In the short journey of life, we may not be able to walk every inch of the world with our feet. However, even if we can't physically reach those distant places, words can carry our thoughts, pass through the barriers of time and space, and lead us to those unknown places. Books can also serve as a bridge between us and the various situations of life that we have never experienced, allowing us to encounter them unexpectedly in the world of words.
On April 23, on the occasion of World Book Day, Zhengguan News reporters interviewed five well-known female writers, Liang Hong, Han Shimei, Huang Xiaodan, Sun Yu, and Yu He, to talk about the eternal theme of reading.
Paper vs electronic, which is the favorite of writers
Zhengguan News: Every World Book Day, the day most closely related to "reading", there is a question that is always discussed repeatedly: in the era of advanced science and technology, which is the most popular among people, which is the convenient and efficient e-book or the paper book with unique charm? As a book writer, what are your reading habits?
Liang Hong: I don't think the form is important, the key is the harvest of reading itself. Reading is actually a process of dialogue with oneself and the world, and there is no difference between paper reading and e-reading. Personally, I prefer paper books, and young people are naturally more intimate with e-books, so they should not belittle one way or another, but love each and every other.
Liang Hong is a scholar, writer and professor at the School of Liberal Arts, Chinese University. He has published non-fiction literary works such as "Ten Years in Liangzhuang", "The Story of Liangzhuang", "China in Liangzhuang" and so on.
Han Shimei: I like to read paper books. Reading is sometimes a way for me to be inspired, and when I want to write, I pick up a book and read it, and when my finger touches the text, inspiration can burst out at any time.
Han Shimei, a peasant poet in Henan, is a representative work of the poetry collection "The Waves Will Pick Me Up".
Huang Xiaodan: When I need to read quickly, I use "WeChat Reading", assuming I want to write or talk about a topic, then I search for relevant books on WeChat Reading, and it is necessary to quickly read through four or five books, and it is very easy to use, easy to take notes, and the book will not be lost. But if I want to use a book in depth, for example, as the main reference material for my thesis, I will still use paper. Because the paper book brings a better sense of wholeness, I can often intuitively turn to a certain sentence on a certain page.
Huang Xiaodan, an associate professor at the School of Humanities at Jiangnan University, has published the work "Fourteen Poets".
Sun Yu: I spend about half of my time reading paper books and half of my time reading e-books. I prefer to choose paper books to read "tome" books, of course, in today's advanced technology, when going out and traveling, the time is more scattered, and e-books will definitely be more convenient. When reading in such fragmented times, I think it's best to connect them into a "wish line", i.e., the books you want to read or need to read at the moment. For example, if I'm writing a historical novel right now, I prefer a history book, and in such a situation, my thinking is coherent even if the time is scattered.
Sun Yu (middle), writer, representative works "Waiting for a Wandering Wind", etc.
Yu He: I usually write in the morning, deal with some chores in the afternoon, and read in the evening. I am used to reading sequence by sequence, that is, when I pay attention to a problem or topic, I will try to collect as much as possible related to the problem and read it continuously. Sometimes starting with a good book will extend to a new reading sequence, like a branch branching apart.
Yu He, writer, representative works essay collection "Breaking Eyebrows", etc.
The writing process is revealed, and writers will also have a burnout period
Zhengguan News Reporter: In the writing career of a writer, does the creation of a book start with a flash of inspiration, or does it start through a well-thought-out idea? When writing becomes a profession, will writers have the same burnout period as ordinary migrant workers? Will there be times when they can't write?
Liang Hong: In fact, there will be a period of boredom in reading, as a writer, so many books can never be finished, not the one you wrote. So, what's the point of writing a book? On the one hand, of course, it is to earn manuscript fees, which can be said to be a huge driving force, and great writers such as Balzac have also been "forced" to write manuscripts by manuscript fees. On the other hand, the meaning of writing is more about fulfilling one's spiritual needs. The quality of your book is, first of all, not to fool yourself.
Han Shimei: When I wrote the poem "Awakening", it was the darkest and lowest moment of my life. There is a big pit in the south of our village, and I stand on the edge of the pit, and I want to jump many times, and even during the Spring Festival, I have been staying at home, let alone writing. Later, with the support and encouragement of netizens, I finally came out and also wrote the poem "Awakening".
Written by Han Shimei, Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House, published in September 2023
Huang Xiaodan: For me, writing a book in general is not a fun thing, it may be meaningful to me and a sense of accomplishment, but it is really not that interesting. Most of the time, writing a book requires a lot of reading, revision, and a lot of times I feel like I can't write. But in the end, it is still very happy to think through a question and express it clearly, and that happiness is "I think I write so well".
Books are to me what sugar is to pastry chefs. A pastry chef may tell you how much sugar you need for 100 grams of cake, how much sugar you need for 100 grams of ice cream, and how much sugar you need for 100 grams of pudding. It's the same with all my work, whether it's lecturing, writing, researching, or even filling out forms, the most basic part of it is flipping through books. If I don't have a book one day, it's like a pastry chef without candy, and I won't be able to open today.
Sun Yu: First of all, I would like to say that writing is never pleasant! The so-called pleasure is only when you enjoy the results after you have finished writing. But in the process of writing, it is extremely long, painful, and extremely tests the writer's patience and willpower, just like running a marathon, with no end in sight, no idea where the front is ahead, and no way to reach the finish line. On the one hand, you need to "wrestle" with the text, you need to write well, design the structure and plot of the text, you need to love your characters and create characters, and on the other hand, you need to wrestle with yourself. You need to beat the boring, say no to those boring dates, sit in front of the computer, and overcome yourself in order to get that interesting and joyful result at the end.
Yu He: I think writing requires a very broad and in-depth life experience, both direct and indirect. As an individual, no matter how open your life is, your direct experience is always limited. The advantage of direct experience is that for writing, there are your personal direct feelings and unique experiences in the work, and indirect experience is generally derived from reading, which can provide you with a broad perspective and is an indispensable part of the writer's writing. Only with these two parts can you write good work.
The Problem of the Century: What is the Use of Reading?
Zhengguan News reporter: Some people think that "if you don't read for a day, you won't have any good thoughts"; some people think that reading too many books is disadvantageous, and "it is better to believe in books than to have no books at all". From ancient times to the present, "what is the use of reading" has been discussed and debated by countless people, and it can be called the "problem of the century". On World Book Day, we once again and again ask ourselves: What is the use of reading?
Written by Liang Hong, Shanghai Sanlian Publishing House, published in January 2021
Liang Hong: I don't think knowledge itself is an absolutely important thing. For example, why does a person read "Ten Years of Liangzhuang", is it particularly well written? There are so many great works in the world, why should you read this novel? It may be that there is a certain person and a certain scene in this book, which makes you feel that we can talk about the countryside and the life of rural people in this way. I think it's especially important to inspire and resonate with the reader.
Han Shimei: To give a simple example, like us rural women, many people are conservative and closed, and their ideological concepts will always stay in the husband and children, and nothing else will be considered. If a woman in our rural area can read, she will be able to see the wider world outside, open her horizons, and improve her thinking skills. In fact, everyone has unlimited potential, which has nothing to do with whether they are literate or not, the key is whether they want to read and learn.
Huang Xiaodan: Because I am a university teacher, I have a double standard for college students and adults after graduating from college. For people who think they have been stereotyped, I don't like to encourage others to read at all, "You love eggs, he loves to read, everyone has a good life", this is my attitude. Since people don't teach me to learn how to break eggs, then I shouldn't educate people to read. This is basic courtesy. Although there is World Book Day, maybe there will be "World Egg Day" soon?
But when it comes to college students, I often think they read too little. The reason is that I think they are not yet finalized, and the task of development at this stage is to increase the breadth of their understanding of the world, to increase the depth of their understanding of the world. I think college students should read as many books as possible, the more they read, the better, and of course they have to read high-quality books. Many things can be postponed, such as breaking eggs, but reading can't. If there is a window period in life, I think that before any window period in life closes, we should look at the things that this window contains, whether it is through direct intervention, experience, or indirect book reading.
Sun Yu: For ordinary people, I think reading is a beacon. A person without a goal is like a small boat on the vast sea, surrounded on all sides by a vast expanse of water, sailing aimlessly. If there's a little light ahead, you can go that way. I think reading books can play a role as a beacon, which can help people find the goal you want in ordinary life, and can also help you regain your rationality. At the same time, I think that reading should be the least costly help in today's society, and it is the most selfless. Because when a writer writes his own book, he will express all his thoughts and thoughts in his words, and will never hide it.
Yu He: I would like to talk about the impact of reading on children. I think it is necessary to emphasize repeatedly and emphatically that for parents, it is necessary for children to develop good reading habits from an early age. The function of reading is not only to broaden people's horizons and acquire knowledge, but it can actually change a person's mental outlook. Many people will be vulnerable when they encounter problems, bumps, and bumps, and many of them are because they have no way to understand the gains and losses of life. A lot of people's ability to resist blows comes from understanding the world and understanding life, and this understanding, this kind of spiritual tenacity, is to a large extent inseparable from reading.
A good memory is better than a bad pen, and it's over when you write it down
Zhengguan news reporter: "Good reading is better than reading good books", reading without skills is like swallowing dates, and you can't taste it. In response to incurable diseases such as "forget after reading" and "don't understand the meaning", do writers have any books or reading skills that they can share?
Liang Hong: I think reading requires skills, and my skill is to take reading notes. When I read a book, I read it first, and if I think the book is good, I read it again. At this time, I will write reading notes: why it is good, where the language is good, how well the ending is handled, and where is very skillful...... If it's a work of sociology, anthropology, or political science, I'll sort out the structure in general.
Written by Kong Feili, Shanghai Joint Publishing Co., Ltd., May 2012
I really like the American writer Philip Kong's "Calling the Soul" and I find it particularly interesting, so I read it again and again to explore the writing method and thinking mode of the book. I think it's a long-term training, and today we can use this grooming method when we face our children and ourselves.
Han Shimei: When I read a book and see a good sentence, I also write it down. Not only reading books, but also other people's speeches, I think the good ones will also be memorized, which is actually the easiest way to read books.
Huang Xiaodan: I read a lot of books this year, most of which are for work. The one I recommend to readers is The Lord of the Rings. This is a book that everyone should read at a young age. Tolkien was 62 years old when The Lord of the Rings was published, and Auden called it "the masterpiece after The Odyssey." Although this is a fictional story, it has a tremendous amount of truth. Whether it is the Lord of the Rings as a symbol, the question of the power of power over corrupted people, or the setting of elves for eternal life, the question of death as the source of meaning in life, and goodness, love, knowledge, honor, trust, etc., almost all the problems that a young man will encounter in his future journey are rehearsed in this book. Against the backdrop of The Lord of the Rings, these issues become conflicting, and the spiritual lineages to which the different choices belong are clearly defined.
J. R. R. R. Tolkien, Shanghai People's Publishing House, translated by Deng Jiawan / Shi Zhongge / Du Yunci, published in December 2023
Sun Yu: When you are reading, you can write a simple feeling after reading, even if it is a simple sentence or two. For example, when you read Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude", you write a few sentences about a character or plot, and these words are like a nail in your brain, and the next time you think of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" again, your brain will help you mobilize these few sentences. It is said that the memory of a fish is only seven seconds, but I think that the memory of human beings is also very short, especially in today's world where information is updated so quickly, people's memory about something is easily overwritten by new information. Writing down your impressions or taking notes is actually a way to keep the memory of your reading of the book.
I've been writing a long historical novel lately, so I'd like to recommend a historical work – Our Universal Civilization by Nobel laureate Naipaul. At the same time, on the occasion of World Book Day, I also recommend an Oscar-winning animated short film to children - "Magic Flying Book".
V.S. Naipaul, South Sea Publishing, August 2014
Yu He: As far as reading is concerned, I have two points I would like to share. One is to develop your own reading habits. Of course, it is best to cultivate the habit of reading from an early age, and if you are already an adult, I think it is never too late, and it is never too late to start reading. On the other hand, I think there is still a need to be planning in terms of reading. I think my reading habits are quite good, and I also recommend to readers, that is, to read one sequence at a time, one question at a time, that is, to read books purposefully, so that your reading can be more efficient and effective.
postscript
We often say "ten minutes on stage, ten years off stage", in fact, books are the same. It may take us days or even hours to read a book, but in the eyes of writers, the time it takes for a book to go from conception to completion is often measured in years.
Huang Xiaodan likens her writing to "weaving": "When I write, I often feel that I am weaving, very, very slowly, filling in the silk threads at a speed that is invisible to the naked eye. When I finished writing a book manuscript and looked back at the two or three years since I signed the contract, I felt that the creation was really too slow. But when I think about it, if I hadn't written this book, two or three years would have passed, and I think it's still a bit fun to write a book. ”
I wonder if the writers' sudden inspiration, their breath-holding concentration in the middle of the night, and even their hard work before delivery will be condensed into a paragraph, a sentence, and a punctuation mark in the book, so that readers can connect with the writer's heart at a certain time between reading?
In this fast-paced era, we tend to pursue speed and efficiency, but ignore depth and connotation. Whether it is reading in your spare time, or immersive reading in the dead of night, through reading and feeling the spiritual power transmitted by writers, will the anxiety and restlessness caused by fast-paced life be calmed down?
Copyright Notice
The copyright of this article (including but not limited to text, pictures, music, videos, etc.) belongs to Zhengguan Media Technology (Henan) Co., Ltd., and may not be used in any way, including reprinting, excerpting, reproducing or mirroring without the authorization of Zhengguan Media Technology (Henan) Co., Ltd. If you need to reprint this article, please contact the background to obtain authorization, and should use it within the scope of authorization, and indicate the source of Zhengguan News and the original author, and shall not provide this article to any third party.
Zhengguan Media Technology (Henan) Co., Ltd. reserves the right to pursue the legal responsibility of the infringer