Chapter 21 1977 "Class Teacher"

Genre: Short Story Author: Liu Xinwu Original publication: "People's Literature" Published: November 1977 issue When Liu Xinwu wrote "The Class Teacher" in Miyun in the summer of 1977, he may not have realized that this move would open a new era of literature—Chinese New Period Literature.Although his writings will be of equal size in the future, his artistic style will keep pace with the times, the sensational effect will continue, and time has changed. His "Class Teacher" is still remembered in history. "Head Teacher" became Liu Xinwu's "business card".

"The Head Teacher" unfolds the plot based on the process of Mr. Zhang Junshi accepting a young hooligan to join the class, exposing the poison of the "Gang of Four" to the young generation, which caused great repercussions at the time.In the novel, Song Baoqi and Xie Huimin, one is a little rascal with nothing to do, and the other is a class cadre with good conduct and roots. However, there is a profound similarity between the two. The former "falls into the abyss of ignorance because of not reading any books", while the latter is credulous and blindly obedient, with rigid thinking, and insists that it is a "porn book". In view of this shocking fact, the author is surprised Call: "Save the children who were trapped by the 'Gang of Four'!"

The process of "The Class Teacher" was quite dramatic with twists and turns. After the editorial department of "People's Literature" received this manuscript, it caused a strong shock internally.According to the memory of the person involved, Liu Xicheng: when Liu Jianqing, the deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine, read this novel, he "went down to his desk and burst into tears, unable to control his emotions". He recommended it to him as an "extremely touching" work, but he was not sure whether it could be published.Tu Guangqun, who was in charge of the fiction and prose group at the time, recalled: "After the manuscript of "Class Teacher" came to the editorial department, the editor in charge felt that it deeply exposed and criticized the 'Gang of Four', but the question was raised too sharply... the manuscript was sent to the editorial office. When I went to the person in charge of the editorial department, he also said that he was not sure, so he sent it to the editor-in-chief Zhang Guangnian and asked him to make a decision." After reviewing it, Zhang Guangnian called a meeting of the third-level editors and reviewers of the editorial department at his home. : "Don't be afraid of sharpness, but be accurate", affirmed "Class Teacher", and also put forward some opinions.Revised by the author, "The Head Teacher" was published as the headline in the 11th issue of "People's Literature" in 1977.

After the publication of "The Class Teacher", letters from readers from all over the country came like a snowflake.On the third day after the publication of the magazine, the author received a letter from a young woman in the financial and trade system, saying that "I don't know how to express my thoughts when I am excited", and that "Head Teacher" "broke through the "Gang of Four". 'The uniform style of writing and the constraints of conceptualization and formulaicity', through "artistic and realistic descriptions, ruthlessly exposed, accused and flogged the 'Gang of Four', a group of thieves who have wreaked havoc on the country and the people." For this reason, "People's Literature" in 1978 In the second issue, a special column is set up to publish letters from readers.At the same time, "Literary Review" held two symposiums for "Class Teacher", one with young workers from the Beijing No. 1 Machine Tool Factory and students from Beijing No. The practical significance and educational function of "The Head Teacher" are fully affirmed. The latter rises to the height of theory, and believes that the appearance of "The Head Teacher" marks the "restoration of the revolutionary realist literary tradition interrupted by the 'Gang of Four'." It draws a clear line from "exposure literature", "problem fiction", and "critical realism".Veteran writer Yan Wenjing excitedly rectified the name of "The Head Teacher": "If "The Head Teacher" is 'exposing literature', it is literature that exposes the 'Gang of Four'; if it is 'critical realism' literature, it is a revolution criticizing the 'Gang of Four' Realism; if it is a "problem novel", then the "Gang of Four" left a pile of problems, and "The Class Teacher" raised problems, this is just the beginning, and a large number of such "problem novels" should be born." In Under such a strong voice, "The Class Teacher" was ranked first in the first National Excellent Short Story Award in the spring of 1978, and Mao Dun, chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, personally presented the award to Liu Xinwu.

It is by no means accidental that "The Head Teacher" could have such a huge impact at that time.By the mid-1970s (that is, the late period of the "Cultural Revolution"), Chinese society had reached a new historical turning point.Due to complex historical reasons, after decades of development, China's cultural radicalism has continued to expand negatively. By the time of the "Cultural Revolution", it had been alienated into fascist cultural despotism that is anti-human, anti-human, and anti-civilization. The rational connotation ends here Lost completely, and finally went to the opposite side of oneself. In September 1976, taking Mao Zedong's death as an opportunity, the Party Central Committee smashed the "Gang of Four" in one fell swoop, and the whole country was boiling and celebrating together, which is the best sign.The will of the country, the wishes of the people, and the aspirations of the intellectuals all form a joint force at this time, and such a grand occasion can be described as once in a thousand years.However, historical progress cannot be achieved overnight, and long-term concepts and inertia of thinking cannot be changed overnight.At that time, although the "Gang of Four" had been smashed, the two "everythings" still imprisoned people's minds.At that time, the "ideological liberation" faction and the "two whatevers" faction were competing and were in a state of confrontation.In this situation, another force is urgently needed to break the deadlock.In the turbulent modern Chinese history, literature often acts as the pawn of politics, and novels bear the brunt. The appearance of "The Class Teacher" just meets this need.

From a literary point of view, "The Head Teacher" also has special significance.With the fall of the "Gang of Four", a large number of works exposing and criticizing the "Gang of Four" emerged. The irony is that these works are no different from the stereotyped gangsters who criticized the "capitalist roaders" before, regardless of their way of thinking or structural model.The situation is as described by Feng Mu: "In a period of time, we have seen enough works that help others and help others. It’s not true. For a considerable period of time, after criticizing conspiracy literature, we have to fight against what I call “transfer literature.” ( "Break the Spiritual Shackles and Embark on the Broad Road of Creation", "Literary Review" No. 5, 1978) Feng Mu's "transfer of literature and art" refers to the kind of style literature and art that changes the soup without changing the medicine, that is, it was still criticizing yesterday. The "capitalist-roaders" criticize the "Gang of Four" in the same way today, as well as the obstinate modern stereotype of "theme first".It is this kind of background that paves the way for "The Head Teacher" to stand out.

Judging from today's perspective, "The Class Teacher" is not out of the conceptual and formulaic pattern, and even unreadable, but at the time it was a ground-breaking achievement, because it broke through the rigid mechanical and stereotyped "Cultural Revolution" literary mode for the first time. Beginning to face the real life, he interpreted the long-interrupted modern enlightenment theme dimly, and affirmed the value of knowledge and rationality.In fact, this is Liu Xinwu's determination to bid farewell to the "Cultural Revolution" literary model of "fake stories and fake stories". The first novel written by "Dongzhenger" has special significance for his literary career, as he confessed : ""Teacher in Class" is the initial emancipation of my mind after I abandoned the "gang of four", "theme first" and "starting from the route" set of "help rules" and "help methods". Starting from the event, after repeated and in-depth analysis of the creative materials, it can even be said to be arduous analysis, pondering, and tailoring, and finally formed a more mature concept. After several revisions, it was finally finalized." This passage shows Liu Xinwu's difficult process of breaking away from the "Cultural Revolution" writing mode, which is very intriguing.Freezing three feet does not happen overnight. It is not easy to get rid of a long-standing writing habit. Even from Liu Xinwu's words, you can still smell the flavor of "theme first".In fact, from a broad perspective, the writing of "The Class Teacher" did not jump out of the palm of "theme first".However, the ice has been broken and the waterway has been opened. Although it is only a superficial level, "The Class Teacher" begins to face real life, and touches on serious issues-the mental trauma of the next generation of revolution.Only in this way can it surpass those flooded "transfer literature" and become the pioneering work of "new era literature".

However, after all, Liu Xinwu is not a forerunner or a transcender of the times, but a hard-working and productive writer who keeps pace with the times, gets ahead of the trend.Compared with the ideological depth achieved by the "underground literature" of the same period, "The Head Teacher" has to be quite superficial and ambiguous.This is reflected in the fact that although the author denounces the "Gang of Four", he does not deny the "Cultural Revolution" and adopts an evasive attitude. However, the tone of approval of the "Four Cleans" movement that was the prologue of the "Cultural Revolution" in the article shows the limit of Liu Xinwu's understanding.Of course, there are considerations in writing strategy: at that time, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China had just announced the end of the "Cultural Revolution", but had not yet given a definitive definition of it - that was a year later, after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party.In this situation, Liu Xinwu avoided out of self-protection, and it is understandable to adopt avoidance strategies.However, compared with the factors of self-protection, the limitation of understanding should be said to be more internal.Ironically, it was this limitation in understanding that made "The Head Teacher" fit the political needs of the time just right, and became an instant hit in the Chinese literary world, becoming the opening work of "literature in the new era".

In 1977, the Chinese literary world was still in the great historical inertia of "Cultural Revolution" literature, all of which were clearly reflected in "The Class Teacher". Although "The Head Teacher" broke through the shackles of the "Cultural Revolution" model in terms of theme and meaning, it is still the same in terms of art form.For example, the image of Mr. Zhang is basically a replica of "tall, big, and complete". Although the author wrote that his appearance is "really ordinary", "medium-sized, and a little fat", he is an omniscient and omnipotent person who holds the truth. In the works In the not-too-short length, the author did not leave any private living space for this 36-year-old man.For another example, the narrative of "The Head Teacher" basically follows the framework of the literary struggle of the "Cultural Revolution". Teacher Zhang Junshi accepts the transfer of the gangster Song Baoqi, arranges troops, and strategizes, as if he is commanding a battle. Victory is at hand.This kind of narrative routine of confrontation between the enemy and ourselves, and our side must win, to a certain extent, dispelled the pain of "rescuing the children who were trapped by the 'Gang of Four'" and the profundity of the problem.

With the passage of time, "The Class Teacher" has almost faded away, except for the character of Xie Huimin.It can be said that this is one of the "typical characters" with the most profound connotations in the history of contemporary Chinese literature.Liu Zaifu spoke highly of this artistic image: "As the first model of literature in the new era, Xie Huimin's character was distorted and deformed under the weight of 'Left' dogmatism, and the vitality of her soul was suffocated. This kind of distortion and suffocation develops to the extent that she does not feel pain and depression, which is the second level of sorrow; however, when she reverses and suppresses and kills another living soul within her own power, this is the Entering a deeper level of sorrow. When Liu Xinwu accidentally wrote a deep soul, it awakened and shocked a whole generation of people who have more or less Xie Huimin's subconscious, causing them deep resonance, excitement, and introspection." ("He Pushes Love to Every Green Leaf", "Reading", No. 9, 1985) Xu Zidong believes that: "The Class Teacher"'s description of Song Baoqi and Shi Hong did not break out of the "Seventeen Years of Literature" model, except for Xie Huimin For the first time, the description of "Scar Literature" draws the boundary between "Scar Literature" and "Seventeen Years Literature". In the early "Scar Literature", no image can reach the artistic depth of Xie Huimin's character.He analyzed the essence of "Xie Huimin's character" in this way: "Is it just 'rigid thinking', 'unconsciously poisoned by the Gang of Four'? In order to protect farmers' crops, students are not allowed to take away a bunch of wheat; vigilance against pornographic books Sexuality is so high that it is "wrongly classified" into it; it is hard and simple to the point where it is too hot to wear a skirt... All these Xie Huimin-style behaviors, if placed in the context of "Long Live Youth" in the 1950s or appeared in the 1960s When middle school students copied "Lei Feng's Diary" together in the 1990s, what kind of evaluation would they get? ——Although Liu Xinwu did not pay enough attention to the seriousness and challenge of this problem at the time, the flesh and blood of the image itself and the sense of proportion in the details In fact, it has set up a mirror of reflection for countless young people in the 1950s and 1960s who passionately pursued political progress, and revealed a certain side of their growth path: Xie Huimin's mistake was because he misheard the words of the "Gang of Four" , or is it wrong to just listen to what other people say and not to think? Xie Huimin’s tragedy is that he is not down-to-earth in his work, is not resolute in his work, is not determined to be simple, or lacks an independent sense of life, and "turns over" his own thoughts and even his revolutionary rights. And then follow other people's arrangements?" ("Liu Xinwu Lun", "Research on Literary Theory", No. 4, 1987)

The birth of Xie Huimin as a "typical image" is quite intriguing and dramatic.Liu Xinwu wrote "The Head Teacher" with the main purpose of portraying and praising Mr. Zhang, a hero who "grasps the key points and governs the country". Song Baoqi and Xie Huimin are two different types of victims.According to Liu Xinwu's own introduction: Song Baoqi's character resonated with readers, which he predicted in advance, and Xie Huimin had a greater resonance among readers, which was beyond his expectations. To a certain extent, it is Xie Huimin, which I underestimated in advance. In fact, the number of readers who admit that they are Xie Huimin in letters is several times more than those who admit that they are Song Baoqi!" ("Life Says to Creators: Take This Road", pp. "Literary Review" No. 5, 1978) This shows that Liu Xinwu lacks sufficient understanding of the character of Xie Huimin, and hastily wrote it into the work without realizing its value. According to Liu Xinwu's self-report: At a symposium to expose and criticize the "Gang of Four" held at the end of 1976, he said in a speech that the cultural despotism and obscurity policies of the "Gang of Four" caused two kinds of mental deformities among middle school students, one is hooligans If the problem is exposed to the outside world, it is easier to attract people's attention. The other is that in front of the small cadres, it is considered a standard good student, which is not easy to find out, and it is not easy to be taken seriously. If the latter does not change, it will develop viciously. more destructive than the former.These contents constitute the basic material of "The Head Teacher". The characters of Song Baoqi and Xie Huimin in the novel are formed on this basis; The majority of readers have a deep understanding. Although there are certain risks in writing such an image into the work, most readers may still be able to accept it; and there are still many Xie Huimin in life, how many readers can admit this? ?Will Xie Huimin, who was born in a working people's family, be described as a state of "internal injury" caused by the "Gang of Four"? Will he be labeled as "slandering" and "uglifying"? Expose literature'?" For this reason, Liu Xinwu read Chairman Mao's "Speech at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art" twice, verified repeatedly, and confirmed that what he exposed was the bad influence left by the "Gang of Four" among the people, so he could rest assured. write it down. ("Advancing on the Right Path", Guangming Daily, October 3, 1978) It is a superficial view to regard a mentally deformed child like Xie Huimin only as a product of the poison of the "Gang of Four", reflecting the limitations of Liu Xinwu's cognition.Nevertheless, as a literary image, Xie Huimin contains profound connotations, and only in this way, its meaning is continuously elucidated in the process of reading.Liu Zaifu said a frightening sentence: "I began to realize that I have accumulated a kind of Xie Huimin's inert blood." In this sense, the image of Xie Huimin was not created by Liu Xinwu alone. We can even say: "This model was selected by tens of thousands of readers who were shocked, and was jointly created by critics at the time." (Zeng Zhennan's "On Liu Xinwu", "Social Science Front", No. 3, 1986) Liu Xinwu's literary creation is not known for its profound thoughts, but its dexterity and intelligence.Liu Xinwu wrote a wonderful article to reveal this kind of cleverness. In it, he wrote: "I have been thinking about writing "The Class Teacher" for a long time, and in a sense, I have been going around for a long time. However, at that time it was generally recognized that the 'Gang of Four' had created deformities like Song Baoqi, and if one was eager to write, it would inevitably be similar to other people's works. So I was not reconciled, and continued to wander in my mind , That is to think deeply, so that the image of Xie Huimin gradually became prominent. After capturing this image, I wrote the novel. As a result, when readers read the novel, they thought that the image of the secretary of the Youth League branch appeared. I have seen the following images of helping the little hooligans before, but I didn’t expect that the novel would bypass the familiar images and conjectures and show an artistic conception that he had never imagined: Xie Huimin, in a sense, is more exciting. A deformed child of human anxiety!" ("Trouble", "Huaxi" No. 1, 1982) This shows that Liu Xinwu wrote the image of Xie Huimin not so much out of deep thoughts and strong artistic feelings, but out of The need for artistic innovation, which brought unexpected gains to Liu Xinwu, also inevitably left regrets.The reason is simple: if the writer's subjective consciousness has not been fully awakened, and his learning skills are insufficient, the technical efforts of "circling" alone will have limited effect after all.No wonder Liu Zaifu, while affirming Liu Xinwu's "common pulse with the times", expressed regret for his "inadvertent" creation, thinking that this inadvertent creation prevented Liu Xinwu from digging deeper in the abyss of Xie Huimin's soul. will be more successful. In Xie Huimin's ignorance, narrow and extreme class struggle concepts are gathered, and the author turns a blind eye to this.Teacher Zhang (actually Liu Xinwu herself) was distressed by Xie's ignorance, but unconditionally affirmed her class consciousness and philosophy of struggle.From this point of view, there is no essential difference between Zhang Junshi and Xie Huimin, the only difference is: one is pure ignorance, and the other is ignorance that thinks it knows, both are worthy of rescue.As a result, Mr. Zhang's "Save the Children" had to appear extraordinarily forced, lacking the deep and wide appeal of worry and indignation.In fact, in that absurd era, far more than Song Baoqi and Xie Huimin were hurt, the author himself should be one of them.Just a year ago, Liu Xinwu was still writing "class struggle" novels like "Open Your Eyes Wide".Among them, Fang Qi, the little hero, is undoubtedly the later Xie Huimin.Coincidentally, there is also a detail of a similar incident: Fang Qi accidentally got Zheng Keyi's forgotten notebook, flipped through it casually, and frowned like a scout discovering an important enemy emplacement, and said excitedly to everyone,' This is a black novel copied by hand!'" It was confiscated on the spot.This is very similar to Xie Huimin's conclusion that it is a "porn book" without reading it.The difference is that the former is a proletarian little hero unconditionally affirmed, while the latter is the object of salvation.Liu Xinwu hastily caught up with the new trend of the times without completing his self-clearing and ignoring his own limitations, leaving flaws unavoidable.Even so, the value and influence of "The Head Teacher" in the history of contemporary Chinese literature is undeniable. (written by Li Zhaozhong) Liu Xinwu: "Open Your Eyes Wide", Beijing People's Publishing House, 1976 Edition Liu Xinwu: "Life Speaks to the Creator: Take This Way", "Literary Review", No. 5, 1978 Liu Xinwu: "Advance on the Right Path", Guangming Daily, October 3, 1978 Lu Xinhua: "Wen Wei Po", August 11, 1978 Hiroshi Seto: "Trying on Liu Xinwu——To the <Class Teacher>", "Zhong Shan" No. 3, 1982 He Guimei: "The Birth of a New Discourse——Rereading "The Head Teacher"", "Contentment on Literature and Art", Issue 1, 1994