A journey of "compromise" rewriting - talking about the rewriting of Zhang Chengzhi's revised "History of the Mind"

A journey of "compromise" rewriting

——Talking about the rewriting of Zhang Chengzhi's revised edition of "History of the Mind"

Willow

(College of Literature, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097, Jiangsu, China)

Abstract: In 1984, Zhang Chengzhi walked into the Great Northwest, approached the "Zhehe Ninya", and decided to speak out for the matriarch, so it took six years to complete the "History of the Soul". As soon as the first edition of "History of the Mind" came out, it caused a huge sensation in the literary world. The connotations of "faith", "loneliness", "chewing suffering" and "innocence" expressed in it have been praised and valued by critics, and at the same time, the voices of opponents have also sounded, and Zhang Chengzhi's strong emotional expressions, bloody narrative descriptions, and opposing cultural views have been strongly criticized. In both extreme praise and extreme criticism, the author once again went to the Great Northwest and spent up to twenty years revising the History of the Mind. In 2011, a revised edition of The History of the Mind was published, and this article is based on the comparison of the contents of the first edition of the History of the Mind and the revised History of the Mind, analyzing what the author mainly revised, and then discussing whether the revision of the History of the Mind was successful.

Keywords: History of the Mind Zhang Chengzhi First Edition Revision Value

Beginning with the entry into the Great Northwest of the Vast Desert in 1984, Zhang Chengzhi, a man who has been wandering in many cultures, is determined to get close to his mother. Using the northwestern group of "Zhehe Ninya" (also translated as "Zhehe Ninya") as an entrance, approach the matriarchy and sealed history that has been silent. "I am determined to make my own life's work have a home, and the 600,000 Zhehe Ninya believers who are as strong as the backbone of China are the people who can support themselves." That's how you're done, my History of the Mind. After six years, the first edition of The History of the Mind was finally completed in July 1990. As soon as the first edition of "History of the Mind" was published and distributed, it received great attention from the literary circles, and critics and scholars interpreted and examined the work in many ways. The work "History of the Mind" is religious, lyrical and historical, and it is difficult to make a single body ruling, and critics have also begun to criticize the author Zhang Chengzhi when interpreting the work. Since the first edition came out, the author has been tempered mentally and spiritually in the two extreme environments of praise and accusation, so he once again raised his pen and made a one-third of the content of the first edition of the History of the Mind. Twenty years later, a revised edition of The History of the Mind was released in 2011, but it was no longer released on a large scale. What changes the author has made to the content between the first and revised editions of the History of the Mind, what kind of spiritual transitions were experienced in the process of revision, and whether the revised version of the History of the Mind is a successful work are all worth exploring and studying.

I. The First Advent: The Precipitation of Praise and Criticism

In 1991, after the first edition of "History of the Mind" came out, the literary world caused a sensation. Many famous literary critics and writers have made their own evaluations of this relatively special literary work. In 1995, the first issue of the Contemporary Writers Review and the second issue of Shanghai Literature devoted to "Zhang Chengzhi's small collections and monographs centered on the history of the mind". Many literary critics have given high praise to the ideas and characteristics expressed in the first edition of "History of the Mind", such as "faith", "pure literature", and "victory over loneliness". Especially placed in the literary world in the 1980s and 1990s, the "purity" of literature has been tempted by the tide of economy and society, and more exaggerated and impetuous literary trends such as "leper literature" have risen in the creative literary world, avoiding suffering with humor and slipperiness, "To be honest, I think a group of Chinese writers (including the author) are quite capable of comprehensively maintaining themselves, not so attached to pain, humor and wit are becoming their invincible carapace, almost the younger the writer lives happier, the word pain, It seems to be getting more and more classical. At this time, Zhang Chengzhi resolutely chose to give up his salary and devote himself to the vast Loess Plateau, looking for his own home and faith, chewing on the suffering and loneliness of being rejected by others, which was unique in the literary circles of the 1980s and 1990s.

However, after the first edition of "History of the Mind" came out, it was inevitable that it would be attacked a lot. Today's society is a complex society, and the full freedom of emotion will inevitably lead to speculation, such as "Islamic fundamentalists" and "religious fanatics" and other hats are buckled on the author's head. "Especially for the mind of writers rather than theorists, elaborating on what is perceived by one's own conscience requires the rules of the environment to limit intentional misinterpretation and misdirection." Therefore, Zhang Chengzhi's behavior of "clean spirit", speaking up for the matriarch, wanting to open a door for people to correctly understand the Great Northwest, "Zhehe Ninya", and the wish to liquidate the past and reflect on the "sixties" have been misread.

In the face of initial doubts, Zhang Chengzhi did not care, "I think it is unnecessary to worry about other people's misreadings. If it is really given a big proposition, then the test he will undergo will be repeated many times." But in the two decades of praise and criticism, he slowly precipitated himself, re-embarked on the journey of entering the Great Northwest, approaching Zhehe Ninya, and approaching Chinese Muslims, and becoming more and more calm. "As an author, I feel a heavy responsibility. Without making a single revision, without changing it to a socially responsible version, as a writer, I don't think I can forgive myself. In 20 years of surveys, I've heard praise all over China that is warmer than burning, but that praise is even more worrying because it's not true. Nor was there any enthusiasm to the point. Some rebuttals were also heard, and even some very offensive attacks were heard. "Knowing how to reflect on his own works in the midst of criticism and questioning, and also knowing how to remain calm in the praise that comes pouring in, and once again revising his own works, this shows that Zhang Chengzhi is indeed a writer with a conscience."

Second, re-revision: the weakening of personal feelings and the reduction of religion and culture

In the revised edition of "History of the Mind", the author has made very meticulous changes to the content of the first edition, from a certain religious and specific word, to a large-scale personal lyricism, and even to a change in cultural positions, the magnitude of the change is indeed very surprising to read. However, the "socially responsible" revision that the author adheres to has also greatly damaged some of the unique values of the first edition of the History of the Mind.

1. Deletion, modification and interpretation of religious terms

The History of the Mind is not a purely historical, lyrical work of literature, but one of its distinguishing features is the religious character it contains. The author himself is also a Chinese Muslim, and he intervened in the creation of the work as a "son of the matriarch", so it is inevitable that he will have the identity of "believer" in it. However, this way of speaking from the bottom of the zhehe ninje and returning to the matriarchy has been labeled as an "Islamic fundamentalist", so in the revised version, the author has to delete and replace religious terms and sentences. First of all, this modification of the author can be clearly seen in the title: the title of the section "Religion of the Poor" was rewritten as "The Thoughts of the Poor", the title of the "Sacred Domain" section was rewritten as "Terroir and Threshold", "The Saints Were Born" was divided into "The 'Heart' of the Community" and "Yemen of Transmission", "The Definition of Jihad" was rewritten as "Lanzhou Biography", "Black Vision" and "Yizazi" were written as "Choosing 'Pingliang'", etc. Many topics with religious overtones have been rewritten by the author as regional and narrative titles, thus greatly simplifying the religious color of the revised "History of the Mind" in the first impression.

Not only that, in the revision of the content of the work, the author also tried to avoid using some names with religious overtones: for example, the "saints" and "Dosdani" in the first edition were mostly replaced by "peasants" with strong social class behavior, "jihad" was rewritten as "resistance to defend religious beliefs", "resistance", and "believers" groups were rewritten as "minority groups".

Not only has a great deal of rewriting and substitution been done to religious words, but the author has also added an explanation of the events after the description of the events in the text, so as not to cause misinterpretation:

"The story of the functioning of the religious community and the economic interests within the religion, told in the vernacular of the village dialect, hides one of the most essential elements of Chinese Muslim society: the clergy guide the lives of the people, and the people provide food and clothing for the clergy."

"The moment when the Muslims of Zhehe Ninya rose up in the forty-sixth year of Qianlong showed its essence from the moment of arrest of Ma Mingxin: this was a struggle to defend religious belief."

In addition, in the section of the revised edition " Choosing 'Pingliang'", the author analyzes why Ma Mingxin chose Mu Charter as his successor.

The author also explains some of the terms used in the first edition in the narrative:

"As the name suggests, Yemeni fever is an Arabic melody. It follows arabic pronunciation and rhyme, is a 'Thai Wade' (standard pronunciation), and is an original Sufi ritual. Along with it, there should be several sets of Western-Central Asian Celiophisms. ”

"The so-called Sheshid, the so-called Shuhaidayi - does not mean the killing of others, but only the abandonment of oneself. It is by no means a militaristic and belligerent propaganda, as the West has done, but as a last resort of the suffering and the weak. ”

In the section "Zhangjiachuan", the author also explains and explains the areas of "Zhangjiachuan" and "Xuanhuagang".

The author's religious revisions to the first edition of the History of the Mind are, on the one hand, convenient for the reader to read, and on the other hand, the author is also avoiding the fate of the revised edition being misinterpreted again in this detailed way.

2. Substantial reduction of personal lyricism

In the first edition of "History of the Mind", the author's personal emotional color is very strong, which is one of the reasons why the author is labeled a "religious fanatic". "The History of the Mind is not a novel but makes the greatest use of the power and cover of literature, nor is it historical but more solid than all the evidence. Compared with purely religious works such as the Rzeshhar, it retains secular, broad, and personal rights. Zhang Chengzhi himself attaches great importance to the personal color in "History of the Mind", and the narrative of the first edition of the work describes the expression of large sections of personal emotions, which can be described as a refreshing, but in the revised version, he changed his previous views, deliberately restrained his emotions, and deleted large sections of individual emotional content. For example, before the "Book Shame" section of the first edition of "History of the Mind", the author made a long disclosure of personal moods about the "past" and "official history", but in the revised edition, the author deleted this lyricism, but preferred to narrate history and materials. In the section on "Keeping Secrets" in the first edition, the author's personal inner doubts and confusion in the face of the official "illusion" when flipping through the "Outline of King Ding Shifeng Fort" were also deleted in the revised version. In the first edition of the section "Notes on Lazy Old Dreams", the author made a clear definition and expression of his identity in creating this work:

"I am a writer who is determined to describe religion in a religious way. My desire is for my book to become the roar of the sacred faith of Jehovah Ninya. I will follow the Shers I worship with the effort I have expended day and night in my body. I can't let the old ways of governing history ruin my thoughts. ”

In the revised version, the author deleted this lyrical literature and directly explained "another method of creation".

Another very important part of the lyricism of the first edition of The History of the Mind lies in the poems created by the author and the praise quoted at the end of each subject. In the form of this lyric poem, the author expresses his feelings about history, especially highlighting his closeness to the matriarch, his adherence to faith, and his pursuit of the soul, and Zhang Chengzhi's emotions as a "believer" in writing "History of the Mind" are the most vivid and touching places that erupt. In the revised edition, the author has rewritten or even replaced the poems at the end of each door to varying degrees: the poems at the end of the first door have been rewritten, the second, third, fourth, sixth, and sixth doors have replaced the first edition of the poems, and the seventh door has been deleted. Most of the authors delete the expression of their own religion and belief feelings, and most of them are expressions of history and soul. The author maintains the calm and objective position of the narrative in a way that suppresses personal beliefs and emotions, and in this way weakens his "religious" identity in the creation of the work, thereby strengthening his identity as a "historical narrator".

3. From narrating cultural antagonisms to emphasizing cultural integration

Putting together the "Zhehe Ninya" with foreign Islamic culture and the "Confucius and Mencius culture" in China is a topic that cannot be avoided, whether in the first edition of the History of the Mind or in the revised Edition of the History of the Mind. This is also an objective fact, and there will be a process in the collision between cultures. When the author discusses the "Zhehe Ninya" and "Kongmeng Culture" in the first edition of the "History of the Mind", he mostly talks about the opposition between the two:

"Although the Chinese civilization represented by the Way of Confucius and Mencius (including Buddhism and Taoism, which are homogeneous to the Way of Confucius and Mencius), is the most brilliant civilization in the world, the core of Chinese civilization, the Way of Confucius and Mencius, is the most powerful enemy for all people who pursue spiritual fulfillment, absolute justice, and freedom of the heart, for all religions and ideals, and for all purity."

Because the foreign "Zhehe Ninya" and the Chinese mainland "Way of Confucius and Mencius" were placed in a position of opposition, Zhang Chengzhi also suffered criticism for this. In the revised edition of the History of the Soul, Zhang Chengzhi changed his position, repeatedly emphasizing ma Mingxin's integration with traditional Chinese culture after bringing "Zhehe Ninya" into China, such as: Zhehe Ninye's "Nag Fever" has become the product of "Yemen changing China", called "Lingzhou Nagging Fever". The author argues that this change is inevitable, "because Chinese– not to mention the Chinese peasantry – cannot get used to the expression of the Arab or Central Asian peoples." Therefore, the "Lingzhou Fever" has also become an important symbol of Zhehe Ninye becoming a Chinese peasant religious organization. For the "religious division" within Zhehe Ninya, Zhang Chengzhi attributed it to a powerful internal thrust of Chinese culture- "blood relations".

Not only that, in the revised edition of the "History of the Mind", Zhang Chengzhi made a more detailed division of the "Way of Confucius and Mencius", no longer a general title, but put forward the connection and integration of zhehe ninya and the inherent "blood", "landlord", "class", "filial piety" and other factors inherent in traditional Chinese culture. Zhang Chengzhi re-understood the "history of resistance" of Zhehe Ninye and "sinicized" it, believing that it was not only a struggle for faith and religion, but also a struggle of the poor peasant masses at the bottom against class oppression. As a result, the revised edition of the History of the Mind more clearly highlights the expression of non-religious connotations such as "human nature" and "morality".

Third, on the success or failure: the details of the successful damage revision

In the face of heavy public opinion pressure, spending up to twenty years to revise their own literary works and dissect their own mental processes to the world, this move itself requires a lot of courage.

Many of the revisions are still very positive. The author rewrote the title of "Chinese Muslim" in the first edition to "Chinese Muslim" in the revised version, which is a very positive rewrite. Because "Chinese Muslims" and "Chinese Hui" cannot be equated, and in the history of the struggle between Zhehe Ninya, the Dongxiang and Sala ethnic groups are also involved, so it is very reasonable to replace them with a "Chinese Muslim" with a general term, and the use of the collective name of "peasant" is indeed an aspect of the author's integration with traditional Chinese culture. Another very important change in the author's view is the change in the perception of the Han ethnic group that stands in opposition to the "Zhehe Ninya". The author begins to reflect on the responsibilities of Jehovah Ninya in this war, which cost bloody sacrifices:

"The retribution for the massacre of the han innocents that undoubtedly occurred in the chaotic world of Tongzhi was the prejudice against the Hui that prevailed in the future."

"For Muslims, reckoning with their own violence is a confession that must be done sooner or later."

The author's other details of the first edition, such as the bibliography he used in the creation of the frontier, and the "glossary of terms" used in each of the appendices, indicate a relaxation in the author's attitude, hoping to reduce the misreading of the work and take into account the reader's reading feelings and emotions.

However, the problems existing in the revision of the History of the Mind cannot be ignored. The author should not make a lot of deletions from religious words in the rewriting, or even deliberately explain them in the text. When the author created the first edition of "History of the Mind", he also said that he wanted to write as a "believer", so it also showed that the work "History of the Mind" must have a very strong religious color. Only because of some public opinion and speculation in the outside world, the religious nature of this work is deliberately weakened, and the abrupt interpretation of religious terms and places in the writing shows that the author is cautious in his creation, for fear of being misread again. And in religious belief and literature, spiritual pursuit is not contradictory, "religion and art, is the two ways of grasping the world, and mutual penetration, mutual integration, they are the perception of the real world into an imaginary spiritual space, in the spiritual pursuit, to respond to real life." Due to some prejudices of the prejudiced "religious fanatics" and "Islamic fundamentalists", weakening the literary religious color of the "History of the Mind" is an act that damages its literary value. Because the literary value of the work "History of the Mind" is not only reflected in the "faith" and "humanity" it tells, but also in the close integration of its "religious" and "literary", such as those with unique religious terms such as "Shu Hai Da Yi", "Sheshid", "Dosdani" and so on, which adds to the unique national and religious charm of this literary work.

"It's not necessary to worry about other people's misreadings. If it is really given a big proposition, then the test it has to undergo will be repeated many times. In the face of misreading, the indifference that can be calm and calm has become the suppression of personal lyricism now, which is completely different from Zhang Chengzhi's previous attitude. It can also be said that this is also contrary to his original intention to a certain extent. In his speech "Life Once Crossed the Dead Sea" from 2012 to 2013, Zhang Chengzhi once again mentioned the "History of the Mind" and said that "it was written by accepting the commission of a part of the people or the people, and also completed the expression of the writer's personal mood." Relative to this definition, Zhang Chengzhi's suppression of personal emotional expression in the revised version is contradictory.

It is also inappropriate for Zhang Chengzhi to suppress his own personal emotional expression in the revised version and to delete a large number of lyrical passages. How to define the work of "History of the Mind" is actually not easy. Zhang Chengzhi himself defined the "History of the Mind" as "a kind of academic book with a strong literary flavor, or an academic book with a strong academic flavor, or an academic book with a strong academic flavor." Therefore, "History of the Mind" cannot be simply regarded as a historical work or an academic work, and Zhang Chengzhi's creative identity is a writer and a "believer", so his devotion to religion, dependence on the matriarch, the search for the soul, and the conversion to faith are actually a very big highlight and advantage in the work "History of the Mind".

The reason why the first edition of the History of the Mind came out was highly praised was not because it was a book about the special group of "Zhehe Ninya", nor because it explored religion in the form of literature, but because it valued the true and pure value that existed in it. In the process of creating "History of the Mind", the author incarnated as a "listener of suffering" and took the initiative to approach pain. In the creation of the work, the author strives to dissect his inner beliefs, using "true faith" to reflect the hypocrisy of the eighties and nineties, so that zhang Chengzhi's personal emotions in the first edition of "History of the Mind" read violently, but they are solid and true feelings, "Although Zhang Chengzhi still exudes the kind of extreme and fiery temper that we are familiar with from time to time, that kind of praise and arrogance, on the whole, Zhang Chengzhi has never been significantly enriched, stable and mature in "History of the Mind". "It is what "History of the Mind" should pay more attention to. And these aspects are more reflected in the expression of Zhang Chengzhi's personal emotions in his works. This revision by the author undoubtedly weakens the value of the History of the Mind as a literary work to a great extent.

Moreover, looking at the misreading of "History of the Mind" by the outside world, in fact, many critics have not correctly judged the book from the starting point of Zhang Chengzhi's own creation. There are inherent differences between cultures, so if you want to really get closer to and understand a culture, you must stand in the position of this culture, rather than measure it by other standards. The misreading of Zhang Chengzhi's "History of the Mind" is actually mostly due to different cultural stances, "Whether it is the praise of affirmers or the accusations of deniers, most of them ignore the specific blood and cultural background of Hui writers and to some extent, limiting the deep interpretation of Zhang Chengzhi and his works This is the dilution or even disregard caused by the double oblivion of self and society." Still interpreting another culture from the perspective of Han culture, and not really looking at this work correctly and objectively from the perspective of the writer, Zhang Chengzhi himself expressed his helplessness in the preface to the revised edition, believing that "it is difficult to explain and defend." When human beings lack a common foundation, each speaks of a different topic. However, Zhang Chengzhi, who understood this situation, made such an edit to the first edition of the "History of the Mind", which cannot be said to be a successful revision. This revision is overcorrected, contrary to the author's previous purpose of writing, and cannot help but make people feel that this is some concessions and compromises made by Zhang Chengzhi to the outside world on the misreading of the first edition of "History of the Mind".

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