——Mo Yan (Nobel Prize Winner) Zhang Hongjie's pen can always cut the curtain of time so easily, letting the breath and even the body temperature of those historical figures who are extremely far away from us rush to our faces: "Wu Sangui's real excellence lies in his ability to handle things. He has a very high emotional intelligence and is good at sensing other people's emotional changes. No matter what the situation, he can remain calm. On the battlefield, his courage and composure enable him to win The respect of all soldiers, and in social occasions, his calm demeanor allows him to always be the center of the crowd... Although he is young and comes from a famous family, there is no trace of playfulness in him, and he does not associate with anyone They're all amiable and courteous."

Writing about historical figures is like writing about a very familiar friend by your side. This style of writing is an ability in itself.In other words, this is a different perspective.This is the reason why Zhang Hongjie's works have some special features. Zhang Hongjie approached the ancients not from a political, moral or academic point of view, but only from a human point of view.He doesn't criticize or look up, he just puts himself in the shoes of the characters in his works with a heart of compassion, and shares joys and sorrows.Just because of this, those historical figures who were great or evil in the history books of the past dynasties were restored by him as trustworthy people, which were completely different from the previous descriptions.

For example, in our minds, the pronoun "Wu Sangui" who is synonymous with traitors has been nourished by his pen and ink, and has transformed into a handsome man with "both male and southern beauty in appearance", a calm, resolute and brave man on the battlefield. An incomparable warrior, a loyal and filial son who once regarded honor as his life, a painful soul squeezed and distorted in the cracks of history. For another example, Wei Zhongxian, the great eunuch who has always been considered sinister, cunning, and deliberate, after stripping away layers of distortions by historians of the past dynasties, what remains in his writing is a simple, simple, sincere "fool".This "fool" originally had no ambitions and was bullied and ridiculed by the eunuchs. Until he was fifty-two years old, he was only satisfied with being a "food manager".Who would have thought that by chance, coincidence and fate, he was bumped to the highest point of the power structure of the Ming Dynasty and performed a frantic performance full of loopholes.

These conclusions are really shocking, but the process is layer upon layer.Zhang Hongjie didn't deliberately turn over anyone's case, he just put the incredible great or evil things done by these historical celebrities into the specific historical environment, and reasoned with the normal heart of human ethics, but the result was logical, Let us feel that if we were born in that era, maybe we would have to be as ruthless as Wu Sangui.These great men or great villains are actually poor people struggling in the stream of fate, just like you and me.In reading, you have to ache and tremble and groan with them.In the military camp in Baoding, Hebei, I worked as a librarian for a period of time, and I developed an interest in reading historical books, but from then until now, I have rarely read any historical books like these works by Zhang Hongjie It also brought me such a great reading pleasure.

It is quite difficult to classify these works into a certain literary genre.These things are not novels, or prose, or the popular historical reportage, or even biographies.However, there is no doubt that these things all reveal natural literary qualities, because their starting point is concern for humanity and destiny.To borrow Zhang Hongjie's own words, "Caring about history is actually caring about oneself." His interest in the character and fate of these ancient people undoubtedly includes his interest in himself.Zhang Hongjie interprets the ancients as he interprets himself, carefully and deeply.

"Humans are too complicated animals, and their complexity sometimes makes human beings dumbfounded" (Zhang Hongjie).I believe that Zhang Hongjie must have a scientist-like interest in the complexity of human nature.In our short life, there will not be too many storms, and there will not be too many joys and sorrows. After all, what we experience and experience is limited.The imagination of even the best novelists can only soar within the boundaries of experience.Therefore, the aspects of human nature are very limited in reality. But in the magnificent theater of history, human nature has the opportunity to show its side that is rarely shown in ordinary life.Because in the long history, all kinds of unexpected things have happened: change of dynasty, family destruction, extraordinary temptation and test, legendary crisis and adventure.In Zhang Hongjie's book, it seems that in order to analyze every component of human nature, God has carried out all kinds of strange experiments: it put Wu Sangui under the background of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and watched his personality structure in history. How to resist, stretch, deform, twist, and break under heavy pressure.It pushes a mediocre person like Wei Zhongxian to the commanding heights of society, and see how he forgets himself and makes ugly appearances on this dizzying height.He put a Taoist gentleman like Hai Rui into the complicated political environment to see his hopeless tenacity and sad end.No novelist can write such a wonderful script with the best of his imagination.These repertoires are so attractive to Zhang Hongjie, a newcomer in the 1970s, so he came here following his concern for his character and destiny, and became a caring spectator in this deserted theater.

Zhang Hongjie is a master of observation and recording.His calm and meticulous brushwork expresses the complex, profound, strange, unimaginable, unexpected and reasonable aspects of human nature vividly and vividly. The familiar historical facts present a completely different appearance in his pen, which is fresh and charming, making us The viewers behind the historical pages are shocked, dazzled, and hesitant to speak.When history rushes towards us, we have no choice but to repeatedly confirm our shallowness in front of the profundity of the Creator. ——Mo Yan