Chapter 2 Light up the blue light in the depths of time

Lei Shurong There is a well-placed restraint in Bei Dao's prose.Take it easy.concise.firm.Seeing that it was about to reach the point of play, it stopped abruptly, which can be called precision. "The Blue House" is like this, "The Book of Failure" is like this, and it is even more so when it arrives (Jiangsu Literature and Art Publishing House, January 2008 edition).He is telling stories, stories of all kinds of people, poets, writers, translators, masters, ordinary people, Chinese, foreigners, all kinds of passers-by he encountered while wandering around the world.He stood far away, his expression could not be seen, only his voice could be heard.The voice is also flat, without sensationalism, just like hearing the water rushing past - it is a river formed by words.His background is not Chinese red, European blue, or American green, but a blue lantern with a little flame and flickering shadows, illuminating the gloom around.It is a poem written by Bei Dao to the famous Sinologist Wakeman. The poem reads: "Beauty is like a cloud / escorts the inner voyage / the green light opens the corner of the dream / you hold the flame with your hand / turn into heavy snow".The prose of the same name is also commemorating Wakeman who died not long ago. It describes the personality and mind of a master historian, as well as his lonely evening. Bei Dao wrote, "He only cares about lighting a green light in the dark depths of history. ".

The image of the blue lantern is often synonymous with escaping into Buddhism, such as the blue lantern of the ancient Buddha, such as the blue lantern and the yellow scroll.This is probably also the state of Bei Dao when he was writing.Bei Dao said that his prose is a reflection of middle-aged mentality, which is related to psychological factors such as hormones, blood pressure and heart rate. know.A poet who has been wandering for a long time, a person who walks all over the world, a person who takes Chinese as his luggage, and a person who is ready to go home at any time. He has experienced the fierceness and whirlwind speed of the storm, and now he maintains the most suitable for himself. Rhythm—the rhythm of the journey, the rhythm of the language, the rhythm of memory, that is, relaxed, deliberate, and at the same time maintaining a moderate level of alertness and enthusiasm.

Like most poetry lovers, I was once moved by the rhythm of Bei Dao’s poems, copied and recited him; then he wandered abroad and forgotten him; when he came back by writing and publishing a book, I read him again, Still moved by him—this time in prose rhythm.As one of his readers, my expectation for Bei Dao is that, as a special symbol of the times, no matter how long or how far he has traveled, no matter how complicated his cultural situation is, and no matter where he ends up, he should Come back and give us an explanation, talk about the scenery and people he saw; in other words, Bei Dao’s prose should have a certain function, that is, to record and salvage some people and emotions that are kept secret for us , Some marginal people, foreigners, some special people, they used to be enthusiastic participants of an era, but the changes of time and society have changed the direction and ending of their destiny. Bei Dao has seen and witnessed it.One of the themes of the received articles is memory.The so-called old friends include new old friends and old friends, some who are still alive, and some who have passed away. Feng Yidai in "The Story of Listening to the Wind Tower" is very impressive. In Bei Dao's works, he is his guide and supporter during his growth, a translator, a scholar, and a hopeless romantic. He left Bei Dao The last scene is a pair of helpless bare feet exposed under the sheet.When Bei Dao wrote about him, he was not particularly sad. What he did was write down the year-end friendship between them, so as to comfort the dead and comfort himself on his wandering journey. Cai Qijiao in "A Long Journey" is almost a comic character written in Bei Dao. His poems, style, straightforwardness, cuteness, and stubbornness have brought to life a vivid image of the Chinese poetry circle. silhouette.When recalling Cai Qijiao, Bei Dao wrote: We think we are advancing with the times, but in fact we are constantly retreating, back to where we started.He kept stepping back, restoring the original memory of his old man—why wasn't he restoring himself.

Another theme is wandering: a wandering poet, a homeless person, a cultural observer, wandering between airports, between various poetry readings, and between universities , among friends and relatives.According to Bei Dao, it is "between departure and arrival, between farewell and reunion, between virtuality and reality, between life and death".After going abroad for 20 years, Bei Dao did not become a businessman, a scholar, or other things like most Chinese who went abroad, but still insisted on his identity as a Chinese poet-this burden alone is unimaginable.Bei Dao said in "Travel Notes", "My parents are dying, my children are wandering with me, the country is changing, the beauty is fading, but I am determined to go my own way." I think, if I don't regard poetry as my life, I will never have such a conscious commitment .Therefore, another function of Bei Dao's prose is to serve as the poetic background of an excellent poet. This is not only a way for us to become a poet, but also an important channel for poets to return to their mother tongue culture through poetry.Bei Dao's travel notes record the current situation of the world's poetry circles from the perspective of a Chinese poet: the great masters have gone, and the poetry circles are few and far between. "Chile Notes" records South American poetry and poets in turbulent times: the old Pala, Neruda's luxurious former residence, the fate of the Allende family, the young poet Saguio, and the Colombian poet Haro "Amorous Cactus" is a trip to a poetry recital at an American university, "West Wind" describes the image of an American poetry publishing house; "Ikey in Bereut" tells the fate of a Russian poet.Reading the travel notes of Bei Dao, I thought of Trakl’s poem, “soul, a foreigner on the earth”——Bei Dao’s itinerary is not only a wandering of the body, but also a wandering of the soul, and even more of a wandering of poetry.In a world that pursues entertainment and fast food, poetry, as an art, has long since had no branches to rely on, no land to live in, and no home to return to.Bei Dao said that in a perfect night of pursuing materialization and globalization, his book is a kind of sinking, a kind of degradation.In my opinion, it is more of a lonely persistence.

Bei Dao, who is now a guest teacher in Hong Kong, positions himself this way: If China is a painting, then Hong Kong is the blank space of this painting, and I am a drop of ink that was accidentally spilled in this blank space.This drop of ink was turned into a blue lamp by Bei Dao, the light was shining brightly, flickering in a perfect night of materialization and globalization, in the depths of a poetic passage.What it illuminates is not the poet's complicated memories, nor his journey back home, but a person, a stranger, a person who dominates the world.Bei Dao also wrote about him:

Bring the wine to the wind/You grow old with China/The promenade runs through the spring and autumn/The stranger at the gate/Slamming the door knocker This stranger is time.