Chapter 2 Preface 2 The crystallization of the passion of the poet and the reason of the historian
In the history of human literature, I have a special liking for the former Soviet literary critic Chernyshevsky. I really appreciate his literary talent that combines profound philosophical thinking and wild poetic sentiment.Whenever I think of his novel "What to Do", I ask myself, where is China's "Chernyshevsky"?Under the control of this kind of psychology, when I read Qian Zhongshu's novels and Liu Zaifu's prose poems, I have a different aesthetic feeling.
When Mr. Yang Huanting from Maoling, under the sunshine of October in Renchen, gave me the manuscript of "Han Wu Dadi" which had gone through six years and several revisions, and invited me to write a preface for it, my heart burst into tears. I was shocked.
After reading this brilliant masterpiece with a length of more than one million words, I was overjoyed.This Guanzhong student, who is well-known in the literary world for his literary criticism, followed in the footsteps of Chernyshevsky, Qian Zhongshu, and Liu Zaifu, and wrote a touching historical novel.
Under the impact of pragmatism, new historicism, and nihilism in the creation of contemporary historical novels, a number of reading materials for entertainment and entertainment are flooding the book market, confusing readers' cognitive judgments.
Historical fiction is a binary fusion of history and fiction.It is history first, and then novels. It needs the quality of "history" and the emotion of "poetry".
The truth of history refers to the truth of historical background, historical events, historical figures, and historical spirit; the truth of art here refers to the author's restoration of historical figures, poetic historical situations, and fictional historical psychology, emotions, The atmosphere and artistic image give readers aesthetic resonance and life inspiration.
Mr. Yang Huanting spent six years painstakingly creating "Han Wu Da Di" which has such an aesthetic effect.On the premise of respecting history, starting from historical facts; restoring history, starting from life; revisiting history, starting from emotion; pursuing literature, starting from soul; pursuing aesthetics, starting from image; The passion of the poet and the rationality of the historian, on the basis of the combination of historical materialism and artistic aesthetics, organically combined the evaluation of history and aesthetics with grand and vigorous brushstrokes, artistically reproduced the reform of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The political struggle against conservatism, incorruptibility and corruption, diligence and perversion of the law; it vividly shows the contradictions and conflicts in the court and among family blood scrambles for power and profit, comprehensively shows the historical style of the Han Dynasty, and poetically conveys the feudal history of our nation. Under the rule of the emperor, it was a difficult journey for human nature to become a national spirit.
With profound historical knowledge and profound literary literacy, the author stands on the high ground of Chinese historical novel creation in the early 21st century.Between the sublime and the humble, the good and the evil, history and reality, war and peace, sensibility and reason, love and conspiracy, looking for the true unity of history and art, the unity of national spirit and human fission, for the contemporary Chinese historical novels A bouquet of new blooms has been added to the hundred gardens.
This is a literary work with epic quality. The author embraces the giant of history—Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty, with the passion of a poet, flying mind, full preparation of historical knowledge, and aesthetic appeal of literature.Rather than saying that Mr. Yang Huanting chose Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it is better to say that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty chose Mr. Yang Huanting.This is the superposition of two spirits of the times, two historical concepts, two life subjects, and two humanistic temperaments that attract, are similar, respect each other, and communicate with each other; The fusion and gathering of fragrance, vegetation and flowers, and the kingly spirit of the soul under the pen of a scholar.
Mr. Yang Huanting has lived and worked in the ancient capital Xianyang for a long time. Under the green pines and cypresses of Maoling, there are his reading and studying figures, and beside the bluestone statues are his footprints of walking and thinking.His experience, education, and temperament gave him the conditions to meet Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and write a book.He turned history into art, documents into situations, and historical facts into aesthetics. Standing on the basis of describing people, expressing heart, and expressing emotions, he used grand narrative techniques to show the style and features of the era when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty created the peak of the Han Empire. This three-dimensional, multi-faceted character image.
In the author's writing, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty is broad-minded, resourceful, far-sighted, appoints people on their merits, speaks widely, is good at accepting advice, brainstorms, strives hard, expands territory, dares to be the first, has ideals, pursuits, ambitions, ambitions, courage, Talented and visionary politician.He conspired for the prosperity of the Han Dynasty, he was worried about the invasion of the Huns, he was suppressed by the empress dowager's dictatorship, and he was happy for the feat of hollowing out the Western Regions... When he was in court, he never cared about good officials and generals sharp criticism.After he "dismissed a hundred schools of thought and only respected Confucianism", he still treated the sages who were good at "Huang Lao's learning" equally.
He is a feudal emperor who is emancipated, good at thinking, and good at learning.After Wei Qing won the first battle, facing the horses and swords brought back from the Huns, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty decisively proposed that the Han army must be equipped with such swords and horses in the future.
In the intricate conflicts, he always put the national interest first.He killed relatives righteously, protected the law impartially, endured the torment of the soul, and pushed forward the "new system", "tweet system" and "Yuan Shou reform" with difficulty, and expanded the road to a powerful country.
Of course, the author did not blindly beautify Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but inherited Sima Qian's spirit of "writing straight and straight".He also wrote that Liu Che would play tricks, that he liked scribes as much as Tianma, and tried to create a flesh and blood image of an emperor that conformed to historical reality.
In the works, there are nearly 200 characters accompanying Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Everyone is outstanding, and each has its own characteristics.For example, Wei Qing, who is self-disciplined and self-disciplined; Huo Qubing, who is youthful and brave; Bao Sang, who is loyal and hardworking; Dong Zhongshu, who is very talented; Sima Xiangru, who is brilliant and emphasizing love and righteousness; Li Cai, who is gentle and courteous, but flattering and courteous; Batulu who refuses to surrender; the arrogant Kunxie Ertu; the cunning and cunning Yi Zhixie; the ambitious Li Guang; the unruly and reserved eldest princess; the restrained and gracious Wei Zifu; The cunning Huainan King; the reckless Guan Fu, the shrewd Han Yan...all left an unforgettable impression on people.
Mr. Yang Huanting is a writer who is proficient in poetry, calligraphy and painting, and is deeply influenced by Chinese traditional culture.He admires traditional culture, and most of the characters he portrays are mainstream images of traditional moral sentiments.For example, Ji An, a Jiuqing who was officially the lord and captain, made it impossible for the emperor to indulge in front of him at will.Why did Wei Qing admire his restraint and arrogance?It turns out that behind him is the stalwart built by Pinjie.
In shaping the typical image of Ji An, the author expresses the values of being upright, upright, seeking truth from facts, impartially enforcing the law, treating people equally, and being straightforward.Of course, narrow-minded political speculators such as Zhu Fuyan, Zhang Tang, and Jiang Chong are also portrayed in the work.Even so, the author did not deny the positive role they played under specific historical conditions.
In the brilliant masterpiece of more than one million words, the author uses passionate words to show the meaning of human existence, human desire for food and sex, and the difficult course of human nature from wild to rational development; The spiritual pain in the entanglement between the family and the country expresses the thinking of history in the analysis of human nature, and shows the trend of the value of human civilization in the torture of conscience and morality.For example: the love between Huo Qubing and Princess Yangshi, the relationship between Zhang Qian and Najima, the passionate love between Liu Che and Wei Zifu, the concern of the eldest princess for Wei Qing, the deep love between Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun, Zhao Xin and Kexi Sa Ren's bitter love...
The author is a pacifist who condemns war and respects the people and protects the family.The singing of Lou Fang's heroism is essentially the expectation of national equality, and many places in the works reveal this humanitarian spirit.
The author is a passionate poet.The poet is the priest of Dionysus. In the dark night, he travels all over the land, writing history and reality.Mr. Yang Huanting is full of poetry, writing the history of the Han Dynasty.His "things and I are the same" narrative pen reveals a poetic feeling of "the interaction between heaven and man".His lyricism is often in a specific situation, choking the throat of time, amplifying emotional fluctuations, using close-up, prominent, superimposed and repeated sentence patterns, layer by layer, and repeatedly emphasizing a psychological feeling.
For example: When writing about the empress dowager being old and frail and dying, the author described it like this: "The sun on the last day of September in the fifth year of Jianyuan left its orange light to the thousands of miles of autumn sky, quietly Hidden behind Cangshan Mountain", leaving the ultimate meaning of life.
In the second volume, the author wrote: "This is the last battle of the Hexi War. With the impregnation of the land with blood, the turbulence of the river with bones, and the engulfment of humanity by beasts, it has drawn down its heroic and tragic curtain." Then there is such a text: "The Dynasty bid farewell to the joyful spring in such nervous steps, bid farewell to the complicated summer, and entered the season when the autumn wind blows Weishui and blows down the leaves of Chang'an."
This is a jet of creative passion, lyricism of poetic historical materials, and pouring out of beautiful prose.With his full aesthetic passion, the author melted the logical "hard block" of historical documents, and revived the cold historical figures with his poetic heart of "god and matter".The lyric in the works is expressed in the narrative; the author's narration is a narrative with emotion and rhyme.This kind of narrative expression that combines poetic and historical facts makes this novel have great artistic appeal.
From time to time, the works are mixed with the chants of the Huns and other ethnic groups, and these chants are written with the characteristics of the times and the customs of the nation.For example, in the middle volume, Lou Fanren and the Aries sang when offering sacrifices to heaven and earth:
The mountains are high and the river is long
The cattle and sheep are fat, the man is strong
It is the sun god who gave Lou an annoying and beautiful grassland
It is the sun god who gave Lou annoying and warm sunshine
King Fuli is a hero
gave us happiness and well-being
The poem contains the rhythm of Han Yuefu, the metaphor and symbol of grassland poetry, and the poetic feeling of hero creation.It can be seen that the author is looking for the spiritual root of the grassland nation on the altar of the gods.
The author is good at psychological description.Among them, the speculation between the monarch and his ministers, the guessing between the generals, the competition between princes and princes, the competition for favor among concubines in the harem, and the conflict of interests between the government and the opposition...all are vividly displayed in front of everyone.The author writes very nuanced, appropriate and touching.For example, the description of the dialogue between Ji An and Hao Xian when they patrolled Shanggu at night; the psychological description of Li Cai and Zhang Tang when they discussed countermeasures after they were worshiped as Sangong...all of them are very skillful.
The long historical novel is the art of structure.Especially for a masterpiece with more than a million words, it is not easy to achieve a regular structure, take care of the front and back, advance and retreat, accept and let go.In the works, there are grand and fierce war scenes that span thousands of miles, and there are love whispers in the courtyard boudoir;
There are many clues, and they are detailed; it takes a long time to analyze them one by one.This kind of overall conception of back and forth, spread out, close together, throw out a thread end, and catch a big fish, makes this novel appear grand and delicate, and have individuality in the whole.
The author turns historical documents into scene descriptions, and integrates historical materials into artistic expressions of aesthetic sentiment.Reading this novel, I have an immersive sense of reality, a sense of comfort like bathing in the spring breeze, which is an aesthetic infection of artistic expression.
The author's creative thinking is very keen and active. He can tell stories. When the plot develops to a certain stage and the structural combination needs to be filled with details, he can put a story there at his fingertips.This ability to fabricate and arrange details often makes me feel that he has a creative talent that is as light as weight.
"The Emperor of Han Wu" is a new achievement in the creation of contemporary long historical novels.It opens a new chapter in the novel creation of Han Wudi, a historical figure, with its great subject matter, grand scene, numerous characters, huge length, wise thought and poetic expression.I believe this Huang Zhong Dalu-style work will win readers' favor.
The author of this article is a literary critic, researcher, and dean of Shaanxi Provincial Academy of Literature
December 2012 in the ancient city of Xi'an