The World Literature’s Past, Present and Future in the eyes of writers of the world

【活动回顾】|世界作家看世界文学的过去、现在和未来
【Review】|The World Literature’s Past, Present and Future in the eyes of writers of the world
时间：11月20日，周二，19:00-20:30
Time: November 20, Tuesday, 19:00-20:30
地点：言几又书店
Venue: Yan Ji You Bookstore
作家：Jussi Valtonen（芬兰），Pierre Mejlak（马耳他），孙频（中国），王威廉（中国）
Writers: Jussi Valtonen (Finland), Pierre Mejlak (Malta), Sun Pin (China), Wang Weilian (China)
主持人：胡传吉（中国）
Moderator: Hu Chuanji (China)

“有朋自远方来”，本场分享会作家背景与写作风格各异，有来自芬兰的神经心理学家、作家Jussi Valtonen，有来自马耳他出版多本童书的Pierre Mejlak，有写作风格转变巨大的江苏作家孙频，还有先后就读于中山大学物理系、人类学系和中文系的王威廉。两位欧盟作家的作品少有译为中文出版，网络上可获得的资源有限，面对面地深入交流就显得尤为重要。
“How happy we are to invite friends from afar!” The background and writing style of the writers are different. There are Jussi Valtonen, neuroscientist and writer from Finland, Pierre Mejlak, who has many children’s books published from Malta, Jiangsu writer Sun Pin, who has gone through a great change in her writing style, and writer Wang Weilian, who studied at the Department of Physics, Department of Anthropology and Chinese Department of Sun Yat-Sen University. The works of the two EU writers are rarely translated into Chinese, and the resources available on the Internet are limited. Therefore, it is especially important to communicate face-to-face.
谈及当下的世界文学与世界作家，胡传吉老师问“究竟是什么让各位走上文学创作的道路”，问题看似简单，实则是接近作家内在的关键。“鲁迅弃医从文是为了人民为了国家为了未来”，威廉老师则是为了自由，他举了一个很形象的例子，“现代专业学科仿佛庞大系统中的神经末梢，虽说术业有专攻，但人性是追求没有限制的自由。物理学和人类学给我的束缚太多了，但当我选择文学的道路时，多方面的知识又在新的场域里被重新激活，形成自由的思想。”Jussi则表示自己从儿时的阅读开始，脑中总是充满丰富的想象和思考，后来便自然地有了表达的欲望。
Talking about the current world literature and world writers, Ms. Hu Chuanji asked, “What led you onto the path of literary creation?” The question seems simple and easy to answer, but in reality, it is closely related to the writer’s inner self. “Lu Xun abandons medical career for the sake of the people and the future for the country”, but Wang William did for freedom. He gave a very vivid example: “Modern professional disciplines are like the nerve endings in a huge system, although profession should be specialized, Humanity is all about the pursuit of freedom without restrictions. Physics and anthropology have bound me too much, so I quit and choose the path of literature. Many aspects of knowledge are reactivated in my creation, forming my free mind.” Jussi said that he started reading from early childhood, and his mind was always full of imagination and thinking. Later, he naturally has the desire to express.
不同的作家写作主题不尽相同，同一位作家写作的不同时期风格亦是如此。Pierre谈到自己的写作史，童年的他已经基于自己对世界的理解开始写作，随着年龄的增长，他对人与人的关系的探讨更加深刻，爱与恨、相聚与别离都是他写作的主题。孙频老师则直截了当地点出：“作家和世界的关系在改变。”人在20多岁的年纪，便会觉得爱情是天大的事情，但岁月匆匆，30岁便发现人生还有更多的精彩。“人生的主题在变，我对生活的兴奋点和关注点在变，我的小说风格也在随之变化。从关注无数个自我到人群，这是由内而外的变化。”
胡：“由内到外的变化，符合中国现代社会的变化。”
Different writers have different writing themes, just like the same writer may have different writing styles. Pierre talked about his writing history. In his childhood, he begun to write based on his own understanding of the world. As he grew older, he focused on the discussion of the relationship between people: love and hate, gathering and separation became main themes of his writings. Sun Pin pointed straight out: “The relationship between writers and the world is changing constantly.” When people are in their 20s, they feel that love is their everything, but sooner they will find out more in their lives at their 30s. “The theme of life is changing, my excitement and focus on life are changing, and my style of fiction writing is thereby changing. From focusing on countless selves to different groups of people, this is a change from the inside out.” Hu commented: “The change from the inside to the outside is in line with the changes in China’s modern society.”
谈到人生经历与写作，Jussi的最新力作《他们不知己行》中文译版将于明年在中国国际广播出版社出版面世，小说主人公是位成功的神经学家，曾在芬兰结婚生子，后离婚到美国定居。中年的他面临一系列危机：来自实验室、工作、婚姻家庭的方方面面的压力。读者不难看出作品主人公的设定与Jussi人生经历相似，而如何处理故事与现实的关系，Jussi给出了自己的答案：“人生经历本就是我写作的素材，而在写作中，我又可以自由大胆地尝试不同的情节和结局。”
When it comes to life experience and writing, it’s a must to mention that Jussi’s latest masterpiece They Know Not What They Do will be published in China International Radio Publishing House next year. The protagonist of the novel is a successful neuroscientist who once got married and had children in Finland and then got divorced and then re-settled in the United States. In middle age, he faces a series of crises: pressure from all aspects of life, laboratory, work, marriage and family. It is not difficult for the reader to see that the protagonist’s setting is similar to that of Jussi’s own life experience. How to deal with the relationship between story and reality, Jussi gave his own answer: “Life experience is the material of my writing, and in writing, I can freely and boldly try different plots and endings.”
若把视角从个体作家当下的写作状态转移到整体文学的继承与发展上，那么我们没办法回避的两个问题就是，传统文学的继承和对未来文学发展的预测。
If we shift the perspective from the current writing state of individual writers to the inheritance and development of the overall literature, then there are two questions that we cannot avoid talking about: the inheritance of traditional literature and the prediction of the development of future literature.
放眼将来，可以说未来是充满不可知性的，是不可预测的，而人类对不可知性存在本能的恐惧心理。Jussi表示赞同：“科学技术发展迅速，一方面为作家们带来创作灵感，另一方面也带来了恐慌。人类总是先关注科技如何发展、为经济效力，而后才去探讨如何正确地运用科技。”
Looking into the future, it can be said that the future is full of unknown possibilities and that it is unpredictable, and human beings have instinctual fear of the unknown. Jussi agreed: “Science and technology are developing rapidly, on the one hand, creating inspiration for writers, and on the other hand, causing panic. Human beings always pay attention to how technology develops and how it can work for the economy, and only explore how to use it correctly long after.”
那么文学传统对当下写作有何意义呢？本国的文化传统对写作有没有启发呢？Pierre表示：“魔法的主题对我写作的风格主题、故事的叙述方式影响深刻。”Jussi则谈到母语对自身写作的影响：“芬兰语言的韵律感很强，写作的时候我总会不自觉地加强我语言表达的韵律感，因此语言和文化对文学创作意义深刻。”
So what is the significance of literary traditions for current writing? Does the national cultural traditions have any inspiration for writing? Pierre said: “The theme of magic has a profound influence on the style of my writing and the way my stories are told.” Jussi talked about the influence of his mother tongue on his own writing: “The rhythm of the Finnish language is very strong, I always unconsciously strengthen the rhythm of my language while writing. So we can say that language and culture have profound implications for literary creation.”
孙频老师谈到“写作无法逃脱集体潜意识中的文化与价值观”，“传统文化的浸染是终生的，而中国作家的文学精神，就是血脉相连的是儒家文化，这对文学创作是最基本的影响。”
威廉老师提到了两个例子，来说明历史传统的深远影响。唐代韩愈提倡古文运动、民国时期的新文学运动，都告诉读者和作家们，文学是当下的，也是历史的。
Sun Pin said that “When we write, we can never escape the influence of culture and values in our collective subconscious mind”, “we are emerged by the traditional culture, the impact is lifelong, and the literary spirit of Chinese writers is the Confucian culture inherited to us in the blood, which is the most basic for literary creation.” Wang Weilian mentioned two examples to illustrate the far-reaching impact of historical traditions. In the Tang Dynasty, Han Yu advocated the ancient literature movement and during the Republic of China, the new literary movement. Both told us readers and writers that literature is both present and historical.