InthehottopicsofWeibo(theChineseequivalentofTwitter),literatureisnotaparticularlypopulartopic.However,"Whydoweneedliterature?"recentlyappearedonthetrendytopicschartwithover100millionreadership.ThiscouldhavebenefitedfromthealgorithmofWeibo,andcouldberelatedtothenewbookrecommendationsbycertaininstitutionsatthebeginningofanewyear.Nevertheless,people'senthusiasmforliteratureisreal.Underthetopic,thehighlightreads:"Ifthereisonemomentinourliveswherewecanopenuptoliterature,thenourbrokennessandsolitudecanbeeasedorfindacompanion."Manypeopleresonatedwiththelines,andopenedtheirheartstonarratetheirownrelationshipwithliterature.Literaturehasalonghistory,whydiditbecomeatrendytopictoday?Thiscouldberelatedtotheyear2020whichjustpassed.In2020,peoplemoredistinctlyexperienced"brokennessandsolitude".Therhythmofworkandlifewereinterrupted,thedistanceamongpeoplealsoneededreevalsuation."Keepingsocialdistance"becametheuniversalmethodforcombatingthepandemic.ThoughJapanesepeoplechose"intimate”astheirChinesecharacteroftheyear,inreality,peoplefelttheoppositeofthischaracter,suchas"alienation"and"quarantine".Nonetheless,deepdown,everyoneyearnedforunity.Inthesemoments,theeffectofliteratureisprominent.ThefamousstoryofLuXunwho"gaveupmedicineforliterature"enlightenedusonceagain.WhilestudyingmedicineinSendai,Japan,LusawnumbChinesepeopleonlanternslides,andrealizedthatcuringpeople'ssoulsaremoreimportantthantheirbodies.Presently,thissayingiscontroversial,asahealthybodycanboostone'simmunitytocombatagainstsickness.However,the"healing"effectofliteratureisalsoapparent.Readinganovelistryingtoexperiencea"world"createdbytheauthor.This"world"mightbebrightordark,andcanevenprovokesadness.Yet,thisworldhasanadvantagethatsocialmedialacksinthatitisa"whole".Onlytheempathyandreflectionestablishedona"whole"canwithstandthe"fragmentedera".Asaresult,thoughinrecentyearsnewmediatechnologieskeepemergingandmanypeopleworshipthe"screenera",yetthemarketforbookpublishingisstillsteadilygrowing.Infact,peoplecannotlivewithoutwritingandliteratureevenmore.Anexampleisthatin2020,afterLouiseElisabethGlückwontheNobelLiteraturePrize,herpoetryanthologieswereprintedadditionalcopieswithgreatsales.Indeed,thoughpoetryanthologiesearnestlylaunchedbycertainpublishinghouses(whicharetheleastsalableinliterature)haveseldombecomebest-sellers,somearealso"long-standingbest-sellers".PolishpoetWisławaSzymborska,whoisknownforherlyricism,canbeconsideredabest-sellingwriterintheChineseworld.Inbigcities,moreandmorebeautifulbookstoresareemerging.Thisalsoprovidesanewsettingforliteraturetoengagewithpeople.Notlongago,thewell-knownFangsuobookstoreopenedaruralbookstoreinXiuwuCountyofJiaozuoCity,HenanProvince.Itisbeautifulandhasthepotentialtobecomeanonlinesensation.ThecoffeeshopatthebookstoreissupposedlythefirstcoffeeshopinXiuwuCounty,whichseemslikeaprojectwhichis"notdowntoearth".However,theresponsesinceitsopeninghasbeenbeyondexpectations.TheclassicalwritershencefoundnewreadersinaChinesevillage.ThesekindsofstoriescanbetterreflectthereadingconditionsofChinesepeople.WeoftenlamentwithsighsthatChinesepeopledonotliketoread.However,thislamentalsoindicatestheexistenceofdemandforbooks.Inthepastfewdecades,theChineseeconomydevelopedrapidly,foranyfamily,buyingafewbooksnowadayswouldnotbeafinancialburden.Atthesametime,compulsoryeducationbecamepopularized,everyyouthhasbasicreadingabilities.Thesoilforliteratureorforbookswillonlybecomericherandnotbarren.Underthiscontext,wecanunderstandbetterwhyliteraturesuddenlybecame"trendy".Thepandemicof2020causedmorepeopletohave"momentsofintrospection",toreexaminerelationshipswithrelativesandfriends,toimproveone'slifestyle,ortoexpressconcernsforthefutureworld.Thesearethe"poeticmoments".Wecanforeseethatinthefuture,thespiritualfactorwillassumeabiggerroleinpeople'slives.Literatureisnotabovelife,itisnotareflectionoflife,butitiswithinlife,apartoflifeitself.ContributedbyZhangFeng,WriterTranslatedbyZhangJunye