2004 Chinese Controversial Novel Selection

Author: Hong Hai (Editor)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Written many novels over the years, also learned to write novels for many years, including reading novels for many years. With the passage of time, I am now increasingly unsure of what a novel truly is. In fact, among the people around me, many share the same feeling. I believe that everyone has a certain literary complex to some extent. Some lean toward novels, others toward essays, and some toward poetry. A few days ago, in a literary journal, I read that a senior editor said novels are the art of language. I couldn’t agree less with this. The reason is simple: if novels are the art of language, then why aren’t essays and poetry the art of language? Originally, novels and stories are largely just one fence apart. If traced back to a much earlier era, it would be difficult to distinguish between novels and stories. In my opinion, the difference between novels and stories lies in the emphasis on written form in novels, while stories are closer to Japanese in nature. When novels were not yet considered high-brow, they were often mixed with stories and circulated among the people. The written emphasis I refer to in novels is mainly based on the development of vernacular novels over the past century. Why do I emphasize the written form? There is an important characteristic here: after novels entered the vernacular era, especially after the May Fourth New Culture Movement, novels began to take on revolutionary tasks. While they had a revolutionary aspect, they also had a commercial aspect. To put it bluntly, writing novels could earn a living—not just for oneself but for the entire family. As for those who, through writing novels, could also seek official positions or even enjoy high-ranking privileges, that would be a truly unprecedented phenomenon in the world. —Hong Hui