No.84 Charing Cross Road, which is the joint code for book lovers all over the world.

If you happen to pass by there, please remember Dai Hailian? Hanfu gave a kiss.

This is a story that made the British and the world book lovers crazy in the 1970s. Han Fu, a 33-year-old frustrated new york woman writer, came across an old bookstore in England selling ancient books. She likes books very much, so she immediately wrote a letter to Frank, the manager of this bookstore. The letter flew across the ocean and was written for 20 years.

Once communication becomes too efficient, some feelings will be devalued.

Probably, people who love books don't like to show their faces.

Because of Hailian? Han Fu was dead, so a newspaper reporter contacted the publishing house and found Chen Jianming, the translator of No.84 Chaling Street. Unfortunately, the publishing house said, I'm sorry, he doesn't want to be interviewed, so we won't bother.

"I always thought that putting handwritten letters in envelopes, filling in addresses and putting stamps on them, and taking a long time to deliver letters have indelible magic for both senders and recipients. Among them, the meaning lies in the distance, or should I say waiting for the other party's letter to arrive; I also wait for my letter to reach the other party. The time difference caused by the delay between these exchanges is almost comparable to the subtle difference in fermentation time of natural yeast.

"I am always unwilling to give in to emails that appear on the other party's screen in an instant; Naturally, ICQ (online real-time conversation) is regarded as a frightening road. Due to the uninterrupted operation of the traditional postal service, I still keep the old trick of writing and delivering letters with my old friends and close relatives, simply because I sincerely believe that it is unwise and useless to try to eliminate the distance between space and time. Once communication becomes too efficient, there is no need to look at each other, and some feelings will depreciate rapidly without being detected. I like the calm and patient process, thinking about every sentence, because I can't convey it immediately and put pen to paper; I also cherish reading each other's previous letters and think about their situation and emotions when reading them a few days later. 」

He used to be an ordinary clerk in Taiwan Province Eslite Bookstore, but because he loved the collection of this book so much, he translated the whole book without the support of the publishing house or even buying the copyright.

Last weekend, I went to see the movie Two Love Letters. The screenwriter Xue was interested in Hailian? The film is a tribute to the centenary of Hanfu's birth. The book No.84 Charing Cross Road is a clue that runs through, and it is the medium and reason for the correspondence between the hero and heroine played by Wu Xiubo and Tang Wei.

Therefore, some people speculate that Hanfu and Frank at 84 Charing Cross Road also have love.

Is it really about love? If you start with the first letter and read it letter by letter, you will see Hanfu, a straightforward Aries woman, reckless but humorous.

She will happily call Frank's nickname Frankie, accidentally complain about toothache, and laugh at herself, saying, I found that all my teeth are broken one by one, either wearing braces or pulling them out! Because I don't want to be toothless yet.

However, since the first letter, Frank has been writing as an English gentleman. From his beloved wife, the closest thing is the dear' Miss Hanfu', and the end of the letter is a clever signature. Frank. Sincerely from Del.

Frank's reason is that I'm not as slow and strict as you thought. It's just that I have to keep a copy of all my letters to you for business filing, so I think it seems more appropriate to be polite.

But what really moved me was that in the 20 years of correspondence, Frank kept the courtesy and modesty of a gentleman, without any out-of-line language. Until 1968, 10, 16, Frank wrote the last letter to Hanfu, and the final signature was changed to Love and Frank, which was translated by Chen Jianming as I miss you, Frank.

You can understand that this is the usual way to sign English letters, but when I saw the small changes in this letter, I was endlessly imagining an English gentleman who had suppressed his feelings for many years. At the last moment, he wrote down his love word by word, which was the last chance to express his feelings, because Frank died of illness two months after the letter was sent.

1In July, 1996, Zhong Fangling, a famous scholar, went to the United States and met the 80-year-old and obviously shrinking Han Fu.

She walked slowly out of the elevator with a cigarette in her hand.

In her apartment, I saw the old typewriter, the long chair and bed, her favorite martinis and wine glasses on the coffee table, and books from London on the bookshelf. Everything is familiar.

When chatting with Han Fu, Zhong Fangling found that the time she answered the phone was very short, and friends called every day to see if she was still alive. Hanfu said that she was in poor health and her mouth sometimes drooled involuntarily.

Hanfu signed a book for Zhong Fangling. At the age of 80, she is still as straightforward and humorous as when she was young. I hope to come to new york again soon, or I will die before she leaves!

After watching Zhong Fangling, my back was numb. This dedication is like her own obituary. In less than half a year, Han Fu also died.

Frank is far away at Charing Crossroad in London. He is the manager of Marcos and Cohen Bookstore. Hailian's friend once described this bookstore as follows: As soon as she entered the store, all the noises were shut out. An old smell of ancient books came to my nose. This is a mixture of musty smell and years of dust, plus walls and floors. There is an Englishman in the shop who is about 50 years old. He greeted me politely ... They commented that the bookstore was a bookstore that jumped out of Dickens' novels.

I like to hear Del and Hanfu describe the ancient books in detail in their letters. Some books are so beautiful that I can't wait to get one. Those books with cloth, leather, bronzed Indian paper as thin as onion skin as the inner pages have the signatures or inscriptions of the former owners on the title pages, and there are many notes made during reading on the pages. Han Fu said that seeing those notes seemed to share that person's reading experience.

"Probably because I have long been eager to set foot on that land, I have watched many English movies just to see the street view of London. I remember a friend once said many years ago: when people come to Britain, they can always see what they want to see. I said, I'm going to do English literature, and he told me that it's right there!

"Maybe, even if not, looking around, I'm sure: they have stopped here.

"The good man who sold me these books died a few months ago, and so did Mr. Max, the bookstore owner. However, the bookstore is still there. If you just pass by No.84 Charing Cross Road, give me a kiss. I owe it a lot. "

Just a simple pursuit.

195 1, she made all plans to visit them, and the sudden dental incident made her lose her hot money again. All kinds of troubles are just humor in her letter: I have to stay with my teeth, my dentist takes his wife on their honeymoon, and all his expenses are paid by me. She also quipped that Elizabeth could only be crowned when she was away, and after that. Frank, who began to pretend to be proud of Britain, had the same humor. Frank wrote back that when they enjoyed Hailian's food, all colleagues could only raise their glasses to wish Hailian and Her Majesty the Queen good health.

This kind of communication is one-sided, only a silhouette of one's own life, not the whole. Only in this way, such a relationship is pure, and communication without any conflict of interest is relaxed and unburdened.

So, I don't regret that Hailian finally missed meeting Frank. Everything you need in life has been given and accepted by each other, and seeing and not seeing is meaningless. Those memories linked by long years are well treasured. Borrowing a passage from Hailian's letter, I really think this is a rather uneconomical Christmas gift exchange. You can't expect to keep what I gave you during the Spring Festival if you eat it and clean it within a week at most. And the gift you gave me can stay with me day and night until I die; I can even leave it to the world and end with a smile.

For this poor writer who shakes her pen, she has the luckiest 20 years, not just the pleasure of reading. Accompany her through the long winter night, not only pepys's diary, but also the enthusiasm and endless warmth of Max and Cohen bookstore clerks. Suddenly, there was an infinite yearning in my heart. Like other people who have seen 84 Charing Cross Road, I want to go to England and London. Walking on that road, looking for your own shadow, is like pilgrimage.

With this street, it is bigger than the whole world.