Zhou Tao in the eyes of his father
(Excerpted from the preface to Zhou Tao’s self-selected collection, Untitled Author: Zhou Wenjie)
After I joined the revolution, I have been engaged in cultural and political theory education for a long time At work, I write speeches and summaries all year round. He is a complete layman on literary creation. He cannot write and rarely reads. When Zhou Tao was in middle school, his tendency to like literature and neglect his homework had already been shown. I criticized him many times that he should study more political theory to establish his future guiding ideology. He relied on his own merit and did not refuse. He has insisted on doing this for more than 20 years. I refused to listen and had no choice but to let him.
Although what he did was not in line with my expectations of him, it was not a bad thing after all, and I couldn't control him. His mother loved to read old operas and books, and would sometimes hint to him: "I just hope that one of my sons can be a military general." He laughed and did what he was told.
Now, he said that Xinjiang People's Publishing House is going to publish "Zhou Tao's Selected Works" and he wants me to write the preface. I am not good at writing, and I have never written a preface for others. What's more, if my son publishes a book and I write the preface, is it appropriate? He said: "It's appropriate. It's in line with filial piety and the best national conditions."
Some of his poems and essays have been read, some have not, and some do not understand them all. Nothing comes out. What happened when he was a teenager and how his personality was initially formed is still fresh in my mind.
I write down some trivial memories of him here, hoping to have some reference or help for readers to understand his words and him as a person.
Tao was born on March 15, 1946 in Machang Village, Lucheng County, Shanxi. During the delivery, the baby was not born day and night, and the mother was exhausted. The female military doctor injected medicine every half hour, but it had no effect. The guardian was helpless and waited in silence. At that time, my heart was like a knife, and every minute and second seemed like years. It seemed like I was facing a stormy sea, which would swallow up mother and child in an instant.
Some kind-hearted person came up with the idea to visit the midwife. An old woman walked in outside the door. She walked into the pit calmly and pressed the mother's abdomen from top to bottom several times. Suddenly, a long The big and strong baby fell onto the mat with jet black hair and a loud cry. Everyone was surprised and confused, and left in silence. I and my aunt escaped like a heavy burden. Because the labor lasted for a long time, she fell into an extreme crisis and waited for death. It was frightening and heartbreaking, and she seemed to be sinking into the stormy waves, so she was named Tao.