Conversion (Class B)

Author: Qian Xue
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-01
Features: Classics are the treasures left behind by time, portraying and annotating human nature. The significance of classics lies in their enduring freshness, remaining an unchanging landscape on the bookshelves of readers regardless of how time flows. In the ever-changing space of time and the irreversible process of life, classics are the words, sounds, and expressions that have conquered time. Those sincere statements, those fearless cries, and those reflections on the human spirit awaken our past aspirations, inspire our present courage, and free us from emptiness, vanity, and doubt about the future. The images of these wise figures and their timeless words purify our hearts, shake our souls, and teach us what can be missed but not forgotten, and what is fleeting yet invaluable.
The authors included in "Insights into Masterpieces of Classic Fiction" are all scavengers and pioneers of modern Chinese literature, as well as experimenters and pioneers of various new artistic forms. No wonder Shi Zhecun, with a hint of pride, once told me that he was not impressed by the various so-called artistic explorations of his younger contemporaries in the 1980s, especially their attempts at many "avant-garde" modernist techniques like symbolism, impressionism, and stream of consciousness. "All of these," he said, "we did in the 1930s, and even better than they did. It’s nothing new."
Indeed, every era deserves its own literature. But classic literature belongs not only to its own time but also to later generations of readers who can appreciate and share in the artistic resonance of these classics.