Contemporary Life Sketches-----A Young Writer's Autobiography

Author: Yan Qi
Publisher:
Publish Date: March 1, 2005
Features: This book is a collection of social documentaries, divided into four parts: Prisoners of Love and Sex, Falling and Unwilling to Sink, The Upstart, and A Youth Writer's Autobiography. It objectively and impartially reveals the survival forms, behaviors, and spiritual worlds of today's beings from multiple perspectives. Through it, readers can gain insights into the obscure corners of society and more vividly experience the transformation of human nature in the process of contemporary times. The author, a journalist by profession, has worked for multiple news organizations in Beijing, serving as an associate editor and a member of the Chinese Writers' Association. To date, he has published over 30 works in various genres, including poetry, fiction, and documentary literature. His reportage The World of Hire and Carry was published in October and was selected for the 1990-1991 National Excellent Reportage Annual Selection and the New Era Literary Masterpieces Series·Reportage Volume, winning 11 national and provincial literary awards. With Because I Love You, Yan Qi entered the contemporary poetry scene. By the late 20th century, he successively released ten lyrical poetry collections, earning the admiration of hundreds of thousands of readers. The poetry critics were astonished, calling his poetry "a harmonious fusion of rationality, wisdom, and emotion" and "a remarkable achievement in China's new poetry." Yet, he paid the price of his entire youth for this. So, where does the poet's love lie? When does his heart return? What has he been doing lately? Is the poet still candidly revealing the hidden emotional world of ordinary people through his poetry? Is there still love? Is he still devoted to everything he cherishes? This piece recreates the personal journey of Yan Qi after he abandoned his career and resigned from his public service. It records: Due to dissatisfaction with the new environment, Yan Qi returned to his old job, becoming one of Beijing's freelance writers; the publication of his poetry collection Because I Love You brought him attention from readers and poetry critics; with the dedicated help of Yu Mou in a publishing house, Yan Qi fell in love; for writing an article exposing the current state of an individual entrepreneur, Yan Qi nearly faced a lawsuit; at a gathering, Yu Mou flew into a rage over Yan Qi's closeness to an actress, leading to a break between them; in social interactions, the debt-evading entrepreneurs, the suddenly prosperous opportunists, the wandering literary figures, the book dealers in the underworld, the dancers in the red-light district, and the various tragedies both inside and outside the marriage fortress continuously deepened Yan Qi's life experiences and prompted his profound exploration of human nature; Yan Qi gained fame, becoming one of Beijing's ten most renowned journalists; Yan Qi edited the Black Horses of China's Literary World Series, promoting new literary talents; during this time, Yan Qi was captivated by a woman of true beauty and reconnected with her in Zhengzhou. Thus, the beauty of nature and the enmities of the human world further intertwine to reveal Yan Qi's joys and sorrows and the ups and downs of his life. Ten years of wandering, ten years of love's fluctuations—here, you will see the truth of human nature without any concealment.