My story begins on January 1, 1950...
What kind of story is this? Then listen to Mo Yan slowly finish it, when the thick book "Life and Death Fatigue" is finished, the story looks very simple, and it can be summarized in one sentence:
In the past fifty years, Simon has undergone six reincarnations, one as a donkey, two as an ox, three as a pig, four as a dog, five as a monkey, and finally born as a human being.
Like the classic circular story, once upon a time there was a mountain, and there was a temple in the mountain, and there was an old monk in the temple who was telling stories to the little monk. What story to tell? Once upon a time there was a mountain, and there was a temple in the mountain, and there was an old monk in the temple who was telling stories to the little monk.
Although it seems to be only a cycle of reincarnation, the land around it is still a high-density northeast township, but it is to write a tragicomedy of life, and what is surprising is that instead of looking at the changes in the world with the human eye, but observing the human world with the eyes of animals, it is to look at the big with the small, and tell the 50 years of rural history by looking at the changes in the relationship between farmers and land.
In the live interview program of the new book "Life and Death Fatigue", Yu Hua said a very interesting sentence: After watching the life and death fatigue, the first feeling is very jealous, MD, written so well.
Not cattle can not be done, the main thing is that Mo Yan wrote 500,000 words in 43 days, the speed alone is already enough cattle, it is estimated that some people can't see Mo Yan writing books so quickly, there are also many scoldings, so that Mo Yan said that this book was conceived for 40 years, which is a small comfort to some people.
However, I personally think that some people write books that are books, just as Yu Hua also said on live broadcast that Mo Yan writing books is a short pain, and we write books is a long pain, but it is a long pain that is not as good as a short pain.
So what kind of magic does "Life and Death Fatigue" have?
01
Mo Yan's name did not need to be introduced, and it is estimated that most people knew something about him.
Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum" is adapted from his novel of the same name, and Mo Yan himself has also participated in the screenwriting of the film, whether it is film and television or novel, which is unforgettable and has become a classic.
In addition to other masterpieces, such as "Sandalwood Punishment", "Fat Buttocks", "Frog" and this "Life and Death Fatigue", Mo Yan himself became the first Chinese Nobel Prize winner in October 2012.
The title of The Fatigue of Life and Death is derived from the Buddhist scriptures.
In the Eight Great Enlightenment Sutras, it is said: More desire is suffering; life and death fatigue, starting from greed, less desire and inaction, body and mind are at ease.
It is said that before writing "Life and Death Fatigue", Mo Yan visited a local temple in Chengde, and there were six murals of reincarnation on the wall.
Seeing this six reincarnations, looking at human society through the eyes of animals, finding this wonderful perspective inspired creation, and finally starting to write this book.
Worthy of being the first Chinese Nobel Prize winner, although the writing is fast, the overall quality is not bad, in addition to the humor and humor of the text, in these words can feel the existence of strong vitality.
After the book was published, although there were some different objections, the praise was also surging forward.
Some of the media commented on this: From my conventional point of view, in the book "Life and Death Fatigue", written or inadvertently, two myths that no one can escape, one is the myth of vitality, and the other is the myth of the times.
Under the six reincarnations, what kind of myths will be produced by the written words?
02
Reading "Life and Death Fatigue" is indeed very tired, and the fatigue is not the reading experience, but the eyes are too tired, because they are reluctant to put it down.
As the saying goes, words come out, the heavens and the earth are shocked, and the ghosts and gods cry.
The text of Mo Yan's novel does have magic, and it is no wonder that Xu Hua wants to scold his mother, it is really too interesting to write.
According to the story, the protagonist of the story, Ximen Hao, has experienced six reincarnations, and his fate is really tragic.
After all, reincarnation has not yet been said, but it is not the cause of going through reincarnation and becoming a Buddha on the ground, all of which are the results of Yama's bad deeds.
But also have to thank the King of Yama, did not throw Ximen Hao to other places, only to toss it locally, maybe The King of Yama is the great wisdom behind the scenes, let Ximen Noisy, although tossed, but through the way of reincarnation to experience the variety of life.
In the process of this experience, although the fate is tragic, the drama is very strong, and the humor of Mo Yan's words is breathtaking.
In this book "Life and Death Fatigue", some of his own works are also mixed in, but it is a different charm.
Of course, what is more interesting is that in the book, Mo Yan even did not hesitate to blacken himself many times, and when he blackened himself, he was very cruel.
For example, in the eyes of Pig Sixteen, Mo Yan was such a person: this boy was really over-energetic, so bored that he even recited the "Reference News", his small eyes were red, his forehead was smoked black with smoke, and he got the lamp oil that the public did not want money for, and he boiled lifelessly.
Of course, the result of Mo Yan's staying up like this is also good, so that Pig Sixteen became: I became the most literate and knowledgeable pig on the earth in the seventies.
03
Familiar with Mo Yan, it is estimated that you will be familiar with Gaomi Northeast Township.
The Gaomi Northeast Township is like a drop of water, through a drop of water to see the whole world.
This world is how those natives of the vast land rely on the land and always keep the vigorous vitality of the root.
The writing on this land was repeatedly polished by Mo Yan, and it is said that William Faulkner of the United States and García Márquez of Colombia gave him "important inspiration".
Mo Yan once said: I understand that a writer must have a place of his own. A person should be humble and give in in daily life, but in literary creation, he must be arrogant and arbitrary."
In this arbitrary and arbitrary trip, poor Ximen Hao was thus trapped in the northeast township, even if he was reincarnated six times, not only could not escape this land, but also could not escape the original big family.
Even the blue-faced ghost who had been helping him reincarnate would see Simon and say, "Dude, you're here again."
Therefore, in the process of coming and going, to use a classic phrase to describe it: see him rise up a tall building, see him feast on guests, see his building collapse.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
There are three views in life: seeing heaven and earth, knowing reverence, seeing sentient beings, knowing compassion, seeing oneself, and seeing the way back.
The protagonist of the novel, Ximen Hao, is estimated to not reach the level of seeing the heavens and the earth, but he sees sentient beings and sees himself through reincarnation, and jumps out of the shell of the person but sees a different life.
In this life, Simon saw that the seeds he had sown continued to take root and sprout, and in a sense, although his life failed, his life continued, just in a tragic way.
And this tragic way can be seen as a combination of "Ordinary World" and "One Hundred Years of Solitude", which is full of magic in the seemingly ordinary world.
From donkey tossing and calfing to pig sprinkling, dog spirit, and then to monkey play, the cycle of life is too difficult.
These magical colors for each individual are actually only the embodiment of self-consciousness expression and strong vitality, but when seen in the eyes of animals, they are like a big net that makes it difficult for those who are in it to break free, and it has to be said that it is another kind of sadness.
Just as the beginning and end of "Life and Death Fatigue" are the same sentence: My story, from January 1, 1950...
The story of more than 500,000 words is indeed very long, but when I finally read it, I have a sense of fate in life.
Ultimately: everything that comes from the land will return to the land.