Li Benshen
Meeting again, it's so light that it's a little unreal
My reunion with Mo Yan was in the Lintong Sanatorium of the Lanzhou Military Region. Teacher He Xiaofeng, editor-in-chief of "Northwest Military Literature," organized a PEN meeting, and most of the people who participated in the PEN meeting were the creative personnel of the military region, and also invited famous military writers such as Mo Yan and Li Cunbao, as well as the wife of our mentor Xu Huaizhong.
Everyone seemed to have entered a relatively relaxed state of writing at that time. In addition to writing, we wore headphones to enjoy music therapy, soaked in the sulfur-smelling hot springs, or listened to the respected teachers and ladies on the lawn to teach us the way of turtle suction. This time has been very easy, even a little unreal.
Mo Yan and I just lived opposite the door. Every day when I was tired of writing, I was loose with each other, walking around each other's doors, and I couldn't help but glance at the manuscripts on the table, and Mo Yan's writing state seemed to have entered a calm pace, at least on the surface, it seemed very relaxed, and even showed a little leisure. This is completely understandable, because he has successfully launched two literary shocks before, "Transparent Carrot" and "Red Sorghum", which have caused a lot of shock in the literary world. It is completely possible to adjust the pace, and he wrote all the way with ease and ease, but he did not know that he was actually tight inside and loose, and he was not allowed to slack off at all, and was preparing to launch the third wave of the group charge with "Red Sorghum Family" as a series, Mo Yan spread out the manuscript he was writing on the table, I remember it was "Red Locust". The draft he spread out was very neat, almost no modifications were smeared, and the lines of text were like a fully packed army. I was writing about the beginning of the locust plague, the locusts came out of the arid soil like countless bean sprouts, and the scene really made me creepy...
An old Red Army soldier of the Red Fourth Front became our friend
Next door to me in the nursing home lived an old Red Army soldier from the Long March, and we quickly became old friends. Mo Yan and I often sat on the bed and listened to the old Red Army talk about the story of their Long March. The old Red Army has a very cheerful personality, talks more funny and straightforward, has an amazing memory, and always comes up with some amazing words. Our chats are casual, without generational gaps, and sometimes with a little humor and ridicule.
The old Red Army told us about the men and women in the Long March, so the story of the Long March became abruptly clear and more lifelike before our eyes. Later, Based on these fragmentary indirect experiences, Mo Yan and I each created a novel, and the title of the novella I wrote was "Purple Mud", which was published in Harvest Magazine. Mo Yan's work was also published in a major journal. What we show is a long march story that is different from the previous Long March stories. It can be counted as having a spirit and a sharp mind, and it is the same thing.
Immediately afterward, Teacher He Xiaofeng gave the title "Sunset", let us each create a novel with the same title, which was later published in the magazine "Northwest Military Literature". It is also a sign of recalling that good old days.
An episode outside of the road
One day near the end of the PEN meeting, mr. Lu Yao, a famous writer, made an appointment with Teacher He Xiaofeng, and Mo Yan and I went to the Shaanxi Writers Association to sit and talk. It was nearly dusk, and in the small conference room of the Writers Association, we drank tea and chatted happily, and we admired Lu Yao's character and works very much. During the conversation, when it came to the problem of the current trend of literature, I said something that was not very good, specifically what to say, I did not remember it, but naturally it was aimed at Mo Yan, who was suddenly displeased, and he said to me seriously: "Li Benshen, you have to write well, and you will succeed." ”
Mo Yan's words are indeed out of sincere reproach, and if further interpreted, the meaning should include the following content: Why are you Li Benshen not good at writing? You are not without a little literary and artistic nature, but why don't you have the determination of the eight winds? Why are you always easily disturbed and influenced by various external factors? You always don't know what you have to do or don't do, and even if you know what you want to do, you often stop trying to stop, and you can't grit your teeth and insist on giving up halfway. A lot of times you waste yourself, and you waste it without hesitation!
Coincidentally, many years later, I learned from Mr. Wang Jiuxing, the successor editor-in-chief of Northwest Military Literature and the famous poet, that Teacher He Xiaofeng, the old editor-in-chief of Northwest Military Literature, once said with emotion a sentence that shocked me: "Li Benshen is a writer whose talents have not been fully utilized. ”
Suddenly, I received a phone call with a high-density Mandarin accent in Shandong
Soon after, I encountered a huge setback on my path. I suddenly fell into the lowest point of my life without any mental preparation.
For at least half a year, I quietly left the compound of the military region and hid in the poorest area of Gansu, Dingxi, to live in a snail's nest, lying like a hermit, licking my wounds myself. The mood has unspeakable irritability, bitterness, decadence, depression, distortion, and even feels a little stressful and perverted, as if all people can't live with themselves. Dominated by oversensitive and fragile nerves, I would even grumble nervously and stab good friends who were sincere to me and had the grace of knowing me for no reason, such as Mr. Wu Zongpei of Shanghai's "Novel Circle" (I blame myself so far).
The circle of military writers was not large, and naturally the news of my encounter spread quickly, and Mo Yan must have heard about my unbearable situation at that time.
One day, I picked up the phone by the door of the studio, and a distant call came from the phone, which was a High-density Mandarin accent from Shandong.
That's right, it's Mo Yan.
Mo Yan told me: Lu Xun College of Literature and the Graduate School of Beijing Normal University will soon jointly open a postgraduate class for writers, "You come to Beijing, isn't it good for us to be classmates again?" ”
He didn't say a word about my situation, but the comfort and compassion were all in it.
After some hesitation, I finally made up my mind, rushed to Beijing the day before the start of the school year, and walked into the open door of Lu Xun Literature Institute with my own vicissitudes.
My Classmate Mo Yan (1)
My Classmate Mo Yan (II)
Works by Lee Ben Shen
Li Benshen, Shanxi Wenshuiren, honorary chairman of Deshanghui Shanxi Alliance, president of Deshanghui Shanxi Calligraphy and Painting Institute, honorary president of Bafukang Group Calligraphy and Painting Institute. Decades of dancing and ink, the works include novels such as "Peach Blossom Tip", "Crazy Moon", "Weight of the Soul" and many other novels, the novel collection "Last Night's Piano Sound Last Night Man", "Western Fables", "My Sweat and Blood Horse", etc., and his 22-episode TV series "Iron Plateau" has been broadcast on CCTV in a set of prime time. The movies "Gannan Love Song", "Fragrant Fragrant Oil Mill", "I Am The Fat Mud Under the Flowers", "Full Moon Liangzhou" and so on were all released and broadcast on CCTV 6, and the novel "Monument" was selected to be included in the fifth grade textbook of the renjiao version of primary school. Li Ben deeply loved calligraphy, so much so that he did not have a title and did not admire the vain, indulged in Han mo and rarely traveled, loved ink and respected the writing paper. Self-titled Eighteen Weng, master of Yunwailu (for details, please Baidu Li Benshen, calligrapher Li Benshen, famous writer Li Benshen)