Chapter 4 preface to a memoir

This is the second time I have read this memoir, and I still like it very much. When I read it for the first time, it was still a private memory written by the author Bowe to himself and circulated among few friends.When he wrote it, he had no intention of publishing it.I guess, the reason why he was faintly impulsive and couldn't help picking up the pen was that he had reached the age of nostalgia. Everyone experiences nostalgia, but there is something special about Burway.I was amazed by his talent, which is something indescribable—sensitivity, observation, super memory, and the kind of energy that are easy to think about since he was an ignorant toddler.

I first read the memories written by Bowei out of curiosity—I once read a family memory written by a friend, which mentioned that a beautiful aunt of hers lived in a deep boudoir in a deep house in Yunnan, but was killed by a woman from Shanghai. "Little boy" "abducted".And Bo Wei is the fruit of this romantic history.Reading Bowei's words, one can read his uniqueness and the continuation of this romantic marriage.His writing is peaceful and decent, which is just the expression of the upbringing given by his family and parents from a very deep place after passing through the rough years.Bowe inherited his parents' sense of humor, and according to him, he always has a particularly good memory for funny things.Therefore, the tortuous life experience did not wear away his talent, but enriched his experience, enabling him to look back on history and life from his own unique perspective at a mature age.That makes Burway's memoir a good read.

After reading it, it is no longer the clues of the legend, but the historical scenes unfolded for us by Bowei with his ability to record and describe. Bo Wei was born in Nanjing before the Japanese occupation in 1935.The War of Resistance Against Japan, the Civil War, etc. that Bowe experienced were only a dozen or so years before we were born.But we have no chance to see it in person, we can only understand it from books.And what we read is often the "big stage" of modern dramas. Those important characters are up and down, the strong spotlights, and the blurring forces everything around them to retreat. What is omitted is the richest social life.Burway's vivid recollections of his early years teach us this lesson.This is a young man with a strong desire for knowledge narrates what he has seen and heard, whether it is the three religions or the various social conditions, it is vividly depicted.It seems to be scattered, but it is also affected by the convergence of the general trend of society and merged together.

Burway was about the same age as my brother, and his parents were the same generation as mine. During the Anti-Japanese War, after all the twists and turns, they came to Chongqing, the companion capital.After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, they all hurried back to Shanghai.Although their industries and situations are different, they all left their hometowns, ran the alarm to avoid bombs, and experienced the same lengthy suffering of being forced to turbulent and unstable asylum.I have heard their stories sporadically, but the past is like a handful of pearls, scattered by them on the way forward in a hurry.When we grow up, the lives of our parents and elder brothers are like trudging along the dry stream bed, and our energy and energy are gradually exhausted.They are tired of dealing with the present, no longer in the mood to find the lost past, and then strung up the bead chain, even if they occasionally pick up the past from the depths of the cage, it is just like a dim pearl, flashing faintly.

However, Bowe's memories are completely fresh, like talking about what just happened yesterday.His astonishing memory is certainly one reason, but more of it comes from his unfailing enthusiasm, like Today, he is still that beautiful boy who is curious about everything.Maybe it's the memory of the past that draws out his enthusiasm. I believe that when he talked about father, mother, younger brother, and younger sister, the family in his early years and the young relatives and friends at that time came alive again in his mind. Street scenes and neighbors also appeared vividly before his eyes.

Bowei grew younger in his memory.What keeps him young is also his affection for past ages that have passed.People used to live normally and down-to-earth. Families, neighborhoods, neighborhoods, and communities, regardless of family gatherings and dispersal, joys and sorrows, all happened between people, which is a tragedy and comedy in the world.But suddenly everything began to change, and the relationship between people suddenly became the relationship between people and political forces.In the face of such a relationship, the individual is squeezed or even trampled flat.People are marked with symbols, and symbols determine your value.Just like the currency of that era, it must be accompanied by tickets when used. Without tickets, money is no longer money.People are ups and downs in the water, and they must reach out to salvage and snatch the symbol that marks the "revolution" before they sink.Without it, your sons, daughters, and grandchildren may turn their backs on you, not to mention your fellow countrymen.

Burwe carefully charts this transition.He himself, his family, and his life are a sample of society.The rich social background disappeared from Bowei's field of vision. The tender aunts and aunts, the suave uncles and nephews, all entered a remodeled mold.He who was originally sensitive, his gaze also became concentrated, the background on the stage began to move away and become blurred, and political conflicts became the center of focus.Bowei looked back at himself, a young man, with that label, he became a little unrecognizable, his anger became rough, and he began to conflict with his warm home.All this culminated in the death of my grandfather.I seem to see Bowei today, looking blankly at the self who rushed out of his mother's room angrily back then, and Qi Qimo asked: What's wrong with me?He wrote about the young man truthfully because at this age, he didn't want to deceive himself.Later, Bowei also lost that "revolutionary" label, and immediately lost its value, and has been abandoned by everyone since then.

This transformation is concrete.Bowei's memories started from nursery rhymes. He wrote down and sang the songs he heard, from childhood to youth.From these folk songs, we can clearly see social changes.The lyrics of childhood ballads are immature, but because they touch the warmth shared by all people, the poetic and literary meanings are at ease.The subsequent songs are adult, but because of utilitarian publicity needs, they have no relationship with "literature".This change is also reflected in the details of life recorded by Bo Wei: a society that should be colorful, but when it turns to an increasingly rough and red appearance, its heart becomes increasingly poor and pale.

We have experienced such an era, thinking that the inner paleness is the "simple class emotion" that is justified.It wasn't until the society changed again that we followed the laborious and confused "transformation".Unlike Bowe, they are older than us and retain more memories of "normal life" than us.Thinking back to that era, didn’t we rely on brothers like Bowei and our fathers to subtly convey something to us, so that we didn’t completely degenerate into apes.Bowei woke up from the nightmare and went through a "from ape to man" recovery again.However, it was no longer the young man with great ambitions who had recovered, his temples were already gray, and his loved ones in the warm world had wandered away.

I consider it a blessing to think that Berwicken wrote this memoir.As a result, people get a real and vivid historical record; the voices and smiles of their loved ones can be preserved, and they can put their hearts back to their original places. .