Back to 80: My Literary Life

Song Tangtang went to the United States to attend her cousin's wedding.

Fang Minghua started living alone at home again, but after moving to the new house, there were many things to take care of, so it didn't seem boring.

The first was the calligraphy and painting hall on the third floor. Fang Minghua specially invited Wang Xijing, the president of Xijing Chinese Painting Academy, to help decorate the calligraphy and painting hall.

Wang Xijing is in his forties and is in his prime. He is good at Chinese painting, especially portraits. When he saw Fang Minghua's private collection of so many calligraphy and paintings by celebrities from the Republic of China, he was immediately impressed.

"Chairman Fang, I will help you decorate the calligraphy and painting hall according to the highest standards of our calligraphy and painting academy. I don't want any compensation, but I have a request." Wang Xijing said.

"What's your request?"

"This December, our art academy will hold a Chinese painting exhibition in Hong Kong. I want to borrow a few of your paintings for the exhibition. Not many, just these two."

After saying that, Wang Xijing pointed to the two paintings hanging in the middle of the hall.

The first one is Zheng Banqiao's "Ink Bamboo", which Fang Minghua bought from Xijing's great collector Yan Bingchu for 3,000 yuan in 1983.

3,000 yuan in 1983!

The other one is "Auspicious Couple", a masterpiece by Zhang Daqian.

As expected, the dean of the calligraphy and painting academy has a good eye!

These two paintings are treasures in Fang Minghua's collection of calligraphy and painting.

Fang Minghua was a little reluctant, but Wang Xijing did help in this matter. He not only sent experts from the academy, but also came to do it himself.

"Chairman Fang, don't worry, I will never damage your two paintings. When the exhibition comes back, you can ask Mr. Yan Bingchu to help you identify them. I know that Mr. Yan and you are close friends regardless of age." Wang Xijing said at last.

Fang Minghua had no choice but to agree after the other party said so much.

She said "No, I trust you.", but she was thinking that she would definitely ask Mr. Yan to help her when the exhibition comes back.

In addition to the calligraphy and painting hall, Fang Minghua was also busy buying some chrysanthemums and other things to decorate the courtyard, and also raised a puppy and a kitten.

The kitten is a very ordinary tabby cat, which was brought from Fang Minghua's grandfather's house, but the puppy is a four-month-old German shepherd!

And it's not an ordinary shepherd dog, it's Song Tangtang's brother Song Yuemin who brought it from the army - a police dog that didn't pass the exam.

He has his own courtyard and Xijing has always been a "thief city", so it is necessary to keep a tall and mighty shepherd dog at home.

Of course, he also found a playmate for his two babies, and named the kitten and puppy Dou Miao and Dou Ya respectively.

Since his mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went to the United States to attend Li Li's wedding, Fang Minghua picked up and dropped off the children every day during this period.

Now the two children have returned home, playing with Dou Miao in the yard, Fang Minghua moved a bamboo recliner, sat in the yard to drink tea and read books, and Dou Ya nestled in his arms, his eyes staring like bells, watching the little master and Dou Miao play.

Fang Minghua was not reading magazines or books, but a newly written essay sent by Shi Tiesheng from Yanjing: "I and the Altar of Earth", with a letter attached.

In the letter, Shi Tiesheng said very humbly that he had recently written an essay and asked Fang Minghua to help take a look and see if it was okay, and asked him to help revise it.

Oh my God.

Do you still need me to revise "I and the Altar of Earth"?

Of course, if there are typos in your draft, I can help you check.

Fang Minghua looked at the essay very seriously.

In fact, Fang Minghua had seen this article before he came to this era.

However, what he is reading now is not the cold text of the lead-printed version, but the handwritten version of Shi Tiesheng.

Looking at the familiar font on the slightly grid paper, thinking of the bits and pieces of his interactions with Shi Tiesheng, and reading this essay again, there is a different feeling.

In the quiet light that permeates the whole garden, it is easier for a person to see time and his own figure

The sky does not change, and the way does not change. The old cypress tree stretches its branches and leaves for a thousand years, the clouds walk in the sky, the birds fly in the clouds, the wind tramples the grass, and the weeds take root from generation to generation.

Conscience actually understands everything. However, understanding may not necessarily stop the sins of human nature.

Fang Minghua read it carefully and suddenly stood up from the reclining chair. The frightened little bean sprout jumped out of his arms "swish", not knowing what the owner was going to do.

Fang Minghua walked into the living room and picked up the landline next to the TV cabinet. He wanted to call Bai Miao.

"Hello, Bai Miao, this is Minghua. I want to recommend you a great essay!"

"It's not written by me, but by Shi Tiesheng. I tell you, the publication of this essay will definitely increase the sales of this issue of the magazine!"

"Okay, okay, send someone to get it, but don't lose the manuscript, okay? Leave it to me, I want to keep it."

Of course, Fang Minghua did not forget to call Shi Tiesheng in Yenching to tell him about this: "Sorry, Tiesheng, I've given your essay to Yanhe."

"Is it well written? I tell you, once your essay is published, I dare say that in the future, you can go to Yanjing without going to the Great Wall or the Ming Tombs, but you must go to see the Temple of Earth."

In December, Yanhe magazine published this essay in the editor-in-chief recommendation. In addition to the comments written by editor-in-chief Bai Miao, the former editor-in-chief Fang Minghua wrote an article for the first time, expressing his feelings after reading this essay.

"Seeing through life and loving life again, this is Shi Tiesheng's idealism, a process-based idealism. Although it is the truth of life derived from personal suffering, although it is only a personalized philosophy of life, its rules for constructing meaning and the way to implement ideals are undoubtedly universally inspiring for China at the end of the century when nihilism spread after the crisis of faith."

"As for this essay itself, some people say it is a novel, but I firmly believe that it is an essay. The biggest difference between essays and novels is that the latter can be fictional, but the former cannot, because it is too heavy and too sincere, and it is definitely not something that can be carried by the form of fiction, so it must be an essay."

However, there are definitely differences between novelists writing essays and essayists writing essays. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the author will always borrow some grammar of novels into essay writing, such as paying more attention to the arrangement of the overall structure of the work, paying more attention to the vividness of character portrayal, paying more attention to the multiple functions of scenery description, and even appropriately shifting the narrative perspective to make the essay more readable. "I and the Earth Altar" is a model of innovation in this regard

The successful reference of character portrayal techniques is like no one will not know Lin Daiyu after reading "Dream of Red Mansions". Many people remember a disabled Yannian and his mother after reading "I and the Earth Altar". Reading again, you will see the beautiful and mentally retarded girl, the couple from middle age to old age, the outstanding old man, the bird-catching man, the singing boy, the middle-aged female engineer and the unlucky long-distance runner

This article titled "Seeing through life and loving life again, this is Shi Tiesheng's idealism - reading "I and the Earth Altar"" was also published in this issue of "Yanhe" magazine.

Some readers believe that this is not only a reading experience, but also an example of prose writing skills.

In mid-November, Song Tangtang and his group returned from the United States to attend a wedding, and a couple also returned at the same time.