Chi Li is still that Chi Li, with passion in her heart, appealing to the pen, but she is already a thousand sails to do her best.
(Yin Jianling close-up)
In 2021, Luminous Cup Reading launched a column to let more people read, delight and delight in "reading".
This issue of "Reading" invites Yin Jianling, a writer and senior editor of Xinmin Evening News, to share what Chi Li felt after reading his new work "Calmly Through the Hustle".
("Calmly Through the Hustle" by Chi Li, Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House)
Chi Li has produced a new prose work.
Most of the words included in this "Calm through the Hustle" come from The column "Cold-Eyed enthusiasm" opened by Chi Li in the "Luminous Cup" of the Xinmin Evening News, which has been open for more than a year, and as the responsible editor of the column, he has the honor of becoming the first reader. As for becoming a reader of Chi Li's novels, it was thirty years ago.
As a representative of the new realist novel, Chi Li's novel was refreshed as soon as it came out, and she let literature go down the "altar" and let literature return to "daily life" itself. Therefore, some commentators aptly commented: "She pays attention to women's self-consciousness but does not deny the difference between the sexes, she writes about the embarrassment of survival but does not doubt survival itself, she leads the reader to reflect but does not torture the reader's soul, she reveals the truth of society but does not sell the truth, she makes the reader a bystander, a bystander of herself." ”
The prose Chi Li and the novel Chi Li are in the same vein, not high on the top, nor without illness, moaning and empty preaching. You walk into her words as if you were walking into your own life, which is a life you can't walk out of. However, compared with the two, it is clear that the former has more years of experience than the latter, that is, the mastery and detachment after experiencing vicissitudes, the peace and calmness after seeing through the world, as if the river of life is rushing and smooth, and the bottom of the clear river precipitates the golden sand of wisdom. Chi Li's eyes are transparent and sharp, but her heart is full of enthusiasm and compassion, just like her name in the Luminous Cup column "Cold Eyes and Enthusiasm", she holds out a heart of writing, only to easily get out of the heavy life, "calmly through the hustle and bustle", recognize the truth of the world, and still express her joy for life and the world - this is where Chi Li makes me feel particularly cute and respectful.
(Chi Li close-up)
You see, she writes about food, which not only stirs the taste buds, but also touches the heartstrings. She wrote about Hongshan caixue, from the careful examination of authentic Hongshan caixue, to the doorway of the calendar selection and stir-frying of caixue, and even rose to the clean and self-improvement of caixue, the character of the lone standard; writing hot dried noodles, she actually wrote the feeling of "falling in love"; writing about pork rib lotus soup, not only writing exclusive secrets, but also overflowing with family affection and nostalgia between the lines; writing about the strange taste of Shanghai, not writing about the thick oil and red sauce Ben gang dish, but writing about the smoked brush on the left side of the door; she also loved handmade side dishes, loved its "sentient and righteous", and lamented its fate of "disappearing at the end of your fingertips" ...... Chi Li, who once created the Wuhan duck neck out of thin air to promote the duck neck industry, wrote about food, but she cared about the attitude of life and human affairs. Stewed lotus soup, you have to use an enamel soup pot, you have to be "super patient, you have to keep the fire, you have to slow down the rhythm of life"; the disappearance of handmade side dishes, like the ruthlessness of life; focusing on wearing a string of red peppers, "a person's day and day quietly come over"... This uniqueness and chic stems from her attitude towards life: see through, still love.
Chi Li writes about people's hearts and worldly lives, which is exactly in response to that sentence: "Everyone has it in their hearts, and everyone has nothing in their pen." In addition to food, more chapters in this book focus on lifestyle, the truth of marriage, and the true meaning of life. She said that "happiness is actually an ability", "slow down is faster", to be good at affirming their ability in the most unfortunate time; slowly, it is not only a pleasant calm, "but also a kind of depth immersed in the depth", which can be called the real "living". In this day and age, should we get married? She lamented that we do not have a marriage class, "the most important knowledge in life is marriage", "marriage knowledge does not determine fate, but it will affect fate". And the meaning of "spouse" is to teach both husband and wife to truly become one, without selfish interests, is a profound teaching; we are all singing love, but Chi Li reminds, "the deepest hurt is often the most loved", maternal love also has fatal injuries; everyone is afraid of aging, Chi Li has experienced the benefits of aging, and share the philosophy of life and growth with you; she is more self-deprecating, "My life is still failing, God"...
She is not condescending, self-proclaimed philosopher and wise, she is immersed in the worldly life itself, but maintains a conscious sobriety; she is by no means a writer who trapped herself in the study, she is familiar with popular culture, close to the pulse of the times, familiar with current buzzwords and fashion; she is the insight and analysis of people's hearts, she is so easy and grounded, but at the critical moment, she has never forgotten her identity as a writer, never forgotten the sense of mission and responsibility of a writer. Episode 2 "True Love is So Ordinary and Bitter", the income is all the chapters that Chi Li wrote during the epidemic that have caused great social repercussions, and these words are published in the "Cold Eye and Enthusiasm" column. At the beginning of 2020, the epidemic was dangerous and the prospects were uncertain, Chi Li reminded, appealed, spurred, and reflected on the sensitivity of a writer with a doctor's professional background, and shortly thereafter, I wrote in the editor's note of the group of articles: "Thank you Chi Li, in the midst of the noise and fog, a sharp, sober, rational and compassionate voice that a writer should send out." She deserves the title of 'writer'. So what exactly is a "writer"? True writers never stop thinking, never forget their responsibilities, and never fight over boring current events. They provide avant-garde ideas for society with independent personalities, inspire people to pursue noble souls, and let readers find the source of life from the writer's words. Perhaps, this is also the essential difference between Chi Li and the average high-traffic "writer".
I remembered the first time I saw Chi Li more than twenty years ago, in winter, at her home in Wuhan. At that time, the home Chi Li I saw was as relaxed, contented, and safe as most housewives. She lives in her own right, like her characters and stories. Her figure blends into the crowd, her eyes flutter everywhere, you can't see in the bustling, but Chi Li can show you a slice of life that you know well, a real existence. After so many years, Chi Li is still that Chi Li, with passion in her heart, appealing to the pen, but she is already a thousand sails to do her best.
June 21, 2021 in Shanghai
Recent reading lists:
Sex and Society (English) by Pan Guangdan Hu Shouwen Translated by The Commercial Press
Hugo Thesis (French) by Victor Hugo by Liu Mingjiu Translated by Shanghai Translation Publishing House
"Things on the Earth" by Feng Qiuzi, Guangxi Normal University Press