(Liu Yanhua, a native of Dong'a, Shandong, currently lives in Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture, Yanji City, Jilin Province, and is the son of Liu Hongzhang, a model worker in Shandong Province.) This article was published in the third edition of Yanbian Daily on May 27, 1997. ）
I don't read much of Liu Shaotang's novels, but I am particularly impressed, and I like them very much, probably because I drink the water of the Grand Canal with Liu Shaotang. He was born on the banks of the Grand Canal in Tong county, Beijing, and my birthplace of Dong'a County in Shandong Province is only seven or eight miles away from the east bank of the Lu Canal. For Liu Shaotang's novel collection, I have longed for it for a long time, although after many efforts, I still did not buy it in the end. The value of the books in my family can reach as much as 100,000 yuan, but Liu Shaotang has only two books, one is "Green Branches and Green Leaves" published by the Mass Publishing House in 1984 and "Yellow Flower Girl's Pond" published by the Writers Publishing House in 1991.
The news of the publication of "Liu Shaotang's Collected Works and the Grand Canal Vernacular Literary System" was written by Liu Shaotang in the "Literature Newspaper" on February 16, 1995, "Written on the Occasion of the Publication of the < Grand Canal Vernacular Literary System >". But it is very unfortunate that this article does not say the name of the publisher. Even if I wanted to buy this book, it was difficult to contact the publisher. Later, I went to Xinhua Bookstore to look for orders, but I found nothing. At this time, I had an idea, look up Liu Shaotang's address and contact him directly. But I was also worried, thinking that Liu Shaotang was not an ordinary person, he was one of the few great writers in China, a master in the contemporary literary world, a generation of masters of Chinese vernacular literature, he was the vice chairman of the China Writers Association, would he contact such an ordinary construction worker as me? Even when in touch, he couldn't fulfill my wishes. So I dismissed the idea.
After waiting for two years, I inadvertently learned Liu Shaotang's Beijing address and phone number through a friend of the Jilin Writers Association. At nine o'clock in the morning of February 26, 1997, I hung up the phone with Liu Shaotang in the mood that I might hit a wall. It was Liu Shaotang himself who answered the phone. On the phone, his old man's attitude was amiable, very kind and gentle. I explained to him my wish to get his book, and he was very happy and happily acceded to my request, saying that only a part of the book was now out, and that there were very few hardcover copies, and that I would mail you a few copies first, and then send them to you later. I said how much money I needed to mail money. "You don't have to send money, make a friend," he said. Be sure to send you a mail, please check it. Then he talked to me again. After hanging up the phone, I was extremely excited and very happy. In the days to come, I waited, hoped, and my desire to get "Liu Shaotang's Collected Works and the Grand Canal Vernacular Literature System" was conceivable.
At 4 p.m. on March 24 this year, I came home from work and read the newspaper of the day as I had in the past. Suddenly, I saw a Xinhua news agency message in the Yanbian Daily: "The farewell ceremony for Liu Shaotang's body was held in Beijing, according to Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 21, the farewell ceremony for the body of the famous writer Liu Shaotang was held this afternoon at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing... Liu Shaotang died of illness on March 12 this year. "I was stunned after I saw it, I couldn't believe my eyes, I had been on the phone with Liu Shaotang for less than 1 month, and the tone of his speech on the phone that day was very good, not at all like the tone of a serious illness. But the black and white words in the newspaper are clear and you can't believe it. My heart is very sad and I am very sad. I immediately hung up the phone at Liu Shaotang's house, and the person who answered the phone was Liu Shaotang's wife, Zeng Caimei. It is with great sadness that I express my condolences to Zeng Caimei. Finally, she said to me: "Comrade Yanhua, four days before Shao Tang's death, that is, when he went to the hospital, on March 8, Shao Tang said to me, 'I have one more thing to do, in the northeastern border town of Yanji, there is an ordinary worker reader who needs a set of essays of mine, because my health is not very comfortable these days, I have not had time to mail the book, I do not know how long I will stay in the hospital this time, take a few books to me to give him an inscription, after I am hospitalized, you will mail him. This is the last signed inscription before Shao Tang died of illness. His signature inscription and gift book are sent to you as a permanent memorial. "I hung up the phone and my eyes were moist again. My heart was full of grief, and I couldn't calm down for a long time....
On April 14, I received ten books written by Zeng Caimei with inscriptions from Liu Shaotang and ghostwritten by Zeng Caimei. That is, the essence of "Liu Shaotang's Collected Works and the Grand Canal Vernacular Literature System" volumes 1, 2 and 3 (the other nine volumes have not yet been published), "Flower Street", "Essay on Red Riding Hood", "Biography of Liu Shaotang", "If It is My Person", "I Am Liu Shaotang", "Liu Shaotang and Canal Vernacular Literature", and Liu Shaotang's last masterpiece "Village Woman".
"The Village Woman" is a series of long works by Liu Shaotang, who originally planned to write three volumes, but now it has become a masterpiece, which is an irreparable loss to Chinese vernacular literature. "Village Women" series (1), the People's Literature Publishing House plans to publish in June 1997 (the copyright page of "Village Women" is written on the first printing in Beijing in June 1997). However, in order to express their condolences to Liu Shaotang, they printed a small part of it for the farewell ceremony before the farewell ceremony of Liu Shaotang's body. As Xinhua News Agency reported: "Liu Shaotang, who is lying in the midst of flowers and cypresses, rests his head on his sealed pen "Village Woman", and his remains are peaceful. "In the case of the small number of "Village Women", although I did not attend the memorial service, Teacher Zeng still mailed me a copy, which made me very grateful. In order not to live up to the deep friendship between Liu Shaotang and Zeng Caimei, I said in several phone calls with Zeng Caimei that I would definitely read all the "Liu Shaotang Anthology" and carry forward his literary spirit.