《Shanghai Daily》整版报道:中国严肃小说家走向前台

其他 创作
王威廉 发表于:
《Shanghai Daily》2017年1月21日

中国新一代年轻的严肃而认真的小说家们走向前台,具备了相对成熟的文化心智,开始对社会、民族、国家和世界发言。 China’s serious novelists come to the fore By Xu Qin | January 21, 2017, Saturday THE post-1980s writers, referring to authors born after the 1980s, grew with China’s reform and opening-up era. Many of them were winners of the New Concept Writing Contest, which has been held since 1999 and organized by Mengya (Buds), a literary magazine affiliated to the Shanghai Writers’ Association. Wang Weilian, born in 1982, represents a group of serious writers who have enjoyed success in the “traditional” mould of writing in an era spearheaded by the avant-garde poets and novelists. “As serious writers, we regard literature as the criticism of life, and the seriousness of life as the only rule to judge a great writer,” says Wang. A recent publication, “The Sound of Salt Forming,” is a collection of 16 short stories by these post-1980s serious writers. The book was compiled and edited by Yang Qingxiang, a poet and critic himself of the 1980s. Wang’s piece was chosen as the title of the book. Set in the Salty Lake in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, his story describes the life of two young men — good friends since their school days. After graduation, one of them stays back in the small town and finds a job in a local chemical plant. He marries a local girl from the same plant and lives a very monotonous life. The other man heads to the city and works as a freelance artist. He meets a girl online and dreams of a life full of adventures. The two meet again for a sense of nostalgia, only to discover that neither is fully satisfied with their lives, forcing readers to ponder on the meaning of life. Wang was born in Haiyan, a small county in Qinghai Province, where his family was exiled from their hometown in Xi’an during the “cultural revolution” (1966-76). In 2004, Wang graduated with a degree in anthropology from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, where he later pursued a PhD in literature. His major works include novels “A Man Without Fingerprints” and “The Second Person,” as well as short stories “Upside Down Life” and “Resignation.” Talking of the post-1980s generation of writers, Wang says using the word “generation” to classify literature implies “we don’t share a common core value of the literary works from contemporary China.” “The lack of common aesthetic means we can only have sociological terms, such as the birth of the year, to treat writers as a group from the same era. “However, for me, I think I have benefitted more from such classifications, in the sense that it has helped me learn and grow up to be strong, compared with others from the same era. “Writing is in the end a personal decision. A real writer shall eventually emerge to become a truly independent and great self.” As to blog writing, Wang says, “they are part of the popular culture which keeps changing to suit the public taste all the time. I still believe only words with depth of thoughts and warmth of humanity will last. Only a few writers can do that.” Q: Was there any specific incident that prompted you to turn to literature and start writing? A: In 2000, I enrolled into the Sun Yat-sen University as a science student. It was the first time that I had traveled so far alone from a desolate small town at the foot of the Tibetan Plateau to a bustling metropolis along the south coastline. You can imagine the cultural shocks I had to go through. I was struggling to deal with the purpose and meaning of life — something that science couldn’t help. I sought refuge in philosophy and literature, in which I found the power of redemption. Writing eventually saved me. Q: What are the themes that occur frequently in your writing? A: All literary works tend to deal with great themes such as love, life, death and desire ... be it happy or sad, petty or great. I eventually graduated with a degree in anthropology. The study of humankind, in particular, helped me a lot in writing. I’m more concerned about the proper relationship between men and women, human world and non human world, such as new technologies and alienation. Q: In the past 10 years, e-books not only have changed people’s reading habits, but also altered the way they find books. How does that affect your writing? A: Of course, I like the Internet. It has changed the way I gain knowledge and experience, though I don’t like to be bound by what is offered online. With the development of the Internet, I am sure we will get more used to reading, writing and thinking online. We have to wait and see the impacts of technology on social affairs. Q: Tell us your process of writing. A: When I start to construct a novel, there are characters in my mind like those in a motion picture. Though they are just vague images, I can feel them and hear them talking to me. All I need to do is pen them down on the paper so as to get them out of my mind. To write a story about others becomes a way of self expression as well. While writing, I prefer to listen to the symphonies of Rachmaninoff. I am a big fan of his. Q: What’s your plans for new year? A: I have just finished a novella called “Rest In Peace.” Based on a series of high-profile suicides of intellectuals in recent year, the story aims to reveal the inner world of the Chinese intellectuals in a changing era of conflicts. Next, I am planning on a longer piece. It is going to be a grand adventure through worlds full of imagination. Set in the future tense, the story aims to discuss the importance of writing to the spiritual life for human beings. Distinctive features of ’80s writers In 2004 when Chun Shu and Han Han made it to the cover of Time magazine as representatives of the “new radicals,” post-1980s writers started to emerge on the world literary scene and became one of the most talked-about phenomena along with the rapid commercialization of China’s cultural institutions. For them, writing was a profit-making enterprise. The emphasis on imagination constitutes a rebellion against the traditional doctrines of realism. Urban modernity and a new mode of lifestyle emerged as the most distinctive features of their works. A dozen years later, however, as most of the post-1980s writers turned 30, their choices of life and literary paths opened up a wide range of perspectives in a global era. Han Han, a Shanghai native who takes to blogging in the era of information, has been writing critical pieces on social issues that appealed to a generation that emphasizes more on individualism and the desire for free expression. Return to the tradition Guo Jingming marches toward the film and TV industry, with his “Tiny Times” series. Despite being a huge Chinese box-office hits, his films are deemed “disappointing” because of their “exercise in vanity and money worship,” according to the reviews. Then there is Zhang Yueran, whose recent novel “The Cocoon” traces the traumatic impact of the “cultural revolution” (1966-76) on the later generations. The book is largely hailed by critics as a “return to the tradition” and “a decent reflection” on the value of writing amid the tumultuous transformation in the Chinese society. Apart from these few avant-garde names, there are still those “traditional” post-1980s writers who were groomed in the less market-oriented writing camp through established literary journals. They have also had their impact, both in the number of works they produced and their area of influence. The book “The Sound of Salt Forming,” published by the University of Hawai’i Press last year in association with the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, is the first attempt by publishers to introduce the literary works by this group of post-1980s writers in English. Branded as being “serious,” they represent the mainstream writing in China today. Among those who fall into this group are Di An, who has a literary degree from the Paris-Sorbonne University and is now a contracted writer with ZUI book.com. *附一开始的中文采访记录(实际以英文为准) Shanghai Daily interview: Wang Weilian 1. 有没有哪个特别的事让你从理科转向文科,开始写作? 王威廉:关于这个问题,我有时会说,是因为学不懂高等数学了,有时会说是因为对文学的兴趣大过了对科学的兴趣,现在,我要对你说的是:当时作为一个十八岁跨越上千公里,从大西北来到东南沿海上大学的年轻人,面临的人生危机是很大的。他常常会想到人的生死、活着的意义这样的大问题。而这些问题,科学是无解的。他只能求助于哲学和文学,哲学又太过晦涩,而他的情感是那么的丰富和敏感,能够帮助他的,就只有文学了。写作,便是对自己的拯救。 2. 从07年开始发表作品到今天,你作品中经常涉及探讨的主题是什么? 王威廉:因此,我对文学的理解,蕴涵着对生命和生活的探索。我们知道,文学的重要性取决于它所要表达的主题的重要性。所有的文学作品,都是要涉及人类生存的重大母题的:生死爱欲,悲伤与欢喜,卑微与伟大。我在大学阶段,也从物理学转向了人类学的学习研究,这对我的写作帮助也很大。我开始关注更为宽泛的人类问题,以及独属于这个时代的新问题。比如,我会思考这个科技日益发达的世界,对于人的异化,因此我写出了小说《没有指纹的人》。 3. 你对文化媒体和文学批评中被一再使用的“80后写作”认同吗?你怎么回应这样一些观点:“韩寒”正日益成为大众生活的一部分……;“80后”的城市书写,与中国的现代城市进程互为一体……; “80后写作”构成了一种 “日记式”的文学,显得贫乏而孱弱,将数代人的重变成了一代人的轻...... 王威廉:用代际这个概念来划分文学,表明了我们当前文学界已经没有共识了,一种普遍的审美精神消散了,只能暂时以出生年代这样的社会学概念来划分文学。不过,对于一个作家的成长,这样划分也是有好处的,利于青年作家在刚刚出道时的成长。但写作终究是个人的事业,一个优秀的作家迟早会从一代人里面脱颖而出,成为真正独立的和伟大的个体。韩寒的作品,自然是大众文化的一部分,大众文化是善变的,因此我们可以看到,韩寒正在远离我们的大众生活,哪天他消失在公众视野,是一点也不奇怪的。永恒的文字,还是那些有思想深度和精神温度的文字。这类作品和作家,永远都属于少数。但他们永远存在。 4. 这十年间,大家阅读的习惯和获取信息的方式随着网络的发展有了很大的变化,对你的写作有影响吗? 王威廉:当然有影响,影响到我对知识的获取。我是一个喜欢上网的人,我不喜欢被现有的网站格式所束缚,我喜欢按着自己的兴趣去搜索一些问题,寻找答案,把这些知识融化在我的写作当中。我想,网络形式发展越来越快,以后会越来越便捷。我们会越来越习惯用屏幕来阅读、写作和思考。我们一方面要反思科技,一方面也要适应它。 5. 能谈谈(一本正经地八卦下)你的写作过程吗?(比如,如何获得灵感,如何搜集资料,如何构思,有没有什么特别的写作习惯 -- 要听着粤语电台来写一本关于广州的故事啥的?) 王威廉:每当我构思一篇小说的时候,我的脑海里都会有立体的、混沌的、模糊的动态画面,它并不确切,需要我用文字把它描绘出来。我会听到人物说出的话,感受到人物的心情,他们在脑海里郁积着,需要我表达出来。因此,写小说的时候,写他人的同时也是在表达着自己。写作的时候,我喜欢听交响乐。拉赫玛尼诺夫这样有精神密度的音乐家是我的大爱,我觉得他的音乐会给我一种强大的力量,支撑着我对人类精神深处的探索。当然,悲凉的时候、平静的时候,我也会听听中国古琴,那种悠扬特别美妙,让人能够超越俗世,体验到神仙的欢乐。 6. 最近(新)的作品能简单介绍下吗? 王威廉:我刚刚写完和发表一个中篇小说,叫《归息》,写的是当代中国知识分子内心的精神历程以及痛苦困境。接下来,我要写一个长篇小说,是关于一场宏大的想象力冒险的,场景可能会放在未来世界,探讨写作对于人类精神生活的必要性。 链接:http://www.shanghaidaily.com/feature/Chinas-serious-novelists-come-to-the-fore/shdaily.shtml
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最后更新 2017-01-21 12:00:01