Dialogue Yi Zhongtian： Reading is more important than being meaningful.

　　CCTV News:(Reporter Sun Xiaoyuan) On April 23rd, it was beneficial to open books. Today is World Book Day. CCTV reporter interviewed Yi Zhongtian, a famous scholar and writer, to talk about reading.

　　CCTV reporter: Why do people study?

　　Yi Zhongtian:Only humans have words, and only words can have books. Therefore, cats can only snore at home and people can read. Of course, you don’t have to read it, but it is always good to have one more option. Books are not the necessities of life, and reading is not the first need of life. Its function is actually to improve the quality of life and own taste. I am full of poetry and books. If you don’t want it, you don’t have to.

　　CCTV reporter: Why do you repeatedly emphasize "words"?

　　Yi Zhongtian:Because writing is the symbol of human culture. With words, human beings will truly become human beings instead of animals. Words are attractive, especially Chinese characters. Chinese characters themselves have a sense of picture and rhythm.

　　CCTV reporter: What kind of books do you prefer to read?

　　Yi Zhongtian:I advocate reading ancient books, preferably before the Yuan Dynasty. Pre-Qin and Han dynasties, Tang poetry and Song poetry, choose its classics to read, the heart can be quiet, clean and beautiful.

　　CCTV reporter: Is reading an easy task in the multimedia era?

　　Yi Zhongtian:Reading is actually a luxury, but it has nothing to do with economic conditions. It depends on whether you have time and want to read. Now there are public libraries all over the country, and as far as I know, the service is still very good.

　　CCTV reporter: How to treat online fragmented reading?

　　Yi Zhongtian:If you want to calm down, you’d better study. The Internet is so noisy, informative, fragmented and shocking. Reading is a quiet thing. A roll in hand, forget all the insults. Fatigue, troubles, entanglements and depression are all put aside. Of course, this book has to be fascinating.

　　CCTV reporter: In your opinion, what are the benefits of reading for individuals?

　　Yi Zhongtian:The greatest advantage of reading is not being useful. If you want to be useful, just surf the internet. I can even teach you how to cook online, so you don’t need to buy a cookbook. The fact is, reading makes people feel calm and clean. No matter how dirty things are, they will be cleaner if they become words. Text has the function of filter and purifier. After being converted into words, wars are not so bloody, disasters are not so horrible, and crimes may become intellectual games. Of course, the writer’s heart should be clean, and it is not good to teach obscenity and thieves. However, this is another topic.

　　CCTV reporter: Has the era of "reading for all" arrived?

　　Yi Zhongtian:In fact, reading is a very personal matter, and reading for all is only an advocacy or even an ideal. We certainly hope that the more people read, the better, but in my opinion, the era of reading for all will come only when reading becomes a way of life, and it is the way of life of most people. Here, it is important that people think reading is meaningful and interesting. Moreover, being interesting is more important than being meaningful.

　　CCTV reporter: What is the significance of reading in your writing?

　　Yi Zhongtian:I’m writing the History of China recently. It can be said that reading detective stories is of great help to my writing.

　　CCTV reporter: What books do you think you should read as a child?

　　Yi Zhongtian:Generally speaking, children are about luck, while old people are interested. Children’s reading is like following a tour group, depending on how the tour guide is, so teachers and parents are very important. A child can’t read Hegel even if you ask him to.

　　CCTV reporter: Can you still remember what books you read as a child?

　　Yi Zhongtian:When I was a child, I was basically free-range. My parents only supported non-interference in reading, so I gulped down The Outlaws of the Marsh and The Journey to the West in primary school, but I didn’t read A Dream of Red Mansions until long after I was an adult, because I thought it was not good-looking. Later, I was shocked to read it: so good? It seems that teenagers’ reading may need guidance, but coercion is useless.

　　CCTV reporter: When is the best reading time in life?

　　Yi Zhongtian:College is the best time to study. The study burden of college students is not as heavy as that of high school students, and they don’t have to work hard to support their families in the future, so I especially advocate that college students read more books. If nothing else, there will be no such convenient library in the future! College students should not be partial to their studies, but should be able to read widely. These books may not be used in the future, but the nutrition in them will be difficult to supplement in the future.

　　CCTV reporter: Can you give some reading suggestions to middle-aged people?

　　Yi Zhongtian:Getting married and starting a career is a hurdle in life, and reading depends on meeting the needle. My personal suggestion is that once you get out of the daily necessities, study some history and philosophy! When life enters the next stage, it’s time to make a summary for yourself and think about the future. However, it should be emphasized that reading is a very personal matter. No matter whose advice, it can only be used for reference. Interest is always the best teacher.