Poet and critic Xiaoxue: Writing poems for "love" throughout his life

　　China News Service, Kunming, March 30th, Title: Poet and critic Xiaoxue: Writing poems for “love” throughout his life

　　Reporter Miao Chao

　　On the 30th, when the reporter walked into Xiaoxue’s home in Kunming, Yunnan, the first thing he felt was that there were so many books! There is no sofa in the huge living room. There is a huge bookcase in the middle. There are bookcases on both walls. Even the chairs are piled with books on the floor. Xiaoxue said, "I live and sleep on the second floor. There are books in every room on the first floor."

　　Xiaoxue, whose real name is Yang Wenhan, is a famous modern Chinese poet, literary critic, and writer. As many as his books are his literary works, and his "Selected Works of Xiaoxue" has nearly 4 million words. Why do you devote yourself to writing all your life? Xiaoxue, an octogenarian, said this. He has been writing poetry for nearly 70 years, and there is only one motivation: love.

The picture shows Xiaoxue reading a book at her home in Kunming. Photo by Bai Ling

love for literature

　　In 1935, Xiaoxue was born into a Bai family in Xizhou Ancient Town, Dali, at the foot of Cangshan Mountain and on the coast of Erhai Lake. When she was young, her family was poor, so Xiaoxue lived in her grandfather's house, which had green tiles and white walls, carved beams and painted buildings, and was surrounded by fragrant rice.

　　The Bai people are deeply influenced by Han culture, and Xizhou Ancient Town has always valued culture and education. Xiaoxue said, "When I was young, every day after dinner, my grandfather and I would go for a walk in the fields of Xizhou. My grandfather would always hum the poems of Tao Yuanming and Wang Wei in Bai accent while walking. He hummed repeatedly, and he was immersed in it for a long time, so that these I was able to recite poetry very early on, and it is still fresh in my memory.”

　　At that time, Xiaoxue's uncle Zhao Lu was studying in the Department of Literature and History of Yunnan University, and he would bring back books and periodicals every holiday. Accompanied by the family's scholarly atmosphere and the nourishment of Bai culture, Xiaoxue established her literary aspirations since she was a child.

　　In 1952, Xiaoxue participated in the first college entrance examination after the founding of New China. She applied for the Chinese Department of Wuhan University as her first choice and was admitted as she wished. "It took me 18 days to get to Wuhan by bus and train from Dali, so I haven't been back home for four years of college." Xiaoxue, who loves literature, spent her college holidays in the library, reading a lot of Chinese and foreign classics, and extensively dabbling in philosophy. , history, aesthetics, read and think, read and memorize, accumulated over time.

　　In 1956, he wrote his graduation thesis "Pastoral of Life - On Ai Qing's Poems", which was published nationwide the following year. It was the first thesis on modern writers in New China and became his most famous work. In the same year, Xiaoxue also published a short essay in "People's Literature" - "Writers, please care about and participate in literary criticism!" ”, this is what he has always advocated: writers and artists should also engage in criticism. "Although there are differences between the image thinking of poetry and the logical thinking of criticism, they are not mutually exclusive or incompatible. If handled well, they can complement each other."

　　For more than half a century, Xiaoxue has authored 28 collections of poems, essays, and commentaries and 6 volumes of "Selected Works of Xiaoxue". Many poems and essays have been translated into the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Italy, Spain, Myanmar, Thailand and other countries. Chinese characters and characters of Kazakhs, Koreans, Mongolians and other ethnic groups. In 1996, Xiaoxue won the Special Award of the Italian Mondello International Literary Award. In 2003, she won the Fifth China Contemporary Ethnic Minority Literature Research Outstanding Contribution Award. In 2010, she won the Chinese Contemporary Outstanding National Poet Poetry Award. In 2014, she won the International Poets PEN Award. The Soul of Chinese Contemporary Poetry Gold Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award awarded by the New York Eastern and Western Artists Association...

The picture shows "Selected Works of Xiaoxue". Photo by Bai Ling

love for hometown

　　When Xiaoxue was in elementary school, it was the Anti-Japanese War. Huazhong University (one of the predecessors of Central China Normal University) moved from Wuhan to Xizhou, Dali to avoid the smoke. Some of the teachers at Xizhou Central Primary School where Xiaoxue studied came from Huazhong University. "My primary school teacher is from Zhejiang. In his eyes, Dali is as beautiful as Jiangnan."

　　I don’t know the true face of Mount Lu, just because I am in this mountain. At that time, Xiaoxue could not appreciate the beauty of Dali in the eyes of outsiders, and wanted to go outside Cang'er to seek verification. "When applying for Wuhan University, I first looked at the map of China. Wuhan is right in the center, so it's easy to go to the southeast, northwest, and northwest."

　　After graduating from college and returning to her hometown, Xiaoxue re-examined her hometown with the eyes of "me" and "other". "Whether it is the touching natural scenery, rich history and culture, or rich national customs, the word 'Dali' represents It’s a piece of poetry.”

　　For decades, writing about Cangshan and Erhai has always been an important part of his creative work, and it has never been interrupted. Even when he was undergoing surgery in 1989, he wrote "Dream Back to Cangshan and Erhai" on his hospital bed. Based in Dali, Xiaoxue has successively created "Song of Erhai", "New Songs of Cang'er", "Huadianba Poetry and Grass", "Cangshan Erhai", "Four Scenes of Cang'er", "Beauty Stone", "Sheep Dragon Pond", "Little Parrot", " Mahakala" and more than a hundred poems about my hometown. Every word is filled with love for that landscape.

　　"After picking tea for a day, I leaned in the arms of Cangshan Mountain and fell asleep. I slept so soundly. I dreamed that Cangshan Mountain was in my arms... After fishing for a day, I lay on the beach by the sea. , fell asleep, sleeping so sweetly, I dreamed that Erhai Lake was in my heart..."

　　When being interviewed by reporters, Xiaoxue recited his poem "Love" affectionately, with a soothing and affectionate tone. The listener followed the sound and seemed to return to the bright and quiet Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake with Xiaoxue...

　　Writing poems for her hometown also made Xiaoxue successful. "Most of my award-winning works are related to Dali." His work Mahakala won the Long Poetry Award in the First National Minority Literary Creation Awards. Similar award-winning works include "Looking at the Husband's Cloud", "Butterfly Spring", "Flying Tiger Mountain", "Song Girl", etc.

The picture shows Xiaoxue and his wife Zhao Lvzhu. Photo provided by interviewee

poems for love

　　Speaking of the two best parts of Xiaoxue's poems, one is about hometown and the other is about love.

　　Xiaoxue and his wife Zhao Luzhu were childhood sweethearts and both grew up in Xizhou. In 1957, Xiaoxue returned to Dali from Wuhan, and Zhao Lvzhu, whom she had not seen for many years, was already standing tall and graceful. The two fell in love, and the two began an eight-year relationship.

　　In early 1957, a song and dance troupe was established in Dali Prefecture, and Zhao Lvzhu was selected. He later became famous for singing "Butterfly Spring" for the heroine in the movie "Five Golden Flowers". In 1962, Zhao Lvzhu was transferred to the Beijing Oriental Song and Dance Ensemble and was sent to the National Vocal Music Department of the Central Conservatory of Music for further studies.

　　At that time, Xiaoxue's literary development was experiencing ups and downs. "At that time, her career was booming and she was still young. Many people in Beijing admired her and pursued her. I thought she would never come back."

　　From beginning to end, Zhao Lvzhu never changed his affection for Xiaoxue. Zhao Luzhu said, "We have been in love for eight years, and he writes me a love letter every week. When I returned to Kunming from the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe, I brought a big suitcase with all his love letters in it. From then on, I I believe that poetry and song are connected together, and this is even more true now. Poetry cannot be separated from song, and song cannot be separated from poetry.”

　　After working in Beijing for 4 years, Zhao Lvzhu resolutely chose to be transferred back to Yunnan and got married to Xiaoxue. Xiaoxue recalled, "Our wedding was very simple. We just bought wedding candies and distributed them to relatives and friends."

　　We share weal and woe, and the love between husband and wife is deep. In Xiaoxue's eyes, his wife is hard-working, virtuous and kind, so he wrote the work "A Good Wife at Home" specifically for this purpose. He also wrote the lyrics of many songs such as "Playing the Three Strings and Singing Endlessly", "Erhai Love Song", "Lilac Flower", etc., which were sung by Zhao Luzhu passionately. These songs full of true feelings are deeply loved and sung by people.

　　Along the way, Xiaoxue later became a famous poet, writer, and critic, deeply respected and loved by future generations, and Zhao Luzhu also became a famous Bai singer.

　　"Really immortal poetry is about great and noble love. In a broader sense, it means love, love for life, love for nature, love for the motherland, love for the people, love for relatives... So all my poems are to express one love." Xiaoxue, who is 20 years old, firmly believes that the reason why poets exist is to express love. (over)