Snowing everywhere

Author: Cheng Yongxin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: Cheng Yongxin is one of the few who truly understand novels. — Ma Yuan. It is my honor to write a preface for Cheng Yongxin's newly published collection of novels. Cheng Yongxin's profound understanding of novels leaves a deep impression. His sensitivity to the form of novels is deeply rooted, and he intuitively grasps every detail and the connections between them — Yu Hua. Using the name of Milan Kundera's famous novel, Cheng Yongxin has been quietly recording the "light" and "heavy" in his life, and with the passage of time, his records have become deeper and broader. In Shadow of the Wind, the suspenseful setting, the dramatic fate of the characters, and the Hitchcockian plot progression clearly convey the author's bold exploration in creative writing. Libraries, lawns, goddess statues, old photographs, and half-dreamlike midnight affairs all become symbols of questioning the mysteries of life. This is a very good novel. — Su Tong. This novel (Snow Falls Everywhere) is an accurate and rare social record. It will not fade with the changing times; on the contrary, the passage of time has made it clearer. The narrative of this novel demonstrates the author's multifaceted talent, and the exquisite structure stands out. Navigating such a complex storyline and so many characters with ease reveals his evident narrative prowess. This is a very engaging novel. — Ge Fei. Without Cheng Yongxin, Chinese literature after 1985 would have been a different picture. — Li E. Cheng Yongxin also shares my experience, persistently exploring the art of writing novels while savoring the beauty and joy of narrative. I believe the works in this collection were written in the 1980s, and while reading them, I feel an indescribable sense of familiarity. I read the thinking and emotions, the cities and rhythms, even the climate and dust of the 1980s—everything has an 80s feel. This collection reveals Cheng Yongxin's writing direction at the time. At least two directions are quite clear. One is evident in works like By the Shore, where Cheng Yongxin tries to express the turmoil of a character's inner world through a scene. A cousin's wedding leaves a man named Milin deeply moved. There is almost no plot, relying entirely on narrative to drive the story forward, using every aspect of the wedding to highlight the character's complex emotions. Such novels are incredibly difficult to write, and James Joyce's The Dead is a classic in this regard. The other direction is revealed in The World of Mahjong, which I believe truly showcases his writing talent. His narrative is light and witty, with a captivating plot and vivid, well-defined characters. He first introduces a man named Bisen, who appears in a spectacular manner. He plays the clarinet, and his clarinet "became the pastoral flute that called one after another of his girlfriends in that summer." Bisen becomes extremely popular and even organizes a music lecture at a university, which draws so many attendees that the auditorium is packed. He becomes even more famous, with so many girlfriends that he is overwhelmed. Next, Akron makes his entrance in a more extraordinary way. He appears as a fan of Bisen. "After the lecture, someone in the crowd miraculously tossed a bouquet of flowers to Bisen, standing under the spotlight. I noticed the lenses of Bisen's glasses glinting with an unusual light in the applause of the entire hall. We rushed to greet Bisen on the stage. Bisen's proud head swayed arrogantly. I believe that moment was the most glorious in Bisen's life. Even as we walked across the campus, many people still surrounded Bisen, but gradually, only friends remained, following him like his personal guard. At that moment, everyone realized that there was still one person quietly walking beside Bisen. He held the bouquet of flowers that someone had tossed to Bisen." This is how Akron makes his entrance. In his subsequent appearances, he repeatedly picks up flowers thrown at Bisen and silently follows him. It is only when Bisen forms a school band and cannot find anyone to play the piano that Akron nervously suggests taking on the role himself, shocking everyone. To everyone's surprise, Akron plays the Turkish March beautifully. The following chapters are filled with noisy friendships and love, a life of chaos still clinging to ideals, and even more rampant desires. There is also homosexuality, which Cheng Yongxin always hints at in his narrative. The ending is also full of implications, not just of homosexuality, but of life and fate suggesting something deeper. I deeply regret that Cheng Yongxin later gave up writing, but there are too many regrets in life, so there is no need to sigh. I think this may be the arrangement of fate. I have continued writing to this day because I was born to be a dentist. If I stop writing, I will have to go back to pulling teeth, constantly watching other people's open mouths, so my writing is a path I cannot turn back from. Cheng Yongxin is a renowned editor at the prestigious Harvest magazine. Even if he stops writing, he remains a name to reckon with. This book is a precise and rare social record. It will not fade with the changing times; on the contrary, the passage of time has made it clearer. The narrative of this novel demonstrates the author's multifaceted talent, and the exquisite structure stands out. Navigating such a complex storyline and so many characters with ease reveals his evident narrative prowess. This is a very engaging novel.