October 2nd this year marked my seventieth birthday. As a significant milestone in my life, I decided to celebrate by publishing a collection of my literary works. Thus, this collection, *Light Clouds and Gentle Breeze*, was born.
The book presented to you is composed of four parts: essays, short stories, poems, and miscellaneous writings, containing 64 articles written over the past two years. These include 30 essays, 23 short stories, 6 poems, and 5 miscellaneous writings, totaling 230,000 words. The articles are arranged chronologically by writing date. 33 of the essays and short stories were published on the China Writers Network.
From this collection, one can essentially understand my life trajectory and emotional journey over the past two years. While seemingly ordinary, it contains many genuine and vivid stories. If I were to summarize the book's essence in one sentence, I would say it emphasizes moving the reader with emotion. Family affection, friendship, love, and genuine human feelings are prominently featured, promoting positive social energy.
Essays reflecting family affection, such as "A Warm Experience in Spring" and "A Trip to the Medicine Capital with a Mission," depict the blood ties between mothers and children, brothers and sisters, and husbands and wives. Articles expressing sincere friendship include "Experiencing the Sentiments of Poyang Lake in Grain Rain" and "Azaleas Bloom in a Different Kind of Red," describing the close-knit family life among classmates. Stories depicting pure love include "For This Persistence" and "Unforgettable Youthful Years." The former is a fictional short story of ten thousand words: the mismatched love story of a young man and woman, which, through the heroine's persistent pursuit and overcoming various obstacles, finally leads to a happy ending. The latter is a realistic essay recounting the author's unforgettable experience after graduating high school, during his time working in the countryside, in his youthful and naive years, encountering a like-minded female friend whose care and consideration sparked his unrequited love for her. The documentary essay "A Cool Breeze in the Scorching Heat" recounts the story of a woman's husband losing his cell phone, receiving attention from various quarters, and ultimately recovering it. It records how an elderly woman who collects recyclables returned the phone to its owner in the sweltering heat, showcasing the kindness and honesty of the elderly woman.
The majority of the essays are travelogues, totaling 13 articles. Among those that received significant reader response are "A Perfect Trip to Mingyue Mountain," "Exploring an Ancient Town in a Warm Winter," and "Unforgettable Colorful Guizhou." These works not only depict the beauty of China's landscape, providing a visual feast, but also portray touching scenes of mutual help among tourists during their travels.
The book also includes 23 short short stories. While fictional, these stories contain elements of reality. Some reflect truth, goodness, and beauty, showcasing the brilliance of humanity, such as "Repentance" and "Love is Tolerance and Humility"; others depict stories of ordinary people in daily life, offering insights into life's philosophies, such as "Gratitude," "Good Intentions," and "A White Lie." There are also works that promote social justice and change people's conventional ways of thinking, such as *True Brothers*. These works, in terms of genre selection, plot, detailed character portrayal, and character development, have required considerable effort and time, resulting in strong reader response and positive reviews.
To summarize my 70 years of life experience, I wrote *Time Spectrum: Writing the Symphony of Life*, as required by a memoir. The text reflects my growth process from birth to childhood, adolescence, youth, middle age, and old age. Although the 25,000-word piece is rather thin, it is sufficient to represent my general life situation. It is presented at the end of this collection of essays in the form of miscellaneous reflections, as a grand finale.
July 21, 2025, Shanghai
Postscript
Every summer vacation is when I return to my hometown of Nanchang. I use this window of opportunity to do one or two things I enjoy. Since retiring, the three collections of essays I published with Jiangxi People's Publishing House were all completed during the sweltering summer months in Nanchang. According to my plan to publish a collection of essays of over 200,000 words every three years, the fourth book should be published next year. As I've entered my seventies this year, I was eager to leave something behind as a memento, and publishing a new book became my top priority.
This collection of literary works, *Light Clouds and Gentle Breeze*, was hastily produced under these circumstances. All 64 articles in this book were published on more than ten literary websites nationwide, with 33 published on the *China Writers Network* and 31 rejected. Compared to my 2023 collection *After the Storm*, which contains 102 articles and 250,000 words, there's a significant difference in length, but the word count is almost identical. This discovery was incredibly exciting, showing me progress and improvement.
However, it also came at a price. In early April this year, during an examination at the Eye Hospital affiliated with Nanchang University, I discovered I had cataracts in both eyes. On the doctor's advice, I underwent cataract surgery and recovered two months later. My cataracts were clearly related to excessive computer use for reading and writing. The doctor reminded me to pay attention to eye hygiene and safety, and to use my eyes scientifically. I said I would control my lifestyle and study pace in the future.
My purpose in publishing books is for my own collection and enjoyment, and to give as a keepsake to close friends, classmates, colleagues, and fellow writers from the province and city. I don't care whether they will read them carefully. Because I am self-aware—I started writing late, don't have a formal degree in Chinese literature, and my writing ability is average—I always limit each publication to less than a hundred copies. Of course, from the feedback, I've found that some teachers and friends not only read them carefully but also proactively write reviews. Among them, the documentary essay "Meeting You Again in Late Autumn" by the well-known Jiangxi writer Xiao Changyuan, published in the online literary journal *Literary Hundred Flowers Garden*, moved me deeply.
In my neighborhood in Shanghai, there's a fellow villager who is a retired high school teacher who graduated from the Chinese Literature Department of Jiangxi Normal University. I always give him a copy after each collection of my writings is published. Two years ago, after he returned to his hometown of Ji'an, he frequently reminded me on WeChat to make sure I saved him a copy of my new book. Therefore, after each book is published, I immediately send it to him by express delivery to Furong Town, Wan'an County, Jiangxi Province. During his time in Shanghai, I frequently sought his advice and received much help from him. I
would like to express my gratitude to Professor Xiao and Professor Deng for their kindness and assistance! What impressed me most was that when submitting my work to the *China Writers Network*, three of my pieces were rejected. Knowing that the editors were extremely busy reviewing thousands of manuscripts daily, and risking further rejection, I insisted on making revisions. Unexpectedly, they passed the rigorous review and were eventually published. Although the process was agonizing, it improved my writing skills and taught me that good articles are often the result of revision. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and respect to the editors for their dedication and their respect and care for authors!
No comments:
Post a Comment