In The Complete Works of Lai He Zajuan, the column of "Zawen" is the same as Lu Xun's essays. Nineteen essays are different in appearance, including biographies, miscellaneous feelings, elegiac couplets, Buddhist translations, scripts, political comments, prefaces, interesting books, and so on. If we distinguish by the concept of "literary papers", these can't be regarded as essays in a strict sense. "A Brief Account of Aunt Zhuang's Rouniang's Sorrow", "Good Parents in a Day" and "elegiac couplet and elegy at Mr. Sun Yixian's memorial service" are literary, but they are not papers. Others that can be regarded as papers lack literary quality. However, the latter uses some means of essays, which brings the color of essays. It is a convenient way for us to study and discuss them as broad essays. We can see that their characteristics are as follows:
1. The unique logicality of political papers
These articles have the unique and strict logicality of political papers, and their reasoning is thorough and irrefutable.
For example, Confucius Yue is a political paper written in classical Chinese. From the content, it should be an article to participate in the debate between the old and the new cultures, but it seems that it has not been published. In this paper, the author stands on the position of "new learning" and refutes the criticism of Confucius and Mencius on the new culture, which is well-founded and convincing. The article takes a nose at the statement that "those who abandon morality and abandon ethics should be all new learners", and points out in a tit-for-tat way: "In fact, there are people who call themselves morality, saints, thieves who are full of Confucius and Mencius." He believes: "People's minds are changing day by day, and society is changing from time to time. With the morality of 4, years ago, it is only confusing to want to cover today's society." Words are powerful, hit the floor.
Comparing the Old Literature with the New Literature by Reading Japanese Papers in Taiwan and Congratulating an Old Man are two important articles by Lai He, which are obviously arguing with the defenders of an old literature. In view of the other party's accusation, this paper finds out the contradictions, analyzes them, and reveals the essential differences between the old and new literature in order to convince people. For example, the object of old literature is the literati class, disdaining to have relations with the people, and it is a plaything of literati, so it may be simple and important; However, the new literature takes the people as the object, which reflects the urgent problems to be solved in modern society and cannot but be understood in detail. This refutes the other party's "lengthy" attack on new literature.
The author is also good at "attacking the shield with a spear". "An old gentleman" obviously shows disdain for the influence of western learning in new literature, which is used as evidence of forgetting his ancestors in new literature. Lai He first pointed out in the article "To Regard an Old Man" that it is very normal for the literature of all ethnic groups and regions to interact and merge with each other, which has existed for a long time in the history of literature. This is because "people's life style, material life style and spiritual life state, because of the relationship between time and environment, gradually change and transfer, and the expression of their two lives (literary painting and sculpture, etc.) also changes at the same time", and Then, he turned his pen and said,
If you take all these things, you can spit on them, alas! I think the old gentleman must still be knocking at the stone to make a fire, lighting an oil lamp of rushes, and reading Pu's bamboo slips. Although there is a foreign sputum pot, it is useless! Another incredible thing is that the old gentleman also uses newspapers. Although there is no smell of butter, the smell of gasoline is very strong, and it is not easy for people to escape when they see snobbery!
isn't it self-contradictory to refuse to absorb western, modern and progressive literary concepts and methods, but to use the products of western, civilized and modern science?
II. Visualization of concrete abstract truth
From the paragraph quoted above, we can see that Lai He is good at visualizing abstract truth. Readers can imagine that in modern society, it would be a ridiculous picture for an old gentleman who refused to evolve to abandon the electric light, knock on a stone to make a fire like his ancestors, light an oil lamp of rushes and read bamboo slips woven by Pu. In addition, in the same work, the author compares the literary heritage to "a field left by predecessors for literature", saying that this field is "of course vast and has infinite treasures. If it were not for the use of organized scale for reclamation and management, everyone would only be left to dig and dig, and eventually grass would grow in chaos. Like some rich people in Taiwan Province, they can't get the freedom to use only one money, and they still can't bear to give up their status as rich people. ". There are two metaphors here, one is to compare literature to a field, and the other is to compare literary activities to farming; Second, comparing the management of old literature with the wealth status of the rich in Taiwan Province shows that the two are illusory and useless. This metaphor is very vivid, clear and easy to understand.
Lai He also inserted things, phenomena and characters' language, actions, manners and situations that happened in daily life into reasoning. For example:
old man! Although the coolies raped your mother casually, you're welcome. It wasn't their cry. They were wailed by whips, cries of pain and hunger. In the ears of those who used to rape your mother, they didn't feel anything, but it's no wonder that the old man was hard of hearing. For all the quotations in this section, see Lai He's "Please Reply to an Old Man", and The Complete Works of Lai He, Volume 3, pp. 92-96, published by (Taipei) Avant-garde Publishing House in June 2.
In this way, the reason why the "old gentleman" supports old literature and is hostile to new literature and its essence are exposed to the nail on the head.
Third, the irony of facing power
One of the outstanding artistic features of Lai He's creation is that his language contains sarcasm, and both novels and essays are deeply ironic. Zhang Wujun, another famous new literature writer in Taiwan Province, once wrote in "Impression of South Tour": "What interests me most is the moustache of Lazy Yunjun. His old gentleman's moustache is sparse, long and thin, and it is more and more funny. It is simply said that his beard is reserved to laugh at the world." Maybe it's as written as he is. Lai He's essays are the style that best embodies his style, and they often use imitation, exaggeration and irony.
the above two quotations are the use of imitation and exaggeration. In the previous paragraph, it was logical to deliberately admit that the other side rejected the new literature, and then following this logic, it was inferred that the "old gentleman" should have been to the day of "knocking stones for fire, lighting an oil lamp of rushes and reading bamboo slips". In the latter paragraph, I first followed the other person's tone and said, "The coolie raped your mother", which was very casual and impolite. Then I told people seriously that this was the whining, painful and hungry cry of the coolies, and that "an old gentleman" was "used to raping your mother's ears", insinuating that he was also a man riding on the coolies' heads. I don't feel anything about this crying, but I still regard this Taiwan Province as an "ideal country", and "I can satisfy my needs, travel freely and enjoy myself, whistling among the green mountains and green waters, and singing drunk under the moonlight and flowers" (A Comparison of Old and New Literature in Reading Taiwanese Paper, The Complete Works of Lai He, vol. 3, p. 89, published by (Taipei) Avant-garde Press in June 2. This is the true face of the defenders.
Irony is the most commonly used technique of Lai He. For example, in the "Reply to the Ad Hoc Five Questions of Taiwan Province People's Daily", there is "Regent's Palace, namely Emperor Showa Hirohito, was then the Crown Prince. Yukitai came to Taiwan Province for a cruise in 1923. While proving the success of Taiwan Province's rule, it proves that we are docile and easy to treat. It is obviously an angry accusation, but it is said in a quiet and even praise tone, especially ironic. "Answering Questions from Taiwan Province People's Daily" is even more intense. Taiwan Province People's Daily once set two questions to ask readers for answers: First, should the Baojia system be "abolished"? When "save"? Second, should sugarcane be "abandoned" by adopting regional system? When "save"? Within half a month, more than 3 replies were received, and the vast majority of people, led by Lian Wenqing, advocated abolition. The reasons were quite consistent and positive, that is, "the ruling class squeezed the dominated class", "the relic of the autocratic era", "infringing on farmers' rights", "outdated system" and "binding people's freedom", while Lai He advocated preservation with different interests. On January 1, 1926, Taiwan Province People's Daily No.86 published a representative answer. Lai He's answer is:
1. Should the Baojia system be "abolished"? When "save"?
a: save. We are born as slaves, and we love to bind ourselves with ropes. If this ancient law is abolished, we will not be able to give full play to our characteristics.
second, should sugarcane be "abandoned" by adopting a regional system? When "save"?
a: save. I am a running dog fed by capitalists. If this privilege is lost, even I am a running dog, I am afraid I will have no place to eat.
Everyone can see that this is an ironic way, which not only exposes the true face of colonial rule to the world, but also captures the essential relationship between the Baojia system and slavery, the regional system of sugarcane and the lackeys fed by capitalists, and its effect is stronger and more combative than direct opposition.
The Criticism of the Strike in Taichung No.1 Middle School also uses irony and Qubi throughout. The text is not long, so it is recorded in the following:
Before expressing my contempt, what is the result and influence of the retention and abolition of the insurance system collected before your newspaper? It's not helpful if public opinion follows public opinion and returns to reality. It's better to be silent. But the natives have no public opinion, which makes it effective. It is sufficient evidence that the future of more than 1 indigenous youths has been achieved, and only a few discipline inspections have been made. Most of them have ended up as high-ranking vagrants, vying for the job of a chef of Tiansun Miao nationality. The authorities could not bear to close it down according to strong public opinion, so they were naturally lenient. A few people were ungrateful and still talked about it. Alas! The world is getting worse, people are not old, but they can be generous!
This article means that before I express my opinions, I should think about the last time your newspaper (Taiwan Province People's Daily) collected opinions on the preservation or abolition of the Baojia system. What was the result and impact? If public opinion has nothing to do with reality and it is useless to make comments, it is better to be silent. But where is Taiwan Province people's public opinion? Even if there is, is it effective? It is sufficient evidence that Taichung No.1 Middle School can get such achievements. The future of more than 1 young people in Taiwan Province, even if they can develop, is only a few disciplines and inspections. Most of them can only be high-level unemployed people, vying to be a "Japanese" (Japanese) as a servant. Such a school, the authorities can't bear to shut it down according to strong public opinion (official public opinion, of course), which is already lenient. A few people don't know how grateful they are, and they still talk about it. Alas! It's really a declining world, and people's hearts are not ancient. What a pity! Of course, the author is very indignant about the differential education system of the colonists and the situation of Taiwan Province student "adventureland", but he did not denounce the authorities' actions on the issue of Taichung No.1 Middle School, but said with a song that this school is so bad that it is magnanimous for the authorities to ignore it. Following this logic, it is natural to blame those who make false comments. In this way, the hegemony and hypocrisy of the colonial authorities were exposed completely.
Fourth, several works that need to be explained
In the essay column of The Complete Works of Lai He, several articles need to be explained separately: A Brief Account of Auntie Zhuang's Gentle Mother's Sorrow and Good Parents in a Day, even in a broad concept, it seems that they should not be classified as essays; The First Righteousness needs to be explained because it is special.
1.
A Brief Account of Auntie Zhuang's Sorrow and Sorrow, a short biography written by Lai He to his eldest aunt Zhuang Rou, is less than 1,2 words in classical Chinese, but the characters' experiences and temperament are fully displayed, with particular emphasis on highlighting their moral integrity in suffering. Zhuang Shirou is the eldest daughter of a poor farmer's family. She married Lai's family at the age of fifteen, and her husband died of illness only one year later. A 16-year-old young woman, "still arrogant (charming)," became a widow. Fortunately, I was born with a posthumous child. "Because of the above pains, I left a series of hopes." Therefore, "it is difficult to raise, and the laughter is shocking, which makes the earth frost and the world full of desolation." She "taught language in the cradle, and her family overflowed with kindness", but she was "jealous of ghosts" and her son died of illness when he was eleven years old. The family was afraid that she was too sad and adopted a son for her, "to be the companion of a cold boudoir." She "can't bear to live without her husband, and the aunt's loss of service, forbearance and hard work." Lai's family was not rich in the first place, and was dragged down by Dai Wansheng's case and infected by epidemics. "It is difficult to find death and funeral, and the livelihood is difficult." At this time, Zhuang Rou "suffered from food and clothing after her family's death. She was tired of solitude, and had no pity from her aunt, so she could be born at will, depending on the situation", but she "was willing to live in hardship, not empathizing with happiness, and working with her fingers to live orphans". She leads a clean and honest life, and doesn't look up to others. "Anyone who pays for rice and firewood with clothes doesn't think it's too hard. He has been self-motivated for forty-six years, on which orphans are founded." By the time the author wrote this article, she was 62 years old, and "housework can still run its own cloud." The author expressed his feelings and praised Zhuang's family to the utmost: "However, the frost withered the trees, but I saw Huang Ying in the evening, the snow flying, and the pines and cypresses that were old and cold." There is a comment at the end of the article, which was written for Lai He's teachers and friends:
The preface style is simple and concise, and the author can be in a thousand things, and the preface will not be reduced or increased. The writing style can especially achieve what he sees and work together, which can be described as the same result. If you study hard, you can sing with poetry.
"The Combination of Works" refers to the Xiao Yi Tang Ji written by Lai He, which has been included in Lai He's prose works. Should this work be regarded as prose, since it has the same effect?
2. Good Parents in a Day
Good Parents in a Day is obviously a short play script, which has all the characteristics of the script:
(1) a complete drama plot and drama structure. The plot is divided into three acts, namely "Bao Chang's home", "Welcome at Zhuangkou" and "Enjoy with the people".
The first scene is the beginning of the plot: Bao Chang received a document from the police station, saying that "parents and officials" would come to the village to fish, and asked the Ding Zhuang district chiefs (similar militia) in the village to meet them at Zhuangkou before 8 o'clock. At this time, the water level in the stream is low and it is a good time to fish, but Bao Chang asked his men to inform the fishermen not to get off the net, even though they "depend on this for food and clothing".
The second act is the development of the plot: Ding Zhuang's people arrive one after another, and only one or two of them come back from the fields. When they are a little late, the police chief is unhappy, saying that he ordered to be here at 8 o'clock and always gather at 7: 3, which is "the usual discipline". The latecomers argued, "It took Bao Chang more than 7 o'clock to pass it on, and now it's only 7: 45. We came back to the field ..." His voice did not fall.