Chapter 16 The Symbolism, Mourning and Mystery of "National Burial"

"National Funeral" is the last and relatively short one, with a full text of about 6,000 words.Although this short story is also independent, it is an excellent and complete work by itself, but its position and significance in the overall structure are more worthy of our attention.If "Forever Yin Xueyan" is the prologue, "National Burial" is, more obviously, the epilogue of this novel.Perhaps, we can even say that the article "National Burial" is an inscription carved on the tombstone of a Taipei native. The story is about Qin Yifang, a frail old man who went to the mourning hall of his former chief Li Haoran in the funeral home in Taipei on a cold December morning, what he saw and felt at that time, and the grand public sacrifice After the ceremony, he finally boarded a ten-wheeled army truck and followed the coffin to the cemetery.The novel is always narrated objectively. The author firstly describes and fixes the people, place, and time of the story objectively.However, after Qin Yifang bowed down to General Li's portrait, the author followed Qin Yifang's inner feelings and naturally penetrated into his inner consciousness, so he began to use the old adjutant's subjective point of view to recall the past and express his emotions. Love, to expose General Lee's character.In the meantime, the author occasionally included objective descriptions of the movements in the mourning hall (within Qin Yifang's observation range), mainly for the purpose of continuing to stimulate Qin Yifang's memories.Near the end of the novel, at the time of enlightenment, there is another passage that objectively describes how Qin Yifang was not easily allowed to board a guard truck to deliver the spirit.The novel ends with a flashback of a glorious past he raises in a truck.

From Qin Yifang's inner confession or nagging, we know that since the year he fought in the Northern Expedition, he carried a kettle on his back and followed General Li from Guangzhou to Shanhaiguan. A big risk.But a few years ago, due to old age and asthma, General Lee finally asked him to retire and go to Tainan where the weather is warm to recuperate.He was full of reluctance, because he had been with General Li all his life, and he was very proud of being his adjutant, and he didn't want to lose this status; , knows how to take care of him, and is extremely worried about entrusting this responsibility to others.But since the master had already opened his mouth, he felt ashamed to stay in the mansion, so he had to retire to Tainan and live in the Veterans Hospital to recuperate.From the internal grievances that he raised in the mourning hall, we learn that he blamed General Lee's sudden death from a heart attack on his young attendants who didn't know how to take care of him, "these little bastards", "this shit-eating Little bastard who doesn't know the smell."He really believed, "If he, Qin Yifang, were still in the mansion this time, nothing would happen to him."In the novel, the old generation is replaced by the younger generation everywhere.For example, in the public sacrificial ceremony, the three rows of generals who "dressed in a grand attire" were all "newly promoted generals", and Qin Yifang "did not know any of them".

Qin Yifang has both advantages and disadvantages.Although the author is obviously full of warm sympathy for him, he remains objective and realistic, does not hide his shortcomings, and does not idealize him.He cursed the young squire, for example.He resented these young attendants, on the one hand because he felt that they did not take good care of General Li, and on the other hand because they took away his status.He was also quite vain. People called him "General Li Haoran's aide-de-camp", and he felt that he was "extremely glorious". Later, when the chief asked him to retire to recuperate, his first reaction was that he felt that he was not "decent".We can even say that he has a bit of a "snobbish eye": whether he was at the Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum in Nanjing in the year of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, or today in the mourning hall of General Li in Taipei, he paid great attention to the many "senior generals" and "general-level officers". ".For those generals who enjoyed high status-especially the previous generation-he was full of admiration and almost childish curiosity.

Qin Yifang is not without complaints about the officer he loves and respects from the bottom of his heart, who has served him all his life.He was addicted in his heart, and General Li thought he was old and sick, so he "kicked him out".Although, the truth is, he's really old, really sick, and in need of recuperation. However, even when he grumbled and complained, what we felt from his complaining tone was his unwavering "loyalty" and "love" for his master.In addition to his loyal respect and love, he also has an almost maternal protective psychology towards General Lee.In the few years after his wife passed away, he often got up to cover General Li at night in winter, which is an example.In the mourning hall, he saw Young Master Li, who had lived in the United States for a long time, bowing to the condolence guests.In the past, when the young master pretended to be ill and retired from the military academy to go to the United States, General Li was so angry that he shouted, "You don't have to come to see me again!" The young master, Qin Yifang "suddenly broke into a smile on his wrinkled old face".He "stretched out his hand, he wanted to pat the middle-aged man on the shoulder, he wanted to tell him: father and son are still father and son. He wanted to tell him: the chief is in his old age, and he is not in a good mood. He really wants to tell him: Madam is gone It is also very lonely, sir, to be alone in Taiwan."This is such a warm and loving brushwork by the author!It also fully shows Qin Yifang's love and protective psychology for his master.But of course, Qin Yifang failed to achieve spiritual communication with Young Master Li.He only said the words "Sir—he—" before retracting his hand, because "the middle-aged man raised his head and glanced at him, his face was indifferent, as if he didn't know him very well."

If he failed to communicate with Young Master Li, he reached a tacit understanding with another character in the novel—Liu Xingqi—with a few words.Because Qin Yifang saw Commander Zhang and Deputy Commander Ye among the crowd offering sacrifices, two veteran generals who had been reclusive for a long time, he recalled that General Li raised three fingers in the past, and was very proud. He said: "I have three members." Strong generals... Zhang Jian, Ye Hui, and Liu Xingqi." (It is mentioned in the novel that Zhang and Ye are called the "Commander of the Iron Army" and Liu Xingqi is called the "Commander of the Iron Army". According to the author: During the Northern Expedition, Guangdong, Guangxi The army is brave and good at fighting, and has the reputation of a steel army.) Qin Yifang was thinking about this.But I saw an old monk with a sad face—this is an example of the author's clever and natural translation of words—standing at the front of the altar, clasped his hands and bowed three times, turned over and walked out.Qin Yifang saw a palm-sized red scar on the back of the monk's neck, and remembered Liu Xingqi's back neck was injured in the Northern Expedition against Sun Chuanfang at Longtan, so he recognized him and rushed to greet him.

In Qin Yifang's recollection of the past, we learn that Liu Xingqi followed General Li Haoran for 30 years and set out from his hometown. He fought against the Japanese in the Northern Expedition.But at the time of the final retreat from the mainland, Liu Xingqi and his regiment were trapped in Guangdong. They failed to join General Li and others to evacuate together, but the entire army was wiped out. They were captured for a year and suffered a lot before they fled from Guangdong to Taiwan alone. .After coming to Taiwan, he was dismissed from the military. He once visited Li's mansion to pay homage to the chief.General Li, "with red eyes, kept patting Liu Xingqi's shoulder with his hands", sighed deeply: "This is also the trend of the times, and I can't blame you alone."

The old monk recognized Qin Yifang, "the face gradually turned sad again".Said: "Qin Yifang—oh, your officer—" He choked up tears and couldn't say anything.Afterwards he said again: "Your officer, he treated me—ahem—" He still couldn't continue, shook his head, sighed, and left without looking back.Although he didn't even utter a complete sentence, he and Qin Yifang, because of their mutual yearning and mourning for General Li, reached a spiritual connection in the painful and speechless moment. The author asked Qin Yifang to recall Liu Xingqi's past, on the one hand, to show him the reason why he became a monk, and on the other hand, more importantly, to expose General Li Haoran's personality and sad mood.From Qin Yifang's inner nagging earlier, we know that his chief has a "temper-resistant" and very stubborn personality. He still refuses to accept his old age in his seventies, and he absolutely refuses to admit that he is not feeling well.He has been a soldier all his life, during the Revolution of 1911, during the Northern Expedition to fight against Japan, he made great achievements vigorously.But in Taiwan, "there have been no wars in these years, so he went climbing and hunting."This kind of narrative has already shown how General Li was unwilling to surrender to the oppression of his age in his later years, and how regretful he was for the fact that the actual situation prevented him from displaying his talents.But we have to wait until Qin Yifang reminisces about Liu Xingqi's past, so that we can truly find out how heavy General Li's heart is and how great his love for the country and the people is.When Liu Xingqi's face was withered and his hair was all shattered, he fled to Taiwan to see the officer. General Li and him were relatively sad. After a long time, General Li said quietly:

"I thought that if we retreated to Guangdong, we could fight with our backs in the end. Zhang Jian, Ye Hui, and you—these regiments are our soldiers. They have followed me for these years. When we return to Guangdong and defend our hometown, everyone will fight to the death. , Maybe it can restore the decline, but I didn't expect it to be defeated in the end—" The officer's voice was choked up, "There are hundreds of thousands of Cantonese students who have lost their opponents. It's really sad to say—cough—" He said. Two lines of tears rolled down. For General Li, who was stubborn and aggressive all his life and loved his hometown deeply, it must have been an unbearable pain to see a few regiments under his command suffer a crushing defeat and wipe out hundreds of thousands of fellow countrymen!But facing the loss of the entire corps.Liu Xingqi, who was so ashamed that he couldn't make a sound, General Li didn't say a word of reproach, but with red eyes, he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Xingqi, thank you for your hard work—" Qin Yifang recalled that when the mainland finally retreated, General Li, Commander Zhang, Ye The three deputy commanders waited for three days on the warship Bagui in Longmen Port, Hainan Island, waiting for Liu Xingqi and his corps to withdraw from Guangdong. "Every day the three of us stand side by side on the deck, looking forward to it, until the order to sail is given, the officer still holds his binoculars and looks towards Guangzhou Bay frequently. He hasn't even closed his eyes for three days, and his face is haggard. All of a sudden, I seem to have aged ten years."In just a few sentences, the author vividly and powerfully expresses General Li's deep brotherhood towards Liu Xingqi, as well as his extreme care and love for his fellow soldiers.

Of course, Li Haoran, who has passed away, could not meet the readers directly.Part of our understanding of him comes from the author's objective description of the movement of the mourning hall. For example, from the grand scene of the public sacrifice ceremony and the content of the sacrificial oration of the chief priest, we know the approximate achievements of his life and know that he is an extraordinary general. .However, we know him as a person through the medium of Qin Yifang's consciousness.As for the character of Qin Yifang, although the author sketches it vividly and vividly, his most important role in the novel is to act as an intermediary, introducing General Li Haoran to readers, and let us mourn the death of this generation of giants together. .

This reminds us of the other two articles in the book-"Si Jiu Fu" and "Liang Fu Yin".In fact, the novel form of "National Burial" has some similarities with these two novels.Even the characters in the novel seem vaguely related in some way. We remember that the declining aristocratic family in "Si Jiu Fu" was also surnamed Li.The parents, like Li Haoran, are "Mr. Li" and had "vigorous days" before.His wife also passed away a few years ago.So, is General Li Haoran the same as Chief Li in "Reminiscing the Old Fu"? It seems possible.But when it comes to character, it's not like that. Chief Li in "Reminiscing the Old Fu" was so weak that he "lost his shape", and let Aunt Rob serve and take medicine to sleep.Seeing his daughter's depravity, he clamored to become a monk.He didn't have General Li Haoran's stubborn and unyielding momentum at all.If Li Haoran is not feeling well, "You ask him in vain...he will immediately turn black."The young master escaped from the military academy and went to the United States. The way he got angry was of course not arguing to become a monk, but he would rather not see his son for the rest of his life.In addition, the middle-aged man who dressed in sackcloth and filial piety in General Li's mourning hall and bowed frequently to express his gratitude to the condolence guests was obviously not the idiotic Young Master Li in "Reminiscing the Old Fu".

Weng Puyuan in "The Song of the Liang Father" committed himself to revolution, and in the next few decades he "conquered east and west", and his background and age are similar to Li Haoran.His wife has also passed away.He has a son who is teaching in the United States, and he can also meet the young master Li who is wearing sackcloth and filial piety in the mourning hall today.Especially Mr. Park's old waiter, Adjutant Lai, "wears a faded blue tunic suit...but his back is bent like a bow", which is quite in line with the appearance of Adjutant Qin in "National Burial": "He wears a I wore an old navy blue serge tunic suit...the waist was bent into a bow".Both of them barely straightened their waists and stood at attention.So, is General Lee who received the state funeral today Park Gong?Is Qin Yifang, who mourns the chief, the same as Adjutant Lai? It also seems possible.However, Park Gong and General Li still have different personalities.Although the two have the same upright temperament and consistent spirit, Park Gong is more harmonious and more Confucian. In terms of age, achievements, background, status, character, and life destiny, all aspects can be consistent with General Li Haoran, but there is one person, that is the sworn brother that Park Gong mourns—Wang Mengyang. Wang Mengyang, we remember, was the same veteran of the revolution as Mr. Pu Gong, and he went on campaigns in the next few decades.When I was analyzing the novel "The Song of Liang Fu", I discussed in detail the use of Chinese historical and literary allusions in it, and mentioned that the author deliberately alluded to Wang Mengyang as Zhuge Liang.In "National Burial", we found that the author also used General Li as a metaphor for Zhuge Liang. In General Li's mourning hall, Zhang Jian's elegiac couplet, "Han and thief are not at odds", comes from Zhuge Liang's "Later Disciple".There is a sentence in Ye Hui's elegiac couplet, "Suddenly blowing the autumn wind at Wuzhang", Zhuge Liang died in Wuzhangyuan.All of these are obviously alluding to Li Haoran's contribution to Zhuge Liang's restoration of the Han Dynasty. In the novel "Father of Liang", Wang Mengyang's state funeral ceremony is comparable to General Li's state funeral ceremony.However, in Wang Mengyang's later years, obviously due to the constraints of the real situation and his "unsuitable" staunch personality, "the intelligence...was not fully developed", and he was quite unhappy. The fate of General Li in "National Burial" seems to be the same.The author doesn't have a single clear word, but there are definitely good hints hidden in the text.Ye Hui's elegiac couplet, the second half of the second couplet is: I heard that the night hunting of the Baling Mausoleum, who would like to raise the old general? Here, the author obviously compares Li Haoran secretly to Li Guang, an upright and famous general who defended against the Huns in the Western Han Dynasty.Li Guang made great contributions throughout his life, but he was unlucky. He failed in battle in his later years, was repeatedly demoted, and was finally forced to commit suicide.Li Guang was impeached and dismissed from his post, he was unemployed at home, and used to hunt at night (Li Haoran also "has not fought in these years, so he went climbing and hunting"). There is such a record in "Historical Records Biography of General Li": "Taste the night from a ride, and drink leisurely from the fields. Return to Baling Pavilion, Baling Wei drunk, stop Guang. Guangqi said: 'So General Li "Wei said: "The general is not allowed to travel at night, why is it so!' Zhiguangsu Pavilion." Bai Xianyong quoted Li's "old general" night hunting allusion, which alluded to Li Haoran's downfall, dissatisfaction, and the state of the world in his later years. hot and cold. In this way, as far as the characters in the novel are concerned, "National Burial" and "Reminiscence of the Old Fu", especially "Liang Fu Yin", do seem to be related.However, the more noteworthy commonality of these three novels is the symbolic meaning and mourning atmosphere of the novels. When discussing "Reminiscing about the Old Fu", I have already explained that the real protagonists of this novel are not Mrs. Shun En and Auntie Luo, but the dilapidated Li family and the traditional Chinese social culture it symbolizes.When discussing "Liang Fu Yin", I also said that if we interpret Wang Mengyang as Zhuge Liang, the protagonist of the story is no longer Weng Puyuan, but Wang Mengyang and the spirit of the Republic of China he represents.Similarly, the real protagonist of "National Burial" is not Qin Yifang, but General Li Haoran, and our country and culture that he symbolizes. Mrs. Shun En, Rob Niang, Pu Gong, Qin Yifang and others are actually just the narrator of the story and the mourner of the protagonist.That is what I call the "middleman", who recommends to us the protagonist who was brilliant in the past but is now ruined and dead, so that we can mourn together. Chief Li in "Reminiscing the Old Fu", Park Gong and Wang Mengyang in "Liang Fu Yin", and General Li Haoran in "National Funeral", since they either symbolize our culture or our country, it is no wonder that they seem to be related to each other, and even seem to be the same person. The symbolism of the role of General Li Haoran is beyond doubt.First of all, the title of the novel "National Burial" seems to hint at it.From the content of the sacrificial rite, we know that he gathered the historical relics of the Republic of China in one body.His deepest sorrow is that at the critical moment, he failed to "recover the decline" and finally "fell flat" and made his compatriots "defeated by the enemy". In Qin Yifang's memory, the most glorious day was "the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, In the year when the capital was returned to Nanjing," he accompanied the chief to pay homage to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Zijin Mountain. It is also very meaningful for General Li to go to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum to visit the mausoleum.It implies that Li Haoran inherits the spirit and behest of the founding father, and holds the same lofty ideals as our founding father throughout his life.He and the founding father are both Cantonese, which is also a hint of the author. In addition, the words "Guang" and "Dong" can also be interpreted as "the vast East", so it seems that there is also a cultural hint at the same time. The funeral procession marched towards the cemetery and reached Nanjing East Road, where a troop was marching along the road.When the troop commander saw the hearse, he immediately issued an order: "Salute!" Hearing this order and seeing the soldiers pay attention to salute suddenly, Qin Yifang instantly recalled the situation when he went to Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum to visit the mausoleum.At that time, he was young and strong, and he followed the very handsome and heroic General Li. The garrison troops lined up in front of the mausoleum. When they saw them coming up, they shouted like thunder: "Salute——".The past and present, separated by more than 20 years, seem to be quite similar. They are soldiers paying tribute to General Li on the way to the cemetery.However, when General Li went to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, it was obviously to report the good news of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War to the spirit of the founding father.And today, when his body was moved to the cemetery, how different the situation was! The author's sadness and emotion are obvious.In fact, the author's heart is so heavy that he doesn't seem to have much room for the customary irony of the novel's characters.The above-mentioned comparison between the present and the past is not without irony, but generally speaking, the irony in "National Burial" is quite weak (of course, small ironies still appear from time to time, for example, Qin Yifang believes that young people without "conscience" The attendant was very healthy and had a "good" heart: General Li, who he thought was very conscientious, died of a bad heart). However, we cannot misunderstand the author's sadness as a decadent pessimism. The meaning of the author of "National Burial" is: living in today's world that emphasizes physical reality, our only spiritual nourishment and salvation of the soul is the memory and respect of the glorious past.If we human beings want to maintain the dignity of humanity and continue to be the "spirits of all things", we must not forget or cut off the past.Keep a memory.A tribute. One thing we can't ignore is that the last sentence of the article "National Funeral", that is, the last sentence of this book, is the word "Salute——" shouted by soldiers like thunder.It is also worth noting that at today's state funeral, the object of salute by the soldiers of the army is the "spiritual" chariot.The place to salute is "Nanjing" and "East Road".There is another "tall" archway made of "pine branches" on the road.These are all puns.In this way, when the commander of the army shouted: "Salute!" It is like the author, from the depths of his heart, with all the power of the soul, appealing to all of us to pay homage to the spiritual glory of mankind and our once splendid national culture. , with the highest and deepest respect. Bai Xianyong's belief and worship of "spirit" or "spirit" reached its climax in this novel.When we read "National Burial", from the beginning to the end, we have always felt the existence of the "spirit".First of all, the protagonist of the novel, General Li, is a "spirit" that has left his body.The place where the plot of the novel develops is the "Ling" Hall.And "funeral parlor", "white clusters", "wreath for memorial service", "archway", "lingtai", "portrait", "sacrifice", "black cloth shoes", "white hair like snow", "white beard and white beard", etc. beard", "gloom... cold", "sorrow", "enlightenment", "coffin", "hearse", "black...car", "white chrysanthemum", "white hemp filial belt", "blackness in the mourning hall" , "Concentrate and hold your breath", "Communication has been cut off", etc., repeatedly make us feel death, or the eternal farewell of soul and body.The elegiac couplets hung all over the four walls of the mourning hall were "dragged to the ground and blown up by the wind"; in the middle of the mourning platform, hung a "portrait of General Li Haoran wearing military uniform and wearing medals all over his body"; The sandalwood has already risen densely."This kind of description makes people feel that General Li's soul seems to really swim back in the air, governing the entire mourning hall and the entire novel. The mysterious nature or atmosphere of "National Burial" is mainly due to the fact that General Li has passed away and the author's writing skills, but there are also other plot factors. For example, Qin Yifang lived in Tainan Veterans Hospital and dreamed of Li The general rode over and shouted to him, "Adjutant Qin, my command saber is missing." He was so frightened that he rolled out of bed in a cold sweat, and knew in his heart: "Sir, I'm not good!" We remember that General Li went to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum When visiting the mausoleum, "a shining command knife was hung obliquely at the waist", the command knife alludes to the vitality of life, so the loss of the command knife implies the loss of life.General Li's soul bids farewell to Adjutant Qin in a dream, which also adds to the mysterious nature of the novel. The mysterious episode with more significance than this dream is the sudden appearance of the old monk Liu Xingqi in the mourning hall, and his subsequent sudden disappearance.The monk "was full of sadness", "wearing a black cassock, wearing straw sandals, and a string of bright red rosary beads around his neck, standing in front of the altar, clasping his palms together and prostrating three times, turning over and walking out."Qin Yifang chased after him, and greeted and talked with him, but he only uttered half a sentence, shed a few tears, shook his head, sighed, then "without looking back, wearing a black cassock, standing in the cold wind Fluttering and swaying, in an instant, there was only a black shadow left."Such a description implies that this monk has been liberated and became a fairy.Because he has personally experienced the extreme suffering test, he realized the infinite misery in the world, so he gave birth to the heart of a Bodhisattva, and sympathized with all suffering beings with great compassion. This old monk didn't appear until the last article "National Burial", which is very meaningful.This indicates the author's spiritual development and transformation in the process of writing this novel.We remember that Yin Xueyan in the first chapter is not a mortal, but also a supernatural "spirit", but she is cold and ruthless, without compassion, so she is a god of death, not a Bodhisattva.When Bai Xianyong started writing, he was probably in the same mood as Yin Xueyan, planning to write a few novels that satirize society coldly, completely objectively, and without giving the slightest emotion.But he had softened his heart just after finishing the first article; after each article, in the process of literary creation, he accompanied the characters in the novel again and again, experienced their personal life tragedies psychologically, and finally realized that life is boundless. The boundless sea of ​​bitterness.In this way, when writing the last article "National Burial", the author seems to have seen through the world of mortals, exalted and liberated, and became merciful.Just like the old monk Liu Xingqi, in two half sentences and a few tears, he bears the infinite sorrow for all living beings. Therefore, although the subject matter of the novel "National Burial" and "Eternal Yin Xueyan" also involve death, the meaning, tone and atmosphere of the two novels are completely different. "Forever Yin Xueyan" presents the humbleness of human beings coldly and pessimistically; "National Burial" presents the dignity of human beings gently and optimistically. General Li was stubborn and unyielding all his life, and kept his human dignity, so even though he died, his spirit still survived and he would not leave.Just as Zhang Jian wrote in his elegiac couplet, "how can we allow the history to be turned into ashes".In this way, Li Haoran's death is different from the death of the guests under Yin Xueyan's clutches. It does not make people decadent and depressing, but it gives people a sense of heroic tragedy. Where there is life, there must be death.This is a fact that can never be changed.Due to the never-ending passage of time, "the impermanence of the world" is an inevitable phenomenon: the young will eventually die of old age, the noble family will eventually fall, the prosperous country will eventually decline, and the splendid culture will eventually lose its color.Under the control of this helpless law of nature, as long as we human beings can maintain a little spiritual brilliance throughout our lives without losing the dignity of our humanity, it is considered that we have not lived in this world. Death, of course, is irresistible, but the magic of death can only manipulate and end our physical life, not necessarily govern and control our spiritual life.For example, Bai Xianyong.Like everyone else, his flesh and blood will soon be reduced to ashes, but his spirit, thanks to the creation of this great novel, has surpassed the limitation of time and reached eternity.