The interview with Granny Cai ended much faster than expected. Su Che originally thought that he could find the kind of things about human nature that he had been looking forward to here, but he did not expect that Granny Cai's unique belief was not understandable by ordinary people.
, it’s not even possible to share it with anyone.
Although she repeatedly emphasized that she had been living in the "suffering of survival" for many years, Su Che could see that it was far more than "suffering" that could support a woman to watch her husband for more than sixty years, because pure pain would
When a person is driven completely crazy, hope is the only thing that makes a person strong.
At the end of the interview, Su Che wrote something in his diary.
"Perhaps she suffers every day because of her survival, but hope is still the most powerful force that supports her through the years of loneliness. Hope is beautiful, and may even be the best good in the world!"
The last part of this passage quotes a classic line from "The Shawshank Redemption".
When most people are transformed by the high wall, from hatred and disgust at the beginning to confusion and hopelessness, and finally to dependence and inability to live without it, the male protagonist in "The Shawshank Redemption" has been looking forward to regaining it.
Freedom, it was this hope that he had endured silently for many years, giving him the strength to crawl through a filthy sewer the size of two football fields, and regain his freedom!
…
After staying on the island for a day and following his junior student Liu Mengyan to visit his grandfather, Su Che embarked on the road of searching for people again, but this time he did not need to sail a boat to sea, let alone cross mountains and mountains.
, he booked a flight for three days later and will fly to Moscow, where he will interview an old man who is over seventy years old - Li Ainian.
Li Ainian is a well-known writer. Unfortunately, at the most critical moment, he made a "very low-level" mistake. From then on, the writer environment in domestic society no longer had a place for him. He had no choice but to move his family to Moscow.
, to find his brother in Moscow.
Since then, Mr. Li has lived in Moscow for thirteen years.
Over the past thirteen years, Mr. Li has published his works on major domestic media platforms almost every day, but without exception, his works will soon be criticized by a large group of people. It seems that people will never be able to forgive him for publishing his works in the past thirteen years.
The mistakes he made before include Su Che.
Although he was still young at the time, he probably heard that Li Ainian's writings violated the taboos of the Chinese people. In his works, he satirized people's hypocritical kindness, and said that all these well-intentioned actions were just for the sake of society.
A kind of blindness of overall giving.
In order to prove that what he said was right, he also gave many examples.
It's a pity that in that era when the whole country was working together, his thoughts were too extreme. Not only did he go against the general trend of society, he even publicly quarreled with major domestic writer communities on media platforms.
The courage of one against many is valuable, but the result is tragic.
All of his articles have been removed from the shelves, and he himself has been "driven out" of his homeland. Now he can only live in a foreign country relying on the "charity" of his relatives.
Su Che hesitated for a long time when he chose Li Ainian as one of his interview subjects. He was also worried that he would be implicated, but in the end he mustered up the courage to get on the plane to Moscow because he wanted to know why Li Ainian made such a statement in the first place.
Such an "unsociable" voice.
…
When they arrived in Moscow, someone had already come to pick them up. This time there was no fuss. Not long after Su Che got off the plane, he met Mr. Li Ainian and his lover in the reserved coffee shop.
But when the interview started, his lover went out, leaving only Su Che and Li Ainian.
Sitting across from each other, Su Che asked directly without any nonsense: "Among writers, you are one of the first to be electrocuted. Your novel "Blue Seagull" was adapted into the movie "The Land of the Fall", which made you enter the literary circle."
The public eye, and later "Headwind" consolidated this effect, which made you famous and became a hot "high-paid writer", but as far as I know, you didn't seem very happy at the time, and you even appeared in a movie
When faced with rude questions from reporters during the announcement, you just chose to leave, right?"
"Yes, this matter has brought up the murder case of writers and movies. When it comes to this topic, probably many writers, like me, feel an uncomfortable and awkward mood. Usually public opinion will treat this simple knowledge
Property rights transactions are complicated. In such a trading center, people's judgment underestimates the writer because of the strength of the film, or the strength of the embodied performing arts. The writer seems to have suddenly become a vested interest and a initiator.
I went to the market to sell vegetables with my basket, and luckily I met a vegetable farmer with a big boss. In fact, most writers have never been to the market. I myself hate pure market behavior. It feels like a dancing girl in some places.
It's the same as walking on stage to show off oneself and letting people below judge and pay for it, but that's not the case. Writers may grow vegetables, but they were originally good and peaceful people who grew vegetables in their own yards, but the market
After the transformation, a group of people suddenly came. They walked to the garden, pointed at the vegetables in the garden, and specifically said which place they wanted. If you
No, they will still be angry, and you can only look inexplicably embarrassed. Of course, there are some vegetable farmers who think that they have won so many vegetables that they can't finish them anyway, so they sell them. Selling to them is better than selling to them.
The price was good in the town, which was the only benefit for the vegetable farmers at that time. The following things were all developed. For example, a kind of instant food that was popular recently became very popular. Everyone mentioned the origin of this instant food by the way, but this was not a good thing for the vegetable farmers.
Has life changed? Not at all. The vegetable farmer still cultivates his own land, and his vegetables still have to be sold to the town and eaten silently by unknown people. I only give these examples to accurately describe my role in such events.
Li Ainian’s example is very interesting, especially for Su Che, who has always been confused whether his creation is a display of his inner self or a kind of creation to satisfy external needs.
It is a kind of market behavior. Now it seems that he is still far behind Mr. Li, because he does not even have a vegetable plot of his own.
"I remember that you were very popular during those days, and you were a bit like an idol in the entertainment industry. Do you think it was the movies that made you influential among the public?"
"Your metaphor is very interesting. Idols... it reminds me of many famous stars, but I don't have such an 'idol' memory. I have always been clear about my requirements. I am who I am.
Whether it is life or writing, I have enough introspective ability and am used to independent self-examination. Therefore, I do not agree with the successes and failures summarized for me by others. Just like now, although I am forced to live in Moscow, I
I don't think I'm a 'loser', on the contrary, I think my thoughts are respected and it plays its due role, so...my satisfaction and criticism of myself must first come from self-judgment. As for what you said
Movies, the influence it brings to me will eventually return to movies. In fact, it does not belong to me. It is a recreation based on my works. What truly belongs to me are those who do not remember the movie but remember me.
Readers of his works, after all, no movie can be screened every day, and a writer's writing is a lifelong endeavor, maybe one sentence can be passed down for thousands of years." Mr. Li's mental state is excellent, and he seems to have a kind of neither humble nor overbearing that penetrates into his bones.
, he was confident and calm, and did not choose to resist silently, nor was he hysterical. He spoke his thoughts calmly, which made Su Che feel thunderous.
Su Che nodded and continued: "In the late 1970s, in contrast to your star-like popularity, your literary writing seemed to be getting less and less. Although your works can still be seen, there are obviously no
You no longer have the momentum of a powerful advance before, why is this?"
“In the late 1970s, because I often traveled with my lover, and I could re-recognize the era and the planet I lived in every day, my interest in short stories became increasingly strong, which made me basically give up writing novels and novels.
, thus giving people the impression of reducing production. I can't convince others to read more short stories or simply read more of my short stories, but I do want to say that people generally underestimate the significance and value of short stories, and most people even think that their short length is very
It’s difficult to tell a profound story completely, but in my opinion, compared to long stories, short stories are more like chamber music, or like the music in the bar atmosphere we are in now, it can be a trio
Whether it is a quartet or a solo, it makes people focus on the melody itself and the passion and skills of the performer. What is even more precious is that it will not disturb your appreciation of life because it is too profound. It is like a flavoring agent.
He is not the protagonist, but he is indispensable. Therefore, the momentum of a powerful rush is certainly a praiseworthy reading experience. A short story can also hide a deep power, but it cannot cope with the demand for momentum. The main energy is used to develop short stories.
Writing is necessarily uneconomical, but I personally have loved reading short stories since I was a student, and now I like writing short stories, which has also added a lot of new ideas and fun to my personal life, which can be regarded as a kind of complex." Mr. Li said.
While I was talking, there were actually people in the bar singing love songs with melodious accompaniment whose lyrics I couldn’t quite understand. Those tunes and songs that are simple in content but tug at your heartstrings can leave a deep impression on you when you care and concentrate.
, but when you don’t care about it, it won’t take over and make people feel irritated. It is just so “dispensable”, never taking the initiative, but it is fascinating.
"Some people say that your popularity back then was due to you becoming frivolous and overly self-centered, and it was you who took the initiative to cut off your connection with society as a whole. Do you think that's the case?"
"If my writing stance has changed, it has nothing to do with whether it is popular or not. For example, with works like "The Blue Seagull" you just mentioned, I was very satisfied at one stage, but completely dissatisfied at the other.
, I do not regard it as a high level in my novels. You must know that my "Blue Seagull" was not the only article that satirized the self-destructive advancement of human civilization at the same time. Those articles that were affected by human beings' welfare became weird.
It’s not just seagulls, but ourselves... Personally speaking, maybe the complex I wrote in "The Blue Seagull" is more tense and expressive, so it is more suitable to be put on the screen, but in fact, I
I prefer the novel "Heart City" written by a female writer of the same period. "Heart City" does not like my "Blue Seagull", whose protagonist is
An office girl, all storylines are related to her. There is neither fierce conflict nor confrontation between good and evil to cover up or expose the truth. She is an unclear individual, the rise of a chaotic individual in the social tide.
Ups and downs, the last part of "Heart City" is just the girl running barefoot on the bridge. She doesn't even have the courage to jump to end the farce. She chooses to live simply because she can't let go of her cat.
Such a complex may be able to touch the hearts of some people, but it cannot shake the perspective of every audience through the picture. Therefore... "Heart City" was not made into a movie, but my "Blue Seagull" was put on the screen.
...But actually, I like "Heart City" a little more. It's like you accidentally saw a wild flower in the garden. Its petals are not big enough, not bright enough, and it has no fragrance, but your eyes just light up.
, I couldn't help but squat down and say hello to it. Many people don't have that kind of 'artificiality', and naturally they can't feel it." Mr. Li used "artificiality" to describe the delicate touches of life, which surprised Su Che a little,
He saw the "shy" side of Mr. Li, which was strange but normal. Su Che suddenly felt that Mr. Li Ainian in front of him was actually very close to him and had never been far away.
"That is to say, you actually don't value your writing posture as much as people think, do you?"
"My later writing did not presuppose a writing posture. I did not betray anyone because I never swore allegiance to anyone. As I said before, I often regard myself as a river. A river Its mission is to just flow, to flow as much as it wants. It doesn’t have to think about where it enters the sea. Maybe it’s in the wrong direction and it’s exiled. The water enters the desert and it becomes an inland river. It doesn’t matter. A life of writing It’s always good, and that’s enough for me.”
"There is now a large emerging writer community in China, which has been very active in the past few years. There are several factions in this community, including Shen Cong's 'Algorithm' faction and Han Sheng's 'Monument' faction. These two factions There are declarations and actions, and it is always lively. Of course, there are also people like you, who are not from any faction. You just write your own things and publish them. You rarely interact with other writers in China, and you don’t appreciate them. Them?"
"Part of the writer community that has arisen recently in China is composed of people from the original Writers Association, such as Shen Cong, Han Sheng, etc., as well as myself, Liu Yanxu, and Guo Dongwen who are freelancers. Naturally, I interact and compare with Liu Yanxu and Guo Dongwen. More and more communication. I am not a person who loves loneliness, but I am not a person who likes to socialize. If others have the impression that I do not belong to any school and that I am a loner, this should be a good thing for me, but It’s definitely not a good thing that I don’t appreciate other people’s writers from the same city. China is a place of crouching tigers, hidden dragons, not Yelang Kingdom, but I have always maintained a quiet attitude towards my colleagues around me, and I just want to deal with interpersonal relationships best. The best way is not to deal with it. If this is sophistication, then the starting point of this sophistication must be good and healthy. This is very important."
"'Algorithm' is about to become an old word now, but more than ten years ago you were regarded as the most revolutionary 'algorithm' writer, but at that time your revolution was a bit isolated, but Now... in the blink of an eye, you have been classified into the mainstream group again. The mainstream is the group that has the right to speak after becoming famous. Do you accept the term 'mainstream writers'?"
"I understand that 'algorithm' this time is more about dismantling and explaining a templated state of creation. In fact, someone has proposed earlier that in the near future, more than 90% of writers will be replaced by machines. Because most works can be created according to a fixed template or routine, this actually means that the 'algorithm' will innovate the nature of creation. However, if the literary world is regarded as a marathon competition, then the 'algorithm' will only It can be regarded as a tireless runner who will eventually finish the race. Its pace is always fixed and completed by copying others. These factors do not necessarily mean that it will eventually win, just like You are sitting across from me now, and I am accepting your interview. Of course, you can ask me according to a fixed routine, and I can also answer according to a fixed routine that suits my personal temperament. We can also use algorithm to complete this meeting, but in fact, you don’t know what stories I want to say, and I don’t quite know the actual focus of the questions you asked me, and what did you read from my stories? This is something that algorithms cannot do yet. Moreover, the mainstream is not necessarily that scary. It seems to have a trace of **, and the same goes for algorithms. Before people realize and summarize it, don’t algorithms exist? Well? When we understand novels, we need to determine the time, place and other elements of the characters. These are actually the components of the algorithm, but can you say that it shouldn’t be such a mainstream thing? The world of literature is good in this way, but it is too big and not easy to talk about. There are rules, some are barefoot, some are wearing shoes, and some are wearing high heels and stilts. Everyone is walking around. Now I don’t really agree with the algorithm and the mainstream positioning. I just know how to walk together with everyone. I Where is the right to speak? I don’t seem to realize that I have the right to speak. I am used to listening, and I have learned to make my own decisions while listening. This has always been the right that I am really obsessed with!"