Chapter 21 Preface to "Selected Works of Zhang Xianliang's Novels"

There is a saying that in the literary world, "everyone leads the fashion for three to five years", but as the saying goes, "feng shui turns around every sixty years": novels that were once popular will attract people's attention again after a few years.Today, when everyone laments the "decline of serious literature", it is still enjoyable to read novels from the "literary renaissance period" from the late 1970s to the 1980s.It is said that it is difficult to buy my books in bookstores, so several anthologies are published at once. Since there is such a demand in the market, as long as the publishing house thinks that it will not lose money, I naturally don't want to pretend to hide my clumsiness.

This anthology published by Lijiang Publishing House is slightly different from other anthologies.I asked this collection to include the different styles of my novels and all aspects of society described.My personal destiny has gone through ups and downs, and my life has had dark shadows and bright colors. Since literary creation is purely a personal act, the works I create are of course the expression of the author's personal personality and experience.I started writing novels after I was "rehabilitated" in 1979, and it has only been a short fifteen years.In the past fifteen years, I can say that I have skyrocketed. Although I have relied on the good wind of reform and opening up, I also have the advantages of my own life.When there was a meteorite rain in Jilin in 1976, I was still "supervising labor" at the foot of Helan Mountain, 60 miles away from Yinchuan City. The iron soul and the copper soul are hidden in the body; only after traveling through the three realms can one realize the Tao, the space may not be a paradise." The "three realms" here refer to the world where ordinary people come and go between life and death; from the six desire heavens on the top, from the four continents of the human world in the middle, and down to the inexhaustible hell.At that time, I certainly couldn't say "traversing the Three Realms". After the "rehabilitation", although the "Three Realms" have not yet been "experienced" and are far from "enlightenment", they still have a taste of it.Looking back on most of my life: I have asked for food, begged for money, been put in handcuffs and imprisoned; I have also been broken up in love and been pursued by others, I have also stepped on the red carpet and attended the king's banquet.This may sound terribly vulgar to some people, but I am not born with a sense of immortality, and I am a big layman.Romain Rolland said that "Character is destiny", and in turn, fate can no longer shape character.I have such a destiny, so I have such a character, so it turns into a style and reflects it in every work I write.The ups and downs are also a kind of richness, and the ups and downs have provided me with opportunities to meet a wide range of people.So my works will never be single, one type.

All my works just show my greed for life, and I always want to use the opportunity to make various attempts. Even if it is a novel, I don't want to write with only one style of writing. Since I have the right to publish articles, I have never thought of "writer" as a profession, and I only rely on writing novels to make a living.I want to participate in social activities when I pick up a pen, and I treat writing as a way of social activities.Whether it is "theme first" or "text conveys the truth", I always put the question of what my works can give people first.Compared with personal works, I value the former.I don't want to be a person who can do nothing but write articles.Looking at it today, it turns out that my attitude towards life or way of living is correct.In 1919, Lu Xun called out to "save the children." More than half a century later, this task seems to be getting closer and closer, which shows that the function of literature is weak.The master's dozens of volumes of works are only broadcast on the skin of this nation. Whether it is political exclusion or use of him, in fact, he has nothing to do with the destiny of the country and the nation.If Lu Xun had now seen a movie about the Chinese being beheaded in the Russo-Japanese War, he probably would no longer think that literature can save the nation, or that doctors are of some practical use.I think that literature has really fallen to the place it should be today, and this is the "haiku literature" stipulated by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty long ago.I heard that Zhang Chengzhi wanted to bid farewell to literature. I guess he was not entirely outraged by the "degeneration of literature" today, but also had a sense of the powerlessness of literature as a whole.And I, I have long been used to seeing people and things that are more depraved than "degenerate". I am not at all angry when facing the bookstall where writers hide when they see "meaning" and "pure literature" has become a high-IQ word game. The method adopted is to simply declare that all my novels are "political novels", and try to weaken its literary quality in people's impression.

However, not only can several editions of my anthology be sold, but some people even pirate them, which proves that readers have not forgotten me, or that the new generation of literature lovers still have a certain interest in my works.This also shows that my "political novels" have a bit of literature in addition to politics.I think this is probably also determined by my personality and attitude towards life.I regard literary creation as participating in social activities, and I have really brought into play the matrix of language—using meaningful tools to do meaningful things—so it has more vitality than any guessing game-style works that play with language to escape reality.And the biggest influence of politics on people is nothing more than spirit and flesh, life and death.In this way, when I wrote about politics, I actually touched the root of literature, the ultimate value that people care most about.

Precisely because I always put attention and participation in the real society above pure literary creation, even though I huddled in a small corner of the northwest, I think I have a certain sensitivity and a certain sense of advancement.In mainland China, I was the first to write about "sex" (-1985), the first to write about urban reform ("Men's Style" - 1983), and the first to write about middle school students' puppy love ("Good Morning Friend" - 1986), the first to write about intellectuals' sense of decline (-1989, to put it bluntly, Pingwa's was five years later than me, of course his writing style is similar to I am different), the first to reveal the physical and psychological damage to the entire nation, especially intellectuals, of the "low standard melon and vegetable generation" that has been forgotten by many people ("My Bodhi Tree" - 1994)... ...You can say that I don't write well, but after all, I am the first to open up the atmosphere, whether it is a merit or a crime, I think only later generations are qualified to comment.

Aristotle said that "man is a political creature", and Marx said that "the essence of man is the sum of all social relations".Especially in Chinese society, it is almost impossible to express the true nature of human beings without politics.Politics even permeates the whole process of watching lovemaking in bed, and Plato's love is often expressed in political terms.Political corruption or it can be said to have improved China's inherent culture, and it has caused Chinese culture to decline or it has reached a new level.But as long as language is regarded as language, and the function of language is brought into full play, art will emerge from it. That is also today's Chinese culture, which undoubtedly embodies a certain historical stage.

Finally, please allow me to end this preface by quoting the words from Bai Shi’s letter from Harbin. I am not proud of the readers’ praise. I really feel my own value from her words. "Since I have been infatuated with language, I have touched death the most. Your discussions about death have become my classic pursuit of life. Death seems to be the door to explore life. Every time I knock on it, listen to its echo Only then can you truly feel the existence of life and the danger of life... You said that your "all life value and purpose of life is to prevent the resurrection of the ultra-left line in China", and you wrote "political readings" based on your personal experience and feelings , Is that so?... I have read some reports similar to your experience. From the perspective of philosophy and political economy alone, the historical proof is enough to make us grind our teeth and prevent the recurrence of the ultra-left line. This mission is basically Complete. What I have learned from your works is more literary quality. Language is the pearl of your wisdom, the sun and rain of your thoughts, your language penetrates the years, and the broken walls of the years have collapsed. Your The language is sharp and sensitive, and touches every nerve of the reader. From your language, I see the whole process of your soul torment, all the pain of death and life, and see you ignore all the threats from the whole content of life and death, Letting people hold your language is like holding your internal organs. It makes people feel bitter and painful but does not make people slack, lethargic, and hopeless.

1994.12.11.