Soul Skeleton

Author: Yang Chuanzhen
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-02-01
Features: Wielding a wooden sword with solemn demeanor, roaring loudly on the county-level road. The district-level Taoist priest raises a horn, with a stone-like face, murmuring softly. This is a grand funeral held for a humble mortal in a remote corner of northern Shandong. At the turn of the century, on land long plagued by poverty, ignorance, and grievances, officials, scholars, nouveau riche, journalists, musicians, coffin mourners, geomancers, laid-off workers, and all kinds of souls—moldy, sticky, withered, plump, fragrant, coarse—were gathered. They were joined by the stench of copper, the arrogance of politics, the vulgarity of rascals, the tyranny of bullies, the corruption of officials, and the obscenity of debauchery. They were united under the sacred banner of power struggles, political maneuvering, and shifts of authority. They were united by pervasive corruption and the overwhelming tide of vulgar, base, and despicable desires, almost drowning everything. They were united by the sight of those adept at and diligent in petty, decadent, lazy, licentious, worldly, numb, greedy, and arrogant vices. The spiritual remains, the souls subjected to celestial trials, were nearly doomed. Shrinking the vast and profound corruption to a mere inch, compressing years of lies into a single day and night—how could it not be absurdly unpredictable, a farce that shocks and astounds?! Is it a lament for the dead? Or a living sacrifice to pierce through reality and history, delving into the all-encompassing personalities of the masses whose quality of life has not evolved yet their values are in disarray. It delves into the horrifying absurdity and decline of folk customs, into the too many secrets hidden beneath the "public servant" masks of corrupt officials, and into the myriad pitiable, tragic, pitiful, and laughable scenarios within the world of desires. It elevates itself into an aesthetic of ugly beauty, with a somber aura, overflowing with genuine power. Reading it, one bursts into laughter yet feels a deep ache in the heart, sighing in frustration and endless concern.