“A poet writes verses with a dance-like rhythm to praise the magnificence and terror of life, and a musician regards verses as pure reality and resounds them in his music. They are all communicators of light. They are all people who add joy and joy to the world, even if the poet or the musician always leads us through the tense world of tears and pain first, the poet who delights us with his poems may be a sad lonely person. The musician may be a dreamer with a melancholy temperament, but his works still contain the joy of gods and stars. What he brings to us with his works is not his melancholy, pain or fear, but a drop of pure happiness. "Light, a drop of eternal joy"

- Hermann Hesse I had to put this passage in my notes when I first read it in "The Glass Bead Game." By the time I got to this passage, I was convinced of this idea, although later I also read more classic words from this great poet and writer that touched my heart directly and benefited me a lot.

Rather than reading Hesse's works, it is better to say that it is spiritual baptism, or to experience multiple lives - the plural form of literary works - which is one of the important meanings of literary works in my opinion. First, in the past few months, I have mentioned my admiration and love for this writer to many friends many times. I have always been a relatively slow reader, but Hesse's works have made me break free in a sense. This kind of indifference is why I chose to write down this reading note, and at the same time, I also self-analyzed what kind of impact Hesse's works had on me at this stage.

The Good

“I knew I had hundreds of pieces in the game of life in my pocket. I was shocked by the premonition of what this game meant. I was ready to start the game again. , taste its pain again, shudder at its absurdity once again, and travel through the hell in my heart again and again."

? - "Steppenwolf".

? "Loneliness" and "escapism" are almost two indispensable elements in Hesse's works that I have read, and they run through Hesse's life works. However, these two elements are not Exclusive to Hesse, this element of "solitude" and "escapism" is, to a certain extent, the struggle between spirit and body, a manifestation of the conflict between spiritual purity and worldly degradation. It is a polar conflict. There are quite a few novels that mention this kind of conflict as the theme. "The conflict between soul and body" is almost as eternal a topic in novels as "love". The reason why I prefer Hesse's works is his brightness. It is different from some "loners" who cannot get out of trouble and eventually lead to self-destruction. Hesse had suffered mental trauma, and after he experienced desperate battles with the devil again and again, he wrote that "if you don't know devils and ghosts, and you don't fight them for a long time, there is no noble and honorable thing." "A respectful life." Hesse, who lived through two world wars, lived at the age of 85. He used his literary literacy, talent, rich experience and thoughts to create extraordinary magic and communicative techniques. It peeled back layers of my heart as a reader, pushed me into hell, and then reached out to help me in times of crisis, saving me from self-created dangers, and finally allowing me to achieve reconciliation with secular hell. Some readers say that Hesse's works use too much force, but I just think that this kind of sobriety and "enlightenment" after a violent impact is the most real, refreshing and thorough. When I realized that my feelings were consistent with Hesse's original intention, I was undoubtedly extremely happy. This is why the words at the beginning of the article must exist here. At the same time, this is also what I think is a person who has experienced inner pain. The most essential and greatest goodness of a writer.

"I would very much like to be a patriot, but first of all I am a 'human being'. If I cannot have both, then I will always choose 'human being'."

? Mentioning Hesse As for "goodness", I must mention his humanitarian and anti-war thoughts. Hesse provided certain support to prisoners of war or exiled scholars during the two world wars. Hesse was not a hermit who heard nothing outside the window. On the contrary, during World War II, he wrote a large number of anti-war articles, which blatantly violated Germany's the political views of the authorities.

I have thought about the relationship between "country" and "people" here, but its essence must be viewed in the context of history. And I think that given Germany's situation at the time, Hesse's choice of "people" was not a sign of cowardice and selfishness. On the contrary, it must be a sign of humanity. The goodness of doctrine.

The Wise

Hesse was a poet, writer, painter, music and history researcher, and art is always connected. Music is an essential element in Hesse's works. In the Glass Bead Game, Hesse quoted the chapter on music in "Lu's Spring and Autumn" to express his attitude towards music. I originally wanted to dedicate a separate paragraph to Hesse and Chinese culture, but since I mentioned it, let’s just go on. In my eyes, Hesse's works are very unique. They are different from ordinary Western literature. I think the biggest reason is that Hesse was deeply influenced by Eastern culture, and among them, he loved Chinese culture the most, even though he had never been there. China. Hesse's research on traditional Chinese culture and thought, similar to "Confucianism" and "Taoism", must be better than that of many Chinese people today, including me of course. In his era, Hesse regarded Chinese culture as a remedy to Germany's spiritual crisis. I think this is an extremely special thing. What is clever is that, perhaps because of the deep influence of Chinese culture, Hesse's works exude a strange fragrance, and this fragrance has become a bait, introducing me to the door of German literature and history, and even the entire West. The gateway to literature, history, philosophy and psychology.

"Bipolarity"

"Bipolarity" is a major feature of Hesse's works, "morality and human nature", "rationality and sensibility", "secular" and " "Individual", "responsibility" and "self", etc. What I admire is not that Hesse raised these issues and explained them in the form of literary works, but I think Hesse truly expressed his true feelings in his works throughout his life. The integration and unification of the two poles have been achieved. In many of the works I have read (of course I have not read many works), the author often unabashedly reveals his yearning for a secluded life in the works, and Hesse in "The Glass Bead Game" Simply boldly create a utopian-like pure spiritual realm, but in the end this kind of spiritual isolationism must be harmoniously integrated into the secular society, and even serve the secular society. From the retreat of "Siddhartha" to the struggle of Steppenwolf and then to the entry into the world in "The Glass Bead Game", this is a wave-shaped movement, with an initial climax and then slowly falling. This is the spiritual world after self-spiritual analysis. Reconciliation with the secular world, and this reconciliation story is a treasure book of life and self-liberation that a wise man slowly told the world after he suffered spiritual suffering.

"Supplement Literature"

? The reason why I mentioned the concept of "Supplement Literature" in Hesse's thought is because I think this concept is still relevant in today's era and even in the future. , even an irreversible trend. I understand that the "supplement literature" mentioned by Hesse in "The Glass Bead Game" is his reflection on the literary situation of his own era, using his keen insight and profound thoughts to observe the current situation of his own era. , of course, his thinking about "supplement literature" undoubtedly caused me to think about "fast food culture".

Inclusiveness

"While extending my sincere and respectful greetings to your festive gathering, I would first like to apologize for not being able to be here in person to pay my respects and thank you. Express my feelings of regret. My health has always been fragile, and the years of suffering since 1933 have left me in a debilitating condition, ruining my life's work and repeatedly burdening me with the weight of heavy responsibilities. But my spirit has not been broken. I feel that I am closely related to you and to the inspiration and ideas that have been brought to the Nobel Foundation. That idea is that the spirit is international and transnational, and the spirit should not be used for war. Rather, it should serve peace and reconciliation.

However, my ideal is not to blur national identity, which would lead to a spiritually consistent humanity. May all the different shapes and colors live forever on this lovely earth of ours. How wonderful it is that there are so many races, peoples, languages, and so many different opinions..."

< p> ? The above quote is from Hesse’s Nobel Prize speech. This is just a small passage that I think is more representative of Hesse’s inclusiveness. Discourses about cultural inclusiveness are everywhere in Hesse’s works, whether in culture or Religiously, inclusiveness is a major feature of his works.

I think this kind of inclusiveness should also be an important reason why Hesse's works are immortal to this day. At least I am deeply infected by this inclusiveness. At the same time, Hesse's research on different cultures also leads me. For me, Hesse's It has played a role as a cultural bridge (perhaps he himself had never thought of it). At the same time, I still think that Hesse is also a soulful educator to a certain extent (not expanded).

? These feelings are just an explanation for the surging psychology I have generated by reading Hesse's works in the past two months. The more than 3,000 words of notes typed out in these two hours cannot express my reading. The impact felt by these works is that this is a note on Hesse rather than a reading note on a specific work. This is just the beginning of my reading of Hesse's works. In the future, I may still feel very ashamed that I have only scratched the surface of my insights. At the same time, I would also like to point out that the repeated bipolar oppositions and fusion patterns in these works may easily lead to aesthetic fatigue, but it does not prevent me from loving the style of Hesse’s works, whether it is the direct soul-questioning style in "Steppenwolf" It is still the speculative and slightly humorous confession in "The Spa Guest", or the eloquent style like an old man telling a story in "The Glass Bead Game", although this kind of discussion is greater than the plot. The method may not be to the liking of other people.

? I am a reader who attaches great importance to the plot of novels. However, when reading Hesse's works, I can completely ignore the plot, but focus on the spiritual communication in the words, and even have a strong appreciation for the philosophy and ideological nature in it. interest in inquiry. Tolstoy's works were the first to make me deeply feel the beauty of the integration of literature, history, philosophy and religious doctrine, and now Hesse's works have undoubtedly deepened this level.

? To me, many works only tell me what the "meaning of life" is through various personal insights, while Hesse's works are more of a "methodology" to me. Of course, I admit that I must have mistakenly read some great works at an inappropriate stage of my life and failed to fully understand their connotations, but I am grateful that I encountered Hesse's works at the right time, regardless of whether this "methodology" will still be of interest to me in the future. Make an impact.

——2021.10.2