The beauty of the scenery lies in its sorrow - reading "Istanbul: The Sorrow of a City"

? Picture/text: Ruoshui

"The beauty of beautiful scenery lies in its sadness."

"Istanbul: Memory of a City".

"Hüzün", the sadness of a city.

The word "hüzn" means "sadness" in Turkish, and is transliterated into Chinese "hüzn". This translation is so unique and beautiful.

I like this book by Pamuk so much.

"Hüzün" refers to the father walking home under the street lights in the back streets carrying plastic bags in the evening when the sun goes down early; the old Bosphorus ferry anchored at the abandoned ferry in the middle of winter... A pimp walking patiently around the largest square in the city on a summer night looking for the last drunken customer... the sound of ship whistles in the fog; the ruins of city walls since the collapse of the Byzantine Empire... perched on a rusty barge Seagulls, barge hulls covered with moss and mussels, standing upright in the pouring rain; ribbons of smoke rising from the single chimney of a century-old villa in the cold season... library reading room; street photographers; the smell of breath in the theater … Letters missing where the lightbulbs burned out … Like a city cemetery leading to a second world, the cypress trees in the cemetery … The days when everyone had to stay home while the electoral rolls were compiled … Hard times with three children A young mother walking; at 9:05 in the morning on November 10th, the whole city stopped to pay tribute in memory of the founding father of Turkey, and ships whistled at the sea at the same time... Everything that was damaged, dilapidated, and no longer beautiful..."< /p>

How can you write so well? Regarding "Hüzün", the author took it all in one breath and used almost three pages arranged side by side in an unconventional way to describe the city of Istanbul calmly, delicately, deeply, tirelessly, and could not be more realistic and vivid. There are sounds and colors, large and small, far and near, jumbled up, and tinny—the distant and deep "hüzün" of millions of people in this city. Reading every word, I couldn't help but bursts of surprise and screams of exclamation, and my heart flow shocked my whole body. Scenes of vivid and vivid scenes with a color of Sufi mysticism rushed towards me like a super long shot in a movie. The people, things, cars and boats, buildings, light and shadow, trees, smoke, dust, cemeteries, birds, beggars, and rust in the ancient city; the day, night, winter, summer, spring and autumn of a city; the colors, appearance, smells, sounds, and emotions of a city , spirit, realm... everything, everything, came one after another, burst into existence, spread and flooded in front of my eyes and in my mind, allowing me to see "Hüzün" clearly and immersively. "When the sun suddenly shines on the Bosphorus Sea and a slight mist rises from the sea, you can almost touch the deep "Hüzün" and almost see it. It can be seen that it is like a thin film covering the residents and the landscape"...

"Hüzün" is not only closely related to Islamic cultural beliefs and traditional Sufi mysticism, but also to the development after the decline of the Ottoman Empire. The history of the city and how this history is reflected in the "beauty" of the city and its people are closely related.

"Hüzün" is not only the emotion evoked by music and poetry, but also the way Istanbulites view their shared history and life; it is not only a spiritual realm, but also a state of mind. Finally, It both affirms and denies life.

"Hüzün" is not the sadness of a lonely person, but the "Hüzün" of millions of people in Istanbul and the entire city - Istanbul's historical, deep, mysterious and melancholy , the "Hüzün" that makes the people who live in it feel sad and heartbroken but feel honored to bear it...

Pamouk said that as time goes by, this "Hüzün" evokes A unique philosophical tradition is the unique culture of millions of Istanbulites.

As I read, I suddenly understood why Türkiye became a country of poetry. Over the past century, "Hüzün" has deeply influenced the spiritual style of Turkish music and dominated the tone and symbolic meaning of Turkish poetry.

I can't help but think of the song "Train" by Internet singer Cheng Bi. The lyrics are the poems of Turkish poet Tarangi. Yu Guangzhong translated - "Where are you going? It's so late, beautiful train, lonely The train, the misery is the sound of your whistle, which reminds me of many things.

Why shouldn't I wave a handkerchief? The passengers are more or less related to me. Let's go. I hope the journey is safe, the bridges are strong, and the tunnels are bright..." - Oh, what a beautiful "Hüzün"...

July 2022 5th? Reading Essay