China News Service, Beijing, December 30th (Reporter Shangguan Yun) "Famous writer", this is one of Liu Xinwu's most conspicuous identity labels.
In the 1980s and 1990s, he was well-known in the literary world with the series of novels "Third Floor".
Among them, "The Bell and Drum Tower" also won the second Mao Dun Literature Award.
Looking back on his writing career, Liu Xinwu said: "I can turn my hobby into a career, a means for me to survive in this society, and even spend my later years in my hobby. I am a very lucky person." .
He believes that reading is of great significance to life. "Reading is a journey of the soul, which can break through the limitations of time and space. When we experience life, we should enrich our hearts, increase our knowledge and experience through reading."
The famous writer Liu Xinwu.
Photo by Jiao Jinmu
Studying "Dream of Red Mansions" is because of love
In addition to being a writer, Liu Xinwu's other identity label is a fan and researcher of "Dream of Red Mansions".
Around 2005, he appeared on the "Hundreds of Lectures" to give a lecture on "Revealing the "Dream of Red Mansions" series". Perhaps due to the wide influence of TV programs, or because of the novel and unique interpretation of views, Liu Xinwu's popularity rose rapidly in a short period of time.
Regarding this experience, Liu Xinwu said that it was normal for some people to criticize his views back then, "People have different ideas. At that time, I repeatedly emphasized: If what I say is right, it is what you must listen to. I Might be wrong."
"I went to talk about "Dream of Red Mansions" to arouse the audience's interest in "Dream of Red Mansions." Liu Xinwu said, "It's the same now. I can't say every paragraph so well, but please forgive me for being a literary lover. old man."
Liu Xinwu feels that it is normal for a literary work or a certain literary point of view to have negations and dislikes, "It is impossible for me to be loved by everyone. Some readers like me, and the number is not small. It's very satisfying."
Reading is a journey of the soul
Judging from the way of reading and writing, Liu Xinwu is a very fashionable writer to some extent.
He learned to surf the Internet and write with a computer very early; later, Himalaya set up a personal radio station, using "voice" to communicate with readers and listeners.
"In the beginning, writers wrote articles and sent them to newspaper supplements, magazines, or published their own books." Liu Xinwu said that with the rise of Internet literature, many people began to publish articles online.
He found that the works published by some Internet writers on the Internet will also be published in collections, and there are still readers who are willing to buy and read, and the ways of literary communication have become more abundant.
Liu Xinwu said with emotion that many young people like to listen to books now, "I am 80 years old this year, and I am an octogenarian. But I also set up a personal radio station to tell everyone about books, or comment on movies, ballet and other artistic aspects. matter."
The famous writer Liu Xinwu.
Photo provided by the interviewee
He compiled part of the content he explained on the radio into a book, and published it in a collection, titled "There Are No Free Books in Life" and "There Are No White Roads in the World".
When it comes to reading, Liu Xinwu said that one must learn to "search for books" and be good at discovering and reading good works.
The following is a summary of the content of the interview:
Chinanews.com: The style of the articles in the new book is friendly and natural. When was it completed?
Liu Xinwu:
The articles in the book are actually converted from audio.
I set up a personal radio station in the Himalayas, called "Hear · Liu Xinwu · Reading and Life Insights", using voice to communicate with readers.
There is a difference between expressing with sound and expressing with words.
The information conveyed by sound is relatively straightforward, and the text can be bookish. Later, some of the audio content I said that received a good response was organized into text, which is quite interesting to read.
Chinanews.com: You have created many works such as "The Bell and Drum Tower". In your opinion, what kind of literary works are worth reading?
Liu Xinwu:
For the appreciation of literary works, it can be said that "it's a turnip and green vegetables, each has its own love", and it is difficult to come up with a unified standard.
Personally, I prefer to read works of the realistic genre, which involve discussions on life, human psychology, and human nature.
But there are other categories in literature as well.
There are many books in the world. My method is as follows: it is beneficial to read the books, and I like some non-realistic works after reading them.
Readers should not set limits on themselves first.
A person's energy is limited, so he must accumulate a considerable amount of reading, have a certain degree of autonomy, learn to "search for books", and be good at discovering and reading good works.
Chinanews.com: What influence did your parents have on your literary journey?
Liu Xinwu:
The family I grew up in is a typical Chinese family with a strong literary and artistic atmosphere.
If there is no such influence and edification from the family.
I probably wouldn't have loved literature so much since I was a kid.
When I was young, every household subscribed to newspapers and magazines, and my parents were very willing to spend money to order magazines for me.
The uncle in the reception room will send these newspapers and magazines to each family. He is very surprised, because our family has a very large number of subscriptions.
The famous writer Liu Xinwu.
Photo provided by the interviewee
When I was a little older, I became arrogant to read literary magazines like "People's Literature", and bought more books.
A neighbor of mine once passed by my window, and I showed her the desk drawer, which was full of books, and she was very envious.
There is a crabapple tree outside the window of our house. When the wind blows, the crabapple flowers fall on these books. I still remember this shot.
So I am really lucky. I like literature and reading, and my parents fully tolerate and support me.
Chinanews.com: What does writing mean to you?
Liu Xinwu:
When you like literature and art, and then look at the surrounding environment, people and things, etc., you will have an additional perspective to observe the world, that is, the perspective of literature and emotion.
When I was young, I used to go to school through a shopping mall over Longfu Temple.
I remember one day when I was passing by the mall again, I saw a little girl take off her sandals and wash her feet with the rainwater from the drainpipe of the mall.
I stopped immediately, feeling that this picture was full of joy and enjoyment of life.
Among them are literary observation and emotional observation.
In 2020, I published the novel "Cruise Fragments", which is full of this kind of capture of details.
Now, writing has become a requirement of my life itself.
I have written so many things, and some articles are inappropriate and wrong, but in general, I can turn my hobby into a career, into a means for me to survive in this society, even in my later years. I am a very lucky person to spend time in my hobby.
Chinanews.com: Can you share your reading method with readers?
Liu Xinwu:
I suggest that after you get a book, it is the kind of official publication, you should learn to read the copyright page first.
The copyright page will tell us a lot of information, including the author, publisher, word count, graphic designer, and so on.
If it has a preface, you can also read it first.
Then look at the catalog.
When you see a collection of multiple articles, read the ones that arouse your interest first; novels are often divided into chapters, and you can pick out the chapters you are interested in first.
Book shadows of "There Are No Free Books in Life" and "There Are No White Roads in the World".
Photo courtesy of the publisher of Liu Xinwu's book
Reading is nothing more than those few methods.
First read roughly, and roughly browse the content. If you think it is good, you can read it carefully; if you think it is good, you can read the whole book through;
I usually read like this.
Reading is too active for one person.
Reading is a journey of the soul, it can break through the limitations of time and space.
Therefore, when we experience life, we should enrich our hearts, increase our knowledge and experience through reading.
Chinanews.com: You once mentioned an attitude towards life, that is, "be happy for yourself". How do you achieve this?
Liu Xinwu:
I wrote in the book that I have a friend who is relatively short. In the eyes of others, this may be a disadvantage that cannot be changed.
But my friend has a very good attitude. She even nicknamed herself "Zpeli", which means that my height is "in proportion to itself", and I still live happily every day.
When you are in a bad mood, you must clearly recognize your own shortcomings, but never deny yourself, but be good at discovering your own strengths and strengths. This is one of the important ways for an individual life to gain happiness and gain motivation.
After young people encounter setbacks, they may be cold-eyed, and it is inevitable that they will feel anxious and uncomfortable. This is human nature, but in this case, you must tell yourself not to collapse, and then continue to work hard.
Chinanews.com: How much time do you spend writing every day?
Liu Xinwu:
I recently wrote a drama script "The Sea", and I am still doing research on classic works.
My novel "The Bell and Drum Tower" has also been translated into English by Amazon Travel Publishing House.
Right now I am very casual in my writing. As an old man who has retired long ago, I have not set myself a rule of how many words I must write every day.
As for why I am still writing and doing so many things, it is because I am already eighty years old and I don’t want to get Alzheimer’s disease myself.
(use up)