A harbor that embraces the world and connects the rainbow of the world
Wen Xingchao (deputy editor of "Literature and Art Daily", critic).
Coming to Shantou and experiencing the culture of overseas Chinese reminded me of the topic of "New Southern Writing", which has been highly discussed and agreed upon in the literary circles in recent years. "New Southern Writing" was first proposed by critics such as Yang Qingxiang and Chen Peihao, and made in-depth theoretical construction and interpretation. This formulation was first proposed, and the main research objects were the works of some writers in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, such as Wang William, Chen Chongzheng, Lin Sen, etc. Since then, the geographical territory of the "New Southern Writing" has gradually expanded, such as overseas Chinese-speaking writers such as Li Zishu, and more recently, some writers from Sichuan and Guizhou have been included. Many writers and critics, when expounding the concept of "New Southern Writing", have particularly emphasized the openness and fluidity of this kind of writing, emphasizing that it is an open and constantly constructing writing paradigm.
So, why the "South"?In other words, in what sense is "New Southern Writing" established?I think there is first and foremost a political and cultural power relationship implicit in this. We know that since the beginning of modern literature, the mainstream literary aesthetics and value interests have basically continued the literary tradition advocated in the "Speech at the Yan'an Symposium on Literature and Art", and the cultural center is in the north, and most mainstream literary writers also live in the north, so let's call it the "northern tradition". Although there have been various explorations and experiments in contemporary Chinese literature since the new era, the mainstream is still realist literature under the "northern tradition". In this understanding, I think that "New Southern Writing" should be heterogeneous, avant-garde, and exploratory in terms of themes and artistic techniques.
Today, when I was in Shantou to gain an in-depth understanding of the culture of overseas Chinese, I suddenly realized that there may still be a small gap in the concept of "New Southern Writing", that is, overseas Chinese literature. In my opinion, overseas Chinese literature, or works that describe the life of overseas Chinese, can very well embody the spirit of "New Southern Writing". For example, the experience of life in the hometown of overseas Chinese, this typical discrete narrative, and the psychological feeling of wandering in a foreign land, the spirit of struggling and breaking new ground in a place far from their homeland, and so on, naturally constitute a heterogeneous and exploratory "New South" spirit. We know that since the end of the 20th century, the development trend of the whole world literature has been the gradual rise of the overall collapse and decentralized and polycentric narratives.
Line over. However, I haven't studied the specific overseas Chinese literature in depth yet, and the one that impresses me more is Chen Jiming's ** "Ping An Criticism". * The protagonist Zheng Mengmei shoulders the mission of reviving the family business, and when she is getting middle-aged, she travels alone in the South Seas. With his history of struggle as the core, ** patiently describes the special product of the life of overseas Chinese in the "Ping An Batch", which highlights the love and righteousness, honesty and trustworthiness of the people of the overseas Chinese township, as well as the heart of the motherland. I think that such topics can be included in the discussion of "New Southern Writing", and will further expand the connotation of "New Southern Writing". At the same time, it is precisely because of the special and valuable experience and aesthetics of overseas Chinese that I think overseas Chinese literature has a great future today, and I look forward to more literary works that describe the life of overseas Chinese, and provide more new and unique works in terms of themes and artistic techniques for contemporary Chinese literature.
end
Huaxia
Issue 232
Editor-in-chief: Liu Disheng.
Deputy Editor-in-Chief Zhong Minyi.
Assistant to the editor-in-chief: Zhao Yanghuan.
Submission email: gdqlhx@163com
Address: No. 140-148, Tiyu East Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou.
6th Floor, Guangdong Overseas Chinese Federation Building.