On March 8, the weather in Beijing was cold. Eco, wearing a black hat, a military green wool trench coat and a black leather bag, walked quickly in the cold wind. The wind blew, and the military green windbreaker outlined Eco's tall and steady body. A female translator in China, a colleague, joked that Eco is as cool as the Italian mafia. Eco laughed against the cold wind, and the laughter was tough and full of gas.
Before the interview, the reporter put seven Chinese versions of Eco that he carried with him in the armrest room of the sofa opposite Eco. Echo was very happy to see those books with different binding and different faces, and opened them one by one. Eco took a "palm treasure" calculator with him and a stack of filled-out forms. Apotheker said that these forms recorded Apotheker's works in different languages that he could see in various countries, many of which were pirated and would be recorded once found.
"I want to take these books with me, many of which I have never seen myself."
Reporter: Will you get angry when you encounter pirated books? What do you usually do with pirated books?
Echo: I don't know myself (how many copies have been pirated), maybe a lot. I am a liberal. If it's for educational purposes and for young people and students, use it. I won't pursue the copyright. But I still hope that the person who published my book can contact me.
I was very happy when a Japanese translator came to Italy to communicate with me. He asked me many questions and asked me to explain the meaning of some words. Although I can't speak Japanese, I am still very happy. I don't know many languages, such as Russian and Hungarian, but many of these translators have communicated with me, and I am very happy. Unfortunately, domestic translators did not communicate with me in this way. There may be no international practice before, and it is impossible to communicate according to international practice. But now there are so many ways of communication, I hope domestic translators can communicate with me.
Reporter: There are probably two kinds of writers in the world, one is a writer like Calvino and the other is a writer like Marquez. The former pays more attention to literary forms or stylistic experiments, while the latter pays more attention to real life and social affairs. What kind of writer do you think is more important and valuable?
Echo: I don't think they are any different. Calvino's first novel is actually more about politics and war. He is very active in politics. His last book was pure literature, but I don't think this kind of pure literature is meaningless to reality. There are many comments that some of my novels have nothing to do with reality. Some people say that The Name of a Rose is a historical novel because I wrote about the Middle Ages, but I borrowed a historical theme to reflect the reality of Italy-this is my personal opinion.
Reporter: There is a saying in Chinese mainland that "literature is dead". After writing for half a century, you know all kinds of literary trends in the world. What do you think of the saying that literature is dead?
Echo: I am 75 years old. For 60 years, I have never stopped saying that literature is dead, novels are dead, and even crazier, books are dead. But in fact, I'm still reading and writing. I think that statement is very stupid.
Reporter: The emergence of the Internet still has an impact on literature, and it is also true that the existence of the Internet challenges the traditional way of reading. What do you think of the Internet? Does it affect your writing?
Echo: Just as cars don't die because of airplanes, the influence of the Internet on reading should be divided into two categories. I think the influence on scholars like me is different from that on ordinary people. Just like watching TV, many people have actually become slaves to TV, and many people watch TV as if they were idiots. As a scholar, or as a scholar writer, I use the Internet instead of being used by it. I regard the Internet as a tool to obtain information through it, and even I have a large number of books purchased by readers through the Internet. The Internet has promoted the circulation of books. Books used to be sold through bookstores, but now they can be ordered through online bookstores, but this is completely different from teenagers playing video games and online games and adult pornography. Many people use the internet-he doesn't want to have sex with a woman realistically. He regards the machine as a love object to satisfy an erotic stimulus. The Internet makes some people completely victims of bad information, but it is a very good tool for others. Internet is a good tool for me. "The most concerned issue is how to continue to live."
Reporter: You have many identities. If you introduce yourself, what would you say? Besides saying that you are a novelist, philosopher and aesthete, there is another word called "public intellectual". What kind of public intellectual are you?
Echo: University professor. He also writes novels on Saturdays and Sundays. Or I can say that I am a writer who teaches in a university from Monday to Friday. As for intellectuals, I have a column in a state-owned newspaper, writing about various issues. For example, last week I wrote an article about Italian elections. I have published several books, including all such news commentary articles before 2005. Other language versions of this book have been published, and the English version will be published in a few months. For example, at today's meeting, I also made a speech and expressed my views on the war, so in other articles, I will also make my own comments and criticisms on public and political issues.
Reporter: What is your biggest concern at present?
Echo: What I care about most is how to continue to live, because I am very old. It was at 200 1 that I had my only grandson. I have always been concerned about the growth of this child. I care so much about this child because I think the environment in which this child will live in the future will be more difficult, because the world is facing ecological crisis and other problems now. As I get older, I become more and more pessimistic.
Reporter: I'm surprised you said pessimistic. After reading your book and listening to your speech today, your expression and attitude are powerful.
Echo: The media always places too much hope on intellectuals. In fact, so far, I think intellectuals can do nothing about many things. It seems that the house is on fire. You have a collection of poems, but this collection of poems is of no use to you. If you want to put out the fire, you need to find water or go to a fireman. Poetry may come in handy later. For the whole world-there are many intellectuals all over the world. For them, it is possible that houses in many places are on fire, but they can still hide in their houses without lights and read poems.
Reporter: You have shown us the changes of intellectuals' spirit. It seems that the former intellectuals were not like this. For example, in the 1960s,1960s, like Sartre, Camus, roland barthes and Derrida of your contemporaries, when society lost justice, they would take to the streets to express their protest.
Echo: It's not that Sartre took to the streets to demonstrate, but that there are already demonstrations there. Without these people, even if Sartre's fame is higher, he can't do anything about it personally. You should ask why there are not so many people-ordinary people demonstrating in the streets, not why there are no intellectuals demonstrating in the streets.
Reporter: Can you answer this question?
Echo: Don't confuse the behavior of intellectuals with that of citizens. Sartre took part in the parade as a citizen, not as an intellectual. As an intellectual, what he does is to write books and guide the future road and direction for society and people. But as a citizen, he has the right to participate in any political activities. For example, someone wrote a petition to the government about environmental pollution. If I sign my name, I will sign it as a citizen first, not as an intellectual. Only when others found out that I signed my name did I know that I was an intellectual. So in the Italian election, I participated very actively because I am a citizen. "Who can see the world clearly?"
Reporter: Anyone familiar with your first trip to China clearly remembers that you had the feeling that there was no city in China. Why do you say that? Do you remember the scene? After coming to China for more than ten years, has your impression of China changed?
Echo: I can't say that there are no decent cities in China. Professor Allen Bate may have said this because Allen lost his luggage in China. This is the second time that he has lost his luggage. This is the first time he lost his luggage in India. Maybe it's because he is anxious. I can't say such a thing. When I first arrived in China, my feelings were very complicated. I went to many places, first to Hong Kong, Guangdong, Beijing, Xi 'an and Urumqi, and then back to Hong Kong and Macao, so this trip is very complicated, and it is difficult for me to summarize it in a short sentence. I think China left a deep impression on me in many ways. To my surprise, when I arrived in Beijing, I felt like I was in Los Angeles. I can only tell you my first impression of China, because the second time I only saw the reporter, and I haven't contacted anyone else.
Reporter: This time you go to Beijing to give a speech on "Curing Chaos". Some scholars discussed your speech. Some people think that your speech is actually supporting the war. Others think that at least you think that post-modern war is not as good as classical war, and classical war is better.
Echo: My speech only said that the war has not disappeared. Up to now, it is impossible to eliminate the war. If someone comes up with some other ideas because of this, it is also wrong. I just made an analysis of the war situation. I don't support war at all. Because I think it is wrong to say that war has created a new balance. War may lead to new imbalances. Now it seems that the war has not disappeared, but it is even crazier than before. Bombs are dropped to fight terrorism, but the place where bombs are dropped is not a hiding place for terrorists at all.
Reporter: You have a book called Little Notes, and its Chinese translation is called misreading. Do you often experience misreading in your life?
Echo: This is the name of the book, but it depends on how you understand the word. Misreading is very common to me. I spent an hour this morning saying that I was against the war, but it was misunderstood as being in favor of it. If I write a philosophy book, what I write is like this, and others say it is something else, I must say "no" at once. However, it doesn't matter if you encounter simple problems, such as the two misunderstandings just now, which are in favor of war or that China has no cities. I don't want to defend myself.
If I write a novel or philosophy and others misunderstand my original intention, there are usually two possibilities: I don't think so, but you have the right to think so. I mean, I don't want to tell others how you should understand me, or you should understand me according to my meaning. Maybe you can understand it in your own way, which is deeper than mine. Sometimes I think books are more philosophical and wise than their owners. My translator often asks me whether I mean A or B when I use a word. My original intention is to use A, but when the translator uses B, it is better or more accurate than my original intention.
Reporter: You have lived in the college for a long time. As a writer, is the university system more conducive to your creation?
Echo: Just like people are fat and thin, there are different types of writers. Some writers write novels, some writers write poems, and some writers write other things. Universities are not necessarily made up of elites. Not everyone in college is a genius. Maybe some people are not as good as ordinary people. I am a university professor, but I am not completely confined to the university. When I was 50 years old, I had already started writing novels. Some scholars play football and guitar after lectures, which I use to write novels. It is my job to be a scholar, but what makes me happy is to be a writer. /kloc-My happiest thing since 0/8 is to sit down and write whenever I have time.
Reporter: You worked as a radio editor in your early years, and later you became a scholar. Your writing style is also bipolar, complex and grand, and everyday expression. Are you a person who can be complicated or simple?
Echo: Looking at this problem from many angles, I feel that I have been doing the same thing, no matter what kind of work. I write a column every week I write a thesis, and the relationship between them is very close. For example, writing academic books, in fact, many arguments come from weekly columns, but I write them in a more accessible and simple way in front of more people. Many people will wonder why academic books and columns are so different. Personally, I think many arguments are actually written in weekly columns, and they are relatively simple. I study knowledge with the eyes of a reporter. Here, journalists, writers and professors are integrated.
Reporter: You have written so many old and new books and so many thorough words. Can you say that you know the world very well?
Echo: No one can clearly understand the world in which he lives. No one can see the world clearly. I have never met anyone who can see the world clearly. If you think someone can see the world clearly, introduce him to me.
(This interview was assisted by Zhao Yu 'an of Beijing Foreign Studies University and Cui Jiao of Goethe Institute Beijing Branch, and I would like to thank you. )