Shi Yifeng talks about Beijing in literature: from hutongs to factories, recording urban changes and life stories

China News Service, Beijing, September 27 (Reporter Gao Kai) Shi Yifeng’s reading and sharing event “Beijing in Literature—The ‘Chen Jinfangs’ who are particularly capable of fighting” was held at the Ditan Book Market a few days ago. Writer Shi Yifeng, winner of the Lu Xun Literature Prize, shared on the theme of "Beijing in Literature".

Shi Yifeng first sorted out the evolution of the connotation of "Beijing" in classic works that day, and pointed out that Beijing is an expanding city in literature. He said that for example, the Beijing described by Lao She is mainly within today's Second Ring Road. In "Camel Xiangzi", Xiangzi pulls a cart around Peiping City, and the farthest is Haidian; in "Four Generations Under One Roof", the small sheepfold alley and the alley life of "ceiling fish tank, pomegranate tree, Mr. Fat Dog and Fat Girl" are actually only a small part of Beijing. Under Chen Jiangong's writings, the picture of Beijing has changed. In his novel "Looking for Fun", the characters walk out of alleys and into factories and dormitories. "Khrushchev Buildings" appear one after another, and Beijing begins to "grow taller". Moving on to Wang Shuo, the army compound, Princess Tomb, Wukesong, as well as Western restaurants, good restaurants, nightlife and other new scenes that emerged after the reform and opening up have entered literature.

Shi Yifeng in action. Photo provided by the organizer

In Shi Yifeng's view, today's Beijing has become richer and more diverse, and it has become a difficult problem to fully reflect Beijing in literature. Often, a work can only reflect one side of the city. He mentioned that his novel "Xiaoyao Xian'er" only describes a community in Beijing where Zhongguancun's Sijiqing returnees and high-tech practitioners live together; while his "Rose Full of Maizidian" mainly describes the area around Maizidian.

At the event, Shi Yifeng shared his two novel collections "Specially Able to Fight" and "There Is No Longer Chen Jinfang" republished by Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House. The characters in the novel are either struggling, being serious, or being lonely, and they all happen in the place that the author is most familiar with—Beijing.

Talking about "There Is No Longer Chen Jinfang", Shi Yifeng concluded that this novel not only describes the life course of a person, but also the geographical course of a city. As for "Specially Able to Fight", Shi Yifeng said that the story of this novel takes place in a factory near the East Fourth Ring Road, and the aunt Miao Xiuhua it writes about has a typical Beijing character - she loves competition.

Shi Yifeng said that whether it was Chen Jinfang, a girl from Beijing, or Miao Xiuhua, a Beijing aunt, these people were all familiar people he met in his life, and he set their stories one by one in a city he was familiar with - Beijing. Shi Yifeng lamented that when he looked back at these novels more than ten years later, they in a sense recorded the people he had observed, the people he had been with, and the places he had traveled. This is exactly the meaning of literature.

In addition, in his writing, he not only recorded the characters and areas he was most familiar with, but also recorded the life and issues that interested him most at that time. Looking back several years later, these issues are still relevant. And as we grow older, we can now come up with new answers even when faced with the same questions. He believes that this is the charm of the novel: it may not provide an exact answer, but it can allow people to see more.

It is reported that this event is one of the "Literature Classes in the Temple of Ditan" series of activities launched by Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House at the Ditan Book Market. It is also one of the important activities of the 11th Beijing October Literature Month. (over)