Dirty -- Post-ecological Literature Series

Author: Hei Tiancai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The Filth is a novel depicting a man who lives freely yet struggles at the bottom of society. This group of people lives in a garbage dump called Xiehe Li on the city's edge, surviving by picking through trash. The "I" who chose to roam solely for the sake of freedom was taken in and entered this family of wanderers. Amidst the bonds of kinship and enmity, he thrived until falling in love with a mistress. Later, it was revealed that this mistress was the one who, in the story's climax, brutally beat the "I," leaving him for dead. After surviving, he discovered that the lively, warm-hearted Xiehe Li no longer existed, reduced to a true wasteland. The "I" could only continue to roam, waiting to stay in any place where there was "gold."
The term "80s Generation" originally referred to a group of writers born between 1980 and 1989. While the quality of their novels may vary, their writing styles are undoubtedly diverse. The publishing industry and media have adopted this label for this group. Wenhui Publishing House recently launched the 80s Ecological Literature Series, featuring five debut works. Hei Tiancai and Feng Tao, who wander the world and rely on the internet for communication, are among the authors. Hei Tiancai's The Filth records his firsthand experience of life on the road. Today, he teaches at a rural primary school in Anhui. As he writes in the novel: "I can only continue to roam, waiting to stay in any place where there is gold."
Feng Tao, the author of The Key in the Sunlight on the Railings, was once a music enthusiast who chose writing after graduation. Today, he lives quietly in the suburbs of Hangzhou, writing stories that burn within him. After finishing each part, he walks from south to north, enduring a form of self-torture to witness the world as he sees it. The Scoundrel Under the Sun roars with the frustration, helplessness, and self-mockery that arise after the sacred ideals of life are shattered. The Incandescent Embers is strewn with fragments of youthful love, as they all leave after reflecting on their pain, yet the lingering confusion of youth still follows them. Lily Grows Wings and Flies is the only work by a female author among the five, exuding purity and beauty. It tells the love story of a dance girl who has lost the ability to speak, like a lily that blooms in the dark, ultimately illuminating the hearts of those who wander and struggle in the darkness with its white purity.
Indeed, these five works are filled with the clumsiness of beginners, even with flaws, but you cannot ignore the expression of life at the fringes of China, its marginalized, and its raw essence, nor can you remain unmoved by it. They are obsessed with love, but this love far exceeds the physiological needs of youthful infatuation, merging with the pursuit of life. Rather than writing about the restlessness of youth, they remember the struggle of youthful life.