Contemporary Chinese Novel Collection - A Hard Struggle. Sanjiaxiang (2 Volumes)

Author: Ouyang Shan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-03-01
Features: Ouyang Shan's long《》holds an important position in the history of contemporary Chinese literature. As the first volume of this monumental work,《》received widespread acclaim upon its publication. Its release filled the void in Chinese contemporary literature regarding the revolutionary struggles in southern China during the 1920s. The novel《》was published in 1959, but 15 years earlier, during the Yan'an period, the author had already been、, striving to depict the "course of the Chinese revolution" with artistic brushwork. In《》, Ouyang Shan set the story in Guangzhou during the 1920s, portraying the changes, conflicts, and struggles of three families—the Zhou, Chen, and He families—as well as the intricate relationships among relatives and friends. The novel vividly and authentically depicted the rise and fall of various political forces, the transformation of different classes, and the evolution of the spiritual worlds of various characters, especially the choices young people made in their life paths. Major historical events such as the Hong Kong and Shanghai Workers' Strike, the Sha Massacre, the Northern Expedition of the National Revolutionary Army, the April 12th Counter-Revolutionary Coup, and the Guangzhou Uprising were either artisticallyed to varying degrees or referenced, allowing the author to sketch the glorious path taken by the Chinese people from 1925 to 1927 during the Great Revolution and to record the lessons of the Chinese revolution during that period. The author's sense of social responsibility and historical mission was invaluable, both at the time and when viewed retrospectively. With a gentle and measured style, the novel through the portrayal of daily life, a prominent feature of《》. The small alley of Sanjia, in fact, served as a microcosm of the social life and class relations in southern China at the time. The Zhou family, representing the working class, the Chen family, representing the comprador bourgeoisie, and the He family, representing the landlord bureaucracy, were the three main classes of urban society at that time. In the daily activities of these family members, the author devoted significant attention to Zhou Bing, the youngest son of the Zhou family, thereby establishing his central role in the entire《》. Zhou Bing was a young intellectual who had just embarked on the revolutionary path and was yet to fully mature. His journey was similar to that of many other young intellectuals of the time who turned toward revolution. However, having been born into a working-class family, despite sharing some common flaws of petty-bourgeois intellectuals, he differed from ordinary young intellectuals due to his closer kinship with the working people. We do not deny the significance of this revolutionary figure as a "typical person in a typical environment" simply because he was not yet fully mature. It must be noted that《》is merely a lively prelude to the entire symphony of《》, and the author should have left ample room for the intellectual and character development of the protagonist, Zhou Bing, in the subsequent volumes.《》should be considered a work rich in national style and regional color. In terms of narrative technique, the story often revolves around the actions of characters, with the plot gradually deepening through the evolution of the story. The author creatively inherited the excellent traditions of classical Chinese novels, such as: characters appearing one after another, clear exposition of events, a tight storyline, distinct connections between the beginning and the end, and avoiding the use of red herrings, all of which cater to the tastes of mass readers. Some scenes, such as "Selling Laziness on Chinese New Year's Eve" and "Spring Outing on People's Day," possess the charm of folk paintings and cannot help but remind one of certain chapters in《》; while the descriptions of battles and uprisings in the novel are so vivid and colorful that they seem to have borrowed from the style of《》and《》. At the same time, the author incorporated certain modern literary techniques. For example, the description of the layout of "Sanjia Alley" is highly symbolic. Many chapters in the novel feature rich revolutionary romanticism in their depictions of landscapes and scenes, as well as in the portrayal of Qu Tao, the idealized female character in the author's eyes. Additionally, the success of《》is inseparable from the author's exceptional command of language. It should be specially noted that, due to the author's strict adherence to the true nature of life and the logical consistency of characters' personalities (rather than conceptualized, label-like portrayals) in《》, the depiction of the joys and sorrows of the Zhou, Chen, and He families, especially the richness and complexity of the younger generation's characters, was falsely accused by the extreme-left line of promoting class reconciliation and bourgeois humanism as a "poisonous weed." Today, these unfounded accusations can only serve to highlight the cognitive value of this work from the opposite perspective.