Chapter 15 Appendix: Shocking Horror King Li Ximin

It is very interesting to listen to Li Ximin's speech.Here's a traditional fiction writer who's a horror writer at the same time, and at the same time, an easy friend because he has a round face, is easygoing, drinks a lot, and is always generous.He takes you to eat at his newly discovered restaurant. When everyone is sitting around and munching on hot pot and dog meat, he will notice that the waiter standing next to him wears too much lipstick, and he can't help but tell her that it will affect the her beauty.He spoke ramblingly, quickly, and with a crisp voice.He is 39 years old this year, but some people comment that his mental age is only 15 years old.At this moment, his eyes were staring at the contents of his cup intermittently, and 0.1 meters away from him were his wife's vigilant eyes.

The day we interviewed him was a gloomy, rainy day.Horror novelist Li Ximin waited at the subway entrance holding an umbrella, with an amiable attitude.In the time it takes for a cup of tea, he is already going to stab you in both sides.Next, he will tell you a lot of supernatural stories, such as the supermarket, the elevator, where you are sitting... When you are scared in a cooperative manner, he will smile and say: Don't be afraid.As a result, when you get in a taxi to say goodbye, the taxi driver looks suspicious too. "People who write horror novels must be very kind in their hearts." He said solemnly: "I prefer to write abnormalities in novels, write about split personality and distortion of personality, and bring evil to the extreme." When he said this, There was no evil expression at all.

"I know I will be scared and have nightmares, but I will still watch it, just like eating Mala Tang." He has a simple ambition: to propose a new concept of "horror novels", which is different from foreign horror novels and ghost stories, making it a real genre novel.He hopes that "under the age of 18 is forbidden to read Li Ximin". "Stephen King is a very funny man." He imagined his foreign counterparts, "He hides in the house all day, afraid that his readers will kill him by the method in his novel. He is very like a child, His fears are not in the ways of a grown man, but in the ways of a child."

"Horror novels evoke memories of my childhood. Those horror colors are gray and gloomy. It has always been in my heart." He mentioned dreams many times in his novels.He said it was interesting when he wrote about the dark side of a man's psychology. He is defenseless, but there is still a child in his heart, he just uses a child's way to avoid his fear. "I'll hide from people who hate me." People Weekly: Have you written traditional novels for more than 20 years? Li Ximin: I started publishing things when I was 12 years old.The earliest work is a short story, published in "Literary Youth" in Zhejiang.At that time, unlike now, he became a young writer as soon as he was fired.Later, I joined the army after graduating from high school, and I served in the Air Force for 21 years.

People Weekly: Is it a literary soldier? Li Ximin: No.At first, he was an ordinary soldier, but later he was promoted because of writing novels.All of a sudden, he was promoted to second lieutenant platoon leader.There were only two or three people in the Air Force who were promoted for writing novels that year. People Weekly: Do you write horror novels for fun? Li Ximin: No. People Weekly: Do you want to scare people? Li Ximin: A little bit. People Weekly: It takes talent to be scary. Li Ximin: I am very talented in this area. People Weekly: Do you want readers to be scared out of their wits and incontinent after reading your novel?

Li Ximin: I hope they will be stronger after reading my novels. People Weekly: Are you very courageous? Li Ximin: In fact, I have been very timid since I was a child. This is a secret of mine. Sometimes I would tremble when I heard some noise at night. People Weekly: Is writing horror novels to achieve your literary dreams? Li Ximin: Right.I've been very attentive and religious -- don't look at me for being so hippie-faced all day long.Since the reform and opening up, life has become better than before. In the past, it was "thinking of lust when I am full of warmth", but now it is "thinking of terror when I am full of warmth".People in the city are under a lot of pressure now, worrying about this stock market or that accident all day long, horror novels can find an outlet for their fear.

People Weekly: You grew up in West Fujian. As far as I know, West Fujian is also a place full of ghosts. Your first horror novel "Daughter of Gu" was mainly based on the legends about Gu in West Fujian. of.In "Blood Money", "Dead Bird" and the latest horror novel "The Spirit Picker", there is also a sense of mystery in western Fujian.It seems that there are many dead ghosts in your hometown. What kind of supernatural stories have there been?How do they subtly relate to your horror stories? Li Ximin: There are indeed many dead ghosts in western Fujian. I always thought they were still wandering in the land of western Fujian.It has always been a very poor place, and there are more ghosts in poor places, because too many people died.There is no peace in a poor place.Many people died in our area during the Red Army period. Tens of thousands of people died in the battle of Guangsongmaoling.Suffering women in our village commit suicide every year, and others die in natural disasters, and these ghosts sometimes appear out of nowhere in the middle of nowhere.Before I left Fujian, I experienced many supernatural things. For example, when I was playing on the river beach when I was a child, I would see a boy in blue playing alone on the other side. I felt very cold when I saw him. , I asked the children we played together, and they said they didn't see it.I didn't go swimming that day, but a child who went swimming that day drowned. I watched the boy in blue swim towards the drowned boy. I wanted to shout, but I couldn't.When walking at night, you will suddenly hear a woman's cry behind you. At this time, you can't turn your head, otherwise you will be in danger. This kind of thing has happened to many people in our place.At night, you can often hear the crying of female ghosts in the wild, and the crying sounds drifting all the way, making people creepy.On the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival one year, I dreamed that a dead cousin cried and said that he was miserable in the underworld, with nothing to eat and no clothes to wear. He said that he would turn into a corpse under a tree at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival A grasshopper appeared. At noon on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, his mother and I found a big grasshopper in that place. It appeared suddenly. After we offered the prepared things, the grasshopper disappeared after a while.Grasshoppers are to us the personification of the dead.Anyway, there are too many supernatural things in our place, and we can't finish talking about them for days and nights.

The supernatural events and mysterious legends in my hometown in western Fujian have such a relationship with the creation of my horror novels. It seems that there is a hint in the dark that writing horror novels may be a kind of destiny for me. Sometimes, I feel that I am a dead person. People, telling stories to the living, are not trying to scare people, but telling the truth. People Weekly: You grew up in the countryside, you said, "I am a rural person through and through", what kind of traces will this leave on your character and novels? Li Ximin: Although I live in the city now, many things cannot be changed.My character is free and unrestrained, sensitive, extreme experience, and sincere and natural.This also plays an important role in my literary creation, that is, my novels are simple and smooth.In fact, I have been very timid since I was a child. This is one of my secrets. Haha, many people think that I am very courageous because I am righteous. This is wrong.I am particularly afraid of encountering supernatural things. Sometimes I dare to walk alone at night, and I am always afraid that there will be a shadow following me. Sometimes I will tremble when I hear some noise at night.

People Weekly: You once talked about your deceased grandma. You said that she loved you very much and believed in Buddhism. Can you talk about her? Li Ximin: My grandma is the patron saint of my life.I was brought up by her, and she gave me spiritual support.She died without cause in 1996.At noon that day, she finished her own lunch and brought two buckets of water home.Sitting on the rattan chair in the hall, I told my brother, I am leaving, and many Bodhisattvas are coming to pick me up.She asked my brother to call me, but I was participating in a military exercise and didn't get a call.But the day before my grandma passed away, I dreamed of her. I called home as soon as I returned to the army, and my grandma had gone.Twice, when I was about to experience something dangerous, she would give me a dream the night before.Once when I wanted to go out with everyone, she sat in the silver light and told me not to go, but the car crashed the next day and many people died.This kind of thing has happened many times.

People Weekly: You used to be a traditional writer, but now you are turning to write horror novels. Do you feel that you are going heresy? Li Ximin: Many traditional writers think that horror novels are vulgar things, and they don't read our works seriously, or even read them.I think horror novels are more literary than traditional literature, because they require more skills and test a writer's talent and wisdom. Why are there so many second- and third-rate writers in China?Because all traditional literature is a model, and all editors are a model, so many traditional writers concoct so many novels every year, but how many of them really embody the function of novels?A lot of it is just language and some superficial stories and so-called thoughts.

People Weekly: What kind of horror novels are considered excellent? Li Ximin: An excellent horror novel must have a high-quality literary quality, so that people will have suspense and fear during reading, and can find an outlet for release after reading.Chinese readers have different needs for horror novels, but most horror novel fans still like works with high IQ and good horror atmosphere, so that they can have the pleasure of reading, and can be a good medicine to cure timidity. People Weekly: Have you read Stephen King's horror novels?He has now entered the hall and become a guest of literature. Li Ximin: I have read it. His novels are very good, but they are not suitable for Chinese people's reading habits.I think Stephen King is a good role model and we should learn from and pay tribute to him. People Weekly: Jin Yong's will be included in middle school Chinese textbooks, do you also have such a spring and autumn dream-horror novels will also become literature and enter middle school Chinese textbooks? Li Ximin: Haha.I haven't thought about this. What I want is to become a billionaire like Stephen King, although I understand that it is impossible in China. People Weekly: I heard that your wife is also very talented. She often watches horror movies alone at home and laughs. She really matches you! Li Ximin: She is a fan of horror novels and horror movies. If she is here, I will not be afraid of horror movies. People Weekly: I heard that you are going to open a restaurant recently. Will it be a horror restaurant with dishes like human liver, human heart, and human bones? Li Ximin: Whether there will be human hearts and hearts in it is uncertain and needs to be developed.I didn't want to open a horror restaurant, but a horror bar. It must be scary to have you sing there. People Weekly: Horror novels have just appeared in China, what do you think of its prospects?Let’s talk about the writing situation of domestic horror novels. Li Ximin: I think the prospect of Chinese horror novels is very good.Of course it depends on the interaction between the horror writer and the reader.Many media now say that 2005 is the "year of suspense" in the Chinese publishing industry. It would be ridiculous to call this year "the year of suspense" because of the horror and suspense novels and some messy ghost stories.At present, the writing and publication of domestic horror novels has not really entered the state, although some books in this area are "bestsellers".The real writing of horror novels is still those few people, and it seems impossible to make a big breakthrough at present, and some authors are getting worse and worse.Currently writers who write horror novels include Cai Jun, Ding Tian, ​​Wang Xiumei, Yu Han, Cheng Gang, Da Xiu Zhe Tian, ​​Xiao Han, Gui Gu Nu, etc. They all write well and each has its own characteristics.Yu Han's new book "Butterfly Killing" is a work that makes readers look forward to it.I think the development trend of domestic horror novels will be diversified, and there will also be divisions between masters, second- and third-rate writers, and ghost story writers in the group of horror novel writers. People Weekly: What kind of story is your new book about? Li Ximin: The upcoming "Spirit Picker" is a horror story that takes place in the contemporary city.Through a scavenger who found a dead abandoned baby one night, a series of horrific events unfolded, expressing the emotional crisis and degradation of human nature in contemporary life.There is also a "Book of Death", which contains more than 20 death stories experienced by a teenager, and that teenager has my own shadow. People Weekly: When you write horror novels, when you write scary places, do you feel very scary yourself?Do you scare yourself? Li Ximin: Yes, sometimes I get chills down my spine while writing, which scares me a lot.For example, I wrote about the terrible things that happened in the elevator. In real life, I would be very nervous when I took the elevator late at night. I was afraid that as soon as I got out of the elevator, I would turn around and see a person in the empty elevator looking at me. People Weekly: You once said, "The real horror is in the heart and in the daily life, because it is all around us, watching us at all times and dominating us." My understanding is the fear and awe of time and fate, And what do you think the real horror is? Li Ximin: I agree with you that the fear and awe of time and fate are real horrors. I think the symbolic symbol of China's future horror culture should be psychological fear, because people's psychology is getting darker and darker, which is different from ours. The cultural traditions of the country are consistent, and this is also related to our Chinese character of forbearance and cruelty under the guise of morality. People Weekly: I heard that you like rock music very much. When you write novels, do you listen to rock music to write?Whose music do you listen to, and is rock music potentially catalytic for writing?Will the more rock and roll you write, the scarier you will write? Li Ximin: I often listen to rock music when I write horror novels. Sometimes I listen to domestic rock music, such as Tang Dynasty, Compass, etc., and I also listen to foreign rock music, such as Madonna, Backstreet Boys, etc. I have recently become obsessed with "Happy Street" The band, "Skin in the Dark", etc. are all done by listening to her rock.It created a horrible atmosphere for me in the dark.feels wonderful!The more I listen, the more terrifying I feel. People Weekly: Will your novel be adapted into a movie? Li Ximin: My long horror novels "Blood Money" and "Dead Bird" will be adapted into movies.The movie based on "Blood Money" has already started filming. I am full of expectations for the director Wang Cai, because he has grasped the spiritual core of horror, and his understanding of my novel is beyond my imagination. He also wrote the script. I have seen it, and it can be said that it is the best horror movie script in China that I know so far.As for how it will turn out, I don't know.If some high-level film and television works can be produced, it will play an important role in promoting the Chinese local horror literature society. People Weekly: Do you feel happy now?What do you think true happiness is? Li Ximin: Happiness is everywhere, and sometimes it disappears without a trace.I think the greatest happiness is to face everything with a calm mind. All great joys and sorrows are meaningless to me.