Deng Zhongxiang compiles the reading notes of "Wang Zengqi's Prose" and "Food Culture"

"Home-cooked Wine and Dish"

Home-cooked wine and dishes must be a little new, and save money. Third, save trouble. Occasionally, guests come, and they are thirsty and want to drink. The host rolls up his sleeves while cooking, chopping onions and ginger, adjusting seasonings, and chatting with the guests at the same time. He appears to be calm and unhurried; only when nothing happens is it interesting. If the host is in a hurry and the guests are restless, why drink the wine?

"Writing? Painting? Cooking"

To learn calligraphy, in addition to copying, I also need to read more, that is, "reading posts". My calligraphy is influenced by the "Four Masters of Song Dynasty" (Su Jia) , Huang, Mi, Cai), but I have never been to the "Four Masters of the Song Dynasty" because I love watching them, so I was infected unknowingly.

Writing and drawing are inner movements. When writing or painting, you must calm down your heart. Qi Baishi wrote on the painting: "When your heart is calm and calm, you can wave it." Writing or painting when your heart is restless will not be good. Writing and painting can nourish the mind, so calligraphers and painters live longer.

You need to be imaginative and unpredictable when cooking. As Su Dongpo said: "Suddenly new ideas come up": you need more practice. You have to fail several times to learn to cook the same dish before you can get the key: you also need to read. Turn over the recipe. Recipes play an important role in the leisure books I read. The best cookbook, I think, is Yuan Zicai's "Suiyuan Food List". This guy really knows how to eat, and he can talk a lot. As said before: "Those who have taste will come out, and those who have no taste will let them in." This is actually a summary of experience. "Stir-fry meat and vegetables with vegetable oil, stir-fry raw materials with meat and vegetable oil" is a particularly wise saying.

"Carrot"

Mostly the first time you eat something is always the best.

"Food in Four Directions"

"The mouth has the same taste as the taste." Everyone loves to eat delicious food.

You may not eat some things yourself, but don’t object to others eating them. Don't think that if someone eats something you don't eat, it's unreasonable.

In short, a person's taste should be broader and more complex. "Sweet in the south, spicy in the east, sour in the west", try them all. This is true for food, and it should be true for culture.

"Sunflower?"

My intention in writing this essay is very clear.

First, I hope young people can accumulate more knowledge about life. The ancients said that the functions of poetry are: it can be used to observe, to socialize, to complain, and to learn more about the names of plants, trees, insects, and fish. This last point seems to be incomparable with the previous points, but in fact it is very important. Plants, trees, insects, and fish are mostly closely related to human life. Being interested in plants, trees, insects, and fish shows that you also have a broad interest in people.

Second, I advise everyone not to have too narrow a taste and to try a little of everything, whether it is ancient food or food from other places, such as sunflower and sage. A person who eats cabbage all year round will not be happy. Many vegetables that everyone has become accustomed to, such as spinach and lettuce, are actually foreign dishes. Tomatoes and onions were not available in China a few decades ago, and many people were not used to them, but don’t they all love them now? There are many things that you can't get used to at first, but after eating them, they taste bad.

Of course you know that what I am talking about here are all issues that have something to do with literary and artistic creation.

"Food and Literature"

It is best for a literary and artistic worker, a writer, or an actor to have a mixed taste. Try everything from bean juice in Beijing to dragon lice in Guangdong. My pronunciation should be better, and I can understand several more dialects, such as Sichuan dialect, Suzhou dialect, and Yangzhou dialect. Otherwise, it is a loss.

It doesn’t matter if the taste is a bit drab and the ear sound is a bit bad. The most important thing is to have a wider interest in life.

For bitter melon, everyone can take what they need. Those who are willing to eat the skin eat the skin, and those who are willing to eat the flesh eat the flesh. For a work, people can also have different opinions. You can explore its philosophical implications and trace its aesthetic pursuits. When Beijingers eat celery in salads, they only take the young stems, while Western restaurants only use celery leaves when making borscht soup. People give up and others take, everyone does as he pleases.

The concept of "cultural novel" is rather vague. I think it is understandable that the novel attaches great importance to national culture and pursues the "roots" of a certain national culture from the depths of life. The novel must have a strong national flavor, and it will not be successful if it is not marinated and marinated in the national culture. However, it does not necessarily have to go that far, and it must go back to a vast ancient culture. The ancient culture is so absurd that it is difficult to understand. Searching for ancient cultures is a matter for archaeologists, not writers.

From a food perspective, instead of examining what Prince Dan invited Jing Ke to eat, it is better to search for "spring is not old". Instead of searching for "steamed Hui dishes" in Chu Ci, it is better to taste Hunan black bean sauce. Rather than tracing back how the Yue people with broken hair and tattoos ate clams, it would be better to steam a bowl of musty dried vegetables and drink two glasses of rice wine. The culture we want to express in our novels is, first of all, the present and living; secondly, it is the culture of yesterday, which has disappeared not long ago. The reason is simple, because we can see it, touch it, taste it, and think about it.