Chapter 55 1994 "Golden Age"

Genre: Novella Author: Wang Xiaobo First publication: Huaxia Publishing House Published: September 1994 (Written by Yang Zao) When domestic readers had the opportunity to read Wang Xiaobo's novel, it had already won the Novella Award at the 13th "United Daily News" Literary Award in Taiwan, and it had been published in separate volumes in Hong Kong and Taiwan.As far as the domestic literary world is concerned, he is an intruder, and is called "a master outside the literary world" by a certain critic. Even after the publication, Wang Xiaobo still did not attract enough attention as a novelist.His works were rarely applauded, and his submissions were repeatedly rejected.The master of East Asian studies at the University of Pittsburgh, former lecturer at the Institute of Sociology of Peking University and the Accounting Department of Renmin University of China, was more regarded as a writer of essays in his later years, and his essays appeared in "Sanlian Life Weekly", "Southern Weekend" and so on. Important newspapers and periodicals, but professional literary journals still turn a blind eye to him, and only the avant-garde "Flower City" publishes one of his novels every year. Perhaps because of this, Wang Xiaobo handed over his "Time Trilogy" to Huacheng Publishing House.

Wang Xiaobo died on April 11, 1997 because he did not see the official publication of his collection of essays and short stories.Death seemed to wake up something. Wang Xiaobo suddenly won an honor he had never enjoyed before. Various newspapers and periodicals published commemorative and research articles one after another. "...The death of Wang Xiaobo became an important cultural event in 1997 and even at the turn of the century. Wang Xiaobo is not really an alien. In his early works (many of these works were published but never attracted attention, in fact, in the literary situation at that time, these articles were quite considerable), he still maintains a pure beauty. imagination and tone.But he seems to be born with a dispelling consciousness that always makes troubles, making him unwilling to simply sensationalize.A listener "I" is set up to repeatedly interrupt, question, and mock Lao Chen's narration. On the contrary, it filters out the absurdity of the story itself very well. What really highlights is Yaoyao's resistance to ordinary life and resolute.It describes the utopian friendship and happiness of youth, but the triangular setting between Xing Hong, Da Xu and "I" is obviously impossible to maintain forever.Letting Xing Hong fall into the cliché of death is really the author's last resort, and it can also be regarded as the author's compromise on the "reality" of the novel.This immaturity disappears.The irony of the Shiquan Da tonic legend is obvious, and this novel has a Lu Xun flavor. "If This Is True" has begun to spread the wings of imagination, but in the end it boils down to Nankeyimeng.

The time dimensions of Wang Xiaobo's "Times Trilogy" point to "history", "reality" and "future" respectively, "telling absurd stories in the living conditions of human beings with a comic spirit and a humorous tone. The three novels calmly span various ages , showing the past, present and future fate of Chinese intellectuals" (the preface of "The Times Trilogy"), they are not mirror images of reality, but full of unbridled imagination and carnival colors. "The Bronze Age" is recognized as the grandest and most complicated narrative work, but it is still the most mature novel.

This is a sex story between Wang Er, an educated youth who jumped into the queue in Yunnan, and Chen Qingyang, a doctor in the team.Unbearable to be oppressed by the production team leader and army representatives, Wang Er fled into the mountains together with Chen Qingyang, and lived a life without restraint and depression.After returning, they were "filed" by the commune, requiring them to confess their crimes, and they were arrested on "struggle missions." On the surface, except for the weird narrative style, this famous work that took Wang Xiaobo ten years to become famous is not qualitatively different from the "educated youth literature" of the past.In essence, it subverts the entire narrative of educated youth and even the experience of erotic writing and discipline in the narrative of the Cultural Revolution.However, many reviewers did not realize this at first, and what dazzled them was the abundant and ubiquitous "sex" in the novel.

When Chen Qingyang and I were making love, a lizard crawled in through the gap in the wall, and walked back and forth across the ground in the middle of the room.Suddenly it was startled, and it flew out quickly, disappearing into the sunlight at the door.At this time, Chen Qingyang's groans were like a flood, spreading in the room.I was startled by this, and I bent down and didn't move.But she said, come on, bastard.Also twist my legs.After I was "fast", the tremors seemed to come from the center of the earth.She later said that she felt that she had sinned deeply and that sooner or later she would suffer retribution.

At night, Chen Qingyang and I made love in the hut.At that time I was full of professionalism in the matter, pouring great enthusiasm into every kiss and caress.Whether it is the classic missionary style, backward style, sideways style, female top style, I can do it meticulously.Chen Qingyang was extremely satisfied with this.I am also extremely satisfied. These passages, if viewed independently, really make people "unaccustomed", not only the detailed and numerous descriptions of sex, but also the author's calm and alienated style of writing is also very different from those who regard "sex" as a forbidden area and deliberately avoid or dabble in it. rejection or obsession.

Wu Xiaoru, an older scholar, was the first to openly criticize the description. He claimed to be "catching up with the new trend" and read it, but found that "there is almost no pure love between men and women in the book, and some are just love between men and women under various backgrounds and conditions." Detailed description", "To put it nicely, this is an 'enlightenment' for young people in sexual relations, and a 'green light' for people to mess around with men and women; to put it bluntly, such 'genius' works (including other "Literary" readings that describe sex as the content) are actually playing the role of "instigating"." ("Opening the Book is Beneficial" and "Unfounded Worry", "Literature Free Talk", No. 5, 1997) Another comment directly stated that "It is only similar to the case files of certain sexual crime criminals kept by the court (in such files, almost all investigators are interested in the specific details of sexual crimes without exception)...Wang Xiaobo's sexual concept is quite old-fashioned, Almost all are contemporary Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng" (Zhao Zhenpeng, "Wang Xiaobo, what kind of bird are you?", "Beijing Literature", January 1999 issue)

Wang Xiaobo's defenders generally understand the sex in the novel on the level of "human nature", and feel that it is "full of humanistic content": "The description of the relationship between the sexes in the novel takes place in an era when human nature is distorted. Wang Xiaobo uses human The most primitive way of life, to express his calling for humanity... The description of sex entrusts the author's ideal." (Lengcao "Wang Xiaobo and the "Golden Age"", "Art Wide Angle" No. 3, 2000) They will be connected The humanitarian trend of thought since the new era actually reads "transcendence and ascension":

Wang Er took the field of sex as the final battleground, and performed scenes of thrilling sex stories that were not without indulgence but also pure beauty with several women in different ages and situations. Explain every detail of the problem truthfully and in detail, tell the unstoppable and amazing romantic beauty of love with body language, talk about the shocking passion and power of the rebellious spirit, and carry out the most thorough irony and the most extreme irony against the absurdity and suffering in the absurd years. The resolute rebellion, with the victory on the value level, illuminates the youth, enthusiasm and wisdom that cannot be concealed by the bleak years, and finally completes the eternal transcendence of suffering and absurdity, and the beautiful ascension of life itself with a magnificent and outstanding flying posture. And devout conversion to the true nature of life. (Wang Weihong, "Eternal Transcendence and Beautiful Ascension", "Writer News", October 23, 1997)

Both critics and defenders have serious misunderstandings. They are limited by traditional reading habits and thinking patterns, and forcefully place them in the spectrum of "humanity-morality". .When it comes to the degree of misreading, Wang Xiaobo is roughly comparable to Wang Shuo, but the dimension is different: Wang Xiaobo is greatly dwarfed. Indeed, some people look at Wang Xiaobo in a similar way to Wang Shuo: "From the perspective of a writer, in order to dispel the sublime, Wang Xiaobo does not hesitate to impose his own stubbornness on other intellectuals, even after getting rid of the absurd era... He is dissolving the absurd era, and the tool he uses is sex: he is dissolving everything, and the tool he borrows is sex. Not only that, but his biggest mistake (or mistake) lies in the consequences of dissolving.... If a person is Living for the sake of dispelling, then, isn’t he living too sad?” (Liu Xu, "Spiritual Knight or High-ranking Scoundrel", No. 2, 1998) It seems that Wang Xiaobo’s novels are, for many readers, Chen Yi’s past. high.

It is completely different from the "educated youth novels" that reflect on the "Cultural Revolution" and praise youth. It does not praise the beauty of human nature and the pursuit of freedom. As a weapon against dictatorial oppression.On the contrary, Chen Qingyang is not keen on sex, "What she hates is the thing that makes her a broken shoe", she has a grudge against "being called a broken shoe", and would rather become a real broken shoe and be arrested and sent to fight. , "Every time she was on a business trip, Chen Qingyang always had a strong sexual desire", because the sex at this time made her "finally relieved of all troubles, no need to think about why she is a broken shoe, what is a broken shoe, and other incomprehensible things: Why are we here, what are we here for, etc.” Finding some kind of real identity, even one condemned as sinful, is far better than being “set up” to be something.Chen Qingyang and Wang Er use sex as a weapon to resist the absurdity of real life, and it is an antidote for people to get rid of the deep absurdity temporarily: Wang Er first wanted to prove his existence to others, but after being revenged by the captain, "I really want to prove that I don't exist."Only having sex with Chen Qingyang, "At this time, I don't feel the need to prove that I exist." "Existence" is a big proposition in life, but in an absurd situation, existence or non-existence cannot point to any beauty, and escape with sex may be the only way out.Once this situation is over, sex loses its necessity. The most absurd thing is that once Chen Qingyang admitted in the self-criticism that she fell in love with Wang Er in an instant, Chen Qingyang's "innocence" was tarnished, which was her "true sin".Under abnormal living conditions, adultery between men and women is not a sin, but obsession with and criticism of it is more like a game, and once this game becomes true love, it will have a great impact on real life. Irony and challenge. "She admitted to spreading her legs before, and now she adds that she does it because she likes it. There's a big difference between doing it and liking it. The former deserves a fight, the latter deserves to be cut to pieces .” Behind the irony and dispelling of black humor, there is such a gap, that is, beautiful sex that contains human emotions cannot be set up, and it comes from the true life impulse: “She never wants to care about other things. thing, and forget it all at that moment.”Power cannot control this impulse, so it has to ignore its existence: "But no one has the power to tear us apart, so we have to let us go." Because of its complicated ambiguity and carnival writing, it has become a text that critics can't interpret.Someone read "resistance" from it: "Their free-wheeling life in the primeval forest and being interrogated and fought showed restraint and resistance, fate setting and anti-setting, emotional atrophy and life passion, power field and spiritual freedom, and healthy sexuality. The tit-for-tat conflict with the political dictatorship of sex and the collective voyeurism and sadistic/masochistic psychology of Chinese people in a certain era. The relaxed game of Wang Er and Chen Qingyang dispelled all the sacredness, hypocrisy, and sanctimonious... Wang Xiaobo declared their invincibility in the conflict with the crazy forces with comic irony." (Zhang Bocun, "Wang Xiaobo Should Not Be Involved", "Literature Free Talk", No. 1, 1998) and Dai Jinhua believed that Wang Xiaobo's novels surpassed " "Cultural Revolution Writing" and "Anti-riot Heroes": What it refers to is of course the specific history of China. First of all, it is the nightmare memory of my contemporaries: the years of the "Cultural Revolution", but it is far more than that. It is sadism and masochism, it is writing and counter-writing under the hand of history and the yoke of power, it is memory and forgetting.In the author's opinion, what Wang Xiaobo and his literary works achieve is not an image of a person standing up to resist violence, a cultural hero (perhaps it can be said that this is the image that Wang Xiaobo is not ashamed of and ridiculed: resistance to violence is not only a necessity of violence/power games part, and occasionally an "archaic" "gentlemanship"), but a thinker—perhaps one should just call it an intellectual, an almost desperate "search for unparalleledness"—the result of a "wisdom encounter" it confronts not only violence and prohibition, not only walls of brutal or hypocritical faces, but "harmless" lies, "pure" oblivion, witnesses of "legitimate" violence of all kinds and Confession of the burdened soul. ("Wise Men's Banter", "Contemporary Writers Review", No. 2, 1998) The ideological resources of Wang Xiaobo's novels are largely derived from the sadomasochism/sexual abuse research initiated by Freud. He and his wife Li Yinhe also have in-depth research on the sexual situation in China-this may explain why Wang Xiaobo likes to use Sex is an entry point for writing history. He once pointed out in an interview that "'sex' is the most hidden thing of a person, and it is the real window to see through the soul." As far as the characteristics of the text are concerned, Wang Xiaobo is undoubtedly the oriental heir of the "carnival tradition". "Carnival Tradition" originated from the folk humor culture of the Renaissance in the Middle Ages. Representative works such as Rabelais's and Cervantes' "Don Quixote" construct a wonderful and strange narrative with almost crazy imagination, exaggeration and banter A world full of metaphors, irony and puns.Bakhtin called it "grotesque realism", noting that its main features are "exaggeration, hyperbole, excess and excess".As Dai Jinhua pointed out: "Wang Xiaobo's writing of violence and violent history in history is not so much a picture of black and white, good and evil, as it is a carnival scene; perhaps it is in the ancient Western carnival. In the sense of festival spirit, Wang Xiaobo’s carnival scenes are cruel, cruel, and hearty. This is sometimes practicing another carnival that subverts the cultural order. In his novels’ constant subversion, blasphemy, parody and irony, it is similar to drama and tragedy. The historical picture of history is turned into scattered fragments; where the fragments fall, what appears is the existence beyond the edge and words that are covered by overlapping "legal" words." The novel collection includes five novels:,,,,.Among them, it seems to be out of group, even surpassed.Wang Xiaobo used polyphonic narration to explain the theme of "revolution + sex" that echoed repeatedly in the 20th century.Its narrative is the most complicated: it intertwines the memories of classical fighting with the real stories of the youth who are underprivileged in the political system of the Communist Youth League, and depicts the "dual nature" of love during the revolutionary period: death threats and devotion. The accidental encounter under common motivation, the sadism/masochism produced by the combination of political power relationship and another kind of dedication, both are also rooted in the pursuit and imagination of revolutionary ideals.The Youth League Secretary X Haiying's imagination of "revolution" and "sex" all come from the whole set of passion models about love and hate constructed by the theory of class struggle.This model exiles the individual, the body, and desires, and sees sacrifice, trial, humiliation, torture, etc. as great opportunities to show steadfastness: "If she is caught, she will scream: Hit! Rape! Kill it! I will never surrender! It’s a pity that this mediocre world refuses to give her a chance to be tested.” Therefore, X Haiying used the power bestowed on her by the position of Communist Youth League Secretary to create an opportunity to help and teach the young man Wang Er, who was an underachiever. The second plays the "negative role", and the sexual love that contains revolutionary meaning unfolds against this background.As the object of help and education, Wang Er was in a situation of being disciplined. He gave up his own subjective requirements and played the role of a counter-revolutionary/sadist according to X Haiying's requirements: "During the revolutionary period, I tied X Haiying to On the big brown bed in her hut, her limbs are stretched out like a big character... She is waiting for me to beat her and ravage her." This kind of behavior pattern of helping/being taught seems unbelievable, but it is revolutionary The deciphering of the code contained in the discourse is a parody and reproduction of the revolutionary narrative and struggle imagination.Since the position of power has not fundamentally changed due to the change of the role of sadism/masochism, Wang Er is always in the position of being "helped and taught": "When she is fierce to me, I think it is very useful; when she is not fierce, it is not very useful "Wang Er's recollection of the "female college student surnamed color" reflects another state of revolution and love: In extreme situations where death is imminent at any time, the position, age, and origin are no longer important, and people rely on the stimulation of sex to Complete the affirmation of devotion, and the consolation of career setbacks.If we extend these two modes of "revolution + sex" to the revolutionary narrative of the entire 20th century, we will be surprised to find that Wang Xiaobo has said everything. Li Yinhe: "Romantic Knight · Troubadour · Free Thinker—Mourning Xiaobo", postscript of "The Times Trilogy", "Bronze Age", Huacheng Press, May 1997 edition Ai Xiaoming: "Commemorating the Freelance Writer Wang Xiaobo Who Died Early", "Yellow River" Issue 5, 1997 Edited by Ai Xiaoming and Li Yinhe: "Romantic Knight - Memory Wang Xiaobo", China Youth Publishing House, July 1997 edition Wang Xiaobo: So Long, My Son - A Collection of Wang Xiaobo's Novels and Scripts, Times Literature and Art Publishing House, February 1998 Edition Dai Jinhua: "Smart Men's Joking - Reading Wang Xiaobo", "Contemporary Writers Review", No. 2, 1998