Feng Jicai Collection （Student Edition） --- The Hall of Spirit

Feng Jicai

Shanxi Education Press

May 2021

36.00 （CNY）

This book collects the classical works authored by Feng Jicai， including The Character “Fu” Is the Deepest Symbol for Spring Festival， Venice Soaked in the Water， etc. The Hall of Spirit falls into five series： “Travels of Sceneries，” “Library of Heart Talks，” “Temple of Cultures，” “Chants of the Walker，” and “Collection of the Outside World.”

Feng Jicai

Feng Jicai， a contemporary Chinese writer， painter， and cultural scholar， has masterpieces including： Zebra Finch， An Eccentric in the Secular World， The Pipe with Carved Patterns， The Tall Woman and Her Short Husband， and The Ten-Centimeter Feet.

At that time， the land still showed a sign of severe winter. The earth was hard. The branches were twitching and trembling as if they were ill. The birds in the sunshine opened their pompon-like feathers， huddling together and warming each other. What about you？ Your cheeks and ears were freezingly painful. But your nose， which was red with cold， suddenly smelled spring， facing the cold wind！

Spring is first smelt with the nose.

What is the smell of spring？ It gives you a surprise and a thrill. All of a sudden， you find tomorrow and yesterday – tomorrow full of lures， and yesterday in the same season with the same feelings， but hard to return. However， when you try to suck in the air again， the smell fades away. When you look at this dead， frozen world， you will surely suspect that it is just a momentary illusion， and spring is still far isolated from the horizon.

The first breath of spring in the world is always rejected， diluted， and annihilated by the harsh winter that dominates the earth. Just for this reason， people feel especially thrilled， sensitive， and curious in the days when spring is coming. If only you had such a chance – every day， you come to this small lake. Then you can see with your own eyes how winter fades away， how spring comes， and how mother nature makes the most wonderful and greatest transition from the bleakness every year.

At the beginning， every look at it brings despair. This small lake is simply a whole huge piece of ice， firmly solid and indestructible. It must be frozen to the bottom， isn’t it？ All the fish are dead， aren’t they？ The gray ice is glaring in the sun. The birds never dare to stand for a second on the chilly ice.

In good weather， the sun shines for days and some places of the ice will melt into water. But don’t think spring will begin like this. Suddenly， a cold night passes and the water freezes again. The cold， severe scene comes back. If the wind and snow combine， a thick layer of snow covers the ice. Spring seems farther from us than we expected， like a lover far away.

But one day， somewhere on the lake， a big piece of ice sinks like a ship. A broken piece of ice is obliquely inserted into the water. It seems that something has happened. It can only be broken with a heavy object. But who did this and why？ No other unusual details are found. Then， do you feel something vague from the causeless collapse of the ice？ The lake， dark and bright， is exposed through the cracked ice cave， which reminds you of a pair of eyes， infinitely deep and affectionate with love.

The collapsed ice cave is a miracle. Even though the cold wave comes and the water freezes again， it will quickly melt and break in the bright sunshine. The wounds of winter are hard to heal. The sunspots in winter appear.

The boundary between winter and spring is disintegration.

The collapse of ice is not the scenery of winter， but the first splendid picture created by the invisible spring.

Subsequently， on another lake， the ice layer collapses again. One， two， three. Then， a long crack flashes in the middle of the lake. Unexpectedly， several more thick cracks are born before you figure out the cause and direction. At first， these cracks are white. Gradually， they turn black. This means that lake water has soaked into the cracks. One day， when you come to the lake， you cannot help crying aloud – the huge ice has been broken！ The black lake， like two open heavy doors， pushes two halves of huge ice to the sides， and finally reveals its broad， smooth and charming chest.

At this time， you should stay for a longer period on the bank. Then you will find the soft and light ripples on the dark and still cold lake， completely different from the cold waves in winter. The ice layers still covering the lake are no longer dazzling， but dark， obscure， rough， and dirty. Their surfaces are sunken piece by piece. Sometimes， following a sudden clear “crack” somewhere， the broken ice pieces drift away. Especially touching are the big fish having been oppressed for a long winter. Sometimes they are so excited that they jump out of the water. In the sunlight， their silver bodies kip up and jump back into the water with a “crash.” At this very moment， you will deeply feel that spring doesn’t come from afar， nor does it come from outer space to the world. It originally hides deeply in the creatures. It explodes from the depths of life. It is the desire， energy， and passion of life. It is always the opposite of death. Only for this reason is spring unstoppable. It takes the severe winter as its prelude， no matter how long the prelude is.

Chasing the frigid wind is always the bright spring. All the frozen ice cores are drops of spring dew. What’s under the white snow？ Wave your big broom and sweep the snow away， and you are sure to see the intoxicating green that leaps to your eyes.