介绍:
Sex is a common substance in today's literature. But decades ago, it was still a taboo subject in China, until acclaimed writer Zhang Xianliang became the first rule breaker.
His novel "Half of Man is Woman", or in Chinese, "Nan Ren De Yi Ban Shi Nv Ren", interweaves sexuality, politics, and the exploration of self-identity together. It has been recognized as one of the most remarkable works in contemporary Chinese literature.
Here is Li Ningjing with more.
Reporter:
In 1985, a fictional work titled "Half of Man is Woman" was published in the literary magazine Harvest. Once released, the novel caused an enormous amount of debate and controversy as much as Nabokov's Lolita to the literati. Focusing on the love story between two labor camp detainees during the Cultural Revolution, the book depicts adultery and sexual repression in its many chapters.
Yang Nianlu, a bibliophile in his late fifties, recalls his reaction to the novel at that time.
"When I was a Chinese major student at college, I was interested in new literature. So after heard someone saying this novel is very compelling, I started to read it. It indeed stunned me! Because for people around my age, we were raised under the impact of orthodoxy and were afraid to talk about sex and humanity."
Written by the late writer Zhang Xianliang, "Half of Man is Woman" portrays the struggle of Zhang Yonglin, an intellectual who was placed in a labor reform camp due to some poems he wrote in the 1950s. Serving in state farms for nearly twenty years, the protagonist has been marginalized by the society and sunk into a dreary indifference. Until one day, Zhang confronts a naked young woman, a fellow prisoner bathing in a river.
Since then, her image has lingered in his mind. The experience raises some conflict within Zhang and he starts questioning whether he is able to love someone after years of repression and supression of normal human emotions.
Here's an excerpt from the book.
"Pure love, the fear and trembling of first love, the fragrance, the illusions of romance, where were they now? Eradicated by prison clothes. Eradicated by lining up, yelling out a number, being counted, marching to work. Snuffed out by bitter struggle. The physical needs of an animal were what remained. What frightened me was not that around us there were no women to love, but that if put to the test I could not have found love left in me. My emotions had grown as coarse as my skin...."
After eight years, the two inmates meet again and decide to marry. But their marriage turns sour when the husband is impotent. Though he is cured afterwards, their domestic life is still plagued by political struggle and the battle and frustration between two genders.
In the eyes of Zhou Zhiqiang, a professor who studies Chinese literature at Nankai University, the novel is not just a love story, but rather a vivid account of the zeitgeist in 1970s.
"Under this complicated story about worship, sacrifice, and abandonment, we could get a taste of everyone's inner fear and anxiety at that time. Zhang Xianliang just penned down our utmost emotions. "
Zhou says the main character's request and bewilderment reflects the inner struggle of many Chinese intellectuals of the time.
"This fiction is a spiritual history of our mind. After years of setting things right and fierce struggle of our nation, how to fix our economy and politics is not the core issue anymore. According to Zhang Xianliang, the future of our spirit is something we should care about. "
Using a first-person narrative, "Half of Man is Woman" is a semi-autobiographical work of the writer. The book is imbued with sensation and lyrical melancholy.
As a fan of this novel, 57-year-old Yang Nianlu says this book transgresses the restricted area and inspires him to reevaluate the purpose of life.
"After reading that fiction, I realized that we should question ourselves, such as why we live and what kind of appeal and dream one should have. "
But for today's young readers, who have never experienced those tumultuary years, is this book relatable or not?
Late author Zhang Xianliang gave out his answers.
"I think we should tell the suffering and ordeal of our generation veritably to the next generation. At least, we should let them know that the way we live now is hard-won. Modern men have their own troubles and frustrations, but when they learn that their fathers went through much more bewilderment and pain, they will muster up courage to face the reality of today."
Zhang Xianliang passed away on 27th Sept this year.
For Studio Plus, this is Li Ningjing.
