Morning silk, evening snow

Author: Zhang Jiawei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: The story of Morning Silk, Evening Snow is poignant and lingering, with a clear and ethereal narrative. Particularly commendable is its literary style, which is both magnificent and unpretentious, profound yet light. It depicts the prosperity and splendor of the Chang'an Imperial City with ink like water and brushwork like a giant reed; portrays the tranquility and simplicity of the Wuyang Town with precision and detail, as if carving sand. Whether touching upon the imperial court or the countryside, the misty scenery carries a blend of rich and subtle ancient charm, as well as refined and popular folk culture. Moreover, the portrayal of characters' emotions and inner states is vivid and lifelike, with a sense of inevitability, helplessness, fearlessness, and boredom. All these situations and states of mind are deeply felt and vividly brought to life on the page. It can be said that language and text play an extremely significant role in the composition of Morning Silk, Evening Snow. It not only complements the narrative of a legendary story and the portrayal of tragic characters but also stands as an important aesthetic object in its own right. In this regard, the author's literary talent, deeply influenced by classical literature yet nurtured by modern literary traditions, is evident. Morning Silk, Evening Snow, though set in a historical context, is not a traditional historical novel. The author's purpose is not to depict actual historical events or real historical figures as they were. By writing about the late Sui and early Tang era and the Li Tang overthrowing Yang events, he merely uses this historically turbulent yet widely known stage to stage a self-written and directed tragedy of human or human nature. The protagonist in Morning Silk, Evening Snow, identified by some as surnamed "Yang" and calling himself "Wuji," does not exist in history. This character is a fictional creation by the author, driven by the need for his tragic story. As the author states, he needed a character to connect the "Changdu Rebellion" and the "Xuanwumen Incident," two significant events. He needed a character to reveal the hidden connection between tangible history and intangible fate. Thus, Yang Wuji, who is seemingly the illegitimate son of the Sui Emperor Yang You but whose identity remains uncertain, naturally steps onto the historical stage of the late Sui and early Tang era. In this era of war and heroes, he stages a tragic drama of loyalty to the Tang, estrangement from the Sui, and a mother-obsessed, father-killing tragedy. The plight of Yang Wuji in Morning Silk, Evening Snow is a typical Chinese version of the Oedipus story. While it may not be as (), (), (), or () as the Greek version of Oedipus, this Chinese Oedipus—Yang Wuji—under the torment of anonymity, the wandering of displacement, and the entanglement of abnormal love, is always in a state of subtle loss, faint sorrow, and deep confusion. He is perpetually drawn and constrained by an inexplicable force, with his joys, sorrows, loves, and hatreds all bound by fate. He appears free and carefree, yet he is actually stagnant and unaccomplished, living like a puppet lost to itself or a kite without a direction. Here, the author's intention gradually becomes clear: through the unique case of Yang Wuji, a figure from the past, to question human destiny and examine human existence in the relationships between time and memory, history and dynasties, consciousness and existence, ideals and reality, society and the individual.