Strange Currents in a Decade of My Life - Fully Illustrated Edition

Author: Wu Woyao
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-06-01
Features: Strange Currents of the Past Twenty Years is Wu Woyao's masterpiece. It was first serialized in New Novels, running from the 29th year of the Guangxu reign (1903) to the 31st year (1905), with a total of 45 chapters, signed by "Mountain Man of I-Fo." Starting from the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign, it was published as a standalone book by Shanghai Guangzhi Bookstore, with 8 volumes completed by the 2nd year of the Xuantong reign (1910), totaling 108 chapters. Subsequent reprinted editions include the 1916 stone-printed edition by Shanghai New Novels Society, the 1926 edition by World Book Company, and the 1957 edition by People's Literature Publishing House after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The entire work follows the experiences of the protagonist "Nine Deaths and One Life," from attending his father's funeral to his eventual business failure, exposing the dark reality of late Qing society from the mid-1880s (the Sino-French War) to around 1905 through the character's 20-year journey and observations. It also indirectly portrays the frenzied aggression of imperialism. The work depicts over 200 "strange phenomena," painting a hellish world filled with "snakes and rats," "jackals and tigers," and "demons." Among late Qing novels, it reflects a broader scope of life, encompassing not only the officialdom but also the commercial and foreign districts, as well as divination, medicine, and the underworld. It exposes the political conditions, social customs, moral standards, and human nature of the time, hence labeled as a "social novel" upon publication. The opening chapter describes how "Nine Deaths and One Life" sees the strangeness of officials posing as thieves and thieves acting as officials, thereby encapsulating the dark reality of "the entire bureaucracy is a band of robbers" (a review of the first publication). The anti-hero Guo Cai, deliberately crafted by the author, is a typical shameless official of late Qing. Born into a class of officials who bought their positions, he is ignorant and unlearned, yet adept at flattery, bribery, and shamelessness, even forcing his newly widowed daughter-in-law to marry the Viceroy of Jiangnan as his fifth concubine to rise to prominence. He lost his posts twice—once dismissed by the new viceroy and once investigated by an imperial envoy—but each time regained power through massive bribery, demonstrating that he was a product of the entire corrupt bureaucratic system. In contrast, the upright scholars and officials in the story are largely left with no place to stand. For example, the talented and capable Chen Zhongmei, a county magistrate, fails to secure a position due to his refusal to curry favor or bribe officials, leading to a life of destitution and ultimately ending his life by hanging, leaving behind a widow and young children. The people-loving Cai Lusheng is also dismissed and severely pursued. The author indignantly remarks, "This official position is not fit for humans! The first thing one must learn is to be base and shameless to secure a post, and to abandon one's conscience and resort to bloodthirsty means to make money." This reveals the essence of late Qing officialdom. These officials, aside from being insatiably greedy, are cruel domestically and cowardly internationally. Chapters 58 and 59 describe how the Guangdong Viceroy and Governor's offices, upon receiving a foreign telegraph saying "someone has smuggled weapons from Hong Kong for rebellious purposes," arrested and killed over 20 people without verification. Yet these officials show extreme cowardice and subservience in the face of imperialism. During the Sino-French War, the warship Yu Yuan deliberately opened its watertight doors, sinking the ship and escaping in lifeboats (Chapter 14). When the Sino-Japanese War broke out, the military commander Ye wrote a letter to the Japanese, begging for mercy and offering Pyongyang (Chapter 83). The author's patriotic fervor is intense, repeatedly shouting in the work, "China will either perish or rise; if it does not rise, it will perish. There is no doubt about it" (Chapter 22). At the same time, he powerfully criticizes the act of self-abasement and foreign servility, condemning those who "envy foreigners" and "even find foreigners' farts fragrant" (Chapter 24); and attacking the Chinese officials in the foreign court who "do whatever foreigners say" and even "feel a fear" when encountering Chinese police officers who serve foreigners (Chapter 10). The work depicts commercial life, deliberately contrasting "business" with "officialdom." "Nine Deaths and One Life" firmly refuses to enter the officialdom and chooses the path of "business," believing that while the commercial world also has many strange phenomena, it is cleaner than the officialdom. The author reverses the feudal tradition of despising merchants, reflecting his anger at the corrupt politics and the new changes in the intellectual sphere. The work vividly exposes the true nature of the scholarly and talented figures of the time. Some pretend to be eccentric to gain fame, like Li Yuxuan (Chapter 22); some are ignorant yet pretentious, like the comprador Tang Yusheng (Chapters 33 and 35); some exaggerate their skills, like Jiang Xueyu (Chapter 37), etc. The strange phenomena in the officialdom, commercial world, and foreign districts all reflect the collapse of the feudal and ethical morals under the impact of wealth and power. The work gives an exhaustive portrayal of the brutal infighting among clans and families, and the treachery among relatives and colleagues. The father and son Ren of "Nine Deaths and One Life" not only deceive his widowed stepmother and orphaned nephew but also embezzle his deceased brother's property and have an incestuous relationship with his niece. The "scholarly man" Fu Mi, who often preaches "benevolence and righteousness as the foundation of a person's life," cruelly abuses his elderly grandfather who raised him (Chapter 74). Li Jingyi schemes for wealth, kills his brother by trickery, and sells his brother-in-law to a brothel (Chapters 32 to 35). Guo Longguang kills his father Guo Cai and then marries his father's concubine (Chapters 101, 104, and 105). Although the author depicts these strange phenomena from the perspective of old morals, filled with indignation and lament, he also truthfully exposes the collapse of people's spiritual pillars as the feudal edifice was about to crumble. The novel expresses the desire to reform society and achieve prosperity. However, its methods are merely to "correct the path of scholars," imitate foreigners by "focusing on practical learning," and read useful books like The Compendium of Statecraft and The Strategy for National Wealth. As for foreign powers, it suggests "everyone working together to seriously address matters, saving unnecessary waste, and seriously strengthening coastal and frontier defenses." Its hope lies in "young people learning diligently" (Chapter 22), but it does not touch the fundamental issues of the feudal system. It even believes that clarifying the administration and reforming corruption lie in restoring old morals, making it weak and ineffective. The main achievement of the novel lies in its exposure. Structurally, it "chooses one person as the main thread, like ten thousand horses and thousands of soldiers all under one's control," forming a unified whole, and "returns to several important characters at the end of the story, linking the beginning and the end" (General Review of the Reviews of Strange Currents of the Past Twenty Years). This is a unique ingenuity among similar novels. However, due to the frequent retelling of stories, the collection of strange and unusual tales, and the miscellaneous themes, the structure appears loose and lacks organic organization. Some characters are portrayed vividly, such as "Nine Deaths and One Life," his father and son Ren, Guo Cai, and Jiang Xueyu. But overall, "the description is overly exaggerated, sometimes bordering on excessive condemnation, and the words lack authenticity, weakening the emotional impact" (Sketches of the History of Chinese Fiction by Lu Xun), with shallow condemnation prevailing over profound satire.