Go with the flow

Author: Wang Zengqi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: Classics are the treasures left behind by time, portraits and annotations of human nature. The significance of classics lies in their enduring freshness; no matter how time flows, they remain an unchanging landscape on the bookshelves of readers. In the ever-changing flow of time and life, where nothing can be repeated, classics are the words, sounds, and expressions that have conquered time. Those sincere statements, those fearless cries, those reflections on the human spirit, awaken our past hopes, inspire our present courage, and free us from vanity, emptiness, and doubt about the future. These images of wise people and their timeless words purify our souls, shake our spirits, and teach us what can be missed but not forgotten, and what is fleeting yet precious.
Truly, every era should have its own literature. But classic literature does not belong solely to its own time; it also belongs to later generations of readers who can appreciate and share an artistic connection with it. Tracing the footsteps of modern Chinese prose in the 20th century, whether it's the early "Yushi School" or "Lunyu School," the prose praising maternal love by Bing Xin, Xu Zhimo's "Wild Horse Running" prose, or the prose of Yang Shuo, Qin Mu, and Liu Baiyu, who were once hailed as new classics, or even Yu Guangzhong on the other side of the strait who wanted to "" (cut off the of prose), or the recent "grand cultural prose" or "little woman prose," at least in one aspect they are consistent: "I write with my own hand, I speak with my own voice." Regardless of the style, whether it's the rigid critique of current politics leaning towards essays or the soft, melodramatic, and self-pitying prose expressing emotions, or the sorrowful and tearful prose triggered by scenery, prose, to some extent, can serve as a sanctuary for the soul or a refuge for the spirit.
Art is independent, and prose must be personal. The title "" (Go with the Flow) reveals a leisurely and carefree (charm). Wang Zengqi turned the suffering of being mistakenly labeled a rightist into "three lifetimes of good fortune" because during his down-to-earth experience, he "gained a firsthand understanding of how labor is a heavy burden." After having his rightist label removed, he returned to his institute and became "the person in the country who has tried the most varieties of potatoes." That's how he went with the flow! He wanted readers to take a leisurely break in his tranquil literary paradise, only to find a life full of flavors and diverse colors before them. Wang Zengqi blends the aesthetic tendencies of the "Beiping School," represented by Shen Congwen and Fei Mu, subtly into his fiction and prose. Reading his works feels like leisurely savoring a fragrant cup of tea after a busy day.