The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

   "Mr. Zhou, Mr. Zhou!"

   Zhou Hexuan had not yet stepped out of the school gate when he heard someone calling him from behind. Turning his head to look, it was a young man wearing glasses. He smiled and asked, "Hello, what's the matter?"

   "My name is Shen Congwen, and I especially like Mr. Zhou's works." Shen Congwen said.

   Zhou Hexuan smiled and said, "It turned out to be Mr. Shen. I have read the article you wrote."

  Shen Congwen couldn't help himself: "Mr. also knows me?"

   "Of course, Zhimo and the others have a good opinion of you." Zhou Hexuan said.

  Shen Congwen likes chasing stars and chasing literary superstars. He grew up poor and became independent at the age of 13. He worked as a soldier, worked as a clerk, and even became a gangster for a while, and he had nothing to do with progressive youth.

   It was not until he was exposed to new ideas at Peking University that Shen Congwen really woke up. He admired those talented and famous writers, tried to write letters to Lu Xun, Yu Dafu, Xu Zhimo and others for advice, learned writing step by step, and finally formed his own unique style of writing.

   Today's Shen Congwen is just a small character who has just emerged, and it is even difficult to support himself. For the first two months, he lived in a dormitory renovated from a broken temple.

  Hu Yepin and Ding Ling also caught up and introduced themselves enthusiastically. Everyone knew each other.

   "Mr. Zhou's words just now, are you serious?" Hu also frequently asked.

   "Which words?" Zhou Hexuan said.

  Hu Yepin said: "Students are prohibited from promoting progressive ideas on the campus of Peking University."

   Zhou Hexuan smiled and said, "Please add the word 'public'. If they discuss it privately, I can't control it."

   As soon as these words came out, Hu Yepin, Ding Ling, and Shen Congwen all laughed, and the little dissatisfaction in their hearts was completely put down.

  When writers meet, they naturally want to talk about literature. Hu Yebin asked: "Mr. Zhou's "Goddess" has a strange style of writing, which is very different from the current novels. Can you talk about this way of creation?"

   Zhou Hexuan did not answer directly, but instead asked: "Where is the foundation of Chinese literature?"

   The three were stopped, they never thought about it.

   Zhou Hexuan asked again: "What do you rely on to create novels?"

  Shen Congwen thought for a while and said: "What you have seen, heard and felt, and then use your imagination, learn from other people's writing methods, and combine your own characteristics to create."

  Ding Ling said: "I'm similar to Congwen, I just create based on reality and express my thoughts. Mr. Lu Xun has a great influence on me. I have listened to his "History of Chinese Fiction" at Peking University."

  Hu Ye Channel: "I am influenced by foreign works, such as Ibsen, Tolstoy and other famous artists."

After the three of them finished speaking, Zhou Hexuan smiled and said, "What you are talking about is only the literary form. The foundation of my question is the cultural core, which comes from the education we have each received. What is education? Education is what is left after you forget what you have learned. Something. It's ingrained into your soul, and it manifests itself, flowing between the lines of what you write, possibly without you even realizing it."

   This sentence is too mysterious, and Shen Congwen and others couldn't help but start thinking.

  The Sun brothers have followed up long ago and are standing beside them at this moment.

  Sun Yonghao asked in a low voice, "Brother, what are you talking about? I don't understand a word."

   "It's okay if you don't understand, don't think blindly." Sun Yongzhen rolled his eyes and said that his injury had fully recovered, and he was a lively man again.

   "Education is to forget what's left after what you've learned..." Ding Ling pondered this sentence over and over again, she felt it made sense, it seemed to capture the essence, but it was difficult to put it out in words.

  Hu Yepin said suddenly: "Mr. Zhou's 'what's left' should refer to a person's spirit, including character, belief, thought, attitude, style, etc."

"It can also be understood in this way," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, "Education is not just about imparting ideas and knowledge, its essence is actually shaping people. Different educations, different people's spiritual outlooks are shaped. This education is not only about Refers to schools and books, but also includes family education from childhood, and the impact of society as a whole on people."

Ding Ling was surprised and praised: "Mr. Zhou is the real educator, and he explains the essence of education in one sentence. Just as Mr. said, the old-fashioned literati who were influenced by traditional feudal education are often stale and conservative in thinking. And students who have received new-style education, But he has a broad horizon and is easy to accept new things and new ideas. But what does this have to do with literary creation?"

Zhou Hexuan explained: "What is literature? Literature is an art that uses language as a tool to visually reflect reality and express the spiritual world of writers. The spiritual world of writers must be cultivated by education. Whether you admit it or not, it is influenced by a lot of traditional Chinese feudal culture, it is something you can’t throw away, and it will definitely be revealed in your works.”

  Hu also frequently said: "We can work hard to get rid of the old and promote the new!"

"Why do you want to get rid of it?" Zhou Hexuan laughed, "Old culture is not necessarily all dross, and the "Fiction Monthly" is still sorting out the national history. Do you need to throw away these things? The world and people in "Book of Changes", It’s even integrated into Pai Gow and Mahjong. The chopsticks we usually use also pay attention to the harmony between man and nature, so everyone has given up and used Western knives and forks?”

  Ding Ling said anxiously, "Mr. Zhou, what are you trying to say?"

Zhou Hexuan said: "What I want to say is that the foundation of Chinese writers writing novels is Chinese characters, and each Chinese character brings together the ideological wisdom of the Chinese nation. We can learn from the West in terms of literary form, but why can't the cultural core maintain nationality? China There are too many creative themes, it is a big treasure house, and you can bring out the old and bring forth the new when you turn it over.”

  Ding Ling and Hu Yebin were still thinking about it, but Shen Congwen suddenly shouted happily: "I understand, I understand!"

   "What do you understand?" Hu also frequently asked.

Shen Congwen made an inference: "Mr. Zhou means that literature has a national character, and ideological progress must be made, but the form of expression can be kept in line with the old. The traditional culture we have been exposed to since childhood can be used, including those folklore, Myths and stories. This is not only conducive to expression, but also convenient for readers to accept. I know which way I should go. I grew up in Xiangxi, where is my spiritual home. Why should I imitate others? I can write what I am familiar with story!"

   Well, Zhou Hexuan has completely accepted this comprehension.

  It is no wonder that Shen Congwen, a gangster, can grow into a generation of literary giants just by listening to classes at Peking University for a few days.

  Hu Yepin and Ding Ling, although they were not convinced by Zhou Hexuan's theory, they also felt that it was very reasonable. Isn't the popular "local literature" rooted in the soil of traditional culture?

"My book "Goddess" actually uses the traditional Chinese theory of ghosts and gods to build an illusory and real world. It is magical and realistic. I call it magical realism," Zhou Hexuan laughed and laughed at himself. , "This can be regarded as the establishment of a sect."

   "Magic realism, a very interesting name." Ding Ling couldn't help but smile.

   Zhou Hexuan asked about the current situation of the three of them. After learning that they were full-time writers, he immediately sent an invitation, hoping that they could go to Tianjin to help run the newspaper.

  Ding Ling and Hu Yepin politely refused. They have many friends in Peiping and have no plans to go to Tianjin for the time being. Shen Congwen said he had to think about it, he wanted to learn more from Zhou Hexuan, and at the same time he wanted to find a serious and stable job.

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