The Complete Works of Xu Zhimo's Classical Prose

Chapter 1 Planting Flowers on the Beach

(Preface)
Friends are a kind of luxury: not to mention the snobbery of wine and meat, they are not friends. True friends are mutual acquaintances, but acquaintance is easier said than done. If you want to open someone’s heart, you must first open your own, and you must accommodate others’ in your heart Heart, you have to put your heart into other people's heart first; this mutual flow of sincerity or true disposition is a friend's secret and a friend's happiness.But this means that your inner strength is enough, and your spiritual activities are abundant, you can open up at any time, and flow out at any time, like spring water in a mountain, flowing to the groove that can accommodate your sympathy; sometimes you have to take risks, you have to spend money , you have to find your way patiently among the chaotic rocks and the thorny grass. At that time, it is difficult, painful, and exhausting. A compassionate heart can find peace and euphoria before.

That's why I say that friends are a luxury, and "acquaintance" is a treasure, but you have to exchange your true temperament and fight hard.Therefore, I dare not speak easily, because I know that my resources are limited, I am very cautious, and I have the fear of bankruptcy from time to time; I cannot "transform" casually.The day before yesterday, several children invited me to talk to you. Their sincerity convinced me that I had no choice but to obey. But, children, I am ashamed to say so, what shall I give you?

I first wanted to come and talk to you about children, because you are all still children.But where did the kid's me go?As if yesterday I was a child, and somehow I am different today.What is a child?Or because of a bit of lively innocence, but innocence is like a bud in the soil, cold weather and hard soil will suppress its vitality, who is going to ask for a warm spring breeze these years?
The child is gone.What you remember is just an indistinct shadow, which is very numb. When I think of it now, it is like a blind man remembering his own appearance, and he can't remember well; The next mold comes, and that mold is also dead.Really gone.One day in the park, I saw a kid who didn’t mention how active he was. He went up the mountain, climbed trees, skated, rolled in the hay, or just danced and laughed. I was envious and wanted to follow him. Play together, but can't, I'm an adult, wearing a long robe, I'm respectful in my heart, afraid of being laughed at, natural flexibility is exchanged for reserved and intentional children, there are no children, there are only age and education Empty body, dead stiff, unnatural.

I want to bring back the savage in our nature to speak to you.Because savages are also close to nature; when I visited India a few years ago, I got very earnest impressions. Although the streets and houses there, as well as the physical appearance and living habits of the natives, although simple, crude, and not exaggerated, they are in every way similar to The blue sky above the nature, the hot sun, the scorched earth underground, and the tall coconut trees are in harmony with each other. The mood, color, and structure seem to have a consistent meaning, just like a perfect work of art.For some reason, I saw their street that day, the ox carts on the street, the old man driving the cart with his red head and purple ginger round belly exposed, their temple, the holy images in the temple and the statue in front of the seat of the god. Hua, I just feel uncomfortable, as if this scene is a call from a familiar voice, telling you to follow him, why doesn't your soul jump and want to say "Okay, I'm coming", but you can't, And there are obstacles blocking your way, preventing you from recovering the freedom revealed to you by the calling voice.It is your education that traps you; I was as miserable as a snake cannot get rid of a hard shell that traps him, and the savage is also suppressed and can never come out.

So today I am standing above you no longer a savage who comprehends nature, nor is I a child who is alive with secrets: I am just a "civilized person", and all I can speak is "civilized words".But what is civilization but depravity!The mind of a civilized man is full of vanity thoughts, he is busy everywhere, he has to care about success or failure everywhere.How can I not feel ashamed of you?Not knowing nature is not only my heart, but also my words.And even if I have words, I can't express it, even if I have thoughts, I can't make you understand; the inner spirit is like being firmly built in a stone wall, so that no light can pass through, just seeing you with these eyes, But is there any way to convey my meaning to you, I have forgotten my original language, what else can I say?
But my little friends still force me to tell a lie (if you don't have something to say but force yourself to speak, it's a lie).I can't give you knowledge; if you want knowledge, you have to consult an educator, and I don't have it here.Not to mention wisdom: Wisdom is the flower and fruit in hell, only those who can enter hell and get out of hell will get wisdom, and those who don't go to hell will have no wisdom. I don't have it.

When I was in a state of embarrassment, a savior came and was this small painting in my hand, waiting for me to explain the truth to you.This picture is my New Year card, a friend made it for me.Look at this little child playing alone on the beach by the sea, wearing straw sandals on his bare feet, holding a flower in his right hand and planting it vigorously in the sand, and holding a watering pot in his left hand, the water in the pot is hanging down drop by drop with.Not far from the child I could see the churning waves of the sea.

Do you see the meaning of this painting?
Plant flowers in sea sand.Grow flowers in sea sand!The child's enthusiasm for planting flowers is probably in vain.Sand and moraine cannot support flowers, and these few fresh waters cannot help; maybe before the child turns around, this little flower can no longer withstand the persecution of the sun, and it has to give up its limited life and wither.Besides, the waves of the sea are about to hit. When the waves come, let alone this small flower, even a tree with big roots may not be able to stand, so it is hopeless for this flower to fall on the seashore. It's albino.

You must be able to understand what this means.My friend is very smart. He compared this picture to our group of idiots, idiots who are willing to dream in the daytime, idiots who are full of idiots who want to grow flowers in the sea sand.The child in the painting is holding a few drops of limited fresh water to keep the life of the flower. We, a group of dreamers, also want to use the most limited power in a society that is drier than the desert and more lifeless than the beach. The seeds of literature, art and thought, aren't they the same despair and the same stupidity?How ridiculous it is to want to grow flowers in sea sand!But my wise friend said there was more to this little painting; irony was not her purpose.She wants us to look deeper.

It seems silly to us to plant flowers in sea sand, but the child himself doesn't think so.His thoughts are simple, and his beliefs are also simple.What does he know?He knows that flowers are lovely, and lovely things should help him grow; he usually sees that flowers and plants grow from the ground, and he thinks that the sea sand is just the ground. Why can't flowers grow in the sea sand? He never thought No need to think about it, he knows how to plant flowers and water them. As long as the flowers stand upright on the ground, he will be happy and happy, and he will dance and sing to praise this flower. He has nothing to do with the beautiful life, what will happen in the future, the nature of the sea sand, and the fate of the flowers!We know how a child worships nature. Although his body is small, his soul is big. His clothes may be dirty, but his heart is clean.There is another painting here, which is the worship of nature. Look at this child kneeling under the moonlight and worshiping a lily with its head bowed. At this time, his heart is as clean as the moonlight, as beautiful as a flower, and as quiet as the night .We can know that the thoughts of the child who goes to the beach to plant flowers and the thoughts of the child who worships flowers this month will be pure and clean. We can imagine that the child who has planted the flowers will do the same to worship and pray to the flowers. Being able to plant the flowers temporarily is his success, and what happens in the future is not his business.

You see, this symbol is not only beautiful, but also powerful; because it tells us that simple faith is the source of creation. This simple and innocent innocence is the most permanent and powerful thing. It can't rush him, and the darkness can't cover him. The flowers on the ground are sometimes destroyed and destroyed, but children love to plant flowers: "true" has eternal life.

Let's take a closer look.Our present culture is simply the result of human effort and sacrifice throughout history.Why are people willing to work hard and sacrifice?Because they have natural confidence; their souls know what is true, what is good, and what is beautiful, although their bodies and intellects sometimes tempt them to walk in the opposite direction; but as long as they recognize a thing is of permanent value When the time comes, they will naturally get excited, and sacrifice themselves unexpectedly, in order to redeem a few proofs of eternal principles in this ever-changing world of sensuality.Why was Jesus not afraid to go to the cross?Why did Milton still compose poetry when he was blind, why did Bedfordshire still compose music when he was deaf, why Michelangelo was willing to endure months of damp despite his own skin and boots being one piece of hard work , just to solve a small art problem?Why do people always go to the top of the snow mountain at the end of the ice ocean to explore?Why are scientists willing to spend their whole life studying truths that ordinary people can't see or understand under a microscope or among numbers?

For these heroes of humanity have their unshakable faith; Like our children who plant flowers in the sea-sand, their minds are pure Religionists sacrificed for good principles, scientists for true principles, artists for beautiful Principled Sacrifice The result of all these sacrifices is the limited culture we have.

Think about it, isn't it just as stupid to do things on this ground? Isn't this ground as unforgiving as sea sand, and isn't your career here as delicate as flowers?When the tide comes, it can be washed away, when the wind blows, it can be broken, and when the sun shines, it can smudge the flowers we planted in the sand. In the same way, the whole of our culture is different and can be washed away and broken at any time. Possibly bad, burnt?Where is Babylonian civilization now?The city had been buried for thousands of years, and the civilization of Crete was not fully discovered until the last five or sixty years.And sometimes the existence of an entity does not prove the continuation of his life.There are 60 million possibilities of destruction for the mere body of the earth.It is true that people are afraid of death, we are afraid of dead people, but the most terrible thing is not the dead dead, but the living dead. It is a great tragedy to have a physical life without a spiritual life; this is also the case in culture, and the dead culture is nothing but the most pitiful What is a half-dead culture that is barely breathing.If you ask me for an example, I will answer you without hesitation, friends, the culture of your country is a breathing dead man!A long time has passed since the last few of our ancestors sacrificed their breath and blood for unchanging principles, sacrificed their finite existence for immortality, and were ridiculed and insulted by their contemporaries for simple faith.It has been a long time since we last heard the universal sound flooding the ground.It's been a long time, since we last saw a mighty light sweep like a comet across the face of the earth, since we last shed blood for a cause, since we had courage in our marrow, we There is weight in what you say.This is a very sad reflection!I really don’t know what unforgivable sin has been committed in this era, and God has cruelly rewarded us with such a vicious punishment?You look at where to find a complete man or a complete woman these days, you go and see, which man is not impotent these days, and which woman is not bloated!To describe the period we are suffering now, we have to invent a class of new words that are uglier than ugly, dirtier, dirtier, nasty, nasty, meddlesome, cowardly, and cowardly!Friends, I’m really always afraid in my heart. I’m afraid that what the east wind will bring next time will not be the spring we’ve been expecting, not flowers, grass, butterflies, and birds. The face is not worthy of wearing beautiful clothes. What right do our ugly and perverted people and society have the right to ask the sky for sunshine, the ground for grass, the birds for music, and the flowers for color?You ask me if it will light up tomorrow?I replied that I didn't know, so I might not!
In the final analysis, we have lost the focus of our spiritual efforts, which is a pure faith, a little childlike innocence!Don't talk about planting flowers on the beach, we are all smart people, who would be a fool to plant flowers in your own yard, I'm afraid you will do it!The most terrible ghosts of doubt and shadows of misanthropy have taken possession of our souls!
So my friends, you are all youth, you are all flowers that burst out when the spring thunder never ceases, you must not fall any longer, although the mouth of the trap is wide open in front of you, don't be afraid, you pour out your innocent innocence , fill it up, and go forward, you must maintain that little confidence, which is connected with energy, courage and inspiration. You are not afraid to be little fools, try your best to plant your flowers on this humane beach. It may be wiped out, but the spirit of this flower is not rotten!

First received in June 1926, Beijing Beixin Bookstore "Falling Leaves"

(End of this chapter)