frustrated person. They can easily become factors of social unrest, accompanied by drugs, alcohol and violence. However, Japan's homeless landscape is very different. They are almost safe and harmless, will give way to people and are very quiet.
When I was in Japan, I would go to a café every morning to read and write. Breakfast is very cheap there, and the hamburger coffee set is only 250 yen. I usually pick after 9 o'clock and stagger the Tokyo office workers, and that's when you see a different side of Japan.
There are many housewives with children and men betting on horses in the coffee shop, and then you will see homeless come in to buy coffee, and only about one-fifth will choose a corner and sit down, hold the coffee in both hands, and then leave.
For homeless, coffee isn't cheap, they drink it and leave, so it's not for the café vibe either. Most probably, they came for caffeine, and it is possible that they were white-collar workers before. Sorry, this may be somewhat arbitrary, because in general, blue-collar workers are more likely to have alcohol addictions, and white-collar workers are more likely to have coffee addictions.
The biggest difference between Japan's homeless and the lying flat and gnawing old people is that they have no parents to help. When the home can also contain you, maybe you are a gnawing old family, when there is none, it may be homeless. And when a person reduces his desires to such an extent, he only needs very few rights and freedoms, and he is not prone to righteous indignation or the idea of building a public sphere, because he only wants to control himself, he does not get angry for others, he grieves for others, this is the best group of people to manage, because he does not want to do anything.
Ten Point Portrait: But when the individual's power is so small that he finds himself powerless, can choosing a low-desire life also be seen as a rebellion against machines and structures?
Donald: I try not to make value judgments. I want to tell you that this is not a sudden phenomenon. Groups are always stable, and usually, only individuals can surprise us without being completely conditioned by the established state of society. In other words, there is a certain transcendence.
Tell another story. When Lu Dongbin was learning Xi the spell of "turning stones into gold," he once asked Master, "Will a stone be gold forever after it becomes gold?" Master said that it will still turn into stone after 500 years. So, Lu Dongbin stopped learning. He felt it was fake. But I thought, what else can he learn? Exhaust the principles that you have discovered in your life, and in a few years someone may make something better or even overthrow you, and in this case, are you still willing to devote your life to doing this? This is the problem we are facing now.
"Doctors are not exempt from the disappointment of not accomplishing anything for a long time," Green said, and writers have felt that way all their lives. We write a book, but the war has already happened, and the cat we want to save has already died, this is our basic dilemma, and we will always face this time difference.
But Lu Dongbin has lived for a thousand years, what has he done? So Lu Dongbin can only be an immortal. When any of us has so much time to do things, we are more successful than him, but he doesn't do anything.
Today we have modern immortals, that is, the homeless, the lying flat and the gnawing old people. This is a dying immortal who sees through everything, does not want to do anything, thinks that (he) can flow to the end in the great river of time, but without a true understanding of old age and death, time is missed.
A good work is a handrail to connoisseurship
"Reading doesn't require you to immediately understand anything, it's better to be a Xi of life, so that everything becomes leisurely and natural"
Ten Point Portrait: You have served as a judge for literary awards many times, and you often talk about the cultivation of connoisseurship and how to evaluate a work in public. But now that people prefer to talk about their personal feelings and use themselves as a yardstick, is there a unified standard of measurement?
Donnell: At the moment, there is nothing that can completely withstand the onslaught of any questioning, which I call "the bright truth", which is why Nietzsche said that "God is dead", and the result is that everything floats, and this causes more problems than everyone thinks.
At the beginning of the 20th century, after the death of God, we gave science the last hope that it would replace God, and this year's film "Oppenheimer" told such a story. Physicists have never been more important than in that moment. The whole world waited with bated breath to find the last truth that could replace God. But as a result, we all know that there is no end, and physics returns to physics itself, and is no longer an idol of wisdom or prophet.
A still from the movie "Oppenheimer".
In other areas, we don't have standards for what makes the best novels.
But can we tell if it's good or bad? Do we need to tell if it's good or bad? Of course we do.
You can tell me, "I like to listen to Jay Chou's songs, and Bach falls asleep when he listens to them." This is entirely true. But please don't tell me, "So Bach's music and Jay Chou's songs are on the same level."
There is something professional and reasonable in this, although there is nothing that "reason" for us to ultimately define it. It's like smashing an iron nail into it, and it can't be challenged from now on. We can be suspicious, but that doesn't mean they don't have a difference.
To discern these requires connoisseurship. But at the same time, connoisseurship is the most difficult. It has no quantitative standards, it is difficult to cultivate, and it contains the most delicate and complex feelings of people. Among the masses, it is the most devastating thing that can be destroyed.
We have come to an era where no one is afraid of anyone and no one believes in anyone. Of course, we dodge a lot of the nonsense that comes with power, but we also miss a lot of things that should be listened to and believed in.
If you talk about physics, do you believe the results of the vote of 1 million people, or do you believe in Einstein's words? Many things have majors, and this is the trouble of democracy, and it is also what Habermas said, a big collision between democracy and modern society -- the principle of equality is like a flood, rushing into the world at every level, and the world at this level is not just power, and the hierarchy is also professional, so it is not decided by voting.
As for how to cultivate connoisseurship, Kant once said something that I am very convinced, "A good work is the handrail of connoisseurship". Therefore, the easiest way to teach connoisseurship is the master-apprentice system, two people in a dense relationship, the apprentice sees the good, feels the good, reads hundreds of posts, and your words will come out.
Immanuel Kant, a famous German philosopher, is the founder of German classical philosophy
Ten Point Portrait: Sometimes when we read a book, others say that it is a good book, but we can't read it ourselves, should we continue to "die"?
Donno: It's all right, but you don't have to ask for it. Some things are still too far away from you, and your perception of the goodness of them may also be faint. Reading is not so serious, you don't need to push yourself, you can watch something else, just don't stop.
The first time I read Turgenev's "Rotin", I bought a very bad version, and after three days of reading it, I couldn't even know what the novel was doing. Many years later, I published Turgenev's first book, "Rotin", and even wrote an introduction.
Turgenev, "Rotting, The House of the Nobles"
Reading is what it is, it doesn't have the immediate need to understand right away, so it's best to make it a Xi in your life. This can reduce a lot of your self-seeking worries and make everything more laid-back and natural.
Don't be in a hurry. When you're young, it feels like time passes slowly, but it accelerates. So, trust the time. Don't always think that many things will make you see everything clearly tomorrow, and there are things like that, but your understanding of the world is also at that level.
Today, I'm happy to say "there's nothing wrong with that," but that just depends on who you want to be. In general, the future of this land, nation, community, and culture is also what kind of person a group of people chooses to be.