Chapter 68 7. Enlightenment or restlessness

In the second half of the 1980s, the domestic ideological circles were unprecedentedly active.In reflecting on this period, people have made very different assessments, some hailing it as a new enlightenment, others dismissing it as agitation, and there is truth in both views.Reform and opening up is not only a transformation of the system, but also a profound change in concepts, and this latter aspect has come to the fore during this period.In fact, with the sudden change of the times, people have already felt that the original theoretical resources are no longer sufficient in the fields of outlook on life, values, and social sciences. hunger and thirst.At the same time, the young and middle-aged scholars who returned to school after the Cultural Revolution have also accumulated preliminary accumulation after several years of study and research.As a result, each other responded to each other, and there was a lively scene of foreign thoughts pouring in.Of course, just because one side is hungry and the other side is still weak, it is inevitable to appear impetuous.In the upsurge of introducing foreign ideas at that time, there was a very active force in Beijing academic circles, which was the editorial board of "Culture: China and the World" led by Gan Yang.

Gan Yang is a graduate student at Peking University. After graduating in 1985, he was assigned to the Academy of Social Sciences. He was in the same research room as me, Yue Sheng, and You Yu.When he first arrived, he discussed with us that he wanted to do a humanities series.Yue Sheng and I were originally casual people. Although You Yu had ambitions, he seemed to lack the ability to operate practically. After his encouragement, we both readily agreed.He is really ambitious, with the posture of conquering the world in the academic world.I remember that during the preparation period, there was a meeting at Youyu’s house one day. Gan Yang planned to wipe out all the heroes in the world. Zheng Lin jumped up when she heard this, and asked sharply: "What do you want to do? Do you want to be a top student? I'm sorry, I won't accompany you! "After saying that, he left in a huff, and later really did not join the editorial board.In the eyes of an idler like me, Gan Yang's arrogance and Zheng Lin's righteousness are all scenery.Where there is a will, there is a way. In a short period of time, Gan Yang really pulled together an extraordinary team, including most of the famous and powerful young and middle-aged scholars in Beijing's humanities circle.

After the establishment of the editorial board, it began to publish large-scale series of books in Sanlian, focusing on translation, and it was done quite efficiently. In two or three years, dozens of books were published, which made a sensation all over the country.The atmosphere of that year was really extraordinary. Within a year, my translation of "The Birth of Tragedy—An Anthology of Nietzsche's Aesthetics" was printed in 150,000 copies, and Chen Xuanliang's translation of Sartre's "Existence and Nothingness" was printed in 100,000 copies. Heidegger's "Being and Time" translated by Chen Jiaying and Wang Qingjie has printed 50,000 copies.Fortunately, Nietzsche said that the latter two books are so difficult to understand that several people bought them and really read them, but they were just following the fashion.Of course, there is nothing wrong with following the trend. If you sow seeds in such a large area, maybe a few will germinate.Some of the translated works published at that time were already translated or completed by the translators, and some were planned by the editorial committee.In any case, Gan Yang took the lead in organizing large-scale publication of foreign masterpieces of modern and contemporary philosophy and humanities, which showed his vision and courage, and his contribution is indispensable.This group of guys on the editorial committee are all pretentious, and they still shine without Gan Yang, but Gan Yang should be the first to get together to do things.

The editorial board has an invisible core group, which includes the four people in our room, and thus includes me.In fact, I did very little. I only reviewed two translations.I just think this group of people is cute, and they do things together very lively, so I am happy to participate.In my eyes, Gan Yang is also a very cute person, although he is domineering, but full of childishness.I once said to him, "You have the side of a naughty boy and the side of a tyrant. Because of the former, we forgive you the latter." He was addicted to alcohol and cursed when he was drunk.Yue Sheng laughed and said, "When Gan Yang was drunk, his language was so poor that there was only one word—fuck!" Kuang Yang told me that once, when they were waiting at the bus stop together, Gan Yang was already drunk and shouted loudly. : "Everyone waiting here for the bus should be killed!" Everyone backed away in fright, and then found out that it was a drunk, and watched curiously.At this time, he quietly asked Kwong Yang: "Are there any police?" Kwong said no, and he continued to shout: "The police should be killed too!"

Unexpectedly, three years after the establishment of the editorial board, a rift arose, and the cause was Gan Yang's drunkenness.One day, he yelled after drinking: "It's not that I have supported you. If you don't want to do it, get out!" The two deputy editors he appointed were present, and one of them felt that his self-esteem was hurt, so he complained everywhere. .After hearing the news, Jiaying discussed it for a while, and when the words reached Gan Yang's ears, he became furious and wrote an open letter, saying that the KGB was plotting against him.After that, Jiaying began to plan to pull it out and do it herself, and she also mobilized me.The opinions on Gan Yang are concentrated on one point, that is, he acts arbitrarily and runs a mom-and-pop shop.Youyu, who loves British-style democracy, cannot be ambiguous on this issue, and must defend his principles.He also told me a discovery: the three major forces in the academic world in Beijing are all mom-and-pop shops.Yuesheng and I wanted to avoid a split, so I came forward and hoped that Ganyang would accept democracy.I was very stupid and clever enough to propose a specific plan. Because Gan Yang planned to set up a humanities college, I suggested that the dean of the humanities college should be elected, and then the dean would appoint the editor-in-chief of the editorial board.I thought to myself that Ganyang would definitely be elected and would be willing to accept this proposal because of the popular expectations.In the research room that day, all four of us were present. After hearing what I said, Gan Yang's face changed drastically, he pondered for a while, and said, "Can you let me retire honorably, why use this way to dismiss me?"

A few days later, a caucus meeting was held at Yueshengjia, and Gan Yang delivered a powerful speech: "I have always hated democracy, and I have no intention of using this editorial board as a test field for democracy. In my opinion, those democracies Soldiers and extreme leftists are the same. I appreciate Hu Ping only because of his humor, wit and gentlemanly demeanor, not because of his democratic cause.” I secretly admired his confidence and candor.On the contrary, the deputy editor used to complain everywhere, complaining that Gan Yang's arbitrariness caused this incident, but he spoke at the meeting and said that the main contradiction now is that some people do things and some people play tricks.His unsightly performance made me very disgusted, and I have been alienated from him since then.Gan Yang was really distressed by this matter, as evidenced by one detail.He borrowed a copy of "Oriental Chronicle" from Yue Sheng, which contained Dai Qing's article "Chu Anping", and returned it to Yue Sheng, who enjoyed reading it.In that article, there were words such as "emphasizing collective leadership is actually a grand excuse to erase the editor-in-chief's dominant position". Gan Yang underlined all these words. I can imagine that he must have felt a sense of tragedy when he did so. .

After that, I don't want to ask about it anymore.I originally regarded the editorial board as Gan Yang's personal business, not serious about establishing a democratic system, and it's fine if he doesn't accept it, anyway, I still live my happy life.I said to myself: I love Ganyang, and I love democracy more; however, I love democracy, and I love freedom more.Of course, Yue Sheng is also detached. He said to me: "We are not people who do things. We just drink, chat, listen to music, write articles, and be the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest. That's what first-rate people do. Second-rate and third-rate people go do it.” However, Gan Yang refused to give up, and sent two deputy editors with a letter from him to talk to Jiaying, Youyu, and Yuesheng separately, urging us to withdraw from the editorial board. meeting.All three of them agreed, but I refused, saying: "Let Gan Yang fire me." At that time, the 1989 movement had begun, and Gan Yang went abroad not long after. Before he could fire me, the editorial board actually ceased to exist. up.However, I would rather be expelled myself while the editorial board continues to exist, and I feel really sorry for the disbandment of this force.

In the late 1980s, apart from the academic world, the art world was also very active.After the publication of "Turning Point", I got to know a group of trendy painters known as the northern group. They often came to see me and brought information about the sprouting of the art world.Its climax was the Chinese Modern Art Exhibition in February 1989. I went there on the opening day.The first floor is performance art, and all kinds of whimsical things have entered the National Art Hall.The most eye-catching one is a foot-washing man, who sits behind a red curtain in a red coat and a red hat, with his bare feet stretched out in a red basin.On the second floor are oil paintings, and painters I know or don't know pull me to take photos in front of their works.Before I had time to go up to the third floor, the museum was suddenly closed.I asked the waiter: "Isn't the art museum never closed at noon?" She replied angrily: "The art museum has never opened such an exhibition!" —Shooting a simulated telephone booth as an exhibit with an air gun.She was captured.Several police cars and some police were dispatched.People gathered in the hall and on the square outside, discussing and refusing to disperse, as if they were waiting for some important event to happen.In fact, the incident had already happened, and the closure of the museum became the climax of the entire exhibition.Everyone was in high spirits, and it was Lunar New Year's Eve, so there was a bit of a festive atmosphere.A huge black cloth was spread on the square, embellished with the emblem of this exhibition—the traffic sign that does not allow U-turns. People took photos with it as the background, and then left contentedly as witnesses of the event.

I have always disliked performance art, thinking that most of it is not art, but just making news, whatever is out of the ordinary, bizarre, rebellious, or sensational.I believe that the canvas is eternal, and the painter's bounden duty is to paint, and in the end, it is still up to the painting.In the era when it was just opened up, faced with the sudden opportunity, the painters were all very excited, expecting to win the lottery and be unconventional.Since the judges and markets of modern art are all abroad, astute painters aimed at foreigners from the very beginning, and determined their own subjects and painting styles according to the degree of possible attention, and some of them did succeed.I prefer those artists who are faithful to their inner pursuit, although they may not be successful in terms of fame and fortune, such as Liu Yan.At that time, the painters I had the closest relationship with were Liu Yan and Guangyi. They were good friends and were almost inseparable for a while.Both were smart and cute, but took different paths.I knew Liu Yan very early. In August 1986, I gave a lecture on Nietzsche in Shexian County, Anhui Province.He told me that he came to this class at his own expense, and was disappointed to find that the lecturers on the stage were all educated people.He also told me about his experience of making a special trip to Beijing to copy "Thus Spoke Zarathustra".Soon afterwards, he settled in Beijing and introduced Guangyi to me. We both felt like old friends at first sight.Guangyi said: "I came to see you, I feel like meeting a famous person. I didn't expect you to be like this, it's so nice!" Liu Yan said: "When I talk about Guoping, I don't talk about his books, I only talk about his eyes— - Guoping is a child." The goal in a broad sense is very clear, which is success.He said: "Now is not the era of Van Gogh. If you were not famous during your lifetime, you will not be famous after your death. The world has long forgotten you." One of the first of the New Wave painters to become famous and rich.He admired Liu Yan, saying that Liu Yan is very essential, and he wants to become famous, and then return to the essence.I feel that I am very similar to Liu Yan. Like me, he is far away from the times and pursues the authentic things.He commented on Nietzsche in this way: "Ancient Greece was simple. Nietzsche wanted to get rid of the complexity of Christianity and return to the simplicity of ancient Greece." Nietzsche made it clear in one sentence.However, his road was quite difficult.Like Van Gogh, he had a flesh-and-blood connection to the unadorned, obsessed with painting simple landscapes and still lifes, but couldn't sell them and lived in poverty.This confused him, and said to me once: "I used to sit alone in the woods and feel very peaceful. Now it doesn't feel right. Friends are all making money. Coming back from them, alone, there is a kind of desolation. Feeling. It’s like a child who left home when he was a child. When he grows up and returns home, he always feels that it’s not the home he imagined, why is it so old.” He once tried to adapt to the times, and once changed the device, but finally gave up because it didn’t suit his temperament.Now, he is living the most simple life in a village on the outskirts of Beijing, isolated like a medieval peasant, painting his landscapes and still lifes with peace of mind, not caring whether these paintings can be sold or not.I know that he has returned to his own home.

If you want to talk about the most influential figure among the youth at that time, it is undoubtedly Cui Jian.I met him for the first time at Liang Heping's home in early 1988. My first impression was that he was simple, a little shy, and not very talkative like me.A photographer was present that day and offered to take pictures of him for the cover of a certain publication. He declined, saying that being famous made him feel very tired.The photographer emphasized that he should realize that he is not just himself, but the spokesperson of a generation, representing the spirit of the times. He replied: "I don't want those, I would rather relax and sing according to my own wishes." Feel that he is a real person.That night, he held the guitar and sang a few impromptu songs, with a fascinated expression on his face, as happy as a child and as simple as a farmer.I have discovered more than once that a good man is essentially a farmer, simple, quiet, and absorbed in his own garden, whether it is music, painting, or books.Later, I heard his concert and met several times in private, and my impression has always been very good.I have never found impetuousness and kitsch in Cui Jianjian. God chose such a person to be the founder of Chinese rock. Fortunately, he improved the quality of pop music in the 1980s, but he was also doomed to be lonely after his glory.

More than ten years later, we co-published the book "Free Style".People often ask me how I came up with this dialogue with Cui Jian.Of course, this is based on my appreciation for Cui Jian, but the idea of ​​writing a book came from a table chat. One evening in the early spring of 1999, Liang Heping and Liu Yutian, I and I went to Cui Jian's house, and Cui Jian invited us to have dinner at a nearby restaurant.At that time, Liu Yutian was preparing for a trip across the Karamashgan Desert, and the conversation at the dinner table naturally revolved around his expedition.He drank a little too much and said repeatedly that it was enough to be with Cui Jian and me before saying goodbye to life.He said that Cui Jian gave him the impulse of life, and I gave him peace of mind.I think his drunken words are cute, but I don’t agree with his idea of ​​going to die. I asked him: “Why? Because there are many eyes staring at you, the media staring at you? Are you going to explore for them?” Cui Jian also continued to comfort him, saying: "No one who is world-weary will go on an adventure." Regarding another incident, Cui also said: "I found that the media is the most destructive thing." When Liu talked about winning glory for the nation, I He also expressed his dissent, saying: "What does this have to do with the nation? This is the need of your own life, and it is a matter for individuals to face God." This topic also evoked Cui Jian's thoughts. He was silent for a while, and suddenly said: "Looking up from below, we think ethnicity is very important, but jumping out, looking down from above, ethnicity is really not important. I think whoever really understands me is related to me by blood, no matter what ethnicity he is from .” The conversation at the dinner table was intermittent, but these few words made me feel a deep tacit understanding.My intuition told me that there was a treasure trove of ideas in his head, so I suggested that he write something, and I would be willing to be his secretary for a while, so we cooperated.