Chapter 114 Morning starts at noon (1) - Create "Ordinary World Essays"

Dedicated to my brother Wang Tianle In my creative life, there are hardly any real mornings.My mornings always start at noon.This is a habit that has been cultivated for many years.I know this habit is not good, and I have tried many times to correct it, but to no avail.This fulfills the old saying: old habits die hard.Since it can no longer be corrected, simply let it go.I'm a laissez-faire person when it comes to certain issues. Usually, I fall asleep around two to three in the morning, and sometimes it extends to four or five.The phenomenon of going to bed after dawn also happens from time to time.

Get up an hour before lunch, so the morning begins. The hour before lunch is very hectic.Start by smoking three or five cigarettes in a row.When I was working, I smoked two packs of cigarettes a day, which made my mouth and tongue feel bitter and numb, and I couldn't feel the smell of smoke at all.Sometimes when thinking or writing is particularly tense, even if you don't have time to smoke, you still have a burning cigarette in your hand.Therefore, a few cigarettes after sleep is simply a kind of fairy-like enjoyment. Wash your face well with hot soup water, followed by a cup of strong coffee, and prove that you have a real morning like everyone else.Only then did he fully wake up.

After lunch, I almost immediately threw myself on the desktop to work.I have never had the habit of taking a lunch break, which is like Westerners.I don't even understand that our government stipulates such a long nap time.When one thinks that the sun is rising in broad daylight, yet the 1.1 billion citizens of our country are all falling asleep at the same time, one cannot help but feel a certain sense of absurdity.I also thought that this is a traditional national habit, and it also belongs to the category of "accumulated habits that are difficult to attack", and I felt relieved as if I understood my own "accumulated habits".

The whole afternoon is the best time to work, except when going to the toilet, I hardly lift my head on the table.Until dinner, I will still be immersed in the afternoon work.One or two hours of leisure time after dinner, watching CCTV's half-hour news broadcast and reading the main newspapers of the day, this is the most comfortable moment of the day.At this time, the visit was not refused.At night, when people fall asleep again, my mind leaps again.If the task of the day is not completed in the afternoon, then work at the desk again until it is completed.Then, either go into reading (cross-reading multiple books at the same time), or think about tomorrow's work content and all kinds of endless questions throughout the book, and jot down the main points on paper and various special notebooks for later Think further.In many cases during this time, thoughts will leave the work, leave the reality in front of us, pass through the deep and silent night, pass through the tunnel of time, and flow in all directions without bounds.One should read a book before going to bed anyway, this is the best sleeping pill, until the book falls out of the hands automatically after falling asleep.

When I woke up at noon the next day, it was a new morning. During the entire writing process of "The Ordinary World", my mornings started at noon in this way.For me, for this book, it seems to be a symbol.When life enters noon, work requires me to devote myself to it with youthful vigor like the morning sun. After the novel was published, my life was completely messed up.Countless letters flocked in from all over the country, and the contents of the letters were varied.In addition to talking about the feelings after reading the novel and various life issues and literary issues, many people also regard me as a "mentor" who grasps the mysteries of life, and ask me for advice: "How should people live", I am dumbfounded.There are also some frustrated young people who have suffered setbacks, and stipulated that I must write to them a few months ago to enlighten them, otherwise I will die for you.At the same time, strangers came to visit me one after another, wanting to discuss or "discuss" various issues with me.Some acquaintances will inevitably add to the chaos.There were solicitations for publications, and many troupes, TV stations, and film studios wanted to adapt their works, and telegrams and phone calls continued, often waking me up from the bed in the middle of the night.A year later, when the film was released and national opinion was boiling, I felt completely overwhelmed.In addition, I have become a "celebrity", and relatives and friends come to my door one after another, either asking for money or asking me to intercede to arrange their children's jobs. It seems that I am not only rich, but also powerful and omnipotent.What's more, some literary wanderers who traveled around the world without a penny at that time, came to their door with a shabby arrogance and majesty in rags, and asked me to pay them for their travel expenses to finance their sacred inclinations. Yu took advantage of the fire to rob.

Maybe a lot of people envied my scenery at that time, but to be honest, I wish I could see a crack in the ground and get in quickly. I deeply feel that although the process of creation is extremely difficult and the result of success is extremely glorious; although all hardships are for success, the greatest happiness in life may lie in the process of creation, not in the result. I can't live like this anymore.I must untangle myself from the net of my own weaving.Of course, I am by no means a saint.Any limited success in my decades-long journey of starvation, missteps, frustration, and self-torture in the pursuit of a purpose was all that mattered to me.I am touched by the warmth of life for my hard work like cattle and horses to get some kind of reward.I don't say no to flowers and red carpets.But, honestly, there is no way I could be long-term content in such an over-dramatic life.I yearn to plunge back into a heaviness.Only in the extremely heavy labor, people will live a more fulfilling life.This is my basic view of life.When I think about it, by far the best days of my life were the twenty-odd days I spent writing the first draft.Prior to this, my debut novella at the age of 28 had won the first national excellent novella award. It was because I was not satisfied that I devoted myself to writing.For this purpose, I have prepared for nearly two years, and my thoughts and artistic considerations have been tortured; and when I finally crossed the barriers and entered the actual performance, my spirit really reached the point of ecstasy.I remember that in the past month, I worked eighteen hours a day, couldn't distinguish day from night, and felt like a fire was burning all over my body.His facial features were festered, and he could not pass urine and bowels smoothly. In the middle of the night, the actor walked in circles in the Ganquan County Guest House in northern Shaanxi. The director of the guest house, Bai, became suspicious and called the county party committee, saying that the young man might be insane and was afraid of looking for "impermanence".The county party committee instructed that the man was writing a book, so don't disturb him (I heard later).Isn't all of this more desirable than this flashy hustle and bustle?Yes, as long as you don’t lose your lofty sense of use, or keep a relatively clear mind, you must never moor the ship of life in a warm harbor for a long time, and you should forget to raise your sails again and sail towards the stormy waves of life in order to appreciate the infinite scenery in between.People should not only overcome failure, but also surpass victory.

So, what should I do. One thing is for sure, this bustling and lively square-style life in front of us must end soon.Even if I become a pure farmer and go to the countryside to plant crops for a year, it will be more beneficial to me than this situation.I even seriously considered going home and helping my father plant a field for a year.But think about it, this may turn into a news topic again and make you restless, so let it go. However, now it is possible for me to review and reflect on my existing creations calmly and soberly.Looking at it from another perspective, although I have won the National Excellent Novella Award for two consecutive years, both the novel and the film have had a wide impact.But actually nothing.The work of writers is not only to please the present, but more importantly, to give a profound explanation to history.If you are complacent about small gains, it is an expression of worthlessness in itself.The smallest writers are often concerned with achievement and glory, and the greatest writers are often immersed in creation and labor.Labor itself is the goal of life.The history of mankind and literature shows that great labor and creative spirit are extremely precious even if some fragments of life and art are produced.

Labor, this is the only option for writers to turn back. But what can I do?At that time, there was already a judgment that it was a height that I could no longer surpass.I admit that for a person, there may only be one most glorious moment in his life-that is the pinnacle of his career, just like a high jumper, there is only one height in his life that is his highest height, even though he has to jump before and after Countless crossbars.As far as I am concerned, it is difficult for me to admit that it is a crossbar that I can never jump again. I suffered from this for countless anxious and sleepless nights.In a kind of almost pure confusion, I suddenly remembered a dream that had been buried deep and far away by the dust of time.Maybe I was around 20 years old, I can't remember the circumstances, it is very likely that when I was walking on the quiet mountain road in my hometown, or when I was meditating in front of the flowing water by the river in a small county town, I once had One thought: If you want to write the most touching book in this life, or do the most important thing in your life, it must be before the age of forty.My heart can't help trembling because of this.This may be a hint from the god of fate.It is incredible, how many dreams of the "Werther period" have I buried, why is it that only this promise comes to my heart so vividly at this moment?

Almost at once I took the matter with the utmost seriousness.Yes, anyone, especially a person with some kind of ambition, will have many ideals, fantasies, dreams, and even delusions in his teenage years.These rose-colored halos will disappear without a trace with the passage of time and changes in the environment.But as soon as a man in some respects possesses certain conditions for the fulfillment of his ambitions, the dreams of earlier years are seriously lifted into reality and examined for the possibility of their real resurrection. After preliminary intense thinking and argumentation, a rather bold idea gradually formed in my heart.I was surprised by my own thoughts.Everything seems impossible.But why is it impossible!

4 I decided I was going to write a very large book. In my imagination, if this future book is not my most satisfying work in this life, it should at least be the largest work. It's a bit mysterious to say, but the reason for this resolute decision was an accidental dream in his youth.In fact, many major variables in people and society are often due to some accidental and small reasons.Even such a thrilling historical event as the Second World War was caused by the assassination of another person in a street in Yugoslavia.It is easy to fantasize and make decisions, but it is extremely difficult to turn fantasies and decisions into reality.This is to pile up an ideal mountain on the flat ground of one's own life.The difficulties I faced were varied.First of all, I lack or have no experience in writing long volumes.So far, my longest work is only 130,000 words. At best, it is a medium-sized work with a large length. Even the writing of such a work moved me as if I fell into a vast swamp and couldn't extricate myself for a long time.If it is a real long work, or even a long scroll work, it is difficult for me to imagine whether I can win the work against this giant.Yes, I already had some so-called "writing experience", but what I experienced the most was not joy, but great hardship and pain. Every time I walked to the desk, it was like being tied to the execution ground; the completion of each work was like Had a serious illness.Humans are animals with inert attributes. Once they indulge too much in the land of tenderness, they will weaken the courage and strength to rejoin Fengying.From the warm atmosphere created in front of me, I will step into the ice and snow again to embark on an expedition with no future, and the sound of retreating drums will sound in my ears from time to time.

It is difficult to go to the mountains, but easy to return to the flat land.On the other hand, given the current situation, it is okay to spend a lifetime in the literary world.Models to emulate can be found among peers old and new.A common phenomenon is that some people just sit back and enjoy the success of a certain work because of the so-called "hitting" of it, and even eat it for a lifetime.And some people have never written anything in their lives, and they still enjoy themselves in the literary world or in the political world.I can write something messy from time to time to prove that I am still a writer, even if the writing gets boring, at least tell people that I am still alive.In my later years, as long as my body allows, I will actively participate in all kinds of literary and non-literary activities, and then I will write some prefaces or inscriptions on the articles of young authors, and I will talk about masturbation.However, for a writer, there may be no more real misfortune and pain than this.One of the tragedies we often see is how many creative lives have been buried by high-ranking officials and high salaries and the pursuit of fame and fortune.Of course, some people are born with such a nature or do not have the ability to reflect on life or do not have this kind of comprehension at all, so that is another matter.Shaking is allowed, what matters is whether you can defeat yourself in the end. Go back?cannot!It is difficult and costly to move forward, but to retreat comfortably is to swallow a fatal poison of life. It's still my own words: sometimes be cruel to yourself.Realize that if you don't get back into the stern labor of work, your real life, both as a writer and as a human being, is at an end. The last attempted escape was blocked. I think of the desert.I'm going to go there for a walk. 5 I have a special feeling or a special fate for the desert—to be precise, the great desert in my hometown of Mu Us.It is a pure land for life Zen enlightenment.Whenever I faced a major decision of fate, especially a serious life and spiritual crisis, I would involuntarily go to the Mu Us Desert. The boundless vastness and the loneliness of the sky are like stepping on another planet.The noisy and chaotic worldly life disappeared.In the dark, it seems to hear the sound of nature.During this time, you will truly view life, human history and reality from the perspective of the universe.In this lonely and silent world, the scene you expect to live in will be extremely open.You will experience the meaning of life more profoundly.You moved people to be so insignificant, but also felt their inconceivable greatness.You may get lost here, but you will also clear up many of life's mazes.In this simple world, thinking often floods like a flood.In the end, some kind of blueprint for life or career may flow out of this flood of thoughts, and even understand the difficulties and easy points in the implementation of this blueprint and their overall process.At this time, you should automatically walk out of the temple in the desert and return to the troubled world.You will become another person, unscrupulous to open up new frontiers of life.Now, once again being on the scene, my mood is still as excited as before.Walking barefoot in the empty and winding desert, or lying on the sand dunes with all four limbs stretched out on your back, looking at the unfathomable sky, you are full of pious gratitude to this sacred nature.No matter how many times I've been here for a spiritual bath, this trip has a special meaning.Although all thoughts are certain in the heart, this "worship" is still sacred and must be carried out. Here, I clearly realized that what I was about to make was actually a "gamble" of fate (maybe this word is not appropriate), and the bet was already my youth or life.It would be a lie to say that I did not take any worldly considerations into account, though I will not allow worldly ideas to ultimately dictate my will.Undoubtedly, this work will take many years.During this period, I had to completely disappear from the so-called "literary world".I don't have the ability to produce so many interludes to attract the attention of ideas as some writers do in the course of the creation of such a work, I'm afraid I won't even have the interest to write a letter anymore.If there is a certain degree of harvest in the future works, this is somewhat of a consolation for the youthful blood shed.If it fails entirely, it will mean the failure of youth and even life.This is the best period of time in a person's life, and its loss should be exchanged for the most abundant fruit-but how can this be guaranteed!You have no choice - that's what destiny is all about.Just like a farmer planting in spring and cultivating in summer.In the end, there is no harvest in the first disaster, and he will not put his labor on the shelf forever for this; he will still calmly plant spring and summer in the second year regardless of the autumn harvest.Well, let people forget about you, let people say you are exhausted.You have to disappear from the literary world like you disappeared in the desert, return to the lives of the people, and become the most ordinary member of them.Forget that you wrote it, forget that you won awards, forget about honors, forget about flowers and red carpets.From now on, you still have nothing, just like leaving your parents and your hometown with your bare hands at the age of seven to find a way to survive.The desert trip cut off my past and led me back to tomorrow.When I bid farewell to the desert, my spirit was greatly liberated and peaceful, just like a religious cultivator who broke away from the world of mortals and bid farewell to his warm home, and began to eat the wind and drink the dew and walk step by step to the holy place in his mind.The last "swearing-in" in the desert guarantees that no matter how difficult or difficult it is for the next six years, I will continue to work unswervingly. Only with a passion like first love and a will like religion, can a person achieve a certain career. The preparations unfolded calmly and tensely.Frantic work and busy thinking immediately became daily life.The framework of the work has been determined: three parts, six volumes, one million words.The time span of the works is from the beginning of 1975 to the beginning of 1985, in order to reflect the huge historical changes in urban and rural social life in China in the past ten years in a panoramic manner.There may be nearly a hundred characters.Engineering is huge.The first question is, in what way is the building constructed? If this problem is not solved, or if it is not solved well, everything may be ruined in vain, and you will never even think about getting out of the "ecstasy array" you have set up.The reason why this question was first raised is because the literary situation in China has undergone tremendous changes at this time.New trends of thought in various literatures swept across the country.At that time, there were not many such works, but the literary critics almost swarmed the entire literary world by using the method of advertising to raise yellow dust in the sky. To be honest, I am still moved and disappointed with our contemporary literary criticism.We often see that as long as a trend comes, a large group of critics are crowded and scrambling to run with the wind.No voices of protest and denial can be heard.There was no rebel in sight.And when another trend comes, you will see this group of people making a right-angle turn, turning their heads and rushing in the opposite direction.This sad phenomenon guides and seduces Chao Qin Mu Chu who was creating.At the same time, the long-standing and sometimes developing mountain-topism in the Chinese literary circle has aggravated the seriousness of the problem.To put it bluntly, some "famous theories" or "famous works" produced by this kind of left or right literary trend are not convincing. In China's consistent literary environment, independent literary character naturally has to undergo a major test.In the pattern of non-A must B, if you are C or D, you can imagine your situation.Under such circumstances, the reason why you can persist is because your writing simply does not face the literary world or the critical world, but directly faces the readers.As long as readers don't abandon you, it proves that you can exist.In fact, this is the relationship of the problem.The reader is always true God. Then, under the current background of various literary thoughts and schools are changing with each passing day, is it possible to use similar creative techniques that have been declared outdated to complete such works?And think about it, this work will take many years. At that time, our literary form may have entered the "rocket age", but you still use an old car from before this century to run it, which is probably very funny. But rationality clearly warns: one cannot easily be swept away by a literary trend.Actually, I don't reject modernist works.I am very careful to read and think about genres other than realism.Among them, I admire the works of many masters.My spirit is often immersed in the contemporary literature from Dostoyevsky and Kafka to Europe, America and the great Latin America, all of which have deeply influenced me.Of course, I admit that at present, perhaps Leo Tolstoy, Balzac, Stendhal, Cao Xueqin and other realist masters have a deeper influence on me.What I want to show is that it was not impossible for me to structure this work in a different way of realism at the time, but that I had completely different views on these issues from many people. 7 In my personal opinion, there were not many new trend works in my country at that time, and most of them were at the level of directly borrowing or even deliberately imitating Western modernist works. Obviously, they were not mature, let alone innovative.Of course, for contemporary Chinese literature, the appearance of these works is of great significance, which is beyond doubt.I disagree with irresponsible attacks on this type of work by sentimental people.From the perspective of Chinese and world literature history, changes in literary forms are as frequent and inevitable as changes in human life itself.Even the failure of some experiments is justifiable. The problem is that critics in the field of literary theory and art over-exaggerated the actual achievements of such works in China at that time, and then went to the extreme, and began to belittle or even reject other literary expressions.Examining this pathological phenomenon from a macro perspective, the conclusion drawn can only be the same as the literary and artistic specialism of the "Gang of Four" not long ago, which will inevitably create a new kind of depression.Since readers have gradually become indifferent or even far away from these profound theories and mysterious works, it should cause us to think seriously. In my opinion, the emergence of any new literary genre and style cannot be separated from the specific human history and social environment.Why all the new literary phenomena only occurred in a certain nation or language at a certain historical stage, such as why "magical realism" in contemporary literature originated in Latin America instead of Eurasia can explain the problem.The occurrence of a new literary phenomenon is by no means a product of taking it for granted.The real new phenomenon of literature is a kind of creation.Of course, it can be created on the basis of reference, but it is not a scene of imitation of cats and tigers and a change of appearance, otherwise, it is likely to be "moving oranges from south to north".Therefore, with regard to the new wave of contemplation of new literature that has just emerged in our country, the first line of theoretical criticism has the responsibility to distinguish what is creation and what is imitation or even copying in disguise, and then it is possible to evaluate its real achievements.When we thought it was an atomic bomb, it actually existed in the world many years ago; even hundreds of years ago, the ancients in China did better than us; so it is too bluff to exclaim at this.When I visited Germany (West) in 1987, I discussed this issue with some foreign writers and reached a consensus.My point of view is that only when new literary achievements with our own characteristics are produced on the soil of our nation's great history and culture, and when the whole world is touched and refreshed, our works of modern expression may tend to mature.As Latin American contemporary masters have done.They were also influenced by European and American writers (such as the influence of Faulkner on Marquez), but they did not follow them all the time. On the contrary, they re-based on the local history and culture, and on this basis produced a truly own nation. He won the respect of European and American literature because of his creative literary achievements.If you blindly imitate others, admire others, and despise or even despise the profound history and culture of your own nation, this kind of "introduction" is doomed to have no future.We need to learn from all excellent foreign literature to better develop our nation's new literature, but we don't have to turn "foreign things" into a weapon to frighten ourselves.In fact, we have already seen that many new cultural trends in the contemporary West are inspired and influenced by Chinese traditional culture to varying degrees, and have even penetrated into many aspects of their social life.And why should we forget our ancestors and despise ourselves? 8 As for the so-called "outdated theory of realism" at that time, it is even more debatable.Maybe realism may become "outdated" one day, but in the current historical category and in the long time to come, realism will still have vigorous vitality.Life and art have proved and will continue to prove this, not by some biased theory.Even if one day realism is really "outdated" and a bigger "ism" dominates our heads, realism, as a literary phenomenon in a certain historical category, will have eternal glory. The question now is, if we take a closer look, has realism developed in contemporary Chinese literature to the point that Russian and French realist literature in the nineteenth century reflected our contemporary socialist life, so that we have to find a new way forward?In fact, realist literature has not yet been convincingly represented to such a degree that our uninterrupted five thousand years of civilization have not.Although realism has always been known as the mainstream of our contemporary literature, it is still in the development stage just like the newly emerging modernism, and it has not matured to the point where it can no longer be needed.The expression of realism in literature is by no means just a matter of creative methods, but mainly a kind of spirit.Looking at our contemporary literature from such a height, it is not difficult to see that many works created with the so-called realism method are actually very different from the spirit of realism required by literature.We don't need to point out the works of several decades, just the works before and after the "Great Leap Forward" and the ten years of the Cultural Revolution are enough to illustrate the problem.Many literatures that advertise "realism" actually distort real life fundamentally.This kind of false "realism" should actually be classified as "absurdist" literature. How can it be said that this is the culture of modernism?And this pseudo-realism has always invaded our literature, and its roots are still alive today.After the Cultural Revolution, some works with realistic character gradually appeared, but there was no talk of maturity in the overall sense, let alone many works with huge capacity.In particular, some works that caused a sensation in the society in the early stage, although they tried to truly reflect the appearance of social life, there was still a tendency of simplification.For example, people are still divided into two categories, good and bad—just reversed the good and bad in the works of the "Gang of Four" in the past.Yes, good guys and bad guys are finally close to the actual "standard" in life, but they are far from the profound revelation of people and their relationships that true realism requires.In addition, to examine whether a literary phenomenon is "outdated", the eyes should be cast on the readers.In general, if readers still accept and welcome something, it has a reason to continue to exist.Of course, the level of readers in our country is more complicated.This makes it even more necessary to meet the needs of society with a variety of literary forms, not to mention that most readers are more likely to accept this style of writing. The readership of "modernist" works is small, which is a fact in China at present; there is no doubt that this literary style should exist and develop; it is just that we cannot irresponsibly ignore the majority of readers because of this. Meet the few.More importantly, excellent realistic works can even satisfy readers of all levels, while modern works cannot do this, at least in China at present.As for the need to distinguish between realist and modernist creation methods, it is actually a kind of absurd criticism.Fundamentally speaking, any technique may produce high-level works or low-level works.The problem is not what method to use, but how the writer overcomes the mediocrity of thought and art.A mature writer will never "Lu Suu talks about the Five Classics, and the chapters and sentences with white hair die", they may write outstanding chapters by any means.When I repeatedly read the famous works created by the great contemporary Colombian writer García Márquez with the technique of magic realism, I immediately read his new works written with the technique of pure classical traditional realism.This is our best inspiration. All of the above have answered the difficult problem I encountered at the beginning of the structure of "Ordinary World"-that is, in what way to structure this work. I decided to structure this large-scale work in a realistic way.Of course, on the basis of the great practice of the previous masters and my own trivial experience, I will try to express it in a modern sense-realism still has broad prospects for innovation.I have realized that for such a work that takes several years and may even exhaust the main energy of my life, I must not be blind and self-willed. If this is a small-length work, I might as well try to follow the trend and fail to waste paper Throw it in the basket.And such a work that pledges youth and life cannot be invested with a "real risk" attitude. It must be carried out under conditions that I think are relatively reliable and can be grasped.To be honest, I dare not expect the success of this work, but I also "can't afford to fail".This is the basic psychological motivation and another aspect of my decision to structure this work in a realistic way. At the same time, I realized that this stubborn and ignorant attitude can only be isolated in the current Chinese literary movement.But I'm fully prepared for it.Isolation sometimes does not make people weak, it can even make people spiritually stronger and more invigorated.Undoubtedly, this is yet another challenge.It is the individual challenging the group.And this sense of challenge has actually been throughout my entire creative activities, such as the novella "Thrilling Scene", and "In Difficult Days".In particular, it is a challenge completely in a very sober state. When I was in college, apart from systematically reading famous Chinese and foreign masterpieces in various historical periods under the guidance of the history of European literature, Russian literature, and Chinese literature, I went into the reading room and collected almost all important literature since the founding of China. Magazines, from the first issue to the final issue after the Cultural Revolution, after reading these magazines, in fact, it is equivalent to reviewing the basic appearance, main achievements and representative works of Chinese literature after 1949.I feel strongly that the people in these works are, with few exceptions, divided into good and bad.Comparing this impression with the famous Chinese and foreign works I read at the same time, I am very dissatisfied with the phenomenon of Chinese contemporary literature, and of course I am not satisfied with those children's graffiti-style works at that time. After the era of the 'Gang of Four' ended, although Chinese literature got rid of the shackles and many works bravely revealed social problems and aroused great repercussions among readers, there was still no fundamental review of this important issue.Therefore, I want to make a challenging attempt on the whole literary phenomenon, so I have the motivation to write this work.I want to provide a new image for the literary and critical circles, and for readers who are accustomed to looking at good people and bad people or happy reunion stories. A person who hastily cannot distinguish between "good guys and bad guys". The wide-ranging debates aroused in the literary world and in society, I thought about it when I wrote it... This is exactly what I want to achieve. Since I have never been afraid to stand against the wind, then the isolation I will face or the challenges I will face should be regarded as normal, and there is no need to worry about gains and losses.It should be recognized that Ren Ke's independent creative work is a challenge, not only to people, but also to the ancients. Then, in this heroic process, we should dare to establish a sense of "no role model"-this Nothing to do with self-importance. "No role model awareness" is based on the premise that there are many role models.Perhaps the mission of each generation of writers is to surpass their predecessors (regardless of whether they can achieve it in the end), but first of all, they should at least know how great the predecessors have created.Any arrogant literati, as long as he stands in front of the bookshelf in the library and is in the ocean of books, he will know how small and ridiculous he is. For writers, reading is like silkworms eating mulberry leaves, it is a kind of self-need.Silkworms live and eat until they can weave cocoons from their mouths; writers also have to live and learn so that they can turn the mulberry leaves they eat into cocoons. After "Ordinary World" has entered the specific preparation work, it is first a process of reading a lot.Some books are re-reads and some are new reads.Some close reading, some rough reading.Most of them are novels, especially read, research, and analyze ancient and modern Chinese and foreign long scrolls as much as possible.During this period, I made a reading plan of nearly a hundred novels, and nine out of ten of them were completed later.At the same time, I also read other miscellaneous books, such as theoretical, political, philosophical, economic, historical and religious works.In addition, I also searched for some specialized works on agriculture, commerce, industry, science and technology, and collected a large number of booklets of knowledge, such as fish farming, beekeeping, fertilization, taxation, finance, meteorology, calendar, afforestation, soil improvement, customs, folklore, UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) and more.那时间，房子里到处都搁着书和资料，桌上，床头、茶几、窗台，甚至厕所，以便在任何时候任何地方随手都可以拿到读物。读书如果不是一种消遣，那是相当熬人的，就像长时间不间断地游泳，使人精疲力竭，有一种随时溺没的感觉。书读得越多，你就越感动眼前是数不清的崇山峻岭。在这些人类已建立起的宏传精神大厦面前，你只能“侧身西望长咨嗟”！在“咨嗟”之余，我开始试着把这些千姿百态的宏大建筑拆卸开来，努力从不同的角度体察大师们是如何巧费匠心把它们建造起来的。而且，不管是否有能力，我也敢勇气十足地对其中的某些著作“横挑鼻子竖挑眼”，去鉴赏它们的时候，也用我的审美眼光提出批判，包括对那些十分崇敬的作家。在这个时候，我基本上是“两耳不闻窗外事，一心只读圣贤书”。我甚至有意“中止”了对眼前中国文学形势的关注，只知道出现了洪水一样的新名词，新概念，一片红火热闹景象。 “文坛”开始对我淡漠了，我也对这个“坛”淡漠了。我只对自己要做的事充满宗教般的热情。 “相看两不厌，只有敬亭山”。只能如此。This is also very good. 有我所有阅读的长篇长卷小说中，外国作品占了绝大部分。从现代小说意义来观察中国的古典长篇小说，在成就最高的《水浒》、、和四部书中，当然是峰巅，它可以和世界长篇小说史上任何大师的作品比美。在现当代中国的长扁小说中，除过巴金的《激流三部曲》，我比较重视柳青的《创业史》。他是我的同乡，而且在世时曾经直接教导过我。《创业史》虽有某些方面的局限性，但无疑在我国当代文学中具有独特的位置。这次，我在中国的长卷作品中重点研读和《创业史》。这是我第三次阅读，第七次阅读《创业史》。 无论是汗流浃背的夏天，还是瑟瑟发抖的寒冬，白天黑夜泡在书中，精神状态完全变成一个准备高考的高中生，或者成了一个纯粹的“书呆子”。 11 为写《平凡的世界》而进行的这次专门的读书活动进行到差不多甚至使人受不了的情况下，就立刻按计划转入另一项“基础工程”——准备作品的背景材料。 根据初步设计，这部书的内容将涉及一九七五年到一九八五年十年间中国城乡广泛的社会生活。 这十年是中国社会的大转型期，其间充满了密集的重大历史性事件；而这些事件又环环相扣，互为因果，这部企图用某种程序的编年史方式结构的作品不可能回避它们。当然，我不会用政治家的眼光审视这些历史事件。我的基本想法是，要用历史和艺术的眼光观察在这种社会大背景（或者说条件）下人们的生存与生活状态。作品中将要表露的对某些特定历史背景下政治性事件的态度；看似作者的态度，其实基本应该是哪个历史条件下人物的态度；作者应该站在历史的高度上，真正体现巴尔克扎克所说的“书记官”的职能。但是，作家对生活的态度绝对不可能“中立”，他必须做出哲学判断（即使不准确），并要充满激情地、真诚地向读者表明自己的人生观和人性。正如传大的列夫·托尔斯泰所说：“在任何艺术作品中，作者对于生活所持的态度以及在作品中反映作者生活态度的种种描写，对于读者来说是至为重要、极有价值、最有说服力的……艺术作品的完整性不在于构思的统一，不在于对人物的雕琢，以及其它等等，而在于作者本人的明确和坚定的生活态度，这种态度渗透整个作品。有时，作家甚至基本可以对形式不作加工润色，如果他的生活态度在作品中得到明确、鲜明、一贯的反映，那么作品的目的就达到了。”（契尔特科夫笔录，一八九四年）。 现在，首要的任务是应该完全掌握这十年间中国（甚至还有世界——因为中国并不是孤立的存在，它是世界的一员）究竟发生过什么。不仅是宏观的了解，还应该有微观的了解。因为庞大的中国各地大有差异，当时的同一政策可能有各种做法和表现。这十年间间发生的事大体上我们都经历过，也一般地了解，但要进入作品的描绘就远远不够了。生活可以故事化，但历史不能编造，不能有半点似是而非的东西。只有彻底弄清了社会历史背景，才有可能在艺术中准确描绘这些背景下人们的生活形态和精神形态。 较为可靠的方式是查阅这十年间的报纸——逐日逐月逐年地查。报纸不仅记载于国内外第一天发生的重大事件，而且还有当时人们生活的一般性反映。 于是，我找来了这十年间的《人民日报》、《光明日报》，一种省报，一种地区报和《参考消息》的全部合计本。 房间里顿时堆起了一座又一座“山”。 我没明没黑开始了这件枯燥而必需的工作，一页一页翻看，并随手在笔记本上记下某年某月某日的大事和一些认为“有用”的东西。工作量太巨大，中间几乎成了一种奴隶般的机械性劳动。眼角糊着眼屎，手指头被纸张靡得露出了毛细血管，搁在纸上，如同搁在刀刃上，只好改用手的后掌（那里肉厚一些）继续翻阅。用了几个月时间，才把这件恼的人工作做完。以后证明，这件事十分重要，它给我的写作带来了极大的方便——任何时候，我都能很快查找到某日某月世界、中国、一人省、一个地区（地区又直接反映了当时基层各方面的情况）发生了什么。在查阅报纸的同时，我还想得到许多当时的文件和其它至关重要的材料（最初的结构中曾设计将一两个国家中枢领导人作为作品的重要人物）。我当然无法查阅国家一级甚至省一级的档案材料，只能在地区和县一级利用熟人关系抄录了一些有限的东西，在极大的遗憾中稍许得到一点补充，但迫使我基本上放弃了作为人物来描写国家中枢领导人的打算。 一年多的时间不知不觉过去了，但是，似乎离进入具体写作还很遥远。所有的文学活动和其它方面的社会活动都基本上不再参与，生活外于封闭状态。全国各地文学杂志的笔会时有邀请，一律婉言谢绝。对于一些笔会活动，即使没胡这部书的制约，我也并不热心。我基本上和外地的作家没有深交。一些半生不熟的人凑到一块，还得应酬，这是我所不善长的。我很佩服文艺界那些“见面熟”的人，似乎一见面就是老朋友。我做不到这一点。在别人抢着表演的场所，我宁愿做一个沉默的观众。 到此时，我感动室内的工作暂时可以告一段落，应该进入另一个更大规模的“基础工程”——到实际生活中去，即所谓“深入生活”。 关于深入生活的问题，与“政治和艺术的关系”一样，一直是我国文艺界长期争论不休的问题。这一点使我很难理解。我不知道这是一个多么艰深的理论问题值得百谈不厌。生活对于作家艺术家来说，就如同人和食物的关系一样。至于每个作家如何占有生活，这倒大可不必整齐一律。每个作家都有自己感受生活的方式；而且随着社会生活的变化，同一作家体验生活的方式也会改变。比如，柳青如果活着，他要表现八十年代初中国农村开始的“生产责任制”，他完全蹲在皇甫村一个地方就远近不够了，因为其它地方的生产责任制就可能和皇甫村所进行的不尽相同，甚至差异很大。 是的，从一九七五年到一九八五年中国大转型期的社会生活发生了巨大的变化。各种社会形态、生活形态、思想形态千姿百态且又交叉惨透，形成比以往任何一个时期都更为复杂的局面。而要全景式反映当代生活，“蹲”在一个地方就不可能达到目的。必须纵横交织地去全面体察生活。 我提着一个装满书籍资料的大箱子开始在生活中奔波。一切方面的生活都感兴趣。乡村城填、工矿企业、学校机关、集贸市场；国营、集体、个体；上至省委书记，下至普通老百姓；只要能触及的，就竭力去触及。有些生活是过去熟悉的，但为了更确切体察，再一次深入进去——我将此总结为“重新到位”。有些生活是过去不熟悉的，就加陪努力，争取短时间内熟悉。对于生活中现成的故事倒不十分感兴趣，因为故事我自己可以编——作家主要的才能之一就是编故事。而对一切常识性的、技术性的东西且不敢有丝毫马虎，一枝一叶都要考察清楚，脑子没有把握记住的，就详细笔记下来。比如详细记录作品涉及到的特定地域环境中的所有农作物和野生植物；从播种出土到结籽收获的全过程；当什么植物开花的时候，另外的植物又处于什么状态；这种作物播种的时候，另一种植物已经长成什么样子；全境内新有家养和野生的飞禽走兽；民风民情民俗；婚嫁丧事；等等。在占有具体生活方面，我是十分贪婪的。我知道占有的生活越充分，表现生活就越自信，自由度也就会越大。作为一幕大剧的导演，不仅要在舞台上调度众多的演员，而且要看清全局中每一个末端小节，甚至背景上的一棵草一朵小花也应力求完美准确地统一在整体之中。春夏秋冬，时序变换，积累在增加，手中的一个箱子变成了两个箱子。奔波到精疲力竭时，回到某个招待所或宾馆休整几天，恢复了体力，再出去奔波。走出这辆车，又上另一辆车；这一天在农村的饲养室，另一天在渡口的茅草棚；这一夜无铺盖和衣躺着睡，另一夜缎被毛毯还有热水澡。无论条件艰苦还是舒适，反正都一样，因为愉快和烦恼全在于实际工作收获大小。时光在流逝，奔波在继续，像一个孤独的流浪汉在鄂尔多斯地台无边的荒原上飘泊。 在这无穷的奔波中，我也欣喜地看见，未来作品中某些人物的轮郭已经渐渐出现在生活广阔的地平线了。 这部作品的结构先是从人物开始的，从一个人到一个家庭到一个群体。然后是人与人，家庭与家庭，群体与群体的纵横交叉，以最终织成一张人物的大网。在读者的视野中，人物动动的河流将主要有三条，即分别以孙少安孙少平为中心的两条“近景”上的主流和以田福军为中心的一条“远景”上的主流。这三条河流都有各自的河床，但不时分别混合在一起流动。而孙少平的这条河流在三条河流中将处于最中心的位置——当然，在开始的时候，读者未见得能感觉到这一点。 人物头绪显然十分纷乱。 但是，我知道，只要主要的人物能够在生活和情节的流转中一直处于强有力地的运动状态，就会带动其它的群体一起运动，只要一个群体强有力运动，另外两个群体就不会停滞不前。这应该是三个互相咬接在一起的齿轮，只要驱动其中的一个，另外的齿轮就会跟着转动。 对于作者来说，所有的一切又都是一个完整的整体。整个生活就是河床，作品将向四面八方漫流——尽管它的源头只是黄土高原一个叫双不村的小山庄。 从我国当代现实主义长篇小说的结构看，大都采用封闭式的结构，因此作品对社会生活的概括和描述都受到相当大的约束。某些点不敢连接为线，而一些线又不敢作广大的延伸。其实，现实主义作品的结构，尤其是大规模的作品，完全可能作开放式结构而未必就“散架”。问题在于结构的中心点或主线应具有强大的“磁场”效应。从某种意义上，现实主义长扁小说就是结构的艺术，它要求作家的魄力、想象力和洞察力；要求作家既敢恣意汪洋又能绵针密线，以使作品最终借助一砖一瓦而造成磅礴之势。 真正有功力的长篇小说不依赖情节取胜。惊心动魄的情节未必能写成惊心动魄的小说。作家最大的才智应是能够在日常细碎的生活中演绎出让人心灵震颤的巨大内容。而这种才智不仅要建立在对生活极其稔熟的基础上，还应建立在对这些生活深刻洞察和透彻理解的基础上。我一再说过，故事可以编，但生活不可以编；编选的故事再生动也很难动人，而生活的真情实感哪怕未成曲调也会使人心醉神迷。 这样说，并不是不重视情节。生活本身就是由各种“情节”组成的。长篇小说情节的择取应该是十分挑剔的。只有具备下面的条件才可以考虑，即：是否能起到像攀墙藤一样提起一根带起一片的作用。一个重大的情节（事件）就应该给作者造成一种契机，使其能够在其间对生活作广阔的描绘和深入的揭示，最后使读者对情节（故事）本身的兴趣远远没有对揭示的生活内容更具吸引力，这时候，情节（故事）才是真正重要的了，如果最后读者仅仅记住一个故事情节而没有更多的收获，那作品就会流于我们能党所说的肤浅。 阅读研究了许多扁长卷小说，基本搞清了作品所涉及的十年的背景材料，汇集和补充了各个方面的生活素材。自然就完全陷入了构思的泥淖之中。在此之前，有些人物，有些篇章早已开始在涌动，不过，那是十分散乱的。尔后，这就是一个在各种层面上不断组合、排列、交叉的过程；一个不断否定、不断刷新、不断演变的过程。 所有的一切都还远远地不能构合成一个较为完整的整体。需要一些出神入化的灵感。 苦思冥想。为无能而痛不欲生。 voila.许多呼之欲出的人物在急迫地等待你安排场次以便登台表演。所有要进入作品河流的人物，哪怕是一个极次要的人物，你也不能轻视忽略，而要全神贯注，挟带着包括枯枝败叶在内的总容量流向终点。终点！我构思的习惯常常是先以终点开始而不管起点，每个人物，尤其是主要人物，他（她）们的终点都分别在什么地方呢？如果确定不了终点，就很难寻找他（她）们的起点，而全书的整个运行过程中，你也将很难把握他（她）们内在的流向。当然，预先设计的终点最后不会全部实现，人物运动的总轨迹会不断校正自己的最终归宿；也有一些人物的终点不可能在书的结尾部分，在某些段落中就应该终结其存在。 毫无疑问，终点绝不仅仅是情节和人物意义上的，更重要的是它也是全书的题旨所在，在这个“终点”上，人物、情节、题旨是统一在一起的。为什么要在这里结束，绝不仅仅是因为故事到这里正好讲完了。即是最“漫不经心”的意识流小说家，在戛然而止的地方也是煞费心机的。