Literary works are choosing readers, readers are also choosing literary works, and reading is based on this mutual selection. What works readers will read depends not only on whether the works themselves are excellent, but also on their own experience and tastes.
As Lin Yutang said in "The Art of Reading", there are no books in this world that must be read, only books that are suitable for reading in specific circumstances and at a certain stage of life. Indeed, books cannot be read with a random copy, and a person's reading must have a stage.
But are there any works that are suitable for most stages of life? I think there must be, and they can make people read often, read different perceptions at different stages.
But I don't know when it began, the rise of "less do not read ... Old don't read...", and even "Men don't read... Women don't read...". Among them, the most popular is "less do not read Su Shi, old do not read Xin abandoned disease".
This overly absolute statement is really difficult to agree with. However, this also shows from the negative side that literary works have a subtle influence on people's minds.
Why does Su Shi make people think that young people should be afraid to avoid it? Their reason is that when young people read Su Shi, they are prone to falling into nothingness, coveting comfort, and losing the strength to fight.
If this is the case, then are our language teaching materials not misleading? Who has not read Su Shi's poems?
I think that the statement of "less do not read Su Shi" is not only very one-sided, biased, full of misunderstandings of Su Shi, but also underestimates the reader's ability to read and accept.
Su Shi in the first half of his life, Su Dongpo in the second half of his life, the "Wutai Poetry Case" is a turning point in Su Shi's life. Since then, he has been degraded all the way and his career has been precipitous. Under the blows again and again, he became more and more open-minded, looked down on fame and fortune, saw through the dream life, and enjoyed himself in the fireworks of the world and the mountains and rivers.
This is the Su Shi that most of us know and love, but this is not exactly Su Shi. He has not always been so "Buddhist", and he has also had the pride of making meritorious achievements, otherwise how could he become the founder of the bold word style?
Before Su Shi, Song Ci mostly wrote about the tender feelings of men and women, and the love of boudoir. Su Shi used words to express his pride and ambition, and with bold words, he boarded the word altar, bringing a strong and healthy wind to the word world.
Read his "and will try new tea with new fire." Poetry and wine take advantage of the years" ("Wangjiangnan, Transcendental Taizuo"), who does not want to seize the moment? Read his "will draw a bow like a full moon, looking northwest." Shooting the Wolf" ("Jiang Chengzi Mizhou Hunting"), who does not give birth to a thousand proud feelings? Are these the wills of depression?
It is true that Su Shi's words are more expressive, but these words do not make people depressed. Among the more than 350 words he left behind, there are more than 50 philosophical words that contain life insights. He often placed his thoughts on history and life in the natural landscape, writing otherworldly, like a worldly master.
In these words of Su Shi, we can see that his most basic outlook on life is that life is like a dream. "The world is like a dream", "The world is a big dream", "Ancient and modern is like a dream, He Zeng dreamed", "Everything is a dream at the end", "When you don't turn your head, you dream"... His life was full of ups and downs, and he often lamented that life was like a dream.
But he is clearly not a nihilist, does not deny the meaning of life, but can find pleasure in life. He loves food and loves landscapes, and every time he is relegated to a strange place, for him, what he has to do is not to go to the end, but to pay attention to and enjoy.
The fame and fortune that others have bothered to fight for are just clouds of nothingness to him. There is no contempt in his chest, what he has is a free heart and the boundless wind and moon in front of him.
Su Shi's thought is to melt Confucianism and explain the Tao in one furnace, and it can advance and retreat, so his life is neutral. He is both detached and obsessed with life. He puts one stage of life into the whole life, and then puts a person's limited life into the infinite history and universe, and he understands what life should pursue, that is, the meaning of life.
Boldness and openness are the tone and style of Su Shizi, and when we read his philosophical words, we will not feel low, but will gain a new perspective and height for contemplating life. Song Ren Yu Wenbao's "Blowing Sword Continued Record" Yun: "Bachelor's words, Su Kansai Han, copper pipa, iron plate, sing "The Great River Goes East". "Who would become depressed when they read a word like this that requires a big man to play a Lego song?"
Some people may feel that young people do not have the rich and bumpy life experience of Su Shi, but under his influence, they will lose their fighting spirit and avoid when they encounter a little difficulty. I would like to say that this is a bit more worrying, "less do not read Su Shi" is the biggest misunderstanding of Su Shi, the current young people need to read su Shi the most.
In Su Shi's words, what we are looking for is not a refuge, but only a chance to breathe, and the strength to continue to move forward. He told us that the adversity in front of us is only temporary, that there are many things to love in life, and that when we finally cross it, we will feel that there is nothing in fact.
The pressure on young people today goes without saying. When people are young, their eyes are easily blocked by the difficulties in front of them and become anxious, and Su Shi can help us to detach.