Red Star Interview | Luo Weizhang: The trilogy named "History" is writing a kind of loneliness

Recently, Luo Weizhang, editor-in-chief of Sichuan Literature and vice chairman of the Sichuan Writers Association, published his new novel "Hidden History". The novel borrows a structure full of suspense to tell an unknown accident in the village, and the tension of the narrative and the condensation of language are like a frame of film pictures gradually flashing and advancing, so that people unconsciously follow the protagonist step by step into the dark and grand world of consciousness.

Since the writing of the city, it has been praised by the literary community. The Phoenix Literature Award speech mentioned that "Hidden History" is another innovative work of "Discovery Novel" after Luo Weizhang's "History of Sound" and "History of Silence", in the careful conception of the storyline and the change of artistic skills, the human nature is placed under the blade of cold light for ultimate torture, this work transcends the theme presentation of many similar themes, and becomes a "meaningful form" that breaks through the traditional local novel art paradigm - opening up the "hidden history" of people's inner world with a more magnificent concept of time and space. In order to understand Luo Weizhang's creative intentions and the relationship between the trilogy named "History", today (May 6), the Red Star News reporter interviewed Luo Weizhang and asked him for the answer.

Red Star News: How long did you start working on Hidden History? What inspired you?

Luo Weizhang: I can't remember the specific date, but it should be after the "History of Sound" and before "History of Silence"; although "Hidden History" is the last of the "Three Histories" to be published, it was actually written earlier than "History of Silence".

Once when I went back to my hometown, I heard my brother say that a complete human skeleton was found in a cave in our village, and the police came to investigate and collect evidence. To date, there is no follow-up. It touched me a lot. I thought to myself, that man died, that he died in an unknown way, and even his relatives did not know where he died. I think it must be the man's pain. I should resurrect him and let him speak. Hence the novel.

Red Star News: Some critics say that "The History of Sound" writes the history of the soul, and "The History of Silence" writes the history of faith. This time, "Hidden History" uses the name of "secret" and "history" as a metaphor to write the history of human nature, how do you think about the relationship between the trilogy?

Luo Weizhang: I prefer this generalization by critics, which I think is more accurate. Of course, there will always be no clear distinction, the heart, faith and humanity, is the deep concern of literature, every good work, will involve related content, such as human nature, "History of Sound" and "History of Silence" also have. It's just that each has its own focus. The commonality of these three works is that they all write a kind of loneliness.

Red Star News: After the end of "Hidden History", what is your biggest feeling?

Luo Weizhang: Resurrection of the joy of a life. I regret that this life came alive, but he did not live happily. Because he saw another self. The self who is his enemy, constantly exposing him, making him stare at his own shadow, is inescapable. He was a good man, a good man, so good to cowards, so in the face of his own shadow, he was at a loss and fell into a lot of struggles.

Red Star News: Why did you choose to connect reality and psychology this time, and what do you think the relationship between the two is?

Luo Weizhang: Psychology itself is a part of reality, and it is a very important part, so they are not "two", they are one.

Red Star News: What kind of character do you think the protagonist Gui Pingchang is, and why did you choose to use a black shadow to link the two.

Luo Weizhang: It seems that Gui Pingchang is a somewhat "special" person, but in fact, he is not special, he is as normal as us, and his kindness, including his cowardice, is not much different from us. His particularity is nothing more than the constant discovery of the self. The black shadow is the "fetalization" of his self, but in the end, he will jump out to fight him.

Luo Weizhang

Red Star News: "Delirium" appeared in The Hidden History, when did you start paying attention to the field of psychology? Why did you choose to incorporate it into your creations?

Luo Weizhang: Actually, very early, many of my novels are like this, and some critics have written papers analyzing the psychological revelations in my novels, but they have not attracted wider attention. Two days ago, I met the critic Bai Hao, who said that he had written a commentary on the "Three Histories", and at first he thought that it was like analyzing the "History of Sound" and "The History of Silence", and when he read "The History of Secrecy", he felt that many of his views had been subverted and had to be rewritten. I guess he noticed that The Hidden History is very different from the previous two, especially that psychological evolution becomes the driving force of the story.

I said that psychology itself is reality, a deeper and more real reality, and it is natural to integrate into creation.

Red Star News: What kind of existence do you think human nature is, and how do we "torture" human nature in the face of crime and punishment?

Luo Weizhang: Writers explain human nature differently from theoreticians and philosophers, but they will still give it moral connotations. I respect the natural character of human nature, but at the same time there must be light, even if it is far away. When we torture human nature, it is precisely to torture whether that light exists, whether it has been extinguished, and whether it has borne what it should bear. When human sin and punishment are not judged by others, but by self-examination, human nature evolves a step.

Red Star News: Through The Hidden History, how do you think contemporary people should deal with their own psychological world (or manage emotional emotions), and how should they examine themselves and their relationships with others?

Luo Weizhang: You mentioned a big question, and I can't answer it for a while. But it's certainly a very meaningful question. I feel that in The Hidden History, I present some of the answers to these questions.

Red Star News: As the editor-in-chief of Sichuan Literature, what do you think is the current situation of Sichuan literature? And (in the future) how can Sichuan literature take inspiration from local culture and make breakthroughs in local narratives?

Luo Weizhang: We have a group of serious writers and outstanding writers in Sichuan, but on the whole, we cannot compare with the provinces with developed literature. Drawing nourishment from local culture is natural and brought about in the bones, and contempt and excessive reliance on it will not achieve patterned writing.

Before answering your question, I was writing a creative talk for a publication, and I talked about it, and now we need a kind of "new novel." The exploration of form has passed for decades, and if it is placed in the sequence of world literature, it will be even longer, and there should be a group of writers who bravely stand up and bravely devote themselves to it, to carry out a formal revolution that is related to the signs of the times. At present, the first thing Sichuan writers have to do is not to write a sentence, let people smell the old atmosphere, or write a sentence, so that people can see that sentence in all directions.

Red Star News: Do you have a new creative plan, a writing plan next?

Luo Weizhang: Maybe there is, but I still don't say it, the work is not written, it is nothing.

Red Star News reporter Zeng Qi intern Zhang Renjie

Edited by Duan Xueying