Chapter 42 Books on Japanese Culture

Mr. Shiqiu: The day before yesterday, I met Wang Jun on the road behind Jingshan Mountain. He conveyed his respect and asked me to write some articles about Japan.I am willing to do my best. This means that in principle, it is not easy in practice.In May last year, I wrote a short article for "Guowen Weekly", titled "A Glimpse of Japan", and the last section explained: "I've been wanting to write this essay since the Lunar New Year, but I haven't had the time to write it. On the one hand, I don't know how to write it well. So I am afraid that it will not be appropriate when I write it, and I may feel that I am pro-Japanese when I am resisting Japan, and it seems a little impolite when I am not resisting Japan." This meaning is still the same today, although it is not for fear of being scolded or sued.I don't talk about state affairs, because I don't understand politics, diplomacy, or military affairs.For example, if you want to talk about the Anti-Japanese War, in the final analysis you need to prepare for war, but I don’t have any professional knowledge in war, so I can’t praise it. If it’s a cliché in policy articles, it’s a cliché in policy articles. If you can do it, there is no need to copy him again.What I want to talk about is usually only one aspect of culture, and it is not easy to talk about it well.I said this twelve or thirteen years ago:

"China is particularly necessary and possible to understand Japan in its unique position, but in fact it is not the case. People despise Japanese culture, thinking that ancient times imitated China, and modern times imitated Western culture. It is not worth seeing. Japanese ancient and modern It is true that the culture is drawn from China and the West, but after some adjustments, it has become its own thing, just as the Roman civilization came from Greece and became a family of its own, so we can say that Japan has its own civilization, which is the most prominent in art and life. , although there is no philosophical thought.” These old sayings may not be believed by people at the time, and it is even more out of date now, but my opinion has not changed, so it is so stubborn.Japan has learned Chinese characters from China, so it has its literature and characters. However, the two books written in Chinese characters in the Nara period (the eighth century in the Western calendar) have their special value. "Manyoshu" may be comparable to China's , "Ancient Matters" is "Historical Records", and the beautiful myth Tai Shigong in the first volume was not written. Based on shallow knowledge, it is false to say that only Greek stories are of the same kind.The novels of the Heian period are another example. When Murasaki Shikibu’s fifty-two volumes were written in the tenth century, China was at the time of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty. It was five hundred years before the development of novels, and this masterpiece has already been published. It must be said It's a miracle.In recent years, six volumes of English translations by A. Waley have been published, and Chinese readers have seen them. This can be said to be a Tang Dynasty Dream of Red Mansions. It seems that such a masterpiece should have been produced due to the rich culture of the Tang Dynasty. , somehow this honor was snatched by Ms. Fujiwara.The civilian literature of the Edo period was comparable to the popular literature of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It seems that we don’t have to destroy our prestige, but I can’t help but admit that this is something that China does not have when I read Japanese “funny books”.Funny——the Japanese pronunciation is kokkei, which obviously comes from Tai Shigong's "Funny Biography".It is said that this is something that the eastern peoples lack, and the Japanese themselves often lament that they are ashamed to be inferior to the British.This may be true, because I heard that the British are rich in "humor", and their literature also contains a lot of "humor". In Japan, the word humor is often translated as funny, although in China these two transliterations were coined instead Words with other meanings are very disliked by others, and some people advocate changing the translation of "尤* (左达右微)", but it is still useless.Let’s say that this “funny” originally originated during the period of Culture, Bunsei (1804-Nimaru), and was not influenced by the West at all, and there is no such thing in China, so it may as well be said to be something created by the Japanese themselves. It cannot be said that it is better than the humor of British novelists, but this can always prove that the Japanese have more sense of humor than the Chinese.I will go back to the "Knee Chestnut Hair in the Tokaido" (those with chestnut hair on the knees use their feet as horses, that is, hiking.) Shikitei Sanma's "Ukiyo Furo" and "Ukiyo Bed" (furro means bathhouse, bed means) This is called a barber shop. Although this combination of Chinese characters seems ridiculous, there are many in the world, such as a Greek tent that is now used as the background of a theater, and a dance hall that is now used as a band.) Put it aside, and go back to the country to recall my memories The Chinese novels I have read, looking for similar works, or half because of ignorance, I can’t think of them for a while.Borrowing two travelers to write about their encounters on the road, or to write about the words and actions of the guests in the bathhouse and barber shop, this is the genre of "temperament", and Theoplirastos (Theoplirastos), a disciple of Aristotle, wrote about it. I once wrote a book, which can be regarded as the earliest. Structurally speaking, it cannot become a good modern novel, but there is a knowing smile hidden in the ordinary narration, especially Sanma's books are almost all dialogues, which is even more interesting.I can't think of any Chinese comic novels. Since then, even "Chang Yan Dao", they are not very similar. When it comes to describing temperament, there are still a few places in it, such as Gao Hanlin's air, which is not bad, but unfortunately there are not many. .In short, Japanese novels have made their own achievements in terms of humor. In addition, in terms of poetry and prose, there is the development of "haiku" and haiku, which is also the same trend, and it can be worth noting.I’m a layman about fine arts, so I dare not speak nonsense, but I have seen Ukiyo-e (Ukiyo-e, which means paintings depicting things in the world, which are called Japanese colored wood panels in the West, and I have only seen them in public exhibition places. I have a few, all of which I own are just photocopies.) I feel that this is a very special kind of folk painting, not only the recent "chef and beauty" but also the so-called "Gusu board" in Qianlong's time is incomparable. He always So in the present world, it focuses on the customs of the market, the posture of men and women, and does not take the meaning of auspicious prayers.Later in China, literati paintings took over the power, and there was no way to describe ladies. Ren Weichang's paintings in modern times are somewhat unique, but they are actually inherited from Chen Laolian's strange appearance with a big head and a short body. The works of other painters are all dull, only worse than literati paintings, because he has lost even the charm.Japanese ukiyo-e masters were originally painters, but they can at least grasp the beauty, just casually open the paintings of Suzuki Harunobu, Kitagawa Utamaro (the last two characters were originally spelled as one character) or Sudako Ryusai Just look at it, and you will know that as for the exquisiteness of engraving and printing, that is another matter.It may be difficult to say in ancient times, but no matter how flattering people are on the letterheads of today's Beiping paper shops, it cannot be said that they can catch up with them.I really find it strange that line drawings and woodcuts are originally Chinese things, why I can't make them myself. The original paintings such as Lihu Zhusi in "Shizhuzhai Jianpu" are also very good, but they are not the same as those of Ilizai Hiroshige. Compared with wood-panel landscape paintings, it is unavoidable to feel that they are coming from behind.I’m a layman in painting, so I can’t be completely confident when I say it. However, Japanese painting originated from China and has its own achievements. Ukiyo-e has its own characteristics. It is one of the special Japanese arts, which I believe can be said with certainty.The above has made a lot of miscellaneous remarks, which means that Japan has its own culture that is worth studying. As for the fact that it is closely related to ancient Chinese culture, this kind of research is also a reference for Chinese national scholars. This is another question. I don't want to talk about it here.What I want to mention here, by the way, is what is the use of talking about these cultures.Honestly, it's useless.A good aspect may not necessarily save the country, and a bad aspect may not betray the country.Recently, there are some fashionable voices, such as cultural invasion or cultural favor, but in my opinion, culture is also a little powerless in this relationship.When I wrote "A Glimpse of Japan No. 3" at the end of last year, I said in the last section:

"However, it is difficult to understand a country's culture, and it is really lonely. I usually only pay attention to the culture of the past, and I can't help but yearn for it, but in reality, it is often not only different, or even the opposite. At this time To make people feel contradictory and disappointed. In fact, this is not surprising. The ancient and modern times are different, one is the same. Qufu Tongsheng may not be able to speak. People who study culture want to see culture everywhere. If the culture is integrated with the current facts, the result will be contradictions and disappointments, and it must be stopped. If you try to teach students "Japanese Literature and Its Background", you will often work hard to answer such questions, and you can only admit that there are many high-level cultures in the past. The minority in China has little power over the majority today, and although this conclusion is rather bleak and less business-like, it is drawn from one’s own experience, so it is indeed honest and infallible.” This is not very clear, the general idea is It is said that culture is the expression of the highest effort of a nation, and it is often temporary rather than eternal, and it is a minority rather than all, so the brilliance of culture is often inconsistent with the roughness and evil of reality.People who study culture may only think that there is nothing to do about this kind of thing, and they will never feel happy. If they can appreciate or Ukiyo-e, they must see Liutiaogou, Manchukuo, the disappearance of Tibetan books, North China autonomy and smuggling, etc. I just feel ugly and stupid, no, even educated Japanese artists should be like this, because such things are neither true, good nor beautiful.Despotism in ancient and modern times is beneficial to fool the people. It is beneficial to use copper or propaganda to make the people blind. Today, if people are allowed to appreciate the beauty of high culture, they will feel disgusted by the ugly and stupid facilities, so it is true. Cultural dissemination as the vanguard of tyranny or aggression is exactly the opposite of the opposite. For foreign "cultural undertakings", it is impossible to do so. Such undertakings are often in name only and for no reason.After writing a lot of mess, I finally couldn't get the point, so I had to stop.I’m only talking about Japanese culture here, but it’s still a year and a half when the article I’m talking about will start, because this is just a discussion in principle, and in fact it still needs to be taken care of.Don't be guilty of talking nonsense and spending too much time.In a hurry, Shun Song Zhuan.

On July 5th, 25th, Zhitang Bai. (Completed in July 1936, from "Guadou Collection")