Ten Days Talk | Beibei: Awkward signature, start of a slow life
2024-08-18
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As an ordinary person, I have never experienced being surrounded by people asking for autographs. However, because I have published books, I do have two short stories about book signings. The former is heartwarming, and the latter is embarrassing.
Let me start with warmth. My first book was a language book, often used as a gift book for "Children's University" lectures. One year, it was for second-grade primary school students. I was very nervous before the lecture. Would the children be interested in an unfamiliar foreign language? Unexpectedly, after the lecture, they showed great enthusiasm for Spanish. Many children lined up to sign. I underestimated and didn't bring enough books. I felt very sorry. After returning, I immediately contacted the publishing house and directly purchased a batch of books for gifts. The primary school's corresponding teacher was very happy and thanked me, saying that some of the books would be given to students who did not receive the gift books at that time, and the other part would be placed in the class's book corner. I am even more grateful to them. This warm experience made me fully realize the value of writing a book.
The embarrassing experience also happened during the book signing session of the lecture. It was a weekend lecture at the district library. Unexpectedly, many children came to the film-themed lecture, and they became the main force in the book signing session. I usually ask the name of the visitor, write "To so-and-so" and then sign. But when a child said his name, I was stunned for a moment. I suddenly couldn't remember the exact writing of a word. I had a general impression of the structure of the word in my mind, but it would be embarrassing if I wrote it wrong. At this time, the parent next to me seemed to see my hesitation and added the radicals, so I started writing. Afterwards, I secretly rejoiced that the word itself was not uncommon, otherwise others would question my cultural literacy. After experiencing this embarrassment, I understood why in the signing session of some large-scale events, the staff reminded readers to write their names on small pieces of paper first, which saves time and avoids embarrassment.
This embarrassment started my handwriting life. I first started to use a fountain pen to take notes of readings, with the original intention of increasing my accurate memory of the text. As I wrote, I found that this ancient way of writing has many benefits. In the past, when I took notes, I often used the memo function of my mobile phone, or directly took a photo of the page I liked, and sometimes I would type on the computer and save it in a document. The disadvantage of the mobile phone is that messages pop up from time to time, and the disadvantage of the computer is that when I am taking notes, I think of something complicated, so I open another document to write. In this way, reading is interrupted and becomes fragmented. Handwritten records can maintain the continuity of reading, and I can appreciate the beauty of the text itself more and more, especially when taking notes of poems.
As I wrote, handwriting extended from excerpting records to creative manuscripts, which made me realize the new relationship between writing and creation. Compared with typing on a computer and listening to the crisp sound of keyboard tapping, handwriting is a silent "slow life". The friction between paper and pen is like a dialogue between man and nature, silent but nourishing the soul and giving people quiet power. Thoughts surge and the pen moves with the heart, and the handwriting will also fluctuate, just like the wind blowing through the fine sand, shaping different shapes. Looking at the manuscripts with different handwritings, I can recall the emotions at the time, which is completely different from looking at the neat and tidy printed Chinese characters. Only then did I understand why some writers still insist on handwriting after the invention of the typewriter, and some even refuse to use computers and insist on handwriting. This persistence is like farming, watching the seeds fall into the soil, and slowly waiting for the harvest. Regardless of the harvest, the process of sowing itself is happy.
Both the warm and awkward signing experiences are deep memories, and I am more grateful for the latter. It was the embarrassment that made me pick up handwriting and experience new fun from this old way. From then on, I tried to create beauty and experience love in the ancient and slow way. (Beibei)
