Every book is its own room

 　　I said that I am not a scholar. The first is to be honest, the second is to tell the irony, the third is to talk angry, and the fourth is to be a little frustrated. But I want to tell everyone that when I say that I am not a scholar, I want to reserve the last point of sincerity and respect for knowledge and books.

　　One cannot just say that he is a scholar. I have a relationship with books because I have written a few articles over the years and put them together into a book. People say: "You write books and you can't deny them." Someone suddenly said that I was an excellent essayist. This is really necessary. "Fate"-I am no more than a guest star in writing, but I cannot say "I am a scholar" to others.

　　Everyone knows that Shanghai and Beijing used to have used bookstores. The writer A Cheng is very familiar with Beijing Liulichang. He said that his reading experience was in the 1950s. After class, he went to Liulichang to read miscellaneous books and stood there to read. There is a Fuzhou Road in Shanghai. The second-hand bookstore left over from the Republic of China is connected to one family. There are many books from the Song, Ming and Qing editions. I passed by these second-hand bookstores when I was a child, and I can still see them.

　　I went to Tokyo the year before last and asked the locals where is the second-hand bookstore street? They said it was in Jimbocho. I took the subway and when I came out and saw that street, I immediately thought of Fuzhou Road in Shanghai when I was a child. The bookstores in Jimbo Machiya are very old and small in size. The owner is sitting in a pile of books. The whole space is about the size of a table. There is lunch, a small electric fan, and a small light bulb. He is not poor, he is not tattered, he is showing the score, he really has the score to show: how many generations of used bookstore I am!

　　I said that I am not a scholar, and I am a little bit ironic—the first sentence is honest, the latter is the irony—reading is a very quiet thing, and there are people in the room. If there is no sound at all, then I must be reading. It is also possible now. Become looking at the computer. There is a sound when watching TV, and it is very noisy-in terms of upbringing, if you are really a scholar, you will not speak out or tell others.

　　Whether you study or do art, don’t make yourself an identity—this is not a great thing. You can paint, you can compose two lines of poem, or you can play the piano, don't talk to others. In 1992, after returning to China, I slowly made some new friends. I found that some people would say "I am a scholar", "I am a scholar", "I am an artist", "I am a sculptor", "I am a poet", and "I am a poet". Composer"...I'm ashamed to hear it: How can I say it so embarrassingly? Moreover, the business card was printed with "Second-level painter of XX Painting Academy", and then called: "Danqing, I passed the first-level painter. Let's eat and drink." I don't know when it started and how it changed. There is a trend: a person’s identity is so important.

　　Although I read very little, the book tells me: You know very little, there are many things and many truths, you don't know. Every time the media asks me to talk about reading, I will refuse, especially asking me to recommend a book. I am embarrassed to say which book I have read this year, and then I will publish it in the newspaper and let others read it-how do you know that others have not read it? ? If there is a very sincere young man standing in front of me, I might think about it. I will ask him "Have you read it?" If he says he hasn't read it, I will say "You go try it", but the media does this every year. I will politely decline the invitation, I can’t do it. Why? Because all books teach me one thing-don't be self-righteous, you must be self-righteous.

　　Finally, I want to say to everyone that every book will become your own room. It allows you to hide in, shelters you, and quiets you. Because there are books, you have your own room, and every book is your own room.