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As a writer, on the long road of literary creation, it is like a person on his way in the north wind. Sometimes, it is hard to avoid feeling tired, cold and upset, but sometimes, one will be also in the best of spirits and have a pleasure of walking. Right at this moment, if he is given a glass of boiling wine, it may drive away some of his tiredness and give him a bit of warmth. However, without the glass of wine, he would be walk on his way still, for it is his fate and he will definitely run towards the goal of his life. But don’t get drunk while drinking for you can’t walk long if being drunk. A writer treats the honor and treasured courage from others just like the walker treating the glass of wine. As for winning the “Mao Dun Literature Prize”, it may be a kind of crappy metaphor.
You Are on the Highland differs, to some extent, from other serial novels in volumes. A serial novel has the story of each part generally independent, which under one name commands many different, or slightly associated separate editions, without pursuing a grand narration or an epic writing style. It is just like what the Bibles says: enter through a narrow door. Actually, its ten parts in 39 volumes can be read separately, for it has adopted a modern structural method: you can start from the very beginning or with any part at random. Different sequences of reading will result in different feelings.
Original Purpose of Writing
Before 1988 when starting to write it, I had finished the Ancient Boat and other novels as well as many novelettes and short stories, essays and poems. I have personally waded in literature for a long period of time, and have of course made some achievement. While aggregating art experiences, I have also aggregated more desires for creation and so want to have one more saturated and incisive and vivid expression which need to be matched with a relevant scale. In other words, it is unlikely to be a separate edition, but should be structurally a big work before it may be finished. On the other hand, it is my personal complex experiences and long history of reading. Only with all these combined together will it be possible to generate such a vast and numerous expression. Without such a big scale, it seems inadequate to express my life experiences over 30 years, including endless emotional sighs and reserved plump emotions, which all have to have relevant artistic forms to display.
People of our age have experienced some important events, such as the times of starvation, “cultural revolution”, and some events after bringing order out chaos, especially the debate on ideal of life in the early 1980s. In those, it was felt everywhere throughout the country people were seeking the truth and everyone was designing for their lives. In a current view, in China, the materialist desire is extremely strong. Under such state, in recalling those times, one would feel like to be in a dream, as is amazing. So, each time recalling the scene, we would return to a big dream of agitation and surging generosity. Therefore, as compared to the times of today, such back-tracking is of special significance. This long novel covers a history of 100 years, from the revolutionists to present. However, with time passing by, ink becomes increasingly thick as close as to today. Therefore, it is not only a memorial work of criticizing the past and recalling the past, but also and mostly a work representing the current China on a full scale. A “Book of Walk”
You Are on the Highland is a “book of walk”. As a “book of walk”, it has a meaning at two levels. First, the book describes many different people on their way, like vagrants, workers and different kinds of people, from different vocations, including the walks of leading academic scholars, general poor people, intellectuals, elders and young children, dulls, beggars, vagrant artists……with all kinds of people included. It is the reality. Furthermore, it is the writing state of the author: the author also kept on walking and wading. I had been to many places in China, south and north, east and west, trying to observe and compare, in a wider range, for thinking and widening the vision; walking carefully, especially on the mountainous plain of the peninsula region. This process was accompanied with reading, taking notes and writing. To a great extent, my writing was finished in walking.
During the literary marathon of 22 years, I had gone to numerous places, encountered different kinds of suffering and even danger to my life. Upon finishing the book, I had a feeling of extreme emptiness and loss. Since I had lived for 22 years and even longer with all those in the book, men and women, I would have a feeling of uncomforting and trance when saying goodbye to them all in a sudden. I remember that I saw a cartoon about a writer: after finishing a work, he is saying good-bye to the figures in the book, with all of them sharing tears. I understood this cartoon much, without feeling it was exaggerating. As you may imagine, I had been closely discussing, listening, debating and living with more than one hundred figures in more than twenty years and now had to end it and depart from them. Before that, I had been used to being among them. Living in that world, my relationship with them is closer and more adjacent than the relationship in reality.
Questioning and Voicing after Winning the Prize
It is said that no one will read anything that is purely literary and long. Such view is completely to substitute and guess the mentality of others with one’s own mentality. I have such feeling as: readers will not question, while questioners will not read. Readers bury their head in reading and fall into the situation, being moved or feeling anger, without any time to look around and question here and there, while those engaged in questioning will not be good readers. Of course, as a writer, it is necessary to regard different kinds of questions as a social progress for voicing is after all better than being voiceless. Writers should listen to different voices from which to absorb nutrition and capture what is needed—it is not only an inclusive attitude, but also an important angle and direction for writers to witness and observe life. On the other hand, it took 22 years and even a longer period of time to finish You Are on the Highland, and how many 22 years does one have in his life? Or how many 22 years does one have for flourishing in creation? Under such circumstances, it is not necessary for readers to read it through in one go, but they can take time to read it or throw it away if feeling unwell, as is after all understandable. Reading is a voluntary matter. We surely care for how much we read and whether we are willing to read, but will not run after others asking whether they have read and how much they have read - reading should help in enjoying adequate freedom.
Whole Life Can Be Dev-oted to a Good Book
Here, I would like to express my thanks to Duty Chief Editor Yang Dehua of Writers Publishing House, who has cost his life for the book. In the last few years of his life, he read through the script at least twice and offered numerous comments. During the period of editing the complete book, he had small and big surgeries nearly 30 times. Whenever talking about him, I would always feel sad for the book is a work of his life.
On the title page of the separate edition of September’s Fable, it is written: “the whole life can be devoted to a good book”.” It has two meanings: first, it indicates the importance of writing a good book for a writer and his determination. The whole life can be devoted to write one good only, such as A Dream of Red Mansions and Remembrance of Things Past, of which the authors wrote basically only one book in their life. They are the outstanding writers carried in the history of civilizations. It has another meaning that no matter how many he has written in his life, a writer is actually writing “one book”: a good writer will never jump here and there, but he always has one major direction for his pursuit of spiritual realm and literary poetic realm, with an obvious track of exploration. What he eventually finishes is only one big book, a book of life.
In the novel of Recall Mallow, it is also written: “no matter it is a prize and success in the gallery, it is merely a way for people to make ‘crumbs’……as long as it is a crumb, it will never fall to the ground with a sound and will be blown away in the wind.” Sincere encouragement from different sides is exceptionally precious. But, we should not always hold it in hands; otherwise, we cannot spare our hands to do something else. It is be good to set aside any honor and appreciation properly for a hard-working literary worker. It is necessary to appreciate for encouragement from others as well as turn all to the time. Bylinsky once said: “after necessary time, everyone will return where they should be”. It is an excellent statement. Some pride and honors, extravagant hopes and misunderstandings will all be compressed out by time and eventually, everyone return to where they should be. Therefore, many literateurs and artists making a noise in the world would fade after certain time, or “return to where they should be”. A writer should be in awe of time and be confident and aware of any mind of fluke, but should work on honestly. Interpretation of Net-work Literature
Nowadays, the youngsters are reading some popular literary works, network literary works, etc, but literature belongs, after all, to those of experiences. It is said literature belongs to the youth, but is youth perfect without any defect? Will those loving to read “youth works” surely represent youth? The answer is “not necessary”. Youth is a kind of strong life, indicating the most sensitive discovery and creativity and a special texture of life. It is not merely a question of age. Children and youngsters show much difference among them. What I know and have seen is that almost none of the most profound youngster will read popular fast-food reading matters, but always stay away from such foams and avoid being touched by them and strive to absorb the spiritual nutrition being most important in a period or the human history. Even if suffering from a spiritual “flu”, one should not be pessimistic for, without taking any medical treatment, as time passes by, it will be also self cured in most cases. This is the law of things.
However, we cannot simply place the network literature and paper literature in an opposite position. Since network literature and paper literature are different in publication modes and carriers only, eventually it depends on the strength and weakness of the works and carriers are not much decisive. Strictly speaking, there is no “network literature”, but only “literature”. A good literary work will not have its quality affected whether being carved on the tile, printed on paper, moved in screen, engraved on wood or written on a wall. It is wrong to make any opposition in concepts due to different carriers. It is also incorrect to say that the works on network are rough and fast-written. On network, there are also a huge number of exquisite things. Since my works of several million characters are shown on network, if I deny all, will it mean to deny myself? Therefore, we should not care carriers, but only quality.
You Are on the Highland differs, to some extent, from other serial novels in volumes. A serial novel has the story of each part generally independent, which under one name commands many different, or slightly associated separate editions, without pursuing a grand narration or an epic writing style. It is just like what the Bibles says: enter through a narrow door. Actually, its ten parts in 39 volumes can be read separately, for it has adopted a modern structural method: you can start from the very beginning or with any part at random. Different sequences of reading will result in different feelings.
Original Purpose of Writing
Before 1988 when starting to write it, I had finished the Ancient Boat and other novels as well as many novelettes and short stories, essays and poems. I have personally waded in literature for a long period of time, and have of course made some achievement. While aggregating art experiences, I have also aggregated more desires for creation and so want to have one more saturated and incisive and vivid expression which need to be matched with a relevant scale. In other words, it is unlikely to be a separate edition, but should be structurally a big work before it may be finished. On the other hand, it is my personal complex experiences and long history of reading. Only with all these combined together will it be possible to generate such a vast and numerous expression. Without such a big scale, it seems inadequate to express my life experiences over 30 years, including endless emotional sighs and reserved plump emotions, which all have to have relevant artistic forms to display.
People of our age have experienced some important events, such as the times of starvation, “cultural revolution”, and some events after bringing order out chaos, especially the debate on ideal of life in the early 1980s. In those, it was felt everywhere throughout the country people were seeking the truth and everyone was designing for their lives. In a current view, in China, the materialist desire is extremely strong. Under such state, in recalling those times, one would feel like to be in a dream, as is amazing. So, each time recalling the scene, we would return to a big dream of agitation and surging generosity. Therefore, as compared to the times of today, such back-tracking is of special significance. This long novel covers a history of 100 years, from the revolutionists to present. However, with time passing by, ink becomes increasingly thick as close as to today. Therefore, it is not only a memorial work of criticizing the past and recalling the past, but also and mostly a work representing the current China on a full scale. A “Book of Walk”
You Are on the Highland is a “book of walk”. As a “book of walk”, it has a meaning at two levels. First, the book describes many different people on their way, like vagrants, workers and different kinds of people, from different vocations, including the walks of leading academic scholars, general poor people, intellectuals, elders and young children, dulls, beggars, vagrant artists……with all kinds of people included. It is the reality. Furthermore, it is the writing state of the author: the author also kept on walking and wading. I had been to many places in China, south and north, east and west, trying to observe and compare, in a wider range, for thinking and widening the vision; walking carefully, especially on the mountainous plain of the peninsula region. This process was accompanied with reading, taking notes and writing. To a great extent, my writing was finished in walking.
During the literary marathon of 22 years, I had gone to numerous places, encountered different kinds of suffering and even danger to my life. Upon finishing the book, I had a feeling of extreme emptiness and loss. Since I had lived for 22 years and even longer with all those in the book, men and women, I would have a feeling of uncomforting and trance when saying goodbye to them all in a sudden. I remember that I saw a cartoon about a writer: after finishing a work, he is saying good-bye to the figures in the book, with all of them sharing tears. I understood this cartoon much, without feeling it was exaggerating. As you may imagine, I had been closely discussing, listening, debating and living with more than one hundred figures in more than twenty years and now had to end it and depart from them. Before that, I had been used to being among them. Living in that world, my relationship with them is closer and more adjacent than the relationship in reality.
Questioning and Voicing after Winning the Prize
It is said that no one will read anything that is purely literary and long. Such view is completely to substitute and guess the mentality of others with one’s own mentality. I have such feeling as: readers will not question, while questioners will not read. Readers bury their head in reading and fall into the situation, being moved or feeling anger, without any time to look around and question here and there, while those engaged in questioning will not be good readers. Of course, as a writer, it is necessary to regard different kinds of questions as a social progress for voicing is after all better than being voiceless. Writers should listen to different voices from which to absorb nutrition and capture what is needed—it is not only an inclusive attitude, but also an important angle and direction for writers to witness and observe life. On the other hand, it took 22 years and even a longer period of time to finish You Are on the Highland, and how many 22 years does one have in his life? Or how many 22 years does one have for flourishing in creation? Under such circumstances, it is not necessary for readers to read it through in one go, but they can take time to read it or throw it away if feeling unwell, as is after all understandable. Reading is a voluntary matter. We surely care for how much we read and whether we are willing to read, but will not run after others asking whether they have read and how much they have read - reading should help in enjoying adequate freedom.
Whole Life Can Be Dev-oted to a Good Book
Here, I would like to express my thanks to Duty Chief Editor Yang Dehua of Writers Publishing House, who has cost his life for the book. In the last few years of his life, he read through the script at least twice and offered numerous comments. During the period of editing the complete book, he had small and big surgeries nearly 30 times. Whenever talking about him, I would always feel sad for the book is a work of his life.
On the title page of the separate edition of September’s Fable, it is written: “the whole life can be devoted to a good book”.” It has two meanings: first, it indicates the importance of writing a good book for a writer and his determination. The whole life can be devoted to write one good only, such as A Dream of Red Mansions and Remembrance of Things Past, of which the authors wrote basically only one book in their life. They are the outstanding writers carried in the history of civilizations. It has another meaning that no matter how many he has written in his life, a writer is actually writing “one book”: a good writer will never jump here and there, but he always has one major direction for his pursuit of spiritual realm and literary poetic realm, with an obvious track of exploration. What he eventually finishes is only one big book, a book of life.
In the novel of Recall Mallow, it is also written: “no matter it is a prize and success in the gallery, it is merely a way for people to make ‘crumbs’……as long as it is a crumb, it will never fall to the ground with a sound and will be blown away in the wind.” Sincere encouragement from different sides is exceptionally precious. But, we should not always hold it in hands; otherwise, we cannot spare our hands to do something else. It is be good to set aside any honor and appreciation properly for a hard-working literary worker. It is necessary to appreciate for encouragement from others as well as turn all to the time. Bylinsky once said: “after necessary time, everyone will return where they should be”. It is an excellent statement. Some pride and honors, extravagant hopes and misunderstandings will all be compressed out by time and eventually, everyone return to where they should be. Therefore, many literateurs and artists making a noise in the world would fade after certain time, or “return to where they should be”. A writer should be in awe of time and be confident and aware of any mind of fluke, but should work on honestly. Interpretation of Net-work Literature
Nowadays, the youngsters are reading some popular literary works, network literary works, etc, but literature belongs, after all, to those of experiences. It is said literature belongs to the youth, but is youth perfect without any defect? Will those loving to read “youth works” surely represent youth? The answer is “not necessary”. Youth is a kind of strong life, indicating the most sensitive discovery and creativity and a special texture of life. It is not merely a question of age. Children and youngsters show much difference among them. What I know and have seen is that almost none of the most profound youngster will read popular fast-food reading matters, but always stay away from such foams and avoid being touched by them and strive to absorb the spiritual nutrition being most important in a period or the human history. Even if suffering from a spiritual “flu”, one should not be pessimistic for, without taking any medical treatment, as time passes by, it will be also self cured in most cases. This is the law of things.
However, we cannot simply place the network literature and paper literature in an opposite position. Since network literature and paper literature are different in publication modes and carriers only, eventually it depends on the strength and weakness of the works and carriers are not much decisive. Strictly speaking, there is no “network literature”, but only “literature”. A good literary work will not have its quality affected whether being carved on the tile, printed on paper, moved in screen, engraved on wood or written on a wall. It is wrong to make any opposition in concepts due to different carriers. It is also incorrect to say that the works on network are rough and fast-written. On network, there are also a huge number of exquisite things. Since my works of several million characters are shown on network, if I deny all, will it mean to deny myself? Therefore, we should not care carriers, but only quality.