Why is the Hexi Corridor haunting? Maybe that's the answer

Beijing, 3 Mar (Zhongxin Net) -- "The left hand is poetry, and the right hand is novels. This is an evaluation that the famous writer Ye Zhou once received. When composing "Eighteen Beats of Liangzhou", he still maintained this habit: whenever his thoughts dried up, he would read and write poems to "recharge" his inspiration.

"Eighteen Beats of Liangzhou" is a novel set in the Hexi corridor and based on ancient Liangzhou, which took 47 months to complete and was officially published some time ago. Ye Zhou likened the writing process to another undergraduate study, "During this period, except for special circumstances, I hardly took a break. This book is my 'graduation thesis'. ”

He loved writing and wanted to be a writer from an early age. For Ye Zhou, writing has long become a part of life, "and my overall thinking and writing territory has always been the Hexi corridor." ”

134.<> million words of fiction

The story synopsis of "Eighteen Beats of Liangzhou" has been brewing in Ye Zhou's heart for a long time, but it is relatively accidental to really write it.

Writer Ye Zhou. Photo courtesy of interviewee

For a long time, Ye Zhou focused his writing on the sequel to the novel "Dunhuang Benji", and stayed in Dunhuang to investigate the surrounding geography and customs. Until one day, he received a call from his father.

"He was in his eighties and not in good health." From his father's voice, Ye Zhou heard obvious aging and exhaustion, and immediately put down the work at hand and rushed to Lanzhou, but it was already a little late, and not long after, his father passed away.

Ye Zhou's father is a native of Wuwei, Gansu, and his rural pronunciation has not changed in his life. Because of his work, Ye Zhou walks in the Hexi corridor all year round, and he is no stranger to Wuwei, "Wuwei has an ancient name that is Liangzhou. Looking at my father's aging appearance, I would love to write a book for him. ”

As the writing spread out, the structure and context of the whole book gradually became clear, and finally Ye Zhou spent 47 months to write the three-volume "Eighteen Beats of Liangzhou", a total of about 134.<> million words.

It is a novel focusing on the culture, history and characters of the Hexi Corridor, with a story spanning nearly 40 years and more than 100 characters, integrating copper galloping horses, oases, and the vast civil society, presenting a lovely picture of customs.

Four counties and two passes in the Hexi corridor

Born and raised in Gansu, Ye Zhou has always had deep feelings and pride for the Hexi Corridor.

He said that the four counties and two passes of the Hexi corridor have been rich in wealth in the northwest granary and strategic place since ancient times, providing not only strategic depth, but also cultural depth. Here are the original qualities and the original spiritual temperament of our nation.

Ancient poets such as Wang Zhixiao, Wang Han, and Cen Shen wrote many well-known side poems, which provided people with a space for imaginary heroism and romanticism.

"Eighteen Beats of Liangzhou". Published by Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House

"The entire Hexi corridor is a very splendid section of the Silk Road. In ancient times, Liangzhou was once a large city second only to Chang'an, and it was so prosperous and prosperous, reflecting the spirit of the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty. He said.

And what he wanted to write in "Eighteen Beats of Liangzhou" is this temperament and spirit, "For example, the book appears the copper galloping horse, the Luoshi Temple, and the Hexi corridor are almost full of historical sites, and there are magnificent scenery everywhere." ”

The left hand is poetry, and the right hand is fiction

Writing novels is not the whole content of Ye Zhou's creative experience. In his early years, he was famous for his poetry and wrote many works such as the poetry collection "Great Dunhuang". It was once said that he "has poetry in his left hand and fiction in his right hand."

This is a relatively apt assessment. After entering university, Ye Zhou began to write poetry and novels. In his sophomore year, his fiction debut was published in the popular "Writer" magazine that year, and he also received a "huge amount": more than 100 yuan in manuscript fees.

Opening the sample magazine, his heart beat a little faster with joy, "Good guy, the names of the writers in the catalog are Shi Tiesheng, Wang Meng, and Han Shaogong, then I am only a sophomore." ”

Literature expanded his horizons. Ye Zhou began to yearn for a wider distance, determined to make several long trips. On his second trip, he came to Dunhuang and was immediately fascinated by this place with endless charm.

Slowly, he became more and more fond of traveling, and wrote many poems for the Hexi Corridor. In addition, novel writing was not wasted, and won the sixth Lu Xun Literature Award for "There is Peace in My Tent".

Writer Ye Zhou. Photo courtesy of interviewee

To this day, poetry is still one of the sources of inspiration for Ye Zhou's writing, and novels and poetry go hand in hand. During the writing of "Eighteen Beats of Liangzhou", whenever the writing state was not good, he would close the manuscript and write a few lines of poetry to maintain his sensitivity to language.

Read 10,000 books and travel 10,000 miles

As the so-called reading ten thousand books and traveling thousands of miles, Ye Zhou has always believed that there are two kinds of reading in the world, one is to read a large number of books, and the other is to measure the earth with his footsteps, "Like the Hexi region, I have basically traveled, it is the place where I desire to write." ”

He walks here all year round and lived in Liangzhou for two months. When in Dunhuang, if not busy, Ye Zhou would sit on the Gobi Desert to bask in the sun, indulge his thoughts and go with the wind, as if he had traveled through time and reunited with the thick history in another dimension.

He can also casually say poetic names, "For example, Zhangye, Gansu, there is a place with a very beautiful name, called Summer Tara, similar to the pronunciation of these names, there is a sense of history and culture precipitated by time." ”

When inspiration came, Ye Zhou implemented an almost strict "writing discipline", if there was no accident, he would appear in the studio at seven o'clock every morning, staying for nearly ten hours, but in order to ensure quality, he only wrote about 1500 words at most.

He still maintains his love for the Hexi Corridor. As he once said, "If writing is a kind of destiny, then the Hexi corridor is one of my literary maps and my literary hometown." (End)