Feng Jicai: Running Wild in the Fields

Feng Jicai is a famous writer. Originally from Cixi, Zhejiang, born in Tianjin. He is the author of a large number of works such as the novel "The Prequel to the Magic Lamp" and has won the National Excellent Novel Award many times. In recent years, he has been committed to the protection and excavation of folk art. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Chairman of the Chinese Folk Literature and Artists Association.

In Tianjin, there may be very few people who don’t know Feng Jicai. As soon as his 1.90-meter tall man wanders around in the street, someone will shout: Da Feng, what are you doing? Let’s make some pancakes! Da Feng is indeed busy. Especially in recent years, he rarely stays at home. He is either holding meetings here and there to advocate for the protection of folk culture, or he goes to the countryside and fields to personally inspect folk heritage. One time, I met his wife Gu Tongzhao and said, "I advise Da Feng not to be so desperate. After all, he is in his 60s." Sister Gu smiled helplessly and said, "If you leave him alone, he will be itchy or in pain. If he goes out and runs around like crazy, he won't be ill anymore. Alas, the old scalper will suffer a hard life!"

Feng Jicai is famous for his novels. So far, more than 150 works in various versions and languages ??have been published. The stack is taller than him. His true works are numerous and attract readers at home and abroad. I am familiar with him mostly through these works, so his main occupation should be that of a writer. But he also has the talent and spirituality of painting. Each of his paintings, like his novels, has the power to shock people. The cultural connotation in them is beyond the reach of ordinary painters. Walking on two legs made the road in front of Da Feng wider and wider. In the past few years, Da Feng has become a well-known social activist. To be more specific, he lobbies everywhere and takes action, focusing his main energy on the protection of folk culture. It can be said that reaching this stage is in line with his cultural thoughts. In many of his literary works, we can find his unique insights and footnotes on national culture. It is not difficult to understand why he wanted to temporarily Put down writing and do this thankless thing.

The first time Feng Jicai "went astray" was probably in 1994. At that time, Tianjin was undergoing large-scale modern urban construction. High-rise buildings were rising from the ground, while the dilapidated old city was will disappear in this torrent, which will inevitably cause devastating damage to some cultural relics. Feng Jicai was worried. Feng Jicai stopped thinking about food and tea. But what can a scholar without decision-making power do except scream to the sky? All he could do was to pull together a huge team, including planners, architects, historians, anthropologists, and of course more photographers, who spent a year surveying the city. We conducted a carpet-like canvassing investigation and took more than 30,000 photos and video materials, from which more than 2,000 photos were selected and published into four large albums. He gave these picture albums to government officials. Each time he sent a set, he would write this line on the title page: This is your dear land. Da Feng made a lot of noise, but there were very few people who supported him. Many people said that if you don't write novels, you will just write useless ones. This made Da Feng very sad. Moreover, from beginning to end, all the expenses for this activity were paid for by Da Feng himself. The hundreds of thousands of yuan in royalties filled this big hole, and there were not even many paintings left, so they were all exchanged for money and used for inspections. superior. But looking at it today, the work done by Da Feng is useful and timely. There is no other way, because many cultural relics in Tianjin can only be found in these large picture albums.

In 2001, Feng Jicai once again wore the "black gauze hat" of chairman of the Chinese Folk Writers and Artists Association. Beginning in 2003, Da Feng launched a census of China's folk cultural heritage rescue projects. He said, "We cannot watch with a smile as folk culture disappears under our noses." Tens of thousands of experts and scholars across the country have also left their studies and gone into the fields to pick up the "mother's culture" that is about to disappear from the earth. For more than two years, Feng Jicai spent most of his time running in the fields. The reason for running away is that he wants to understand what the real field culture is like. You won’t know if you don’t go there, but you will be surprised if you go there. Today’s folk culture is basically in a state of self-destruction, and the power of protection is very weak; secondly, their funds are very short, and it is almost impossible to invest in protection. Folk culture is mostly under the control of counties, townships, and villages. If problems are discovered, you can talk to the county, township, and village chiefs and tell them how to protect this culture. I followed Feng Jicai to several places. Once I went to Jiucheng Village, Zhouwo Township, Wuqiang County, Hebei Province. There was a heavy rainstorm on the road. Our car slipped into a ditch, and we had to walk on foot in the mud. Da Feng's feet were covered with two plastic bags, one deep and one shallow. He fell down several times and was soaked like a drowned rat. His whole body was covered with mud and soup. He looked very funny. If no one said anything, who would I would have thought that he is the Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Democratic Progressive Party and the Vice Chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles! After returning to Tianjin, Sister Gu looked at our photos. We laughed, but Sister Gu was so sad that she shed tears. Da Feng said, "It's nothing. Our volunteers are suffering much more than me. They earn meager wages, don't have a penny of subsidy, and have to add money to the work. They often work hungry." In order to improve the working conditions of these people, Da Feng first wanted to sell his house, but then he returned to his old job, painting day and night, and forced himself to draw a big bag on the back of his hand.

These more than 30 paintings were auctioned once in Tianjin and again at the Museum of Modern Literature in Beijing. With the proceeds of one million yuan, a folk culture foundation was established in order to provide those volunteers with a cup of tea. Taiwanese actor Zhao Wenxuan was deeply moved by Da Feng's behavior and donated 1 million yuan to show his support for Da Feng.

Fortunately, the efforts of Da Feng and his volunteers have yielded results. A large number of rescued graphic and text materials have been published, and more audio and video materials are also being compiled. Regardless of the impact on the country, Nation, this will be a valuable asset.