The Whisper of the Attic People: Intellectual Memory of "Reading"

Author: Shen Changwen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-11-01
Features: The Words from the Attic is divided into two parts. One part is an autobiography by Mr. Shen Changwen, titled "From Incompetence." It is well-crafted and reveals a certain attitude toward journal editing as an editor. Wang Meng, in the preface to this book, points out that the reason Reading is Reading lies mainly in the editor's emphasis on the "Three Nos": incompetence, inaction, and selflessness. I believe this is not only an attitude toward journal editing but also a life philosophy and the spirit of Taoist tradition. Mr. Shen Changwen's autobiography actually embodies the "Three Nos" spirit throughout the history of Reading. Throughout the self-reflection, he discusses people and events, nearly mentioning everyone related to Reading. This includes the founding members such as Chen Hanbo, Chen Yuan, Shi Mei, Ding Cong, as well as the main contributors like Lu Shuxiang, Jin Kemu, Huang Chang, Zhang Zhongxing, Feng Yidai, Xin Fengnian, and Zhao Yifan. He also writes about several editors of the Reading editorial office, whom Mr. Shen jokingly calls "crazy men and women on the attic." What surprises one is that among the three female editors, one is a worker (painter), another is a "worker-peasant-soldier university student," and the talented Ms. Zhao Liya (Yang Zhishui), who had long been praised as a literary gem among a few outstanding readers, was actually a truck driver before joining the Reading editorial office. Shen Changwen only mentions himself in the last section of the "autobiography," and even then, he describes himself as modest and "incompetent," which is perhaps an embodiment of the "selflessness" spirit.