Writer Chen Chongzheng interprets "Three Family Lanes" and looks forward to the "New South" of literature

On September 12th, the 11th "Learning Party History, Passing on Classics, And Promoting New Works" reading salon series of theme reading activities sponsored by the Guangzhou Municipal Federation of Literature and Literature invited Chen Chongzheng, vice chairman of the Guangzhou Writers Association, to review the historical value of the classic Guangdong work "Sanjia Lane" with the theme of "The Possibility of New Southern Writing: The Enlightenment of Sanjia Lane to Young Writers", and shared his understanding and expectations for New Southern Writing.

Draw artistic nutrition from "Three Family Lane"

Published in 1959, Ouyang Shan, set in Guangzhou during the Revolutionary War, shows the intricate relationship between the zhou, Chen and He families in a true, vivid and historical way showing the growth of various political forces in China and the changes in the spiritual world of different classes and different characters in the first half of the twentieth century. In September 2019, "Sanjia Lane" was selected into the "New China 70 Years and 70 Novels Collection".

Chen Chongzheng introduced that "Sanjia Lane" was widely popular once it came out, and countless readers learned about Guangzhou's customs and many historical events through this book. Today, after decades of tempering, the novel is still reprinted many times and is constantly mentioned. He said: "'Three Family Lane' has been reviewed by readers, and has also stood the test of time, and is a well-deserved literary classic. ”

By reading "Three Family Lane" to reflect on the current creation, Chen Chongzheng further elaborated on the many inspirations he received from this classic.

First of all, writers should "write in accordance with the times and think against the times." While reading "Sanjia Lane", readers are also feeling the life in Guangzhou around the 1920s. The close relationship with the times has become one of the reasons why the works are unique and enduring. Looking at the creation of the present with historical awareness, how can the work be integrated with the times and thus gain lasting vitality? For this problem, Chen Chongzheng believes that when facing the times, writers need to use their writing experience towards the future to accurately grasp the spotlight of the times, and they must think against the trend of the times through strong artistic intuition, so as to cut into the core of the times more deeply.

"Writing history sideways may be a more effective option." In the novel "Sanjia Lane", Ouyang Shan's side is involved in many major historical events, such as the "May Fourth" Movement, the "May Thirtieth" massacre, the provincial and Hong Kong strikes, etc., but they do not become the central plot, but only as a background, constituting a specific atmosphere of the times in the novel. This is a way of writing history sideways. Chen Chongzheng believes: "Some works that directly describe major historical events can also be particularly brilliant, but for young writers, writing history on the side will reduce the difficulty of intervening in history to some extent, and make the work more directly focus on life itself in a specific historical environment." ”

"The New South Calls for the Writing of Young Writers"

In 2018, the discourse about "New South Writing" began to emerge. Chen Peihao summarized the unique imaginative source of Chen Chongzheng's writing with this term, and critics such as Yang Qingxiang and Zeng Pan made further interpretations and promotions, and this concept gradually pointed to the writing of Jiangnan writers and south of the south, which had a specific meaning of "cultural geography" and "spiritual geography", and won more and more recognition from the academic community. Since 2020, the Journal of Hansan Normal University and the Southern Literature Circle have successively published albums, which have conducted in-depth discussions on the phenomenon of "New Southern Writing". "New Southern Writing" gradually changed from a temporary critical formulation to a conscious academic concept.

As a representative figure of New Southern writing, Chen Chongzheng combined the classic example of "Three Family Lanes" to further think about New Southern writing. He said: "The Lingnan region should not be regarded as the south of the south, in fact, it is the hinterland of the south, where the sea and land meet, and the Tropic of Cancer is crossed here; since the middle of the nineteenth century, it has ceased to be silent, but has actively participated in the pulse of Chinese history." To this end, he argues, it becomes all the more necessary to revisit the land and the stories that have taken place and are thriving in the land with a modern eye, a process that requires the deep involvement of literature.

"In literature, which is smaller than the tip of a needle, how can writing be born that is in sync with the pulse of the times? The New South is calling for the writing of young writers. Chen Chongzheng analyzed that today's young writers have generally grown up from the Internet age. In this era, the world is fully connected, the language barrier and information barrier are increasingly dissolved, and the way people think and feel the world is constantly innovating. Therefore, compared with the previous generation of writers, young writers have a great information advantage. Under the course of the times, local changes, urbanization, scientific and technological development and marine culture, and even science fiction and magical imagination, all kinds of themes have made the writing of young writers in the New South contain unlimited possibilities.

Written by: Nandu reporter Xu Xiaolei correspondent Zhu Yinghao