Republic of China newspaper giant Yan Duhe talks about the novel sutra (with Yan Duhe's preface zhang hate water "Laughing Causes")

Yan Duhe talked about the novel

Han Xun, Pearl River Daily, 1931.1

Yan Duhe Xiaoying (image from the Internet)

The text of the novel, the most easy to pluck the heartstrings of people, with its description of all kinds of life, can be in a block to convey the gods, confused, as if diligent in the situation, the most impressive, so the social people, for the novel book, can not help but hold a compilation, scramble to see. Just like the new books of modern published novels, fish eyes are mixed, sweat and cattle are abundant, although the variety is complex, there are few one or two that can be satisfactory. The most hateful, booksellers only know how to make profits, collude with rogue literati, specialize in obscene novels, confuse young men and women, publish newspaper propaganda, have a prosperous career, and are □ (note: the original text is missing) novels, and they are shackled to the high cabinet and have no advisers. The world is thin, the morality is degraded, and the rivers and rivers of the novel world are also declining.

Zhang Hate Shuijun, a famous northern novelist, recently wrote "Laughing At the Cause", which was published in the "News Daily Happy Forest" every day, which was warmly welcomed by readers, and saltily said that Zhang Jun described the depth of art, and the magic was so wonderful that it was haoduan. One of the characteristics is that the various expressions and actions of the people in the book can be active on the paper one by one, as if they were heard and seen. The reputation is booming, the chicken forest is expensive, and it can really create a new record in the novel industry. The book is nearly over, and a separate edition has been printed and produced by Star Films for the world.

Yan Duhejun, editor of "News Daily Happy Forest", recently wrote a preface to "The Cause of Laughter", and praised Zhang Junzhi's art as extraordinary. And put forward three advantages to the content of the book, as a compliment:

1. The art of depiction;

(ii) Methods of writing;

Third, the ending and background of the whole book.

Thousands of words are sprinkled with foreign words, and the elaboration is detailed. Although this refers specifically to the "Cause and Effect of Laughter", as far as other novels are concerned, they can regard the three elements proposed by Mr. Yan Duhe, follow the ruts, and establish a good structure. Yan's article, not only for the preface to hate water "The Cause of Laughter", can be read as a lecture note for teaching novels. Jiahui Laiz, it is not shallow.

—Ends—

The copyright belongs to the author, the Republic of China paper pile finishing, reprint please indicate

Appendix: Yan Duhe's Preface to "Laughing at the Cause"

The first time I met with Mr. Zhang Hexhui was in May last year, and the shadow of the six words "novelist Zhang Hexhui" was printed in my mind, but it had been almost six or seven years. Six or seven years ago (I don't know exactly which year it was), a book club published a collection of short stories, which contained a work by Mr. Hate Water, although it was a few hundred words short, but the description was very profound, and the wording was very exquisite.

In recent years, the novels written by Mr. Hate Shui have been scattered in the daily newspapers in the north, and the Shanghai Pictorial has also continuously carried Mr. Wang's masterpieces. Although I was too busy with my duties to read them all, I had already read them, and I always felt that Mr. Hats Water's works could at least be worthy of the four words "extraordinary". Last year, when I went to Beiping, I was introduced by Mr. Qian Mustard, and I first formed a friendship with Mr. Hate Water from the god of words, and admitted that Mr. Hate Water agreed to my request to write a novel for "Happy Forest".

From the first day that "Causes of Laughter" was published in "Happy Forest," it attracted the welcome of countless readers; although it has been published so far, the popularity of this welcome has never diminished, and for a time there was a slogan in the literary circles of "Fans of "Laughter Causes." A novel can make the reader obsessed with it, which can be said to have created a new record in the field of fiction in the works of recent people. Mr. Hate Water certainly wants to express his sense of confidant to his readers; personally, I feel extremely happy, because I am the editor of Happy Forest. In "Happy Forest", there is a good writer, to tell a joke, such as a super famous character in the drama class, it seems that I am invited to the role, but also invited a good mile.

What I said above is not a "false compliment" to Mr. Hate Water, nor is it a blind blow to "Laughing at Karma". Mr. Hate Water's preface says to speak the truth, and what I say is indeed the truth. However, when I was editing "Happy Forest", I not only read and published the manuscript day by day, but also published a single edition at present, and also took on the responsibility of editing, and as far as the book itself is concerned, there is still much to say. There are too many words to be spoken of, and we cannot but divide them into several levels, and now we will divide them into three layers: first, the art of description; second, the method of writing; and third, the ending and background of the whole book.

The art of depiction

The novel begins with a re-description, which is known to everyone. Because a novel, if there is no good description, or the person who wrote the book, will not describe, then according to the matter, it is simply a "bookkeeping" narrative, or a "living note" record. Therefore, in order to distinguish whether the novel is good or bad, we must first see whether the author has the art of description, and when it comes to this "Cause of Laughter", I can say that Mr. Hate Water has made full use of his art in this book, and has also fully expressed his art. Now I will take a few points from the whole book to study the specialties of its description.

A. Can express personality. China's old novels, which were popular among the population, always had to count the books "Dream of the Red Chamber", "Water Margin", and "Ru Lin's Outer History". The first advantage of "Dream of the Red Chamber", "Water Margin", and "Ru Lin WaiShi" is to describe the personality of the people in the book, each with its own differences, and only then do they feel that there is a role and only then do they feel interesting. If the young lady on "Dream of the Red Chamber", the one hundred and eight good men on "Water Margin", and many characters in "The History of Ru Lin" are all like the clay people on Huiquan Mountain, cast into a model, people who watch it will feel annoyed. Not only can it not be a good novel, but it is simply not a novel.

The protagonists in "The Cause of Laughter", in addition to Fan Jiashu's own characteristics; such as Shen Fengxi, such as Guan Xiugu, and He Lina, whose words and actions are completely different and do not contradict each other, and even important supporting characters, such as Guan Shoufeng, such as General Liu, such as Tao Bo and his wife, such as Fan Duanben, also have their own special personalities; when they are directly displayed in the text, they feel that there is infinite fun if they see the behavior of these many people with their own eyes, such as hearing the words of these many people with their own ears.

B. Can be deeply reasonable. Fiction is about life. Since life is described, what is described in the pen should be what life should be, and it should not be unreasonable. (Mythical novels and all ideal novels are another matter.) It is common to have many novels in recent times, and the author, because he wants to write the plot a little more peculiarly and paint a little more intensely, makes the characters in the book not like the characters in the world; the things described in the book are not like the things that should be done in the world--"Causes of Laughter" has no such drawback at all. From the beginning to the end of the whole book, although the odd texts are stacked, they do not write all the time, and do not make a flat pen, often making people look at the previous time and guess the next time; after reading the previous text, it is uncertain whether the latter text will be written. However, the changes in fact, together with the twists and turns in the text, are all deeply reasonable, not at all absurd, and not at all reluctant. For this reason, it can make the reader so real that it is fascinated.

C. Be able to convey the spirit in small actions. Recently, when talking about movies, they all pay attention to "small actions". Famous director Liu Beiqian is the one who pays the most attention to small actions. Because in a film, it is stupid to use instructions or dialogue alone to express all thoughts or emotions; to convey the spirit in "small actions" is to live. Novels and movies, in terms of their nature, are the same: it is better to write less "dialogue" and more "action" in movies, and it is better to write less "talk" and more "action" in novels, especially "small actions". If we can reveal everyone's heart in each person's "small actions", it will be particularly intriguing. Let me give a few examples in this book: for example, the third time Feng Xi wrapped a handkerchief and walked with a few bricks; the sixth time Xiu gu's manicure; the twenty-second time Fan Jia Shu's two falls; and the same back to He Lina's window curtain, and the family tree with her fingers to pick up the dried chrysanthemum, all of which are the strokes of God. There are many such places in the whole book, let alone listed, and the reader can carefully understand it and have its own taste. Mr. Hate Water is known for his film fetish, and I think his approach may be a bit cinematic.

Methods of writings

With the art of description, there must also be a method of writing. The so-called method of writing, that is, the structure and layout of the whole book, must be determined before the whole method is written. What must be cut, what must be echoed, what must be rendered, and even what must be written in order, what must be flashback, what should be written on the opposite side, and what should be written on the front, all have a definite and unswerving plan, and then can be written freely. Twenty-two times in the whole book of "The Cause of Laughter," it has been written in one fell swoop, without any slackness, without a single mess, and still less in a single contradiction, and this is the painstaking effort in terms of "structure" and "layout." It can also be said to be the "method of writing", which is particularly subtle. In addition, there are two special advantages, which must not be said.

A. Implications. The whole book often uses hints, so that careful people can read it without waiting for the final chapter, and they can already have a considerable feeling and understanding of the future of the characters in the book. Ru Fengxi's covetous vanity, after the fifth school, fan jiashu to buy glasses and fountain pens, has been hinted. Ru Jia Shu and Xiu Gu zhi can not be combined, in the nineteenth time to watch the play, criticize the thirteen sisters a paragraph, has been hinted. The twenty-second time Fan and He combined, it is still not clear, only a pair of red candles on the table is used as a hint. This is obviously a cave flower candle, but it is still not revealed, leaving it for the reader's experience.

B. False writing. The plot of the novel, if written clearly, feels too troublesome and too stupid. Artists talk about painting, saying that it is necessary to "paint in the painting", and to hide a part of the good scenery in it, in order to have meaning. When it comes to writing novels, it is necessary to "have a book outside the book." There are many wonderful texts, all of which are written in fiction, and do not have to be put out with the disk, in order to have good fun.

There are three large passages in "The Cause of Laughter", all of which are written in fiction:

I. After the twelfth fengxi "returned the pearl but benefited", Shen Sanxuan clearly conspired with General Liu to trap Fengxi, but there is not a word in the book. Only when the police investigated the household registration, Shen Sanxuan rushed to report that he was singing a big drum, which slightly revealed his meaning, and the reader naturally understood.

Second, the nineteenth time," "Mountain Temple Hoe Rape," was not laid out from the front, but was written in a newspaper, and the pen was very simple and wonderful. Third, the twenty-second time Guan Shoufeng said to Fan Jiashu, "Unfortunately, I have only done one point to distract you twice. With just this one word, it is known that the guan father and daughter not only wanted to unite Fan and He, but also wanted to reunite Fengxi and the family tree. Many of the plots in this are all written in fiction, the mood of the theory is very ethereal, and the thesis situation also saves a lot of burdens. If you do it in the layman's hand, just the above three paragraphs of text, at least three or five times can be extravagant. This is how to "make soy sauce soup" - the more soup, the thinner the taste.

The ending and background of the whole book

The reader of the novel is naturally very concerned about the ending and background of the whole book. Regarding the ending of "The Cause of Laughter," mr. Hate Shui's own work" in "Finishing the < Laughing Causes> The Courtyard Flies Speak," it has been explained very clearly and in detail, and I don't need to say anything more. In short, my personal opinion, and the criticism of most novel readers, I think that there is no other way to write than this one. As for the background of the book, according to mr. Hate Water's self-prologue, it is said that it is completely out of fiction. But when I asked him in person, he laughed and said, "People like General Liu don't know how much they can find out in the warlord era; like the plots described in the book, in modern society, they don't know how much they can find. "The implication is conceivable. In short, there is no truth or illusion in the world, there is no illusion or not true, in the end, the people in the book, whether the things in the book have a background or not, for the sake of the reader, there is no need to ask for too deep, let's leave a dumb mystery for the time being.

I've said too much, so I'll end it. At the end of the day, I have two more things to report to the reader:

I. The novel "The Cause of Laughter" has been produced by the Star Film Company, and it will be printed in a single line.

Second, Mr. Hate Water has decided to continue to write novels for the "News" and "Happy News" since then. This matter will be even more unusually gratifying to those who love to read novels and especially welcome mr. Water's works.

December 19, 193??