Collection丨Dong Muzi
disasters will twist people's hearts
Beijing News: How did you get through during the epidemic? How are daily life, reading and writing arranged?
Shen Dacheng: is like everyone else. I have a bad time, at least in a bad mood. At first I thought that this epidemic was similar to the SARS incident 17 years ago, so although we were unlucky, we would pass it all over again. As it gets worse, I am very anxious. Seeing some people, medical workers, couriers, and volunteers, seeing that good people can be so good, I was deeply moved. I want to work, but every time after a while, I find myself looking at the epidemic information again. I miss an orderly society very much. I wanted to eat McDonald's the day before yesterday, so I went out to buy it. The street was empty. I didn't go out to avoid danger. After I went out, there was no one on the road, which gave me a sense of security. At that moment, I felt my heart twisted. Disasters can distort people's hearts. What I feel is only the smallest degree of distortion. To what extent should their hearts be distorted for people at the center of the disaster. I saw that many shops were closed, and there seemed to be an invisible “closed” written on the door. I was really worried about them.
Now, I have lost my normal life, the rhythm of reading and writing, but I am rebuilding it. I think as long as it takes two days to work well, I can recover.
Chen Chufan: is not much different from usual, but all social activities and activities have been cancelled. Three or four overseas exchange activities have been postponed to the second half of the year. Instead, I have more time for reading and writing. When there is no phone call in the morning, get up at 10 o'clock to watch the news and eat. Writing in the afternoon and evening, tired of watching dramas and reading books, rest at more than 1 in the afternoon. The time between watching drama and reading is about 3:1.
I write when I am most energetic. There is a fixed length to be arranged every day, and the previous short and long writing plans must be advanced. One is a collaboration with Kai-Fu Lee, and a work between non-fiction and science fiction, tentatively named "2041". It discusses the actual application of AI in various fields and the current state of science and technology 20 years later, and signed Penguin Langdon Global copyright. The other is my own novel "A History of Psychedelics", with metaphor and surreal elements. At present, the Zhihu platform changed 10,000 characters last week, and it will be completed in the first half of the year, and then major changes will be made.
Chen Chufan, science fiction writer, screenwriter, translator, member of the World Science Fiction Writers Association, and president of the World Chinese Science Fiction Association. He has won many domestic and foreign awards such as the Nebula Award, the Galaxy Award, and the World Fantasy Science Fiction Translation Award. His works have been translated into multiple languages, and his masterpieces are "Desolate Tide", "Fantasy History", "Life Algorithm", etc.
Beijing News: What books are you reading during this period? Why choose these books at this time? Can you briefly introduce them and what inspiration do they give you? Which book do you plan to read next?
Chen Chufan: read several books related to the epidemic, Richard Preston's "Blood Plague" (also watched the adapted series), the story about the Ebola virus, the Ebola virus is in There was almost an outbreak near Washington, DC, but there was no outbreak in the end. The current situation we are facing is reflected in the book: the government’s hesitation and dilemma when facing an unknown disease, medical staff and scientific research workers take great risks, assume morality and responsibility, and ordinary people’s Desperate psychology... After reading it, you will find that no matter what age or social system, human beings react very similar to unknown dangers. The end of the book is thought-provoking. The Ebola virus can spread from chimpanzees to humans, but the end result is that it has not evolved into a deadly infectious disease, and the fate is not in the hands of humans.
"Blood Plague: The Ebola Story", translated by Richard Preston Yao Xianghui, Shanghai Translation Publishing House, March 2016 edition
Sontag's "Metaphor of Disease" is also very suitable Reading, the issues she discussed are very current. We often look at diseases in a metaphorical way, and regard those particularly terrible diseases as foreign "others", like enemies in modern warfare. "To demonize the disease, it is inevitable that a change will occur, that is, to blame the patient for the error, regardless of whether the patient is considered a victim of the disease. The victim means ignorance. Ignorance is the one that governs all interpersonal vocabulary. This kind of ruthless logic means crime.” Our reflection is not only on the scientific level, but also on the humanistic and social level. For example, in this public opinion, we seeWhen it comes to the stigmatization of patients, Wuhan people, Hubei people, including medical staff, they also realize that the boundaries of rights, abnormal social control, and grid management all require reflection.
also read "Return to a Beautiful New World" by Aldous Huxley. More than 20 years after the publication of "Brave New World", he added a part of non-fictional analysis, discussing various predictions of future development, overpopulation, propaganda in democratic or dictatorial systems, the centralization of power caused by modern technology, and how the centralization of power through careful The "art" method of design to intervene in the existence of each individual.
Shen Dacheng: I was watching John Le Carré's "Smiley Trilogy" first. I wanted to take the long vacation to read a smart book with a lot of pages. I was not in the mood to watch this afterwards. In the past two days, I watched a little bit of "2666". The fourth part of the "crimes" was all women's murders. The place was in Santa Teresa, Mexico. The time was from January 1993 to December 1997. Women After being killed continuously, Polano wrote more than two hundred pages. It is similar to our current situation, isn't it? People have died one after another, and the "murderer" is the coronavirus. So I thought, is it possible for us to write like Polano? Write the death stories one by one, how many pages will it be written? According to official records, 1666 compatriots have died due to the new coronavirus pneumonia. Next I kind of want to watch "The Doomsday Tower", about Al Qaeda and "September 11".
Shen Dacheng: writer, editor of literary magazines, has a short story column "Strange People" in "Sprout" magazine. He is the author of a collection of short stories, "The Man Who Thinks of Many Times". The shortlisted authors of the first Blancpain Dreamland Literature Award.
evil spirits feed on human grief
Beijing News: What movies or TV series have you watched recently? Why choose these videos?
Chen Chufan: watched Yuasa Masaaki's "Don't Take a Look at Images!" ", a story about a group of middle school students wanting to make cartoons in school. Masaaki Yuasa presents the psychological activities in the creative process in a visual way, and the fictional images in the protagonist's mind are juxtaposed and interlaced. I basically read all of Yuasa's works, from the early "Psychological Game" to "If I can ride the waves with you" at the Shanghai Film Festival last year. I am interested in his creative concept, which is a purely imaginative carnival, which is something we need more in the creative process.
this year's Oscars have also been completed. "Speed Car King", "Joker", "1917", "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", "Jojo's Whimsical World", "Marriage Life"... This year's Oscar is a "big year", the film level is average, and each movie is counted in its own category Relatively good. I have been a fan of Feng Junhao for many years. "Parasite" takes the element of genre to the extreme, and "genre" is a necessary condition to achieve the greatest common divisor acceptance and emotional resonance across different languages and cultures. He has taken a very smart path. . Last year's "Burning" was a different way of telling the same story. It was more literary, subtle and charming, but it didn't win a prize. Each film has its own life. The award of "Parasite" represents the overall success of Korean films, and it has been pushed to this height step by step. Of course, winning awards does not depend entirely on the artistic achievements of a film. The Oscar itself is a politically significant award, and no award is absolutely depoliticized.
is chasing HBO's American drama "The Outsider", a suspenseful fantasy drama based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. "The Outsider" also has a strong "metaphor of disease." This disease spreads from person to person in the form of evil spirits, and wherever it spreads, it brings hatred. The evil spirits feed on human grief, so the family died strangely in various ways. This reminds people of the situation where one person was infected this time, his family members were also infected, and finally died one after another. This kind of tragedy with huge impact is thought-provoking.
Shen Dacheng: "Rick and Morty" is a very beautiful adult animation series. There are foul language, violence, sex, racial discrimination, and politically incorrect things that we think about and secretly say to close friends. It does not hesitate to deduce the advanced imagination very intensively and quickly, instead of diluting out a whole lot with just one idea. The protagonists are the prodigal scientist Rick and his grandson Morty. They shuttle in parallel worlds, and they can't be said to be taking risks, but to provoke right and wrong. When I first watched it, I wanted to know where the sadness came from its crazy and funny. Netizens told me that it was loneliness. Another netizen further said that it was peerless loneliness.
"Rick and Morty" season one stills.
I watched an episode that was very sad. It was about a certain planet where everyone is assimilated into a "combination" and their bodies are different, but they are actually the same person. After watching this episode, I saw a Hubei native write that his mother went to the drugstore to buy masks. My mother saw an old man asking the clerk if he could take out 50 masks in a box or 10 in a bag and sell them to 3. He, because he only has ten dollars. The pharmacy said no. So this person wrote that he was uncomfortable. He thought that young people could still buy protective equipment, but the elderly, especially those without children, without financial resources, and even homeless, what should they do? He wrote: "In the recent panic atmosphere, I feel surprised to think that tomorrow is New Year's Eve." I saw this on New Year's Eve, and I was really sad. I felt that the old man and I were a joint relationship.
Beijing News: Are there any works being written or translated? In this special period, do you have any special feelings for doing this work?
Chen Chufan: is translating Ursula Le Guen's "Earth Sea Stories", which is expected to be published this year. In the days when everyone was generally emotional, I also had difficulty concentrating. There was too much information, from expert opinions and effective drugs, to local medical staff in Wuhan, Red Cross patients, including my own friends in Wuhan... these information sessions It makes you emotionally overloaded, not simply anger, sadness, confusion, but a mixture of various emotions. I now control myself to read these news, read the news after getting up and eating, and repost posts, and no longer keep reading the news all day long as before.
Shen Dacheng: The novel has written 3,500 words, and the progress is far behind, I am ashamed and anxious. Because of the great things that happened in the outside world, I didn’t do my own things on time and according to the amount. It was strange, and there was a little bit of calmness in my heart. I was controlled and affected. This may have caused me to be responsible for myself. Feel free. However, despite the slow speed, I continued to work, not a day to completely relax. The
epidemic awakened us from hallucinations
Beijing News: Do you have continued concern about the epidemic? Are there daily records and observations?
Chen Chufan: continues to pay attention. Some Douban's Douban will organize and categorize epidemic reports and personal online diaries. I will collect some of these articles or save screenshots.
Shen Dacheng: watched a lot every day for a long time. I also care about the "Diamond Princess" cruise ship. It is like a small earth. It has its complicated conditions. The Japanese are also very embarrassed. Now 355 cases of new pneumonia have been diagnosed. It would be great if it can solve the problem. Bring us allegorical comfort.
Except for Hubei and Shanghai where I live, I am concerned about the epidemic in Hegang, Heilongjiang, and I have to look at the data there every day. A crew member bought a house in Hegang with 58,000 yuan and successfully owned the real estate. After he was reported, the housing price in Hegang was driven. This person has a very special image, is very elegant, very smart, has his own way of doing things, and is a little out of our world. Hegang now has 5 cases. Is this person okay?
Beijing News: Regarding the outbreak and response to this epidemic, what issues do you think need to be reflected most? Are there any policy recommendations?
Chen Chufan: There is no aspect of that does not require reflection, but a comprehensive reflection. The epidemic has reminded us that the ability to fight risks needs to be put on the agenda, especially at the individual level. Once your work is suspended, do you have the ability to survive? Many people may not realize before that we may be very close to this so-called "shock" state. Once the "shock" state comes, what kind of preparations should we make? What kind of career should we choose? What kind of city is it in? An epidemic allows you to see many things clearly, such as grassroots management, the quality of the people, the spirit of the contract, the deployment of resources, etc. All need to be considered. The real estate market may be revalued and the bubble will burst. Some people have begun to hoard supplies, buy war-prepared food, and buy canned food that can be stored for several years. We would have thought this was incredible before.
Beijing News: During the epidemic prevention period, do you have any books worth recommending to readers? It can be practical, knowledge-based, or it can help people settle down. Please give your reasons for recommendation.
Shen Dacheng: It's good to read science fiction now. PreferablyA crisis hanging in the universe, a disaster that is not so immediate, the story starts from there, it can serve as a warning, and it can make us less nervous. The one I recently read is "Song of the Far Earth". I actually read it more than two months ago, but I always think of it. It writes that a spacecraft set off from the earth landed on an alien planet, and the people on the alien planet are also descendants of the people on the earth. The two human civilizations have reunited. When I saw that the relief supplies shipped from Japan read "Mountains and rivers in different places, wind and moon in the same sky", I thought of this novel again.
Chen Chufan: The crisis of the epidemic has always been expressed in science fiction. For example, the American writer Dean Koontz
(Dean Koontz)
published in 1981 the novel "Dark Eyes"
("The Eyes of Darkness")
mentioned the "Wuhan virus". But I think Bi Shumin's novel "Corolla Virus" is ahead of science fiction this time. She has been working as a military doctor for 20 years and rushed to the front line of SARS for in-depth special interviews. "Corolla Virus" describes the outbreak of plague in a big city with tens of millions of people, city blockade, people fleeing, panic buying, and heroic resistance. All descriptions are very real.
"Crash: How Society Chooses Success or Failure" [America] Jared Diamond, translated by Jiang Ying and Ye Zhen, Shanghai Translation Publishing House, February 2018 edition.
In addition to "Blood Plague", there are two more "Crash" . One is Jared Diamond’s "Crash: How Society Chooses Success or Failure, Rise and Fall". This book uses case studies to point out how a society responds and makes decisions when faced with its complex environmental problems, and how easy it is for humans to commit mistake. Another is "Crash: About the Law of Survival in the Coming Out of Control Era" by Chris Clearfield and András Tilkes. The author analyzes the problems in complexity science and explains why it is highly complex Is modern society prone to collapse? Because modern links are too closely connected, there is not enough fault tolerance between each link as a buffer. Once a problem occurs in the linear relationship, it will affect other parts and produce a butterfly effect. How to avoid system crash? This book has a very good warning effect for the present. Whether it is at the level of the company, society or civilization, we can avoid collapse by making the system more transparent, simplifying the level, obtaining multiple perspectives and listening to the opinions of outsiders. happened.
reporter丨Dong Muzi
editor丨Xu Wei, Li Yongbo
proofreading丨He Yan
