作品背后的“三条根”
十五岁时，因为一篇作文，我被选拔到武威市最好的高中——武威一中。也是在那一年，我拥有了成为作家的梦想。
At the age of 15, thanks toan excellent articlethat I wrote, I was luckily selected to Wuwei No. 1 middle school, the best high school in Wuwei city. It was also in that year that I had started my dreamof becoming a writer.
十年后，1988年，我的文学探索有了第一个小小的成果——我的中篇小说《长烟落日处》出版了。跟《大漠祭》一样，那也是一部描写西部生活的作品，它的出版在甘肃省内引起了巨大的反响，也为我赢得了人生中的第一个奖项——甘肃省优秀作品奖。这些荣誉和肯定，都给了我极大的鼓励，也让我对自己有了更大的期待。
Ten years later, in 1988, I gotmy first small achievement in my literarycareer – my novella Long Smoke at Sunset was published. LikeDesert Rites, it is also abook describing therural life of peoplein western China. Its publication hascaused a huge stirin Gansu Province andhelped me win the first award in my life-Excellent Literary Works of Gansu Province. Thehonors andthe positive feedbackshave given me great encouragement and enabled me to have muchhigherexpectationonmyself.
正是因为这个机缘，我决定为父母那一代的西部农民写一部书。我知道，他们的生活正在飞快地消失，很快就会变成昏黄的记忆，然后被人遗忘。我很想留住这段记忆——不仅仅因为他们是我的父母和乡亲，更因为他们让我感动。他们就像大漠中的芨芨草，在如此贫瘠艰苦的环境中活着，却能活得如此快乐，如此豁达，如此知足。那种坚韧的力量，令我震撼，也令我自豪。西部大地上无论自然环境多么险恶，只要这种精神品格还在，它就是一片令人敬畏的土地，就能为世界输送有益的精神营养。
Taking that opportunity, I decided to write a book for the western farmers of my parents’ generation. Iknew that their lifeweredisappearing quickly, and wouldsoon become people’ dim memories, andthenfinally be forgotten . I really wanted to record their daily life through my pen and keep them alive in my works-not only because they weremy parents and folks, but also because they hadtouched me.Justlikethe pampas grassin the desert, even in such a barren and difficultenvironment, they still can live with a free, open, and content mind. Their perseverancehadshocked me and made me proudof them. No matter how harshthe natural environment wasin western China, as long as these noble spiritualqualitiesremain, this region and its people wouldstill beawe-inspiring, and would definitely be nurturing and benefiting the worldwith its spiritual nourishment.
此外，我也想定格即将退出历史舞台的农耕文明。这就是我写《大漠祭》《猎原》《白虎关》的初衷，也是我当初的文学之梦。当然，我想定格的，不仅仅是生活，也不仅仅是农耕文明，更是那个时代人类的精神和灵魂。
In addition, I also wanted to record, with my pen, the agricultural civilization thatwas about to withdraw from the stage of history, whichwas my original intention of writing Desert Rites, Desert Hunters and White Tiger Pass, and also my original literary dream. Of course, what I wanted to keep recordswas not onlyof life and agricultural civilization, but also of the spirit and soul of people in that special era.
从二十五岁开始，我开始了《大漠祭》《猎原》《白虎关》的写作。二十年后，我完成了它们，实现了人生中第一个真正的文学梦想。
At the age of 25, I startedto write Desert Rite, Desert Hunters and White Tiger Pass. Twenty years later, I finished them. Hence, Irealized my first real literary dream in my life.
四十六岁之后，我走出了故乡凉州，走进了岭南，走进了齐鲁，后来又走向海外，我的世界变得越来越宽广。不变的是，我始终在写作，始终履行着自己最初的承诺和使命，也始终拒绝重复自己。因此，在四十六岁至今的十多年里，我陆续出版了诸多的“三部曲”，如“灵魂三部曲”“故乡三部曲”“远方三部曲”及大部头的《大师的秘密》《佛陀的智慧》《雪漠智慧课程》，及史诗《娑萨朗》等书。
When I was 46 years old, Istepped out of my hometown Liangzhou, and then moved to Lingnan Region and the area of Qilu and went, successively, overseas. My worldhas been changed, becoming wider and wider. What remains unchanged is that I am always writing, always fulfilling my original commitment and mission, and always refusing to repeat myself. Therefore, during more than ten years after the age of 46, I have successively published dozens of “big books” and “trilogies”, including Soul Trilogy, Hometown Trilogy, Travel Trilogy, Mahasiddhas’ Secrets, The Buddha’s Wisdom, Xuemo’s Wisdom Lessons, and the epic Suosalang.
2017年1月，中国大百科全书出版社成立“雪漠图书中心”，我的《老子的心事——雪煮〈道德经〉第一辑》（中国大百科全书出版社）出版；7月，“心学大系”（《真心》《文心》《慧心》，中国大百科全书出版社）出版；8月，人民文学出版社出版了我的另一部新作《匈奴的子孙》，它是我的第一部非虚构作品，以追溯西部文化之根、定格西部独特存在为目的，开启了“一带一路”文化考察游记系列的写作。2018年，《凉州往事》《活着就要发声》《给你一双慧眼》（中国大百科全书出版社）相继出版……至今，我已出版了四十五种书，出版和再版的图书加起来有七十九本，这让我拥有了一个庞大的读者群。而且，出版社出了《无死的金刚心》《老子的心事》的繁体版，在港台等地区发行，而《世界是心的倒影》《雪漠小说精选》也被翻译成英文，销往海外英语地区。美洲、欧洲和南亚等地区也陆续建起了雪漠图书中心或雪漠图书专柜。也许是这个原因，我被评为“2015中国品牌文化十大人物”。
In January 2017,The Center for Xue Mo’s Books was established by China Encyclopedia Press, and meanwhilemy book, Lao Tzu’s Thoughts-Xue Mo’s Interpretation on Tao Te Chingwas published; In July of the same year, another three books of Xue Mo’s Philosophyof the Mind Series, The True Mind,The Wise Mind, and The Literary Mind—were published. And in August of that year, People’s Literature Publishing House published my another book named Descendants of the Huns,which is my first non-fiction writing, aiming to trace the roots of western Chinese culture and to keep the unique existence of the western region in record. It marked my beginning of travelling journals on“The Belt and Road initiative”. In 2018, The Past of Liangzhou, Speak up as Long as You Live, and Giving You a Pair of Wise Eyeswere successively published by China Encyclopedia Press. So far, I have published 45 kinds of books, and if the reprinted versions are accounted, the total number will be up to 79 .Thisallowsme to have a large audience. Moreover, the publishing house also published the traditional Chinese versions of The Holy Monk and the Spirit Woman and Lao Tzu’s Thoughts-Xue Mo’s Interpretation on Tao Te Ching, and distributed in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Meanwhile The World is the Reflection of the Mind and Selected Stories by Xue Mo have also been translated into English and sold overseas. “The Center for Xue Mo’s Works” and “The Special Book Countersfor Xue Mo’s Works” have also established in the United States, Europe and South Asia. And partly due to my efforts in promoting our traditional Chinese culture, I was selected as one of the “Top Ten Figures for China’s Brand Culture in 2015”.
我的写作永远在路上，我最好的作品永远是下一部。生命不息，写作不止，打碎和超越也不会停止，我永远在展示一个变化中的雪漠，也永远在打开一个新的世界。
My writing is always going on, and my best work is always the next one. I am always ready to showmy different aspectsand will never stop to explore an unknown world.
为什么我的作品能走出甘肃，走向全国，走向海外？因为我写活了博大厚重的中国传统文化，让世界知道了它的存在。只有被世界了解，文化才有真正的影响力。这些年来，我总是尽量地把握机会与外界沟通，我参加过在罗马尼亚举办的国际笔会，也参加过在法国巴黎举办的中法文学论坛，还到北美、欧洲和南亚等地进行了文化考察。在沟通和交流的过程中，我发现，一旦外国的学者、作家、专家们通过我了解到中国文化的精髓，就会马上认同并喝彩。
Why can my worksbespread from Gansu to the whole China and eventhe world? Because I ,through my writing, vividly present the world with the broad and profound traditional Chinese culture. I believe, only when a culture is understood by the world, can it thenhave real influence. Over the years, I always try my best to seize every opportunity to communicate with the outside world. I have participated in the international pen conference held in Romania, and the Sino French literature forum held in Paris. I also conducted cultural visits to North America, Europe and South Asia. In the process of communicating with the overseas world, I found that foreign scholars, writers and experts would immediately show their approval and praise towards Chinese culture, once they understand the essence of it.
源于一种发自内心的爱，我总是在培养读者。我会定期跟他们交流，还会跟他们分享一些人生经验，告诉他们我是如何做出选择的。同时，我也在交流的过程中学习，跟他们一起成长。所以，好作家可以成为一个火把，点亮很多人的心。正是因为这一点，几乎所有读过我作品的人都成了我的粉丝，并且影响自己身边的人。他们不但认可我的艺术，也认可我承载的文化，因此衷心地希望有更多的人能看到这些书、接触这种文化。我的书之所以有很好的销量，就是因为我有一群可敬也可爱的粉丝和读者。
Out of the love from the bottom of my heart, I am alwaystrying tocultivatereadersby communicating with them regularly, sharing some of my life experiences with them and telling them how I make choices. Andat the same time, I am also learning from them, and growing together with them. I believe, a good writer can become a torch and light up people’s lamp of heart. It’s because of this that almost everyone who has read my works will become my fans and positively affect the people around them. My readersshow approval andappreciation not only of my art, but also of the culture that I am carrying forward. Thus, they are always sincerely hoping that more and more people canreadmy books,and hence get access tothis excellent traditional Chinese culture. Justbecause of their support, my bookshavealways received immense popularity and reached the top or ranked the high on the best-selling lists of many major book fairs and popular websites .
我的一切创作都源于爱。这种独特的爱，源于我对中国故乡大地的深情，构成了我作品的精神性。我说过，我是一棵树，我的根深深地扎在中国西部大地上。在我的文学创作中，西部文化是我非常重要的营养之一，我称为文化之根。这种地域性文化的滋养，让我的小说呈现出了另一种独特的色彩。
All my creations are inspired by love. The unique love, which constitutes the soul of my works, comes from my deep affection towards the earth of my motherlandChina. As I have said, I am a tree, with roots stretching deep into the vast land of Western China. The culture of Western China, which has nourished my literary creation, is cherished by me as a cultural root. This nourishment of regional culture has added a unique tone to my novels.
比如《新疆爷》，这是我的第一部短篇小说，1993年的某个夜里写成的。那天夜里，整理采访录音，我一下就想起了风中的新疆爷。我想起他暖暖的笑容，想起他空荡荡的衣袖，他的衣袖在风中一下下荡着，勾勒出了他的瘦。不知为啥，看到他的身影，我有一种莫名的心痛。也许因为，我知道这个美好的老人，终将消失在岁月的风中吧。我想挽留他，也想挽留这段美好的故事。正是在这样的心情中，这部小说倾泻而出了。小说写出的，是我对一个老人的记忆，也是我所见过的最浪漫的爱情故事。没有鲜花，没有情话，没有朝夕相对，没有耳鬓厮磨，但守候了一生。别说习惯了功利文化的城市人喜欢他，我也很喜欢他。又有谁不喜欢一个干净美好的老人呢？看到他的笑，再坚硬的心，也会化了。这样的气息，在这个世界上已经很少了，这也是我写他的另一个原因。我想为世界保留一种东西。
Old Man Xinjiang, my first short fiction, was written on a night in 1993. When I was compiling myinterview recordings on that night, I recalled at once the Old Man Xinjiang in the wind. I thought of his warm smiles, and his empty sleeves flapping in the wind, which outlined his thinness. For somewhat unknown reasons, I had an inexplicable heartache when I saw his figure. Maybe because I know this nice old man will eventually disappear in the wind of passing years. I wanted to keep him, as well as this beautiful story. It was in this mood that this novel was poured out. The novel is about my memories of an old man and the most romantic love story I’ve ever read. There are no flowers, no sweet words, no accompanying each other day and night, only a lifetime of waiting for love. Not to mention that urbanites, who are alreadyused to the utilitarian culture, like him, I also like him a lot. And whowould notlike a clean and nice old man? The sight of his smilesoftens even the hardest heart. Such temperament is so rare in this world, which is another reason I wrote about him. I do want to keep something for thisworld.
《新疆爷》虽然只有几千字，但却是我的小说中第一个被翻译为法文的，被认为是中国最优秀的短篇小说之一，成为法国人学汉语的一个范本。后来，它又被翻译为英文，发表在英国最有影响的《卫报》上，获得好评。许多外国朋友，正是通过《新疆爷》，才了解到雪漠，进而了解了我的其他作品。
Although only a few thousand words long, Old Man Xinjiang was the first of my novels to be translated into French and is considered one of the best Chinese short stories, a model for French people learning Chinese. Later, it was translated into English and published in The Guardian, one of the most influential British newspapers, where it won acclaim. It was through Old Man Xinjiang that many foreign friends learned about Xue Mo and, in turn, about my other works.
不过，我很少写中短篇小说。从我写出《大漠祭》开始，我的写作就进入了喷涌。我总是从灵魂中喷涌出一个世界，这个世界总是饱满，总在汹涌，有点像大海了，中短篇小说的杯子往往容不下它们。每次一写完，从写作氛围里出来，就发现又有三四十万字了。一些好心的编辑，就总会从我的长篇小说中选出几万字，发表在杂志上。虽然那只是几朵浪花，你也会感受到大海的气息。《掘坟》《母狼灰儿》《深夜的蚕豆声》《博物馆里的灵魂》《美丽》和《豺狗子》，就是这样诞生的。我的《雪漠小说精选》就收录了《新疆爷》《美丽》等四篇中短篇，目前已被翻译为英语、德语、西班牙、韩语、俄语、尼泊尔语等十多个语种，深受很多国家读者的喜爱。
However, I rarely write short and medium-sized stories. From the time I wrote Desert Rites, the spring ofmy writingbegan to spew.A world is spurted out from my soul, a world that is always full, always surging, a bit likean ocean, and the cup of short and medium stories often cannot hold it. Every time I finish writing and emerge from the writing atmosphere, I find that I have writtenanother three or four thousandwords. Some kind-hearted editors would always choose tens of thousands of words from my long stories and publish them in magazines. Even though it was just a few waves, you would sense the breath of the ocean. This is how the novels Digging Graves, MotherWolf Grey, The Sound of Broad Bean at Midnight, The Ghost in the Museum, Beauty, and The Dholes, were born. My Selected Stories by Xue Mo includes four short and medium-sized stories, such as Old Man Xinjiang and Beauty, which have been translated into more than ten languages, including English, German, Spanish, Korean, Russian, and Nepali, and are well received by readers in many countries.
除了地域性文化之根外，对我影响最大是信仰之根。这条根让我心有依怙，心有向往，让我的生命焕发出了一种独有的力量，这便是由信仰所带来的。信仰之根，让我打碎了小我，破除了执著，实现了一种超越，让我拥有了真正的宗教精神，有了更大的胸怀和更大的智慧。我对中国传统的儒释道文化、中华心学、很多本土性宗教，包括西方基督教、婆罗门教和伊斯兰教等都深有研究，并深有体悟。这些实践和体悟都体现在我的“灵魂三部曲”（《西夏咒》《西夏的苍狼》《无死的金刚心》）当中。从这些作品中，大家就能发现一个熟悉而陌生的“雪漠”。这个“雪漠”，已从写“大漠”的雪漠，走向了更为宽广、更为博大的另一个世界。这个世界，正是目前中国作家，乃至各国作家所要关注的、所要书写的世界，这是整个人类的灵魂世界、信仰世界、精神世界。
Apart from theroot of regional culture, the root that has influenced me most is faith, which gives me a sense of attachment and yearning and has inspired a unique power in my life. The root of faith has enabled me to break my ego and obsession, to transcend my ego, and have a truly religious spirit, with a bigger heart and greater wisdom. I have studied and understood deeply the traditional Chinese culture of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Chinese School of Mind, and many indigenous religions, including Western Christianity, Brahminism, and Islam. These practices and insights are reflected in my “Soul Trilogy” ( Curses of Xixia, The Holy Mastiff of Xiaxia, and The Holy Monk and the Spirit Woman). From these works, readers can find a familiar but new “Xue Mo”, who has left the “desert” to a broader world. This is the world that Chinese writers, and even writers worldwide, have to devote themselves to and write about, i.e., the world of soul, the world of faith, and the world of spirituality of the entire human race.
本土的地域性文化让我拥有了个性，信仰之根让我牢牢地立于世界，那么，我的生命之根，可以让我变得非常博大，海纳百川，厚德载物。我是“知行合一”的信奉者，我的读书，我的修行，我的行走，我的演讲，我的交流，我的做事，我的办学，等等，都是为了在生活中实践自己所认可的文化，所认可的真理。这种身体力行的实践，构成了我的生命之根。它让我深入到了社会的各个层面，让我了解到这个时代的人心，了解到这个时代的人需要什么，让我做到了与时俱进。他们需要什么，我就能奉献出什么来。于是，就有了我诸多的文化著作，如“光明大手印”书系，如“雪漠心学”大系，如“心灵瑜伽”系列，如“雪煮《道德经》”等著作。
The local culture gives me individuality, and therootof my faith allows me to stand firmly in the world. The root of my life, then, makes me very generous and virtuous. I am a believer in the “unity of knowledge and action”. Everything I do, be it reading, practicing, walking, speaking, communicating, doing things, running a school, etc., is to practice the culture and the truth that I embrace in my life. Such personal practice constitutes the root of my life. It has allowed me to reach out to all levels of society, to understand what people think and need in this era, to stay relevant, and to offer whatever they need. Hence, I have produced various series of cultural works, such as The Mahāmudrā of Light , Xue Mo’s Philosophy of the Mind , Yoga of the Mind, and Lao Tsu’s Thoughts-Xue Mo’s Interpretation on Tao Te Ching.
文化之根、信仰之根、生命之根，如三足鼎立，构成了我生命的三条根。这三条根，让我的作品闪耀出了一种异样的光芒。我的文学作品也好，文化著作也罢，共同构成了一个博大而精深的知识体系、文化体系，漫步其中，你定然会发现一个不一样的世界。
The roots of culture, faith, and life form thepillars of my life. These three roots lend my works an exceptional luster. My literary works and cultural writings together constitute a vast and profound system of knowledge and culture, through which you will surely find a different world when you saunter.
我用了三十多年的时间，一步步，从西部文学走向了中国文学，走向了世界文学，我一直在成长着，当然我仍然在完成我自己。也许，这一生中，我永远在完成自己，也永远完不成自己。我想，这也就是我的文学创作的特色之一吧？永远在路上，永远不会停下，也永远喷涌不止。而且，我的每一部作品都不会重复，也永远不会重复。因为人类智慧的闸门一旦打开，它犹如汪洋大海一般，取之不尽用之不竭，永远也不会干枯。我之所望，就是在有生之年，创作出更多更好的作品，给这个世界带来善，带来美，带来另一种清凉和快乐。
It took me over 30 years to move, step by step, from the literature of Western China to Chinese literature and the world literature. I’ve been growing, and of course, I’m still completing myself. Perhaps, in this life, I willalwaysbecompleting myself and never be fully completed. I guess thatcould be one of the hallmarks of my literary creation–always on the road, never stopping, and always spewing out. Furthermore, nothing in my works will be repeated, nor will they ever be repeated. Because once the floodgate of human wisdom is opened, it is like an inexhaustible ocean that will never run dry. I hope to create more and better works in my life to bring goodness, beauty, and an alternative kind of refreshment and happiness to the world.（translator：Amy；Proofread：Helia）
