Writing Matters (A Collection of Works by Shi Tiesheng)

Author: Shi Tiesheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: Writing is to find a thousand or ten thousand spiritual reasons for survival, so that life is not just a biological process, but also a full, vibrant, joyful, and serene spiritual process. If survival is the instinct of all living beings, including humans, then humans have an additional instinct beyond other creatures: not only to live but also to live with understanding. If one cannot understand, then it might as well not live, and just die. That's why people commit suicide, that's why people write, and that's why people write to prevent suicide. This principle is truly simple, simple to the point of being easily forgotten. In this book, most of the essays are Shi Tiesheng's reflections on literature. Writers often talk about literature better than scholars who specialize in it, sometimes even more movingly than the writers' own creations. A good writer is first and foremost a good reader, a good literary theorist, and a literary historian. In this book, Shi Tiesheng shows us his rich literary insights and the unique sensitivity of a writer. "I think, meaningful form is not created like playing with tangram; it depends on the creator's attitude toward the world." Shi Tiesheng is one of the most admirable contemporary Chinese writers. His writing is completely intertwined with his life. In his "writing nights," Shi Tiesheng, with his disabled body, expressed the most complete and profound thoughts for the. He experienced the suffering of life but expressed the bright joy of existence. His wise words illuminated the increasingly dark hearts of others. Writing is to find a thousand or ten thousand spiritual reasons for survival, so that life is not just a biological process, but also a full, vibrant, joyful, and serene spiritual process. If survival is the instinct of all living beings, including humans, then humans have an additional instinct beyond other creatures: not only to live but also to live with understanding. If one cannot understand, then it might as well not live, and just die. That's why people commit suicide, that's why people write, and that's why people write to prevent suicide. This principle is truly simple, simple to the point of being easily forgotten. In this book, most of the essays are Shi Tiesheng's reflections on literature. Writers often talk about literature better than scholars who specialize in it, sometimes even more movingly than the writers' own creations. A good writer is first and foremost a good reader, a good literary theorist, and a literary historian. Shi Tiesheng shows us his rich literary insights and the unique sensitivity of a writer in this book.