A Review of Zhang Chengzhi's "History of the Mind"

A Review of Zhang Chengzhi's "History of the Mind"

Zeng Meifang

(Kunming 650500, Yunnan Normal University, Yunnan)

【Abstract】 Once Zhang Chengzhi's "History of the Mind" was published, it aroused heated discussion in the academic circles due to the ambiguity and complexity of genre, theme and content. For such a controversial work, it is of certain reference significance to examine the research results of different scholars of various eras. It is found that the research focus of "History of the Mind" is mainly on the spiritual development process and creative process of writers, the excavation of cultural identity characteristics and the analysis in the context of globalization. In addition, in recent years, there have been breakthroughs in the stylistic theory of "History of the Mind" and the comparison of new and old versions.

【Keywords】Zhang Chengzhi; "History of the Mind"; Research Review

In 1991, Zhang Chengzhi's "History of the Mind" was published by Guangzhou Huacheng Publishing House. As Wang Anyi said, "Generally speaking, we publish it in a journal first and then publish a book, but it does not, which also shows its experience of not being understood." The History of the Mind has been accompanied by criticism since its publication, enough to imagine the heterogeneity of this work. As Zhang Chengzhi said today, "It has endured various top-level encounters of praise and discredit"[2]. "History of the Mind" integrates ambiguity and particularity, and by combing through the historical research of the work, it undoubtedly has certain reference value for grasping and understanding the work.

First, the writer's spiritual process and creative process are sorted out

The personal history and ideological dynamics of a writer are inseparable from his literary creations in a particular period. In the article "Reading Qiwen, Talking Strange People - Zhang Chengzhi's "History of the Mind"", taking Zhang Chengzhi's writing process as the starting point, zhang Chengzhi's mental journey is combed, and it is believed that Zhang Chengzhi has grown from a child who is attached to his "mother" to a teenager who pursues his "father", from an individual hero to a hero of the group, and draws the conclusion that "History of The Mind" carries Zhang Chengzhi's own spiritual transformation. This article is the first research result to expound zhang Chengzhi's spiritual journey to explain the writing process, and this perspective examines Zhang Chengzhi's ideological context from a panoramic perspective, which helps us to peek into the dynamic thought of Zhang Chengzhi, which is essentially contained in the "History of The Mind". However, the article is slightly weak in the process of combing, and it is not forceful enough in terms of expression. On the contrary, Cheng Guangwei's "Historical Geographical Map of the History of the Mind" uses a more rational thinking to analyze the important influence of Zhang Chengzhi's inner Mongolian insertion, Xinjiang archaeology and Ning Ganqing's visit to the three periods of experience on his creation of "History of the Mind", and believes that the most important spiritual inducement for Zhang Chengzhi's decision to create "History of the Mind" lies in this. The practice of sorting out the orientation of a writer's life and positioning it in history has been applied many times in the study of classic writers, such as the study of writers such as Lu Xun and Shen Congwen, and has formed a relatively stable academic historical convention. Obviously, Cheng Guangwei is to integrate Zhang Chengzhi's writing into the research discourse of mainstream Chinese writing, break down the barriers between ethnic minority literature and mainstream Han literature, and learn from each other. This is a research idea worth learning from, which is conducive to correctly understanding and fairly evaluating Zhang Chengzhi's unique literary phenomenon, and finally gaining a more profound interpretation and insight into the "History of the Mind". Similarly, I believe that Zhang Chengzhi's practice of combing through his personal historical map and positioning it as a member of ethnic minority literature is of equal significance to the development and construction of ethnic minority literature history. Starting from the writer's personal history, examining the literary creation of a specific period, sorting out the writer's writing context and ideological dynamics with a point and a face, preventing the take of the meaning out of context, and even separating the writing from the experience. Examining the significance of the creation of writers in various time periods for literary history, we can get a more accurate evaluation of writers' works, and at the same time, it also provides an idea for the construction of minority literary history.

Examining the History of the Mind in the light of Zhang Chengzhi's creation and spiritual changes, interpreting the text in terms of text, rather than treating it as an isolated text, is a recognition of his classic interpretation. The "History of the Mind" is put into Zhang Chengzhi's writing process to investigate, and with a point to lead the face, Zhang Chengzhi's writing has a more overall grasp. However, if we only stay in the shift of the writer's spatial position, and do not involve the motives for the development and change of the writer's thought, it is tantamount to scratching the itch of the boot.

Second, the excavation of cultural identity characteristics

Taking "History of the Mind" as the starting point to explore Zhang Chengzhi's cultural identity is also one of the continuing concerns of the academic community. "The Funeral of a Muslim" and "History of the Mind" Three Questions" and "Reading Zhang Chengzhi's "Spiritual History" are the first papers to discuss this topic, the former arguing that "Spiritual History" is an epic of religious culture and a confession of Zhang Chengzhi's faith. In "Reading Zhang Chengzhi's "History of the Soul"", Wang Feng believes that the "History of the Mind" writes the hui national spirit and national characteristics, and discusses the philosophical proposition of "how people should survive", so it has the significance of going to world literature. Excavate the national characteristics of "History of the Mind" and explain the significance of this work to ethnic minority literary works. In "A Brief Discussion of Zhang Chengzhi's View of Hui Culture", Bai Cao profoundly pointed out that Zhang Chengzhi's bloodline strength and identity as an ethnographer were more emotional and rational in his exposition of Hui culture, thus drawing conclusions that were both solid and convincing. Under the premise of "understanding the situation of religious human beings and their spirit", and grasping the correct method of "existing in the way of the subject of study", Zhang Chengzhi on the one hand discussed the homogeneous characteristics of Hui culture and Chinese culture, and on the other hand, he focused on analyzing the characteristics of Hui culture itself, which is a religious psychology that is difficult to grasp. Although this kind of religious psychology has formed a relatively profound and beautiful cultural psychology of the Hui culture, at the same time, it is also subject to the external constraints of the Hui people's rural tradition and small business tradition. Yang Huaizhong affirmed Zhang Chengzhi's research methods and views in the afterword to the "Hui History Manuscript", but Bai Cao, while agreeing, also raised the question that "if there is a lack of spiritual experience, this research method is still limited". In "On the Religious Motif Narrative of the History of the Mind", Tan Guilin believes that the "History of the Mind" continues the development of the religious motif narrative of the Chinese novel in the 20th century, making Islamic religious culture obtain poetic interpretation and positioning in modern Chinese literature for the first time, and embodying the contemporary intellectuals' pursuit of religious value orientation and free speech. At the level of literary value and literary historical significance, the important literary status of "History of the Mind" is affirmed. In the article "National Complex and Human Complex- Reading Zhang Chengzhi's "Spiritual History"", Yang Jiguo regards Zhang Chengzhi as a spokesman for the Hui nationality, believing that Zhang Chengzhi's choice and bold performance of ethnic themes, his courageous exploration of ethnic history and his faithful depiction of national destiny are driven by strong national feelings. Zhang Chengzhi's writing method broke the literary conventions, borrowed from the writing methods of the Hui Zhehe Ninye folk narrators, and told the historical story of Zhehe Ninye in a true and authentic way, especially highlighting the Hui national spirit of tenacity and daring to suffer. Yang Jiguo commented that the publication of "History of the Soul" marks a new starting point for Chinese Hui literature and Chinese ethnic minority literature, and highly affirms the level of Hui literature represented by Hui writer Zhang Chengzhi.

In addition to analyzing the "History of the Mind" from Zhang Chengzhi's Hui identity and national culture, Zhang Chengzhi's other identity, an intellectual, has also entered the field of researchers. In the article "The History of the Mind and the Reshaping of the Image of Intellectuals", Wang Yong believes that the text of the "History of the Mind" is peculiar, turning the research perspective to the "I" of the intellectual image, and that "I" stand on the position of the people and is a combination of populist intellectuals, organic intellectuals and legislators. Zhang Chengzhi turned to the life of the underclass and created "History of the Mind", which is a reversal of traditional knowledge elements. Traditional knowledge molecules rely on the system, examine problems from the perspective of the elite, and ignore the life of the bottom, and in Zhang Chengzhi's view, such exploration is not deep and thorough enough. In his article "A History of the Mind of Intellectuals: Re-Understanding the History of the Mind", Su Tao further pointed out that the History of the Mind is an important text for interpreting the relationship between intellectuals and the people, and regards it as an important work to reflect on and criticize the discourse of intellectuals. As a result, Zhang Chengzhi's image as an intellectual is clearly defined in the scholar's analysis.

As a leader of Hui writers, Zhang Chengzhi really needs to conduct systematic and profound research when discussing the cultural identity of the Hui people. In research, we should avoid only looking at Zhang Chengzhi's ethnic identity statically, or even dilute the identity and cultural background of ethnic minorities, and deliberately examine Zhang Chengzhi's creative changes as a special phenomenon in the context of mainstream Chinese literature, but should examine special literary phenomena in a specific cultural context. In the context of globalization, informatization, and networking, the discussion of the cultural identity of writers is particularly important. Not only can the cultural characteristics of the writer's works be explored, but it is also necessary for the discussion of cultural identity anxiety in recent years.

Third, the context of globalization

The impact of globalization on China began in the early 1990s, when "the discourse of globalization is a response to the changing structure of global relations – new unity and new ruptures" [3]. "History of the Mind" came into being in the 1990s when a new trend of thought was introduced to China. In Cultural Resistance in the Context of "Globalization": The Case of Zhang Chengzhi, Gong Gang argues that Zhang Chengzhi's "anti-war literature" cannot be viewed at a broken angle, and that his experience of "discrimination" in foreign countries should be combined with the "neo-colonialism" he resisted. Zhang Chengzhi believes that the "world system" of "globalization" means that "Western powers" dominate the global pattern, while the mode of domination is transformed from "violent control" to "cultural and economic conquest", and the temporal and spatial counterpart of this system is "neo-colonialism". Zhang Chengzhi placed the "neo-colonialism" and "local culture" of "globalization" in a tense binary confrontation, identifying with his ethnic minority identity, culture-territory, and national and national identity, and resisting "neo-colonialism" with the cultural spirit of the discourse level of "anti-war literature". Gong Gang added here not only to confront with words, but also to implement in the system. He believes that Zhang's self-centered thinking is somewhat idealized, and that he should rationally look at the confrontational way of his textual culture, and also need to be vigilant against its tendency to deteriorate into cultural nationalism. The author believes that Gong Gang pointed out that Zhang Chengzhi, who faced the real problems, advocated "idealism" is immature and fanatical, and can easily turn into extremism. Kuang Xinnian's article "From the Perspective of the History of the Mind to Zhang Chengzhi's Writing" "Only by placing the History of the Mind in the context of capitalist globalization can we be considered to have reached the entrance to the History of the Mind" [4]. Zhang Chengzhi's "History of the Mind" is examined in the context of globalization, and Zhang Chengzhi's rebellious temperament and its significance in root-seeking literature are explored. He believed that Zhang Chengzhi's writing was a reversal of globalization, and used the history of Zhehe Ninya as a powerful weapon of resistance. The History of the Mind is essentially a full expression of the underlying position and a high display of a posture of resistance, while containing Zhang Chengzhi's efforts to "find a way out of civilization". Essentially, it involves the universal proposition of human beings' pursuit of freedom. In his article "Presenting, Critiquing and Reconstructing: Zhang Chengzhi in the Post-Colonial Era", Yao Xinyong further analyzes the critical power and combat consciousness carried by "History of the Mind" and the role it plays. From the perspective of "post-colonialism", Yao Xinyong focused on examining the basic elements of the six cultural spirits in Zhang Chengzhi's "History of the Mind", "The Poetry of Divine Revelation", "Deserted Hero Road" and "Clean Spirit", and through functional relationship analysis, these elements are composed of formal elements (idealism) and content elements. In Zhang Chengzhi's view, Han culture and Western culture belong to the "broken" side that needs to be criticized, while ethnic culture, religious beliefs, and governance methods belong to the "li" side, while the formal elements are the ideal of promoting minority culture. Yao believes that Zhang's idealism has the integration of structural functions, which not only makes Zhang's text appear as one, but also integrates the critical and combat consciousness in Zhang's thought, so that "breaking" and "standing" become an organic community rather than a single dualistic opposition, so that in this set of antagonistic relations also contains Zhang's innovative integrity, Yao believes that Zhang wants to carry out criticism of Han culture and Western culture on the basis of "establishing a solid new culture" [5]. From this, Yao Xinyong analyzed the difficult situation of Chinese culture in The perspective of Zhang Chengzhi in postcolonialism, the ideal of equal communication with ethnic minority cultures and injecting heterogeneous components to maintain its vitality. Of course, Yao's views are also mixed, with those who agree with it and those who oppose it.

It is undeniable that "History of the Mind" explains the proposition of nationality in the era of globalization very well, and exploring the "History of the Mind" in the context of globalization is an important point of view for observing and understanding the "isolated corner" of the "History of mind", which has a considerable degree of theoretical reference value. From this, We can sort out Zhang Chengzhi's creative thoughts and draw a clear vein, that is, confrontation - the pursuit of freedom - innovation and construction. However, globalization is a dynamic process, and the critical power contained in the "polysemy" "History of the Mind" still has endless treasures, waiting for more scholars to explore the interpretability and produce more textual meaning.

4. Literary and stylistic characterization

Which genre and which genre the History of the Mind should belong to has been an unanswered proposition since its publication. Zhang Chengzhi himself believes that "it is at the same time history, literature, and religious works"[6], completely denying that this work is a pure novel or history, or a religious work, "perhaps the nature of its work is like its title, it is just the mood of myself and the Chinese of millions of faiths". Zhang Chengzhi still explained the stylistic category of "History of the Mind" with a literary answer, and did not give a conclusive conclusion on the genre of "History of mind". Regarding the stylistic and literary views of the History of the Mind, the academic community can be roughly divided into three positions. The first is represented by Wang Anyi, who firmly believes that the literary category of the History of the Mind is literature and involves the essence of literature, "it is directly a spiritual world" [8]. However, in terms of style, Wang Anyi and others, based on Zhang Chengzhi's status as a writer, believe that "History of the Mind" is a long historical novel, while Li Yongyin and others use narrative methods and language as reference points to believe that "History of the Mind" is a narrative epic. The second is that Chen Sihe is the representative who believes that the "History of the Mind" is a religious work with a literary character and a religious history written in literary style. The third is that historians represented by Yao Dali have included the History of the Mind into the category of national history and identified it as a historical book. The History of the Mind deals with a large number of teaching histories of Jehovah Ninya, with a focus primarily on historical writings. In the article "Non-Fiction - Lyrical Historical Novel - "History of the Mind"", Huang Zhongshun tried to emphasize that "History of the Mind" should be given due attention by the academic community from the perspective of the significance of the history of the development of modern Chinese novel styles. He believes that "History of the Mind" has a rigorous historical writing style and a strong lyrical desire, which infers that "History of the Mind" is a new genre, that is, non-fiction - lyrical historical fiction. This paper attempts to provide a clear response to the ambiguous style of the History of the Mind, treating the History of the Mind as a hybrid and naming it a non-fictional, lyrical historical novel, which is worth learning, but it still fails to fundamentally resolve the controversy about the style of the History of the Mind and reach a conclusion.

Fifth, the comparison of new and old versions

In 1991, the first edition of "History of the Mind" was published by Huacheng Publishing House. In 2009, Zhang Chengzhi began to rewrite one-third of the length of the History of the Mind and republished it under the name History of the Mind (Revised Edition) (2012). However, the revised edition was not officially published, but chose the way of commemorating the engraving collection. The advent of the revised version has caused another heated discussion on Zhang Chengzhi in the academic circles. Zhang Chengzhi confessed that he spent 20 years running around the muslim land, and it took three years to revise and rewrite the "History of the Mind". "Reflections on the World Situation, The Structure, Trends, and Scholarship within the Community"[9] In 2015, the first issue of Literary and Art Controversy opened a research album by Zhang Chengzhi, a lone traveler, which published two papers on the new and old editions of the History of the Mind. One is Yao Xinyong and Lin Lin's "The Correction and Persistence of Passion: A Comparative Analysis of the New and Old Editions of the History of the Mind", which pointed out that the new edition deleted a large number of insertive lyrical and argumentative texts, and deleted or weakened many words that involved the intensity of religion. In addition, the academic third-person narrative is enhanced. What is more important is the contrast between the ideological content and spiritual temperament of the new and old editions: First, the enhancement of Chinese nature and the weakening of religion; second, criticism of the "theory of descent"; third, critical enhancement of the system; fourth, the construction of a people's community. The new version of the "History of the Mind" has been deeply modified compared with the old version, and some of the problems that still exist after the revision are related to some of Zhang Chengzhi's inherent chronic diseases. Comparing the old and new versions, for the work "History of the Mind", it is a new turn of exploration and research perspective. The relationship between Zhang Chengzhi's ideological flow and creation in the context of social change will extend a series of new research questions.

Also a comparative study of the old and new versions, Yang Xiaofan took a unique path and returned to history, reinterpreting Zhang Chengzhi who "took a different path" with a revised version of the "History of the Mind", believing that this is also a delay in Zhang Chengzhi's revolutionary thinking. In the article "Taking a Different Path, Fleeing a Different Place, Seeking Different Kinds of People"--The Revised Edition of the "History of the Mind" and the "Turning Point" of the 1980s and 1990s", Yang Xiaofan believes that the first edition of "The History of the Mind" was Zhang Chengzhi's thinking about entering the 1980s with the revolutionary ideals of the 1960s. In the 1990s, the impact of social transformation and the international vision cultivated by living abroad made Zhang Chengzhi disappointed with the intellectual framework and literary concepts of the 1980s. Only by taking a different path and escaping from another place can we reinterpret history and the individual. In order to extend his recognized literary ideas into the 90s, he parted ways with the 80s and cleaned up the legacy of the revolution of the 1960s in the international political situation, looking for the possibility of revolution. In the revised edition of The History of the Mind, the style became calm and prudent, focusing on connection with the people, reflecting the adjustment of his self-identification style (from "son of the people" to "desolate hero") and from "people" to "class" conceptual recognition. He believes that historical research should be the action of competing for the right to interpret civilization and the practice of creating a civilized community, and class sentiment is the basis for the achievement of the community. The revised edition of "History of the Mind" further reflects Zhang Chengzhi's conscious consciousness of avoiding becoming an unconscious speaker under the constraints of a certain system or ideology under ideological debate.

Both papers involve Zhang Chengzhi. The issue of the old and new versions of the History of the Mind deserves our attention and discussion, which is another manifestation of the new dynamics of the writer's thinking. This "new" also represents "change", and the difference between the old and new versions means that the same writer's cognition of the same object and the narrative change in different time periods. This change reflects not only the changes in the background of the times, but also the changes in the writer's own cognition. The author believes that the writer's work is not only the product of the writer's cognition of the world, but also the embodiment of the deep exploration of his own heart. Therefore, "History of the Mind" is not only an explanation of religion and belief, but also a monologue analysis of Zhang Chengzhi's own heart. It can be seen that studying the differences and changes between the old and new versions is a crucial cornerstone for studying Zhang Chengzhi's mental journey.

VI. Conclusion

Zhang Chengzhi's "History of the Mind" has been washed by decades of research in the academic community, and researchers have interpreted it from multiple angles. To some extent, it is the ambiguity and uniqueness of the work that creates the large space for the interpretability of the work. From the perspective of the development of the writer's spirit, there is not only the panoramic perspective of "Reading Strange Texts, Strange Words - Zhang Chengzhi's "Spiritual History" Redundant Words" to interpret Zhang Chengzhi's spiritual transformation from "individual hero" to "group hero", but also Cheng Guangwei analyzes the development and change of his spirit by positioning the writer's historical map. From the perspective of cultural identity, there are the Hui identities of Wang Feng and Bai Cao, and there are also the interpretations of the identities of intellectuals such as Wang Yong and Su Tao. In the context of globalization, there are also Yao Xinyong, Gong Gang and others who deeply analyze Zhang Chengzhi's resistance to the "cultural colonization" brought about by globalization in "History of the Soul", and try to find another way to preserve the characteristics of minority culture. In terms of literary style and new and old editions, there are also hundreds of words to explore the literary value of "History of the Mind". When "History of the Mind" was first published with praise and discredit, it has been an unfinished topic for nearly 30 years. Although the reputation is mixed, by listing these five different ways of interpretation, it also proves that the "History of the Mind" contains huge spiritual wealth in ethnic minority cultures and even Chinese cultural works for readers and researchers to discover.

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Yao Xinyong. Presentation, Criticism and Reconstruction: Zhang Chengzhi in the Postcolonial Era[J].Journal of Zhengzhou University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 1999, (1): 119.

[6] ZHANG Chengzhi. Selected Literary Works of Zhang Chengzhi[M].Haikou:Hainan Publishing House,1995:171,349.

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