Li Duo, a native of Molidawa, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, whose real name is A Dai and whose original name is Meng Keqin, is a famous minority writer, literary theorist and film screenwriter. His "May You Hear This Song" won the National Excellent Short Story Award 1978, and participated in the creation of screenplays by Li Siguang and Sha Ou.

Chinese name: Li Duo.

Alias: formerly known as Meng Keqin

Nationality: China.

Ethnic group: Dai nationality

Birthplace: Molidawa Banner, Inner Mongolia

Occupation: minority writer

Graduate school: Beijing No.1 10 1 Middle School.

Main achievements: Won the National Excellent Short Story Award 1978.

Representative works: The short story Baggage and the Light in Front.

Character experience

Li Duo, 1958, graduated from BeijingNo. 10 1 middle school. He has been a worker of Beijing Heavy Machinery Factory, a professional writer of Beijing Writers Association, and the deputy editor of Beijing Literature. Published works 65438 to 0975. 65438-0979 Join the Chinese Writers Association.

Personal work

Literary works

He is the author of short stories, such as Burden, Light in Front, Garland with Staff, Roses with Fragrance, Sleepless on a Spring Night, Snowflakes Gone Quietly, Pingju Script, Red Phoenix, etc.

essay

Li Duo: Criticism is criticism.

1On the evening of October 26th, Li Duo appeared in Guangzhou. Facing several colleagues in this newspaper, he once again stressed: "Now domestic literary criticism is a bit of a rout."

1978, 39-year-old "industrial worker" Li Duo is revising a play about Li Siguang. By telephone, his short story "I wish you heard this song" won the first "National Excellent Short Story Award". Later, Li Duo was transferred from a heavy machinery factory in Shijingshan, Beijing to the Beijing branch of the Chinese Writers Association and became a "resident writer".

After reading a lot of foreign works, Li Duo, a "resident writer", began to feel that he could not write like this. 1982 he decided to put down his novels for the time being and accumulate them first. As a result, "the novel could not be put down, and finally he became a literary critic."

From 65438 to 0986, Li Duo, a "literary critic", was transferred to Jinghua Literature as the deputy editor-in-chief, and partnered with Lin Jinlan, the editor-in-chief, and published many avant-garde novels such as Going Out at Eighteen by Yu Hua.

On June 2nd, 1989, visiting scholar Li Duo visited the United States at the invitation of the University of Chicago. It's been five years since Li Duocai returned to China for the first time in 1994. Since then, he has been a visiting scholar at Berkeley University, Duke University, University of North Carolina, University of Michigan and other universities, teaching China's modern and contemporary literature until now.

1980s, at least they are serious and will debate.

In the 1980 s, all editorial departments also took "making wedding dresses for others" as the first duty of editors. At that time, the prosperity of literature benefited from the ideological enlightenment and liberation movement, and the editors were mostly people with literary ideals, which was closely related to the history of China literary periodicals since the May 4th Movement.

At that time, once the editor found a good work, he would invite the author to stay and modify it, and then publish it when it was mature. After publication, the author will be invited to attend a meeting. Editors of other journals will immediately invite manuscripts when they see the appearance of new authors.

The atmosphere inside the editorial department is also very active. An article came, the old man said it could not be published, and the young man said it must be published. Similar conflicts are normal in all editorial departments.

1criticism in the 1980s is also authoritative. Even critics who are restricted by official policies (hereinafter referred to as "official critics") are authoritative. "Scar Literature" was developed under the advocacy, encouragement and stimulation of official critics.

Many official critics were critics before 1949. Unlike now, many officials don't know what to do. Besides, quite a few official critics have good personalities. For example, Xia Yan has a certain personality charm. The writer rebelled against his authority, but he was also willing to obey. Third, their authority is based on the understanding that there should be new situations after the Cultural Revolution. Official critics, unofficial critics and writers are consistent in breaking cultural absolutism.

The most typical one is Feng Mu, who has been admired by many writers. He is not only the leader of the National Writers Association, but also an insightful literary critic. Sometimes he has to show his official identity and carry out policy implementation; As a critic, he should safeguard his works and encourage literary thoughts. The internal conflict between these two identities puts him in a dilemma.

The new critics formed after 1985, their authority comes from the innovative demands of literary development.

Official critics are always worried about breaking cultural absolutism. The new critics are thinking about literature itself. It can be said that the trend of "pure literature" is not created by writers, but by new critics, at least by both critics and writers.

At that time, first of all, writers walked in front and critics put up the banner.

1In the early 1980s, official critics, such as Mu Feng and Rada, were supporters and propagandists of scar literature, but we all suspected that it was not what we expected.

However, our expectations are also vague. After Wang Zengqi's Empress Dowager Cixi, He Liwei and Acheng successively produced some exploratory works, but they did not constitute a trend. From today's perspective, they can be regarded as pioneers of "root-seeking literature".

When Wang Anyi's Xiao Bao Zhuang, Han Shaogong's Dad Dad and Mo Yan's Red Sorghum came out, all literary critics were faced with great challenges. It was these works that caused the most serious division of the critics at that time.

How to treat fictional history? How to treat novels unrelated to the socialist revolution? The official critics are a little confused, and many people even lose their critical ability at once.

At this time, the younger generation of critics stood up. For example, Ji Hongzhen's interpretation of Acheng's works is "the conflict between civilization and ignorance". Today, that kind of interpretation is very problematic, but it was shocking at that time, because she didn't mention socialism and reform and opening up at all, and everyone felt very fresh.

Young critics, such as Wu Liang, Cai Xiang, Cheng Depei, Huang Ziping and others, immediately gained wide recognition and became famous overnight.

1987, writers such as Yu Hua, Su Tong, Bei Cun, Ge Fei, Sun Ganlu and Can Xue appeared. But everyone, including the trendy critics, paid no attention. Some critics say that there are no good works around 1987, and "literature has fallen into a trough".

I wrote a short article in "Literary and Art Newspaper" called "Where are the urchins of the past? I said, what about your rebellious spirit and urchin spirit? I think the real literary revolution happened in 1987. After these writers appeared, your critics actually called it a "literary trough."

That little article has a great influence. Ji Hongzhen wrote to me the next day and asked me who those writers were and where I read their things. Therefore, new wave critics began to pay attention to the new trend of experimental novels.

Prior to this, the official critics were hesitant to interpret the root-seeking literature. After the experimental novel came out, they took a clear-cut stand and totally opposed it. The affirmation of experimental novels once again established the authority of trendy critics.

Generally speaking, the members of the trendy critics are far away from the Writers' Association and the Literary Federation. The most typical one is Cai Xiang, who used to be a worker. After writing a good review article, he was transferred to the editorial department of Shanghai Literature. When compiling the theoretical edition of Shanghai Literature, he still insisted on writing independent review articles.

Of course, many people in the trendy critics have become members of the Writers Association, but they were not at first.

At that time, many literary journals published critical articles, most of which were Shanghai Literature, Literary Review, Literary Newspaper, Zhongshan, Flower City, China Writers and so on.

Critics on both sides of these publications can publish articles, and none of them specializes in making trendy criticisms. But to tell the truth, after I became the deputy editor-in-chief of Beijing Literature, it was difficult for some critics to distribute things unless they had orders from their superiors. The same is true of Shanghai Literature, which will not actively publish some critics' articles.

In the1980s, due to the long-term lack of spiritual life, all people loved literature. Therefore, even a small publication, as long as it is about literary criticism, will soon be concerned. For example, Sun Shaozhen's The Rise of New Aesthetics was published in a "far away" magazine, but it was a sensation at that time, and official critics besieged him.

All over the world, writers generally pretend not to care about criticism. 1980s, some writers even said that literary criticism was just a mushroom growing on the literary tree. But writers secretly read criticism; Not only watching, but also criticism can have a substantial impact on them.

For example, root-seeking literature, after a writer finishes writing a work, critics describe it as a literary trend of thought. At this time, the root-seeking literary writer is more conscious, and he knows that he is a cultural root-seeking; Later writers thought about whether to participate in cultural root-seeking. At that time, some writers proposed stream-of-consciousness writing, and critics said it was "inward turn". As a result, critics' views spread, and "inner narrative" became a literary means that dominated for nearly 20 years.

Of course, the influence of criticism on literature is not a one-way guide, but a very complicated process of mutual restriction, influence and stimulation. Avant-garde novels, for example, will constantly overflow the glass of criticism, always giving critics problems and competing with them. Wang Anyi is a good example. Her Xiao Bao Zhuang, Three Loves and Uncle's Story are simply playing hide-and-seek with critics from novels to realism.

I think the influence of criticism on creation is to form an ecology, which makes all kinds of literary ideas, literary opinions and literary methods resonate like symphonies and make literature develop continuously. But we have never seen a critic who can have a fatal influence on writers like belinsky; No one in American art history can create an era like Greenberg.

The era when literature and literary criticism flourished is rare in the history of the world, and I am afraid it will never happen again.

In 1990, the only function is promotion.

In the 1990 s, this group of trendy critics soon disappeared. Young professional critics either went to college or switched careers.

Critics who enter universities become part of the academic mechanism. Literary criticism should face ordinary readers and academic research should face academia, which is completely different.

Scholars such as Zhang Yiwu are used to moving academic terms to newspapers, so that no one can understand them, while some people find them profound. At the beginning of 1990, this trend was in full swing.

Originally good critics followed suit and began to mechanically copy some academic theories. As a result, criticism has lost its style and become the same, and fewer and fewer people are watching it.

The marketization of art originated from the art world. From 65438 to the early 1990s, painters began to make money, and individual critics began to write paid reviews. This trend has gradually become the hidden rule of art criticism. When literary critics are busy attending press conferences and traveling with 200 yuan, the art world can already get thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan for writing a review. As a result, this hidden rule quickly spread to the field of literary criticism.

Interestingly, some official critics in11980' s were the first group to realize "marketization" in the field of literary criticism. Their criticism was integrated with publishing and sales, and was quickly "incorporated" into the hype system of commercial promotion.

In the commercial tide, periodicals have to "wet their shoes". I think, probably only "Reading" has not paid for the space. I didn't know I said that. It's easy to stand and talk. Reading with only a few editors is also relatively profitable. If one day they can't make ends meet, I don't know if they can persist in studying.

In the 1990 s, a huge critical group was born among journalists and editors, and this group quickly merged with the commercial mechanism. That kind of criticism has no method, no constraint and no standard to flatter the work.

In this way, the team of critics who pay attention to, supervise and reflect on literary creation as before no longer exists.

Of course, after 1990, everything from "post-70s" to "post-80s" and "personal writing" seems to be very hot. But in my opinion, that's just some critics abusing naming rights. Abuse of naming rights is also a comment on the loss of authority of commentators after 1990.

Therefore, in the1990s, literary criticism had no function, and its only function was propaganda.

Of course, a few people with literary ideals still persist, but the number is too small to form an ecology. The so-called-the general trend is gone.

Future literature, possible criticism

However, I don't think literature is really dead.

From a macro historical perspective, literature has never died out. The deeper the oppression, the more concentrated the resistance energy of literature may be

Now is the era of literature popularization and commercialization. The suppression of literature by commercialization is different from that by absolutism. But if we abstract the problem, we will find that the development of literature is either oppressed by this mechanism or by that mechanism.

Therefore, I think that the problem faced by literature and literary criticism now is nothing more than seeking new viability and new possibilities in a new oppression mechanism.

What will be the new literary mechanism in the future?

I think this mechanism is probably a reaction of popularization-a few people write for a few people.

/kloc-the so-called "pure literature" in the 1980 s was characterized by depoliticization. In my opinion, the future "pure literature" is likely to be very politicized and will strongly criticize and refute the mainstream ideology and business culture.

I think Han Shaogong's "Mountain South Water North" is a sign. It's a reformed prose. Some people say it's cross-style writing, but I don't think the name is very good. A bit like Lu Xun's essays, but lighter and better than Lu Xun's articles. After those frivolous essays are collected, they constitute a very heavy criticism.

In the future, my ideal critic group should come from freelance writers, journalists and editors.

It must be noted that literary criticism and literary research have always been completely separated in the west, and critics and scholars almost avoid each other.

American professional critics earn a lot of money. For example, people who write articles for the New York Times Book Review are very qualified, and the fees are so high that they don't need to rely on foundations. For another example, The New Yorker sent Cha Jianying to China to write an article about China, which gave her a year's income.

American literary critics can be independent of business, so writing reviews with money is bound to be a scandal. I've only heard of plagiarism by writers in American literary scandals, but I've never heard of anyone spending money to write reviews.

Beautiful Xishuangbanna

Li Duo "has a beautiful place where colorful clouds float." Mention the beautiful Xishuangbanna, who can not be fascinated by it! Going to Xishuangbanna was my dream a long time ago. This time, I finally flew to Xishuangbanna, where, in the intoxicating warm wind, I saw the tropical rain forest, waded through the clear water of the Lancang River, climbed the Dai bamboo house, took a new photo and left a string of colorful memories.

Looking up at the tree of the sky

The next morning when I arrived in Xishuangbanna, I went to the "Wangtianshu" scenic spot by bus. There is a tree here called Wang Tianshu, which is also listed as a world protected tree species. Looking up at the sky, the tree is about 60 meters high.

In the tropical rain forest, there are many vines, winding around the trees like snakes. The rainforest is deep, and I think it must be scary to walk here at night! This stream is clear and cold. Many rotten trees have many poisonous mushrooms, and happy birds are singing in the depths of the jungle.

Later, I went to an orange garden with a river behind it. I really want to take some complete photos of the tropical rain forest. The middle of the river is the best place to shoot, so I will go to the river. There are many stones at the bottom of the river. I walked around and my foot slipped. Although I didn't fall, the slippers slipped off my feet and floated away. The current is very fast. Afraid of slipping and scratching the camera, I dare not go.

After coming back, I also had a meal with Dai flavor: plantain flower, barbecue and fried bracken.

Zhulou reflects the blue sky

Most Dai people live in Xishuangbanna, China. Most of their villages are located in Pingba, riverside and lakeside, and bamboo buildings are hidden in bamboo forests. This bamboo house is divided into two floors. The upper floor is moisture-proof and ventilated, which can also avoid the invasion of poisonous snakes and mosquitoes and is suitable for human habitation. Downstairs can be used to raise livestock and store commonly used farm tools and sundries. This bamboo building looks like a peacock and a huge tent hidden between the blue sky and the green space.

I came to visit the Dai family, and the hospitable Dai family killed chickens and fish, and took out the best things from their family to entertain me. The women are busy cooking, and the host smokes and chats with me. Soon, a table of delicious Dai rice was placed on the bamboo table. There are many flavors of Dai flavor, such as steamed pork wrapped in banana leaves, roasted bamboo rats with bamboo boards or tied with lemon grass on the fire, grilled fish, roasted bamboo shoots and shredded lettuce. There are some things I saw for the first time, which made me a person who has lived in the city for a long time not only full, but also knowledgeable. The master's grandfather squatted on the bamboo building and smoked homemade cigars. A ray of sunshine just shone on his wrinkled face like a statue.

Youyou wild elephant valley

Another scenic spot in Xishuangbanna is the Wild Elephant Valley in the tropical rain forest. Trees in the rainforest are as thin as tropical people, vines in the rainforest are entangled, and famous plants are strangled. A silent cruelty comes out in such a place. Wild elephants in Wild Elephant Valley are rare. There is a hotel in a tree in the valley, which is very legendary. If you have time, you can stay in the tree and wait for the wild elephant to be a George in the jungle. The tour guide told us lightly that it was nothing to meet wild elephants. Run back 50 meters at most, and the elephant will stop chasing. A faint word lifted our hearts, but in the end we didn't see the wild elephant.

I didn't see any wild elephants. I might as well watch a free elephant show. This is really an interesting scene. Probably because of the attraction of tropical pineapples as sweet as honey, just after the performance, an elephant came straight to me. When he retreated in a panic, he bribed the pineapple in his hand It's a bit of a wry smile to see that big guy proudly stuffing pineapple rolls into his mouth and pulling bamboo sticks with his nose. I gave it a dollar, and it nodded to thank me, and then strolled to the fruit stand to buy bananas.

I like to watch elephants walk in a line, one holding the other's tail with its nose at the back. It's really hard not to laugh when such a big animal makes such a lovely move.

Wu Mei Dai Zhai Shui

May is the season for harvesting millet. No matter who has something to do, relatives and friends of Daizhai will come to help. Ella, from Manna Village, Mengla Township, works as a worker in an electric station on weekdays. This morning, some friends in the village helped him get Xiaomi back. Treat him at noon, buy tobacco, alcohol and meat, pick fresh vegetables from their own fields and fish from their own fish ponds. Therefore, such a sumptuous meal didn't cost much. In the afternoon, they went to help their friend Bowen play millet. Spread bamboo mats on the cut fields, and the fields will become threshing floors. Men beat the cut millet roughly with homemade farm tools, while women in flowered skirts waved their wooden pestles, and then beat the millet carefully. Against the backdrop of green mountains and green waters, it is a carefully crafted amorous feelings painting.

Dai people have a natural awe of water. Villages are usually built by the water. The most solemn festival of the Dai people is the Songkran Festival. They built a sacred tower on the drinking well in the village, and many small mirrors were embedded in colorful towers to get the protection of the gods. The tower is covered on the well to prevent dust and sundries from falling into the well. Even the Dai children, influenced by adults since childhood, never go to the well to play. This shows that the Dai people love the water that concerns their survival.

The river near the village has become a paradise for Dai people. Children play in the river all day, even the young monks in the temple in the village are no exception. People wash clothes and wash newly picked vegetables by the river; Every evening, clean women come to the river to take a bath. They wear colorful skirts on weekdays, and then they become colorful "bath covers" floating on the water. They sometimes play in the water, which makes them more charming against the setting sun.

Laugh at life and death

Sitting on a bamboo raft, drifting on a small river and looking at clusters of bamboos, green trees and all this in front of you is like roaming in a picture of ethnic customs.

In the Dai villages in Xishuangbanna, there are large and small temples, and the Hinayana Buddhism advocated by them was introduced from Myanmar with a history of 1000 years. They think: "If people don't practice well before they die, they will suffer in hell after they die." Therefore, the Dai people who are deeply influenced by this idea are very friendly to people. Dai men in Xishuangbanna have to become monks when they are teenagers. When the boys in the stockade are seven or eight years old, they will go to the temple to learn Dai language, classics and chanting. After several years of practice, they will become educated people. Adults can get married in a secular way, while others continue to study in temples. Every household in the stockade takes turns to deliver meals to monks. When they meet temples and hold activities, all families will come to help, and the expenses will be shared by all families.

The most solemn Buddhist festivals of Dai people are "Closing Day" and "Opening Day". At this time, people will sacrifice to the Buddha every seven days, and the people in the stockade will build the temple first. On the day of offering sacrifices to the Buddha, people arrived at the temple at dawn. Men, women and children light candles to burn incense, worship Buddha and recite scriptures, and pray for Buddha's blessing. The great monk who recited the scriptures sprinkled auspicious water on the faithful men and women, which made everyone feel great satisfaction from the bottom of their hearts.

In the evening, Dai girls who can sing and dance gather in the public bamboo building in the stockade to dance heartily. Through the graceful dancing and swaying lights of Dai girls, I saw several newly made coffins in the corner of the bamboo building, which were prepared by people in the stockade for emergency. The dancing figure in front of us exudes the strength and vitality of birth, and the people enjoy the happiness of life to the fullest, completely forgetting the shadow of death-perhaps, life and death are only in one thought, and it is precisely because of the fear of death that the joy of life is so real and the fragments of life are so brilliant!

Achievement honor

The short story "I wish you have heard this song" won the first national excellent short story award, and the film literary script "Li Siguang" and "Sha Ou" (cooperation, which has been filmed and released) won the excellent film awards of the Ministry of Culture in 1979 and198 respectively.