Chapter 25 The third section reveals the twists and turns of the intellectuals' aspirations: "Tao Yuanming's Written"

Chen Xianghe is an old writer who has been writing since the "May 4th" period, and was also a main member of the most tenacious literary clubs at that time, "Asakusa Club" and "Shen Zhong Club". Most of his creations before 1949 were drawn from real life, with With a strong sentimental color, on the one hand, I feel that there is no way out after awakening, and on the other hand, I am unwilling to give in. After 1949, he worked as an editor for a long time, and rarely published his creations. In 1961 and 1962, he became popular, and published "Writes by Tao Yuanming" and two historical novels consecutively, triggering a small climax in the creation of historical novels.

In the 1960s, selecting historical figures such as Tao Yuanming and Ji Kang as the protagonists of the novel itself showed an attitude of keeping a distance from the "shared name of the times".Both Tao Yuanming and Ji Kang are very individual figures in history, and they are incompatible with the power order of their respective times.A character like this, regardless of his class background or his maverick character, cannot become a hero of the era appreciated by the mainstream of the era when the national will dominates in the 1960s, but can only become a controversial figure. Appreciation of his personality and attitude towards life can only be personal. What's more, Chen Xianghe did not deliberately cater to the common names of the times in his novels, portraying them as "heroes of resistance", but focused on expressing his appreciation for an upside-down chaotic The sense of powerlessness of the intellectuals of the age who take a non-cooperative spiritual stance.Such a "powerless" image of intellectuals, of course, does not meet the needs of the times, but there is no doubt that it has a kind of authenticity starting from the individual soul, and it also demonstrates a real life style of intellectuals. What literature should express, but the common names of the times are trying to deliberately obliterate.

Different from the traditional view, the image of Tao Yuanming portrayed by Chen Xianghe in "Writings of Tao Yuanming" does not emphasize the optimistic attitude to life, but the emotion and "sorrow" hidden behind this optimistic attitude. Tao Yuanming in the novel consciously Maintain an alienated relationship with the power center—whether it is the spiritual power center or the actual political power center. The former is like his negation of monk Huiyuan's "arrogant, indifferent and posturing attitude" at the Lushan Fa Conference. The latter is like his dislike and disgust for the prestigious governor Tan Daoji who came here especially for his fame.These two kinds of authority are written in a satirical style in the novel. For example, Huiyuan at the Lushan Fa Conference "seems to be another kind of high-ranking official", "I saw him half-closed his eyes and put his hands together." At that time, the pilgrims bowed four times before his seat, with no movement on their faces, and no expression at all; I really don't know if he is sleeping or closing his eyes to rest." Until the end of the Fa Conference, "At this time he Only then did he slightly move his eyelids, and amidst the sound of bells and drums, he murmured: "Uncovering the truth, uncovering the truth, uncovering the truth, Boluo reveals the truth, Bodhisattva!" After the incomprehensible incantation, he didn't say anything, and got up and went in. He didn't even look at the congregation who were prostrate on the ground, let alone greet everyone kindly! ""This kind of attitude of ignoring everyone gave Tao Yuanming the impression of "I am arrogant". And this kind of "I am arrogant" is exactly what Huiyuan himself often mentioned to Tao Yuanming, thinking that it violates Buddhist principles. It’s true.” Obviously, the author has consciously portrayed Hui Yuan as a character who is contradictory, incoherent, and seems to hold the truth.Furthermore, although he also wrote "The Theory of Shamen Disrespecting the King", his behavior may also be unconventional, but fundamentally he did not completely get rid of the habits of the world, and he did not have a power structure external to reality. , there is still something "unreached", in Tao Yuanming's words:

To die, to die is to die, once dead, what is it!It's not worth such a fuss with bells and drums!Buddhism talks about detachment, and Taoism talks about becoming immortal. In fact, these are things that you still can't get rid of. On the surface, Tao Yuanming's view of life and death that "in the midst of the waves, neither joy nor fear. What should be done should be done, and there is no need to worry about alone" and Huiyuan's theory of "the form is exhausted and the spirit is immortal" are just a kind of rationale In fact, behind Tao Yuanming's seemingly philosophical view of life and death, there is a painful spiritual experience, which is the relationship between alienation and rejection of the entire era of moral decline and chaos.At the end of the novel, this overall alienation is directly expressed through the plots of "Elegy" and "Self-Sacrifice", which also gives a vivid explanation of Tao Yuanming's view of life and death:

"What is the way to die, let the body be on the same mountain." Yes, what is death!When a person dies, he does not perish with the mountains, grasses and trees.Unexpectedly, that gambler Liu Yu would become the emperor, but Liu Laozhi, who was used to fighting, was killed by Hengxuan who betrayed the court.Living in this intriguing, slashing and killing society, the things in front of me are really boring; once you die, you will return to nature, and there is really nothing worth nostalgic about! The plot of "Writing "Elegy"" is the center and climax of the whole novel. Through this plot, the novel extends Tao Yuanming's spiritual realm from the negation of individual objects to the negation of the entire chaotic era. A relationship of alienation and opposition.From this point of view, we can understand Tao Yuanming's independent spiritual standpoint, which is not only reflected in his rejection of political authority and spiritual authority, but also in his criticism of friends who cannot be refined from vulgarity, such as Yan Yanzhi's criticism of "all day long". They are all hanging out with the King of Luling and the Duke of Yuzhang, serving banquets, accompanying rides, composing poems in response to edicts, worrying about secular affairs, worrying about gains and losses, how can there be any poetic feeling? There is no poetic feeling, and Where did the good poetry come from!" This also shows that he is not only alienated from the times in terms of language, but also consciously practices in life, consciously maintaining his independent spiritual standpoint from the pollution of the times.

A person who is consciously alienated from the entire era, even a brave man, may find it difficult to get rid of the sense of isolation caused by this alienation.The Tao Yuanming portrayed by Chen Xianghe is not only philosophical, but also sentimental, depressing and indignant.For example, in the novel there is a plot of Tao Yuanming chanting and appreciating Ruan Ji's poem "Yong Huai": "When is the good day, the frost is on the lapel of the clothes. Feeling things are full of sorrow, quietly making the heart sad. If you say too much, the words will tell." Who", this poem reveals a strong color of worrying about the world and life, but it is isolated and depressed, and it is impossible to communicate with the world. "Yin Worry".This kind of "sorrow" belongs not only to Ruan Ji, but also to Tao Yuanming, the protagonist of the novel, and to the novelist Chen Xianghe himself.However, Tao Qian is portrayed in the novel as a hermit far away from the center of power, with relatively less fear and more isolation.But as far as the author is concerned, designing such a detail in the novel not only reveals a sense of isolation from the mainstream of the times, but also clearly shows a hidden worry of "alienation" that dare not communicate with others. , typically embodies the distressed mentality of intellectuals who are under the influence of the "common name of the era" constructed by state power but have their own unique spiritual standpoint and indelible conscience.Rejecting the main trend of the times, but being unable to stop the main trend of the times, will inevitably produce a sense of powerlessness. Apart from philosophical thinking, there will inevitably be grief, indignation, and sadness.In the novel, Tao Yuanming's emotion of "life is difficult, but death is so difficult", on the one hand, he has nothing to worry about because he rejects the main trend of the times. The powerlessness and helplessness of the maverick intellectuals in the chaotic era (in fact, this is also the powerlessness and helplessness of conscience and justice in the chaotic era), so the sentimental color latent in the novel finally cannot be suppressed and revealed at the end.When Tao Yuanming read the last five lines of "Self-Sacrifice":

Something wet and warm unconsciously overflowed into his eyes.At this time, what he felt was not only the life in front of him, but also his whole difficult and rough life. This kind of sentimentality is not only caused by the historical figure Tao Yuanming. The author Chen Xianghe is obviously "borrowing" other people's wine glasses to pour his own. Through a personal narrative standpoint and recalling historical figures, the author Chen Xianghe This indirectly reveals a personal attitude towards the times. After being hit by various movements, the mentality of intellectuals dare not express it directly, and can only express it through historical stories.But this is different from the "new wine in old bottles" method of willfully falsifying historical facts. It is a creation under the premise of respecting historical facts and "knowing people's hearts".Huang Qiuyun has a wonderful explanation for this: "The trick to writing historical novels is not to search for documents, collect materials, and make statements with evidence; if you are too rigid about historical facts, sometimes you will write the ancients even more deadly. More importantly, , the author should be able to see the ancients' minds with the eyes of today's people, and be able to "spiritually communicate" with the objects he describes. 14. Only in this way can the author's realistic sustenance and historical stories be integrated, and the author's voice and historical characters' Only the voice of the heart can fit seamlessly, and the author's personality, love, hate, praise and criticism can also be expressed through the reshaping of history.In this regard, novels such as "Tao Yuanming Written" far surpassed those dramas that "cite the past to praise the present" and "use the present to illustrate the past", and provided a good textual basis for interpreting the spiritual standpoint of some intellectuals at that time.