Guozhi was my senior schoolmate at Overseas Chinese Middle School in Rangoon. It was not until the beginning of this century, after the Third World Burmese Chinese Fellowship Conference held in Guangzhou, that I came to know him through a third person. After that, little by little, I learned that he had returned to China for work, joined the People’s Liberation Army, later went to the countryside to farm, and then entered a factory as a worker. After Reform and Opening, he moved to the United States. Because of these experiences, his writing possesses what might be called the quality of the “three closenesses”: close to reality, close to life, and close to ordinary people. People from many different walks of life enjoy reading it.
Many of his works are filled with a strong local flavor. This is especially true of his literary language. He used many dialect expressions and distinctive local words in his writing, so that readers can tell where he grew up and where he lived for long periods of time. Guozhi’s living environment changed greatly: Burma, China, and the United States. Within China he lived in North China, the coastal regions, and the southwestern frontier. His social roles also kept changing: student, soldier, worker, cadre, and finally a man living abroad. As a result, his works have their own particular language and substance.
He used dialect from specific regions, adding humor and readability to his writing. Examples include Cantonese expressions such as “甘大胆” (“so daring”), “我点知” (“how would I know”), and “睇一睇” (“take a look”); the Shanghai expression “太晏了” (“too late”); Fujian expressions such as “鸡臀,” “阵间,” and “阴功了”; Yunnan expressions such as “你家,” “善福,” “跑马山,” “那样,” and “莫整”; Burmese Chinese expressions such as “落掉,” “山芭,” and “馍亨加.” Most frequent of all is his habit of mixing English into Chinese: “本地出生的ABC” (“a locally born ABC”), “说什么 So what,” “两个 BAR 和一个 DOUBLE,” “说什么 Too Cheap,” and “去 Yard Sale.”
Guozhi called his poems an experiment, but they are full of ideas and reflection. He asked me to remove some of them; instead, I added back poems he had wanted deleted.
Guozhi was not formally trained as a writer, but he loved writing from childhood. After returning to China, he did publicity work in his workplace, which also kept him close to writing. After moving abroad, his command of literary language became increasingly practiced and assured. His fellow overseas Chinese often saw his essays published in the local Chinese-language newspapers.
Editing Guozhi’s manuscripts into a book was itself a process of learning. It helped me understand the ways people live and speak in different places. His changing language environments and life experiences created the linguistic character of this collection. Many of his works carry a rich mixture of local colors from different regions. For that reason, my editorial principle was: if something could be changed or left unchanged, leave it unchanged, and preserve Ye’s original style as much as possible. I paid only limited attention to standardizing wording and sentences. Scientific and technical terms were standardized according to GB3100–5102–93, while dates and relatively precise numbers were generally converted to Arabic numerals.
This book was edited and printed in Xi’an, far from the author, and because time was short it was difficult to communicate with him promptly. Any errors in the book are therefore the responsibility of the editor and proofreader, not the author.
Baopuzi
September 2011