Wanli Glow to the Human World—— Commenting on Xu Jian's "Dawn"
Wen 丨 Li Yunlong
"Dawn" is a major theme writing.
This kind of historical imaging of smoke and haze has obvious advantages, that is, the pen and ink are not moved, and the light flame can be identified.
However, for writers, such unique conditions do not necessarily bring real convenience. Because of its core facts, it is well-known to everyone, the times change, the longitude and latitude are endless, all parties expect, and the pressure is sharply increased; the main theme of the book is serious, the character spectrum is uneven, it is difficult to grasp, it is not easy to grasp; and it is also deep and long, the details are lost, the river rises and the moon falls, the mud and dust seep, and its behavior stops deliberating, and the burden is heavy.
Let's take a closer look—it's all about the writer's writing.
Originally, the timeline involved in "Dawn" has been around for a hundred years, covering immeasurable world disturbances, and bringing together the Spring and Autumn Festivals and the Lamentations of Eternal Night into the inland field that spans centuries— even if the fate of the nation, from beginning to end, has not been able to shake off philosophical shortcomings, get rid of religious excesses, and even achieve the most unexpected changes in a way that contradicts each other in the original imagination and the ultimate imitation —even so, it has not been able to stop the instantaneous explosion of the nine days of thunder. The vast and once fragmented land of China has suffered a profound impact of omnidirectionality, and the once unusually silent society has also experienced unprecedented changes in breadth and density.
In this regard, the completion of "Dawn" should be without any obstacles. For example, the successive formation and separate landing of the "Orientalist imagination" all cover the rich logic of cultural landscape, thinking mode, discourse system, etc., such as the special illumination of the "intersection of sorrow and joy" like the "extinguishing the light in the sky" at the soul level, which strongly affects people's cognitive feelings and their psychological foundations.
In short, the historical traces and the current reality are "absurd and solemn" and repeated, all swept by hurricanes, cleansed with heavy rain, and when the crowd is noisy, the shape follows the shadow, the background is grand, the people and things are complete, and it seems easy to do home scheduling.
However, as mentioned earlier, while the relevant conditions appear favorable, they are "the most difficult to reconcile".
Liu Xiaofeng has published a book on reading ancient Greek poetry, entitled "Zhao Zhi Yu Wei". In it, he says something about the famous fire thief: "Why is Prometheus imprisoned here on a desolate rock—this time Prometheus's answer is succinct: 'The will of Zeus, the hand of Hephaestus'". In the context of "Dawn", Xu Jian certainly cannot be regarded as a fire thief, but from the mountains and seas in front of him, there is a huge amount of information, not only "heaven and earth turn, time is forced", but also "how many things, never urgent", and it is mixed with endless human traces, and even involves factors such as spiritual beliefs and value orientation, and the situation is very similar.
In addition to the conscious vigilance, the writing trade-off, then Xu Jian is in this situation, those huge and complicated things, all of them are "Zeus's will" and "Hephaestus shot", what he has to carry is the real pressure of cutting and cutting, he alone in such a situation, it is difficult not to think of Prometheus who is "imprisoned on a desolate rock".
From the point of view of being, major themes and good guidance are by no means as everyone imagines, or as people are accustomed to, as long as they use big words and loud voices, everything will be fine.
The real trouble is that it is easy to be obliterated by all the materials that can be cheaply or painstakingly obtained. Did Xu Jian fall into this abyss? It is worth solemnly telling the public that in the face of related problems, the writer successfully found a solution and demonstrated superb skills.
Xu Jian's treatment provides a high-quality case for writing historical themes.
First, he broke through the usual global recording mode and chose the scene lightly. Based on the present, the interviewer concentrated on the early days (for example, eight days), condensing the storms of the year into a very microscopic and very specific space. This kind of narrative that focuses on the old objects and past relics of the previous generation and can take into account the political brokerage yuan and the new narrative can be called beneficial enlightenment for how similar themes can be written uniquely.
It bypassed the overly large and chaotic rock piles and minefields, and reached the realm of free openness.
The point is that Xu Jian quietly put multiple hidden parameters into it in the coordinate system of time and event intertwined with the solemn narrative, whether it is looking back or remembering, through the messages of the present people, or through the pages of historical events, the writer has explained the context of the deeds and the words to the point on occasions that are not quite eye-catching, nor are they particularly bright periods--why they happened, why they were weak at the beginning, then violent, and happened so irresistibly. Xu Jian talked about Southern Chen Bei Li, and also brought out other important roles and events, and the image was vivid, the details were typical, the truth was restored, and the self-purification procedure was opened. This kind of almost surreal writing may be destined to bear some kind of close-up gaze, but only in this way, it is more worthy of affirmation if it does not use the appearance of sensationalism to shape the vanished and the distant travelers, and bring it into the public eye.
In the "road signs" section of the opening chapter of "Dawn of Heaven," a few sentences must be recorded: "From south to north, I traced the traces of the lives of thirteen major participants of the CPC, paid homage to my former residence, visited party history experts, and consulted Zang Who was noting sensitive figures." Xu Jian's explanation here revealed the code for his character's handling. As the world's largest political organization, no writer can clarify the personnel entanglements of all periods, even if such entanglements are only one in ten thousandths of the total. But Xu Jian wisely pinpointed the breakthrough point - the thirteen participants of the "Big One". Finding these characters means that the book is truly weightless. Founder, typical; the sun is not out, waiting for the sky to light up - "breaking dawn", and the title image, in line with the film.
The characters are selected, and the writer's harvest is the type division, the role ending, and the character anchoring - there are both corresponding human nature comparisons and faith comparisons, and they are used to inform future generations: the heroes and soldiers have recorded their merits, the martyrs have flowed through the ages, and the corporals have been discredited.
According to Larry Brooks, "That's the character."
In addition, the narrative of "Dawn" is deeply emotional: "The cover-up is already five more cold." I sighed in the air. ”
Such a language expression full of talent, the whole book abounds: "I found the light in the vast history books", "a ship of bright moon and a sail"...
Gently put down "Dawn", my heart gushed out: restore history, write real people, and literature on the same road, it is also the same as "thousands of miles of glow to the world!" ”
The author is a special researcher of the Center for Contemporary Creation and Research of Shenzhen University