What inspires creativity for artists? - The answer you certainly can't think of.
What inspires creativity for artists? Alcohol, cigarettes, love?
In addition to this, there is another possibility - syphilis.
In Qian Zhongshu's "Siege of the City", the protagonist Fang Hongzhi mentioned in a middle school speech that syphilis is also a "Western civilization" because "syphilis genetically produces idiots, madness and disabilities, but it is said to stimulate genius."
Although Fang Hongzhi is only a "fake doctor" of "half a bottle of vinegar", his words are not empty.
Fang Hongwei: "Syphilis genetically produces idiots, madness and disability, but it is said to stimulate genius. /Stills from "The Siege"
For more than 500 years, from the 15th century to the beginning of the 20th century, syphilis sufferers simply occupied half of the artist's circle. From the great writers Baudelaire, Flaubert, and Maupassant, to the musicians Schubert, Schumann, and Mozart, and the painters Gauguin and Van Gauguin, which one has not had syphilis?
Even the misogynistic philosophers Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, who are "insulated from love," are suspected of suffering from syphilis. After Schopenhauer's death, a cure for syphilis was discovered from his books; Nietzsche, on the other hand, believed that he was insane because of a syphilis infection.
In the novel Dr. Faust by the German writer and Nobel laureate Thomas Mann, syphilis is explicitly endowed with a romantic artist temperament – fanaticism, madness, and creativity. The protagonist of the novel is a musician who makes a deal with the devil and voluntarily contracts syphilis in order to gain more artistic creativity.
A similar "pride in syphilis" happened to Maupassant.
Maupassant has been obsessed with sex for many years, and like his teacher Flaubert, "unrestrained indulgence and love of freedom" is his life credo.
Maupassant has been nostalgic for the wind and moon for many years, indulging in sex. / Stills from "Pretty Friend"
In 1877, Maupassant was diagnosed with syphilis. When he heard the news, Maupassant was ecstatic and wrote: "I have syphilis! finally! Really syphilis! It wasn't dismissive gonorrhea, cauliflower, or the like, it was syphilis, and Francis I died of syphilis. Majestic syphilis, pure simplicity; beautiful syphilis... Hallelujah, I have syphilis, so I no longer have to worry about being infected by others. ”
After getting syphilis, Maupassant really ushered in the peak of his creation, and works that shocked the French literary world such as "Lamb Fat Ball" and "Pretty Friend" were born. However, in the later stages of syphilis, Maupassant's health deteriorated, often hallucinated, moody, and several attempts to commit suicide. In 1893, Maupassant died in a constant state of madness.
The music master Beethoven was also suspected of having syphilis.
Beethoven is grumpy, arrogant, selfish, and difficult to get along with. How did such an iron-hearted "tough guy" come to be called "the forerunner of Romantic music"?
According to a study by the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Beethoven's above characteristics, as well as his deafness, may be caused by congenital syphilis.
Perhaps it was the paranoia and delusions brought about by syphilis that evolved into a steady stream of ideas in his brain. / Stills from "Copy Beethoven"
After Beethoven lost his hearing, he had to rely on his imagination to create, perhaps syphilis made his brain extremely excited, paranoid, delusional into a steady stream of ideas in his brain. It was at this stage that the final movement of Beethoven's ninth symphony, Ode to Joy, was composed.
So, how does syphilis "make" genius?
Neurosyphilis can alter the central nervous system of the brain. When Treponema pallidum invades the brain, it affects cerebrospinal fluid, meninges, and the vasculature, causing patients to develop cognitive impairments and a range of psychiatric symptoms.
On the other hand, society's prejudice and discrimination against syphilis patients have also brought spiritual "grinding" to these artists. After the musician Schubert contracted syphilis, his health plummeted, he stayed at home, hunger strike, alcoholism, composition became his only spiritual comfort.
The pain caused by syphilis directly affected his musical style, and music critics called his works "blood-crying beauty".
Neurosyphilis can alter the central nervous system of the brain.
However, in the face of syphilis, most celebrities do not have Maupassant's "calmness". You know, syphilis is gradually "romanticized", which is only a phenomenon after the 20th century.
For much of the history of syphilis, it has been a notorious and unspeakable venereal disease — syphilis means chaos in private life and low sexual morality because it always happens outside of "legitimate" marital relationships.
How did syphilis spread across the continent? The prevailing view today is that syphilis was brought back to Europe by columbus's crew after discovering the Americas.
Before the medical community recognized the disease, syphilis had a series of "national names" - the French called it "Naples Disease"; the Italians called it "French Disease"; the Poles called it "Germanic Disease". Every country wants to throw syphilis into the pot to its neighbors.
In addition, the reason why syphilis is equated with "genius disease" may also be a survivor bias.
Baudelaire: "There is republican spirit in each of our veins, just as there is syphilis in each of our bones. ”
In the 16th century, syphilis broke out on a large scale in european high society. By the 19th century, syphilis had become a "plague-style" national terror. In other words, not all syphilis patients happen to become artists, but those artists are also infected with syphilis like ordinary people.
Baudelaire once wrote in an unfinished book: "There is a republican spirit in each of our veins, just as there is syphilis in each of our bones." "This shows the prevalence of syphilis.
In this way, the "gap between ordinary people and geniuses" is far from being solved by a syphilis. After all, after contracting syphilis, the fate that awaits most people is not genius, but madness.
Resources:
Susan Sontag | A metaphor for disease
Deborah Hayden | genius, madman and syphilis
BBC | Beethoven: Deafness in both ears still composes the secret of an immortal masterpiece
South wind window | Beethoven must not have syphilis