BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Wang Liqun is 74 years old this year. More than ten years have passed since it became popular in "Hundred Tribunes". In recent years, he has not given much interviews, few texts, and it is difficult for people to see Wang Liqun outside of a program.
Having experienced the fame brought by "going to TV", Wang Liqun still maintains the style of an old-school scholar almost stubbornly. In addition to the necessary activities, he is almost no longer out of the house, and only focuses on academic research and writing books. He firmly believes that as long as he can say something that others do not have, and write it in a book, someone will always read it in the future.
Scholar Wang Liqun. Courtesy of respondents
Song Shi Gao Leng? No, it can also be very routine
"Fireworks in the World are Poetry" is Wang Liqun's new book this year. But the introduction is not the familiar Tang poems, but the Song poems full of life.
When it comes to ancient poetry, Tang poetry is undoubtedly a shining pearl. In comparison, the light of Song poetry is much dimmer, and in the Song Dynasty, where the civic economy is constantly developing, the more entertaining Song words are "desk essentials".
"The number of Song poems is so large that it is almost inevitable that Song poems will write about all aspects of life." Wang Liqun said that our understanding of Song poetry may be a little biased, "at least in terms of life, Song poetry does more than Tang poetry."
Land tourists live in Jinghua, "Xiaolou listens to the spring rain one night, and sells apricot blossoms in the ming dynasty in the deep alleys"; Wang Anshi lives idly in Jinling, "the long eaves are swept clean and moss-free, and the flowers and trees are planted by hand"; Yang Wanli takes a lunch break, "Plum leaves sour soft teeth, and plantains are divided into green and window screens." Everyday sleep without thought, idle watching children catch willow flowers."
Even in the impression of later generations, the Serious-looking Taoist Zhu Xi wrote a large number of life-like poems. In his collection, 80% is poetry.
"The everyday and secular nature of Song poetry has contributed to the formation of Song poetry's cultural and rational interest. The Song people regarded reading as a part of their lives and lived life out of fun. Wang Liqun said.
"Fireworks in the World are Poetry" book cover. Courtesy of Elephant Press
After becoming famous: "not accepting commercial endorsements" is the bottom line
Today's Wang Liqun is often labeled as a famous scholar and writer. He was a judge of the popular cultural program "Chinese Poetry Conference" and published many monographs, but his popularity soared because he taught "History" in "Hundred Tribunes".
The question has been asked: Can talking about history and poetry be the same thing? Wang Liqun explained that the two are originally one, "When I was teaching at the College of Letters of Henan University, it was my job to talk about poetry. And "The Chronicle of History" is also an excellent literary work, of course, it will be taught in class, and it will be spoken for several weeks."
He joked with reporters: "When you look at the "Hundred Tribunes", the successful storytelling of history is often the teacher of the Chinese Department. They have to analyze the character image, and if they don't speak vividly, students don't like to listen, so the style will be more lively. ”
Among the students, Wang Liqun's eloquence was almost universally recognized. For him, standing in a university classroom and standing on a podium on the recording site, there is no difference, it is a different teaching location. "Style" is something that can't be pretended.
In those years, "Hundred Pulpits" can also be regarded as a phenomenon-level cultural program. Yi Zhongtian, Wang Liqun, Yan Chongnian and a number of other scholars were all on fire, and various interviews and program invitations came pouring in. The first knock-on effect of the "celebrity effect" is "busy."
"Lectures can go, and programs that can spread knowledge can be recorded, but my bottom line is that I can't accept commercial endorsements." After becoming famous, Wang Liqun can take photos with fans very easily, but when he encounters commercial activities, he is not so good at talking, "After all, my background is a scholar, and concentrating on research is the first."
The Chinese Poetry Conference is a sharp scholar
With the passage of time, the heat brought by "Hundred Tribunes" is slowly dissipating, but soon, the popularity of "Chinese Poetry Conference" has made Wang Liqun an almost star-like existence, and the unique "Wang-style commentary" is always enjoyable.
Data chart: Wang Liqun. Photo by Wang Zhongju of The China News Agency
The recording of the whole show is a test of physical strength. As a judge, he was a 70-year-old man, recording each episode for eight hours, from 8 p.m. to 4:30 a.m., and sometimes from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
"Dong Qing and several other guests are 'post-70s', just my elder 'post-70s'." After a recording, Wang Liqun often feels very tired, but every time he will sit in front of the camera with great energy, "Staying up late is very harmful to people's bodies, but if you have such a good opportunity to spread ancient poetry, you have to fight!" ”
In his heart, the real pressure is not from fatigue, but from the "comment" thing, "those that everyone can find out do not talk about." If you want to talk about it, you have to talk about what the ancients did not say, and the present people did not say. Speaking of what everyone else knows is not a skill."
It's not an easy job. In the case of the fourth season of the poetry conference, after improvement, the first round of each contestant has six questions, a total of twenty-four poems. Coupled with the fact that there is no shortage of repetitive content every time, it is definitely a test of knowledge to comment on new ideas.
Wang Liqun once commented on a poem by Han Yu, "Early Spring Presents the Eighteen Members of the Water Department", he said that "the grass color is close but there is nothing", "The beauty of the year lies in the spring, the beauty of spring is in the early spring, the beauty of the early spring is in the grass, and the beauty of the grass is in the smoke and rain if there is nothing." This is the beauty of the famous sentence." Later, this wonderful review was retained without editing.
"You have to tell everyone new things, and you can't talk nonsense. Reviews are indeed a big responsibility. Wang Liqun sighed.
"Time to spend on something more meaningful"
Around 2011, Wang Liqun retired and moved to Beijing to live permanently. The house in Beijing was so small that the large, proud study in Kaifeng failed to migrate together—someone praised the entire wall of his study as a book, and he proudly corrected, "Who said that?" There are so many books that I can't fit on all four walls."
"There are a lot of books in the house. We are reading, teaching, writing, lecturing. Now, Wang Liqun spends most of his time on a major social science fund research project, "Notes on the School of Literature and Literature", and the final scale of the book is 30 million words. He politely declined many program invitations and interviews, "Doing research is my main business."
Wang Liqun's work "Appreciating Words Like the Wind". Courtesy of Elephant Press
Wang Liqun said that he has become a bit "home", except for the necessary activities to participate in, most of the rest of the time is not leaving home, staying at home to read books, write and write.
"There's a lot of socializing to cut. You have so much time to spend on something more meaningful and valuable. He does not shy away from the advent of aging, "life will always come to an end, and when I am in my eighties, the available time will be shorter, so I have to make good use of it now."
He plans to publish another book, including comments that could not be presented in the "Chinese Poetry Conference", "because the editing is needed, some of the content is not reflected, I want to tell you how beautiful classical poetry is."
I have experienced the fame brought by TV programs, but Wang Liqun still focuses on academics, "The most valuable and meaningful thing for me is to write books and do research, if you can provide many things that the ancients and modern people have not talked about, then as long as it can be preserved, there will always be people watching it in the future." (End)