Chapter 16 Not tired of finely beating residual posts

There is a strange term that will definitely be handed down in the history of Taiwanese TV, which refers to a type of drama: "Drama in the Early Republic of China".In the field of film, many researchers and film critics who have studied in Europe and the United States may not readily agree that among the various "genres" of Chinese films, there is still such a category as "films of the early Republic of China", because film studies Compared with the discursive tradition of criticism, it dances less with the words and phrases of the mass media (such as newspapers and film arts).Therefore, Bruce Lee's "Fist of Fury", Tan Daoliang's "Chaozhou Angry Man" and Chen Guantai's "Ma Yongzhen" will be classified as "action movies", while "Changbai Mountain", "Ancient Road Setting Sun", "Old Things in the Abandoned Garden" and even "Tiaoji" and "Yedian" are conventionally classified into the forest of "early Republic of China dramas".Unless the reporters reporting TV news are not afraid of resignation, they are willing to add the word "action" under the word "early Republic of China" to make it a category of "action drama in the early Republic of China". the difference.This distinction seems to be necessary—at least, when a producer proposes a drama proposal to a TV station, the unlearned program manager, no matter how retarded or mentally retarded, can tell at a glance that there is " Those with the words "early Republic of China" are bound to be cheaper than any ancient costumes from any generation.Of course, it saves money: the actors don't have to wear headgear, shave their hair, put on armor and boots, and there's no need to build pavilions, palaces, or antique furniture in the background.Therefore, the word "early Republic of China" has its own reason for existence in TV economics.If we slightly extend the term TV economics to include the scope of TV script writing and filming methods, we can see the effectiveness of the word "early Republic of China": it allows screenwriters and directors to play their role as imbecile and mentally retarded. There is no need to do too much labor-intensive textual research to pay attention to the accuracy of language, scenery, furnishings, props... In other words: the word "early Republic of China" is an ambiguous area, which provides TV and drama workers with a space to gallop boldly. You can do whatever you want in this space, and that space is like the "West" created by Hollywood alone, a wilderness full of possibilities.Whether it is lazy, stupid or bold and presumptuous, the director can escape into this area, displaying chivalry or tenderness.Here, even moral conflicts have to be simplified and narrowed down to the simplest and superficial level: Chinese/Japanese, revolutionary army/warlord, policeman/bandit, detective team/smuggler, righteous hero/villain, good gang/ Bad gangs... It is precisely because of this simplification and narrowing that the word "Minchu" avoids the most complicated political struggles in the history of the Republic of China, factional seizure of power, ideology, and even the details of the subject of the revolution in production tools and economic scale, and is also abandoned. The details of Chinese life in the first thirty to forty years of the 20th century.Just like the ambiguous meaning of the two words themselves: in the early years of the Republic of China, it can also be traced back to the end of the late Qing Dynasty, and down to after World War II. As for where it happened, what happened, and who it happened to , can only be summed up in one word from the perspective of an isolated island: a distant continent.Because of its remoteness, it is impossible to see its details.

In far away China, only the details of the emperor's life are worthy of writing, and they are worthy of being recorded. "Book of Rites Yuzao Thirteenth" says: "(The Son of Heaven) lives in a mysterious place. His movements are written on the left, and his words are written on the right." Ordinary people, civil and military ministers, and nobles and rich families are not exposed through words. , The necessity and value of disseminating the details of their lives.The writings that record the details of the emperor's life are called "Liuju Zhu", which seems to mean that even the records themselves are only a second existence after the real life of the emperor.In other words: In the concept of the ancient Chinese, except for the Son of Heaven, who has the supreme authority and status in the world, the details of anyone's life do not need to be written down.Fortunately, the development of facts has not been as expected by the scriptures: the systems of biography, annals, legends, notes, novels and other systems of the past dynasties—whether it is official history or barnyard officials, have all been established from the ground of the emperor’s feet. Repeatedly expanding outwards, the disclosure of details of life is not only reserved for those who eat a lot of bells and whistles, and the more popular the novel is, the more detailed the description of life details becomes.

Take the common incident of overturning the bowls and chopsticks after eating, which is an unavoidable detail of life for ordinary people, but once it enters writing, it becomes a unique allusion.Take a look at the 21st Chapter "Cao Cao Cooking Wine and Talking about Heroes/Guan Gong Earning the City and Cutting the Chariots". Although the description of the banquet is only a few words, it can be regarded as enough: "Xuande's mind is determined, and when he comes In the small pavilion, there are bottles and cups—green plums on the plate, and a bottle of cooking wine. The two sit opposite each other and drink happily.” Until Cao Cao said: “Today, the heroes of the world are only the king and the ears.” Such a terrifying temptation The words made Liu Bei "surprised, and the spoon and chopsticks he held in his hand fell to the ground unconsciously."Fortunately, the rain was approaching, and there was loud thunder. Liu Bei said that he was afraid of thunder ("Sages will change quickly and violently, and they will not be afraid of safety"). .This pair of spoons and chopsticks fell naturally with weight.

In the twenty-fourth chapter of "Wang Po's Corruption and Bribery Talking about Style/Brother Yun is not angry at the tea shop", the description of eating details is much more detailed: "Wang Po bought some fat goose cooked When the meat and delicate fruits came back, I filled the plates; packed all the fruits and vegetables, and moved them to the table in the room." After drinking for three rounds, Ximenqing deliberately "flicked his sleeves on the table and put them on the table to tease Pan Jinlian." The pair of chopsticks fell to the ground. It was also a coincidence: the pair of chopsticks were falling at the woman's feet. Ximen Qing quickly squatted down to pick them up, only to see the woman's sharp little feet sticking to the edge of the chopsticks. Ximen Qing Not picking up the chopsticks, I went to pinch the woman's embroidered shoes. The woman laughed and said, "Officer, don't worry! Are you really going to hook me up?" In comparison, Ximen Qing Brushing away a pair of chopsticks, only made a lot of money, but Liu Xuande lost his life when he heard that he lost his chopsticks, which is enough to see: the book was written earlier, attached to the official history, and focused on the grand narrative. As for the small pen and ink involved in the details of life, whenever the author lays down trivial matters very accidentally, there must be his theory of "heroes in the world" and "sages will change with thunder and wind" back and forth.

As for the thirty-fifth chapter "Bai Yuchuan's Personal Taste of Lotus Leaf Soup/Golden Oriole and Plum Blossoms", the details of the diet are different from those of Zhuyou. Let's just look at the four soup molds: The detailed description of this soup model is actually for the sake of explaining that Baoyu thinks the soup is tasteless, and insists on Bai Yuchuan Fangze tasting it for himself and the two wives of the Fu family's comments on Baoyu.In the section on tasting soup, it is necessary to write this: Along the way, the "meaning" of overturning a pair of bowls and chopsticks is not what it used to be.In Ximenqing's case, it was a turning point of adultery and serial killings. In Jia Baoyu's case, the display of such details of life has lost the function of promoting the plot, and it is only "the display of details of life".If you ask: What is the meaning and value of "never tire of food, never tire of fine meat"?The preliminary answer is that the description of the details of life can finally be so detailed.

What I want to cite here is a short example that is purely personal experience.Nearly a quarter of a century ago, I was still in junior high school.An early Republic of China drama "On Changbai Mountain" was broadcast on TV.What this drama depicts is exactly the blurred area in modern Chinese history mentioned above. Next, unite as one to resist foreign aggression - as the theme song shows: "Tibetan Tigers to the East of Changbai Mountain (Note: Refers to Japan)/Wolfs to the North of Changbai Mountain (Note: Refers to the Soviet Union)/Windblossom The galloping horses/the guns are loaded with one heart/sweeping evildoers/rebuilding the country.”

However, what I remember most (or even only remember) is the first scene, the first scene of the first day of the entire series: a woman dressed as a bride sits at a candle-lit table, letting a The mother-in-law took two lengths of thin silk thread and cut it back and forth on her cheeks.At this moment, my mother cried out: "Oh! There are still people who are open-faced!" I learned later that the so-called "There are still..." means that there are no more in daily life; and the so-called open-faced, It is a make-up step that has rarely been seen in reality: using silk thread as a scissor, sticking to the face and removing hair, it can make the skin look fair, and the makeup powder is less likely to fall off.

Next, we learned from the plot that this new daughter-in-law is about to marry a husband who is ten years younger than her.Of course, it was only after many years that I gradually understood: the real reason for the sad stories between the older daughter-in-law and the younger husband, and the real reason why this custom has been passed down for generations regardless of its tragedy-it must be quickly This is because of the ethical structure of reciprocity and symbiosis between the rural economy that obtains unpaid labor and the extended family system. For me: Ao Tianlong, the leading actor in "On Changbai Mountain", is too tender and weak, the five barbarians can only drink and brag, the new wife sheds too much tears, and the Japanese speak Chinese too well ; All in all, after many years, there is only one scene that made me open my eyes: open my face.It is the details of life in a distant China, and it is not vague at all, because this scene is indeed "delicate".

Only in the eyes of historians or sociologists, novels are "the daily life of the masses", and such a view is not unreasonable-after all, the novelists use the actions, emotions, utensils, clothing and even the voice, language and appearance to lay out the plot. , are almost all related to the details of the life that the writer knows or imagines, so it is inevitable that the novel should be regarded as a "blueprint for understanding the content of people's lives in a certain time and space".However, some novelists' vision and ingenuity escape common sense: such novelists do not think that daily life is a kind of existence that is inferior to the reality of life, nor are they satisfied with "works should faithfully describe the details of life", Their request is: to witness the meaning and value of the novel itself in the seemingly meaningless and worthless details of life, because only novels can do this——

For Luo Guanzhong, Liu Xuande's shocking loss of spoons and chopsticks was a discovery: Luo Guanzhong discovered that the mistakes that this ordinary person saw in his life could be combined with cleverness and self-defeating, which exposed Cao Cao's wild speculation and Liu Bei's wit.In Shi Naian's case, Ximen Qing's sleeve flicking and chopsticks falling was a design. Shi Naian designed not only this action, but also gave Ximen Qing the role of "very bright" Wang Po: Wang Po had predicted Pan Jin Lian may have reacted to Ximen Qing's flirting, and said this: "First you pretend to flick your sleeves off a pair of chopsticks on the table, and you just go to the ground to pick up the chopsticks, and pinch your hands on his feet. If he is about to make a fuss, I will come to the rescue, and the matter will be over, and it will never happen again. If he is silent, it is very light. At this time, everything is done!" This paragraph " The "very light" instigation "can also talk about style, and can also be Ma Boliu (note: that is, pimping)" Wang Po became the protagonist of this chapter, and also made ordinary life details (sleeves and chopsticks fall) in the history of novels. Become a unique style of entertainment sophistication.

Only when it comes to Cao Xueqin, knocking down the soup bowl has nothing to do with the intrigue of political figures, nor has it to do with the love of men and women. Each is listening and talking intently), an invention beyond Luo Guanzhong's discovery and Shi Naian's design - it is revealed through the gossip of "the two wives of the Fu family" afterwards: For Cao Xueqin, the seemingly meaningless and worthless details of life (overturning a soup bowl, not feeling hot) began to have an omnipotent connection with the characters in the novel (personality, character, temperament or psychological state). potential dynamics throughout.Perhaps, it is not surprising in today's environment of novel writing; ~1941), it has long been no hindrance to the use of various modern techniques or modernist techniques to create novels with "internal and external interweaving and blending of scenes".However, Cao Xueqin was born at the beginning of the 18th century and died in the middle of the 18th century. He lived in a closed China that never paid attention to the tradition of novels, and had nothing to rely on except seeking inventions from seemingly meaningless and worthless details of life.Alas!I can only borrow Lu Xun's verse and praise it like this: Listen to the thunder in the silent place. The so-called "never tire of fineness" has multiple meanings: not stingy with attention to detail, not afraid of tediousness, not afraid to study others from the smallest details, what everyone and even everyone thinks is meaningless, and what is considered worthless.In the eyes of the two wives of the Fu family, Jia Baoyu was "stupid" and "ridiculous", because he "often cried and laughed to himself when no one was in front of him; when he saw swallows, he talked to swallows; Talking to the fish; seeing the stars and the moon, he either sighed or murmured. He has no rigidity at all.” More because of him: “When you love things, even a thread is good; , even if it’s worth thousands of dollars, don’t care about it.” If these two paragraphs of mother-in-law’s comments are quoted, readers of later generations will not be difficult to find: this is exactly what Cao Xueqin said to those who don’t understand, don’t sympathize, and even hold deep jealousy. Strong mockery - they are the "fine" enemies. What is even more interesting is that when modern and contemporary literary history researchers or critics mentioned the model set by Cao Xueqin and its inheritance, they pointed to Zhang Ailing and Bai Xianyong, but never mentioned a novelist I will write about later. .It seems that "declining aristocrats", "sentimental nostalgia" or "a love song in the world that is mutually dependent on the great era" or even "a realistic effort on the boudoir" constitute the karma of the past three centuries.I don't intend to overthrow such a statement; however, in terms of "not tire of the details of life", I would like to emphasize the name Zhu Xining more. In the article "What Time Is It Now", I listed Zhu Xining's many "New Novels" (The New Novel) after he was 40 years old (1965), and identified this novelist as a pioneer in the history of modern Chinese fiction. Status—Based on his endless interest in studying language and narrative, Zhu Xining had quietly completed his own "literary revolution" and a set of "language experiments in novels" as early as the mid-1960s to the early 1970s .I also explained in the same article: the reason why these many long and short novels leading the trend of Taiwanese novels were quickly forgotten by the literary society after the 1980s is that Zhu Xining has long been labeled as a "military writer" and so on. Labels, the avant-garde experimental works in the mid-1970s cannot be seen in the realism spell and politically correct premise that dominated Taiwan's literary discourse after the mid-1970s. It is worth discussing Zhu Xining again here to explain some of his works before the age of forty.In the two collections of "Wolf" (1963) and "Iron Pulp" (1963), we can find that Zhu Xining abandoned the plot in the future and devoted himself to the novels of "nothing" (Zhu Xining's language, that is, not paying attention to events). Writing history.The fundamental meaning of this origin is: to describe in detail the details of life that others, the public, and even all people think are meaningless and worthless.It can have no ending, no solution, and even unseen ups and downs, just like a daily note of common people's life.In the eyes of ordinary people, this kind of daily life seems to be as ordinary and trivial as the "threads" in the mouth of Fu's mother-in-law, but to those who know it, it is as in the eyes of Baoyu: "It's all good." "On the Mule Cart" (1957) included in "Wolf" and "Beating Tie" (1958) included in "Iron Pulp". The narrators of these two stories are both children, so they have the ability to concentrate on The ability to observe what the senses can reach, which is similar to what zoologists refer to as the "perpetual present" (referring to the state of ordinary animals without continuous perception of time) allows greater freedom in the narrative of the novel. The reader (the child) thus distracts the reader's desire to read for a single well-rounded event.In this way, each element in the text does not have obvious importance, and the reader's game is not to seek an eventual ending (such as: revenge, marriage, death, rescue of the princess or defeat of aliens), but to combine the children's senses Reassemble the scattered jigsaw puzzles and discover the real reason for this "thread-like" life details. The two nephews and uncles in "On the Mule Cart" are driving a mule cart, and they meet the greedy and stingy Ma Juehou. A few acres of land were sold to another profiteer who used the Japanese devils to bully his compatriots.At this moment, Ma Juehou didn't know that the bag on his back was burned by the unextinguished tobacco. The old uncle pretended to save Ma Juehou from a disaster as a condition, and forced Ma Juehou to verbally promise not to force Che's family to sell the land. In the end, the host and guest three People jumped out of the mule cart to put out the small fire on Ma Jue's back. The "trick" of another "Chui Tie" is even simpler: the two little brothers sneaked to the grave of Shi Dashan in Shijia Songlin to make copybooks on the Ching Ming Festival when the whole family went to the grave, and met a manure picker who was blind in one eye The old man Tang Xiazi, the reader (rather than the character) pieced together another version of history during the conversation - it turned out that Shi Dashan had borrowed money from the relief bag during the Guangxu period and forced his own girl to be a concubine. The good man fled into Buddhism but still went mad and hanged himself.The twenty characters carved out by illiterate children are only a part of the entire inscription: "Helping the poor and helping neighbors / Intestine benevolence and righteousness / You Xiangdang Yang / Bo compassion Buddha / Painful loss during the holiday" - just like Tang Xiazi and the little brother As far as the two can understand, the life of Shi Dashan is incomplete and full of absurdity. Writing the "general idea" of a novel can definitely be said to be "fragmented and full of absurdity"——Zhu Xining's novels should not be so delayed; The reason why his novels are so unbearable after being "capable" or "generalized" is that the aesthetics of his works can be seen from the details of life in daily life; Described in the fragment.It's as if and may be broken down into excerpts, each acting out an independent story based on a self-contained plot, but it is difficult to do so. Cao Xueqin already has the pre-consciousness of not being restrained by events and not being dominated by plots.In his "Life Notes", whether it is the rise and fall of the Rong and Ning kingdoms, the greed, hatred and ignorance in the Grand View Garden, and even the poems and quarrels at a certain banquet, the relationship between various elements Interlocking with each other's indispensable structural relationship, this model has a great influence in Zhu Xining's "Daily Life Notes"-it makes the distant China and the early Republic of China in Zhu Xining's works not blurred at all. And it is the opposite of TV dramas in the early Republic of China that simplified and narrowed all conflicts: there is obviously the ultimate opposition between good and evil (old uncle/Ma Juehou, tenant farmer/ghost braid profiteer, and girl/Shi Dashan), Zhu Xining However, it can cleverly use the ignorance of the characters and the omniscience of the readers to enrich and enrich the opposites-sometimes readers who fully understand the truth (that is, who is good and evil in detective novels, what is right and what is wrong) can instead use ignorance. To understand: between good and evil, between right and wrong, there are so many complicated, meticulous, details of life that are not regarded as meaningful or valuable, without ending or resolution.This kind of description of life details makes readers have no time to go to revenge, marriage, death, rescue the princess or defeat the aliens, but have to linger-the novel becomes an education for thinking. At least, isn't the early Republic of China created from those "early Republican dramas" already as unbearable as the inscriptions hammered down on the tombstone of Shi Dashan?