Multiple metaphors about the confusion - Xianghong's novel "Tracing the Origin" Reading

The 10th issue of Guangxi Literature in 2021 published Guangxi writer XiangHong's novel "Tracing the Origins". Courtesy of Guangxi Literature

The novel had to be confused. Confusion seems to be the original standard and the final necessity of the novel.

Many novelists in Guangxi are obsessed with confusion. Fan Yiping's early work "Looking for a Gun" was favored by Lu Chuan and Jiang Wen because of the confusion and the theme was hidden, and it was put on the screen and won the box office; the recent long-form "Echo" in the East and West was confusing, conjecturable, addictive, and praised; even Zhu Shanpo also loved to be confused, and his "Woman who Accompanied the Night" was confused by the white fog, the earth was vast, the river was entangled, and the old boat floated, I watched once happy, watched twice and liked three times. They are not like Huang Peihua and the two of them: Huang Peihua also has fascinating old things in the countryside, such as "On the River"; the works of the Red Sun are not lacking in interesting mountain bridges and wild paths, "The Pier"; Li Youre always has warmth, warmth, and humor that slowly overflows the new and old news of mustang town outside the story, all in "Human News".

Xianghong is distinctly different from the six of them: "Tracing The Origin" subverts all my perceptions of Xianghong's novels—confusing modern stories involving rural villages, urban-rural junctions, mine mines, bell towers, villas, officialdoms, and the underworld, as well as protective umbrellas, and so on.

"Tracing the Origin" presents the hidden corners of the world like the bell tower in the novel, one layer has a layer of secrets, one layer is more dangerous than the other, of course, it is more than one layer of alarm, one layer is more than one layer of movement, there are layers of organs, and the steps can be alarming. Dangers are rife, and there are ears in all directions. Wrapping up and escaping from danger; fleeing to the provincial capital; reporting, and canvas bags; being detained, handcuffed and the armed struggle; reporting and reporting materials; telling the truth or not telling the truth... Who is the person who should be handcuffed the most? Is it the subject that runs through the novel?

There is no doubt that there are multiple metaphors about the confusion of "Tracing the Origins".

The wanted criminal Ying Ke was wrapped up in the bell tower, and Lai Laoqi helped Ying Ke escape from danger; Ying Ke disguised himself and fled to the provincial capital on a motorcycle; Ying Ke stopped the car to report to the chief, and the report materials were in a canvas bag; Ying Ke was detained in a hotel; Ying Ke encountered an armed struggle that led to a bloody murder, and Ying Ke thought that there was another source other than the source; Ying Ke tried to trace the source to the mansion but was beaten, Ying Ke's wife Guan He was kidnapped and his whereabouts are unknown; Ying Ke continued to try to trace the source but found that there was another secret in the mansion; Ying Ke's wife and children escaped safely Ying Ke and Jia Jun can be called the intersection of life and death, but Jia Jun may be the source of the source, should Ying Ke say Jia Jun to complete self-redemption?

The novel focuses on the exploration of the spiritual world of the characters, and through depicting the state of the Yingke couple in the face of catastrophic attacks, they show their fear and helplessness of the changes in the world in a meticulous and thorough manner. The destruction or even destruction of the shops brought them psychological trauma, and they either screamed or cried... They are puzzled, and they find ways to find the source of the cause. When all sources of life and meaning are destroyed, they still bravely pursue hope and seek solace.

Xianghong's "Tracing the Origins" reminds me of Borges's famous novel "South".

"South" has only more than four thousand words: Dalman was cut in the forehead on the stairs back home, almost got sepsis, and finally got better after hospitalization. He was to leave Buenos Aires and return to his own estate in the south to recuperate. Nothing had happened along the way, and he was about to get home, and he intervened in a hopeless head-to-head in a tavern due to a misunderstanding, and walked toward the plains of the duel with the dagger given to him by others. That's the end of the story. Ying ke is a bit like Dahlman.

"Tracing" takes "tracing" as the writing task, and when the reader thinks that he sees the source, he opens a stroke, making "there is a source outside the source" and "a hole in the hole", as if the metaphor of biodiversity - "Traceability" is very obvious: Yingke is only a representative of the good and evil of human nature. Whether human nature is good or evil, there is always a source to trace. There is a source outside the source, or there is another source outside the source, which is the goal and direction of our retrospection. In fact, Xianghong did not tell the reader the source of his traceability, and after I read it, I was still in the clouds and fog, and I did not see the mystery, which is the effect of confusing the novel: the handcuffs worn by Ying Ke were worn on the hands of others. Who knew it wasn't Ying ke who was handcuffed later? Is it really Yingkota? After my second reading of "Tracing the Origins", I wondered: Maybe Ying ke died in the hotel long ago, and what escaped was only his apparition, or maybe he had too strong desires before he died.

Darman of the South is going to the South to recuperate— it's a mundane journey. Darman certainly hoped so. He sat peacefully in the carriage and leisurely browsed the scenery and enjoyed lunch. His psyche, though it had the excitement of recovering from his illness, was deep and slow, immersed in the kind of stability that lay in the plain (in my first not-so-detailed reading, I always thought he was a very old man, and it wasn't until the second time I read it carefully). Ying Ke of "Traces" is rounded up, but luckily escapes, and he has to go to the provincial capital to report everything he knows. What does he really know? What's in his canvas bag? Xianghong did not move or show its color. He deliberately made the novel resemble a riddle, or a post-pause.

The tension that Borges buried in the delicate words is like the life of Dahlman. The South is a symbol of a return to blood and a symbol of the struggle against fate. Seemingly silent, it is actually full of undercurrents, the language is wonderful, and so is the story. Lao Bo wrote a seemingly bland story into a strange story. "Tracing the Origin" is not a miracle?

In fact, "Traceability" and "South" are quite similar. Or it can be said that as a short story refined "Tracing the Origin", the narrative is like gold, the language is exquisitely carved, quite a Bo's style. Xianghong is tight-lipped from beginning to end – also like Bosch.

Our retracing of the source of evil is often superficial. Xianghong's "Traceability" provides us with a new model of traceability. Under the guidance of this new model, we gradually discover that the original source of evil has a hole in the sky: the tall and majestic mansion hides a huge unknown secret, like the shadow of the sword in the ancient palace, which has long been flashing on the modern screen screen, and the truth is difficult to reveal, and it is still the same around a thousand years ago. "Tracing the Source" warns us that tracing the source cannot and should not be tasted, that is a futile effort, a kind of useless work, and may even be another kind of aiding and abetting abuse.

"Tracing the Origins" warns the world that the evils of this world, such as the misdeeds of terrorist groups, are by no means within the scope of our imagination. We have to admit that some evil comes from ancient times, from afar, how far away is that ancient? How far away is that far away? No one knows. The innocents created by evil are sometimes always innocents — they are helpless, hopeless, helpless, and incompetent, and the fairness and justice they crave is often delayed, and may never come, like Godot, who has been waiting.

Human beings and all the sources are circling, not knowing that the source is always the source, and looking for people against the current is still empty-handed. The answer that Xianghong can give to humans is that the source seems to be the pair of handcuffs that Ying Ke saw or wore, and the handcuffs moved from one hand to the other: "Ying Ke still clearly sees the handcuffs between the fingers of the head, which are the shackles that have only recently left his hands." "The source is those black hands that no one can see, right?"

"Tracing the Source" uses Wang Zengqi-style short sentences to kindly advise the world: the road to tracing the source is long, and the thorns are dense, and the trade-offs and judgments follow the shadows. The most interesting segment is this —

He had just returned to the room when two staff members came in on their heels. The leader poured a glass of water for Ying Ke and asked solemnly, Are you familiar with Jia Jun, head of the anti-narcotics detachment of the Cen Xi City Public Security Bureau?

I, I don't know him very well...

Are you sure? You know the rules and you have to speak truthfully.

We know, but really don't. Ying Ke did not stutter, but the voice was still as thin as a mosquito.

It seems you haven't thought about it yet. Well, you think slowly, remembering what to tell us tomorrow morning. Before he turned around, he glanced at Yingke with interest, and the sound of the door was quite loud.

It is this passage that pushes Ying Ke into a dilemma, for which he suffers a lot and sleeps and eats, he "scratches his head and beats his shoulders", not knowing how to do it.

The following is a common description in news reports about the inextricable connection between criminal syndicates and evil forces and the officialdom .

The above-mentioned official told reporters that whether Li himself had contact with the Li brothers still needs to be further investigated. However, as the mayor of a city, Li himself must at least bear the responsibility for dereliction of duty for the development of the criminal and evil forces under his rule to such a shocking degree. There are also Mao Moulie, Tan Mouhe and others, who were also hand-pulled by Li.

Unfortunately, news coverage is largely absent and cannot be traced back.

The traceability of the novel "Tracing the Origin" can only be abruptly stopped when it should be abruptly stopped.

The only thing that can't be stopped is the reader.

(About the author: Lan Baosheng, member of Guangdong Writers Association, literary and art critic)