In March of this year, there were COVID-19 rebounds in Guangdong, Jilin, Shanghai, and other places, and many people had to face the reality of home quarantine or lockdown. Starting from April 1, Pudong and Puxi Districts have been locked down one after another. In such days, Christian playwright and music connoisseur Jiang Yuanlai was also asked, "How should I avoid lethargy and collapse, and how can I survive?"
To this question, Jiang, considered as one of the most important Christian playwrights in mainland China and also known as "the playwright who sleeps on the floor" answered, "Of course, believers are first suggested to pray and read the Bible (everyone can pray and read the Bible!). At this time, you can also practice prayer and pray for all those in need; then try your best to solve the minimum living needs such as arranging your own food. Even though I was quarantined at home, I tried my best to help those in special need (our brothers and sisters here asked volunteers to help a few people in need); then I had to be patient and read excellent literary works, such as Dostoyevski's House of the Dead, an essay "Peasant Malay", Tolstoy's War and Peace and so on."
"Try to read the classics and don't fall into the rubbish reading of the Internet, it will increase the mental pressure," the native of Shanghai added. At the same time, he returned to his "old idea": listening to European classical music, and now especially listening to works with heroic idealism.
At the same time, many families will face some children's problems. Children who are quarantined at home will ask, "How can we avoid going crazy and survive the quarantine?" Jiang suggested that the classical music part can be replaced with soft play suitable for children and family background music, as well as some excellent literary works suitable for their age group.
Jiang Yuanlai, a native of Shanghai, went to the remote villages of Heilongjiang to "settle in the countryside" for more than three years. After graduating from university, Jiang has been engaged in the environmental planning of nature reserves and field environmental research in government and research institutes for a long time. He became a Christian in the 1980s and entered the field of Christian culture in the early 1990s. Jiang began his drama writing at the end of the 1990s and was recognized as one of the most important folk playwrights on the Chinese mainland by critics.
- Translated by Leo Liu
今年3月，广东、吉林、上海等多地疫情反扑，不少人需要面临居家隔离/封控的现实。4月1日前后，浦东浦西陆续封控。在这样的日子里面，剧作家、音乐鉴赏家姜原来也同样有被问到“应该怎样避免精神萎靡、崩溃，熬过来才好？”
对此问题，姜老师回答说：信徒当然首先建议要祷告读经（每一个人都可以祷告读经啊！），这时候也正可以操练活在祈祷中也为所有困厄者代祷；然后如果家人不同在当然要尽可能解决安排自己的食用等起码生活需要；尽管自己被禁也尽可能设法关心帮助特别有需要的人（我们这里弟兄姐妹们就互相联系动用志愿者关系帮助了几位困难者）；然后要耐下心来读优秀文学作品，比如陀思妥耶夫斯基的《死屋手记》和一篇散文《农民马莱》、托尔斯泰《战争与和平》等。
“尽量读经典、不要陷入烂看网络垃圾中，会加重精神压力。”姜老师强调说。同时，他再度回到自己的“老主张”：听欧洲古典音乐，现在特别要听有英雄主义理想主义质地作品。”
与此同时，不少家庭中会面临一些孩子的 问题：被封久了的孩子们询问“避免抓狂，熬过封闭”的具体办法。姜老师建议说，古典音乐的部分换成适合孩子的、适合做家庭背景音乐的轻轻播放，以及一些适合他们年龄段的优秀文学作品等。
姜原来，上海人，曾去黑龙江偏僻乡村“插队落户”三年多，大学毕业后长期在政府和研究所从事风景区自然保护区环境规划和野外环境科研等工作。上世纪八十年代成为基督徒，九十年代初进入民间文化基督教文化领域，九十年代末开始创作，被认为是中国大陆最重要的基督徒剧作家之一，人称“打地铺的剧作家”。
姜原来的几条建议：居家隔离或封控时 怎样避免精神萎靡和压力？
In March of this year, there were COVID-19 rebounds in Guangdong, Jilin, Shanghai, and other places, and many people had to face the reality of home quarantine or lockdown. Starting from April 1, Pudong and Puxi Districts have been locked down one after another. In such days, Christian playwright and music connoisseur Jiang Yuanlai was also asked, "How should I avoid lethargy and collapse, and how can I survive?"
To this question, Jiang, considered as one of the most important Christian playwrights in mainland China and also known as "the playwright who sleeps on the floor" answered, "Of course, believers are first suggested to pray and read the Bible (everyone can pray and read the Bible!). At this time, you can also practice prayer and pray for all those in need; then try your best to solve the minimum living needs such as arranging your own food. Even though I was quarantined at home, I tried my best to help those in special need (our brothers and sisters here asked volunteers to help a few people in need); then I had to be patient and read excellent literary works, such as Dostoyevski's House of the Dead, an essay "Peasant Malay", Tolstoy's War and Peace and so on."
"Try to read the classics and don't fall into the rubbish reading of the Internet, it will increase the mental pressure," the native of Shanghai added. At the same time, he returned to his "old idea": listening to European classical music, and now especially listening to works with heroic idealism.
At the same time, many families will face some children's problems. Children who are quarantined at home will ask, "How can we avoid going crazy and survive the quarantine?" Jiang suggested that the classical music part can be replaced with soft play suitable for children and family background music, as well as some excellent literary works suitable for their age group.
Jiang Yuanlai, a native of Shanghai, went to the remote villages of Heilongjiang to "settle in the countryside" for more than three years. After graduating from university, Jiang has been engaged in the environmental planning of nature reserves and field environmental research in government and research institutes for a long time. He became a Christian in the 1980s and entered the field of Christian culture in the early 1990s. Jiang began his drama writing at the end of the 1990s and was recognized as one of the most important folk playwrights on the Chinese mainland by critics.
- Translated by Leo Liu
Christian Playwright's Tip on How to Avoid Depression, Stress During Lockdown
