Selected Works of Fei Ming

Author: Sha Tiehua (Editor)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-11-01
Features:
Faming (1901-1967), originally named Feng Wenbing, was a member of the Willow Weave Society and followed the style of Zhou Zuoren. In literary history, he is regarded as a representative writer of the Beijing School. His first novel collection, The Stories of Bamboo Forest, published in 1929, belongs to rural literature. Faming's representative works include the long The Bridge, as well as The Biography of Mr. Must-Be-There and Mr. Must-Be-There After Riding an Airplane, among others. The latter two reveal a satirical tone toward the absurdity of reality through their poetic pursuit. Faming's novels are known for their "prose-like" style. He introduced Zhou Zuoren's literary concepts into the realm of fiction and blended Western modernist techniques with the stylistic elements of classical Chinese poetry and prose. His writing is concise and profound, combining simplicity and austerity with sharpness and eccentricity. This unique creative style is celebrated as the "Faming Style" and had a certain influence on later Beijing School writers like Shen Congwen. Even in the works of Wang Zengqi in the 1940s, one can find his influence. Faming was a highly acclaimed writer, but few read his works because they were considered difficult to understand. Only Zhou Zuoren and Yu Pingbo were his true appreciators. His writings were often described as two-meter-long prose, which intrigued a small group of people even more, urging them to stand on stools to try and grasp its meaning. Faming admitted that his writing style was "clearly influenced by Chinese poetry and prose; writing novels was like composing Tang Dynasty quatrains—willing to waste no words." In terms of his artistic essence, Faming was truly a poet. His life ideals and artistic pursuits seemed poetic. His dedicated artistic pursuit made him a highly influential representative of the "Beijing School" in the 1930s. Despite his fame, his relentless pursuit of art brought him half a century of solitude.