Clear and straightforward

Author: Wu Maohua
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-10-01
Features: Wang Meng said, "A group of Chinese writers (including Wang Meng—original note) take good care of themselves comprehensively, and they are not so and painful. The younger the writer, the happier their life, and the word 'painful' becomes more classical." Whether a scholar is refined or coarse depends on whether they have character and the quality of their literary taste, not on anything else. "The shamelessness of the scholar is the shame of the country." (Gu Tinglin's words) Chinese intellectuals have always had a strong sense of the world. Caring about society is one aspect of it; pursuing practical benefits is another. Mr. Li Hui's book, Life Scan, explores the thoughts and souls of cultural figures, advocating for the former while also providing a mirror for the latter. Che Fu and his Interviewing Life Early in my life, a teacher and friend taught me how to observe the world and read people, and there was a sentence I found very apt: "To understand a person, first observe what kind of friends and relatives they have, and you will understand most of their character." Using this background-setting method to view the protagonist is indeed quite accurate. Believe it or not, if you open Che Fu's newly published Interviewing Life and look at the table of contents, you'll find it's quite extraordinary. Feng Yuxiang, Zhang Daqian, Xie Wuliang, Liu Kaichu, Fang Cheng, Bai Yang, Yu Zhenfei, Wu Yin, Xin Fengxia—oh my, a string of names that are household words! This old Che is clearly a seasoned star enthusiast. Turning to the book, from the 1920s to the 1990s, more than half a century of cultural figures in Chengdu and those related to Chengdu are Che Fu's interviewees, and in his hands, they are vividly brought to life. During the War of Resistance, the activities of the "China Anti-Aggression Cultural Association" in Chengdu for saving the nation, the anecdotes of Liu Kaichu sculpting the bronze statue of the "Unknown Hero" and the bronze statue of Sun Yat-sen, Wu Zuoguang and Ding Cong writing scripts and drawing cartoons in the Wushitong Street (now the campus of Chengdu No. 2 Middle School), and Che Fu taking them in disguise to visit red-light districts—all these cultural old stories are largely unknown to many today. Additionally, representing one side of Shu culture, Sichuan Opera, Yangqin, Jinqianban, as well as the customs and folk culture of Chengdu, are all deeply familiar to the old Che, whom he describes with vivid and engaging prose. I say this book Interviewing Life is not only readable but also has cultural and historical value, making it a supplement to the modern and contemporary part of the book Chengdu Lore. Che Fu is a polymath, and his polymathy lies in his deep familiarity with society and his connections with all sorts of people from all walks of life, making his personality broad and generous, and his style unconventional and free-spirited. No wonder Wu Zuoguang calls him "the god of Chengdu," and Huang Zongjiang declares, "I love Sichuan, I love Che Fu." The second half of Interviewing Life is about listening to this polymath talk about food. Starting from the signature dishes of major restaurants like Rongle Yuan, Gugu Yan, and Effort Restaurant, all the way to Chengdu street snacks like pot stickers and cold vermicelli, as well as the familiar "ghost food," snacks, and bizarre eats of Chengdu—truly the modern version of Su Dongpo's Ode to a Man Who Loved Food. In Talks on Food, he quotes the words of the contemporary Hunan scholar Zhong Shuhe: "Talking about food or listening to someone talk about food, the important thing is not the eating itself but the spirit and demeanor of talking about food, which is also a reflection of one's attitude toward life." This perfectly captures the old Che's demeanor—the demeanor of a food lover: eating with great enjoyment and talking with enthusiasm. Once, I had the honor of accompanying the old Che to a banquet. There was a plate of cold spareribs on the table, and I was worried about his teeth, but to my surprise, he ate them quickly with laughter, and said to me, "Except for nails, I can chew everything!" The whole table burst into laughter. Culture and food are generally enjoyed by ordinary people, but it is not easy to combine the two and reach an aesthetic realm. The old Che's love for food is not just at the dining table; the leftovers are packed in bags to be enjoyed at night. His enjoyment of food and his lack of are truly enviable! In early summer in Chengdu, under the trees by Shu Du Avenue, the old Che, with his white hair and youthful appearance like an immortal from the South Pole, waddles like a penguin. His silver-haired head is filled with decades of cultural anecdotes, and his big belly is filled with delicious food. He gave me a copy of Interviewing Life and, when I opened the cover, his inscription below the dedication revealed a playful seal: "A hopeless optimist." The date of the inscription was Children's Day. Mr. Lin Yutang, the cultural scholar, believed that Chinese people enjoy sensory pleasures and the art of life, especially in the context of food. He said, "If there is anything we should take seriously, it is not religion or knowledge, but 'eating.'" He also said, "Chinese people receive food as they receive sex, women, and life." Indeed, food is the foundation of life, especially for us Chinese. This is particularly true for Che Fu, a renowned Sichuanese food lover and essayist. At eighty-eight years old, Che Fu has tasted the best of Sichuan and China, familiar with all the major culinary traditions of the country. Of course, his favorite remains the local Sichuan flavor. His teeth are still in good condition, and after a few plates of delicacies, he speaks with great enthusiasm. To appreciate food to this extent is to be a true connoisseur. This book Eating in Sichuan is the result of decades of his culinary experiences. Most people love good food and wine, but merely knowing how to eat is just to be a glutton. However, Che Fu's discussions on food in the book are different. He talks about a dish called "White Oil Bitter Bamboo Shoots," from the ingredients and cooking method to savoring it, and then delves into Huai Su's Bamboo Shoots and Huang Tingjian's Bitter Taste. His appetite and teeth are still sharp, and his youthful charm remains. What he cannot change is his "stubbornness" that "wherever he goes, he leaves a mark." In recent years, the catering industry in Sichuan has flourished, and Che Fu's reputation has brought him to the forefront. Almost every week, he is invited to local restaurants and kitchens. Whenever he visits a restaurant, it gains prestige and brand recognition. How remarkable is that! Look at this old Che, with his shiny, sparse white hair, wearing a red beret, and sitting in a wheelchair with a big belly. He is lifted and carried around by his entourage, moving between the bright and lively restaurants, where he presides over banquets, displaying the demeanor of a food deity. How can this auspicious person not be envied! Grateful for his favor, once he specifically asked for two home-style dishes. I carefully prepared a bowl of spicy steamed beef buns and a plate of lightly seasoned bitter melon and eggs, which he enjoyed and praised as "Nothing beats home-style food." After hearing this, I felt as if I had received divine guidance, truly flattered. Milan Kundera's The Common people often say jokes, but in the rigid environment of the past in Czechoslovakia, an innocent remark could unintentionally violate sacred principles, leading to disaster. This is the story of Ludvik, the protagonist in Kundera's The, who suffers misfortune. Such stories are all too familiar to us. Looking back on the past decades, especially during the Cultural Revolution, how many similar "transgressors" were there? Thus, when we read Kundera's The, we feel a sense of familiarity. The insignificant individual, at the mercy of a powerful social environment, is innocently ground into powder. As time passes, looking back, we realize we have been trapped in a long chain of absurd and ridiculous loops. In the cycle of tragedy and comedy, we are horrified to find that we have lived a meaningless life, left only with an indescribable sense of absurdity. The loss of self and alienation, the confusion of losing spiritual support—these are the sorrows of the protagonist Ludvik, the deep sorrows of a small person. With a strong sense of tragedy and historical responsibility, Milan Kundera, through the life of his protagonist, reveals the inseparable connection between individual fate and historical fate, as well as the constraints and deprivation of human nature under authoritarian politics. As the author says in the preface, "The paradox of history and individual fate share the same fundamental characteristics." Ludvik and Lucy are a young couple who suffer greatly, one violated politically, the other sexually. Similar experiences, the fate of outcasts, should have brought them comfort and love in their chance encounter, but their deprived fate made it inevitable that they would lose each other. Love, faith, reputation, and all meaningful aspects of life, as well as the basic values of life, are all—lost.