The epic nature of the red classics? What is an epic? If I focus on the historical facts of literature, how should I write my thesis?

When talking about the novels from Chinese mainland 1950 to 1970 being called "red classics", many scholars have pointed out their pursuit of "epic". Many commentators have talked about the epic complex of Mao Dun's literary prize. At present, literary critics regard whether it is an epic or a real epic as an important measure to evaluate the literary value of novels. At present, there are many negative opinions about whether the "red classics" can be called real epic works; At present, the research on "Red Classics" mostly focuses on its political and cultural mechanism and whether it has modernity, but less on its literary aesthetic value itself. Therefore, it is not an outdated topic to evaluate the so-called "red classics" from the perspective of "epic"; It is also necessary to re-evaluate its literary value. First of all, this paper uses the title of "Red Classics" to refer to "Three Reds and One Creation, Green Mountains and Green Water Forests" and "Li Zicheng", "Three Alleys" and "Sunny Days"? A number of novels with great influence at the moment, represented by Liu et al., do not mean that the "classics" of these works have been affirmed or confirmed in advance, but because they have been established, their meanings are clear and easy to use.

First, what is a real "epic" work?

Although it is almost common sense in academic circles to take epic as the evaluation standard of novels, it is difficult to draw a conclusion on what constitutes a real epic work. We might as well trace back to the source and look at the epic theory and creation that has been generally recognized in the history of aesthetics and literature. Theoretically, articles about epic novels are generally based on Hegel's aesthetics, while lev tolstoy's War and Peace and sholokhov's The Silent Don are usually used as samples in their creation. When Hegel mentioned the concept of epic, he understood it as a literary type alongside lyric poetry and dramatic poetry. As Zhu Guangqian said, Hegel "obviously didn't work hard on novels", ②? He mainly regards Homer's epic as a "formal epic" and the highest model of narrative literature to define its nature and characteristics. To sum up, he believes that a "real epic" should have the following characteristics:

1.？ Taking the deeds and processes of far-reaching significance to the nation and the times as the object, it describes the social "ways, needs and means to meet the needs of political life, family life and even material life" and "shows the whole picture of the national spirit".

2.？ The times, national beliefs and personal beliefs, as well as personal will and feelings reflected in the epic have not been divided.

3.？ For the author, the times reflected in the epic may have become a thing of the past, but they are not far apart. The author is fully familiar with that kind of life and its way of observation and belief, and his beliefs, concepts and consciousness at that time are consistent with it.

4.？ The author was not enslaved by foreign strong culture and was not bound by fixed political and moral dogma when creating. He is free and independent in his creation and knows the world he describes like the back of his hand. All his thoughts and spirits are reflected in his works, which makes people feel kind and comfortable after reading them.

5.？ Readers can appreciate "hero's honor, thoughts and feelings, strategic actions" and "noble and vivid characters" from the epic. Epic characters "show many aspects of human nature and nationality", but they are complete people. We should not only express the single characteristics or desires of the characters. ③? The hero "concentrates the qualities scattered in many people's national character on himself, making himself a great, free and beautiful person".

6.？ The main factors of epic creation completely retreat behind the scenes. "People can't see the thoughts and feelings of the poet's own subject from these epics", and the author doesn't appear in the works. The work seems to be singing and appearing by itself. But the author has "put the whole soul and spirit into it"; The work shows "the great event of the whole nation" and "the objective way of observing the whole nation", but it was completed by a specific author.

7.？ The theme most suitable for epic performance is war, "because the whole nation was mobilized in the war and experienced a fresh passion and activity in the collective situation, because the motivation here is that the whole nation defends itself as a whole".

8.？ Based on the plot of war, "the subject matter is extensive and rich, and many fascinating deeds can be described." Among them, courage plays a major role, and the forces of environment and accidents still have their status and will not be weakened. " The war between different nationalities is the most ideal epic situation.

9.？ Epic should be an organic whole in structure. ④?

After Hegel, some prose narrative works (mainly novels) with epic characteristics were also called "epics" or "epic works". By this standard, War and Peace is well deserved. The Silent Don is not a war between different nationalities, but it is also recognized as an epic novel. However, it is far-fetched to say that Stendhal's Red and Black and Zola's The Lugon McCardes are also epics.

Here we need to analyze a misunderstanding in the current academic circles: although epic is a kind of praise and evaluation of novels, it is not the only measure to measure whether novels are excellent or not. It's just a standard in novels. For example, A Dream of Red Mansions, the best classic novel in China, is not an epic because its theme is not a major political or military event of an era, it does not focus on showing the broad picture of social life, and its protagonist is not a hero. It wins by describing in detail the trivia of daily life. Romance of the Three Kingdoms is an epic novel, but The Scholars is not, although it has written many kinds of scholars. We say that the Soviet movies "The Battle of Moscow" and "Liberation" are epic works, but the American movies "Saving Private Ryan" or "Kramer vs. Kramer" are not, which does not mean that the latter's ideological and artistic level is lower than the former.

But in any case, the unique aesthetic value and artistic shock of epic works are important factors that determine the literary value of novels.

Among the "red classics", Song of Youth and Great Changes in the Countryside are not epics. Although Hongyan talks about heroes, it doesn't seem to count. Although Red Flag Spectrum, History of Entrepreneurship, Defending Yan 'an, Red Sun and Sanjiaxiang are all epics, Yao's Li Zicheng is the first one that meets the standards of epic.

Second, Li Zicheng is the "red classic" with the most epic character.

Li Zicheng's epic is not recognized by academic circles. There are many positive views. Before the debate between Liu Zaifu and Yao 1987, most people held this view, and some later. ⑤? Negative point of view, when Wang Binbin's "on Li Zicheng as a" human study ",the sixth? As a representative. To sum up, the reason why Wang Wen denied Li Zicheng's epic is: 1. The author doesn't try his best to write people, and the characters are basically submerged in the event; 2.？ There are some shortcomings in Li Zicheng's writing: the characters have no development and depth, lack insight into and excavation of the souls of the characters, and fail to write the "spiritual war" of the characters; 3.？ The structure of this book is fragmented; 4.？ The creative intentions of "reappearing the style of historical life" and "reflecting the essence and laws of history" are wrong, which is the reason why the book is fragmented; 5.？ The author's intention is too straightforward to be chewed by people, and it is impossible to form a "Sydney".

Only he knows best whether the author of Li Zicheng has written people well. Ordinary readers and critics are still deeply impressed by the characters, and do not feel that the characters are "submerged" in the event. Aside from the controversial images of Li Zicheng and Gao Fu, at least, Hao, Niu Jinxing, Zhang have distinct personalities, while Chongzhen, Hong Chengchou, and these images of monarch and minister in the Ming Dynasty have no facial makeup. The author writes them as "people" and analyzes their inner world in detail. Borrowing money from Chongzhen, supervising Yang Sichang, Hong Chengchou's Qing Dynasty, and Lu Xiangsheng's martyrdom are wonderful chapters in China's modern novels. As for "personality has not developed", this judgment is not objective. Reading through the book, it is not difficult to find that Li Zicheng, the protagonist, is not discouraged in the first and second volumes of adversity. In the third volume, when his career is in full swing, he gradually exposes his shortcomings, and then in the fourth and fifth volumes, he develops into headstrong self-confidence, from restraining his personal passion to gradually releasing it without special indulgence, and his relationship with his subordinates is obviously from equal closeness to gradual alienation. Even if the characters don't develop, it doesn't affect their epic-how much have the characters developed in Iliad and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms? Different readers and critics have their own understanding of how to judge the "depth of soul excavation" of a work. There seems to be a tendency since the new period. It seems that only by writing about people's subconscious or highlighting the split of characters' souls can the depth of human nature be considered. Indeed, after Freud's theory came into being, the works of modernism and postmodernism found areas that had never been touched by previous novels, and made a further step in psychological description. On the other hand, we can't say that the works written by the subconscious mind are necessarily deeper than those not written. We can't say that Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury is definitely deeper than Stendhal's Red and Black, and Shi Zhecun's Shi Xiu is definitely better than Shi Naian's Water Margin. In addition, it is not necessary to write "The Battle of the Mind" as an epic work. On the contrary, according to Hegel's understanding, due to the times reflected in the epic, national beliefs and personal beliefs, personal will and emotions did not split. Heroes in classical epics, such as Achilles and Agamemnon, do not have a particularly strong "battle of hearts". They are very determined to act according to their established beliefs. "He is. All landowners Li Zicheng's structure is carefully designed by the author, but it is not "fragmented". It has been constantly revised and improved in the creative process of more than 40 years, and its aesthetic achievements have been affirmed by many critics. Even those who deny Li Zicheng's heroic portrayal and the author's historical concept seem to have no objection to this. Writing the fifth volume before writing the fourth volume just shows that the author has a plan. Intentional pursuit of "reappearing the style of historical life" and "reflecting the essence and laws of history" are almost the common features of epic works, which are not contradictory to shaping characters. As for the problem that the book failed to form a "Sydney", let's discuss it.

Some critics believe that "Red Classics" can hardly be called real epic works, because they are too idealistic in describing positive characters according to mainstream ideology and "lack a priori grasp of the history they represent". ⑧? It is an indisputable fact that the works of that era were framed by mainstream ideology. We understand the writers of that era, but the history of literature is ruthless, and so are the readers of later generations. They judge whether their works have literary value, and of course they will not be given "emotional points" because of their understanding and understanding; Whether a work can be handed down from generation to generation depends on the work itself. Then, from the perspective of "history", it tests the idealized description of the characters in "Red Classics" and studies its "transcendental grasp of the history it represents".

Let me talk about idealism first. The "modernization" of Li Zicheng's characterization and the perfection of his positive characters have always been the main reason for his criticism. There is a saying that "Li Zicheng is too mature, Linda Gao is too high, matchmaker is too red, old fairy is too divine, and the old eighth team is like the old eighth road". In my opinion, only talking about "modernization" needs to distinguish between two situations: if it is to let ancient people have ideas (such as class views) that only modern people can say, if it is not intended to be "flashy" like Lu Xun's New Stories, or "spoof" like some jokes today, it is undoubtedly a failure; However, it is normal to see some modern flavor from ancient works. As Croce said, "All history is contemporary history". Contemporary people will inevitably "reread" history from today's perspective. Although the author of historical novels writes history, he will certainly integrate into his real life experience. This is not only a defect, but also brings vitality to the work. There are many such examples in the history of Chinese and foreign literature: Shakespeare's Hamlet was Danish in 12 century, but we can feel the reality of Britain at the turn of 16- 17 century; Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin are similar in creation. As for the idealization of positive characters, not only Li Zicheng, but also other "red classics" are common; Not only "red classics", but also famous works in literary history and some contemporary literary works: Zhuge Liang in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, miriam and Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, and Wei Zi in Princess Zhu Huan all belong to this image. Those characters with obvious shortcomings may be more real and impressive, but creating idealized characters does not necessarily lead to artistic failure. Realism and romanticism are the two main trends in the history of literature, because human beings should not only know the truth of reality, but also pursue something better than the existing reality; Reality is imperfect, so people use art to shape this perfection in fantasy, and regard it as the pursuit goal or virtual compensation for the defects of reality. Nowadays, young people like to watch "youth idol dramas" precisely because of this demand: in reality, there are handsome men and beautiful women, as well as young people with beautiful hearts and lofty kindness, but the combination of outstanding handsomeness with extreme kindness, intelligence and refinement can only be seen in the art world. In reality, there are class struggles, love and people who practice martial arts, but they generally don't only engage in class struggles all their lives, but only pursue love or practice martial arts all their lives. Some "red classics" only highlight class struggle and revolution, which is a high degree of "purification" of reality, just like the characters in Qiong Yao's novels pursue love all their lives, and the characters in Jin Yong's novels only know how to practice martial arts. The artistic success of this perfect figure depends on whether his thought, language and behavior are basically reasonable and whether he can move people emotionally. If it truly reflects the author's aesthetic ideal, such a figure also has its irreplaceable cognitive value.

Look at the relationship between "red classics" and mainstream ideology, and the problem of "transcendence" of works. There is no doubt that the idealization of the main characters in the "red classics" basically meets the requirements of mainstream ideology. What needs to be distinguished here is the author's "world view of concrete feelings" and the "theoretical viewpoint" of mainstream ideology. Whether it is consistent. That is to say, whether the author's own natural life experience or life view is consistent with this ideology, or whether it is free or even opposite; If so, to what extent. Most of the authors of "Red Classics" participated in the military or cultural struggle in China before 1949 and became a member of the revolutionary ranks. Haoran is a writer trained in New China. Mainstream ideology has been internalized into its own worldview. Yao was a famous writer in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period. Later, after ideological transformation, he gradually accepted the mainstream ideology. It can be said that their "concrete world outlook" is basically consistent with the "theoretical viewpoint" of mainstream ideology about the history of the "democratic revolution" before 1949. This consistency was achieved either because the author and the mainstream ideas at that time represented the ideals of farmers and rural intellectuals, or because the author's original May 4th individualism spirit was far less than his strong desire to demand political progress and keep up with the mainstream of the times, which made him actively transform his natural spiritual world, and they had formed the habit of treating people and things with mainstream ideas. Therefore, unlike Mao Dun, Ye Shengtao, Shen Congwen and other old writers, mainstream ideology did not hinder their creative thinking too much, but made them feel that they had a sudden understanding of history and gained something that they thought was "deep". Is this in line with Hegel's epic theory that "national belief and personal belief have not been split, and will and emotion have not been split" (1 1)? Situation. However, an excellent writer can't live without his own unique life experience and independent opinions of different degrees. These unique characteristics make some "red classics" often overflow the mainstream ideology. For example, The Red Flag Spectrum describes the relationship with the Feng family, the relationship between father and son, the villain and Li Zicheng in The Red Sun, the image of Shao Jianbo in Lin Yuan and its relationship with him, and the love psychology in Song of Youth. Whether the "Red Classics" lack the transcendental grasp of the history they represent depends on how to understand "transcendence". Different frames of reference will lead to different understandings. For example, compared with ordinary farmers' consciousness and previous agricultural works, it can be said that the ideological concept of "History of Entrepreneurship" has obvious transcendence; However, according to the ideology after the new period, it has no transcendence and is even obviously "outdated". Then, do epic works have to stay away from the concept of historical period, or even reflect and criticize them negatively? Not necessarily! Hegel's opinion is just the opposite:

If the beliefs, life and habits imposed on the poet by the current reality are not closely related to the deeds described by the poet in an epic way, his works will inevitably be fragmented. Because on the one hand, it is what the poet wants to describe, that is, the epic world, on the other hand, it is the world of the poet's own consciousness and concept of the times, which was originally independent of this content. Although these two aspects are both spiritual, they have different characteristics according to the principles of different times. If the poet's own spirit is fundamentally different from the spirit generated by his description of national life and deeds, it will lead to division and make people feel inappropriate and even impatient. ( 12)?

The author's "beliefs, life and habits" of "Red Classics" are exactly the same as his "spirit generated by the national life and deeds described". Of course, Hegel aimed at the classic epic: Homer praised the heroic wisdom of Greek heroes without reflecting on the cruelty of war. We don't quote Hegel's exposition as the golden rule to measure the epic character of all works. Modern epic works can have different aesthetic choices. Sholokhov's The Silent Don is an outstanding modern epic with historical reflection consciousness. I don't think "The History of Entrepreneurship" is the most typical classical epic, because it talks about daily life in peacetime, and there are no particularly sharp and fierce conflicts or scenes of war violence. But the above quotation at least shows that negative reflection is not a necessary condition for epic works.

The author thinks that Li Zicheng is the most epic in China's contemporary novels, because it has almost all the characteristics of classical epic works. It selects the most important social, political and military struggles that had a profound impact on history in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and it is almost unparalleled in reflecting the vastness of life, the diversity of characters, the complexity and sharpness of contradictions and conflicts, and the grandeur of space. Its distinctive character, personalized language, vivid and tortuous plot, rigorous structure and changeable rhythm are all experienced by ordinary readers and experts. The whole book is full of heroic themes and tragic colors; It not only describes the battlefield killings of the Kingoma Railway, but also contains interesting pictures of daily customs. The author has seriously reflected on the success or failure of history, not only seeing an inevitable trend, but also not excluding the influence of accidental events on the historical process; The author highlights people's social attributes without exaggerating physiological and instinctive factors, but it is not without relevant descriptions. For example, the description of Hong Chengchou's physiological feelings when he shaved his head before the Qing Dynasty was wonderful. There are many reasons why Li Zicheng was left out in the cold after the new period. For example, "grand narrative" was replaced by "private narrative" and became the mainstream of social aesthetic psychology. The literary and historical circles have reflected on the orthodox view of history in the past, making it somewhat outdated. It does not rule out that it is related to the conceit of the author's own personality, nor does it rule out that some authoritative critics belittle it in order to introduce their own new aesthetic ideas. Most readers born after 1980 have not read the "red classics" including Li Zicheng seriously, and their reading choices are mainly influenced by the media. Even the students of Chinese department are influenced by the teaching materials and classroom teaching conclusions first. Old readers who have seen the first and second volumes of Li Zicheng before, for various reasons, mostly have not finished reading the other three volumes. This is also a normal phenomenon in today's overwhelming publications and readers' pursuit of novelty. However, we can't deny its literary value and position in the history of literature, just as we can't deny or obliterate Mao Dun after "discovering" Zhang Ailing. New progress has been made in the historical view of historical novels in the new period, but from the perspective of time distance, their overall ideological and artistic achievements may not surpass Li Zicheng. Those works that do historical reversal articles can give people a refreshing feeling, but from a historical perspective, the so-called "new" is also relative-who can guarantee that when they no longer appear "new", they will still attract readers' attention and will not be forgotten? You know, the author of "Li Zicheng" also challenged the previous research conclusions of Ming history and treated historical figures with a "new" view of history and aesthetics at that time! For example, it takes a lot of courage to create the image of Chongzhen and describe Li Zicheng's imperial thoughts at that time! "No Red Sun" was falsely labeled as "Evoking the Soul for the Gangsters" (13) because the cartoon of the enemy teacher Zhang was incomplete. Li Zicheng may be regarded as a special case of "Red Classics" in this respect, because his writing has received high-level support. ( 14)? No matter what the literary value of Li Zicheng is, as a work that once provided new factors for the history of literature, its position in the history of literature should be beyond doubt. ( 15)? History develops and advances. Of course, future generations should have the consciousness of reflecting and surpassing the previous generation. However, don't forget that we will also become the "predecessors" in the eyes of future generations, and accept the test of history together with our "predecessors". History often develops in a negative way. What is declared "outdated" today may not be "resurrected" in the future. The key lies in the value of the work itself.

Third, other factors that constitute the literary value of "Red Classics"

As mentioned above, epic works are only a type of novel, and they are not the only measure to measure whether a novel is excellent or not. The literary value of those non-epic novels is reflected in other aspects.

The theme of "Red Classics" is clear and simple. Although some works have been read by some scholars in recent years, their literary value is not reflected in the profound, rich and complex connotation and endless interpretation. I want to point out here that not all literary masterpieces are profound, rich and complex, and there are a large number of classics with uncomplicated or even simple connotations in the history of literature. There are many such classics in poetry, such as The Book of Songs, He's My Hometown Book, Li Bai's Thoughts on a Quiet Night, not to mention Bai Juyi's New Yuefu. These poems can enrich your imagination. You may hear them every time you read them, but you don't need experts to write monographs and explain them endlessly. There are also classics with relatively simple connotations in the novel. Didn't Eugénie Grandet reveal the corrosion of money to human nature and the destruction of interpersonal relationship? There are two plot clues in Anna karenin, which seem to be more complicated, but it is unlikely to form the "security study" like A Dream of Red Mansions. Isaac singer pointed out: "In my opinion, good literature gives people both education and entertainment. Don't sit and sigh, don't look at works that don't suit your heart. A real writer will fascinate people and make you want to read his books. His works are like delicious food, you can't eat enough. Talented writers don't need to spend a lot of pen and ink to render and explain, so there are few scholars who study Tolstoy, Chekhov and Mo Bosang. " ( 16)? Of course, the author never thinks that a work that needs "a lot of pen and ink rendering and interpretation" is not "good literature", but I think it is necessary to emphasize that a work that is not complicated and difficult also has its own literary value and literary history value. In China's modern novels, you can say that the works of Fei Ming, Shen Congwen, Sun Li and Wang Zengqi are unique, but how complicated are their connotations? Is exploration and explanation "endless"? Can you sum up seven or eight themes in the story of bamboo forest or lotus lake? Just because it doesn't belong to endless works doesn't mean it's not worth reading and rereading. Repeated reading is sometimes just to taste, taste the charm, interest and artistic conception, or feel the mood and atmosphere. Marx's admiration for ancient Greek art has long been well known, but Greek mythology is not difficult and complicated. Instead, it embodies a childlike interest.

Due to subjective and objective reasons, "red classics" have obvious limitations in the depth of human nature excavation. However, this does not mean that it lacks human beauty. "Humanity" and "human feelings" are two different concepts, which refer to various human feelings and life feelings. Literary and artistic works during the "Cultural Revolution" were generally conceptualized by critics in the new period and lacked "human touch". Indeed, the positive protagonists in the works of this period are highly ideological. As far as the novel is concerned, the characters in the Cotai Strip have not only class feelings, but also weak human relations feelings: In Sunny Days, Xiao Changchun also has a love clue with Jiao Shuhong, and Han Baizhong and Jiao Erju have a husband-and-wife relationship. However, there are not many natural love factors between Gao Daquan and his wife, and Gao Erlin is mainly his "classmate brother". However, this does not mean that the works of that period can't be emotional. The Peking Opera "The Story of the Red Lantern" always makes people cry, because it is one of the few "model operas" that express touching feelings. Although Li Yuhe's family is not related by blood, what the audience feels from the perceptual level is not a simple class relationship. Their family of three generations embodies a kind of "righteousness" similar to and higher than consanguinity-through hard work to raise children who are not related to themselves, this is more touching than ordinary fathers' love for mothers! The "red classics" produced in the "seventeen years" are even more humanistic descriptions. The fragment showing the relationship between Liang Shengbao and his adoptive father Liang San in the history of entrepreneurship is also a touching chapter. The author of Red Flag Spectrum shows Zhu Laozhong's feelings of husband and wife, father and son and friends. Yun Tao and Chunlan in Song of Youth, and Yu Yongze in Red Sun, Lu Jiachuan and Jianghua, Lin Yuan and Sanjiaxiang, and several young women, Liang Bo in Red Sun and Liang Shengbao and Gaixia in Red Sun, and the History of Entrepreneurship, become that one.

Paying attention to the story and plot design of the works is another reason why "Red Classics" attract readers. Lin, Yuan, Hongyan and Li Zicheng are all outstanding in this field. They not only played the role of political enlightenment or spreading mainstream ideological concepts in that particular period, but also played the role of aesthetic entertainment that excellent popular novels can give ordinary readers. On a sunny day, the contradictions and conflicts are fierce and interlocking. If the readers are not particularly disgusted with the ideas in it, (17)? Once you have finished reading and entered the specific situation of the novel, you may be deeply attracted and stick to it. Because of the theme, Song of Youth is not as legendary as Lin, Yuan, Hongyan and Li Zicheng. Because of the different creative ideas, The History of Entrepreneurship is not as violent as Sunny Days, but there is still a story that can attract readers, make them care about the fate of the characters, and have a certain sense of * * * with them. The Red Flag is between the plot novel and the life novel, and it has both advantages. I agree with Wang Meng: "Generally speaking, stories play two roles: carrier role and structure (main line) role. These views are all good, and the story does have such a role. But just saying this is actually ignoring or even obliterating the literary value of the story itself. " He believes that "doing things itself is the object of aesthetics. A story is a story, and a good story is worth seeing and has literary value. " A good story can attract readers, make readers have aesthetic pleasure, and make the author's understanding of life and society express in the aesthetic way of literature.

Red Flag Spectrum, Sanjiaxiang and Li Zicheng describe daily customs and living environment. Linhai Xueyuan combines the unique natural scenery and myths and legends in Northeast China, and is also talked about by many readers and commentators. This is another important aspect of its literary value.

Now, although the era of "red classics" has passed, it has not really become a literary history, because the parties interested in the life of that era reflected by "red classics" and the authors of "red classics" are still alive. Whether the "red classics" can become real literary classics, and which "red classics" can be passed down from generation to generation will eventually be eliminated by the history of literature and forgotten by readers, and it will take a longer historical test. Maybe it will take 50 years, maybe longer.