The real literary education does not read many books and know some literary theories and historical facts, but in the cultivation of pure interest. I have a bad temper in my life. Every time I go to the market, I want to buy something. I cannot keep the last penny in my purse, no matter how worthless a piece of iron or copper may be, so long as I am pleased with it. The same is true for me in learning. Leaving Shelley one day to watch the smoke drum and measure reaction, leaving Plato the next to trace the origins of the "Gothic" cathedrals in the dark and winding tombs of ancient Rome. I have been a student for thirty years, the thirty years of time is so east to play a punch west to kick the past. Under the modern social system and the state of learning, the existence of encyclopedic scholars is no longer possible, and one must choose one of many equally interesting paths. This has become the unwritten constitution of the academic world, so the first time the scholars meet, there are some pleasantry, "Which subject do you study?" "Liberal arts." 'Which one? "Literature." If the questioner also studies literature, then "Which country's literature? Which aspect? Which era? Which author?" And then the questions began to creep in. I have been repeatedly questioned in this manner, and though I have answered as usual, I have always felt a little ashamed. Why am I a literary scholar? Let alone which aspect and which era of literature? Among the many mispaths, I also stumbled upon the path of literature, which was quite a laugh. My determination to study literature is entirely due to a misunderstanding of the meaning of the word. Among the little intellectuals I came into contact with as a child, the word "literature study" had only two popular meanings: one had written a few poems, published a few articles, and even translated a few of Aesop's fables or Andersen's fairy tales. Secondly, it is also "studying literature" to hum poems and read articles, or to read novels. When I was young, I was also happy to hum poetry, reading articles, think that poetry published articles solid dare not look at the dust, if the cloud hum poetry reading text that study literature, then I also dare to let more? That's a big reason I got into literature. Who knows the mere meaning of the misinterpretation of my time! After I went to Europe and saw the work of Western "literature researchers" and all their preparations, I understood the metaphor of Zhuangzi sighing as he looked across the ocean, and I realized that "literature research" is not as easy as I had thought, especially not as interesting as I had thought. Literature is not a straight road to the horizon, you can go straight ahead, you can come to the extreme. "The study of literature" also requires many detours and many dry and hard work. If you have learned English, you have learned French; if you have learned French, you have learned German, Greek, Italian, Indian, and so on; The context of The Times often draws you into the realm of historical philosophy and religion; The principles of art force you to study pictures, music, aesthetics, psychology, and so on. There is no way to settle this lawsuit! Friends who study science often envy the happiness of literary scholars who can sing poems and read novels at leisure every day, unlike themselves who have to bury themselves in memorizing dry formulas and searching dry facts. In fact, I have a bitter heart can not say, if I had known that the "study of literature" would have to run here and there, regret it is better to learn a craft, for the future self-reliance. I still keep in mind the idea of learning to make children's toys or rattan weaves. Learn to do children's toys or rattan ware, I can still hum poetry read articles, but meet the general people for "literature" who "specialized in what?" The problem can be rightly brushed aside. What a relief it was! My remarks do not mean to be rude to many people who are preparing for doctoral dissertations in foreign universities, but to the ordinary young people in China. Young people are bound to have a penchant for literature and art like me, and in the modern Chinese style of learning, they may not be bound to "study literature" by humming poetry and reading articles like me. If, like me, they misinterpret the meaning of a word and go astray, they will certainly regret it one day. Literature and art, like history and philosophy, are like pyramids, which need to lay a very broad and cumbersome foundation before they can gradually build up a spire. If you start with the intention of creating a spire, the result will be collapse. For half a century, Chinese scholars have been in contact with Western literary and artistic thought and politics and religion, but they remain estranged from each other. The reason must be attributed to the fact that they only look to the pinnacle rather than the foundation. In literature, art, philosophy, and history, the terms "specialty" and "research work" are hardly words in today's China. This is just a warning from already-losers to future winners. If you are not committed to the basic work, hum poetry reading articles can be, casually pretentious poetry published a few articles can also, just don't "study literature". Like I spent twenty or thirty years of time to go back to learn rattan rattan do children's toys, you say it is not unfair!