世人都想了解中國
——專訪作家麥家

文/ 肖艷艷

夏日的杭州，綠意蔥蘢。杭州西溪創(chuàng)意產(chǎn)業(yè)園內(nèi)，陽光透過枝葉在石板路上撒下點點光斑。

麥家的理想谷書吧就在這里，他的多部暢銷書也是在這里完成的。

理想谷是麥家私人藏書地，它甚至算不上一家書店，因為這里不賣書，只是提供給熱愛閱讀的年輕人一個詩意的棲居。

走進來 “讀書就是回家”

“讀書就是回家?！睍砷T口的小黑板上寫著麥家打造這個書吧的初衷。輕輕推開玻璃門，紙質(zhì)書特有的香氣撲面而來，四下里滿滿當當?shù)臅芟蛏涎由斓搅颂旎ò?。這里的每一本書都是麥家親自為讀者挑選的。書吧茶水、看書都是免費，獨獨沒有WiFi。

再往里走，靠墻的書架上才能看到麥家自己的作品。麥家對自己的寫作姿態(tài)尤其謙卑。一個透明玻璃柜里陳列著二十幾本書，是他的長篇處女作《解密》被翻譯成不同語種的海外版版本。該書自2002年出版后，被翻譯成多國語言，成為世界級暢銷書。

為了方便采訪，麥家特意把時間安排在閉館日。說是采訪，其實更像是一場讀書會。麥家坐在書架下，我們圍在四周，聽他講自己的人生和創(chuàng)作故事。不時有趁閉館日過來碰運氣的讀者加入進來。

與筆下幽默的語言形成反差的是，麥家有一種孤獨的氣質(zhì)。攝像機前的他比較嚴肅，每一句話都經(jīng)過深思熟慮，給人一種內(nèi)斂和神秘的感覺。

2018年法蘭克福書展“麥家之夜”?！癟he Night of Mai Jia”, an event organized at the 2018 Frankfurt Book Fair.

話題從麥家最近一部作品開始。2019年，麥家新作《人生海?！烦霭?，如今已經(jīng)銷售了幾百萬冊。在這部小說中，很多讀者發(fā)現(xiàn)，“諜戰(zhàn)小說之父”不再寫熟悉的諜戰(zhàn)，而是將背景設(shè)置在自己的故鄉(xiāng)浙江，講述一位隱沒山村的“上?！逼鸱鼔验煹娜松?。

對于這一轉(zhuǎn)變，麥家解釋，在軍營的特殊經(jīng)歷曾給他創(chuàng)作的靈感，但隨著離開部隊的時間越來越久遠，“我需要尋找重新出發(fā)的地方，最后決定回到故鄉(xiāng)”。

于是，麥家回到了童年，回到了故鄉(xiāng)，回到鄉(xiāng)村來寫內(nèi)心的一段經(jīng)歷。富春江流域幽默、機智的語言不時閃現(xiàn)在字里行間。作為一個浙江作家，這并不是浙江色彩第一次出現(xiàn)在麥家作品中。

《解密》《暗算》《風聲》等作品，雖然寫的不是浙江，但也或多或少帶有浙江屬性。麥家說，故鄉(xiāng)對作家來說是非常重要的元素，“我的價值觀、我對人的情感，和這片土地分不開，它已經(jīng)融入了我的血脈”。

所以，在麥家的小說中，不管是故事背景還是人物個性，細品都有浙江味?！斑@片土地，從來都是只要有機會，就會一下子活躍起來。比如改革開放，浙江的先行性特別明顯。這片土地也給了我一種頑強的力量?！丙溂艺f，“這也體現(xiàn)在我的文學作品中，我一直謳歌人在困境中不服輸?shù)木瘛薄?/p>

回溯麥家此前每一本作品的主角，雖然與西方作品中的英雄有很大區(qū)別，但其具有的忠誠與責任這些品質(zhì)，本身就符合世界人民的共同價值觀，很容易打動人。麥家說，這種具有中國特色的好故事、好人物，早已跨越國界限制，具有一定的世界性。

談及今后的創(chuàng)作，麥家說：“我是一個浙江的作家，我的根在浙江，我以后的作品還是立足浙江，畢竟我是在這片土地上成長起來的，對它有著深厚的感情?！逼綍r，麥家和很多浙江作家有來往。他也希望大家一起研究浙江這片土地，寫出更好的作品。

麥家說，文學作品面臨著和這個時代、和腳下的土地進行對話的使命。他認為，作家一方面要把握當下人們的精神狀態(tài)，一方面要通過作品去豐富他們的內(nèi)心，甚至在一定意義上引領(lǐng)他們，在精神上給予其向上的力量。

但隨著年齡越來越大，寫的作品越來越多，他深深地體會到：一個作家，不僅要解決“怎么寫”的問題，首先還要解決“為什么寫、為誰寫”的問題?！拔覀円獮槔习傩諏?，而不是沉迷于那種卿卿我我的小情小調(diào)?！丙溂艺f。

走出去 世界需要了解中國

英國著名漢學家藍詩玲曾在文章中寫道，前些年，在英國劍橋大學城最好的學術(shù)書店，中國文學古今所有書籍不過占據(jù)了書架的一層，長度不足一米。近幾年，情況發(fā)生了改變。

童年與故鄉(xiāng)—麥家《人生海?！穭?chuàng)作分享會富陽簽售會（2019年）。Mai Jia signs Life Is like Ocean for his young readers in Fuyang, Hangzhou (2019).

在理想谷的照片墻上，一張麥家和各國出版人的合影引起了我們的注意。那是2018年10月9日，法蘭克福書展舉辦的“麥家之夜”，這也是該書展第一次舉辦中國作家個人主題活動，吸引了20多個國家的近百位出版人。

麥家說，2014年去西語國家的時候才發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在國外火了。西班牙首都馬德里的公交車上貼著《解密》西語版海報和他的單人照?！拔易疖嚨桨腿_那，在火車上被讀者認了出來?！丙溂艺f，“我一個名不見經(jīng)傳的中國作家受到這種待遇，有點受寵若驚”。

這一年，美國FSG出版社出版了麥家的《解密》。同年的倫敦書展上，麥家的書一夜間賣出19個版權(quán)。2017年英國《每日電訊報》評出的“全球史上20部最佳間諜小說”中，《解密》是亞洲唯一入選的作品。

在英國，出版商企鵝蘭登書屋以5萬英鎊的預付版權(quán)購入《解密》的英文版版權(quán)，將其收入“企鵝經(jīng)典文庫”。當時，該文庫收錄過的中國作家作品僅有《紅樓夢》《阿Q正傳》《圍城》和《色戒》。隨后，麥家作品《暗算》也被列入這一文庫中。

在英語、西班牙語這樣的歐洲主流語種版本風靡后，麥家的書在很多其他語種市場上也受到了歡迎。

“其實，《解密》《暗算》都是我十幾年前的作品，曾經(jīng)一個版權(quán)都輸不出，為什么最近幾年突然受到海外青睞？不光是我，這些年中國文學在世界上的地位顯著提高，翻譯出去的作品數(shù)量越來越多。說到底，是我們背后的國家發(fā)展起來了?！丙溂艺f，世人都想了解中國，而文學作為認識一個國家、一個民族最便捷的途徑，自然受到了關(guān)注。

和外國文學在中國的熱度相比，中國文學在世界上的影響力還是有限的。麥家的作品在海外受關(guān)注的程度確實有點出乎他本人的意料。麥家將自己的成功歸結(jié)為：世界正急需了解中國。

特別是2008年北京奧運會的成功舉辦，以及中國經(jīng)濟的快速發(fā)展，引起了國際社會的強烈關(guān)注。外國人想了解中國，但同時又發(fā)現(xiàn)可以了解中國的書籍和讀本太少。這給中國文學“走出去”提供了機遇。

近幾年，不少中國文學作品在海外讀者中風靡。除了麥家的作品，劉慈欣的《三體》系列等登上了歐美國家暢銷書榜。

“我相信，只要中國持續(xù)發(fā)展下去，外界對中國文學就會更感興趣?！丙溂艺f，文學是了解一個民族、一個國家最客觀、最民間的一種方式。隨著中國發(fā)展越來越快，世界對中國人的好奇心也在增強。

靜下來 “取之于文學，還之于文學”

以《解密》成名于文壇以來近20年，麥家的小說無一不被賣出版權(quán)，獲得影視行業(yè)、投資方青睞。如以金錢為衡量標準，他早就能過上可以不寫作、靠版權(quán)生活的日子了。但他認為寫作是他忘掉外面世界、讓他安靜下來的儀式。

麥家在寫作。Mai Jia at writing.

一年中，麥家有300多天在杭州。他的生活簡單而自律。他每天讀書、寫作、帶孩子、鍛煉身體，狀態(tài)好的時候可以堅持寫五六個小時，一般寫三四個小時。麥家說自己喜歡靜下心來慢慢打磨作品。他曾經(jīng)用11年時間完成《解密》，前后修改了17遍，從青年寫到了中年?！拔覀兓仡^看，人要做成事，真不是靠才華、靠聰明，往往是需要隱忍、堅持?！丙溂艺f。

麥家對愛好寫作的青年人說，每天堅持寫作，其實是一種效率最高的寫作方式，“三天打魚兩天曬網(wǎng)”，很難有好的進度。就像健身一樣，不一定需要高強度，但需要每天堅持，效果才會明顯。

“這次杭州之行最大的驚喜就是理想谷。”“感謝麥家老師！”理想谷幾處沒被書架遮住的墻面貼滿了讀者的留言。一旁，工作人員正在為下一期讀書會做準備。這一期的話題是《“父與子”的選擇》，書友招募信息剛在網(wǎng)上發(fā)布，名額便被搶光了。

麥家開創(chuàng)了一個公益計劃，他創(chuàng)辦數(shù)年的微信公眾號“麥家陪你讀書”，致力于陪伴讀者讀1000本好書。到現(xiàn)在，已經(jīng)完成了255本。麥家說，自己“取之于文學，還之于文學”。

理想谷二樓有幾個房間，是麥家為有文學夢的青年作者寫作而設(shè)的，希望他們能在更舒適的環(huán)境中追求理想。這些年，麥家不時會到理想谷和讀者交流。他曾說，“征服年輕人其實對我來說是一個隱秘的愿望?！?/p>

麥家對文學的回饋還不止于此。作為推動文學“走出去”的先行者，他還把自己手中的出版資源分享給身邊的作家朋友。經(jīng)他多方協(xié)調(diào)，英國企鵝出版社推出了一套五卷本的浙江作家叢書。

如今，對于麥家來說，寫作依然占據(jù)了他最多的時間。文學是他和世間產(chǎn)生聯(lián)結(jié)的橋梁，也是他與自己和解的方式。

茶香伴著書香，不知不覺天色暗下來。回望理想谷，暖黃色的燈光亮了起來。

麥家，杭州人，中國當代著名作家，中國作家協(xié)會副主席、浙江省文聯(lián)副主席，著有《暗算》《解密》《風聲》《人生海?！返?部長篇小說，以及60余部中短篇小說、200余篇散文、150多集(部)劇本。作品被譯成30多種語言，在40多個國家出版、100多個國家和地區(qū)發(fā)行?！栋邓恪贰督饷堋贩謩e獲第七屆茅盾文學獎、第六屆華語傳媒文學年度小說家獎等獎項，并入選英國“企鵝經(jīng)典”文庫，是中國迄今僅有的兩部收入該文庫的當代小說。最新作品《人生海?！罚蔀榻鼛啄曛形膱D書市場最暢銷的作品之一。

The World Hopes to Learn More about China

By Wu Shaokang

In summer, Hangzhou becomes a paradise of lush green.Walking inside the Xixi Culture Creative Industry Park, you can see the stone path dotted with sunlight casting through tree branches and leaves. This is where the bookstore named Mai Jia Ideal Valley is located, and it is in this bookstore that Mai Jia has completed many of his best-sellers. Or rather it is Mai’s personal library, for it does not sell books but only provides a poetic habitat for young people who love reading.

“Reading brings you home.” The small blackboard at the entrance explains why the bookstore was created in the first place.When you gently push open the glass door, you will be welcomed by the unique aroma of paper books and fully stacked bookshelves reaching as high as the ceiling. Every book here is personally selected by Mai for the readers, who could enjoy free tea, free books for reading in the store, but no access to Wi-Fi.

The books written by Mai himself are placed much further on the bookshelves against the wall, showing his humble gesture as a writer. There are 20-odd books placed inside a glass cabinet, which are different translations of his debut full-length novel,

In contrast to the humorous style of his writing, Mai has an air of loneliness and mystery. Our talk started with his latest work,. Published In 2019, it has now sold several million copies.

Through reading this novel, many readers found that “the father of spy novels” changed. Instead of writing his familiar subjects of espionage and war, this time he writes about his hometown in Zhejiang, telling the ups and downs of the life of a colonel who lives like a hermit in a mountain village.

For this change, Mai explained that he had been drawing on his special military experience in writing previous books. Yet since he left the army a too long time go, “I needed to find a place to start again, and finally decided to return to my hometown.”

“人生海海，不畏浮沉”暨《人生海?！?00萬冊紀念活動（2021年）。Mai Jia at an event celebrating the sale of Life Is like Ocean surpassing two million copies(2021).

In Mai’s novels, no matter it is the story background or the character’s personality, everything is more or less influenced by Zhejiang. “On this land, local people would thrive on any opportunity that is on offer. For example, during the Reform and Opening Up, Zhejiang’s pioneering spirit really shines. This land has also endowed me with great strength,” said Mai. “This is also reflected in my books, where I have always eulogized the spirit of people who do not give in.” The protagonists of each of Mai’s previous works, although very different from the Western heroes,have such loyalty and responsibility that align with the common values of the world.

Talking about his writing plan, Mai said, “I am a writer from Zhejiang. It is where my roots are and my future works will be based. After all, I grew up on this land and love it dearly.” Mai and many other Zhejiang writers hope that they can study the land of Zhejiang together and create better works to celebrate it.

On the wall of the Mai Jia Ideal Valley is a photo of Mai and publishers from different countries. The photo was taken on October 9, 2018, at an event called the “Night of Mai Jia”held at the Frankfurt Book Fair. It was the first time the fair held a Chinese-writer-themed event, which attracted nearly 100 publishers from more than 20 countries.

Mai Jia said he found out he has become a global celebrity when he went to Spain in 2014 — Madrid’s buses had been decorated with a poster of his novelin Spanish and a single photo of him. “I was recognized by readers on the train to Barcelona,” said Mai, “and felt a little flattered by this kind of treatment, given that I am just a little-known Chinese writer.” That year, FSG Press in the United States published Mai’s;at the London Book Fair, Mai’s book sold for 19 copy rights overnight. In 2017,rankedthe only Asian work among the world’s “20 Best Spy Novels of All Time”.The UK Penguin Random House paid ￡50,000 in advance for the copyright of the English version ofand included it in the Penguin Classics, where the only works by Chinese authors are,,andat that time. Later Mai’s another novelwas also added.

According to Mai, the world wants to understand China, and literature as the most convenient way to know about a country naturally receives attention. Compared with foreign literature in China, Chinese literature is still limited in its international influence. The extent to which his work has received attention overseas is indeed a bit unexpected, which Mai attributes to the fact that the world is in desperate need of understanding China.

During the last two decades since he became famous with, all of Mai’s novels have been sold for copyrights, gaining favor of the film and television industry and investors. He could have given up writing once and for all and live a well-off life on his copyrights, but Mai believes that writing is a ritual for him to forget the outside world and stay calm.

Mai has started a public welfare project. He created a WeChat account “Mai Jia Reads with You”, dedicated to accompanying readers to read 1,000 good books. That is his way to “take from literature and return to literature”. Also, there are several rooms on the second floor of the bookstore, providing a comfortable working environment for young authors with literary dreams.And Mai himself often comes to the bookstore to communicate with readers. He once said, “Winning the heart of young people is actually a hidden desire of mine.”

Mai’s contribution to literature does not stop here. As a pioneer for Chinese literature’s “going out”, he has also been sharing his publishing resources with his writer friends. Because of his coordination, Penguin Press released a five-volume series of Zhejiang writers.

Today, writing still occupies most of Mai’s time. Literature is the bridge connecting him and the rest of the world — and a way of reconciliation with himself as well.

Mai Jia is a famous contemporary Chinese writer born in Hangzhou. He is the vice chairman of the Chinese Writers’Association and the vice chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Federation of Literature. His works have been translated into more than 30 languages, published in more than 40 countries and distributed in more than 100 countries and regions. He won the Seventh Mao Dun Literary Award and the Sixth Chinese Media Literary Award for Novelist of the Year for his novelsandrespectively. His latest work,, has become another best-seller in China.

跨年夜“和麥家同讀一本書”（2021年）。“Mai Jia Reads with You” on New Year’s eve (2021).