Turning the page of Mu Tao's new book "The Former Atmosphere", I saw that strange and wonderful theories connected thousands of years of worlds, and they came suddenly; When it came to the cover of the volume, the assertion that Zhou Zuoren had left for modern prose came to mind: "This is an ancient river, but it is new"-I think that it is particularly appropriate to use it to describe "The Previous Atmosphere".

As the title suggests, a "Previous Atmosphere" focuses on the "before" events, which is a kind of speech based on history. Focusing on this dimension, sometimes we re-read the teachings of the sages, sometimes we talk about the actions of the ancients, sometimes we give words and lectures, and sometimes we explore the sources of our stories: sometimes we grasp the winding paths of "old bricks" and "new walls" that are the same in the past and the present, and sometimes we bring in "myths" or "ghost stories" that transcend time and space. All of these naturally constitute Mu Tao's "looking back" based on the long river of time. In this sense, it is undoubted to say that "The Former Atmosphere" is an "ancient river" derived from tradition and yesterday.

It is worth noting that Mu Tao's "looking back" suddenly seems to be a faction that believes in the reins and does whatever he wants, but after a little analysis, it can be found that all these things are actually choices in freedom, and there are trade-offs in arbitrariness. Although the title of "The Previous Atmosphere" involves a wide range of historical figures, events, phenomena, topics, etc., what really constitutes the object of its stable speech is mainly the Han and Tang dynasties that were praised by Lu Xun. Such a kind of literary focus, in Mu Tao's place, undoubtedly contains the love and familiarity with the Han and Tang cultures, in addition, I am afraid there is a deeper sustenance and pursuit. This is to sort out the Chinese civilization from the upstream, discuss history and culture from the Yuan Dynasty, and let the words preserve those original and simple things as much as possible. This reminds me of what Zhang Nanpi of the Qing Dynasty said: "Reading should read more ancient books, in addition to historical legends, books before the Tang Dynasty should read more, for which there are few empty words." ”

"The Former Atmosphere" carries a strong historical and traditional projection, but it does not blindly sway nostalgia. When interpreting history and looking back at tradition, Mu Tao has a clear sense of orientation and purpose, as he said in his book: "Reading history and governing history is not to remember the old, but to renovate." Although the content of this "Previous Atmosphere" has been covering thousands of years, in the final analysis, it can still be summed up in one word: to pick up historical landscapes and traditional nutrients, dialogue with reality, and oxygenate the times. You might as well read "What's the Matter with Wind Collection". The article starts from the original meaning of collecting style, first quoting scriptures and classics, affirming that the "collection of style" in ancient times was mainly "collecting poems", aiming to let the king "observe customs, know the gains and losses, and self-examination". Then, he describes the situation of the poet collecting poems along the road with a loudspeaker, and the working principle of his focus on collecting "poems of resentment". Next, summarize the full text and introduce the dimension of reality: I sincerely hope that today's wind collection activities will be less "Pincui inscription red, and the chapter is beautiful", but more insightful and honest. It can really be described as a "leopard's tail flick", and the spirit is full of energy. "Calculation and Confession" was opened by the property tax implemented by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and successively introduced the content, key points, supporting measures, effectiveness, and shortcomings of this law, and what constitutes its text is still a sentence used in ancient times: "Economic policy is used to enrich the country, if it is reduced to a means of accumulating wealth, it is a mistake for the country." "It's kind of serious. "The Word "Confucianism" revolves around the semantic interpretation of the word "Confucianism", which seems to be a fiddling with knowledge, but in fact highlights the sound personality that modern intellectuals should have.

In The Former Atmosphere, in connection with and in harmony with the old and new theories in meaning, Mu Tao's choice of spiritual schema also presents a new state, that is, starting from different ideological insights and topic expressions, injecting a variety of more creative ways of thinking into different creative processes, striving to make them artistic catalysts. For example, the chapters such as "The Perspective of Faith", "To Neutralization", and "Knocking on the Wooden Fish" focus on the core of the problem, initiate divergent thinking, and achieve the effect of using simplicity to control complexity and less to achieve more through words that are curved or straight, gathered or scattered; while articles such as "Standards and Examples", "Dual-track or Three-track System", and "Modern Spirit and Folk Standpoint" adopt reverse thinking in response to some long-standing and commonplace phenomena and sayings, and as a result, the works often see surprising successes Although the incision of the article is not large, due to the presence and participation of the writer's overall thinking, the work still maintains the characteristics of rich connotation and thought-provoking.

There is another important reason for saying that "the previous atmosphere" is "an ancient river, but it is new", that is, the narrative form and language expression of the work are both inherited and innovative, reflecting the continuity and continuity of literary tradition. As far as the narrative form is concerned, the book has many short chapters, short sentences, emphasis on fun, good use of classics, and blank spaces, which undoubtedly shine with the charm of ancient notes and sketches, and once these are integrated with Mu Tao's modern humanistic stance and viewpoint, they will be transformed into a bearing that connects the past and the present and is used by me. Similarly, in terms of linguistic expression, the book's unique style of grafting with white language is a good reflection of Mu Tao's efforts to actively borrow and activate the Chinese heritage. Among them, the combination of elegance and vulgarity, modern buzzwords and ancient Chinese forms a wonderful narrative effect, which belongs to Mu Tao's unique "Words of the Speaker". In this regard, we should reminisce and take stock of the changes in the Chinese language since the May Fourth Movement.

Gu Yun