Main topic, minor work

Author: Han Shaogong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: A collection of recent essays published in newspapers and magazines by Han Shaogong, along with unpublished ones. This thought-provoking (zhuīsī) or dialogue explores philosophy, literature, thought, and social life, reflecting Han Shaogong's recent intellectual and literary achievements. It is a profound yet readable work. This 100,000-word volume is divided into "Big Topics, Quick Words" and "Big Topics, Trivial Talks," encompassing his reflections on literary creation, modern Chinese language, ethnicity, culture, history, and more. When a novelist advocates for his beliefs in a colloquial style, the pleasure of reading becomes particularly evident. For example, while the internet, television, newspapers, and books are expanding in scale, and various languages are becoming rich and diverse—some call it an era of linguistic carnival—Han Shaogong argues that it is an era of linguistic crisis, an age of rampant linguistic garbage. He told the students of Tsinghua University's School of Literature not to become barbarians in a civilized age, not to be people who speak nonsense or struggle to express themselves. Han Shaogong dares to speak frankly about worldly matters or certain ideas. In the essay "Personal Awakening," he vividly mentions the pressure writers faced in the 1980s amid the anti-"liberalization" atmosphere. After the reform and opening-up, all fields of Chinese society, including literary creation, underwent conflicts of various ideologies. He refers to the 1980s as a naive morning and the 1990s as a mature noon. Throughout the book, readers can clearly sense that many of these essays were delivered as lectures to students on university campuses. The charm of such writing lies in its vivid language and candid expressions in certain sections. In "Liberation of Literary Forms," he openly discusses the proportion of prose in the literary market, while he aims to make novels a park, calling for diversification in narrative styles and not believing that literature can play a strong social and political role in the long term and over a broad space.