He is a literary star of the Chinese Writers Network, a member of the Chinese Prose Society, a member of the Guangdong Writers Association, and the deputy editor in chief and chief reporter of the Greater Bay Area Times in Macau. This writer from western Guangdong, who emerged from his hometown and blossomed in the counterattack, has a life trajectory that is like a ups and downs prose poem. It is not only filled with the resilience of survival, but also engraved with the sincerity of literature.
Ten Years of Duckling Road: The Literary Original Aspiration Nurtured in the Field Embankment
In 1985, Xu Shuihuo was born into a poor rural family in Wenxiu Ridge, Xinmin Town, Lianjiang City, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province. The barren land nourishes a resilient foundation, but fails to withstand the unexpected fate. At the age of three, the passing of his mother was like a sudden rain that extinguished the innocence of his childhood, allowing him to bear the weight of life at a young age and experience the coldness and hardships of the world. At the age of six, he led a flock of ducks behind his father, who was blind in the left eye, and embarked on a decade long journey of catching ducks for education. In the morning mist by the Jiuzhou River, there is his figure chasing after a flock of ducks; Under the sunset by the edge of the field, there was his persistence in flipping through old books. In his tattered pocket, he always carried a few books that he couldn't bear to discard. The intervals between the ducks foraging for food were his time conversing with words.
In the days of being penniless, hardships followed closely like shadows. He once experienced the embarrassment of not being able to afford even a packet of salt, and witnessed his father's helplessness of being sick and unable to afford medicine, exchanging a bag of peanuts for two doses of traditional Chinese medicine. But these hardships did not diminish his thirst for knowledge. Grandfather's kindness and foresight lit up a lighthouse for him to move forward. This elderly man who advocates reading named him Xu Shuihuo, derived from the famous line of Zhu Xi - 'Ask the canal to be clear like this, for there is a source of living water, expressing the hope for his lively life and spiritual prosperity.'. In the third grade of elementary school, his grandfather gave him the first essay book, which planted the seeds of literature in his heart and allowed him to find spiritual comfort in the soil of hardship.
In 2000, Xu Shuihuo, who was in his third year of junior high school, wrote a letter of help titled "How to Report Deep Father Love", which was published in the Guangzhou "Boys and Girls" magazine. With the help of enthusiastic people from all over the world, he was able to continue his studies. After being admitted to Lianjiang Middle School in the same year, the school library became his most cherished corner. Literary publications such as "People's Literature," "Prose," "Poetry Magazine," "Prose Poetry," and "Youth Digest" opened up a vast world for him. Lu Xun's profundity, Lu Yao's simplicity, and Hai Zi's romance all became the nourishment of his creation. In his second year of high school, his first poem "Back View" was published in the Lianjiang Daily; In his senior year of high school, his prose works were featured in "Excellent Essays for Middle School Students". These small achievements, like a faint light piercing through the haze, strengthened his belief in expressing himself through words.
The ten years of catching ducks not only honed his perseverance, but also allowed him to deeply experience the texture of rural life. The flowing water of Jiuzhou River, the soil on the field embankment, the smoke and fire in the village, as well as the hard work of his father and the love of his grandfather, have all become the most precious materials in his memory. Works come from life to have vitality - Xu Shuihuo always firmly believes that the local memories intertwined with hardship and warmth are an inexhaustible source of inspiration for his literary creation, allowing his words to carry a simple temperature of life and sincere emotional power from the beginning.
Abandoned drugs from literary records: persistent adherence in cross-border transformation
In 2003, Xu Shuihuo was admitted to the Pharmacy Department of a pharmacy college in Guangzhou. The seemingly contradictory choice to literature did not make him give up his passion in his heart. During his university years, the reading room in the library remained his most frequently visited place. While delving into pharmacological knowledge, he persisted in reading literary classics and constantly accumulated creative materials. In 2006, his works won the first prize in the Guangdong Campus Literature Competition, which further convinced him that literature had already been integrated into his bones and blood, becoming an inseparable part of his life.
After graduation, Xu Shuihuo joined Zhuhai United Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a Hong Kong listed company, as a pharmaceutical production technician. The work on the assembly line is tedious, dealing with drugs and equipment every day, but he never puts down his pen. During his days as a correspondent for the company's internal publication, The Federalist, he used his spare time to write articles and document his life. Writing became a harbor for him to release stress and find solace in his soul. During his three years in the pharmaceutical factory, he deeply experienced the hardships of grassroots workers. These observations and insights were later integrated into his creations, making his works always carry a concern for reality.
My inner desire for literature is becoming increasingly strong. In 2007, Xu Shuihuo made a bold decision to self-study in the Journalism Department of Jinan University. On one hand, there is high-intensity work, and on the other hand, there is heavy academic workload. He devotes all his spare time to studying. Under the desk lamp at night, he gnaws on news theories, practices writing skills, and constantly draws strength from the ocean of knowledge. In 2009, he resolutely resigned from his stable job and officially abandoned medicine to become a journalist for Yunfu Daily, completing a crucial cross-border transformation in his life.
A career as a journalist has broadened Xu Shuihuo's horizons and made his writing more realistic. He travels to the forefront of news, documenting the changes of the times and paying attention to the well-being of the people. These interview experiences have allowed him to accumulate rich creative materials, exercise his keen observation and writing skills. In 2010, he drifted to Shenzhen to work in the media industry. This vibrant city provided him with a broader stage. During his time in Shenzhen, he experienced the hardships of life and also felt the tolerance of the city. These life experiences made his creations more mature, and his works began to incorporate deep reflections on the relationship between the city and the countryside, reality and ideals.
Xu Shuihuo went from a pharmaceutical technician to a media person, from pharmacological knowledge to news writing. His transformation journey was full of challenges, but the resilience accumulated during his ten years of duck catching became his most solid foundation. This cross-border experience has endowed his writing with both literary poetry and deep affection, as well as the authenticity and sensitivity of news, forming a unique creative style. In 2018, he became a member of the Guangdong Writers Association; In 2019, he served as the chief reporter of the Greater Bay Area Times, finding a perfect balance between news reporting and literary creation.
Pen cultivation forges a brilliant chapter: the literary fragrance tempered by hardships
In August 2017, Xu Shuihuo's first collection of essays, "Fence Home," was published and distributed. This collection of over a hundred of his works from 2005 to 2010 has become an important milestone in his literary creation. The whole book is divided into five major collections: Fence Home, Reflection on Life, Flowing Years, Fragrant Heart, and Short Song Recitation. It uses simple language to write about hometown, family, growth, and dreams, and is filled with nostalgia for the homeland and reverence for life. The book 'Left Cliff and Right Cliff' was selected as the '2016 Chinese Prose Poetry of the Year', and the entire work has been collected by many authoritative institutions such as the National Library, the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature, the Guangdong Provincial Zhongshan Library, the Shanghai Library, and the Shenzhen Library, becoming an important text for recording the memories of the times and rural areas.
In January 2019, the publication of his first poetry collection "Three Drops of Water" marked a step towards deeper emotional expression and philosophical thinking in his creation. Three drops of water are not only the source of life, but also the spring of emotions - one drop is the sweat of my father's hard work, one drop is the tears of my mother's sadness, and one drop represents my persistent ink. The works included in the poetry collection combine the living scenes of rural areas in western Guangdong with personal life experiences, forming a unique style of local poetry. Chapters such as "Grandma's Hair," "Grandpa Cowherd," "Father's Eyes," "My Poetry Has Mother's Temperature," "People Like Cow Manure," "Red Soil and Black Soil," etc. depict family relationships with delicate strokes, and the simple words are full of deep emotions, allowing readers to feel the resilience of life in their local memories.
Mr. Li Zhongsheng, former deputy editor in chief of Southern Daily and vice chairman of Guangdong Writers Association, once commented on Xu Shuihuo's poetry collection "Three Drips of Water" and admitted that it is a touching and excellent work. Every word in the book originates from the author's profound understanding of the soul, and is a natural expression of emotions, without any trace of carving. Especially those songs of deep affection for grandmother and parents, filled with childlike hearts and memories accumulated over time, the words are hot and direct to people's hearts, making one's eyes wet when reading them.
Xu Shuihuo's creations always adhere to the nourishment of suffering, transforming the hardships of life into the power of literature. His prose is simple and mellow, his poetry is concise and beautiful, his prose poetry is dynamic and profound, and his works are scattered in literary publications such as "Selected Prose", "Prose Poetry", "Poetry Monthly", "Yanhe", "Poetry", "Haiyan", etc. The Central People's Broadcasting Station recited his poem 'Misty Rain on Jiangnan Road', allowing the local poetry to be transmitted to more listeners through radio waves; The selection of "Background" (chapter) in "Dengzhan 2021: Selected Original Works of Chinese Writers Network Literature Star" highlights his strength and influence in the field of contemporary literature.
Over the years, honors and recognition have come one after another: first prize in the Guangdong Campus Literature Competition, Shenzhen Excellent Mass Literature Award, second prize in a single essay at the Chinese Prose Annual Conference, and this week's Star of the Chinese Writers Network... Behind these honors is his persistent pursuit of literary quality, and it is also a vivid witness to his transformation of hardship into creative motivation. Dong Jian, a member of the Chinese Writers Association and chairman of the Lianjiang Writers Association, praised him as a young man who had been herding ducks by the Jiuzhou River for 10 years, with several old books in his tattered pockets. He refused to bow down to fate because he firmly believed that the goddess of literature would accompany him all the way.
Struggling on the path of literature, Xu Shuihuo has always maintained a pure creative original intention. Whether it's the hardships of writing overnight in internet cafes in the early years, or now squeezing time to create amidst busyness. He has a habit of persisting for many years, immediately jotting down the title when inspiration comes, and then slowly polishing it with fragmented time. This devotion and persistence to creation keep his works pure literary quality.
Today, Xu Shuihuo is still firmly moving forward on the path of literature. He plans to continue publishing books and writing novels in the future, transforming more local memories and life insights into literary works. In 2022, he returned to his alma mater Lianjiang Middle School to donate his poetry collection "Three Drops of Water", using practical actions to give back to his homeland and sow the seeds of literature. In 2023, he founded the national media aggregation platform Gengmei Net, opening up new horizons in the field of new media, but he never put down his pen and maintained a high-frequency creative rhythm.
Don't sigh for not being born at the right time, the value lies in never stopping striving - this motto runs through his life. The resilience of ten years of grinding ducks, the courage to abandon medicine in writing, and the fragrance of half a life of pen cultivation have allowed him to break free from his cocoon and become a butterfly in hardship, illuminating his own life with words and bringing warmth and strength to countless readers.
The soil and water of western Guangdong have nourished his writing, and the years of hardship have tempered his will. The story of Xu Shuihuo tells us that the hardships of life are never a reason to give up on dreams. As long as we have love and stick to our original aspirations, even ordinary lives can shine with extraordinary brilliance. And the local memories and life insights he wrote with his pen and ink will eventually leave a profound and far-reaching echo in the long river of literature, like the flowing water of the Jiuzhou River.
By: Hong Kong Public Network
