by Tam King-fai
produce the third kind every day since I have to come up with notes for my class, but I loathe it. The second kind is the only kind that allows me to appreciate the pleasure of writing. The compositions of which I am most proud are my love letters and then the ordinary correspondence with friends in which I can speak about matters of the heart. In these letters, I write down what comes into 21
It will be noted here that Zhou Zuoren himself at times did not see zaidao and yanzhi as exclusive concepts. In his preface to Zhongguo xin wenxue daxi ( The Collectanea of Modern Chinese Literature) —Prose, Volume I, he further comments WV PM _Ia PM ][M[ PM _W MZU[" ¹1 LMTQVMIML PM _W [KPWWT[ WN yanzhi and zaidao merely as a matter of expediency. However, since yanzhi traditionally is used to describe poetry and zaidao to describe prose, it does appear I have caused some confusion by mixing poetry and prose together in my analysis.
Besides, the boundary between zhi and dao became blurry as a result, leading to further confusion. This is why I have further elaborated my position, saying: To speak of other people’s zhi is the same as zaidao, and to convey one’s own dao is the same as yanzhiº ! 1 Q[ LQNÅK]T W [Ia _PMPMZ PQ[ IVVWIQWV
serves further to clarify or confuse the issue.
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24
A Garden of One’s Own
my mind, and what springs from my heart. I am not afraid that somebody else will know of the contents, nor do I care whether the person who reads the letters thinks my writing good or bad, because I know him and he knows me. That, to me, is the most enjoyable thing.
Zhu Guangqian (1936, 291)
As noted in my earlier analysis of the term xuyu sanwen, modern Chinese essays are informed by a distinct set of attitudes toward the reader and
a particular way of approaching and interpreting the world around
us. In the concluding part of this introduction, I will explore these two
aspects of xiaopin wen, with examples drawn from works included in this anthology.
In 1936, Zhu Guangqian wrote the passage quoted above to decline
an invitation from the journal Tian di ren ( Heaven, Earth, People) to submit M[[Ia[ 1V PQ[ TM\MZ PM [XWSM QV PM ^WQKM WN IV IÅKQWVILW WN xiaopin wen in describing the three types of writing, each of which has its own
[XMKQÅKI]LQMVKM)TPW]OPPMLQLVW[IMQM`XTQKQTaBP]/]IVOYQIV
placed xiaopin wen in the second kind of writing, ranking it together with letters and conversations. The target audience of this kind of writing, he
notes, is one’s closest friends, to whom one can freely speak one’s mind.
There is no need at all for posturing, and one can, to use a term of the
xiaopin critics, go about one’s writing in a leisurely and disinterested (xianshi) fashion.
As an illustration of this xianshi quality, early discussions of xiaopin wen usually alluded to the following passage from Kuriyagawa Hakuson,
which, incidentally, also underlines the intimacy between the essayist and
his readers:
Sitting in a rocking chair by the stove in winter, or putting on a bathrobe
in summer, one drinks tea and chats casually with one’s good friends. Put
these words directly on paper and you have an essay. Go wherever your
mood takes you and talk about things that do not give you a headache.
You can feel free to express your feelings in ridicule, witticisms, humor or pathos. The topics may cover, in addition to matters of national import, the petty affairs of the marketplace, opinions on one’s readings, news of
acquaintances, and memories of the past. Talk about whatever comes to
mind, then express it spontaneously with your pen, and you have an essay.22
22
Quoted by many including He Yubo (1934, 14) and Li Subo (1932, 48),
PM XI[[IOM _I[ ÅZ[ ZIV[TIML QVW +PQVM[M Ja WN ITT XMWXTM 4] @]V
italicized words are in English in his translation.
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Introduction 25
Taking this passage together with Zhu Guangqian’s description of
PMPZMMKQZKTM[WN ZMILMZ[WVMIZZQ^M[I_PIKIVJMKITTMLPM¹[QU]TIML
KWVM`º23 of essays: A person speaking to someone intimate about
sundry subjects in an unhurried way. Nothing is considered unworthy
of attention, be it a description of the childish antics of a boy servant
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QV PM UW]VIQV[ .MVO BQSIQ¼[ ¹;MMSQVO ;PMTMZ NZWU PM :IQV QV PM
5W]VIQV[º WZ [QUXTa U][QVO[ ]XWV TWWSQVO I WVM¼[ PIVL ;] 9QVO¼[
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context.
Accordingly, the essayists introduced here took pains to maintain
the façade of the simulated context by various rhetorical means. Bing
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M^MV N]ZPMZ BPW] B]WZMV QV ¹*TIKS+IVWXQML *WI[º IVL @] ,Q[PIV
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Others, such as Zhu Xiang and Wu Boxiao, pretend to speak to the
reader directly, asking for his opinions and inviting him to participate in
the world created by their works.
No essay in this anthology, however, is as explicit in maintaining the
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WN ,MRMKQWVº"
Besides reading, it also cheers me up sometimes to write to friends,
because in my letters I can talk about everything under the sun. Although
what I say is of no great importance, and for the most part devoid of
any structure, there’s no need for me to strike unnatural poses or assume
affected tones as I would if I were to speak to society at large. I also don’t need to follow a carefully worked-out plan as I would in my academic
writing. I can say whatever is on my mind—where my thoughts go, so will
my pen. This is nothing less than the natural expression of my personality,
IVLIVW^MZÆW_WN PMZ]M[[W]VL[WN UaPMIZ*a_ZQQVOPQ[_IaVW
only do I experience the joy of liberation, but so does my reader.
Although I do have a few friends, they are all very busy, and when I write
23
The term comes from Patrick Hanan (1973), who uses it in his studies of
classical tales and vernacular stories. In many ways, the simulated context of
modern essays bears a remarkable resemblance to that of classical tales.
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26
A Garden of One’s Own
to them, they are obliged to write back. I feel uneasy about forcing other
XMWXTM W [IKZQÅKM PMQZ XZMKQW][ QUM W ZMIL Ua TM\MZ[ IVL PMV ZMXTa
just so that I can dispel this feeling of indifference. So, I have thought of
another way—to write only for myself, and take it as an exchange between
myself and my own soul.
In the first paragraph, Su Xuelin is still speaking about the joy of
communicating with friends, but in the second, she has actually crossed
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WN PMZPMIZº¸[PW]TLJMZM[MZ^MLNWZPMZ[MTN ITWVM?MIZMLZI_VI[Q
were, ever closer to her innermost thoughts.
Lest one take this gesture of baring one’s soul to one’s readers at
face value, however, it bears repeating that all of these rhetorical devices
are but a pretense, and that not all writers felt unabashed enough to
dwell exclusively on private matters in what, in reality, was published
and read by the public. Some even felt the need to justify their passing
over opportunities to comment on topics with social implications. After
talking about, among other things, the poetic pleasures of listening to
the croaking of frogs in a heavy downpour, Zhou Zuoren concludes his
¹*Q\MZ:IQVº_QPPMNWTTW_QVOZMUIZS["
In the villages, the rain this time must have been a disaster for the poor.
Since I did not witness it, it would be pointless for me to exercise my
imagination and make a pretense of lamenting their plight. If someone
were to say that what I have written down here is just my personal business
and doesn’t contribute to human life in general, I’d willingly admit it.
Talking about my personal affairs is exactly what I set out to do, and I do
not aspire to any other goal than that. The sun has come out today, and in
the evening, we can go out to play. I will stop here.
This essay is written in the form of a personal letter to the writer’s
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social message in a letter meant only for the recipient? Obviously, then,
Zhou had stepped out of his role as the writer of a personal letter into a
simulated context (with which the rest of the essay conspires); reverting
to Zhou Zuoren the essayist, and perhaps unwittingly revealing that the
supposedly intimate relationship between a writer and his readers is but
part of the simulated context of xiaopin wen.
If Zhou is all earnestness in answering the call to contribute to what
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Introduction 27
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WN PM _PWTM PQVO QV ¹/WQVO W PM +Qaº 8TIaN]T IVL QZZM^MZMV A]
draws the reader into collusion with the joke that animates the essay.
He begins in an ambulatory manner with a commonplace description
of an evening scene—the darkening sky, the continuous stretch of fog,
the bumpy ride, and the scenery on the road. If, at this point, the essay
seems to wander a bit (which, by the way, seems to be an appropriate
IVITWO]M W PM ZI^MT PMUM WN PM M[[Ia PM QTM []OOM[QVO I ÅVIT
destination, nevertheless creates an expectation that a denouement will
be offered at the end to tie up the loose ends. This, however, fails to
materialize, and Yu Pingbo quickly overturns the reader’s expectation
of a unifying conclusion by raising questions about the very purpose of
writing itself. He imagines his reader saying,
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and yet you’re trying to pass this off as an essay? You must be pulling my
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PMR]LOM"1N QVLMMLPMZM_MZM[WUMPQVOW¹MTTºQ_W]TLUW[TQSMTaJM
about a blown-out tire, a break-down by the side of the road, or, worse, a
crash into an electric pole, sending the bus and its passengers spilling onto
their backs. Even worse still, it could be a shout in the style of the bandits in Outlaws of the Marsh that makes even the one in the yellow cotton jacket
[i.e., the Emperor] tremble in fear. That would be very messy, wouldn’t
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LMKTIZM PMU ¹QVWTMZIJTMº 1N QVLMML IVa WN PM[M M^MV[ PIL PIXXMVML
would you really expect me to have the time and peace of mind to toy with
my brush and paper and come up with a piece of idle scribbling such as this?
Yu Pingbo’s subtle joke, apart from bringing his essay to a conclusion,
(albeit not of the kind the title leads us to expect), can by extension be
taken as an answer to some of the criticism of xiaopin wen discussed
earlier. Taken as a general statement about the writing of xiaopin wen, his conclusion can be read as an answer to the unrealistic expectations
of some critics, who somehow think that the value of writing lies in its
advancing certain predetermined social and political goals. However, in
areas that demand practical social action, Yu seems to ask, why resort to
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pen to paper then?
Some writers tried to tread the middle ground and pay lip service to
the demand that they provide lessons in their work. In one of his early
M[[Ia[¹7TL5MVº0M9QNIVOLM[KZQJM[PZMMWTLUMV_PWTWVMTaIVL
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28
A Garden of One’s Own
more or less neglected, nevertheless inspired the writer as a young boy
with their tenacity and rich experiences. Toward the end, he imagines
himself reaching a ripe old age:
Finally, I see that I myself have become an old man, alone and calm, like
a tree quietly tucked in the countryside in the winter. I study plants. I live
among humble vegetables, tall-standing fruit trees, blooming shrubs. Like
them, I follow the cycle of nature’s seasons. A hoe is always in my hand, and
through it, I get close to the earth. Perhaps I will raise bees under the eaves where there is some sun. Life is too bitter: Let us put a little sugar in our
MI7VTWVOVQOP[_PMV[TMMXQ[M^MZ[PWZMZ1_QTT[QJaPMÆQKSMZQVOWQT
lamp and slowly, meticulously, recall and write down the stories of my life.
As far as bringing his reverie to an end and keeping a uniformity of
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Yet, He Qifang is not ready to leave the subject until he provides a word
of counsel to the reader:
But suddenly I awake from deep thought. What a preposterous dream this
is! Between my mature years and my old age, there is still a long way to go.
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Thus ends lamely an essay that would otherwise hold together much
more coherently. As one can see from this example, the concluding
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IZQÅKQITTaIVLXMZN]VKWZQTaI\IKPMLWPMMVL#_PQTMNIQTQVOWIXXMI[M
the critics, they only succeed in rupturing the aesthetic world that the
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[]XMZÅKQITQaWN PMQZI\MUX[WUWZITQbMJMKWUMITTPMUWZMWJ^QW][
Lu Li’s essay, in particular, leads the reader imperceptibly but inexorably
toward a serious indictment of the inhumanity of society, and for that
re
ason, deserves a closer look here.
¹
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WN I XM[TM WV PM JIVS WN I Z][PQVO ZQ^MZ I UQLVQOP'º
right away what might well have developed into a lyrical description
of a pastoral scene. The paragraph that follows continues with more
or less the same appealing nature theme: a river bank far from human
habitation, a murmuring stream, a lone owl, a ridiculous-looking beaver,
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Introduction 29
IVL I _QTL L]KS ÆIXXQVO Q[ _QVO[ WV PM _IMZ ) KIZMN]T ZMILMZ UIa
detect a certain jarring note in the mention of wolves howling, but at
this point, they are far away in the distant hills, and as such, can easily
be excluded from the pastoral world the essay promises to deliver.
Yet, the scene suddenly turns cold and desolate in the next
paragraph as the mill by the river is described in terms usually associated
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emphasize its isolation. Far from the human community it serves, the
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for shepherds and wild children. During festivals, the contrast between
its solitude and the revelry that takes place around it becomes all the
more unmistakable: While families in the nearby village prepare to
celebrate the New Year, the old watchman and the child-bride have to
work doubly hard by the pestles. The quiet night scene established in
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while some of the images begin to take on sinister implications. The
owl, compared to a philosopher in the second paragraph, now appears
to resemble human beings in yet another way. Both, apparently, feed on
their own kind. Likewise, the game the children play by the water mill,
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contrast to the tiger, who takes care of its young, we human beings prey
on the helpless among us.
Finally, Lu Li’s essay is largely constructed on the symbolism of
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