Zhang Shouren
I had more contact with Wang Lao. Our October magazine has compiled and distributed his short stories "Three Friends at the Age of Cold" and "Dew" as well as his essays "Radish" and "Yan Fu". Wang Lao and I went to the south to collect opinions, gave lectures in Loudi, Hunan Province, held meetings at Huairou Reservoir and the Chinese Literature Foundation, and I also took the manuscript from his house of Pu Huangyu. The longest time I stayed with Wang Lao was 199 1 during the Hongtashan Pen Club in April, 2008. They lived in the same room for half a month, and I learned a lot from him face to face, which I will never forget.
Wang Lao said to me: Writing is writing language. The language of a work is an organic whole, just like the running water in a river, which can't be cut off, merged with each other and moved the whole body. Therefore, all the works he wrote when he was young can be recited, because the language of his works has inherent rhythm and rhythm. I remember that in the process of circulating the script of Shajiabang, the manuscript of a scene was lost, and the leaders and typists in the group were in a hurry. Wang Lao comforted them and told them not to worry. Then, he sat by the typewriter and recited the play from the first word to the last word.
3 Wang Lao said: Pay attention to describing the life phenomena you see in written language anytime and anywhere. When he was sent to Zhangjiakou to work and live in a sheep shed, there was a tree wall outside. When the night train passed by, the lights in the window shone on the tree wall one by one. How to describe this phenomenon? He wrote in "A Night in the Sheep Shed": "The honey yellow lights on the window of the car shine on the tree wall one by one, block by block, chasing after it endlessly? 6? 7? 6? Do you always feel like you are scraping off branches and leaves all over the floor? 6? 7? 6? The word "scrape" means the intensity and speed of train lighting.
(4) When Wang Zengqi was a visiting scholar in the United States, the topic of his speech at Harvard University and Yale University was "The Language of China Literature", which shows that he attached great importance to literary language.
⑤ I like to write prose, and take advantage of the long talk at night to ask Wang Lao for his experience in writing prose. He told me: When writing prose, we should exercise restraint, leave blank space like painting, and don't overflow with feelings like a little girl. It's always unnatural for an old man to write a love letter. Some essayists' works are burning like a fire, but after reading them, they feel empty and leave no impression. Writing prose requires experience. Without ups and downs and pain, you can't write a good article. Prose can't fall into conventions, so don't take it personally. Therefore, he has always wanted to write his prose in a natural and plain way, like a common saying, cordial and simple; Of course, it can also be meticulous and dense, such as He Qifang's "Drawing Dreams", which has a unique style, like a beautiful flower. "But I can't write such prose."
⑥ I once said to Wang Lao: I am not a fan of Beijing Opera, but I wrote Shajiabang for you. I especially appreciate the lyrics of A Qing Sao in Zhi Dou, that is, "Set up a seven-star stove, cook Sanjiang in a copper pot, and spread out the square table to entertain sixteen parties." All the guests are guests, all by mouth. " Wang Laoshou put a cigarette in his hand, put it to his mouth and took a sharp sip. He said with a smile, "Don't take this lyric too seriously. I played a group of numbers games there. Boiling the Three Rivers in a Copper Pot was inspired by Su Dongpo's poems. "Tea is cold when people leave" is also a digital concept, which means zero. "
⑦ I said, "Without the cultivation of poetry and the knowledge of ancient Chinese, you can't write this lyric." So, he recalled his childhood: his grandfather Wang Jiaxun was a tribute in the late Qing Dynasty, and he was urged to hold a pen to paint red and recite ancient Chinese from an early age. In the fifth grade of primary school, my grandfather personally told him the Analects of Confucius and told him to practice calligraphy more. Grandfather said, "You should be patient and lay a good foundation, which will last you a lifetime." Wang Lao said: "When I was 0/3 years old, I wrote an eight-part essay, and my grandfather read it and sighed,' If you were in the Qing Dynasty, you could have won a scholar.' When my grandfather saw that I had made progress, he gave me some rare stone tablets and a purple inkstone. "
On those spring nights in the south, Wang Lao talked with me about The National SouthWest Associated University. When he was in Zhangjiakou, the Academy of Agricultural Sciences asked him to draw potatoes and potato flowers, and he made a potato atlas of China, but unfortunately it didn't survive like Shen Congwen's Study on Ancient Chinese Costume. He was very sorry that the manuscript of Huapu was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.
Pet-name ruby one day in Dali, we visited Erhai Lake in Shimonoseki, visited butterfly spring, and watched the three tea Song and Dance Party performed by Dali Bai Song and Dance Troupe in the evening. When I went back to the hotel to go to bed, Wang Lao leaned his head against the bed rail and said to me proudly, Xiao Zhang, you know, I wrote these articles on cooking because I am a special contributor to China Cooking magazine. To be a famous chef, you must have a rich imagination, not stick to the rules, and constantly innovate to create new dishes and flavors. Cooking according to the recipe is never promising. For example, fried dough sticks, you cut it into pieces, embed minced meat mixed with mustard tuber and chopped green onion in the middle, and then fry it in the oil pan, which is especially delicious when you take it out. This dish might as well be called "fried dough sticks with stuffing", for which I have the right to apply for a patent.
Attending Wang is always a gourmet. Along the way, the female writers surrounded him and followed him to the table where he sat for dinner. What kind of food he likes, female writers follow him, and soon the pot of vegetables is eaten up. Ms Ling Li, winner of Mao Dun Literature Prize, called Wang Lao Brewmaster, Yan Jing and Wen Hu.
⑾ After that company, Wang Lao and I got to know each other. He signed the published Puqiao Collection and gave it to me. He also wrote a seven-character poem and told me to get it. I remember the first two sentences are "unique wisdom and character, don't read the article as the Romans do."
⑿ Wang Lao is good at poetry, painting and writing, so I call him "the last literati writer" in China. He is not only good at writing ancient poems, but also has great taste in vernacular poems. But it was a new poem, Early Spring, that brought him disaster.
[13]1in the spring of 992, Xu Chi, the author of Goldbach's conjecture, and Mr. Wang Yuanhua were on holiday in Shenzhen West Lake. One day, Xu was late to sit in my room and saw an anthology of Wang Zengqi's works lying on the table. He picked it up and turned it over. Suddenly he covered his face with the book and said with guilt, "I hurt him." I was taken aback and asked him why he said this. He said: "1June 1957, I worked in the editorial department of Poetry Magazine and saw a new group of poems" Early Spring "sent by Wang Zengqi. The first song is bunting, with only two sentences:' when the bunting of the wind is like a bound wave', I appreciate it very much, and it was published in Poetry Magazine for him, which caused trouble. After the anti-rightist movement, Early Spring and Colorful Flag were mercilessly criticized, saying that the author's slander of the red flag was not free and bound. The poem "Early Spring" also made a big taboo. Fei Xiaotong was classified as a rightist because of "Early Spring Weather for Intellectuals", and Wang Zengqi's "Early Spring" was as reactionary as Fei Xiaotong's, and was also classified as a rightist and sent to Zhangjiakou for labor. If I don't send him this set of poems, maybe he won't have such an experience. "
[14] Wang Lao suffered many setbacks, but always smiled calmly, humorously and optimistically at life, and was a mentor and friend to many people. Although he has never held a high position, he has influenced several generations of readers with his literary talent and personality charm. He is a warm lake.