Dialogue with civilization makes culture shine
——Read Xu Zhaoshou's new work "Going to the West and Enlightening the Way"
The western part of China has a vast land and a rich history. Due to the harsh natural conditions and the limitation of the geographical environment, many people only construct and understand the western part in literature and imagination.
The boundless Gobi desert blocks the footsteps of westward travel; the wind and dust all over the sky obscures the brilliance of history.
Mr. Xu Zhaoshou's new work "Enlightenment in the West" travels westward in space and ancient times in time, dialogues with heaven and earth, talks with mind, debates with science, explores the value of barrenness, seeks the Kunlun of culture, and tries to re-polish the hidden The ancient history under the yellow sand has once again opened the western port of the intersection of Chinese civilization and world civilization.
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"Westward Journey and Enlightenment" is a great cultural prose. The creation of cultural prose requires not only the pattern and vision of a scholar, but also the mind and atmosphere of a literati.
As a scholar and writer with rich experience and creative experience, Xu Zhaoshou has completed the necessary accumulation and precipitation in the continuous thinking, walking and creative practice for many years.
The author mentioned in the preface, "every ten years, I always have a big change".
"The ten years from graduating in 1992 to 2002 was a period of my life. At that time, I mainly wrote poetry. From 2002 to 2012, I wrote novels. The ten years from 2012 to the present are academics." A poet, a novelist, or a scholar, the author's heart and soul have never left the desolate and desolate western land for a moment. Every transformation is just a change of expression.
Different from some writers’ descriptions of the west, which are fleeting and fleeting, Xu Zhaoshou poured all his emotions, beliefs and even his life into this land. In the general logical narrative, the fiery emotions surging under the calm words are breathtaking, and he is the real "son of the western land".
The west is an important field of cultural archaeology. Through this window, we can re-examine and observe the history and process of the exchanges between Chinese civilization and world civilization and participation in the construction of world civilization.
"Going to the West and Enlightenment" organically combines history, archaeology, folklore and literature in the process of unfolding the story of the west. From this, we can not only feel the rigor and calmness of scholars, but also the sensibility and warmth of literati.
In the article "The Worship of the Heart", the Buddha set out from India and traveled eastward along the Silk Road, first with the western customs of Loulan and Qiuci, then with the mixture of Hu and Han in Dunhuang, Zhangye and Liangzhou, and when he arrived at Tianshui Maiji During the mountain period, the color of Han culture dominated.
This is not so much an image display of the level of the spread and evolution of Buddhist culture, but rather the different teaching and salvation methods that Buddha has adopted to sentient beings at different times, in different places, and under different circumstances.
In the article "Heart of Desolation", the author dialectically analyzes the different values of reality and nothingness. He regards the desert Gobi as another ecology that is juxtaposed with green mountains and green waters. The existence of this desert ecology is another kind of life. One meaning—the meaning of nothingness.
He believes: "There must be a barren field in life, it is not for us to use, but for our real heart to rest, for our utilitarian heart to transcend, for our confused heart to come here to ask questions ."
From Kumarajiva to Enlightenment in the West, Xu Zhaoshou's creative direction has undergone a fundamental change. He fixed his eyes and actions on the ancient Silk Road without hesitation. Go to ancient times, go to the sky".
When thinking and trying to answer "what is the West", the author is not limited to the present, but goes up against time and space, returning to history and tradition, sometimes looking up, sometimes looking down, analyzing and observing the "Western West" in a very in-depth way The gene and code of "spirit".
There are many question marks in each article of "Going to the West and Enlightening the Way", asking, questioning, asking, rhetorically, asking questions... In the face of these many questions, the author walked over and over in the western land, trying hard in the desolate desert and Gobi. , look for the imprint of history in the mountains and rivers, and go deep into the sky of history again and again, thinking and exploring the answers to these questions from the perspective of history.
There are a total of 58 question marks in the article "Looking for Tianma", and each question mark has a power that touches the soul, which is a spirit of "I will go up and down and search for it".
The author realizes that the "copper galloping horse" unearthed from the Han Tomb in Leitai, his hometown, represents a certain Chinese spirit. What kind of spirit is that?
With this huge question mark, the author resolutely embarks on a journey to find Tianma, and returns to the historical scene again and again, sorts out the relationship between Tianma and Dawan, Wusun, Yuezhi, and Xiongnu, and retells Tianma and Han Wudi, Zhang Qian, The story of Huo Qubing attempts to explore and interpret the "most romantic and radiant aesthetic spirit" in Chinese culture represented and contained by Tianma.
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The author has a very deep love for the western land. To some extent, his walking and creation can be regarded as the relief of his strong cultural nostalgia, but his local complex is never closed or narrow.
The author has experienced the process of “going out and returning”. The author once stood in the east and listened to the call of the god of the western wasteland, and also had a dialogue and debate with the god of science in the Guanghua building in Fudan. The author chose to return to the west and tradition. It is necessary to return to the root system of Chinese culture and retrieve the subjectivity of Chinese culture; one is to try to break the many ideological things about Chinese civilization in the past, bring Chinese civilization into the perspective of globalization, conduct a new investigation, and then explore and discover The construction value and reconstruction effect of Chinese civilization on world civilization.
Mr. Ji Xianlin once pointed out in the article "The Status and Functions of Dunhuang Studies and Turpan Studies in Chinese Cultural History" that there is only one place where the four major cultural systems in the world converge, that is, China's Dunhuang and Xinjiang regions, and there is no second place.
"Westbound Enlightenment" has quoted this point of view many times, not only to express his pride in the history of the West and Chinese civilization, but also to demonstrate the open and inclusive characteristics of Chinese civilization. She has never been closed, and she has always participated in the world. The construction and creation of civilization, the western land of China is the best witness of the collision, fusion and harmonious coexistence of Chinese civilization and world civilization.
The splendid history, culture and art of western China are not only the treasures of Chinese civilization, but also the example and model of the fusion of world civilizations.
The author's re-narration and excavation of the history and traditional culture of the West has greatly refined and demonstrated the spirit of the times and cultural values contained in it, which can provide the best reference and reference for the realization of the harmonious and different multicultural ecology in the current globalization era. .
The publication of "Going to the West and Enlightening the Way" has opened a new height for the writing of cultural prose. Together with the novels "Ask in the Wasteland" and "Kumarasha" written by the author in the early stage, it has completed a new discovery and preliminary interpretation of the history and humanities of the western region. , This is undoubtedly an important node in the author's creative career, but it is far from the end. The author's footsteps to the west are still continuing, solid, steady and powerful. The author's inquiries, reflections and realizations about the west continue, sharp and eager. And profoundly, we expect this cultural practitioner who has rooted in the western land to collide with more brilliant ideas in the dialogue with traditional culture.
(Author: Chen Changxu, teacher of the School of Communication, Xinyang Normal University, doctor of literature)
Journey to the West and Enlightenment by Xu Zhaoshou Writers Publishing House