Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 282: A Food Stall Manifesto for Chinese Literature?

Zhang Chao paused for a moment before saying, "After Pamuk won the award last year, we basically focused our attention on his novel writing techniques. He is indeed one of the writers who is still in the active creative period and likes to subvert himself the most and always stay at the forefront.

My Name is Red is not even his most daring work, but its style, perspective, structure and technique are enough to amaze us. Reading Pamuk's novels makes me want to learn how to read and write again.

His first work was published in 1982, almost at the same time as China's avant-garde writers. But 25 years later, China's avant-garde writers have either returned to realism or stagnated. But he is still constantly innovating, which is amazing to think about. "

At this time, a young teacher covered his mouth and laughed, and asked: "Does it include Teacher Yu Hua?"

Zhang Chao nodded and said seriously, "Of course he is included. To be honest, before I became his student, it was hard for me to imagine how he, who wrote A Kind of Reality and The April 3rd Incident, could later write a work like To Live, which is very 'traditional' in terms of technique.

Even though "To Live" is the most important creation of his life."

No one expected that Zhang Chao's evaluation of his "old mentor" would be so straightforward, and everyone was stunned for a moment.

Zhang Chao smiled and said, "I discussed these with Professor Yu two years ago. I just mentioned them lightly. They are not a nuisance. Let's talk about Pamuk again. Even though he created so many new things in terms of technique, I still think this is not his most important contribution to literature."

As he spoke, Zhang Chao picked up a few more sweet potato leaves and said, "If my father saw that this thing can be served as a dish now, he would definitely be very surprised. - Everyone, hurry up and eat the food."

The teacher and students were a little confused. They were listening intently, so why did Zhang Chao start talking about sweet potato leaves?
Zhang Chao continued, "My father was born in the 50s. When he was a child, there was a food shortage. My uncle saw that he was starving, so he took him to steal food from the fields of the production team at night. He didn't dare to steal sweet potatoes because they would be seen the next day if the soil was turned over, so he only dared to pick some sweet potato leaves and cook them.

In those days, sweet potato leaves were eaten only when there was no other choice, and they were only slightly better than wild vegetables and tree bark. But now? This plate costs 10 yuan, and everyone loves it. It is more popular than water spinach. Why is that?

Although no one knows why Zhang Chao said so much about sweet potato leaves, one student still answered: "Times have changed. In the past, when people were poor, they used sweet potato leaves to fill their stomachs. Now that we are rich, people have discovered that sweet potato leaves are tender and sweet when fried with oil. They are a good dish to cleanse the mouth and remove greasiness."

Zhang Chao nodded, picked up another piece of sweet potato leaves and ate it, then said: "Yes, you see, the first chef who served sweet potato leaves on the table was so great. This dish, to some extent, condensed China's 50-year transformation from an agricultural society to an industrial society.

Pamuk and his work are to Türkiye what the first cook was to fry sweet potato leaves and serve them on the table.”

The turn was a bit sudden and everyone was overwhelmed and no one responded, so Zhang Chao quickly invited everyone to eat and drink.

After a long while, a student timidly asked, "You mean, Pamuk is a writer in a 'transitional period'?"

Zhang Chao did not answer immediately, but motioned him to wait a moment, and began to concentrate on dealing with the mantis shrimp in his hand. He first inserted the tip of the chopsticks vertically into the tail of the mantis shrimp, then poked the chopsticks along the carapace of the mantis shrimp to the head, pressed it down, and then pinched the tail and lifted it up -

A whole mantis shrimp was peeled.

Zhang Chao said in surprise: "There is paste!" Then he put the mantis shrimp meat and paste into his mouth. After savoring the sweetness of the shrimp meat and the mellowness of the shrimp paste, he made a satisfied "hmm~" sound.

Influenced by Zhang Chao, everyone relaxed and started peeling shrimps and removing thorns.

Zhang Chao then said: "To call him a writer in the 'transitional period' is not only inaccurate, but can even be said to be derogatory. He represents the transition itself - before Pamuk, the main focus of Turkish literature was on farmers and urban lower-class workers;
The technique is also limited to realism, which is almost a crude reproduction of European literature in the 18th and 19th centuries. This is certainly not wrong, but it undoubtedly ignores the great changes that took place in Turkish society at the end of the Ottoman Empire and after its collapse.

Pamuk single-handedly brought the cities, urban middle class and intellectual class of Turkish society into the world of literature with his outstanding works, and they became classics.

He almost single-handedly created modern literature for Turkey as a country and even in its cultural circle. Not only did he break down Eurocentrism in terms of technique, but he also created a new aesthetic paradigm that combined modernity and tradition at the thematic level, such as "Hüzün".

If Kemal created modern Turkish society in terms of institutions, then Pamuk created modern Turkish literature in terms of creation. "

Kemal is known as the "Father of the Nation" of Türkiye. Zhang Chao actually compared a writer with the "Father of the Nation", which is unprecedented.

Shu Qiong, a teacher from the Chinese Department, was a little dazed for a moment and couldn't help but question: "Are you overestimating Pamuk by saying this?
Is he better than Thomas Pynchon or John Coetzee?"

Thomas Pynchon is an American writer and John Coetzee is a South African writer. Both can be regarded as "cornerstone" figures in the world's modern literary landscape.

Zhang Chao explained: "Pamuk is a person who has paved the way for young writers in the entire Turkish world. He has brought a unique and perfect literary model to Türkiye in terms of expression and thinking.

This kind of demonstration and inspiration is huge. I dare to predict that in the near future, young writers from Turkey or Turkish cultural background will emerge one after another and continue to impact the center of world literature.

Because Pamuk has done the hardest thing and moved the biggest stone."

A student asked curiously: "The hardest thing? The biggest stone? What is it?"

Zhang Chao smiled and said, "Of course it is the literature of the glorious and long-standing Ottoman Empire. Don't forget, they are also a great empire that inherited ancient civilization and lasted for hundreds of years, with a vast number of classics.

How to face this legacy that is so huge that it can crush any successor into powder, and how to deal with the difficult problems between modernity and tradition, are always the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads.

Because he moved the stone, Pamuk was almost sent to jail by the conservatives and was even put on the assassination list of the radicals, so he was forced to leave his hometown.

Of course, there are many of his supporters in Turkey who believe that Pamuk should be returned to his country and imprisoned, or even killed, so that the international community can refocus on secular reforms.

After Zhang Chao finished speaking, all the teachers and students at the dinner table fell silent. They had never expected that Zhang Chao's understanding of Pamuk was so comprehensive and profound, which was completely incomparable to the superficial reports that followed the trend in China.

Pamuk won the Nobel Prize in Literature only last year, and it was only at this time that the usually slow-moving Chinese literary world began to pay attention to this writer.

"My Name is Red" is the first work of Pamuk to be translated into Chinese. It was published in August 2006, just over half a year ago.

While everyone was still immersed in Pamuk's extravagant and complicated narrative techniques, Zhang Chao had actually begun to pay attention to Pamuk's literary historical value. Such keenness was enough to make most domestic researchers ashamed.

Especially after Zhang Chao said all this, he still had an expression of "Isn't this how it should be?", which made people both envious and hateful.

In fact, Zhang Chao did not intend to show off, because 10 years later, Pamuk had been studied thoroughly and the conclusions he made were nothing special.

But in early 2007, it was a groundbreaking event.

But after all this detour, what does this have to do with the question of "whether China's contemporary literature lags behind the world"?

After a while, someone came to his senses and asked, "Pamuk removed the stone of the glorious literary tradition of the Ottoman Empire and paved the way for later generations. Are you saying that our contemporary Chinese literature lacks such a person?"

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "China's literary tradition is even longer and more splendid than that of the Ottoman Empire, and its classics are even more colorful. This legacy is naturally rich, but it is also a kind of shackle.

The vernacular movement has removed half of this stone in terms of expression, but the remaining half is more difficult to remove." Zhang Chao pointed to his head, saying everything.

A classmate asked curiously, "Doesn't Lu Xun count?"

Zhang Chao smiled and replied: "Lu Xun has not been labeled a 'traitor' yet, so he is not one yet. But he is indeed the closest. He can say that the words between the lines of ancient books are all about 'eating people', which is immortal in history." As soon as this was said, everyone stared at the food in front of them, as if they were afraid of hearing some nonsense. Lu Xun had to be a "traitor" to move the stone for future generations.

Isn't Zhang Chao afraid of being struck by lightning for saying something like this?
Zhang Chao seemed unaware, took a sip of happy water, and continued to turn the topic back to Pamuk: "Turkey is a late-developing country that entered industrialization in modern times, and Istanbul is still the forefront of the world's struggle between Westernization and anti-Westernization.

Pamuk was born into a Westernized family. His grandfather made a fortune from the Westernization business and accumulated a huge fortune for the family. He could study in the study room overlooking the Bosphorus from an early age.

Although he also loves some of the cultural traditions left by the Ottoman Empire, his values ​​are clearly in favor of Westernization, and his attitude is very firm. "

Seeing that everyone didn't believe him, Zhang Chao added: "Think about the plot and ending of "My Name is Red"."

Hearing this, everyone recalled the past.

"My Name is Red" tells a story about the conflict between tradition and change - in 1590, the Sultan secretly summoned four miniature painters (a traditional Persian painting technique) and asked them to paint a large book in European style praising the glory of him and his empire.

This was a very dangerous plan in the 16th century when fundamentalism prevailed. It was regarded as paganism, so the painters could only carry it out in secret. However, during this process, a painter named "Mr. Elegant" was murdered, and then a series of murders occurred.

...With the joint efforts of everyone, the murderer was finally found in the unfinished painting - another painter "Olive". "Olive" is a talented and extremely devout believer in art. He sticks to traditional miniature painting and cannot give up even though he knows that this art will be defeated under the impact of the European wave.

Finally, his faith collapsed when he discovered that his uncle, another master of miniature painting, fell in love with Frankish paintings. The out-of-control "Olive" destroyed all the masters of art who he believed had betrayed tradition, including himself.

Seeing that everyone had recalled most of the stories, Zhang Chao added: "During his childhood and youth, Pamuk always dreamed of becoming a miniature painter, and he painted many of the covers of his books himself.

If his paintings had been published first, rather than his novels, perhaps we would not have seen a writer named Pamuk.”

This sentence, like a match in the dark night, ignited the dark space in everyone's mind. The veil covering "My Name is Red" seemed to be removed in an instant.

"Is 'Olive' actually himself?"

"No, every painter is himself. 'Olive', 'Mr. Elegant', 'Butterfly', 'Stork', they are all him, and they are not him."

"Pamuk clearly loves the art of miniature painting and is well aware of the difficult situation of the local painting school, but he still allowed the European painting school to destroy the local painting school with an indisputable and huge force."

"Oh my god, how cruel! How could he be so cruel to himself and the traditions of his country?"

"Doesn't he feel sorry?"

“Pamuk’s worldview is… so scary!”

While everyone was talking about it, Zhang Chao took a break from his busy schedule to peel two more mantis shrimps and ate them with relish.

After a discussion, Zhang Chao said, "Do you know why Pamuk was assassinated and brought to court? According to the evaluation standards of traditionalists and the general public in his country, he is definitely a 'local traitor' who is willing to be a running dog of Western forces."

Everyone was speechless, and many students showed confusion in their eyes.

A student said indignantly: "Pamuk is not a 'traitor'. He is just against using backward traditions to constrain and suppress normal human needs. He is against 'overcorrection'!"

Another said: "That depends on the actual situation! Even though miniature painting is out of date, from an artistic point of view, it still needs to be passed on. We can't just dismiss it with one blow."

Another classmate said: "His background determines his stance. He is not a 'local traitor', but he always stands on the side of a group of people, who are also an important political force and group in his country."

At this time, a male teacher named Hu Xu sighed and said, "I know what Zhang Chao meant. Countries with a long history and splendid civilization, but which have fallen behind the 'West' in modern times, actually all face this problem.

The huge gap between tradition and modernity is constantly tearing apart people's lives and thoughts, and intellectuals like Pamuk are particularly tormented.

If you convert to tradition, you cannot stand the suppression of your free will by those backward customs; if you convert to the West, you cannot give up the beautiful parts of tradition. Trying to strike a balance between the two is actually more dangerous - just like animals and birds don't like bats.

The reason why you say that Pamuk helped later generations to move the stone is because he took a huge risk and pointed out to later generations with a clear attitude how to deal with this issue in literature. "

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "Pamuk has paved the way and taken the blame. Young Turkish writers can run wild along this path. So I think that in the future there will be many rising stars who will impact the center of the world literary world."

This is indeed the case. After Pamuk, Elif Shafak, Elif Batuman and others have received strong attention.

Someone asked, "You mean, China's contemporary literature lacks such a person?"

Zhang Chao said: "We look at Pamuk from an outsider's perspective and admire his attitude and courage in challenging tradition. But when a similar person is born within our own ranks, will we really appreciate him?"

There was another moment of silence.

Zhang Chao said: "Lu Xun not only wanted to overthrow classical Chinese and promote vernacular Chinese, he also organized a movement to Latinize Chinese characters, advocating the complete abolition of Chinese characters and replacing them with Latin letters, just like Vietnam.

How do we evaluate his original proposal? Unfortunately, if Lu Xun had lived another 20 years, or if he had not been so distracted by the cultural struggle, he might have removed the stone for us. Of course, he was also accused of being a "traitor" who destroyed Chinese traditions.

Therefore, the problem of our contemporary literature is not that it lags behind the world, but that there has never been a writer of sufficient weight who can use his works to show a rational and feasible path and sort out the crux of the difficult problem of "inheriting tradition" and "embracing modernity" for others.

The avant-garde writers of the 80s returned to realism, and the young writers after the 80s are avoiding traditional narratives. In fact, these are all products of this problem - including me.

As I said in Professor Iizuka's class, modern Chinese literature and the "modernization" of Chinese literature are two different things. In fact, we also need to question whether our "contemporary literature" is "contemporary" in the historical sense or in the literary sense.

As he spoke, Zhang Chao's mood inevitably became depressed, and his tone became self-deprecating.

The teachers and students seemed to have sensed this sentiment. It was somewhat unexpected that a young writer who had already achieved so much success could actually be a pessimist at heart.

At this time, a classmate shouted loudly, startling everyone: "The 'contemporaryization' of Chinese literature rests on the shoulders of people like us! Starting from tonight, we must work tirelessly for this goal!"

Someone immediately laughed and said, "What is this? A 'food stall manifesto for Chinese literature'?"

Everyone laughed, but they all felt a little lonely.

Zhang Chao said seriously: "Why not?"

Everyone was stunned - are you serious?

(End of this chapter)