Sun Li's "secret" of reading

Author: Gong Li (Professor, College of Literature, Hebei Normal University)

Sun Li "has a strong, long-term accumulation, professional love for books", love books, reading, buying books, collecting books, wrapping books, writing books, and "forming an indissoluble relationship with books" throughout his life, "because I especially love books, books have become a thing of life and death".

Reading requires a state of mind. "One person in the room. The high candles stand side by side, the courtyard is silent, the wall clocks ring, the books are repaired, and let them reverie", such a fairy-like day, Sun Li enjoyed. "Children in the courtyard chase and throw, sometimes go out hooligans, hand-crank a big slingshot, stroll through the courtyard, Gu Pan Zixiong, hustle and bustle, the universe is chaotic", no matter how noisy the surrounding world is, Sun Li is still the same, reading behind closed doors. However, sometimes Sun Li was helpless, "during these few days, there must be no quiet, where can you seek the art of calming, and Yu will not hesitate to seek it in the mountains and fires."

Reading, to persevere, can not give up lightly, "choose a book, I will carefully read it." It's rare to give up halfway." Even in a very special period, Sun Li's habit of reading books was still thunderous, "Recently, family troubles have been disturbed, and earthquakes have been carried out, and the habit of reading books on weekdays has been suspended for nearly two months." Last night there was another tremor, the same courtyard was noisy, Yu was paralyzed, stayed in the room, read this book, and wished to read the articles and poems loved by the calligrapher, so he took it out of the cabinet, measured the paper and cut it, and if the ground was shaken, everything was buried. Fortunately, peace is still a joy in life. "Family troubles, and earthquakes", it is important to save your life, where is the mood to pack books and read? However, Sun Li did not lose his square inch because of the chaos, and his heart was calm, and he quietly read the Interpretation of the Three Xi Tang Fa Ti.

To read, we must "choose the good and follow it."

To read books that interest you, books that suit you, "I have read, you do not necessarily read, nor do you necessarily like. There are so many good books I haven't read. And when I read, I never had a plan, I encountered something to read or something. Among them, some books are indeed beneficial to reading, some books cannot be read, and some books have been read but have not gained anything. ”

Read books that match your temperament. Sun Li mentioned in his letter to Tie Ning, "No matter how big a writer is, it cannot be said that he can meet everyone's taste. For example, Maupassant and Turgenev, I know their short stories are good, especially Maupassant, his short stories, that is really the most standard. However, I know that it is good, and I have read some of it, but it is not as in line with my temperament as I read the short stories of Pushkin and Gorky. I don't know what books you have there, just examples. That's all that comes to mind today. If you read a like-minded person, it is no harm to read him more, whether it is a long or short story. Turgenev's short stories, I don't like much, but I love to read his long stories. I advise you to read them one by one, and they will surely fascinate you. ”

Reading books is to pay attention to methods. "Reading, you should write down your feelings at any time on the brow of the book, after reading a book, or after reading a chapter, you should write down the main points of the content and your post-reading opinions after the chapter for future reference", Sun Li was in high school, "in a practice book, with a fly head xiaokai, diligently alum to make notes for reading "Feuerbach" and other philosophical works." Good memorability is not as good as bad writing, Sun Li reminded us: "Read and read a place that you particularly like, and then copy it down." Copying once is more effective than reading ten times."

The Reading Essays of the Cultivating Hall, the Secretary of theOry, the Inscriptions of the Cultivating Hall, the Records of the Books and The Records of the Reading Works are the by-products of Sun Li's reading and book-packing, and these "fragments of the impression of reading" are all fine works in the reading of the secretaries, just like Chen Yuan's "Strolling in the Forest of Books", Tang Tao's "Obscure Shushu", and Huang Bao's "Yuxia Storytelling". Sun Li's reading is not to go and see the flowers, but to "combine his own creation and life experience, read carefully, chew carefully, and taste his own taste in ordinary books" (Wu Taichang). If you don't like it, Sun Li will also express his feelings very bluntly. For example, Ruan Yuan's "Small Canglang Pen Talk", he unceremoniously criticized, "The works of this great figure also pretend to be a posture and make a statement for the sage Tianzi." This man's reputation is so prominent, with his residence as a great official, Yu Shu does not see the best of his poetry and literature. The same as 'Wen Da', his writing is not as far away as Ji Xiaolan's. ”

In order to read, Sun Li bought a lot of books, "buying books is like the growth of vines, I don't know where to go." Visiting book stalls, mail-order books, whether it is bibliographic books, jingbu books, history books, sub-books, jibu books, or Nongsang animal husbandry flower books, Jinshi art picture books, Sun Li has a collection. I like the book, there is more than one version, "'The World Speaks New Language', I have four kinds of books, in addition to the two kinds of photocopies of the Ming Dynasty, as well as the photocopy of the Tang dynasty, and the later engraving of the Sixian Lecture House. There are also four editions of the Taiping Guangji: lithographs, small woodblocks, Ming Dynasty photocopies, and recent typesetting. "Dream of the Red Chamber" and "Water Margin", there are also several types of versions, including the original version and the Guanhuatang version. Of course, not all of the books in his collection are what he likes to read. Sometimes, even if you don't use it, you have to buy it and hide it. For example, in Yu Fan's "Ping discussion of the Sons", Sun Li also knew that "this is the scholarship of the Qing Dynasty." Scholars have devoted their lives to doing it", but "reading it today, I am drowsy." There are no less than a few such books purchased in surplus, and they will be abandoned for a long time. ”

Sun Li has a lot of books, some people want to borrow them, for different books, he has different ways of dealing with them. If it is a book of little use and dislike, he "would rather give it to others than return it"; but if it is "the book to be used, that is, the so-called collection of books", he is "unwilling to lend it out". There are exceptions, though, "Even if I love a book, I can be generous at a special time." For example, after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, many comrades came to my house to get books. At present, the great enemy is in danger of losing his life, so why not take out the books, increase their knowledge, and add a little strength to the anti-Japanese resistance? Wang Lin, Lu Yi, and Chen Qiao all opened my book box and picked out books. Some look at it themselves, some choose useful materials, and mimeographs circulate. These books were all bought by me from middle school, wandering in Beiping, teaching with the same mouth, and cutting down on food and clothing, and I regretted my life on weekdays. ”

Sun Li has a good love for books, and from childhood he has developed the habit of loving books, "the dirty ones are pure, the folded ones are flat", "When you encounter a beloved book, you must first protect it, and then look comfortable and assured". He enjoys the process of wrapping books, "whenever I sit at the table and wrap books, my mood is very calm and very pleasant." On February 5, 1975, Sun Li packed Jiang Ruizao's "Novel Examination" in the morning, and in the afternoon, he wanted to pack "Novel Branches", "Suffering did not get the leather paper wrapped for this book". There are always more ways than difficulties, "suitable for the Propaganda Department of the Municipal Party Committee spring festival condolences to the sick number, carry a package of fruit, that is, this paper also." Yu Urgently dumped the fruit and cut it", the problem was solved easily. When there is a shortage of paper, we will try everything to solve it, but what should we do when there is a surplus of paper? Ran Huaizhou sent Sun Li a roll of paper, which has been wrapped in a line for nearly a hundred books, and there are still many leftovers, "If the paper is not exhausted, then the heart cannot be at ease." Looking for books and cutting paper, not supervising self-encouragement, this habit force also. There is also no plan, and the package is not like a lottery. Now that the paper is exhausted, it can be stopped. As Sun Li himself said, "Love of books has become a fetish, and now packaging has become a fetish, and this magic disease is also." Bao shu is not a unique habit of Sun Li, he wrote on April 18, 1975 in the "Xiao Li Ji Nian" on the clothes: "Yu Middle School with the window Zhang Yanfang, Xiongxian people, after buying the book, it will be packaged." Yu Jinzhi, this person does not know where. ”

Sun Li "only for books, can not forget the feelings", he likes to read books without restraint, only so "particularly impressive, fun is also the greatest"!

This paper is the phased result of the General Project of the National Social Science Foundation of China "Sun Li's Long Genealogy Compilation" [19BZW125].

Guangming Daily (2021-04-30, 16th edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily