Introduction:
As a native of Beijing, Lao She seems to be very keen to "entrain" an indescribable "Beijing film" flavor in his works - every grass, tree, person and event here can bloom the most familiar but strange brilliance in his writing, so that people can experience a simple and tenacious force through words.
Whether it is Xiangzi, who ran through every street and alley in Sijiu City in "Camel Xiangzi" but never found his destination, or Chang Siye, who was "chivalrous and courageous" in "Teahouse" and devoted to grievances, but could not feel "love" from the torrent of the times, it is the truest portrayal of the struggling people at the bottom of society.
However, compared with these, it is still the story of "Four Generations in the Same House", which describes the lives of ordinary people in the occupied area of Beiping during the Anti-Japanese War, which can touch the string in people's hearts more; Because that era when national choices and personal choices are intertwined can best show the helplessness and persistence of ordinary people in the process of the big time.
The story of "Four Generations in the Same House" is divided into three parts, from the three stages of "Confusion", "Stealing Life" and "Famine", telling the physical and mental plight of the old Beijingers after the fall of Beiping.
The first part of "Wandering" begins with the sudden entry of the Japanese into Beijing after the July Seven Incident, telling the vicissitudes of the originally peaceful Xiaoyangpen Alley: the Qian family who was killed by the Japanese, the champion who betrayed his daughter to meet the Japanese, and the Qi brothers who embarked on different paths... I made my own choice when things suddenly fell.
The novella "Stealing Life" tells the story of the small sheepfold alley that the Japanese fell into the dilemma of lack of food and coal. At this time, some people chose to follow the flames, some chose to refuse to cooperate, and some people sacrificed themselves in resistance; Everyone in the alley is looking for a way to survive and the meaning of living.
The next "Famine" depicts the extremely poor and chaotic life in Peiping in the crazy war, and the people who can only receive the republican side of the earth have to make the choice of death or struggle under the ravages of hunger and epidemic; Fortunately, after a hard struggle, people finally ushered in the news of the victory of the War of Resistance.
The three stories follow the timeline layer by layer, presenting the suffering and struggle of the people of the city after the fall of Peiping.
"Four Generations Together": Alleys and prisons in the flames of gunfire
The story of "Four Generations Together" begins with a place where there is a place - "Little Sheepfold Alley".
Lao She said:
"This place was really a sheepfold at the beginning, because it was not straight like the ordinary hutongs of Peiping, or slightly curved or two, but rather like a gourd."
Lao She's "Little Sheepfold Hutong" is extremely real, because this small hutong, which is not spacious and bright, and is incompatible with the square layout of Sijiucheng, is a real place in Beijing, and even near the Xicheng Huguo Temple, overlapping with Lao She's hometown where he lived since childhood.
After the fall of Peiping, this small and unusual place that looked like a ship also did not escape the baptism of war, but this place is different after all; Even if he became a refugee from a commoner, the "immortal" Beiping City in Qi Lao's eyes and his "immortal" house eventually died in the hearts of the people of the world, but the souls living in it did not disappear with it.
Perhaps, as Hugo said, "Man can only survive with material, and man can talk about life when he has ideals." Do you want to understand the difference between survival and life? Animals live, while people live. ”
Living in this small world, I firmly believe that even if it is a big thing, as long as it survives three months, it will inevitably pass four generations to experience this transformation from life to survival, and then from survival back to life.
This kind of writing technique that condenses the current situation of the family and country into one place, brings suffering and love and hatred together to one point and then describes it, makes the "typical characters" in the "typical environment" come alive at once, and also allows the reader to truly feel the most bitter and desperate side of that era.
Lao She wrote at the beginning of the novel that the main reason why the residents in Xiaoyangquan Alley love this place is that this is a "small world" that belongs to the Qi family alone, and it is a place where more than ten members of the family have lived peacefully for more than half a century; It seems that as long as you live here, there is nothing you can't get by, because the Qi family has "four generations in the same household", and the feng shui here must be very good.
The core of the story of "Four Generations in the Same House" is the different choices made by four generations in the hutong when disaster strikes; Lao She seems to be saying that the "feng shui" of the hutong is good, and that this peaceful and comfortable "promised land" has nurtured the growth of generations of people, but in fact, he is saying that it is precisely because of the emergence of people who "stand up" to resist that the life of the hutong can continue and the soul can be comforted here.
Because everyone who comes out of the alley of the small sheepfold symbolizes the people who are struggling for happiness in this era.
After all, in the smoke and fire, the most untested thing is the human heart, and the most radiant is human nature.
Outside the small sheepfold alley, one of the scenes where Lao She has the most ink is the prison; Probably because the prison under the iron hoof of the Japanese invaders has always played the role of "the connection point between the fate of the individual and the fate of the country", the prison of "Four Generations Together" is far more than an element of suffering, and there is more brilliance of human reflection.
Like the temporary prison converted from a school where Qi Ruixuan was held, it has been described as a painstakingly managed and carefully transformed hell that is specially designed to display the "art of killing" "alienation"; For every Chinese imprisoned in it, it tortures their bodies, persecutes their souls, crushes the last shackles on their bodies with brutal repression, and forces those who have nothing to embark on a path of decisive resistance.
Illustration by Ding Cong IV
To some extent, the prison full of cruel and bloody elements is more like a soul baptism prepared by Lao She for the "little sheepfold people" who have never experienced hardship - after all, not everyone has a heart to coexist and die with Beiping City like Mr. Qian.
Even Qi Ruixuan, who knew that he would have no way to live without resistance, had struggled with the choice of whether to call on more people to sacrifice for the country, knowing that he could not fight.
"Four Generations Together": A tragic song of human nature in survival and destruction
"Survival or destruction, that's the question."
To put it simply, "Four Generations Together" is actually about the story of an old Beijinger struggling between survival and destruction in a war-torn era - under the ubiquitous shadow of death, everyone makes their own choices, and behind each choice is the good or evil of human nature.
Most of the time, this choice means that people move from silent tolerance to decisive resistance.
For this group of seniors who have lived in the alley of the small sheepfold for more than half a century, forbearance is often the first reaction they make when disaster strikes; Like Mrs. Ma, who has believed in the philosophy of "ninja" all her life, she repeatedly warned her grandson not to cause trouble - compared to the Japanese soldiers with amazing combat effectiveness, all they can do is endure.
Because they could not reverse the torrent of the times, nor could they stop the Japanese army that took away the stone lions on the Luding Bridge, they could only choose "more is better than less", and while being forced to accept reality, they couldn't help but convince themselves, hoping to use a word of patience to survive the suffering that I don't know how long it will last.
Traditional values tell them that if they endure, everything will pass, just as the city of Beijing was restored not long after the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China; Even if this suffering may leave a permanent mark, forcing people to suffer the troubles caused by the "after-effects".
However, the successive deaths of innocent and good people are telling people that forbearance will not solve the problem.
Illustration by Ding Cong IV
In fact, with Qian Zhongshi, who died with the Japanese in his car, opened that "Pandora's box", the people in the small sheepfold alley could no longer go back to the past; Like the thousands of people who could not escape the fate of slavery during the Fall years, they experienced the pain of family destruction and death, and understood that forbearance would only lead to senseless sacrifice.
Lao She said:
"Living in a land that has lost its sovereignty, it is their close neighbors who die!"
Under the push of oneself and others, how many people can not be moved? Since the elderly, young and young people are equally destined to die, why not fight against the fate of endless suffering?
Especially after the first person who "stood up" appeared, under the upward and downward effects, the soul of resistance of the "little sheepfold people" was also ignited - Li Siye, who was strong and upright all his life and was accustomed to the coldness and warmth of the world, waved his fist; Qi Ruixuan, who has always wanted to do something for the country, but is limited by family responsibilities and does not dare to leave, also resolutely embarked on the road of resistance.
At this time, people are not afraid, but they have found faith that they are willing to sacrifice for.
As for those who were drowned in the whirlpool of the times before they had time to resist, they used death to arouse the bloodiness of the survivors, and used their limited lives to carry the infinite patriotism of tens of millions of people.
The edifying significance of death is even more vividly displayed in the story of Qi Tianyou's throwing into the river.
When Qi Tianyou was forced to parade through the streets in the clothes of "I am a profiteer", the numb spectators still did not understand what was happening; For them, "as long as the eye has something to see, they look, follow it, and don't get bored at all." As long as they see the excitement, they forget shame, right and wrong, let alone anger. ”
This chilling numbness not only reflects the powerlessness of the people at the bottom to do anything about suffering, but also reveals their confused hearts, because they seem to have nothing to do but become spectators.
And this group of numb compatriots also made Qi Tianyou no longer see any meaning in persisting.
This young man, who had been under pressure for a long time, finally embarked on the road of self-destruction, and he decided to go to another world to purify his shame and wash the red letters on his chest with the free, clean, and happy river.
Lao She's narration is clever, easily reminiscent of Hester Blanc in the novel The Scarlet Letter; It's just that the red characters on Bai Lan's body can still be called an unforgettable love, but the red characters on Qi Tianyou's body are imposed by the times on every descendant of Yanhuang, and they must be baptized with blood and used death to fight the shackles of slavery.
In other words, Qi Tianyou's death is not only a cornered under pressure, but also a tragic song of human nature in the times.
"Four generations together": the spiritual power of inheritance
As the so-called "country is destroyed", when the land that has lived for thousands of years is invaded and occupied by foreign enemies, it can only be in distress
How can people who are struggling keep their small homes?
In the same way, when the ideal of four generations in the same house is no longer possible, why not, as Alexandre Dumas said, "Die for the motherland, that is the most beautiful destiny!" ”
Lao She told people that people born in Xiaosheepfold Alley may not be able to choose their own origins, but when the country is in trouble, they can also choose their own path.
Just like the eldest brother, who is the daughter of a traitor's couple, he has never stood on the side of the traitor's mother, Guan Xiaohe. Even though the mother's status made the life of the Guan family a lot better, the favorable family conditions did not allow the eldest brother to follow the old path of his parents.
She is kind-hearted, with a sense of justice and patriotism, and is the most deviant existence in the family; She admired Qian Zhongshi wholeheartedly and would be saddened by his heroism; In the end, this girl who broke with her original family embarked on the road of resistance without fear of sacrifice, and fought side by side with the anti-Japanese hero Qian Moyin until the war was won.
From inferiority and ordinariness to heroes, the eldest brother has emerged a side that is not inferior to men in the bones of women in the new era; She did not receive an orthodox new education, and was not the most "pure" patriot, but she completed her spiritual transformation in blood and fire, and truly grew into a hero comparable to all men; Because what she inherits is the indomitable blood flowing in every descendant of Yanhuang.
Another proof that the connotation of "four generations in the same household" has gradually changed is the experience of several generations of the Qi family; In order to keep the false illusion of "four generations in the same household", Qi Lao, who constantly calmed the emotions of his juniors, fearing that they would run away from home in a fit of anger, would eventually change his indifferent attitude after his son was forced to die by the Japanese; He would rush out and question the Japanese who lived in room three when his great-granddaughter chick died of starvation.
Maybe all this he did was just to save this family and the false dream that lasted for decades, but who can deny that Qi Lao's ideal of "four generations in the same household" is not a new and beautiful expectation that belongs to the Chinese?
As small as a Qi family, as large as the entire city of Beijing, and then to the whole of China, there are only one or two people who cherish the "beautiful dream" of home and prosperity?
Brief summary:
As a democracy fighter, Lao She's Little Sheepfold Alley is undoubtedly the confirmation and epitome of his patriotic feelings; In that era of gunfire, he led this group of lost people in the torrent of the times, led them on a path of painful awakening, and let the world see the most real suffering and struggle after the fall of Peiping.
He soaked firewood, rice, oil and salt in the smoke of war, tempered his soul, single-handedly broke the dream of four generations living together, but recreated a more noble view of home and country.
Resources:
[1] Lao She, Lao She Anthology. Beijing Yanshan Press.2008
[2] Liu Jinping, Appreciation and Literary Narrative of the novel "Four Generations in the Same House". Comparative Studies of Cultural Innovation.2022.3.11 Journal
[3] Li Dongfang, Reflections on the Value of Evil in Four Generations Together. Chinese Cultural Studies.2021.3.12.Journal
[4] Zhou Qihong, A brief analysis of the cultural connotation of "Four Generations in the Same House". Writer's World.2020.10.8.Journal
[5] Tan Yang, On the Artistic Characteristics of "Four Generations in the Same House". Knowledge Base.2019.12.8.Featured Journals