Chapter 16 Sex is the Eternal Salvation of Politics——Read Gao Xingjian's Novel

In Gao Xingjian's novel, sex and political oppression are intertwined, and sex becomes a unique ritual, a kind of redemption from political horror. Gao Xingjian's work has recently become the focus of international attention, which is the key to his Nobel Prize.But in fact, the book he published in 1999 has a more realistic style, more urban and international style, and a stronger storyline, so readers can more easily enter the depths of the author's heart. Maybe it can be regarded as "a person's sexual experience" jokingly, but it will never show off pornography.Critic Liu Zaifu said that Gao Xingjian's sexual descriptions were "bold, calm and accurate".The sexual relationship between the protagonist and the seven women is unforgettable, and some are superficial, but both sides of the sex can't get rid of politics, especially political horror, between reality and fantasy.Politics unexpectedly becomes a catalyst for sex, and only in the face of political pressure can there be unforgettable sex.The author uses the second person pronoun "you" to talk to "him", reflecting the tension between "today" and "yesterday", and also hiding the status of "I".The novel has become an endless interaction between reality and history. "His experience is deposited in the creases of your memory, how to peel it off layer by layer, and scan the layers separately."

In the creases of the author's memory is the intersection of sexuality and political oppression.Sex becomes redemption from politics.This is a unique ritual, the best redemption from being frightened and raped by power. As soon as the novel opens, the scene quickly shifts to Hong Kong on the eve of 1997. The protagonist is in love with a German-Jewish woman. Although their bodies are united, their souls belong to each other: the Jewish woman wants to pursue the pain and terror of the nation However, he wants to escape the snare of Chinese politics and the lingering sense of suffocation in the Cultural Revolution and Chinese politics. "She needs to search for the memory of history, and you need to forget"; "She needs to carry the suffering of the Jews and the humiliation of the Germanic nation on her own, and you need to feel in her that you are still alive at this moment."

The novel is actually autobiographical, and the plot is mostly the author's real history.For example, he buried the manuscripts in the ground, but he was determined to burn them during the Cultural Revolution; his mother died of overwork during the anti-rightist movement; Reported to the superior, and finally left him.Gao Xingjian's real personal history penetrates into the narration of the novel in a illusory and real way, and in the powerful dramatic tension, it also shows the rich tension of life. This is a book of escape, named because "You are your own God and apostle. If you do not deny yourself for others, do not ask others to deny themselves for you."

In sex, he found that "heaven is in a woman's cave", but he does not worship sex, because "loneliness is his god", he always pursues freedom, freedom from fear, and avoids the market and fashion containment.It is a symphony that plays out the contrast between politics and sex, reality and memory, life and death, and the interaction between China and the West.These four major themes are a kind of quartet, which are interlocking and intricate, and are closely tied to the heartstrings of Chinese readers around the world. The scenes of the novel are not only Beijing and mainland China, but also Hong Kong subway, Lamma Island, New York, and Paris.This is a heavyweight Chinese novel at the turn of the century, summarizing the Cultural Revolution, a major tragedy of the twentieth century; and in the sublimation of literature, the tragic significance of the Cultural Revolution has been elevated to a new level.This is a victory for the Chinese novel and the latest honor for the Nobel family.