| Yang Guangzu (Professor and Critic of Northwest Normal University) Zhang Tingting (Graduate Student of Northwest Normal University)
Jia Pingwa is a rare and prolific writer in the contemporary literary world, and since "Waste Capital", he has basically published a long novel in two years, each of which is about 400,000 words. We all know that he has always written with a pen, and it usually takes three times to revise and copy each one, so that each part comes down with more than a million words. When you think about it, you can't help but admire his diligence, how much physical strength it takes. But after reading each one, most of them are not satisfied, and they have to lament that literary creation really needs inspiration, not simple physical labor, not digging earth. Lu Xun said that when you can't write it, don't write hard. He also said that the selection of materials should be strict and the excavation should be deep. These are all wise quotes.
"Yamamoto" is his 16th novel, trying to establish a biography of Qinling and sketch the memory of modern China, and it was written in an epic poem. However, after reading it, I found that from the character design, structural arrangement, ideological content, and even the title of the book, there is a strong shadow of "White Deer Plain". It can even be said to be a tribute to "White Deer Plain", or a copycat version. In fact, the novels after his "Waste Capital" all have this hastily patchwork phenomenon. This high prolific is probably based on his unconfident mentality, and it is also a typical phenomenon of the era of mechanical reproduction and consumer writing in consumer society. In fact, since the beginning of "Waste Capital", Jia Pingwa's novels have obvious entertainment and consumption characteristics. He is sensitive and intelligent, and he knows what the times need. "With the development of the 20th century, entertainment has accelerated to replace art as our main, living cultural product — and the only real major product," Fiifer said. Only the most eccentric people will seriously pursue artistic creativity without feeling embarrassed and embarrassed. In fact, as far as "Yamamoto" is concerned, it can be seen that there is a certain darkness in the author's heart, but unfortunately the writer did not dig deeper, but escaped.
Meyer said: "As a new tribal myth, consumption has become the fashion in today's society. It is destroying the foundations of humanity." Some scholars even believe that there is only one ideology in today's Western world, that is, consumption. The first time humanity encountered a huge deep change, that is, for the first time, human beings reached subsistence. Then, with that comes emptiness, boredom. So there is only consumption. Humanity has truly entered a consumer society. "What is a consumer society?" It is the society in which consumption becomes its main activity. ...... It is called a consumer society because consumption has become the main feature of the society, and consumption has a dominant influence on the society. ...... Consumption has become not only the most important activity, but also the most important value, and people yearn for it and obey it, even if they do not have it fully. ”
The consumption concept of consumer society will affect literature and art, and some literary artists have also begun to treat themselves as businessmen, to see their works as commodities, so copying, rapid reproduction, entertainment, entertainment to death, and advertising, and efforts to expand the sales of their own products, has become their only purpose. And only by constantly brushing the sense of existence can they also be at ease, and the works can continue to occupy the market. As for the quality of the work, that is secondary. This is what has formed the current popular consumer writing.
Chen Zhongzhong
Jia Pingwa's novels, starting from "Waste Capital", have indeed seriously studied the narrative art of Ming and Qing novels, and have also achieved certain results. But inadvertently, due to factors such as taste and cultural accomplishment, he seems to prefer noble writing such as "Jin Ping Mei" and "Dream of the Red Chamber", but he does not get much essence. Such as unbridled sexual depictions, a writing tendency that caters to the low-level tastes of the public, and that kind of trivial narrative method. In a word, it is a kind of consumer writing under the impact of commercial economy (in his bones, and his early politically pandering writing, it is a kind of false writing). And the kind of profound thinking in "Golden Plum Bottle", the kind of harsh criticism of the official business community, is not in his novel. And the mourning for the loss of a beautiful life and the pursuit of a noble spirit in "Dream of the Red Chamber" are not in his novels.
Jia Pingwa's trivial way of writing the flow of life represented by "Qin Cavity", "Yamamoto" also follows this method, according to him, it is to learn "Dream of the Red Chamber" and "Golden Bottle Plum". Indeed, on a glance, it's a bit like that. But if you read it closely, it's not like that. He just imitated other people's writing, but he didn't have people's kung fu. The noble temperament, rich details, and superb techniques of combining virtual and real in "Dream of the Red Chamber", Jia Pingwo is even more out of reach. "Jin Ping Mei" portrays characters, that is a masterpiece. The depictions of several women, such as Pan Jinlian, Li Zhen'er, Pang Chunmei, etc., are vivid, as if they were in front of their eyes. Those conversations, in particular, are very personal. The intrigues between them, and even the brutal struggle between you and me, are written eerie. That's really a sculptural depiction ability. Moreover, his depiction of the officialdom is also three points into the wood. Ximen Qing went from a prankster to a figure who climbed the knot of a master, and the officials and businessmen ate everything, and those rich detailed descriptions could not be written without an in-depth understanding of the officialdom. But when we read Jia Pingwa's "Yamamoto", although it is also written in the flow of life, it obviously has no bones, just a pile of meat. His portrayal of characters has always been a weakness. "The characters in Jia Pingwa's novels almost never say 'their own' words, nor do they 'speak themselves', they all say Jia Pingwa's words. The old 'Jia Ping Concave' and 'Jia Ping Concave' are there. No matter who they are, no matter what they say, it is Jia Pingwa's words. It can also be said that this way of writing Yamamoto is only a few points of its form, but God does not. In the words of a scholar, it is still a chicken feather, and it is difficult to read. (Excerpt. The original article was published simultaneously with "Literary Theory and Criticism")