Grandma writer Yang Benfen: Let "she" be seen - 80-year-old published her debut novel "Autumn Garden", known as "Alive" from a female perspective
[Reported by Wang Haoyang, a reporter from China News] In 2020, 80-year-old Yang Benfen published her debut novel "Autumn Garden". This novel about her mother's life was evaluated by readers as "Living from a Female Perspective".
In the next two years, the "grandmother writer" wrote "Driftwood" and "My Fragrance" to form the "Seeing Women Trio".
She wrote about her mother and herself, and about the "unseen" lives of many ordinary women.
Recently, a reporter from China News walked into Yang Benfen's house and listened to her talk about the opportunity to start writing in her sixtieth year.
Yang Benfen shows a group photo of her three children.
(Photo by "China News" reporter Wang Haoyang)
After suffering "to read books is happiness"
The 82-year-old "grandmother writer" Yang Benfen, originally from Xiangyin, Hunan, now lives in a community near Xianghu Lake in Nanchang, Jiangxi. The furnishings in the house are simple and elegant.
A reporter from our newspaper came to visit recently. The soft light was cast in the study room. Yang Benfen brought freshly brewed tea and turned on the electric fan. The fragrance of books and tea diffused in the wind.
When talking about books in the study, Yang Benfen seemed to have endless topics to talk about.
"When I was young, I loved reading, and my mother supported me in reading." She said, "My mother is the greatest. Although she has passed away, in the novel "Autumn Garden", I recorded her life in words. to commemorate."
"My mother's feet were bound and she couldn't work in the paddy fields. I was 17 years old. I should take care of the family and help my mother take care of her two younger brothers." Yang Benfen remembers that many people in the town applied for the Xiangyin Industrial School that year, but the results Only myself passed the exam.
"My mother was very happy when I heard the news of being accepted by the school, but I was very sad. My mother insisted on letting me go to school, and I felt sorry for my mother." In order to reduce the burden on her mother, Yang Benfen wanted to finish the hoarding at home before school. The night before school, she was busy in the fields by the moonlight.
"Finally, when the school started, my mother saw him off all the way. It was 80 miles from the countryside to the county seat, and my mother gave me 10 miles away. We only separated when we walked to a place called Baishan Au. My mother stood under a pine tree and watched off. I travel far, I carry my luggage alone, and turn back one step at a time."
That scene 65 years ago, like yesterday, like in front of me, is extremely clear.
"My mother was so great and selfless. She didn't give preference to boys over girls at that time. She was very strong. In order to support her family, she taught during the day and still did needlework in the middle of the night. I got a good girl." After saying this, Yang Benfen's eyes filled with tears.
The three books Yang Benfen has published have received a lot of praise.
(Photo courtesy of Yuefu Culture/Reported by China News)
I did not finish reading the book, and encountered three difficult years. My father died, and my mother and her younger brother fled from Hunan to Hubei.
"In order to survive, I had to run away to find a way to survive. I wanted to go farther, but I only had three yuan in my pocket, and I only went to Tonggu County, Jiangxi Province, which borders Hunan."
Yang Benfen happened to meet an old friend of his father in Tonggu County and stayed.
"I was still thinking about studying. It happened that a communist labor university in Tonggu County was enrolling students. At that time, it was full of people. The teachers of the school heard that I had read a secondary school and was good at chemistry and language. I made an essay on the spot and was finally accepted by the school as an exception."
Yang Benfen entered the school to study the teacher's major, and was sent to the production team to work three months before graduation. After working, she still wanted to study.
At that time, there were very few books in the countryside, so she "court" others, helping them knit sweaters, sew socks, and try her best to borrow books to read.
Once Yang Benfen borrowed a book, she clearly remembered that the title of the book was "The Second Handshake". Before she could read the book, she was urged to return it.
In the evening, she took out a pen and paper and copied the whole book overnight under the oil lamp.
"I copied a lot of books at the time, and I remember the stories in the books very deeply."
In those hard times, Yang Benfen felt very happy as long as he had food to eat and books to read.
"Later, I met my lover who works in Tonggu County Hospital, and the two got married. After the marriage, the two were temporarily separated from each other. I stayed in the countryside to cultivate the fields, cut grass and chop wood, and I was used to the hardships of life."
Record the truth "The book is full of people and things I am familiar with"
Yang Benfen had two chances to change his fate.
"Because I am literate and can speak well, a leader once advised me to teach in a kindergarten in the county, and another time he asked me to be a substitute teacher in an elementary school, but at that time, because I had to take care of my daughter, I missed the opportunity."
It was not until 1972 that 32-year-old Yang Benfen joined the Tonggu County Motor Transport Team as a temporary worker.
Although he has moved to the city, his family has three children, and his life is equally difficult.
Yang Benfen's job is mainly to dispatch trucks. In order to earn an extra 40 cents a day, she won the job of refueling the trucks, and she is busy day and night.
A few years later, Yang Benfen, who was active and serious in work, was promoted to section chief, responsible for managing auto parts such as screws and steel plates in the warehouse.
Later, in response to the call for reform and opening up, the transportation team developed from freight to passenger transport. Yang Benfen contracted and operated the fleet warehouse, and changed from a small section chief of a state-owned enterprise to "Boss Yang" in other people's mouths.
Yang Benfen is a kind person. When people come to the door to ask for a few small things such as screws, she never takes money. As a result, even the people who come to chat are embarrassed to leave without buying something in the end.
Yang Benfen's new book manuscript.
(Photo by "China News" reporter Wang Haoyang)
Three years later, Yang Benfen went through the retirement procedures in advance to take care of his grandson in Nanjing.
Yang Benfen's second daughter, Zhang Hong, is a writer and lives in Nanjing.
Yang Benfen's writing career started while taking care of his grandson.
"(Daughter's house) is full of books, and I also read a lot of books while taking care of my grandson. Once I saw a little girl playing with water outside the door, recalling her childhood and her mother. I just wanted to write Some stories about mothers."
She started writing with manuscripts, and at the end she made corrections, and the words could not be read clearly.
Later, she used a computer to write, and her daughter posted her text on the Internet, which received a lot of encouragement and was favored by publishers.
In the first two novels published by Yang Benfen, suffering is the background of life.
Having experienced the hardships of childhood, those memories are deeply etched in my heart.
"The book is all about the people and things I am familiar with, about their kindness and tenacity, smallness and fragility, I miss them very much, record the little people in that historical time, the real life, and keep them in the book ."
The new book tells the "heavy weight of life" of the female neighbor
"Being popular" was something Yang Benfen did not expect at the beginning of writing.
Many readers left messages online, some said they should take the book to parents and children to read together, some said the book reminded them of their mother and grandmother.
Grandma Yang was very moved, "I leave some real stories in words, which can inspire and resonate with everyone. This is the greatest value."
Her third book "My Fragrance" is based on herself. "This book tells about people's confusion about marriage. It is very real and very tormented. Two good people in a marriage are not happy. This situation is in reality. I hope my works can bring some inspiration and some changes to everyone, and I hope more people can treat women kindly, care for their families, and cherish each other.”
Although Yang Benfen is still in her old age, she is still physically strong and has a quick mind. However, in recent years, due to knee surgery, she often suffers from pain, so it is rare to go out.
My wife was ill, and she asked a nurse to take care of her.
The pet dog "Mao Mao" often sticks to his side and stays with him for many years.
Talking about the happiest thing in her life, Yang Benfen said, one is that his younger brother was admitted to the university, and the other is that his three sons and daughters were also admitted to the university. "I am very pleased that they have all grown up."
She got up and took out a group photo of her children, hugged her hands, and interpreted her own happiness with gentle words and loving eyes.
"Life is full of contradictions and confusion, and we have to face it bravely." Yang Benfen said that life was very difficult in the past, but perseverance in suffering can see hope.
After suffering, there will be happiness in the end.
The recognition and encouragement of readers gave Yang Benfen more creative motivation.
"I'm currently working on a new work, The Weight of Life, which tells the life story of a former female neighbor, Amei."
Simple language, true stories, and sincere emotions are the reasons why tens of thousands of readers give Grandma's writer "five-star praise".
Or as Yang Benfen said, in the long river of history, the ups and downs of the little people, like an inconspicuous wave, will eventually fade away. She recorded them, hoping to bring some comfort to people.
Because every real life is worth being written about.
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