Good Books | It's an equal dialogue, and it's also an improvisational performance

Author: Liu Tianyi

Editor in charge: Liu Jing Su Ping

Publisher: Liaoning Juvenile and Children's Publishing House

Pub Date: 2023-01

It's an equal dialogue, and it's also an improvisational performance

President of Liaoning Children's Literature Society

Ning Zhenzhi

Liu Tianyi's new book "Guests from the Mountains" is a collection of children's stories with prose penmanship, with a total of 11 chapters, revolving around 11 animals, which are not only independent of each other, but also have a continuity of mutual connection. The collection is narrated in the first person, and the reader listens to her worries, horrors, sorrows, and joys, her "company with pigs" and "three holes of cunning rabbits", and listens to her thrilling, unsettled and rising waves...... In the midst of many emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and resentment, the theme of "love" quietly emerges, like a colored line connecting the narrative plot of the whole book. Compassion can be expressed between people and between animals and animals. The animal story of "Guest from the Mountain" is a dialogue between man and nature, or an improvisation of the animal world in front of humans. Under the law of nature, survival of the fittest, and survival of the fittest, human beings have the responsibility and obligation to give sympathy and support to the weak animals.

Love is the power of goodness. The protagonist is a young man who has moved from the city to the countryside and lives in a small compound closest to the forest. In the north, small courtyards inevitably become a place for animals. Faced with the arrival of the "new tenant" weasel, "I" changed from worry and fear at the beginning to curiosity and surprise. When the weasel disturbs the chicken coop, "I" picks up the broom and is unwilling to confront it, and this moment of "weakness" is related to the love and compassion in my heart. The guilt that appears in "Chicken Thief Again" is not to "justify" the weasel, but to the emotional fluctuations caused by misjudgment. The description of the sable that was "paralyzed" at night is more delicate: "black eyes look at me miserably", "little nose twitches", "curled up in a ball", "the whole body trembles", "shrinks in more fear", "eyes are full of panic about the unknown"...... Hitting a sable by mistake and blaming oneself is full of pity, both an objective impression and a subjective self-blame. Checking whether the sable was injured, the sable felt the kindness, did not struggle too much, and vigilantly "sniffed with a small nose" the apple pieces sent before reassuring to nibble. Then he "stretched his body recklessly", and after eating another piece of beef, he "shook his big tail with satisfaction" and "had a great time" with a ball of yarn. The next morning, after eating the apple and beef, and before returning to the forest, "we looked at each other for a long time" until it was thrown to the ground and waved goodbye, and the sable "remained motionless, staring straight at me with small round black eyes." Under the author's meticulous descriptions of dynamics, modalities, and demeanors, the love and compassion between humans and animals gradually penetrates, induces each other, and comprehends each other. Through the presentation of many details, the reader can appreciate the trajectory of kindness contained in love.

Compassion is the power of softness. When the little wild boar was stuck by the fence of the small courtyard, "I" was enthusiastic and rescued in time. The author's description is full of maternal compassion and exudes a strong human touch: "The little thing suddenly stopped screaming, it quietly lowered its head, blinked its eyes, and tears hung on its slender black eyelashes. It snorted weakly twice, like a helpless child sobbing. Then the little boar was scattered all over the yard, and the dust was flying, and "I" not only let it go its own way, but also feed it milk powder, green vegetable scraps, and leftovers. Gradually, the little wild boar followed its owner in and out of the courtyard like a puppy. In four or eight months, the little wild boar grew up, the fluff on its body became longer and thicker and harder, the two fangs were aggressive, and the animality became more and more obvious. "For a while, I couldn't tell whether the tears in my eyes were blown by the cold wind or by the snow in the forests of the Nayan Mountains", showing the owner's reluctance vividly and vividly. In addition, there are the resolute rescue of the hare in the snow, the nervousness, curiosity, timidity, and awe of the reindeer, and the cautious and "not daring to move"; the inspiration when encountering the mink bear at night and hoping that the mink bear "can eat safely tonight and jump and play in the trees with vigor the next day"; there is the "unceremoniousness" of the lynx family in the master's courtyard, and the "swaggering and beautiful posture" when they walk out of the courtyard...... In this way, the "chance encounters" that occurred in the same place and at different times highlighted the loving interaction between animals and people, and people helped the animals who broke into the courtyard to tide over the difficulties with a gesture of compassion of "bowing their heads", and raised a banner of caring for natural creatures. The work is not only kind to animals, but also to animals, and a small corner of the mountain forest echoes the humanitarian song of love and sympathy. The author's descriptions of animals are vivid and playful, and the portraits, expressions, movements, and even psychological activities are written in an anthropomorphic way, retaining some of the characteristics and tastes of fairy tales.

"Guests from the Mountains" is a "nature notebook" of mountain dwellings, with a subjective creative mood, fascinating, but not unrealistic. The author brings what he sees and feels to life, daily life, and notes of living near the mountains, revealing all the emotions in his heart, and projecting love and compassion onto animals, which is real and reliable. For example, in the face of the blood stains sprinkled on the fence after the Siberian tiger caught the fawn, "I" was still scared, so I had to move to another small yard far away from the mountains and forests. Isn't the puppy who accompanies him a witness to fear? Love and compassion has the natural nature of "the original goodness of human nature", and its full expression is precisely in the fear of repeated growth and growth. Faced with the bear cub, who had just lost its mother and witnessed the scene of the tiger attacking, he wanted to come and bring food to it the next day, but he was nowhere to be found. The fate of the bear cub was at stake, and "I" felt a mixture of remorse and regret, and it was difficult to extricate myself: "Why didn't you save it home at that time?" This regret left in the mountains made the depth of love and compassion meaningful. The last chapter of the book, "The Guest Who Will Never Visit", is a heart-wrenching read. Childhood stories such as rescuing foxes, waiting for foxes, and having close contact with foxes evoked by memories form a distance between them and the words and deeds of the adult world. It is a sad and painful thing that love can grow quietly in the childhood world, but gradually disappear in the adult world. Therefore, the nourishment of love and compassion needs to accompany people throughout their lives until they grow into towering trees, protecting the harmony between man and nature from generation to generation.