"Novel Landscape" book cover Courtesy of the People's Literature Publishing House
Beijing, 3 Mar (China News Network) -- Zhang Li, a professor at Beijing Normal University and a well-known critic, recently launched her latest novel research monograph, "Novel Landscape," which was recently launched by the People's Literature Publishing House. In the book, Zhang Li rereads Lu Xun's "Blessings", Yu Dafu's "Past", Shen Congwen's "Xiao Xiao", Xiao Hong's "Biography of Hulan River", Sun Li's "Lotus Pond", Mo Yan's "Red Sorghum", Yu Hua's "Alive", Tie Ning's "Stupid Flower"... From these familiar titles, we find novels that readers have not seen before; explore the path of growth and innovation of writers, and think about how they have established their own style in the context of a century-old literary tradition.
In it, Zhang Li shows many insights that span the era of texts, which are refreshing. "The most interesting thing about the theme of Yu Dafu's work is that it is not to write 'sex' but to write 'love', for this writer, the important thing is not to recognize the deceased, to recognize the lover, but to recognize the same kind; the important thing is to meet the suffering person as a suffering person, and to meet the frustrated person as a frustrated person."
Zhang Li, a professor at Beijing Normal University and a well-known critic, courtesy of the People's Literature Publishing House
Reading "The Legend of Hulan River", she wrote: "In "The Legend of Hulan River", even the most ordinary people have amazing energy to live. Xiao Hong's observation of the survival of the hulan river people is not only the observation of the May Fourth Enlightenment thought, but also the cognition from the perspective of the local people, and even her understanding of the overall survival of mankind: in the survival of the Hulan people, there are both people's helplessness, people's stubbornness, and people's superiority. ”
As an expert who continues to pay attention to the field of women's literature, in this book, Zhang Li also uses this perspective to reinterpret Lu Xun's "Blessings" and observes the accusations of Xiang Lin's sister-in-law by women in the novel. In her opinion, "the reason why Mama Liu can occupy this condescending position and stand in the perspective of judging others is that Xiang Lin and she both believe in the discourse system of women's martyrdom." ”
What does she talk about female beauty? In a sense, Tie Ning rediscovered the beauty of the female body, liberating the female body from externalized labels. These bodies are not for desire to see, but they are not used for exhibition, and the beauty of women in the iron condensation pen is the gaze, recognition, and acceptance of the self-body, self-confidence and ease, and is based on health and strength. ”
Sun Yu, a professor at Chinese Min University, said in his comments on Zhang Li's comments: When mediocrity dominates people's cognitive structure, the existence of critics shows its own meaning. Zhang Li soberly sees the blind spots of the times in some texts, and this is the starting point of her thinking.
Zhang Li said that every excellent novel and every classic text has its unique scenery and its hidden entrance, which needs to be discovered by readers, and the significance of the novel landscape lies in this. I hope that readers can borrow this book to go on a "text exploration journey" together to discover the charming scenery in classic novels. (End)