Speaking of literary youth, I think of the following sentence:
Traveling alone, reading, Tibet, Dali, coffee shops, small theaters, converse, Muji, canvas bags, late marriage, cats, independent bookstores, rock and roll, Dou Wei, who loves who, beer, minority movies, loneliness, Sanlian Life Weekly, ideal. ...
In a sense, I used to be a literary youth.
I like to wear canvas shoes and white jeans, and I like Dou Wei and rock and roll. Last year's Summer of the Band made my blood boil. From beginning to end, I liked Miserable Faith's Gao Hu and his Goodbye Jack best.
When did I become a literary youth? Maybe the word "become" is not accurate. I think "literature and art" is deeply rooted in the bone marrow and is innate. That literary temperament can't be imitated.
A friend of mine once said that I was a young man and an angry youth. I always like to criticize what I don't like, always like to read books that talk endlessly, and I also like to trap my emotions in books and be sentimental.
Most young artists are unrealistic and treat money like dirt. Although I can't treat money like dirt, I never worship rich people. I never depend on who has the money to find a boyfriend. Most of my former boyfriends were engaged in literature and art, and finally I married a designer. I always like to find people with similar tastes, regardless of whether they are poor or not. The poorer they are, the closer I feel to the spirit, and I can even support them.
Young artists seem to lack a string in their minds. So far, I have always been called "simple" or "stupid". Actually, I know I'm not stupid at all, but I don't want to compare with others.
I always live in my own world and let my temper live. I have lived freely all my life, and probably "freedom" is the quality I care about most. I don't want to get married. I just want to fall in love. Even if I get married, I don't want to have children. Fortunately, I found someone who has the same idea as me, and I found someone who can talk to me for a lifetime.
I like traveling alone. At the age of twenty-five, a man went to Tibet with a bag on his back. This trip is to cure an unforgettable lovelorn. At the age of thirty-nine, I carried my bag across America. From west to east, I lived in a youth hostel shared by eight people, in order to satisfy my dream of being a backpacker. Now a person's trip has become a trip for two people. Last year, two people drove through Spain and Portugal to see the Biennale in Venice. Our common ideal is to travel around the world, stay in one country for a few months, and then move to another country.
I have been thinking about go to dali, and I want to find a small courtyard by the Erhai Lake under Cangshan Mountain to kill time quietly. Dali is my favorite place. I don't know why. I want to go to the second time after going once, so I won't get tired of staying there all my life. I often think of the blue sky and white clouds in Dali and the Qingshi Road in the ancient city of Dali.
Without go to dali, I came to Songzhuang first. I resigned a few years ago and came to Songzhuang to rent a yard. Doing nothing every day is painting, reading, sleeping and staring blankly. I want to live like this forever.
It is best to have a bookstore where you live and a big bookshelf at home. Fortunately, Miki Bookstore is in the alley next to my house. From the day I moved in, a whole wall of bookshelves became my private library. It's better to have a coffee shop. I became a frequent visitor to runaway coffee. The proprietress is a photographer, once opened a coffee shop in Dali, and is also a standard literary youth. Small-scale art exhibitions are often held in cafes, and I especially like Li Buchuan's prints.
Literary youth must like reading, perhaps it is more appropriate to say that they are literary youth. I dream of being the most read person in the world, but there are still many books on the shelf that I haven't read yet. I always feel that time is not enough, and the day passes quickly. There are too many books to finish.
I haven't finished reading one and want to buy another one. Buying books is always willing to spend money, and it is worth buying a book for hundreds of dollars. I want to take all the best books in the world home, even if I don't have time to read them, I feel practical.
I once dreamed of opening my own bookstore, where I could sit and read to my heart's content every day. They advised me that opening a bookstore must lose money, and the ideal is the ideal after all.
But I like to visit bookstores. Yanshu, Sanlian and One-way Street near Joy City are my frequent places. If there is no bookstore in a city, it will lack a little literary atmosphere. Unfortunately, there are still too few bookstores in the city.
Once upon a time, "literary youth" became a derogatory term and was laughed at. This is because Wen Qing has been labeled as weak, poor, neurotic and melodramatic.
Wen Qing is also divided into true Wen Qing and false Wen Qing. True Wen Qing always looks down on false Wen Qing, always wants to draw a line with them, and even refuses to admit that he is a literary youth. Indeed, Wen Qing was abused by the media and became a popular fashion. Everyone claims to be a literary youth.
Wen Qing really can't integrate into Wen Qing by putting on a set of cotton and linen or holding a cup of Starbucks. The difference between real literary youth and fake literary youth is that they should have the ability to think independently and have their own judgments on social affairs, instead of just shouting vulgar "poetry and distance".
Look at those artists who are not young artists. Lu Xun is a senior literary youth. In his time, he could abandon his original marriage and marry Xu Guangping, a female student, without obeying his mother's orders. He is so abnormal.
The difference between real literary youth and fake literary youth is spiritual temperament, not appearance. Zhen Wenqing never pursues material comforts, as long as a cotton dress is comfortable and clean, he can buy the same clothes when he meets the clothes he likes, and never pursues famous brands. Their focus has never been here, and they have no time to do this.
I think of my neighbor David. Graduated from Central Academy of Fine Arts, drawing well, working as a teacher in a training institution with an annual salary of several hundred thousand. But he gave up the job at the beginning of last year on the grounds that he was bored and didn't want to engage in a job mechanically every day.
For more than a year, he has no job. He locks himself in a small yard every day to make his favorite sculptures, so he buys a lot of tools. Not only that, he also traveled to Europe for several months and spent more than 8,000 yuan on a bicycle. He has no money to pay the rent this year, so he has to move out of the yard and go back to his hometown.
He still doesn't want to go out and look for a job, but sticks to his ideal, although he is willing and enjoys it. This may be a real civilization.
Young artists are cool-headed. Even if they have no food, they don't want to go out to make money. It seems that making money has nothing to do with them. A Qi Ayu, a poet, opened a poetry bookstore in Songzhuang for six years without making money, and was forced to leave Songzhuang this year because she could not afford the rent. Before returning to his hometown, he took his two dogs and drove a tricycle. While selling poems, he began to wander around the country.
Isn't there a saying that the decline of society begins with laughing at Wen Qing?
In fact, young artists are the least malicious group in this society. They stick to their ideals, stick to themselves and get something for nothing. They just live in peace.
When people reach middle age, they may no longer pretend to be young artists, but I am willing to do so all the time, not deliberately, because art is my life.