He is a warm lakeOriginal text

He is a warm lake

①I have had more contact with Mr. Wang. Our "October" magazine has compiled and distributed his short stories "Three Friends of Suihan" and "Dew" as well as essays "Carrot" and "Smoke Fu". Mr. Wang and I went to the south to collect works, gave lectures in Loudi, Hunan, held meetings at the Huairou Reservoir and the Chinese Literature Foundation, and I even went to his home in Puhuangyu to pick up manuscripts. The longest time Mr. Wang and I stayed together was during the Hongtashan Pen Club in April 1991. The two of us lived in the same room for half a month. I learned a lot from him face to face, which I will never forget.

② Mr. Wang said to me: Writing is writing language. The language of a work is an organic whole, just like the flowing water in a river. It is inseparable and inseparable. It merges with each other and affects the whole body. Therefore, he can recite the works he wrote when he was young, because the language of the works has inherent rhythm and rhythm. I remember that during the circulation of the script of "Shajiabang", the manuscript of one scene was lost, and the leaders and typists in the regiment were anxious. Mr. Wang comforted them and told them to rest assured and not to be anxious. Then he sat down at the typewriter and memorized the scene from the first word to the last.

③ Mr. Wang said: Pay attention to using words to describe the life phenomena you see anytime and anywhere. When he was sent to the sheep farm in Zhangjiakou, there was a wall of trees outside. When the night train passed by, the lights from the windows shone on the wall of trees one by one. How to describe this phenomenon? He wrote this in "A Night in the Sheep House": "The honey-yellow light from the car window shines on the tree wall one by one, square by square, chasing each other in an endless stream? You always feel like scraping branches and leaves all over the ground. "Like?" The word "scratching" represents the intensity and speed of the train's lights.

④When Wang Zengqi was a visiting scholar in the United States, the title of his lectures at Harvard University and Yale University was "Language Issues in Chinese Literature", which shows that he attaches great importance to literary language.

⑤ I like to write prose, so I took advantage of the late night conversation to ask Mr. Wang for his experience in writing prose. He told me: I should be restrained when writing prose, leave blank space like a painting, and don’t be overflowing with emotions like a little girl. It's always unnatural for an old man to write a love letter. Some essayists' works are like a fire, burning brightly, but after reading them they feel hollow and leave no impression. Writing prose requires experience. Without ups and downs and pain, you cannot write good articles. Prose should not fall into clichés and should not be taken in a tone of voice. Therefore, he always hopes to write prose in an easy and natural way, a little plain, like homely talk, cordial and simple; of course, it can also be meticulous and dense, like Qifang's "Painting Dreams", which has a unique style, like a clump of beautiful flowers. Hua, "But I can't write such prose."

⑥ Once I said to Mr. Wang: I am not a fan of Peking Opera, but I am fascinated by the "Shajiabang? Fight of Wisdom" written by you. I particularly appreciate Sister Aqing's lyrics, which is: "Set up a seven-star stove, cook three rivers in a copper pot, set up a table of eight immortals, and entertain sixteen parties. All the guests come, all based on their mouths." Mr. Wang held it in his hand. He put a cigarette to his lips, took a deep puff, and said with a smile: "Don't take this libretto too seriously. I played a number game there. 'Three Rivers Boiled in a Copper Pot' was inspired by Su Dongpo's poems.' "As soon as people leave, the tea gets cold" is also a numerical concept, which means zero. ”

⑦I said: “Without poetry literacy and ancient Chinese proficiency, it is impossible to write this libretto. "So, he recalled his childhood: His grandfather Wang Jiaxun was a Bagong in the late Qing Dynasty. He urged him to hold a pen to draw reds and memorize ancient prose since he was a child. When he was in the fifth grade of elementary school, his grandfather personally taught him "The Analects" and told him to practice more Brush calligraphy. Grandfather said: "You have to be patient and lay the foundation well, which will last you a lifetime. Mr. Wang said: "When I was 13 years old, I wrote an eight-legged essay. When my grandfather saw it, he sighed and said, 'If you were in the Qing Dynasty, you could definitely become a scholar.' ’ When my grandfather saw that I had made progress, he gave me several valuable inscriptions and a purple inkstone. ”

⑧In those spring nights in the South, Mr. Wang talked with me about the Southwest Associated University. When he was in Zhangjiakou, the Agricultural Science Institute asked him to draw potatoes and potato flowers, which turned into a "Chinese Potato Atlas" , but it is a pity that it has not been handed down like Shen Congwen's "Research on Ancient Chinese Clothing". The original manuscript of "Painting Book" was destroyed during the "Cultural Revolution".

⑨ One day he arrived in Dali. We visited the Erhai Lake in Xiaguan City, visited the Butterfly Spring, and watched the Three-Course Tea Song and Dance Party performed by the Dali Bai Song and Dance Troupe in the evening. When we returned to the hotel to go to bed, Mr. Wang leaned his head on the bed rail and said to me quite proudly: Xiao Zhang, you know, the reason why I wrote these articles about cooking is because I am a special writer for "Chinese Cooking" magazine. To be a famous chef, you must have a rich imagination and cannot stick to the rules. You must keep innovating and creating new dishes and flavors. There is no hope in cooking according to the recipe. For example, you cut the fried dough sticks into sections, embed minced meat mixed with pickled mustard and chopped green onion in the middle, and then put them in the oil pan. It's particularly delicious when fried inside. This dish might as well be called "stuffed fried dough sticks", and I have the right to apply for a patent.

⑩ Wang Lao was a gourmet along the way. The female writers would follow him to whatever table he was eating at. They would eat whatever dish he liked, and soon they would finish the pot of vegetables. The winner, Ms. Ling Li, called Mr. Wang a drunkard, a smoker, and a literary fox.

⑾After that companionship, Mr. Wang and I became familiar with each other. He signed the published "Puqiao Collection" and gave it to me. He also wrote a seven-character poem and asked me to pick it up. I remember the first two sentences are "Have unique wisdom and character, and don't read articles with common eyes."

⑿ Mr. Wang’s poems, paintings and writing are good, so I call him China’s “last literati writer”. Not only does he write ancient poems well, but his vernacular poems are also very flavorful. But it was because of a new poem "Early Spring" that brought him disaster.

⒀In the spring of 1992, Xu Chi, the author of "Goldbach's Conjecture", and I were on vacation in West Lake, Shenzhen, as well as Mr. Wang Yuanhua. One day, Xu late came to sit in my room and saw a book "Selected Works of Wang Zengqi" lying on the table. He picked it up and flipped through it. Suddenly he covered his face with the book and said with an apologetic heart: "I hurt him." ." I was surprised and asked him why he said this. He said: "In June 1957, I was working in the editorial department of "Poetry Magazine" and saw a set of new poems "Early Spring" sent by Wang Zengqi. The first poem was "Colorful Flags", with only two sentences: 'Colorful Flags in the Wind, "Like a Trapped Wave", I admired it very much and published it in the "Poetry Magazine", which caused trouble. After the "anti-rightist" movement, "Early Spring" and "Colored Flags" were ruthlessly criticized, and the author was criticized. Fei Xiaotong was classified as a rightist because of his poem "Early Spring" by Wang Zengqi and Fei Xiaotong. He was also classified as a rightist and was sent to work in Zhangjiakou. If I had not published this set of poems to him, perhaps he would not have experienced such a situation."

⒁ Mr. Wang has encountered many ups and downs, but he has always been calm and humorous. , smiles optimistically at life, and is a good teacher and helpful 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 - Wang Zengqi is a warm lake.