In 1975, in order to cultivate new literary talents, the editorial department of Shaanxi Literature and Art (later reverted to its original name of "Yanhe") selected young amateur writers in batches to participate in literary creation and editing work in the editorial department. Lu Yao and I, as college students, were also the first batch of literary youth drawn from the grassroots level, and it was at that time that we met.
We worked as editors as we wrote. Old writers are around, so they often get their guidance. Writer Du Pengcheng was expanding his novella "In The Days of Peace" into a long chapter at that time, and was in a difficult stage of creation, sometimes writing and tearing, tearing and writing again. This deeply touched Lu Yao. At that time, Lu Yao decided that without this kind of "self-torture" fierceness, it was impossible to produce good works. The writer Liu Qing was critically ill and hospitalized, and Lu Yao had visited him, and he had written an article recording that Liu Qing "used the fly head xiaokai more vigorously than ever to build the magnificent buildings that he had not completed and could not complete day and night." Lu Yao admired Liu Qing very much, Liu Qing has a novella called "Fierce Iron", and it turns out that Lu Yao is also this kind of fierce iron person.
"Ordinary World" originally had a 1 million word writing plan, and after the first part of more than 300,000 words was written, a seminar was held in Beijing, and as a result, most of the critics attending the meeting were critical, believing that the author's ideological concepts and novel writing methods were too old. This is undoubtedly a head-on blow for writers. And at that time, Lu Yao was already ill, in this case, could he grit his teeth and finish the remaining two parts? Ordinary people are afraid that it is difficult to do, but Lu Yao has done it with the fierceness of "self-torture".
Lu Yao inherited the spiritual heritage of Liu Qing, Du Pengcheng and other writers of the older generation, while retaining the disposition of peasants in northern Shaanxi to dare to fight against fate. For the peasants on the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi, spring is coming, and no matter whether the heavens are beautiful or not, they must go up the mountain and plan the ground to sow seeds, and there is no ambiguity. Where there is rain, there is a harvest; If there was no rain, the crops would have died of drought, and they would not regret that they had shed so much sweat and so much suffering on the land. This gene is retained in Lu Yao's body. If there was no rain in the drought, Lu Yao would not watch the seedlings wither and die, he would definitely carry the water one by one, pour the seedlings alive one scoop at a time, and wade out a way of life in a desperate situation. This is Lu Yao.
Lu Yao often compared peasants to farming to the labor of writers. He said: "Writing novels, it is also a kind of labor ... What it still needs is the sincere and simple qualities of the laborer and the spirit of suffering. It is precisely because of this understanding that he has worked hard in the field of literature with his blood and sweat, and has never slackened off. A phenomenon that deserves our deep appreciation is that whenever Lu Yao creates important works, he must return to the place where he was born and raised. "Life", "In Difficult Days", "Ordinary World", are all like this. This cannot be explained simply by avoiding the hustle and bustle of the city and reducing distractions in northern Shaanxi. An atmosphere closely related to this land, a precious character of honest labor for generations, and a firm belief that "the land will not lose people", are too important for Lu Yao's creation.
Today, modern technology brings great convenience to our lives and to the writing of writers, and writing as a labor or even as a "farming" side is gradually fading in some writers. When we lose the pain, hardship, hardship, and even helplessness that we can experience in creative labor, it is naturally difficult to experience the great happiness that ultimately comes with creation and harvest. On the other hand, Lu Yao cannot but feel respect. Lu Yao regarded the pen in his hand as a hammer, and with the honesty and diligence, stubbornness and hardship of the peasants, at the end of his 42 years, he reclaimed and harvested his mountain of fruits and fragrances. "Labor like an ox, dedicate like the land", this is Lu Yao's unchangeable creed throughout his life.
This honest labor attitude makes Lu Yao trusted and loved by the majority of readers. In 1988, the Central People's Radio continuously broadcast "Ordinary World", which caused great repercussions, and letters from listeners flew like snowflakes. In the years after Lu Yao's death, when communicating with young readers, I often felt that Lu Yao had not gone far, and new readers continued to draw spiritual strength from him.
In the article "Liu Qing in Critical Illness", Lu Yao wrote: "Please believe that as long as he is a most ordinary laborer, as long as he has received some useful teachings from your works and your own tenacious enterprising spirit, he will not use snoring to answer the demands of life!" We read Lu Yao, why not? (White Painting)