Chapter 1: Thoughts after reading "After the Bath"

I am a "fan of Yang Jiang". I have read almost every one of her books, and many of them more than once. I heard from classmate Zhang Zhiqiang, who is also a "Yang Jiang fan", that Mr. Yang is going to publish a new book, and I was very excited.

I am naturally excited that Mr. Yang can release a new work at the age of 103. However, when I heard that it is a sequel to "Bathing", my previous excitement was inevitably reduced. I think I am not the only one, but perhaps many readers of Mr. Yang also believe that "Bathing" is already a complete literary work, and there is no need to write a sequel at all.

According to Mr. Yang's "Foreword to "After the Bath", "I deliberately wanted to write about the pure friendship between Yao Mi and Xu Yancheng, but it was ruined like this. If after my death, someone If I'm good at writing sequels, I'll be in trouble. Let's finish the story now while I'm still alive. This way, I can not only preserve this pure friendship, but also give readers a satisfying ending to my book "After the Bath." "It is a small new work, the characters are the same, but the things are completely different. I have finished the story, and no one can think of writing a sequel." From this, it is speculated that Mr. Yang wrote this sequel probably because someone had done it without permission. Writing a sequel to Mr. Qian Zhongshu's novel "Fortress Besieged". But what puzzles us is why Mr. Yang gave the sequel such a name, because the person who continued to write "The Siege" without permission named his sequel "After the Siege". In this way, wouldn't it be easier for "After the Siege" to be confused and make people think it is Mr. Qian's sequel?

And that "satisfactory ending" is probably nothing more than Xu Yancheng and Yao Mi's "lovers finally getting married". "After the Bath" does not break away from the cliché of happy reunions that Chinese people particularly love. It cannot help but remind people of sequels such as "The Southern Peach Blossom Fan", "A Dream Comes Back in Red Mansions" and "A Dream Comes True in Red Mansions", and it also requires speculation about it. fate comes. Of course, "After the Shower" will never be submerged like them, leaving only a string of book titles. However, its spread to future generations is likely not to rely on its own literary charm, but on Mr. Yang's reputation. Mr. Yang is the most respected old writer in the Chinese literary world today. Naturally, we will not criticize her. However, this sequel is inevitably suspected of "continuing after a dog's tail", making readers sigh that "something is worse than nothing". Tragedies certainly weigh heavily on our emotions, but comedies where everyone is happy are inevitably superficial. However, when faced with a literary work, we would rather have heavy emotions than have it be superficial.

Having said that, when a celebrity gets older, he will inevitably be taken advantage of. It is said that "After the Bath" will be published this time in two forms: a single volume and a part of "The Complete Works of Yang Jiang". This is a great business opportunity for the publishing house, which can make a lot of money. Not only the sales of the single volume are considerable, but also the new edition of "The Complete Works of Yang Jiang" will definitely do well. This is something anyone can expect. In addition, after a hundred years of Mr. Yang Jiang, another edition of "The Complete Works of Yang Jiang" will be published in the name of "memory of Mr. Yang Jiang", or various separate volumes can be published in parallel. This not only reminds us of the story of "Ant and Weaving" in Mr. Qian's "Reading Aesop's Fables". Of course, the current "ants" will not watch "Promoting Weaving" starve to death, because the "song" "Promoting Weaving" sings at this moment can bring benefits to it, and every year, it takes advantage of "Promoting Weaving"'s birthday , you can also use the name of "celebrating birthday" to print the old works of "promoting weaving" and make them into hardcover editions. On the surface, it is a birthday gift for "promoting weaving", but in fact, you can make some profits. There is some truth to Darwin's "theory of evolution". Take "ants" for example. They don't wait for the "weavers" to starve to death and then eat their "corpse" as in the past. Instead, they eat the "weavers" while they are alive. reputation, and then eat its "corpse" after death.

Chapter 2: Reading Yang Jiang's "After the Bath": The road in the world of mortals is long and Xiaohe is happy

The road of life is inherently tortuous and bumpy. In that special era, the intellectuals Destiny is like sailing on a rough sea and encountering violent storms and rough waves. After the publication of her novel "Bathing", the 103-year-old Mr. Yang Jiang released the sequel "After Bathing", which is really a miracle in the literary world. After carefully reading the various performances of various intellectuals described by Mr. Yang Jiang in the face of the great social tide, I can't help but feel a wave of tremors in my heart. There are some emotions, some sighs, some sadness and indignation, some helplessness, and some shame. Sometimes, I have mixed feelings and thoughts, and for a moment I don’t know how to express my feelings.

To search for the source carefully, we need to start with Mr. Yang Jiang’s "Bathing". "Bathing" is not a novel connected by one protagonist, but uses the background of the times to write about all kinds of intellectuals of that period. So this book is a cross-section: there is neither an epic complex structure nor a well-rounded hero and heroine. The first part of the novel describes the various talents that New China has recruited in an eclectic way, and all kinds of characters appear one by one. The second part writes that these people really need to "take a bath" and need to be mentally reborn. The third part writes about the different performances of this group of people during the movement. "Taking a bath" did not achieve the expected results because no one did it voluntarily. If humans are spiritual and conscientious animals, then life is nothing more than understanding oneself, refining oneself, and voluntarily transforming oneself, unless one is willing to be no different from an animal.

But how easy is it? In this novel, only one or two people consciously and voluntarily try to transcend themselves. Readers often regard them as protagonists out of their own liking. Although the protagonists in the book are all intellectuals, their spiritual worlds are very different, just like the various animals and plants on the earth. Some are as ferocious as poisonous snakes and beasts, some are as docile as pigs, horses, cattle and sheep, and some are as docile as pigs, horses, cattle and sheep. People are as cunning as jackals and foxes, some are as innocent as white horses and red rabbits, some are covered in thorns like thorns, some are silently holding on like orchids in an empty valley, some would rather break the jade than seek safety at critical moments, some are People are racking their brains and speculating all the time. Especially in the face of strong winds and waves when everyone is in danger, the things deep in people's hearts are even more exposed. It is precisely when everyone is struggling and everyone is in the most difficult and dangerous moments that the true colors and qualities of people can best be seen. Some people say that the most fundamental difference between people is not money, power, or talent, but the quality and soul of the person. Mr. Yang Jiang uses the form of novels to interpret the inner qualities of people and the soul hidden under layers of cover. Although some people are weak, they are noble on the inside; some people are bright on the outside but dirty on the inside. Some people do not sell their souls in the most difficult and humble moments; some people do not hesitate to sacrifice the interests of others for their own selfishness. Some people look pedantic, but in fact they stick to their beliefs; some people look flexible, but in fact they have no morals or beliefs at all in their hearts. The novel not only creates beautiful images of Yao Mi and Xu Yancheng who are noble, sincere, kind, and do not conform to the secular world, but also describes the ugly faces of Yu Nan and Shi Nina who are both vulgar and dirty. It describes the daily necessities of life, including daily necessities, food, clothing, housing, and transportation, but it expresses people's inner feelings in dealing with the world.

The rolling world is a long life. All kinds of people have experienced the baptism of souls again and again. Some people fell into the secular ocean, some people ascended to the blue sky, some people became dust and mud, and some people turned into white lotus flowers. "After the Bath" describes a pair of intellectuals who finally get married after going through hardships. It seems a bit cliché, but it actually expresses the author’s best wishes for the journey of life. Mr. Yang Jiang uses her witty, humorous and unpretentious colored pens to depict beautiful flowers of kindness from the valleys of the world for us, sending us waves of quiet scholarly fragrance, which not only refreshes the heart and nourishes the soul, but also makes us Unconsciously, we feel comfortable in the fragrance of books, which subtly brushes away the dust from our souls, purifies our surroundings, and warms our hearts.

After reading "After Bathing", I felt as if I had walked a long, long way. Looking back, I suddenly discovered that deep in our hearts, it turned out that Mr. Yang Jiang had planted a seed. The pond lotus root, after experiencing success and failure, ups and downs of honor and disgrace, has quietly bloomed into white and pure lotus flowers. Even if there are not many lotus flowers, even if there is only one lotus, or even only one petal, it still exudes a faint fragrance.

Chapter 3: Thoughts after reading Yang Jiang's "After the Bath": Truth and purity are eternal compositions

When readers are still immersed in a novel that reflects the thoughts of intellectuals after the founding of New China During the novel "Bathing" about the reform movement, People's Daily launched Mr. Yang Feng's new work "After Bathing". It is a good novel with novel themes, ingenious conception, simple and perfect writing; it is a novel about the great era. A perfect combination of talent and beauty, it does not have fancy or vulgar words, but it has extremely charming language. After reading "After the Bath", my soul was washed so pure, beautiful, elegant and clean.

Yao Mi and Xu Yancheng in the novel are the characters praised by the author. Yao Mi, who has read Tolstoy's "Brothers of War" and "The Complete Works of Chekhov", exudes a strong sense of bookishness, and can feel her unique temperament and connotation - she has the honesty of a talented woman from Kyoto Yun Yi, but also has the ice and snow wisdom of a lady from the south of the Yangtze River. The spirit of the north and the south merged here - Mr. Yang Jiang arranged a capable but brainless, righteous and chivalrous Luo Hou beside her to look after her. Seeing that various political movements have begun to affect the lives of ordinary people, Yao Mi relied on his wisdom and inner peace to not be too influenced. It is precisely because Yao Mi has nothing vulgar about him that he is admired by Xu Yancheng. Xu Yancheng is talented and knowledgeable, but also chaotic and innocent, just like a child, but he is a married man. His wife Du Lilin comes from a wealthy family in Tianjin. She is extremely smart and generous, but she lacks Yao Mi's cultivation and the baptism of suffering. Equality and compassion, she is beautiful and graceful, and is called a "standard beauty" by Yang Jiang. Mr. Yang Jiang spent a lot of pen and ink details to let readers understand the gap between Xu and Du. Therefore, Xu Yancheng abandoned Du Lilin and married Yao Mi. But in Yang Jiang's writings, Xu and Yao's true and pure love and affection are not the body, but the soul; their happiness is not a state but a feeling. The happy and warm love in the soul is as soft and simple as fine wine. , fragrant and sweet; so pure and flawless, and so charming; every look and every movement between them is full of the warmth of "a clear connection".

When I bathed in the fragrance of ink in Yang Feng's novel "After the Bath", it made me, a rural cultural person, once again realize that books are a kind of spiritual food and arm myself with knowledge. , martial arts can stabilize the country, and literature can rejuvenate the country. In the past, it was very difficult for us to study. Now it is very convenient to study. However, fewer and fewer people read, and not many people pay attention to Chinese traditional culture.

We should love reading, read more and read classics like the protagonists Yao Mi and Xiao Li.

The author Yang Feng's "After the Bath" is just as the General Secretary emphasized at the symposium on literary and artistic work, the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty is the eternal value of literature and art. This novel allows readers to understand the profound connotation of promoting beauty and rationality. "After the Bath" contains an "examination" of the human heart, human nature, and character. Mr. Yang Jiang expelled those humble, selfish, and speculators one by one from her field of vision, and gathered those who were beautiful, pure, and elegant. In these " In the face of "the test", kind and noble people will naturally emerge from the mud and remain unstained, while despicable and vulgar people will naturally try to cover up their appearance. The bodhisattva-hearted Yang Jiang brought together three couples in "After the Bath", and everything went smoothly, recreating the happy love between the two. These pure people all lived in the courtyard of Yao Mi's family. Here, they ate and lived together in a big happy family.

In the text of "After Bathing", there is always a warm feeling, which conveys a kind of positive energy. It makes me more convinced that kindness and purity are not only elegant and valuable, but also eternal.

Chapter 4: Thoughts after reading "After the Bath" by Yang Jiang

At the age of 103, Mr. Yang Jiang completed the sequel to the novel "The Bath", "After the Bath", which caused a stir in the literary and cultural circles. of attention. Writing a sequel to your own novel is a relatively rare phenomenon in the literary world. Why did this famous writer, this centenarian, have to write a sequel to his novel?

In the preface of "After Bathing", Mr. Yang Jiang talked about the reason. She said that ("Bathing") "deliberately wrote about the pure friendship between Yao Mi and Xu Yancheng", but someone "ruined" this friendship, "Now while I am still alive, let's end the story." . In this way, it not only preserves this pure friendship, but also gives readers a satisfying ending." In the final "Conclusion" of "After the Bath", Mr. Yang Jiang finished talking about the lovers finally getting married. After the story, he once again said in a tone of anger and pride: "Xu Yancheng and Yao Mi have got married, and the story has ended at the corner. Who wants to write a sequel? There is no way!" Think of Yang When Mr. Jiang wrote this sentence, he looked like a smart, willful and somewhat cunning little girl. Obviously, it can be seen from Mr. Yang Jiang's statement that she wrote the sequel to "Bathing" in order to maintain "pure friendship". In other words, she used "After Bathing" to prove that "pure friendship" is not only It exists, and it can last for a long time.

Mr. Yang Jiang’s "Bathing" was written in the 1980s. The novel takes the "Three Antis" movement as the historical background and describes all kinds of intellectuals in the early days of New China, whether they are noble, despicable, or Various images of being aloof, shrinking, honest, or snobbish. Among them, the beautiful and quiet lady Yao Mi and the dutiful and noble married professor Xu Yancheng admire each other, but they always stay within the scope of "not exceeding etiquette". Among the many characters, these two are also the characters that writers write more about and appreciate more. "After the Bath" continues the characters in "The Bath", but gradually downplays the other characters, and devotes almost all the writing power to Yao and Xu, which highlights the natural development of the emotions between the two. To put it simply, if there is indeed a "pure friendship" between the two in "Bathing", in "After Bathing", Mr. Yang Jiang desperately carries out this "purity" to the end: she is The two created all possible conditions - arranging a home for Luo Hou, who could become Yao Mi's boyfriend, and Xu Yancheng's wife. In the end, the two came together naturally and obtained a legal marriage. As a result, the two A pure person has pure love and pure marriage. This allows us to see that centenarian Yang Jiang seems to be focused or even stubborn on pushing the two of them into a happy life.

From an artistic point of view, we will not debate whether Mr. Yang Jiang’s arrangement of the characters is clever or not, because this needs to be tempered and tested by time; however, from another perspective, I think this choice and arrangement reflects the old man's belief and expectation of human nature: she expresses her confidence in "purity" in this way, and she guarantees the eternity of "purity" in this way. In other words, Mr. Yang Jiang answered such a question with "After Bathing": A pure person will naturally be pure whether he takes a bath or not; a truly pure person will show his purity even more in "bathing"; only a truly pure person will have a pure marriage. and life. "After the Bath" is Mr. Yang Jiang's confidence and persistence in "pure" humanity and friendship. It is her answer and proof that no matter how ups and downs life may be, people should and can be beautiful, quiet, and pure.

If we say that in "Bathing", beauty and purity exist, but they can only and must survive with humble, selfish, and speculators, and even need to constantly endure the frame-up of the latter. , torture, beauty and purity therefore appear fragile, delicate and lonely; in "After the Bath", Mr. Yang Jiang firmly and decisively drives out those humble, selfish and speculators one by one from her sight, and drives away those beautiful, pure , come together elegantly, let them live in the same place, let them help each other and warm each other.

In "After the Bath", not only two pure young people finally gained pure love, but also all kind-hearted people, Mr. Yang Jiang made them gain beautiful emotions: the first meeting between Mrs. Yao and Uncle and Aunt Lu The mutual care and support, Ma Renzhi and Wang Zheng's consistent help and care for their friends' wives and daughters, Luo Hou's brother-sister-like friendship with Yao Mi... are all proof that purity leads to a beautiful life. On the contrary, bad people have no escape in Yang Jiang's works: they either fall apart due to internal disputes, or they do not end well in the movement. At the end of the novel, these pure people all live in the courtyard of Yao Mi's family. Here, they eat and live together and live together in a big happy family. I thought that this big family with different surnames composed entirely of pure people was actually Mr. Yang Jiang's "Utopia".

In short, what Mr. Yang Jiang’s "After the Bath" wants to express is not the cruelty of political movements, nor even the appearance of intellectuals. In her view, no matter what kind of political movement, it is actually just a "test" of people's hearts, human nature, and character. In the face of these tests, the kind and noble people will naturally emerge from the mud untainted, and the despicable and vulgar people will You will also want to cover it up and reveal it. Therefore, political movements, social turmoil, etc. are actually just touchstones of human nature. She firmly believes that kindness and purity are precious and therefore eternal. "After the Bath" is the centenarian's persistence in purity and nobility, her belief in kindness and beauty, and her proof of abundant happiness.