Shenzhen Business Daily Reading Client Reporter Nie Can
A few days ago, the "Literature in Futian" series of activities invited Wu Gou, a well-known historical writer and winner of the 2018 "China Good Book Award", and Chen Zaijian, a young writer, to visit the Futian District Library to have a dialogue on the theme of "'Bao Qingtian' and 'Pan Jinlian': Looking at the Judicial System of the Song Dynasty from Literary Works", re-understanding the peak of ancient civilization from a literary perspective, and presenting readers with the fine tradition salvaged from the depths of Chinese history. The live dialogue was broadcast on April 19 on the WeChat video account of Futian District Library, Station B "Bright Forest Club" and other platforms.
Bao Zheng is a real person in history, and the title "Bao Qingtian" was born after the Ming and Qing dynasties. Therefore, Bao Qingtian, who is seen in film and television works, has been largely separated from historical archetypes, but has become a fictional character in literary works, while Pan Jinlian has no historical archetypes, but is more of a symbolic character. In Wu Gou's view, these two characters actually represent the "crime and punishment" of ancient justice, and by reading classical novels, we can better see some of the characteristics of the Song Dynasty justice.
In the conversation, Wu Gou said that although the characters "Bao Qingtian" and "Pan Jinlian" are successfully portrayed from a literary point of view, it is easy for readers to mistake the novel for real history. Wu Gou meticulously contrasts the details in literary works with historical realities, presenting readers with a new perspective on interpreting literary works.
For example, if Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing committed adultery, do others have the right to go to the yamen to denounce it? Wu Gou said that it is okay in novels, but in real historical scenes, it will not work. According to the judicial system of the Song Dynasty, if a wife commits adultery with someone else, it is up to the husband who is the victim to decide whether to sue the official, and the third party has no right to report it. Wu Gou believes that this reflects the humane side of the Song Dynasty judiciary, "This provision may ostensibly protect her husband's privilege, but in fact it protects his wife from false accusations." If a woman is accused of adultery, whether it is true or not, it can easily cause very serious damage to her innocence. ”
Returning to the real historical situation, how should Pan Jinlian, Ximenqing, and Wang Po be sentenced? What is the most important thing in creating historical works? At the event, Wu Gou responded to the questions of the readers at the scene one by one. Wu Gou believes that the most important thing in historical writing or non-fiction writing is to restrain imagination and one's own emotions, and must create based on historical materials to reduce "reasonable imagination". Chen Zaijian believes that literary works must be imaginative, and you must be curious about what you see and hear. He said that for writers, "less is better than more", leaving sufficient imagination basis for creation.
The lecture series "Literature in Futian" is sponsored by the Futian District Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau and undertaken by the Futian District Library. With literature as the main line, the event specially invited well-known domestic writers such as Zhu Yong, Yang Yang, Wei Wei, Zhi'an, Wu Gou, So, Wenzhen, as well as popular readers, to bring literary dialogues with diverse themes and lively forms, showing readers the multiple charms of literature. At the same time, the online column of "Literature in Futian" has also planned seven high-quality literary dialogues, showing the new attitude of high-quality classic reading to empower readers and the city, inject vitality into the construction of scholarly Futian, and create a high-quality modern and international reading city.