Honeysuckle

Author: Zhuang Kongshao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: Lin Yaohua's renowned work The Golden Wing was hailed by anthropologist Fei as "like a bamboo leaf—its simple form concealing a high degree of artistry." However, the last two field surveys for The Golden Wing, conducted in 1936 and 1937, took place over half a century ago. In the intervening time, how have Huang Village and its surrounding county town changed? How can anthropology provide new local ethnographies and discover further explanatory theories and methodologies? Years later, Lin’s student revisited "The Golden Wing" Huang Village and wrote this book, The Silver Wing. It compiles decades of social, human, and cultural transformations in a specific rural society in Fujian, China, and offers fresh insights from the author. The entire book blends anthropological essays, ethnographies, interviews, historical records, field analyses, empirical observations, and intuitive insights, presenting a writing system and methodology designed to elucidate the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western cultural narratives. Due to its broad scope and fluent prose, it is also suitable for casual reading.
Excerpt:
Heyang Town
Heyang Town, nestled between mountains and rivers, is surrounded by the countless lights of the new town on the hillside, which are not overly bright, blending harmoniously with the stars in the sky. The streets of the town are lined with shops, with restaurants being particularly prosperous. After drinking a bowl of river eel soup, followed by fatty shrimp from the Min River, roasted wild pheasant, and stir-fried mushrooms with noodles, it was a perfect day for the weary old man Huang, his assistant Xiao Xie, and me. At the banquet, the delicacies were no less than those in a grand city banquet, though without the fuss. The farmers' market had closed, but street vendors were still doing business under the lanterns. The town office is on the hilltop, where an evening meeting is being held to discuss the relocation of reservoir residents—a daunting task, and one I did not dare to interrupt, as I had plenty of time later.
Secretary Lu Jingmin, a lively young man, told me a shocking news: the massive hydropower station and dam being built at Shuikou would adjust the water level by September 1989, submerging Heyang Town! Not only would Heyang Town be flooded, but the entire town would be submerged. This would trigger the second large-scale migration in the history of Yutian County, with the new town relocating to Huangkou, not far from Shangshui, where the hilltop would be flattened to build a new town. From then on, not only Fujian but the entire East China region would benefit from this hydropower station.
Huang Hongshi accompanied me to my lodging, saying proudly, "You see, the feng shui master once said, 'When the wind of Heyang blows in autumn, the waves of Heyang will turn upside down.' Heyang Town and Lakekou Town will both be flooded—it’s destined." Of course, such events are bound to happen, for nothing in the world is truly accidental. So, who can now predict the fate of the new town in Huangkou? Fortunately, Huang Village and the surrounding rural areas would not be affected by the flooding. In these regions, the relocation did not fundamentally alter the operation of local community systems, but it did provide many opportunities to observe community structures through the process of migration.
Huang Village and the broader L community have undergone significant social and cultural changes over the past half century, enough to keep me engaged. From 1986 to 1990, I sometimes stayed in the mountain town of Heyang, overlooking the perilous Golden Bell Pool that had once hidden dangers; at other times, I lived in an old wooden house in the Huang Village valley, where the quietness of cultural transition lingered. As I walked the streets of Yutian County and Heyang Town, many people greeted me, for I had become familiar to them. Among the diverse people in the town, I had friends who shared their thoughts openly with me, discussing both the beautiful and ugly aspects of life.
In the villages and towns, locals often came to chat with me, talking about men, women, customs, beliefs, origins, and even business strategies. I visited them during the Spring Festival and weddings, sitting among them without distinction, giving red envelopes, eating fish heads, and drinking old wine. When I left, I realized that compared to my initial months, I now understood their mannerisms, gestures, and even their glances in different contexts. Some information was obvious, while others required deciphering metaphors or skillfully using intuition to grasp. For villagers steeped in traditional culture, one must understand their collective folk philosophy and behavioral norms to grasp their inner world through participant observation. This is crucial.
I stayed for a period almost every year, coming and going quietly, like a farmer trading silver fungus. Only when I felt I had become one with them did I realize how quickly time passed—weeks and months slipping by in the blink of an eye. It was only then that my anthropological field research truly held value. When villagers admired that I sometimes knew more about the past here than they did, they would share with me many "family secrets" that were not spoken to outsiders.
Within Huang Village, the L community, the old and new towns, and even the county seat and Fuzhou City, I lived for one year and two months, which gave me the opportunity to examine documents, analyze data, and pose questions, repeatedly returning to them. I gathered a substantial amount of primary materials, and even my ethnographic notes filled over ten notebooks. Even if I were to complete a sequel to The Golden Wing, there would still be much material left to organize and analyze.
The story of The Golden Wing has spanned a century since its inception, with generations passing and new ones arriving. The farmers of Huang Village have endured many trials, experiencing joy and sorrow, frustration and pain, illusions and hope, always moving forward in this long community journey. Simply retelling the fate of the descendants of the "Golden Wing" family would no longer suffice. I wish to derive more threads from the larger community life of Huang Village and its surroundings, extending and expanding the discussion, analyzing the living people and events without losing their vitality.
My interest also lies in exploring the external and internal political, economic, and cultural factors (both changing and unchanging) that have guided or influenced the lifestyles of recent generations. Can we discuss this now?