Xue Jing's novel "Riverbank to the North" has been conceived into a text after years of in-depth life precipitation, and has been repeatedly polished and meticulously crafted, and has been published for a few days. The first time I read this novel, I have this initial impression that this is a new literary sample that embodies the "two combinations", this is the latest observation text about rural revitalization, and this is a new breakthrough in rural writing.
The combination of the two has many elaborations. The second combination, the major keyword, has also been repeatedly mentioned and deepened. How to focus, interpret and display the "second combination", present it in the form of a novel, and express it with literary thinking is a big topic and a new challenge. Different from Zhao Shuli's "Three Mile Bay" and "Xiao Erhei's Marriage", and also different from Zhou Libo, Liu Qing and others' "Great Changes in the Mountains and Towns" and "History of Entrepreneurship", Xue Jing focuses on the current towns and villages on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Xue Jing has repeatedly thought about the legends and geographical names of Xiang Yuyu Ji in the local area, combined with the current cultural tourism, the excavation of township literature, and the strong foundation of folk culture and customs, and racked her brains, so that most of the characters in her pen can be mobilized and integrated, focusing on "combination", hollowing out their minds, drawing inferences from one another, whether it is a village official or a cadre of an organ, the most grassroots village party secretary, Villager group leaders, artists active in the folk, middle school students who are taking the college entrance examination, media figures, business owners, etc., etc., many characters, different levels, each with their own perspectives, for the theme of rural revitalization and gathered in the author's pen, vivid, smart, without a sense of hard sticking, without the suspicion of gangs and jokes. Talking about Xiang Yu in detail, figuring out Yu Ji, repeatedly interpreting, traveling through the past and present, experiencing Xiang Yu's state of mind back then, and interpreting Xiang Yu's current value, there is no sense of disobedience and elevation, not two skins separated from oil and water. At the same time, the novel also talks about historical figures such as Bodhidharma, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhang Xiaoxiang, Jiao Hong, Zhuang Chang, Qin Guan, etc., and their relevance to this region of Jiangbei is not a list of materials. It is in this sense that I say that "Riverbank to the North" is a new literary sample that better embodies the "second combination".
Rural revitalization is not only a national strategy, but also an urgent topic and a major task in the new era. China is a vast country, with a wide range of differences, both inside and outside the Great Wall. Rural revitalization should naturally be adapted to local conditions, develop strengths and avoid weaknesses, and compete for the current. "Riverbank to the North" focuses on the small area on both sides of the Wujiang River and Chuhe River at the foot of the old mountain in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The author goes deep into it, truly shows the actual situation of the current village, earnestly observes the thoughts and thoughts of the current villagers, and realistically faces the many problems encountered in the current village, such as personnel loss, agricultural subsidies, withdrawal and merger of villages, demolition and resettlement, neighborhood disputes, the setting of medical points, the site selection of the village jumping square, the transformation of dilapidated houses, the development of various projects in line with the actual situation in the countryside, the reality of the grassroots farmers, the joys, sorrows and sorrows of the grassroots cadres, and the various coordination and rushing of the village party secretary, the pungent and capable village director Fang Yuwan, the dedication of the village official He Jin, the villager group leader being beaten for omitting the village supplement, the vividness of many characters, and the portraits of various characters that are almost white-sketched, do not avoid contradictions, do not cover up bad habits, are about to come out, vivid and appropriate, are all in the process of exploration and advancement, and there is no reunion-style bright tail. This is the countryside present, the real countryside, the unwhitewashed and authentic countryside. Of course, rural revitalization cannot be limited to the countryside itself, and the novel also shows the various participation of higher-level party and government organs and all walks of life. Therefore, I say that this is the latest observation of rural revitalization, not a long-standing and outdated rural elegy and historical retrospective.
In the history of China's new literature, vernacular novels are classics, and there are many famous works. At present, writing about the countryside is also a master and bright. Xue Jing's "Riverbank to the North" not only focuses on the examination of historical origins and the integration of cultural elements, but also focuses on the historical process of urban-rural integration, writing the interaction and run-in between urban and rural areas under the background of the new era, straightforward and frank. Zhuo Ran, the girlfriend of village official He Jin, Yu Yue, a media person, and Zhou Tiantian, the daughter of Zhou Zhiyuan, etc., are separated by a river, a walk away, the city and the countryside, the natural landscape and the cultural heritage, the identity barrier and the concept collision, injecting new elements and new atmosphere into the local writing. Zhou Tiantian in "Riverbank to the North", as a middle school student living in the Internet age, writes online novels and takes Xiang Yu and Yu Ji as the objects, enriching the text rather than being complicated, which can be called the author's imaginative stroke in conceiving the text, and also greatly increases the atmosphere and charm of the novel.
It is worth mentioning that when "Jiang'an to the North" promotes the plot and shapes the characters, she does not forget to embellish the idle pen, and there are many descriptions of Jiangbei, which she calls Tianpu, not only the old mountain, not just various temples. You see, the author's Longhu Alley and the food style of Jiangbei Town are at your fingertips, making the text of the novel alive and fragrant, like a breeze. When writing about the characters, they often pay special attention to the environment, the moonlight, the breeze, the pond, the mountains and forests, and the starlight. There is a detail, writing the village party secretary and Fang Yuwan, "Fang Yuwan's laughter came not far ahead, crisp and crisp, like a silver bell blown by the wind." With such brushstrokes, is there a bit of the flavor of Sun Li's "Lotus Lake"?
(Wang Zhenyu)