Back to 80: My Literary Life

The atmosphere in the conference room quickly became lively, and Fang Minghua began to pick up the beautiful verses in the Book of Songs and translate them for everyone to enjoy.

Guan Guan Jujiu, in the river island.

A graceful lady, a gentleman is fond of quarrels.

The fishhawks sing gwan gwan (The fishhawks sing gwan gwan)

on sandbars of the stream.on sandbars in the river.

Gentle maiden, pure and fair, kind, pure and beautiful girl

Fit pair for a prince. Fit pair for a prince and her as husband and wife. ),

…

….

A beautiful smile, beautiful eyes looking forward to it

And dark on white her speaking eyes

Her cheeks with smiles and dimples glow….

A slight smile with dimples, beautiful eyes looking up and down...

The hour ended quickly, and there was warm applause in the conference room.

Fang Minghua did not talk about any profound theoretical knowledge about the complicated history of the creation of "The Book of Songs", but only found some beautiful verses for analysis.

There is only one purpose, to let ordinary people in these foreign countries know that in that distant era, there were more than just "Homer's Epic" and "Prometheus Bound". In the far east, there was also a famous poetry book called "The Book of Songs"!

Of course, what he never expected was that he would often be invited to explain or recite Chinese classical poetry.

At the Grand Prairie Bookstore in Iowa, readings are held daily, and are certainly not limited to poetry.

Fang Minghua is still willing to go. Although it takes up time, it is a way to spread our Chinese culture.

This afternoon, Fang Minghua was invited to attend a poetry recital at Daprairie Bookstore. Local literature enthusiasts and many of them were college students staying in school during the summer vacation.

He only knows a few English versions of the poems in the Book of Songs. Fortunately, he has an English translation of "150 Tang Poems" written by Professor Xu Yuanchong, which contains poems that are familiar to Chinese people.

"Girls, gentlemen, friends, today I am going to recite a poem by Chen Zi'ang, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty in my country, called "Dengyouzhou Taige""

After finishing speaking, Fang Minghua cleared his throat.

Where the sages of the past,

(I have never seen the ancients before)

And those of future years?

(Never seen again.)

Sky and earth forever last,

(Thinking of the long journey of heaven and earth)

Lonely, I shed sad tears.

(Crying with sadness alone.)

As soon as Fang Minghua finished reciting, he saw a young man stand up and said: "Mr. Fang, I have read the poem you just recited. It is from the book "Poetry Cloud" you wrote about the alien named Daya. Recited by people.”

After saying this, the young man also started to recite.

Looking forward, you can't see the bugs that once lived on this planet in the distant past; Looking back, you can't see the bugs that will live on this planet in the future. I felt that time and space were too vast , so I cried

(“Looking forward, I can’t see the bugs that lived on this planet in the distant past; looking back, I can’t see the bugs that will live on this planet in the future; I felt that time and space were too vast, so I cried. )"

Everyone laughed when they heard this.

Fang Minghua also smiled and said: "So, literature and art cannot be created by technology, and omnipotent "gods" like those in novels cannot fully grasp the charm of literature and art."

While Fang Minghua was talking, he saw a girl coming up the stairs. She was probably attending the poetry recital halfway.

This situation is very common. You can leave when you want and come back when you want. As long as you don't disturb others by shouting, no one will care about you.

Fang Minghua didn't pay much attention. He took a look and found that he actually knew him.

Emily whom I met on the train to Chicago that day.

The girl was wearing a pair of jeans shorts and flaming red lips, smiling at him in greeting.

Fang Minghua also nodded as a greeting and recited another poem as planned.

Li Bai's "Thoughts on a Quiet Night":

Before my bed a pool of light,

The moonlight shines brightly in front of the bed,

I wonder if it's frost ground.

Suspected to be frost on the ground.

Looking up, I find the moon bright,

Look up at the bright moon,

Bowing, in homesickness I'm drowned.

Lower your head and miss your hometown.

Amid warm applause, Fang Minghua walked down and sat next to Emily.

"Hello, Emily."

"Hello, Fang Minghua."

"Are you here to have fun?" Fang Minghua remembered that the girl introduced herself that she lived in a small town called Palm Springs not far from Los Angeles and attended Ambrose Private University in Davenport.

The girl replied: "No, I signed up for summer school at the University of Iowa."

Summer schools in the United States are art, academic, sports and other courses offered by American schools during the summer vacation, aiming to provide students with rich and diverse learning and experience opportunities.

Iowa Summer School is the most prestigious writing summer school in the United States, and it is also called the most difficult writing summer school in the United States. The programs include poetry, novels, creative writing, TV script writing, drama writing, etc.

Fang Minghua only learned this after coming to Iowa.

"Congratulations, congratulations." Fang Minghua whispered.

"Thank you." The girl looked at him with a happy face.

At this time, a British writer on the stage began to recite "When you are old" written by the famous Irish poet William Butler Yeats.

When you are old and gray and full of sleep,

When you are old, your hair is gray and you are sleepy,

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,

Sitting tiredly by the fire, I took down this book,

In later generations, folk musician Zhao Zhao composed music for this, which was widely sung in China.

Fang Minghua signaled to listen carefully, but Emily quickly stopped and listened carefully.

After the recitation ended, Fang Minghua and Emily walked downstairs together.

"Fang Minghua, can I buy you a cup of coffee?" the girl invited.

Seeing that the time was only around four in the afternoon, it was okay to go back to the hotel now, so I agreed.

There is a coffee shop below the Grand Prairie Bookstore. The two of them went in and there were several customers sitting in twos and threes, all holding books in their hands.

It's midsummer and the sun is scorching outside. It feels good to sit in an air-conditioned cafe and drink a cup of iced coffee.

The two of them each ordered a drink and started chatting while drinking.

The girl told Fang Minghua that although she majored in elementary education at Burrows Private University, she had been very interested in literature since she was a child and dreamed of becoming a writer, so she enrolled in the summer school at the University of Iowa.

"Science fiction is my favorite part. My dream is to be a writer, but I haven't published a single novel yet." Emily drank coffee with a distressed look on her face.

Seeing the girl like this, Fang Minghua couldn't help but think of those literary young people in China. They seemed to be the same no matter where they were.

"Fang Minghua, if your novel can win an award, and I am still waiting to represent your country at the IWP in Iowa, can you teach me how to write a novel?" the girl asked.

"Didn't you already attend the summer school in Iowa? Didn't there be teachers who specifically taught you about writing?" Fang Minghua asked.

"Yes, but I think the teacher is talking about writing skills. I feel like I understand everything, but I still can't write anything satisfactory."

Hearing this, Fang Minghua remembered what he said when chatting with Zhang Xianliang.

Writing in the United States is very technical and "anatomical", focusing on the internal structure of the novel. For example, you use too many prepositions here, which makes the reading difficult and sticky.

What we talk about about literature in China is not these, but the relationship between literature and life, and the process from material to work.

Thinking of this, Fang Minghua said: "I wrote a modernist novel in China - some writing concepts that are called avant-garde novels in our country. I have translated them into English and brought them over. If you are interested, you can take a look."