Masaryk University

Faculty of Arts

Department of Chinese Studies

Master´s Thesis

2020 Bc. Denisa Máchová

Masaryk University

Faculty of Arts

Department of Chinese Studies

Cultural Studies of

Bc. Denisa Máchová

The Self – loathing Discourse in the Theme of Modernisation in the Chinese Literature of the 20th Century

Master´s Thesis

Supervisor: Mgr. et Mgr. Dušan Vávra, Ph.D.

2020

I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work and it contains no other materials written or published by any other person except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis.

Brno, May 2020 …..……………………

The thesis was completed within the cooperation framework between the Department of Chinese Studies (Masaryk University) and the Institute of China Studies (Zhejiang University). During my two- semester stay in China, the thesis was supervised by Prof. Jiang Wentao 姜文涛, Associate Professor in School of International Studies at Zhejiang University, China.

ABSTRACT

This thesis elaborates the self-loathing discourse in the theme of modernization in 20th century Chinese literature. The main question is how the discourse of self-loathing is elaborated in chosen works from the 20th century and how is it evolving during this century.

This work is divided into four chapters. The first one contains the definition of self-loathing, the presentation of main historical events of the 20th century and philosophical changes in Chinese society during the 20th century. The second chapter presents the authors, their lives, creation, writing style and general attitude towards modernisation of Chinese society.

The third chapter contains the discourse analysis of chosen literature works and presents the concrete examples of discourse of self-loathing, which were found. The cited examples of elaboration of self-loathing are followed by interpretation of these examples based on secondary literature sources. The analysis of examples of self-loathing discourse answers the question how the discourse of self-loathing is elaborated in chosen literature works. Furthermore, the examples set the base for the fourth chapter.

The fourth chapter analyses different causes for discourse of self-loathing. The causes for self- loathing are found in concrete elaboration of self-loathing and they evolve during the 20th century. The reasons for self-loathing in general are political or social change, author´s personal experience with modernisation and therefore his attitude towards the modernisation.

Finally, the analysis of this thesis proved that the discourse of self-loathing is present during the whole 20th century, the authors feel need to point out the problems of China and to call for improvement of Chinese nation till present. However, the reasons for self-loathing changed over time with evolution of Chinese society and its problems.

KEYWORDS

Discourse of self-loathing, Chinese literature, 20th century, Modernisation, Chinese nation, Improvement of Chinese nation, Evolution

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my supervisor Mgr. et Mgr. Dušan Vávra, Ph.D. for his guidance, valuable advices, interest, and time. I am also grateful for his help and patience during the writing process.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 9

1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 16

1.1 Definition of the discourse of self-loathing 16

1.2 Historical background 20

1.3 Philosophical background 27

2 AUTHORS: BACKGROUND AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS MODERNISATION 33

2.1 Period 1900-1949 33

2.1.1 Huangjiang Diaosou 33

2.1.2 Liu E 33

2.1.3 Yu Dafu 34

2.1.4 Lu Xun 35

2.1.5 Lao She 36

2.1.6 Ba Jin 36

2.1.7 Shen Congwen 37

2.1.8 Chang Eileen 39

2.2 Period 1978-present 40

2.2.1 Wang Shuo 40

2.2.2 Mo Yan 41

2.2.3 Jiang Rong 41

2.2.4 42

2.2.5 Yan Lianke 43

3 ANALYSIS OF THE CONCRETE LITERATURE WORKS 44

3.1 Period 1900-1949 44

3.1.1 Huangjiang Diaosou – Lunar Colony (月球殖民地小说) (1904) 44

3.1.2 Liu E – The Travels of Lao Can (老残游记) (1905) 47

3.1.3 Yu Dafu – Sinking (沉沦) (1921) 48

3.1.4 Lu Xun – Call to Arms (呐喊) (1922) 50

3.1.5 Lao She – Cat Country (猫城记) (1932) 54

3.1.6 Ba Jin – Family (家)(1933) 58

3.1.7 Shen Congwen – Shen Congwen´s Short-story Collection (沈

从文全集) (1928-1935) Seven Savages and the Last Welcome of Spring (1929); Meijin, Baozi and the White Kid (1929); The New and the Old (1935) 61

3.1.8 Chang Eileen – Lust, Caution (色，戒) (1940s-1979) 63

3.2 Period 1949-present 67

3.2.1 Wang Shuo – Please Don´t Call Me Human (千万别把我当人) (1989) 67

3.2.2 Mo Yan – The Republic of Wine (酒国) (1992) 69

3.2.3 Jiang Rong – (狼图腾) (2004) 73

3.2.4 Chan Koonchung – (盛世一中国 2013 年) (2009) 75

3.2.5 Yan Lianke – The Explosion Chronicles (炸裂志) (2016) 76

4 ANALYSIS OF SELF-LOATHING EXAMPLES 80

CONCLUSION 84

BIBLIOGRAPHY 86

INTRODUCTION

The 20th century in China was a century of a rapid change in all aspects of life. Not only was the political system of a country changed, but also the way of thinking, the structure of the Chinese society and the language. At the beginning of the century, China was still an empire ruled by the Qing dynasty and the social roles were established according to Confucian norms. The official written language, wenyan (wenyan 文言) in Chinese, was archaic and not understandable without many years of studying and education was inaccessible to the majority of people. In the end of the 20th century, China was already a modern state with fast economic development and western-type education. The transformation of China during the 20th century was marked by several wars and social instability.

Besides the rapid change, the 20th century was also the century of humiliation and shame for Chinese nation. The two thousand years old , considered by Chinese people themselves as the only one existing and as a perfect one, was for a long time dominated by the foreign powers. (Bakešová, 2001, pp.5-6) China was divided and unable to fight the foreigners. Because of all mentioned above, China realised that change is necessary and started to search for an approach towards modernisation. The turbulent nature of the century is the reason why the 20th century literature is unique.

The term of modernisation can be used with two connotations but in this thesis „modernization is used not strictly as a sociological term, but rather as a philosophical-sociological term in a broader sense. As a sociological term, it refers to various types of social change and their related issues or problems. As such, modernization entails multidimensional factors: scientific, technological, political, economic, institutional, etc.” (Soo,1989, p.4) And „as a philosophical term, it refers to intangible (or non-material) factors of social change, such as values, modes of thinking as well as the historical, cultural and spiritual heritage.” (Soo, 1989, p.4) Shortly, „…we consider China's modernization as a historical process of transformation from a 'traditional society' to a 'modern society'.” (Soo,1989, p.4)

The intention of this thesis is to analyse selected literature works from the 20th century written by different Chinese writers and to compare the way each writer shows, writes and perceives the modernisation of the Chinese society, more precisely the self-loathing discourse in the theme of modernisation. The term “self-loathing” is used by Geremie Barmé in his work In the Red: On Contemporary Chinese Culture. Geremie Barmé describes the self-loathing as „introspection”, „self- reflection” or „self-criticism” (Barmé, 1999, p.266) of Chinese nation and society by Chinese intellectuals and scholars.

It describes the particular characteristics in the literature works and also certain attitudes towards China and her inhabitants which can be found in Chinese literature written by Chinese writers from the 20th century. The particular characteristics and attitude toward China mentioned above are the feelings of self-hate and disgust toward the current state of China. The focus of this thesis are

9 the concepts used by Chinese authors in their own works to describe self-loathing in the modernisation process.

The main questions are firstly, how the discourse of self-loathing is produced by Chinese authors and secondly, how is it evolving during the 20th century. The discourse of self-loathing arises from the feeling of insufficiency of China, which is strong during the 20th century because of the character of the century mentioned above. (Barmé, 1999, pp.266-267) Finally, the influences on the evolution of discourse of self-loathing will be presented in the last chapter. All the selected examples will be completed with accurate analysis of self-loathing examples.

The main purpose of this thesis is to analyse the chosen literature works from the 20th century and to create a complex image of the feelings and approaches of the different writers towards the self- loathing. The intention of this thesis is to search for common points and for differences of self-loathing examples and clearly identify them. Because even until the present day the discourse of modernisation and self-loathing is still alive in Chinese literature and creates an important part of the discussion in society and still can evoke strong and antagonistic feelings.

The discourse of modernisation and self-loathing of Chinese society are traditionally discussed in the context of historical events or in concrete literature works. It is not common to analyse examples from the entire 20th century. The most common approach is to divide the 20th century into shorter periods, for example The May Forth Movement, The Communist Literature, The etc. or to analyse the authors separately. There are various works and books concentrating on Chinese modern literature, on the different periods of the 20th century and on the analysis of selected characters or particular character types: for example, the well-known works of C. T. Hsia – A History of Modern Chinese Fiction or David Wang – Fin-de-Siècle Splendor: Repressed Modernities of Late Qing Fiction; A New Literary History of Modern China; etc.

This thesis´ interest is to use the existing materials about the topic, analyse them and then connect the information and make a proper analysis of the self-loathing discourse in the selected works. The choice of literature works for analysis is based on the knowledge about the authors and their work from secondary literature and it is also based on consultations with the supervisor of thesis. The chosen works are elaborating the theme of modernisation in a certain way and author is criticising and calling for a change and amelioration of Chinese nation. The authors see the reason of Chinese problems in defects of Chinese character. The authors and literature works will be presented in more details in following parts.

The discourse of self-loathing will be used as the connection line between the different periods and writing styles. The analysis should enlarge and append the topic and create an integral image of modernisation and the self-loathing discourse of the 20th century in China. The chosen works are all written by Chinese writers because the question is, how is self-loathing produced by the Chinese

10 themselves. As stated above, the main interest is to create a complex image of the discourse of self- loathing throughout the 20th century, and to make a contribution to the subject because it is interesting and full of possibilities for research and future development.

This work is divided into four chapters. The first one is called Theoretical background and contains three parts. The first one is definition of self-loathing. This definition explains the historical evolution of tradition of self-loathing in Chinese society. Moreover, as the discourse of self-loathing is the main term for the analysis, it is necessary to define it, in order to make the analysis understandable. The second part of the first chapter is the historical background. It focuses on the summary of the main political events of the 20th century, as they influenced the literature creation as well. The last part is the philosophical background. The thinking of society was changing throughout the century and the new ideas and ideologies influenced the political situation as well. The different philosophies and their acceptance or rejection by authors shape the literature creation importantly.

The second chapter presents the authors, their lives and influence on their writing. Authors´ background, education, life experiences and the part of the century they lived in is important for the detection of examples of self-loathing in their work.

In the third chapter will be analysed the concrete literature works and examples of self-loathing. To the first group from the beginning of the century till 1949 belong eight literature works. The first one is book called Lunar Colony (yueqiu zhimindi xiaoshuo 月球殖民地小说) written by Huangjiang

Diaosou (huangjiang diaosou 荒江钓叟) in 1904. This book describes a real world with imaginative elements of science fiction, but it reflects the real problems of China from that period and the author expresses his disgust at the decadence, corruption, and weakness of Chinese society in that time. The title might suggest the travels to the moon and establishment of a new colony on the moon, but that is not a case. Even though we only follow the relationships on the Earth, the author suggests that superior lunarian race will colonise Earth. (Isaacson, 2013, p.46)

The second example is Liu E´s (liu e 刘鹗) The Travels of Lao Can (lao can youji 老残游记) from 1905. This novel is realistic, based on author´s life experience and Liu E denounces Chinese nation because of its inability to modernise. He created an image of sinking boat which represents China who refuses any help and probably will end its own destruction. (Yang, 1983, p.8)

Yu Dafu´s (yu dafu 郁达夫) in Sinking (chenlun 沉沦) from 1921, Lu Xun´s (lu xun 鲁迅) in

Call to Arms (nahan 呐喊) form 1922 and Ba Jin (ba jin 巴金) in Family (jia 家) from 1933 describe the Chinese society from Republican period. They realistically write about the traditionalism of older generations, the passivity of society in general, superstition and sacrifice of individual for family or society.

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Yu Dafu is using the approach of an autobiographical confession. The main character in the short story Sinking is a young Chinese man who was sent to Japan for his studies. The reader can investigate his mind, his feelings of low self-esteem, loneliness, fear, but also megalomania, hatred, sexual frustration, and other self-degrading traits manifest. The element of the sexual frustration is important because the main character is not able to escape it. It is in complete opposition with traditional conservative teachings and causes him frustration. All the traits possessed by the main character correlate to China’s condition during that period. China was in a state of turmoil trying to escape from its conservativism and tradition and to evolve into a new radical and westernized nation. The problem for the main character and also for China was that it was impossible to escape from the old ways and the battle between the old morals and new morals lead to constant paranoia and later to suicide because the young man feels like all of China´s shame had fallen on him. The similar personal traits are typical for all Yu Dafu´s characters. He was considered to be iconoclastic and controversial. (Hsia, 1999, pp.102-106)

Lu Xun heavily influenced the modern Chinese literature at the beginning of the 20th century. (Davies, 2013, pp.1-2) The collection of short stories Call to Arms describes the old-fashioned opinions and practices of Chinese people, also called Chinese national character (minzu xintai 民族心态), which according to Lu Xun caused China´s decline in the past centuries. (Brown ,1984, p.118) The reader can clearly distinguish his disgust when he looks at society and his call for change.

Ba Jin portrays a life of a traditional family in decline. The protagonists from younger generation refuse the traditional norms and fight for personal freedom, but they are not always successful and therefore, they are unhappy and suffer. Besides, the death of several female characters highlights the danger of superstition or the insensibility of young intellectuals to real problems. (Kaldis, 2003, p.415)

Lao She´s (lao she 老舍) Cat Country (mao chengji 猫城记) from 1932 is a fiction piece. The book Cat Country describes a fictional planet with a Cat kingdom. This fictional planet has the same problems as the Chinese society at the beginning of the 20th century. Through the description of planet´s life and habits is expressed author´s opinion on China. He expresses his disgust of Chinese society´s decadence, corruption, and weakness. Cat kingdom and China from the beginning of century needed to modernise and to abandon old habits. This book has a detailed and realistic description of the political and social customs of the late Qing Dynasty, and the ending does not express a possibility to change and modernise, but a tragic end extinction of Cat people. (Raphals, 2013, p.75)

Shen Congwen´s Short-story Collection (shen congwen wen quanji 沈从文全集) written between 1928 and 1935 is a glorification of traditional life of minorities which is endangered by modernisation. Shen Congwen´s life experience deeply influenced his opinions on modernisation, and he refuses it as a negative element. The short stories Seven Savages and the Last Welcome of Spring and

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Meijin, Baozi and the White Kid describe the purity of character of people living in mountains, their habits and the decadence brought by establishment of bureau. The short story The New and the Old points out how much of traditional habits and practices is lost with time. Shen Congwen criticises the loss of traditional community and specific lifestyle. (Kinkley, 2003, pp.425-426)

The last writer from the first group is Chang Eileen (zhang ailing 张爱玲) and her short story collection Lust, Caution (se, jie 色，戒) written between 1940s and 1979. In her work, female characters are in the centre of stories. She describes how their characters are influenced by the traditional education or life in a traditional big family. She does not give a lot of hope to her characters to change or to escape and severely criticise them. But if they manage to do so, they leave the tradition in order to find true self and happiness. (Huang, 2003, p.461)

In the second group are literature works written from 1989 till present, together five novels. The first one is called Please Don´t Call Me Human (qianwan bie ba wo dangren 千万别把我当人) from 1989 by Wang Shuo (wang shuo 王朔). Author mocks the ability of China to humiliate herself in order to win an international competition. Along the story, the main protagonist claims he is not human and does not show any personal opinion or free will. He is being remade several times, which can be applied to Wang Shuo´s mockery of China. In his works, he points out the humiliation being a part of Chinese nationalism (Callahan, 2004, p.200) and the dehumanisation, the emasculation and deconstruction of Wang Shuo´s characters together create a satire of the whole society from the end of the 20th century. (Barmé, 1992, pp.53-54)

The second example is Mo Yan (mo yan 莫言) and his The Republic of Wine (jiuguo 酒国) from 1992. The story is about detective who comes to investigate a case of baby eating but he gets trapped in the game of the city inhabitants. He gets drunk, robbed, attacked, and chased until he finally dies. The city and its inhabitants represent the extravagance of the rich people, materialism and the pursue of one´s own profit. The citizens have their own morals and standards. The reader feels that the author uses a non-traditional form of narration to highlight the repulsive behaviour of the society. (Qiao, 2008, pp.214-215)

The third example, the novel Wolf Totem (lang tuteng 狼图腾) from 2004 by Jiang Rong (jiang rong 姜戎) is based on his own experience. He lived with the nomadic Mongols and he experienced their way of life, habits, and nature. He compares the Mongol minority to the wolfs. The Han Chinese with their behaviour are seen as the sheep. He suggests that the Han Chinese should learn from Mongols. He is disgusted by the submissive Chinese nature and admires the strong and free spirit of Mongols. The process of modernisation destroys the grasslands of and consequently the traditional nomadic life. Clearly modernisation and ignorance combined with the groundless feeling of superiority are the negative elements in this work. These negative elements create an opposition to the respect of

13 nomadic Mongols towards the unique natural conditions. This deep respect is combined with the humbleness of Mongols. (Varsava, 2011, p.286)

Chan Koonchung (chen guanzhong 陈冠中) in his novel The Fat Years (shengshi yi zhongguo

2013 nian 盛世一中国 2013 年) from 2009 elaborated the idea of ability to handle freedom. Chinese society in the story is controlled by government by censorship and drogue. But at the same time, the economic prosperity guarantees a comfortable life for everybody. He poses a question, if it is the government who control the whole society or people themselves who chose to live this way. (Wang, 2015, p.24)

The last example is the novel The Explosion Chronicles (zhaliezhi 炸裂志) from Yan Lianke

(yan lianke 阎连科) published in 2016. The Explosion Chronicles is a story of development of a small village with fantastical elements. The cost of modernization is high in many cases. In order to develop the village, later the city and to win the contest for the fastest growing area, the personal lives of many citizens were sacrificed, and people lost their morals. The only important things were personal profit and money. (Taylor, 2017)

The fourth chapter will analyse the reasons for self-loathing. For purpose of this analysis will be used the concrete examples from books from the third chapter. This analysis will answer the question of how the discourse of self-loathing was evolving during the 20th century.

The second and the third chapters are divided into two parts. The first one is from 1900 to 1949 and the second one is from 1978 till present. The reason for this division is the fact the literature creation was strictly controlled between 1949 and 1978. The People´s Republic of China was established 1949. The middle of the 20th century witnessed the performance of ´s will not only in politics but also in literature. In 1942 in Yan´an, Mao announced a new role of literature and a new form of creation in literature works. The Yan´an Forum strictly guided the writers of this period and did not allow any experiments. The well-known movements of this period are The Great Leap Forward (dayuejin 大跃进) and The Cultural Revolution (wenhua dageming 文化大革命). Their impact on society was enormous and especially during The Cultural Revolution, literary creation was, in fact, non-existent. (Fairbank, 1998, pp.536-662)

The literature written according to Mao Zedong´s guiding line is called the Communist literature. The precisely defined structure and roles of the characters made impossible to create a diversified scale of literature works. The criticism and disgust aimed towards the enemies of the socialist revolution and the only acceptable culture was the one defined by Mao Zedong. The combination of the historical events and the only one philosophic guideline which will be discussed in the next chapter are the reasons why we cannot talk about the self-loathing since the establishment of People´s Republic of China in 1949 till the Opening and Reform in 1978.

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The main role of Communist literature was to spread the ideology among the masses of people and to engage them in a creation and building of new society. The new society was supposed to be built on socialist values, refusing the norms of traditional Chinese society. The revolution in all forms had to be present in people´s lives and the literature clearly distinguished between hero and enemy. The literature was meant to be understandable for everybody, especially for the peasants, as they were the carriers of revolution. The later period of Cultural Revolution was supposed to purify the Chinese society from the old thinking and the rules for artistic creation were even stricter than before. Consequently, the range of free creation was non-existent. (Cai, 2010, pp.31-32, 53, 103)

Because of specific rules for literature creation a consequent lack of personal expression and the reasons mentioned above, the Maoist era will not be discussed in the second, the third and the fourth chapter. It was not possible to find a literature work issued during this period not corresponding to Mao´s ideas about literature. The Mao Zedong era lasted till his death in 1976. The next leader was Hua Guofeng (hua guofeng 华国锋) but for two years of his mandate, he was still following the direction of

Chairman Mao. The real change came in 1978 with (deng xiaoping 邓小平) and his reforms.

Deng Xiaoping´s reforms are called the Opening and Reform (gaige kaifang 改革开放). Starting in 1978, it meant a radical change and it marked the beginning of a rapid economic development. This period is marked by the fast economic development of China, significant influence from western literature, the period of “freedom” in creation and the period of experimentation with form and genre of literature works and later the reestablishment of stricter control over the creation of literature after the Tian´an men square incident in 1989. The modernisation of the country accelerated, and the way of living changed so significantly, that not only the writers but all the Chinese had to find a place in a new society. Furthermore, the authors had to deal with past events and redefine the way they saw the world. (Fairbank, 1998, pp.663-727)

To this period also belongs the literature creation published after 2000 because China is still in the process of modernisation, economic development, and constant growth. This period formally belongs to the beginning of the 21st century, but the fact that the authors published their books later does not mean they should be excluded from the research. This is because the authors lived during the 20th century and they are describing it in their books. Their point of view is different again because with their age and later experiences they judge their own past with a new point of view. This period´s last examples serve for the comparison between the past and the present. This part of the thesis will demonstrate that the discourse of self-loathing is still present in Chinese literature.

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1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 Definition of the discourse of self-loathing

As mentioned above in the introduction, the main and connecting term for the analysis of books is the self-loathing. The self-loathing originated from the tradition of Chinese intellectuals to criticise the problems of Chinese society. The social critique of society evolved into the self-loathing after the defeat of China in Opium Wars and the realisation of the insufficiency of China when compared with Western powers. As C.T. Hsia states in his article Obsession with China:

Traditionally the Chinese have regarded themselves as the inheritors of a humane civilisation, guided by the Confucian precepts for moral self-discipline and benevolent government and by the Buddhist ideal of compassion. Their modern obsession with China´s impotence represents historically a new self-awareness brought about by the long series of defeats and humiliations they have suffered since the mid-nineteenth century. (Hsia, 1999, p.534)

The defeat in Opium Wars was the first cultural challenge for Chinese society, as the Western powers did not follow the Confucian principles. Therefore, the fall of Qing dynasty and growing influence of foreigners could not be seen as dynastic exchange. (Hsia, 1999, p.537) The intellectuals from the beginning of the 20th century did reflect the new situation in their creation. One of the most important intellectuals from the period Liang Qichao (liang qichao 梁启超) who influenced many Chinese intellectuals wrote about contemporary problems in social, political, or cultural areas. „Indeed, Liang´s acts of worrying in print – together with his literary attempts at modernising the classical wenyan script – commanded such authority as to shape the rhetoric of Sinophone intellectual discourse in the early twentieth century.” (Davies, 2007, pp.6-7)

The intellectuals worried about China and its future, therefore the social critique slowly transformed into self-loathing, which served to mobilise and awaken the society.

As a praxis, worrying about China carries the moral obligation of first identifying and then solving perceived Chinese problems (Zhongguo wenti), whether social, political, cultural, historical, or economic in relation to unified public cause of achieving China´s national perfection. This moral obligation resonates powerfully in the writings of many Chinese intellectuals… (Davies, 2007, p.7)

The first decade of new century in literature creation was transition from traditional critique of society towards self-loathing as well. For example, Huangjiang Diaosou´s novel Lunar Colony heavily criticises the Chinese intellectual elite for their useless knowledge of classic books, weakness, and inability to lead the country in modern era.

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Another example of satiric novel from the first decade of 20th century is Liu E´s The Travels of Lao Can. Lao Can is benevolent Confucian intellectual who fears the revolution and its consequences and suggests the western influence as a mean of modernisation for China. In the first chapter, Lao Can sees a ship, which is heavily damaged, trapped in a storm with people who fight and rob each other. This ship represents the Chinese nation. In order to save themselves, they would have to cooperate and find a direction they need to follow. In the end, the people from ship try to sink Lao Can who came to help and offered them western nautical instruments. (Hsia, 1999, pp.539-541) The change in society is urgently needed to avoid the destruction.

The authors of the second decade of the 20th century such as Lu Xun, for example, express the need of change though self-loathing clearer. Lu Xun is praised as one of the greatest modern authors. He attracted the attention of readers because of „…his modernity, which in the Chinese context means a hypersensitive awareness of the rottenness of all strata of Chinese society. In Lu Hsün´s stories, if the scholar-gentry class bears greater responsibility for China´s shame, the illiterate masses are no more hopeful in their state of stupor and superstition. With luck the Chinese youth might be spared the fate of their elders, but he is not too sure.” (Hsia, 1999, pp.541-542)

Lu Xun´s opinion on Chinese society is clearly expressed in his short story The Diary of Madman. „Lu Hsün depicts China as the land of man-eaters who cover up their historical record of inhumanity with high-sounding words like benevolence and righteousness.” (Hsia, 1999, p.542) He calls for a change in order to save China:

"You should change, change from the bottom of your hearts!" I said. "You must know that in future there will be no place for man-eaters in the world. "If you don't change, you may all be eaten by each other. Although so many are born, they will be wiped out by the real men, just like wolves killed by hunters. Just like reptiles!" (Lu, 1960)

Lu Xun´s vision of China in future is quite pessimistic. Children might be the only possibility how to save the country and Chinese nation.

Lu Xun´s friend Yu Dafu is pessimistic as well, but his literature creation focuses more on internal thought and problems of a young man, who represents author himself.

In the short story “Sinking”, Yü Ta-fu writes of a Chinese youth in Japan suffering from homesickness and a high-strung nervous condition traceable to sexual deprivation. But even he, when driven to suicide, blames all his subjective troubles on China: ‚Oh my country, my mother country, you are the cause of my death! I wish you could become rich and stronger soon! Many, many of your children are still suffering!’ (Hsia, 1999, pp.543-544)

The writers from 1930s used the satire to express the self-loathing and to highlight the problems of China as well. Lao She´s novel Cat Country or City of Cats describes a Catland full of inhabitants

17 who are lazy, greedy, cowardly, afraid of foreigners and who are addicted to mi-yeh leaves. The traditional Confucian rules of behaviour are satirized through a widow, who behave inhuman in order to keep her status of virtuous wife. „Lao Shê apparently wrote City of Cats to impress upon his countrymen the imminence of their doom, and the result is the most savage indictment of China ever penned by a Chinese.” (Hsia, 1999, p.546)

The literature themes changed with the break of Sino-Japanese war and the slogan „Literature for National Defence” (Hsia, 1999, p.549) became popular. Many authors changed style to support those who were fighting, and they glorified the Chinese heroism. During following years, the patriotic elements stayed popular in communist-controlled areas and gradually the literature creation transformed into the social realism. The subjectivism or satire of society aimed only to enemies of war and later to enemies of socialist revolution. The last critical voices were silenced during the Yan´an forum on Literature and Art, where the final rules for Communist literature were created. Since then, those who would oppose the official line of literature creation would be considered as dissidents. The strict role of literature as a tool of regime propaganda and lack of personal expression are the reasons why there are no examples of self-loathing in literature works during Mao Zedong´s era. (Hsia, 1999, pp.549-551)

The change came in the 1980s. The post-Mao era brought the economic prosperity and development of China. The literature creation regained a high degree of freedom and the authors returned to self-loathing because they felt the lack of spirituality in Chinese nation, which could not be replaced by wealth. (Barmé, 1999, p.268) The idea of need of improvement of Chinese nation re- emerged, even though the problems of China differed from those from the beginning of century. As Gloria Davies analysed in her book Worrying about China: The Language of Chinese Critical Inquiry:

Numerous traces of that earlier obsession with China can be detected in present-day critical discourse but with a distinct reversal of intention: whereas the predicament (kunjing) of modern China had previously been explained through depictions of China as a “land of darkness” over which the oppressive forces of and traditional Chinese culture held sway, those depictions are now regarded as seriously flawed and a cause of “predicament” itself. Conversely, the preoccupation of many present-day intellectuals is with recovering China´s cultural integrity or even civilisational grandeur. (Davies, 2007, p.9)

Despite the intellectual diversity which emerged in China since 1980s, the critical discourse and the longing for national empowerment, improvement and modernisation characterise the end of 20th century and beginning the 21st century. The main goal of Chinese intellectuals is perfection of China and Chinese thought. (Davies, 2007, p.24) „A common desire for mainland Chinese scholarship (is) to achieve its own cultural uniqueness and an internationally authoritative status…” (Davies, 2007, p.39) The 1980s mentality can be summarised as worrying mentality, crisis mentality which is translation of

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Chinese term youhuan yishi. This worrying mentality leads the Chinese intellectuals to the question „‘What can we do about China?’ – a question that often takes on a despairing tone. In its pessimism and self-doubt youhuan yishi stands apart from the chauvinistic or jingoistic varieties of patriotism.” (Davies, 2007, p.15)

The unsatisfaction with the state of Chinese society culminated in student protests in 1989. The intellectuals saw it as an opportunity to return to a leading position after many decades of suppression and many other people supported it in belief that Chinese nation still had a moral sense and strong principles. The massacre which ended the protests made the feeling of national self-hate even stronger among Chinese. (Barmé, 1999, pp.270-271) As a reaction to the suppression of protests, many intellectuals went to exile, which heavily influenced the intellectual scene of the next decade.

Whereas there was a strong spirit of self-reflection in the 1980s, economic success in the 1990s coupled with restrictions on intellectual debate and political restriction encouraged more the mood of braggadocio. The national spirit that was being publicly reformulated in the 1990s was not necessarily based on mature reflection or open discussion but, rather, on a cocky, even vengeful, and perhaps purblind self-assurance that appealed to the mass market. (Barmé, 1999, p.272)

The restriction of intellectuals continued to the 21st century and became even stricter over time. The current trend of Chinese government is support of economic development and nationalistic education of new generations.

The example from literature can be Mo Yan or Wang Shuo. Mo Yan in The Republic of Wine presents a corrupted detective, the leaders of city who are seeking their own position and comfort through ignoring any morals. They enjoy extravagant foods and lack humanity. In the end, the detective dies because of conduct of city leaders and his own corruptness. In the second example, Wang Shuo brings the inhumanity to even higher level. In his novel Please Don´t Call Me Human, he creates the world where the contestants fight in humiliation. Those who can humiliate himself or herself the most wins. In the end of novel, it is Chinese contestant who wins. During his training, he underwent a lot of humiliation and even the sex reassignment operation. Wang Shuo brought the satire and self- loathing to extreme. The Chinese society in his novel is completely inhumane and has no moral principles. The only goal is to win by any means.

Shortly, the traditional critique of Confucian scholars transformed into self-loathing after the defeat of China by Western powers. Chinese scholars had to face the fact that West is more advanced in technology and that the western civilisation is based on different principles. China, in order to survive had to adopt western education and technology, therefore, they lost their belief in traditional education and culture. The Western powers became the example and ideal for future China. But it created the contradiction with strong Chinese nationalism because example is not China, but the West.

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Furthermore, the modernisation of China became the ultimate goal and along the way, Chinese lost their humanity, which is repeatedly highlighted by Lu Xun, Lao She, Mo Yan and many other authors from the 20th century. The idea of rejuvenation of China, the restauration of humanity in Chinese nation and the national perfection of China are motifs which can be found at the beginning of the 20th century literature, but also in the last two decades overlapping into the 21st century.

The self-loathing serves to awaken and to motivate the Chinese. The most pessimistic voices claim that without awakening and change of Chinese, the future of the whole nation is in absolute acceptance of western customs and lifestyle. This idea is suggested not only by Lu Xun in the 1920s, but also in a documentary called The River Elegy from 1980s. The documentary was controversial and provoked a huge reaction. „River Elegy was attacked for “negating national traditions, disparaging the history of the Chinese revolution and socialist construction, propagating wholesale Westernization and playing a prominent role in confusing the thinking of the whole nation.” (Barmé, 1999, p.24)

Clearly, the pursuit of modernisation and amelioration of China and Chinese nation is present not only a hundred years ago, but also in the last decades of Chinese history. Gloria Davies uses in her book an argument of C.T. Hsia to define a so-called “modern Chinese obsession with China”:

According to Hsia, while this was a noble obsession that shared “a spiritual affinity with the most significant modern Western literature,” it was nonetheless handicapped by “a certain patriotic provinciality and a naiveté of faith with regard to better conditions elsewhere.” That obsession, Hsia claims, prevented the modern Chinese writer from identifying “the sick state of his country with the state of man in the modern world,” and produced an undesirable tendency to identify “the conditions of China as peculiarly Chinese. (Davies, 2007, pp.8-9)

Finally, the long tradition of self-loathing seems to have a stable place in the thinking of Chinese intellectuals. But currently, the self-loathing is being challenged by censorship of government, self- censure of intellectuals and growing nationalism. These are the reasons why the majority of authors from the end of the 20th century and later, who were chosen for purpose of this thesis are considered to be dissidents or had at least some part of their literature creation banned in .

1.2 Historical background

This chapter will briefly introduce the historical background, the changes in governance and the other events that had impact on Chinese society and consequently to the literature.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the official political power was in the hands of the Qing dynasty, established in 1636 and who ruled China since 1644, with a political centre in . They ruled for almost three centuries and formed the territorial base of modern China. However, at the end of

20 the dynasty, during the 19th century, the empire had severe internal problems. As Jonathan Spence sates in his book The Search for Modern China:

China's Confucian-trained scholars were aware of the moral and economic pressures on their society in the early nineteenth century. Drawing on the intellectual tradition in which they had been raised, they proposed administrative and educational reforms, warned about the rapidly rising population, and urged greater fairness in the distribution of wealth. Some also pointed to the social inequities separating men and women, and pleaded for greater sensitivity toward the status of women in daily life. (Spence, 1990, p.139)

Another severe problem was the spreading opium addiction. „At the same time, massive British investments in the drug's manufacture and distribution, and the critical part that opium revenues played in Britain's international balance-of-payments strategy, made the opium trade a central facet of that nation's foreign policy supported by the British empire.” (Spence, 1990, p.139) The empire decided to abolish the drogue, which lead to opium wars.

China entered the 20th century weakened by two opium wars which resulted in the signature of unequal treaties with western nations and the right of exterritoriality for foreign powers or by the Sino- Japanese war. Moreover, China suffered from many domestic problems and several uprisings. For example, The Taiping rebellion or The Boxer Rebellion.

As a reaction to the problems of empire, Guangxu emperor started a reform movement called Hundred Day´s Reform or Wuxu Reform. It was supposed to reform the country in cultural, political, educational sphere and on the national level. But the reforms lasted one hundred days only because the extremely conservative empress dowager Cixi stopped all the reforms by her coup d´état. Later, she was forced to adopt some reforms, but they were mostly only formal with minimal or zero effect on the society improvement. Furthermore, Guangxu emperor and the empress dowager Cixi died only a few days apart from each other in 1908. (Bakešová, 2001, pp.5-16)

The definitive end to the rule of Qing dynasty brought the Wuchang Uprising on the 11 October 1911, which lead to the Xinhai Revolution and the abdication of the last emperor Puyi, who was only six years old, on 12 February 1912. The year 1912 is the year of the establishment of the first republic in Chinese territory – the Republic of China. This revolution was held by the organisation called Tongmenghui (tongmenghui 同盟会) led by Sun Yat-sen (sun zhongshan 孙中山). Sun Yat-sen became the first president of the Republic of China, however, he handed over his position to Yuan Shikai (yuan shikai 袁世凯) as a part of a compromise. Yuan Shikai was a general of imperial army and he had strong connections and significant power, so his influence and demands could not be ignored. (Bakešová, 2001, pp.16-20)

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The first years of Republic of China were characterised by weak central power and the economy had all the traits of the transition period, typical for previous dynastic exchange. Nevertheless, in the cultural sphere, China marked an era of huge import of foreign goods, modern ideas, and the influences from the international environments. The unsuccessful attempt of Yuan Shikai to re- establish the dynasty was followed by ten years of rule of the Warlords after his death.

The constant fights during the Warlord´s era destroyed the rural areas and the gap between the coastal cities and ports which were developing with the help of the foreigners and the international trade and the villages became even wider. The fact that the cities were free of bureaucracy facilitated their development. On the other hand, the disrupted rural areas were the place where the national revolution against the foreign imperialism emerged and it was accompanied by the beginnings of the social revolution and the mobilisation of the masses of the peasants. (Bakešová, 2001, pp.20-24)

In 1927, the Warlord era ended after a military campaign called the Northern expedition. It was initiated in 1926 by and led by Chiang Kai-shek (jiang jieshi 蒋介石) because Sun Yat- sen died a year earlier. When the Warlord´s rule ended, the new centralised government reintroduced also the bureaucracy. The previous cultural, social, and economic growth was in contrast with two motifs. The first one was the priority to build up the state, which required loyalty to the autocratic regime promoting the political unity and the second one was the cultural and societal improvement and progress. The second element was present in the process of adjustment of China to the modern world in all the spheres that were not under the direct control of the bureaucratic system. However, these changes could not be beneficial for the united state government. (Fairbank, 1998, pp.429-430)

The autocratic character of the state and the absolute power of the functionaries caused the disappearance of revolutionary spirit which became undesirable. The officials holding the power were seeking their own profit. Chiang Kai-shek himself opposed the opportunism according to the witnesses from the 1930s and he tried to assemble his followers in a special formation called Blue Shirts Society, also known as the Society of Practice of the Three Principles of the People (sanminzhuyi lixingshe 三民主义力行社), but it resembled more to Mussolini’s or Hitler´s troops. As the politicians before him, Chiang Kai-shek also realised China needs a strong and absolute leader – dictator. Another problem of the Republic of China was the over-reliance on rich families and their wealth and power while not solving the problems of Chinese rural areas where lived the majority of people. (Bakešová, 2001, pp.49-52)

But at the same time, the government of Republic of China was favouring the bourgeoisie. In fact, with the help of the ´s gangs, the government partly destroyed the independence of the entrepreneurs. (Fairbank, 1998, p.482) The influential groups within the government helped to deepen the bureaucratic capitalism. They had economic or industrial monopoly in many areas, and they manipulated the projects and resources to profit personally from it. Furthermore, the inability or lack of

22 wiliness to stop Shanghai´s biggest gang – the Green Gang (qing bang 青帮) because the government were using this gang to collect imposts only made rise the hatred of people towards the government. (Bakešová, 2001, pp.49-52)

The growing popularity of the Communist party was only a natural result of the whole situation. They proposed the solutions for the problems of the majority of the Chinese and did not give the priority to the privileged and rich families and their interests.

The Second Sino-Japanese war started in 1937, which meant further destabilisation of Republic. The war started with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, which was most likely simulated. Japan used it as an excuse to invade Chinese territory. During the 1930s, Japanese empire considered itself to be a saviour and consolidator of the whole Asia. They took control over the Manchuria and established there a puppet state called Manchukuo (manzhouguo 满洲国) officially governed by the former emperor Puyi. During the Sino-Japanese war between 1937-1945, Japanese empire invaded many coastal cities including Shanghai, Nanjing and later Beijing or Tianjin. The Chinese government left the area of Shanghai and Nanjing, moved the government, army, and the factories to Wuhan and later to Chongqing and left the civil population without any possibility to defend themselves.

The Japanese army was treating the Chinese with exceptional cruelty. One of the proofs is the Nanjing Massacre from 1937. Between December 1937 and late January 1938, the Japanese army murdered about 300000 people and raped tens of thousands of women. To fight against the Japan, Kuomintang created the united front with the Communists but because of the ideological collisions, they were never fully able to cooperate against the common enemy. The end of the World War II in 1945 brought the end to the Sino-Japanese as well. (Bakešová, 2001, p.59-67) The Republic of China survived a few more years, till 1949 when the People´s Republic of China was established.

Since 1927, when during the Northern Expedition Kuomintang attacked the Communists in Shanghai because of the ideological disagreements, the Communist party had only a few small bases in the rural areas and was trying to survive. The new main Communist base was created in Ruijin (ruijin 瑞金) because of its hidden position in the mountains. During the first half of the 20th century, Mao Zedong showed his capability of organisation, persuasion and he brought a new ideology. He was unique in his ability to interconnect the theory with practice. His adaptation of the Marxism-Leninism for the Chinese conditions turned the original ideology upside down, but at the same time, it became applicable for China´s situation. It was Mao Zedong who claimed the peasants as the carriers of the revolution. (Fairbank, 1998, pp.504-505)

His power in the Communist party ascended at the beginning and during the Long March and lasted till his death. The Long March is a name for the escape of the Communist base from the southern China to Yan´an (yan´an 延安) in the north. The reason was the blockade and the pursuit by Kuomintang.

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The value of the Long March is also symbolic and those leaders who completed the whole journey became a kind of an elite within the Communist Party. Furthermore, since Yan´an, Mao Zedong´s ideologic line was followed and he became the leading figure nobody questioned. (Fairbank, 1998, pp.508-513)

The influence of the Communist party was growing over the years and the first policy was The Land Reform (tudi gaige 土地改革) between 1947-1952. In short, the land owned by landlords was redistributed among the poor farmers. Interestingly, the Communist Party started the reform before the declaration of the Republic of China (PRC). In 1949, the People´s Republic of China was officially established. After the establishment of the PRC, the government focused on the consolidation of the territory of China and the last fights with the Kuomintang. Finally, the Kuomintang representants and people connected to them left the mainland China, invaded , and took the power by force. The Communist army did not follow them to Taiwan because in 1950, China send a volunteer army to help fight in the Korean War (1950-1953) against the United States. (Bakešová, 2003, pp.8-16)

The period between 1950s and 1970s was marked by many campaigns. For example, The Three- anti Campaign (sanfan yundong 三反 运动) in 1951. The campaign´s goal was to fight against the corruption, the waste, and the bureaucracy. It was launched because of the problems between communist army and dishonest officials. Or The Five-anti Campaign (wufan yundong 五反运动) in 1952. It was fighting against the bribery, the tax fraud, the stealing of the state property, the slovenliness, and the personal financial speculations. The campaigns were Mao Zedong´s tool to abolish the political or intellectual opposition. (Bakešová, 2003, pp.54-57)

The Campaign for the Rectification of the style of work (zhengfeng yundong 整风运动) was different from the previous rectification campaigns from 1940s. It was not a fight between two ideological lines, but a choice between two different paths leading to the same goal. The new state had some problems with the passionate engagement not only from the intellectuals, but also from the villages. Not everybody was welcoming the collectivisation with open arms. (Bakešová, 2003, pp.57-60)

Furthermore, the economic growth of the country was not fast enough, and Mao Zedong decided to start a new campaign in 1957, the Anti-Rightist Movement. The purpose was to politically destroy anybody who would oppose his new idea about the resolution of problems of China and about the faster development of China. This campaign eliminated the politicians opposing Mao Zedong and in 1958, he adopted a new campaign or political strategy called The Great Leap Forward (dayuejin 大跃进). (Bakešová, 2003, pp.58-60)

The year 1958 was also a fist year of the second five-year plan. The first one was very successful; the irrigation structure was built in many areas and the harvest was record high. Furthermore, the small local industrial factories appeared and facilitated the material and technical supply without the need of

24 transportation. These were the main reasons why in 1958 the engagement of masses and the leap strategy were considered to be a good idea. Everybody believed that with the hard work of the masses, China can catch up with and outpace the United Kingdom (ganshang yingguo, chaoguo yingguo 赶上英国超

过英国). Mao Zedong assumed that the production of the steel will contribute to the fast development of China.

Consequently, the communes, which were established during this period started to make the plans to build a small high steel making furnaces. The communes were always a certain area providing everything for the life of the inhabitants. The property was common and at the beginning, the commune was providing alimentation for everybody. The militarisation within the commune was a part of the official propaganda. Every member of the commune was getting the same compensation, which led to the decline of the work productivity, the steel making furnaces were not producing any usable steel and the common alimentation required higher food supplies. The general idea of The Great Leap Forward politics was the leap – the consolidation and the optimisation – the leap, was not working. The result of The Great Leap Forward was the ruined agriculture and economy and the society suffered the extreme poverty and hunger. As a reaction to this failure, Mao Zedong was replaced by Liu Shaoqi (liu shaoqi 刘少奇) on the post of the chairman. (Bakešová, 2003, pp.62-67)

Mao Zedong spend about five years outside Beijing planning new socialistic education and creating a united group of his supporters. In 1969 he had the power in his hands again and he started a new campaign called the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (wenhua dageming 文化大革命). But in the period between the Great Leap Froward and the Cultural Revolution, the balance between the agriculture, the light industry and the heavy industry was restored, and the amount of illiterate people decreased significantly. Besides, at the beginning of the 1960s, a new form of criticism of Mao Zedong emerged, the critique thought the dramatic plays or essays. (Bakešová, 2003, pp.67-80)

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was supposed to purify the thinking of the society. The indubitable position of Mao Zedong, cult of personality and the study of Mao´s thoughts became the basic traits of the next ten years. The critique of the play Hai Rui Dismissed from Office written by Wu Han is the starting point of the beginning of Cultural Revolution. Any attempt from Beijing to stop the movement criticising the play was not successful and Mao Zedong´s wife Jiang Qing (jiang qing 江

青) published an article calling the revolutionaries to fight against everybody who disapproved their ideological line. The students became a target of the propaganda because they were highly idealistic and believed that the older generation was suppressing them. They believed everything old needed to be destroyed and replaced by new. The students formed groups called the (hongweibing 红卫

兵). After the mass mobilisation of the Red Guards, they searched for the bourgeois thinking and

25 the public humiliations of teachers, bosses, neighbours or even parents were common. The whole structure of society was destroyed and to control the activity of the Red Guards was almost impossible.

During the second half of the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards were encouraged to repeat the Long March, to make them focus on something else than the search of the enemy. The establishment of the Revolutionary Committees which replaced the state administration and the forced migration of the Red Guards members to the rural areas to strengthen the revolutionary spirit through the work finally helped to pacify the situation. The Cultural Revolution itself ended after Mao Zedong´s death and the trial of Gang of four – a name for a group of four politicians, including Mao Zedong´s wife Jiang Qing who were sentenced guilty for the Cultural Revolution. (Bakešová, 2003, pp.84-93)

The 1970s were characterised by the pragmatic rule, which resulted in gradual regeneration of agriculture and economy. Considerable change in government of China came in 1977 with Deng Xiaoping. He rehabilitated the intellectuals and later proposed the economic reforms. They were launched in 1978 and they are known as Reform and Opening-up, gaige kaifang 改革开放 in Chinese. The Reforms and Opening-up to the world resulted in rapidly growing economy of China, the development of cities and growing life standard of Chinese. Deng´s pragmatic approach created a base for what is called the socialism with Chinese specifics you zhongguo tese de shehui zhuyi 有中

国特色的社会主义 in Chinese. (Bakešová, 2003, pp.143-152)

In December 1978 appeared the Democracy Wall in Beijing. People posted big characters posters dazibao 大字报 in Chinese to criticise the mistakes in new economic system or politicians. At the beginning, even Deng Xiaoping supported the criticism but with time the demands radicalised, and people were asking for modernisation of political system. The protesters demanded the abolition of rule of one political party and even demanded the American president Jim Carter to help them to protect the human rights. The reaction of Chinese government was the abolition of Democracy Wall and the independent newspaper and activist were suppressed. (Bakešová, 2003, pp.152-154)

In 1982 was declared a new Constitution. This Constitution is valid till present and it was a final symbol of transformation of PRC. The highest state functions were separated, and the generational exchange of government leaders was gradual and peaceful. The most significant problem of Chinese government in 1980s was the disagreement of the old generation of leaders with the coming new generation about the future direction of China. The younger leaders supported the pragmatic modernisation and political liberalisation of China, but the Long March veterans lean towards authoritarianism and ideology. (Bakešová et al, 2019, pp.176-177)

The crisis within the Chinese government stood out in 1986 during student protests. The leading figure was Fang Lizhi (fang lizhi 方励之), an astrophysicist who returned to China from the United States. The students demanded better study conditions, wanted to discuss the position of intellectuals in

26 society and criticised the rising corruption. In reaction to the protests, Deng Xiaoping demanded Hu Yaobang (hu yaobang 胡耀邦), CPC chairman, to punish Fang Lizhi and to terminate the protests. Hu refused, had to write a self-critique, and lost his position. The protests stopped when the students realised the change in political situation.

The protests rose again in 1989 after the death of Hu Yaobang. Students gathered and mourned him. Mourning transformed into manifestations and students created several petitions with demands. At the same time, the economic problems such as inflation and unemployment provoked further protests among the people. The inability of both sides to have a dialogue and find a solution lead to declaration of martial law and finally, the situation resulted in Tian´an men Incident. The army was sent to end the protests on June 4th. (Bakešová et al, 2019, pp.189-200)

The consequences of Tian´an men Incident were the exchange of the rest of the old leaders, who were opposing the economic reforms, the emptying of Communist ideology in China and the focus on economic development. The freedom of expression typical for 1980s no longer existed in later decades and with the return of in 1997 and introduction of one country two systems principle, The People´s Republic of China entered the 21st century as fast developing economy challenged by transformation of lifestyle, urbanisation or materialism. (Bakešová et al, 2019, pp.209-211)

1.3 Philosophical background

The states are not made only by the political system and the governments. The philosophical tradition shapes the customs and beliefs of the society and often also the laws. Traditionally, the educated part of society followed the Confucianism, which had a deep impact on functioning of society. The common people were usually guided by the Buddhism and .

The Confucian scholars studied the four classical books for years in order to pass the state exams and obtain a post in the state administration. The relations within the families were shaped according to Confucian rules as well. The strict hierarchy in the relationships commanded the subordinance of the younger generation to the older one and the subordinance of women to men. The emperor was recognised as a son of heaven and everybody was subjected to him. (Tu, 2019)

Confucianism itself can be understood as a „worldview, a social ethic, a political ideology, a scholarly tradition, and a way of life. Sometimes viewed as a philosophy and sometimes as a religion, Confucianism may be understood as an all-encompassing way of thinking and living that entails ancestor reverence and a profound human-centred religiousness.” (Tu, 2019) The system itself is very rigid and based on the virtue of individuals following the Confucian rule. The individual is supposed to seek to become a rightful gentleman. During the dynastic rule of China this system worked because since the Ming dynasty the empire was relatively closed to the world, but the system was not without problems.

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The main issue that Chinese scholars themselves highlighted was the inability of the traditional education system to solve new problems of the country. After centuries of belief that China is the only existing culture, the empire had to deal with foreigners who were technically much more ahead of China. The absolute fate in Confucianism was broken and the intellectuals proposed several solutions for China. (Spence, 1990, pp.194-196)

For example, the scholar Zeng Guofan (zeng guofan 曾国藩) who proposed the idea of self- strengthening (ziqiang 自强) in the second half of the 19th century did not abandon his Confucian belief, the main idea of self-strengthening was to include to the Chinese education the foreign languages, mathematics, science and the useful western technology. Furthermore, thanks to his orders, the first Chinese was sent to United Stated and graduated from the Yale in 1854. His name was Yung Ying and after his return to China, he obtained from Zeng 68000 taels in cash to purchase all the necessary tools to establish a machine shop in China. (Spence, 1990, pp.196-198) Another attempts to modernise the empire coming from the imperial court was the Hundred Day´s Reform and the reforms made by Empress Dowager Cixi, we mentioned in the previous part and they helped the empire to survive till 1911. (Bakešová, 2001, p.9)

A few decades later emerged probably the most important movement in the Chinese culture, it brought the change in language, literature and led China to modern era. We are talking about the May Fourth Movement (wusi yundong 五四运动). The main actors were young intellectuals who were born in the end of 19th century. They received the traditional Chinese education but also the western education. They often went to study abroad to Japan, France, or Germany. The cultural shock they experienced was enormous and they started to think about the needed change in China and about the new political concepts. (Bakešová, 2001, p.32)

Moreover, one of the most important questions and problems was the written language wenyan 文言. It conserved the form from the 2nd century BC and the meaning of the characters, and their liaisons were different from the spoken form of language, which made the written language incomprehensible to the majority of people. The language used by missionaries became a model for a new written form of the Chinese language. It was called baihua 白话 and the intellectuals and writers promoted it in the journals, such as La Jeunesse (xinqingnian zazhi 新青年杂志 or xinqingnian 新青年) published since 1915 in Tokyo, with Chen Duxiu (chen duxiu 陈独秀) as chief editor. But the most popular form of a new written language was something between wenyan 文言 and baihua 白话, popularised by Liang

Qichao (liang qichao 梁启超). The publications in new language reflected the new ideas and the desire of young generation to free themselves from traditional, rigid, and hierarchical system of Confucianism. (Bakešová, 2001, pp.32-36)

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Furthermore, the big cities like Beijing or Shanghai were developing and the structure of social classes changed. The merchants became rich and significantly important societal class. They were able to provide a modern education for their kids, they had contacts with foreigners and Chinese government. They often influenced the choice of the officials and shaped the face of Chinese society. At the same time, they were independent, and they used their power and societal status to create their own structures and journals and they had an impact on the culture. (Fairbank, 1998, pp.450-463)

In the first half of the 20th century, one of new ideas that came to China was also the Marxism and the was founded in 1921 in Shanghai. This movement was growing, and more and more intellectuals joined it. They started to think about the form of the literature creation appropriate for the masses. In the theory, the model communist literature is following the ideas of Marxism about the social involvement and being written for everybody, for the masses of common people. Because this literature was meant for everybody, it had to be understandable for everybody too. In China, the strict rules for the literature creation were established after Mao Zedong´s speech in Yan´an, which will be discussed later in this chapter. In China, the communist literature for masses (dazhong wenxue 大 众 文 学 ) existed since 1930s and it served the political purposes and the spread of the communist propaganda. It had a lot of common points with the Soviet Union´s socialist realism (shehui xianshizhuyi 社会现实主义), but in 1950s, as the relations between two countries worsened, Chinese writers tried to differentiate their literature from the soviet literature. (Hladíková, 2013, p.59)

Again, the question of language was raised because some of the leftist intellectuals and writers thought baihua 白话 is not a natural language, therefore, it does not represent the language of people and it is not understandable for the masses. They argued that baihua is just as unsuitable for usage and as incomprehensible as wenyan 文言. And if people cannot understand the language, the communist ideas cannot be passed to people. The leftist writers criticised the May Fourth Movement literature creation and called for the creation of a completely new literature.

For example, Qu Qiubai (qu qiubai 瞿秋白) claimed that the language must be understandable when read out loud, because traditionally, the people were illiterate, so they were used to hearing the stories from tellers. For him, the new language and form of the literature creation must continue and develop the traditional form. The requirements for the new language according to Qu Qiubai were the creation of common language (putonghua 普通话). Qu Qiubai saw the new common language as a language of the working class which is used by people in everyday life but deprived of the regional specifics, suitable for the modern needs. This language should have represented the opposition to the bureaucratic language (guoyu 国语). Other main criteria were the applicability in the arts, science, politics, and usability when reading out loud or reciting to the audience. (Hladíková, 2013, pp.60-61)

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The second question was a question of the form and content of the literature works. The new revolutionary literature should use and develop the traditional forms (jiu xingshi 旧形式) because people know them and understand them. When thinking about the content, the literature must be easily understandable, be able to transmit the ideology and to talk about the problems and daily life of working class – proletariat. Another important aspect of the literature was to popularise the older literature with the right content which was written in the old language. The hero of the communist literature was a representant of the revolution and of the proletariat. The writers created the clear opposition between the heroes and the enemies of the revolution, who were criticised. But during the 1930s period, not all the intellectuals agreed with the theory of the usage of the old forms. They refused it with the argument of repressiveness, they considered the old forms as a step back and as a denial of the new literature. (Hladíková, 2013, p.61)

As mentioned earlier, the rules for the new literature were definitely set by Mao Zedong in 1942 after his speech at Yan´an Forum on Literature and Art (yan´an wen yi zuotanhui 延安文艺座谈会). The speech was later edited and published as the Talks at the Yan´an Forum on Literature and Art (zai yan´an wen yi zuotanhui shang de jianghua 在延安文艺座谈会上的讲话). He argued that even if it is necessary to study and follow the guiding line of the Marxism-Leninism, the intellectuals cannot forget that it is also necessary to adapt the theory to the local conditions. Briefly, the main idea was the fusion of the national history with the Marxism-Leninism theory because Marxism-Leninism is just a theoretical approach and abstract ideology which needs to be confronted with the real situation of the nation. (Hladíková, 2013, pp.66-67)

According to Mao Zedong, the new culture, including the new literature, is supposed to fight against the feudal superstitions, to search the objective truth and to connect the theory with the practice. The new culture was founded on the scientific base. He also commented on the problem with the usage of the old forms. According to Mao Zedong, the writers should have selected the good tradition from the feudal tradition and use the tradition for the purposes of the new literature. The same approach was adopted for the history. The national history must be accepted but only critically and selectively. The revolutionary culture, literature and art are irreplaceable in the class struggle because they prepare ideologically the masses of people for the revolution. (Hladíková, 2013, pp.59-62)

The Talks at Yan´an Forum together with Mao Zedong´s other theoretical works about the new democracy, the coalition government and the democratic dictatorship of proletariat became the core theoretical works shaping what is called today Maoism or Mao Zedong Thought (mao zedong sixiang 毛泽东思想). (Hladíková, 2013, p.61)

During the Mao Zedong era, all these principles were strictly followed, and any deviation was severely criticised. The political campaigns were a common tool for the elimination of the all ideas different from Mao Zedong´s line. The pattern was always the same. Every campaign was fighting

30 against a certain deviation and the people pledged guilty were criticised, they had to write the self- critique and after the critique was accepted, they could be reaccepted by the Communist party. The critique was often severe and psychologically exhausting, and people tried to avoid it. Of course, there were also cases of intellectuals who refused the critique. Wang Shiwei (wang shiwei 王实未) was one of them. Instead of writing the self-critique, he published a statement of him not being aware of any mistakes and he disappeared in 1942, but that was an extreme case. The majority of the intellectuals underwent the critique and accepted the line set by Mao Zedong. (Hladíková, 2013, p.64)

The most difficult period for the literature creation was the Cultural Revolution. The search for the enemies of the revolution got out of control, the Red Guards make of students and young idealistic people were punishing their professors, parents, or bosses. Because of the chaotic situation, the literature creation basically stopped, and people were reading the Lu Xun´s works and Mao Zedong´s Little Red Book. The main artistic creations were the revolutionary ballets and model plays. The model pays were mostly directed by Mao Zedong´s wife Jiang Qing. (Hladíková, 2013, pp.72-73)

The economic reforms introduced in late 1970 lead to fast economic growth and opening to the world which in 1980s led to very experimental literature adopting new forms, inspired by the west. The principles set by Mao Zedong are officially valid till today, but today´s literature is not the same as in 1950s, for example. Shen Yipeng argues in his work Public Discourses of Contemporary China that after the Reform and Opening of China, started the period he classifies as the post-socialist era of China because the main interest was the economy and the official culture supported by the government started to promote the nationalism. Together with the economy, they define the new centre of interest and development.

Furthermore, the Chinese nation was aestheticized as mass (qunzhong 群众 or laobaixing 老百

姓). The idea of mass line was inherited from Mao´s era and the individual should have accepted himself as a part of the mass, as „an interactive practice of the self with the society” (Shen, 2015, p.5), as the subjects of public existence. The notion of nationalism is connected to patriotism and together, they serve as a frame uniting all the differences within the Chinese nation. The representation of everyday life of people in its diversity replaced the image of Mao Zedong´s revolutionary hero and framed by nationalism, it is what created the notion of the Chinese nation in official rhetoric. (Shen, 2015, pp.5-8)

Consequently, the literature themes nowadays are much more diverse that the themes of the class struggle and revolutionary heroes from previous decades. Contemporary literature reflects contemporary problems and challenges but still has common points with creation of past decades and many authors are influenced by what they experienced during the 20th century.

The analysis of the examples of works published after year 2000 will prove that even after a few decades of the constant economic growth, some problems within the Chinese society are still present and there is a need to find a solution for them. The control over the content of the literature works still

31 exists and not everything can be published but the liberty of subjective expression and the possibilities in the choice of the themes are much wider than during the Mao´s era and sometimes the question of the new rules of the literature creation emerges. The current situation will be elaborated in the next chapters together within the analysis of the selected literature works.

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2 AUTHORS: BACKGROUND AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS MODERNISATION

The second chapter will focus on authors individually. The second chapter contains the description of the main life events, opinions, and influence on their writing. The understanding of authors, their lives and general attitude towards the modernisation of Chinese society completes the theoretical background for analysis in the next chapter.

2.1 Period 1900-1949

2.1.1 Huangjiang Diaosou

The first author is called Huangjiang Diaosou (huangjiang diaosou 黄江钓叟) and he wrote novel called The Lunar Colony (yueqiu zhimindi xiaoshuo 月球殖民地小说). Huangjiang Diaosou is only a pen name meaning old fisherman on a desolate river, but the true identity of the author is not known. The author himself was living in the traditional Chinese society, led by the emperor and it is possible to assume that he received the traditional Chinese education because he was literate, which probably would not be possible otherwise. (Mann, 2005, p.538) There are not many information available about this author, but the fact that he describes the new technology in his work is a proof of his erudition. His attitude towards the modernisation is positive because it gives an opportunity to characters to act and resolve problems. The concrete examples will be analysed in the third chapter.

2.1.2 Liu E

The author of The Travels of Lao Can (laocan youji 老残游记) is called Liu E (liu e 刘鹗) or

Liu Tieyun (liu tieyun 刘铁云). He was born in 1857 in . He received the traditional Chinese literary training and because his family was one of the first families to be influenced by west, he learnt French and mathematics from Catholic priests. Liu E was deeply interested in studying of modern western science; however, his family was not wealthy, therefore could not support him in studies and he had to work. He worked as a physician in Shanghai, however he was not successful. Later, he failed as a businessman as well.

In 1888, after a flood of Yellow River, he offered his services to Minister, since the regular officials did not have any practical knowledge about engineering. Liu E became very successful, solved many problems, and established his name. He served as an advisor of provincial governor and suggested the new approach in controlling the river-basin of Yellow River.

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Liu E´s thinking was much more opened and advanced when compared with his compatriots. He suggested the construction of railways and opened the mine with help of foreigners to improve the economic situation of China. During the Boxer Uprising, he bought rice for people, when the empress dowager left Beijing. Thanks to his sense of prevision, he earned a great fortune during his life. His foresight and fortune allowed him to buy and save the oracle bones from Shang Dynasty period, which were discovered at the beginning of the 20th century.

Unfortunately for Liu E, the mood in Chinese society at the beginning of the 20th century shifted away from the acceptance of foreigners in China. This attitude had a huge impact on Liu E´s life. In 1908, he was exiled to Xinjiang and later to Siberia because of his business contacts with foreigners. Liu E´s property was confiscated, and he died because of paralysis in Urumqi in 1909. (Yang, 1983, pp.3-7)

2.1.3 Yu Dafu

Yu Dafu (yu dafu 郁达夫) was born in 1896 in Fuyang, Zhejiang province. He was from an impoverished family. The family´s problems rose after Yu Dafu´s father died when Yu Dafu was only three years old. He was able to obtain the traditional education in Hangzhou thanks to government scholarship. The refusal of fiction in literature creation of Chinese classics influenced considerably Yu Dafu´s own work. In 1913, he moved to Japan to study economics. In Japan, he read mainly Russian, German, English and Japanese literature, and the Japanese genre watakushi-shôsetsu, which had an important impact on his writing as well. After his return to China, he worked at Beijing University and later at universities in Wuhan or Guangzhou.

He is one of the founders of Creation society (chuangzao she 创造社) and he was involved in publication of multiple newspapers in 1920s. In 1930s he studied the traditional art and old texts and contributed into popularisation of traditional Chinese culture in the west.

He left China after the Japanese invasion and lived in Singapore and Sumatra and he engaged in anti-Japanese resistance. He was killed in 1945, presumably by the Japanese secret police. (Hladíková, 2013, p.32)

The contact with western technology and philosophy in Japan shaped the way this generation of Chinese intellectuals perceived the world and Yu Dafu was not an exception. This experience influenced his literature creation as well. Yu Dafu´s specific trait is his elaboration of loneliness of an individual. Many Chinese living in Japan experienced it because they were not Japanese, but at the same time they were also different from the majority of Chinese people. (Doležalová, 1971, pp.5-8)

In book Yu Dafu – Specific Traits of his Literary Creation Anna Doležalová characterises his writing as follows:

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Yü Ta-fu however, remained faithful throughout his literary career to the basic principles and creative procedures which are manifest already in his first collection of prose works. In Yü Ta-fu´s work we systematically find autobiographical elements, an undisguised identity of the author with the principal hero, a binding of the entire plot to the hero and a presentation of every reality through the prism of his own mental vision. The human type of the principal hero also remains essentially the same – the pessimistic, oversensitive, and helpless. He develops in the sense that, together with the author, he matures and becomes enriched with new life experiences. (Doležalová, 1971, p.6)

Yu Dafu is elaborating a hero who is destroyed by his own alienation and he is being tear apart by the gap between the traditional norms and his natural inclinations. The inner world of characters is deeply elaborated and the author´s focus is on the personal microcosm and the heroes meet with a fatal end. Yu Dafu´s writing style is clear and easy to recognise. He creates a unique universe based on his own experience and perception of the world. His main characters are different and similar at the same time and author creates a tragedy ending to accentuate the character´s personality and feelings. (Doležalová, 1971, pp.12-15)

2.1.4 Lu Xun

Lu Xun (lu xun 鲁迅) was born in 1881 in Shaoxing (shaoxing 绍兴) to an impoverished family which had retained the tradition of learning. Lu Xun first attended school in Shaoxing. In 1898 he went to Nanjing, to Jiangnan Naval Academy. During this time, he ceased using his child name Zhou Zhangshou (zhou zhangshou 周樟寿) and started to use the name Zhou Shuren (zhou shuren 周树人). He used this name his whole adult life. The name Lu Xun was his best-known nom de plume and he honoured his mother by choosing to use her last name. Lu Xun was the oldest son and with his younger brother, they both went to Japan to study. The family had four children, four sons and three of them became influential intellectuals of their time. The last one died early in a child age. (Davies, 2013, p.2- 3)

Lu Xun chose to study medicine, but after seeing the incident of a group of Chinese people watching the execution of their fellow countrymen by Japanese and not doing anything, nor feeling compassion or shame, he decided to dedicate his life to literature creation. He said that the help Chinese people need the most is not the medical help, but spiritual. All his works are influenced by what he experienced during his life. At the beginning of his literature career, he was writing the wenyan style essays promoting the Darwinian or Nietzschean theories. He continued to write essays during his career, but he is known also for his short stories reflecting his perception of Chinese society. (Průšek, Krebsová, 1951, pp.7-26)

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It is generally known that Lu Xun is against the traditional life and practices of the Chinese people. He is trying to bring the enlightenment to people, and he is expressing his true feelings openly. For Lu Xun, the abandonment of the traditional thinking and the modernisation are the keys for rejuvenation of Chinese nation. He believes in modern western education, in scientific approach and he is influenced by the western philosophy as well. The question for him is if the Chinese nation is able to modernise. Personally, because he was influenced by the Darwinian or Nietzschean theories, he believed that the Chinese nation was probably doomed to extinction, unless it would change. The main idea of the short story The Diary of Madman can serve as an example. In the end, the progressive main character is not strong enough to persuade or change society´s opinion and he ends up adapting to their habits. (Hsia, 1999, pp.28-54)

2.1.5 Lao She

The third author of this group is Lao She (lao she 老舍). His original name was Shu Qingchun

(shu qingchun 舒庆春). He was born in 1899 in Beijing. He belonged to Manchu minority and his family suffered a lot of hardship. He graduated from Beijing Normal University in 1918 and worked as a teacher. He also had opportunity to work at University of London. He started his writing career thanks to the May Fourth Movement. His interest was the corrupt and unjust society and hard-working individual. During the Sino-Japanese was, he was writing propagandist works. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019)

„Lao She, a celebrated People´s artist, was also a key figure in party literary history, and his works were interpreted to be ideologically acceptable (with, perhaps, the exception of a problematic anti-Communist political sci-fi satire Cat City [Maocheng ji] written in the 1940s). (Barmé, 1999, p.72) Despite the contemporary celebration, he was killed during the Cultural Revolution or committed suicide as a result of physique and mental attacks. He was labelled as counterrevolutionary and he was posthumously rehabilitated in 1978 and his work is popular till present. (Lee, 2002, p.226)

In his work, he criticises the decadence of Chinese society. He condemns the opium addiction or the food binding with derision. He believes that the these old and wrongs habits of Chinese society will bring the end to it. The ending scene from Cat Country is a description meaning that Chinese will destroy themselves.

2.1.6 Ba Jin

Ba Jin (ba jin 巴金) was born in 1904 in Sichuan, Chengdu. His original name was Li Yaotang

(li yaotang 李尧棠) and he belonged to a wealthy gentry family. He received the traditional Chinese education „as well as training in modern foreign languages and literatures. While in school, he developed

36 socialist convictions and an interest in writing. He became an anarchist in the mid-1920s.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019) His political opinion was influenced during his stay in France where he met several anarchists. After his return to China he mostly lived in Shanghai.

In Shanghai, he wrote his first novel called Extinction in 1929. This novel was a success for Ba Jin and he wrote several novels. But his most famous novel till present is Family, jia 家 in Chinese. In this novel is expressed his view on traditional Chinese society, Confucian norms, and the patriarchal rule of families. The novel Family is the first part of trilogy called Torrent. Ba Jin competed the trilogy in the 1940s and with time, his style evolved into less radical and more focused on human relationships.

His ideological inclination was criticised by the communists and caused multiple disputes between them before the establishment of the People´s Republic of China, however, after 1949:

Ba Jin was judged politically reliable and was elected to important literary and cultural organizations. Although he formally renounced his anarchist ideas in the late 1950s, he never fully adapted himself to the new society, and he stopped writing fiction. During the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), he was labelled a counterrevolutionary and was sharply criticized. Ba Jin did not make a public appearance again until 1977, when he was rehabilitated. He was elected the vice-chairman of the National Political Consultative Conference in 1983 and the chairman of the Chinese Writers Association in 1985. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019)

In 1989, already suffering from Parkinson´s disease, Ba Jin supported the resistance against the declaration of martial law which resulted in Tian´an men incident and in 1990s, he criticised the new Mao cult popular among young Chinese.

From 1998, Ba Jin was forced to stay in Shanghai Huadong hospital, which he saw as punishment for his resistance and he would ask to be helped to die. However, he lived till October 2005, when he died aged 100. (Gittings, 2005)

2.1.7 Shen Congwen

The only exception in the way how he sees the tradition is Shen Congwen (shen congwen 沈从

文). He was born in 1902 in a small town on western border of Hunan province. During his childhood, his father was a military official stationed in Beijing. Shen Congwen´s grandfather was a governor of Quizhou and he brought up the family name. He was the most successful man from Shen family, Shen Congwen´s uncles were only the military officials, same as his father. Because of father´s absence, Shen Congwen had little strict family discipline and he was a regular truant from school. He preferred to watch the aspects of natural and human phenomena. He was able to spend the whole days walking in the nature, smelling flowers, and listening.

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His ancestors are from the Miao and Tujia minorities and in his works, he admires the traditional life. He was living in the nature and the tradition till he was 20 years old. He grew up without the contact with the western ideas and modernism and he was referring to himself as a rural person. He sees the traditional life as pure and perfect. At the age of 13, he was sent to a military school which was a family tradition. „He learned a little about the military science there but developed an intense admiration for an old-style coach who, almost a hero out of the pages of popular Chinese historical fiction, was adept in the use of broadswords and spears.” (Hsia, 1999, pp.192-193)

During the years of his military career he served as police clerk, revenue collector or employee in a newspaper office. He witnessed about 700 decapitations, he met all kinds of people, from the officers to bandits and prostitutes. But he was lucky for friendships and he had an opportunity to read some translations of western writers such as Charles Dickens. Some of his friends introduced to him the literature of May Fourth Movement and because of his classical background and previous study of calligraphy, he preferred to study methodically from a large dictionary about the theories and principles of the movement. This period of his life had a crucial impact on his later writing career. Shen Congwen went to Beijing to study and to prepare for a writing career. He was 20 years old. After two years in Beijing, he started to be recognised. The other intellectuals and writers „were impressed not only by Shen Ts´ung-wen´s facility with his pen but by his innate conservativism and his genuine faith in China´s destiny built upon a realistic apprehension of her virtues ani vices.” (Hsia, 1999, p.195)

He also felt a need to improve himself. He wrote a large number of stories, experimented with style and warrying the themes. Gradually, he mastered a personal prose style. Among his work, we can find also the Communist critics which made him a rightist reactionist in the eyes of leftist writers. „He was supposed to be an exponent of “Kuomintang agent literature”, a literature abetting the tyranny of the ruling clique and the landlords, whereas the ironic truth was that he didn’t get along with the Government too well in the forties and his writings were often censored.” (Hsia, 1999, p.196)

Shen Congwen can be characterised as a storyteller, partly because for a certain time, he had to write in this particular way to make a living. Consequently, the evolution of his work was slow and probably because of the absence of knowledge of foreign languages, he felt closer to traditional style of storytelling than the modern western approaches. His life experience, the connection he felt to his ancestors and encounter with Chinese people helped to create his specific style. It seems he is painting the life of people in their traditional life and it is evident that he has a deep knowledge about the traditional life of Miao and Tujia minorities. He experienced the life of these people himself and this personal experience made him connect with them and to admire them and their lifestyle. (Hsia, 1999, pp.189-197)

He is the only one from the chosen examples who writes about the coming modernisation as about something negative. In his eyes, the modernisation crushes the people´s pure souls. For Shen

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Congwen, the modernisation means the decadence of the society. For the other writers, who are situating their stories among the Han majority, the traditional society is decadent because of the backward thinking and superstitions, but not for Shen Congwen.

2.1.8 Chang Eileen

The only female writer in this period is Eileen Chang (zhang ailing 张爱玲) born in 1920. Her ancestors from both mother and father sides were important state officials or from the prominent families of Qing empire. The first years of republic were marked by effort of Chang´s parents to free themselves from the restrictions of traditional family relations. They moved from Shanghai to Tianjin. But her father became opium addict and violent. When he brought home a concubine, Eileen´s mother could not accept it and she left for Great Britain for studies. Father´s lifestyle negatively influenced Eileen´s younger brother. The effort of Chang family members brought the husband and wife back together and they moved back to Shanghai. The harmony did not last in family because the father returned back to opium and extra-marital relations. This time, it ended by divorce. Eileen and her younger brother stayed with father. He remarried shortly after the divorce which had a deep impact on young Eileen Chang. Her mother left China again but after she returned, her daughter was often seeking her company. (Li, 2012, pp.187-191)

However, it made her father jealous and he locked her in the house for months. He deprived her any social contact or medical help when she became sick. After several months, Eileen Chang managed to escape and since then she lived with her mother and never returned to her father´s house. Probably the only good thing she received from her father was the interest in literature and the education in Chinese classics. On the other hand, her mother introduced her to the western literature and art. Her mother wanted to give her daughter the western education, but because of the outbreak of war, Eileen had to change the plans and go to study to Hong Kong. Even in Hong Kong, she was not able to finish her studies because Hong Kong fell into Japanese hands. She retuned back home and decided to make a living as a writer. The hardship she experienced as a child and teenager shaped her personality and her literature creation. She is mainly focusing on female characters and their position in society. (Li, 2012, pp.187-191)

Chang´s personal life was full of turbulences, she was married twice, same as her mother, she refused to accept the infidelity of her first husband and in 1955, she left for United States and never returned to China. In 1960, she became a U.S. citizen. Her writing career continued in the United States. She died at the age of 74. (Thomas, 1995)

Her female characters are inspired by her mother who received a modern education and refused to accept the behaviour of her husband. She was strong and she got a divorce regardless of the traditional family expectations. Eileen Chang´s characters belong to the middle class but because of the changing

39 societal norms it seems that her characters are trying to find a place in the transition era between the traditional society and the modern way of life. She sets her stories into the places where she lived – Shanghai and Hong Kong. She brilliantly describes the behaviour of Chinese and the city life, but at the same time, her description of nature is detailed and vivid. She is one of the most important representants of her generation of writers, popular till present. (Hsia, 1999, pp.389-397) Eileen Chang´s characters are real in their behaviour and thinking. She is not creating the ideal heroes. The female characters partly represent the women with traditional thinking and partly the modern and emancipated women who are trying to break from the traditional role.

2.2 Period 1978-present

2.2.1 Wang Shuo

Wang Shuo (wang shuo 王朔) was born in 1958 in Nanjing, but he grew up in Beijing. The Cultural Revolution affected his childhood, since his parents were sent to countryside and Wang Shuo with his brother stayed on their own, without supervision. During his adolescent years, he often skipped school and was evolved in small crimes or street fights. It is known, that at least once, he ended up in jail. Later, he joined the navy because his father forced him to do so.

His career as a writer started in 1984 when he published a story called Stewardess. He became hugely popular as a writer, especially among the Chinese urban youth. In 1990s, he moved from writing books to write for television and movies. One part of his work was banned during the spiritual civilisation campaign. (Goldblatt, 2003, p.291)

„In 1990s, Wang was most frequently criticised for his playfulness in regard to the sacrosanct realm of literature. His critics charged that his approach was in direct conflict with the premises of socialist literature.” (Barmé, 1999, p.79) Wang Shuo is known for his satiric approach to literature. Even though the satiric description of real events is easily traceable in his work, Wang Shuo himself stated that he „…did not encourage any particular interpretation of his fiction. He said of his writing that he had tried to find a middle ground between pure art and popular culture.” (Barmé, 1999, p.96) He also said that any deeper meaning found or not found in his work is up to every reader, regardless of if the deeper meaning was or was not there. (Barmé, 1999, p.96)

Wang´s work with language usage is not only one of the most interesting parts, but also one of the characteristics of his literature creation. „…the language in much of Wang Shuo´s satirical fiction was a parody or inversion of official party language, New China Newspeak, Xinhua wenti, the flat of wooden parole of bureaucrats and political sloganeering. … Although you can´t accuse him of using language to incite counterrevolution or to instigate people to engage in serious criminal acts, Wang Shuo can be said to manipulate language in every other way at his disposal.” (Barmé, 1999, p.153)

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2.2.2 Mo Yan

Guan Moye (guan moye 管谟业) know as a novelist and short story writer Mo Yan (mo yan 莫

言) was born in 1955 in northern China. The Cultural Revolution was launched when he was 11 and he left school to work as a farmer. Later, at the age of 18, he started to work at a cotton factory. He obtained his university degree late, in 1991. Mo Yan is nom de plume, he started using it during his studies at People´s Liberation Army Arts College. His writing style is influenced by Chinese literature, Chinese lyricism, and foreign authors Faulkner and Márquez and others. His writing style is unique because he plays with narration style to accentuate different aspects of his stories. (Molčanov, 2015, pp.326-331)

After finishing his studies, he not only continued to write, he worked as a newspaper editor. In 2012, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Till present, he is a popular author and some of his novels were made into films. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2020)

In his work The Republic of Wine, jiuguo 酒国 in Chinese, Mo Yan is mixing the realism, fiction, epistolary style, meta-fictional style, and others. „The interplay of these styles registers as a bitter satire of the police, a poignant condemnation of the social reality embodied in the murder of babies, the Chinese lust for wine, and the absurdity of a dwarf’s devilishly remarkable prowess.” (Qiao, 2008, p.214) Mo Yan´s description of modernisation and Chinese society from the end of the 20th century is highlighting the lack of spirituality and moral values in the society. He highlights how people abandon the moral stands in pursuit of the economic prosperity.

2.2.3 Jiang Rong

Lü Jiamin (lü jiamin 吕嘉民) was born in 1946 in Jiangsu. But he is known as Jiang Rong (jiang rong 姜戎), which is his pen name. He belongs to a generation of authors who experienced the Cultural Revolution during their childhood or adolescence. Despite being denounced as a counterrevolutionary because of an essay he wrote as a student, Jiang Rong later joined the Red Guards. But he was secretly hiding and collecting the books which were burned by the Red Guards.

In 1967, he volunteered to go to Inner Mongolia, and he lived there for eleven years, until he was 33. He chose the Inner Mongolia so he could bring his books with him without a fear of having the books confiscated. (French, 2005) In late 1970s and during 1980s he engaged as a political activist. He was arrested because he had a role in the protests in 1989 but was released without a trial. Nowadays, he is a well-known writer and a researcher in social sciences. He started to work on his novel Wolf Totem in 1970s, but the book was published only in 2004. In 2007 he won the first Man Asian Literary Prize for his novel.

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In the novel Wolf Totem, Jiang Rong admires the spirit of Mongols and says that the Han Chinese are weak like the sheep. He is disgusted by their inability to fight. Jiang Rong suggests that the Han Chinese should adopt something from the Mongolian wolf spirit, which provoked a certain controversy after the publication of Wolf Totem. This work is semi-autobiographical, and it reflects author´s personal experience. His admiration of nomadic Mongols and traditional life is idealised, and he denounces the modernisation. (Varsava, 2011, pp.283-284)

2.2.4 Chan Koonchung

Chan Koonchung (chen guanzhong 陈冠中) was born in 1951 in Shanghai but he grew up in Hong Kong. He studied sociology at Hong Kong University and later went to Boston University to study media. He returned to Hong Kong and worked as a journalist in the mid-seventies. He grew up in quite unstable era:

The post-war baby boomers were coming of age in a kind of political disorientation, unable to identify, as their parents did, with either the CCP regime in Beijing or the KMT in Taipei. The British colonial authority in Hong Kong was trying to pacify the social unrest of the previous decade by emphasising services to local communities, but without any substantial effort to contribute to a Hong Kong identity. (Wang, 2015)

Chan with a few friends founded a journal called Special Supplement haowai 号外. Their goal was to give voice to their generation and to the city they grew up in. Chan was inspired by western counterculture and the journal was modelled on the ´s Village Voice journal. „Haowai distinguished itself instantly by offering lengthy investigative reports on social problems in the city, "camp"-style reviews, in-depth interviews, experimental literary works, and much more.” (Wang, 2015) Later, the journal changed name to City Magazine and become one of the cultural legends of Hong Kong.

Chan was City Magazine´s Chief editor and publisher, he heavily influenced its style. He wrote his first short story in 1978, but it took another twenty years before he wrote the second story. During those 20 years, Chan Koonchung lived in Taiwan, mainland China or worked for cable television channel. Chan´s second story about Hong Kong is from 1998. „In his own words, political upheavals in the mainland and Taiwan in the post-war decades provided him with new perspectives on Hong Kong, reflected in the title to his 1998 novella, "Nothing Has Happened" (Shenme dou meiyou fasheng 什么

都没有发生).” (Wang, 2015)

He wrote several books about Hong Kong socio-cultural reality and political future before he wrote The Fat Years. This book was his reaction to events of 2008 when he finalised his idea about future China and expressed it in the fictional novel The Fat Years. „ The Fat Years pays homage to Lu

42

Xun, modern China's greatest writer, in particular to his idea that the masses and society are all responsible for killing individual independence and suffocating intellectual creativity.” (Wang, 2015)

2.2.5 Yan Lianke

Yan Lianke (yan lianke 阎连科) is well-known not only in China but also worldwide. He received the international awards for his work. This writer was born in 1958 in Henan. He studied at Henan University and at People´s Liberation Army Art Institute. He obtained the degrees from the politics and education and a degree in Literature. He adopted a unique writing style called mythorealism.

Yan's mythorealism challenges accepted conventions of linear cause-and-effect relationship, often considered to be the driving force behind the development of literary narratives.” (Song, 2016, p.646) Which means he is challenging the realistic view on the events in his work and this style helps him to emphasise the satire of society, but at the same makes it feel softer. In one of his interviews, he claimed that he is using this style because: „‘I feel that only in writing in a 'mythorealistic' style am I truly able to probe the interior of reality and the depths of human spirit, and otherwise would only be able to engage with reality and history in a superficial fashion.’ (Song, 2016, p.646)

For example, in one of his works The Explosion Chronicles, he distinguishes between different kinds of causes and effects. For example, the skyscrapers are built over night, flowers bloom when touched with the official decrees or people grow old or young in a while. The message of this work in general is the dislike of author towards people´s behaviour. In order to earn money and develop their village and later city, they abandon all the moral principles. They are willing to steal, cheat, lie or sell their own bodies. This novel is a clear satire of Chinese society in the period of Reform and Opening.

The mythorealistic elements on one hand, help author to emphasise the absurdity of situation or the hard and manual work which helped China to develop so fast. On the other hand, these elements are often softening the cruelty of action or situation and they are also representing the overwhelming speed of development of China. Some of the Chinese authors, including Yan Lianke, claimed that the mythical or fantastic elements are the only way how to describe the changing China. (Taylor, 2017)

Finally, despite the uniqueness of Yan Lianke´s writing style, his attitude towards the Chinese modernisation is clear. Even though the economic situation is better, it came with a high price. The personal lives of people were destroyed, and the recovery is not possible. In the end of The Explosion Chronicles, some of the characters are killed or over the years developed mental disorders because of the environment. The constant pursuit of economic growth did not lead to people´s happiness. (Song, 2016, pp.645-646; Wang, Charles, 2016, pp.580-588)

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3 ANALYSIS OF THE CONCRETE LITERATURE WORKS

3.1 Period 1900-1949

3.1.1 Huangjiang Diaosou – Lunar Colony (月球殖民地小说) (1904)

The first and the oldest literature work that will be analysed below has a unique style among the chosen works, it is the first work. The genre of science fiction allowed author to modify the real world by adding fictional countries and to use the hot-air balloon filled with modern technology for the travels all around the world. The behaviour and personality of the main character represent the problems of imperial China and the Chinese nation from author´s period.

The work Lunar Colony is an incomplete novel and it was serialised in the journal Xiuxiang xiaoshuo 绣像小说 between March 1904 and November 1905. (Mann, 2005, p.538) His work reflects the problems of the Chinese society, such as the behaviour of the members of the society based on their social role detached from the logic or humanity, the difficulties in the relations with Japan and the right of the stronger and more advanced culture to dominate the weaker one. The main character called Long Menghua is traveling with a Japanese Tamataro, in Chinese called Yu Tailang. The main character´s personality represents the Chinese sentimentality and confusion. „Menghua spends much of the novel in the grip of self-recrimination, self-pity, and melancholia and is often asleep or drunk.” (Isaacson, 2013, p.41) There are many examples of Menghua´s personality in the story: „…Long Menghua was just crying without cease.”1 (Huangjiang, 1989, p.226, translated by author) Long Menghua´s health is quite weak as well: „While Long Menghua was listening to Yu Tailang´s interpretation, he couldn´t help an aching feeling he had on his hearth, he spited out a few mouthfuls of blood, almost vomiting his conscience.”2 (Huangjiang, 1989, p.263, translated by author)

The Japanese man is rational and scientific, and he represents the Japanese technical power, much stronger that China´s because Japan reformed during the Meiji era. Japan modernised about a century earlier than China, which proved once again the suitability of western education for the needs of modern society based on technology and science. Yu Tailang is an active figure, well educated, skilled in using the modern technology and he speaks multiple languages. Even though Yu Tailang has a deep respect for his friend Long Menghua, he acts as his guardian because of frequent bad mental state of the main character or his actual physical sickness.

Furthermore, Yu Tailang is owner of the hot-air balloon. The balloon itself represents an element of science-fiction: „That machine was exquisite; I never saw anything like that before. Besides the balloon, there was a living room for receiving the guests and body building playground. The rest of

1 ...龙孟华只管流泪不止。 2 龙孟华听得玉太郎翻译，那心上不由得一阵酸痛，哇的吐了好几口血，几乎把心肝都呕出来。

44 bedrooms were reaching a big dining room. There was not even one that would not be ready, there was not one room that would not be arranged exquisitely…”3 (Huangjiang, 1989, p.245, translated by author) On one hand, the rising Japanese nationalism was seen as dangerous, but on the other hand, Japan was a place where the Chinese intellectuals were getting the modern education and came into contact with the modern technology.

Moreover, the author´s view of women is also modern. The wives of the both main protagonists are Chinese, they are literate, well-educated, they do not have the bound feet and they are dressed in western clothing. They are in deep contrast with author´s mocking and critique of practice of feet binding. In this story, there is an island where women´s hands are bind up to the shape of the clutch of orchids: „Their arms resembled stalks of threshed grain, and their fingers a clutch of orchids; they were considered to be the great beauties of this country.” (Isaacson, 2013, p.43) „They only had one bad habit: when a daughter was born, it was necessary to bind both of her hands. The arms looked like a stalk of plant and ten fingers looked like an orchid. … No matter if it was eating or dressing up, there was not one thing they would not depend on men.”4 (Huangjiang, 1989, p.313, translated by author) This example is creating an exaggerated example of author´s disagreement with this traditional practice. He creates a nonsense to express his stance.

Through the travels is also criticised the traditional Chinese education and society. One of the islands is described as follows: „When looking at the style of buildings and decoration and pattern of clothes and hats, it all looked like in ancient China. The language used by those few people was old governmental language.”5 (Huangjiang, 1989, p.310, translated by author) The elders did not know how to react to comers:

The old man who was only listening said: ‚According to great truth of «Chunqiu», we must honour the king and resist the invasion from other nations.’ Another old man continued: ‚This is not the case. I heard that at the beginning of Zhou dynasty era, someone from Vietnam came to pay the tribute. It must be that they admire our Heavenly Kingdom´s virtue and morality, so they came to see the royal court.’ Next old man protested: ‚Stop saying this right now! Our country is encircled from four sides. Even flying birds cannot overfly it. These three people are ghosts!’6 (Huangjiang, 1989, p.311, translated by author)

3 那机器的玲珑，真正是从前所没有见过的。除气舱之外，那会客的有客厅，练身体的有体操场，其余 卧室及大餐间，没有一件不齐备，铺设没有一件不精致…。 4 只有一种风俗不好：生出女儿来，一定要缠起他的两只手，缠得两根臂膊像麻秸，是指儿像一对兰花… 无论是吃饭穿衣，没有一件不靠着男子的。 5 看那宫室布置、衣冠格式，都和中国古来一样。那些人民语言，都是中国的官语。 6 只听得一个老翁说道：“照《春秋》的大道理，我们须要尊王攘夷方好。”又一个老翁接道：“不然。我 听说周初时代有个越裳氏来朝。想必他们是仰慕我们天朝的德化，才来朝见的。必须用礼相待方好。”

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The example is a direct critique of traditional Chinese education. The scholars studied the classics for years and consequently were not able to react to modern problems or face effectively the arrival of foreigners because the problems which were solved in the classical texts were not relevant for the beginning of the 20th century anymore.

The second example where author emphasises the insufficiency of traditional Chinese education is during Menghua´s and Yu Tailang´s interactions with foreigners. Menghua only speaks Chinese, so his companion, Japanese Yu Tailang, has to translate from English for him. Another example is when Long Menghua feels embarrassed because he doesn´t know anything about modern technology and so he cannot have an opinion on his own in a discussion with other gentlemen:

‚Mister Long, in which discipline are you specialising?’ Long Menghua was even more terrified. Actually, besides studying the poetry and literature, he merely had any specialised systematic learning. It´s just that ordinary scholars haven´t studied well. His face got red and he answered: ‚I have not studied very professionally, I am a disgrace, your honour.’ Yu Tailang brought himself in and said: ‚Mister Long is great master of literature.’7 (Huangjiang, 1989, p.273, translated by author)

Huangjiang Diaosou sees the Chinese nation as inactive and sorrowful and at the same time limited by the traditional education, which could not compete with western-style education.

Long Menghua experiences several hardships during his travels because he is Chinese. He is able to realise not only the insufficiency of his education, but also how much unnecessary suffering was brought to Chinese people through the traditional habits. He projects his personal experience on the whole nation. In this example, he finally decides to cut off his ponytail, because he realises, there is no point of wearing the long hair. It is a way of expressing his frustration from meaningless norm: „I think, our China bared many hardships because of this hair, … so many people were killed because of this hair, that even the Tai Mountain is not that high; the stream of red blood was wider than the Yellow River. … so, after carefully thinking about it, it will be better if I just cut it right away and change into western clothes.”8 (Huangjiang, 1989, p.272, translated by author)

In the end, Tamataro reveals that not humans will colonise the moon, but the superior civilisation from the moon will come to the Earth and colonise it: „It looks like this small moon has been civilised like a field. Supposing that it had been a few years already, if they would come to Earth and would

又一个老翁驳道：“你这话快休讲起！我们这个国度，四面铁桶似的，便是飞岛也飞不起。这三人一定 是妖怪！” 7 “龙先生是专门的那种学科？”龙孟华愈加惶恐。原来他是除了诗文之外，非独没有专门学问，便是普 通的学问也没好好学过。只得红着脸答道：“在下并未学甚专门，有辱明问。”玉太郎代达道：“龙先生是 文学家。” 8 我想我们中国吃尽了头发的苦，…为了这个头发，杀死的人，泰山也没他的高；流的鲜血，黄河也没他 的阔。…所以仔细一想，不如经行割去，改了西装的好。

46 establish a colony, I´m afraid that red, yellow, black, white and brown, the five big species would suffer the same kind of big catastrophe.”9 (Huangjiang, 1989, p.415, translated by author) The Japanese man is the one who is able to see the insufficiency not only of the Chinese society, but also of the Japan and the societies on Earth in general.

Finally, as Nathaniel Isaacson in his article Science Fiction for the Nation: Tales of the Moon Colony and the Birth of Modern Chinese Fiction highlights from this scene: „The people on the moon are more “civilized” than the people of earth, and the inevitable outcome of this higher level of civilization is the establishment of a colony of moon-men on the earth.” (Isaacson, 2013, p.46) This idea is probably influenced by the social Darwinism. This theory was very popular after it reached the Chinese public. (Isaacson, 2013, pp.33-54) As we can see, the author was very well educated, and he created the fictional world where he criticised the problems of the traditional Chinese society. His suggestion that if China will not become a civilised country, she will be ruled by those who are more civilized, is a proof. In his work, he spread the awareness of the current situation and hoped to awaken Chinese nation.

3.1.2 Liu E – The Travels of Lao Can (老残游记) (1905)

Liu E wrote the novel The Travels of Lao Can as an expression of his melancholy because he „could not fail to realise that their traditional society with all that they valued was passing away, and the future offered no hope.” (Yang, 1983, p.7) The novel has autobiographical elements, for example the profession of the main character was the same as Liu E´s as well as „his interest in the Yellow River and his attitude towards officialdom in general.” (Yang, 1983, p.7)

The most important parts for analysis are the treatment of a man called Huang Ruihe and the dream of the main character about a ship. Firstly, the name Huang Ruihe is an allegory to Yellow River. In the novel, Huang Ruihe is a man, who gets sick every year and cannot be cured, until the main character Lao Can comes and cures him with his unusual knowledge and practices. Huang, which in Chinese means yellow represents the Yellow River. During the life of Liu E, the Yellow River was regularly overflooding, which was a serious problem for China and its inhabitants. And similarly, as the doctors could not treat Mr. Huang, the Chinese scholars could not solve effectively the overflooding and to control the river. (Yang, 1983, pp.7-8)

This scene is expression of author´s opinion on traditional Chinese scholarship. Liu E himself received not only traditional education, but also the modern western education in science and languages. Like author, the main character Lao Can has the practical modern knowledge, which allows him to solve

9 单照这小小月球看起，已文明到这般田地，倘若过了几年，到我们地球上开起殖民的地方，只怕这红 黄黑白棕的五大种，另要遭一番的大劫了。

47 the problems. This part of novel can be read as author´s critique of inefficiency of traditional Chinese education when confronted with contemporary problems.

Secondly, the main character dreamt about a ship in danger with Chinese people on it:

The boat in danger of being wracked is China, the four men at the helm being the four ministers of war, the six old masts standing for the six old departments of war and two new masts for the two newly created departments. The length of the boat was two hundred and forty feet, symbolising the twenty-four provinces of China… … China in the past had relied upon existence and precedent in guiding the ship of state, but such methods would not serve in time of crisis, and the gift of a compass to the pilot symbolises the scientific spirit of the West which would enable statesmen to set a definite course and take effective steps to follow it. (Yang, 1983, p.8)

Author´s pessimism about China´s future is expressed in a way how people on endangered boat reacted to offered compass. They not only did not accept the help, they attacked those who came to help as well. „Captain! Captain! You really must not be deceived by these men. They are using a foreign compass, so they must be traitors sent here by foreign devils; that is how they possessed this compass.” (Liu, 1983, p.22) This is reaction of one of the sailors, which was quickly accepted by every person on the boat. Contrary to Lao Can, they were not able to see the foreign instrument as help, but quickly condemned it as evil and killed those who did not agree. Liu E presents the masses of Chinese people as those who would finish the destruction of their country because of superstition, backward traditionalism, and naiveté.

Finally, Liu E´s description of Chinese people is highlighting the need for a change not only in ineffective government, but also the need for a new system of education. He shows the limitations of officials caused by the limitations of their education and the whole novel is a satire of Chinese society from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The incompetent government cannot lead China towards a better future and consequently cannot save the people. The government did not listen to advises given by far-sighted Chinese intellectuals and as Liu E himself defined his novel: „the book was wrung from him as a cry of anguish.” (Yang, 1983, p.7) As we can see, Liu E did not see a lot of hope for future China in his critique.

3.1.3 Yu Dafu – Sinking (沉沦) (1921)

Yu Dafu´s first work is from 1921 and it is called Sinking (chenlun 沉沦). It is a collection containing three works. The analysis of Yu Dafu´s work will concentrate mostly on his main character who is always a young man. This biographical trait is Yu Dafu´s specific because the personal feelings and thoughts are a major part of the short stories and they influence the actions of the main character.

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The short story chosen for the analysis is called Sinking. The main hero is young Chinese man studying in Japan. He is despised by Japanese because of his nationality, he does not feel satisfied by his studies, he is avoiding the company of men, but at the same time he is longing for it and he has a desire to find a true romantic love: „All I ask for is the heterosexual romantic love!”10 (Yu, 2011, p.20, translated by author) But his wish to find a girl with who he would fall in love with is unfulfilled. Besides the romantic love, he is fighting his desire for physical love as well: „Women and eroticism play a considerable role in his life; nevertheless, he remains non-adapted and sex in him is in opposition to the purity and the beauty of the spiritual.” (Doležalová, 1971, p.12)

However, his traditional education was always telling him that this desire is wrong, which results in further desperation of this young man and self-hate. In the end of the story, he visits brothel, but he is so deeply disgusted by his action that he calls himself „bastard”, „brigand” or „abject man”.11 (Yu, 2011, p.35, translated by author) These antagonistic desires create the conflict in the inner world of the main character, and he is unable to find his inner peace. He feels disgusted by himself because of his sexual desires and his own guilt makes him feel like everybody feels the same about him. The contradiction in his desires leads him into deeper depression and isolation.

Consequently, another significant characteristic of the main character is sensibility, feelings of alienation and loneliness and depression. In Sinking, there are multiple examples of description of these traits: „He was shedding the tears when he stood up and went away…”12 (Yu, 2011, p.7, translated by author); „After finishing the reading, suddenly all my hope perished, at that time I didn´t have any expectation or dream. How to make it?”13 (Yu, 2011, pp.16-17, translated by author); „…he laughed at himself and scold himself: ’You coward fellow, you are too coward!’”14 (Yu, 2011, p.19, translated by author); „Sentimental, too sentimental!” (Yu, 2011, p.23) On one hand, he is weak in personality and inactive. He does not have any capacity to resolve his own contradictory feelings. On the other hand, he is ashamed that China is so weak and undeveloped when compared with Japan. Importantly, because of his inability to face and resolve personal problems, he blames his motherland, China. His personality is a kind of an image of the Chinese nation which was unable to act and change. „China, oh, China! Why aren´t you prosperous and strong? I can´t forbear it anymore.”15 (Yu, 2011, p.20, translated by author)

His inability to find inner peace results by the main character´s suicide. He cannot bear his situation anymore neither his loneliness, separation nor his internal crisis. He is thinking about his homeland and blames it for his personal crisis till his last moment. His last wish is that China becomes

10 我所要求的就是异性的爱情！ 11 畜生、狗贼、卑怯的人 12 一边流泪，一边他就站起来走… 13 一下子就念完了之后，我的热望也就不得不消灭，那时候我就没有好望，没有梦想了，怎么使得呢？ 14 …他便自嘲自骂地说：“You coward fellow, you are too coward!” 15 中国呀中国！你怎么不富强起来。我不能再隐忍过去了。

49 strong, rich, and powerful. „Motherland, oh, motherland! I´m dying because you harmed me! Get rich fast, get stronger! You still have many children who suffer there!”16 (Yu, 2011, p.38, translated by author) Yu Dafu is giving us an honest image of China which he personally witnessed. He is worried that it is impossible for China to be strong and prosperous again.

At the same time, Yu Dafu wishes China could change in the future in order to save the Chinese. He clearly condemns the traditional Chinese education and society because he sees it as harmful for people. The modernisation would bring the freedom to people in terms of morals and also the possibility for people to stay in their home country, to get the education there and possibility to happy life. Yu Dafu is calling for a rejuvenation of China, a country he could be proud of.

3.1.4 Lu Xun – Call to Arms (呐喊) (1922)

Lu Xun´s work is delivering a clear message when describing Chinese society from the beginning of 20th century. The collection of short stories Call to Arms is one of the most explicit examples of elaboration of self-loathing. In a short story called The Diary of Madman, Lu Xun is comparing the traditional practices of the society to cannibalism, and the only person who is able to see it is considered to be a fool. Besides this symbolism, this is the first story where is used the new language baihua. (Davies, 2013, p.3) The parts representing the text of diary of madman are written in baihua and his language is simple and informal. The narrator´s part is in wenyan. His language is full of polite formulations and he describes the mental condition of man who wrote a diary as paranoid ideas.

As title suggests, a sick man is writing a diary during his sickness and he names it Diary of madman himself, after the improvement of his condition. Each time he is writing his diary, his words are more intense. At the beginning, he feels like everybody is watching him with a strange look in their eyes and he is trying to understand why. He heard one woman screams at her son: „Little devil! I'd like to bite several mouthfuls out of you to work off my feelings!” (Lu, 1960) This brings him back to his school days, when he was learning how to write the essays in a proper way. In order to do so, he studied Chinese history, but: „I tried to look this up, but my history has no chronology, and scrawled all over each page are the words: ‛Virtue and Morality.’ Since I could not sleep anyway, I read intently half the night, until I began to see words between the lines, the whole book being filled with the two words— ‛Eat people.’” (Lu, 1960) The idea of cannibalism refers to the traditional Chinese society. It was not only restricting people by rules, but also destroying them by the inability to modernise and change the thinking.

The cannibalism of madman´s brother is described as follows: „In the past I simply listened to his explanations, and let it go at that; now I know that when he explained it to me, not only was there

16 “祖国呀祖国！我的死是你害我的！你快富起来，强起来吧！你还有许多儿女在那里受苦呢！”

50 human fat at the corner of his lips, but his whole heart was set on eating men.” (Lu, 1960) This text refers to the traditional morals. The intellectuals studied them for years and the ideal of Confucian man was a virtuous gentleman. However, their character was often not so pure and dedicated to serve to emperor as it was expected to be. The corruption and the personal relations shaped the execution of state power or justice.

This critique applies to people in general: „Wanting to eat men, at the same time afraid of being eaten themselves, they all look at each other with the deepest suspicion....” (Lu, 1960) According to Lu Xun, people wish to obtain a certain position and when they do, their behaviour adapts and for majority of officials it means that they will be corrupt and not virtuous Confucian gentlemen. This attitude and corruption are slowly destroying China and Lu Xun is aware of this fact. (Hsia, 1999, pp.542-543) The following part: „How comfortable life would be for them if they could rid themselves of such obsessions and go to work, walk, eat and sleep at ease.” (Lu, 1960) means that if Chinese people would be able to abandon the old practice and the traditional education, their lives would improve, they would have new possibilities and their life would be happier.

The idea of being restricted by traditions and habits and the need for liberation is as well elaborated in Gloria Davies´ book Worrying about China: the Language of Chinese Critical Inquiry where she highlights Lu Xun´s opinion about importance of personal responsibility of scholars to know and spread to truth among people: „…one must know the truth in order to awaken others to it, and thereby to shape the future in accordance with this truth.” (Davies, 2007, p.52)

The cannibalism refers also to the inability to change people´s thinking and they pass the old thinking together with the traditional education to their children. The author of diary knows that for long time, his thinking was the same, he studied the classics in order to pass the state exams. He knows he is influenced by the old thinking as well and he considers it as a negative element in his thinking: „I have only just realized that I have been living all these years in a place where for four thousand years they have been eating human flesh.” (Lu, 1960) Lu Xun states that at least children should be saved if they did not eat human meat yet. Children have hope, but not the older generations. He is saying that children should receive the modern education and free themselves from their parent´s will. (Hsia, 1999, p.543)

Consequently, if Chinese will not change, they will be replaced by the real men: „If you will not improve yourselves, you will eat each other! And if you increase in number too much, you will be exterminated by the real men. In the same way the hunters killed off the wolves in the past. You will die like insect!” (Lu, 1951, pp.48-49) In the end, the sick man cures his sickness and become as the others. He complies to the practice of cannibalism, therefore to traditional morals and practices. This ending is expressing Lu Xun´s fear that Chinese society is unable to modernise.

The traditional society and education are criticised in the second short story called Kong Yiji as well. The poor scholar with nickname Kong Yiji, is mocked by the uneducated people: „ Whenever he

51 came into the shop, everyone would look at him and chuckle.” (Lu, 1960) His traditional education is not enough to have a regular salary or respect. The poverty was the main factor deciding how others will treat him. The character of this scholar is not as virtuous as it should be according to the traditional norms. He was lazy and dishonest: „From gossip I heard, Kung I-chi had studied the classics but had never passed the official examination. With no way of making a living, he grew poorer and poorer, until he was practically reduced to beggary. … Unfortunately, he had failings: he liked drinking and was lazy.” (Lu, 1960) Kong Yiji did not meet any happy ending, he ends up being forgotten and nobody knows where and when he died. „ Nor have I ever seen him since—probably Kung I-chi is really dead.” (Lu, 1960)

The meaning of this story is that firstly, the traditional education not necessarily led to success or a good character because Kong Yiji ended up like a thief. And secondly that the respect toward the customers was not based on their social status or knowledge but on their wealth. Lu Xun is giving us an example of a failed intellectual who refuses to work manually and who has his mouth full of erudite words. This short story expresses Lu Xun´s averse towards the traditional Chinese education and the state examination system and he is also highlighting the cruelty of Chinese society.

In following short stories, Lu Xun criticises the practices of Chinese traditional medicine and superstitions. A boy is dying of tuberculosis and his parents believe he will be cured by a roll dipped in a human blood. „‚This is a guaranteed cure! Not like other things!’ declared the heavy-jowled man. ‚Just think, brought back warm, and eaten warm!’” (Lu, 1960) However, boy dies shortly after. The superstition made parents to search for the roll because they believed that the advice is correct. They believed that the blood of revolutionary which was used had a special healing power.

The second example is an example of widow, who is alone, poor, and uneducated. When her son gets sick, she does not know what should be really done. „I've made a vow to the gods; he's taken the guaranteed cure. If he still doesn't get better, what can I do?” (Lu, 1960) She visits doctor only after praying, but she does not understand what he is saying, and she is too ashamed to ask. The doctor gives her prescription for pills for the boy, but the child dies. Lu Xun himself studied the western medicine, so he had a deep aversion towards the superstitious practices of Chinese traditional medicine.

Another element elaborated in Lu Xun´s short stories is the lack of humanity and compassion among the traditional Chinese scholars as well. In the short story An Incident, it is a rickshaw puller who feels the need to help injured woman, not the Confucian intellectual. He realises it and feels ashamed. But the fact that he was able to realise it gives him hope for a change. „It often causes me distress and makes me try to think about myself. … Yet this incident keeps coming back to me, often more vivid than in actual life, teaching me shame, urging me to reform, and giving me fresh courage and hope.” (Lu, 1960)

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Even though the intellectual in previous short story had hope for a change because he realised his lack of humanity, the citation from the short story The Story of Hair: „Ah, until the whip of nature falls on the naked back of China, China will always stay China forever, she will not change a thing about herself by her own will.”17 (Lu, 1951, p.86, translated by author), represents Lu Xun´s fear that China is not able to change. The habitants of the village represent all the Chinese people who are passively waiting for a change or a punishment. In Lu Xun´s era, the question of appropriate political engagement was discussed, but the passivity of Chinese people was the biggest problem according to Lu Xun. No real change could happen in China, no modernisation with the Chinese people just waiting and not actively doing anything. Lu Xun repeatedly urges the Chinese nation to awake in order to be able to change. (Davies, 2007, p.50)

The position of women in traditional Chinese society was low. They had to obey their families and later their husbands and husband´s family. Also, in case of death of husband, it has not been socially acceptable for women to remarry. The marriage was always arranged by parents. A woman from short story The New Year´s Sacrifice is a widow at the beginning of story. Nobody asks her what her real name is, everybody calls her Xiang Lin´s wife. After death of her husband, she wants to work, but her in-laws kidnaped her in order to take her back home. „But when Hsiang Lin's Wife came to wash rice, two men looking like country people jumped off the boat just as she was kneeling down and seizing hold of her carried her on board. After several shouts and cries, Hsiang Lin's Wife became silent: they had probably stopped her mouth.” (Lu, 1960)

She was forced to remarry because the family needed money, but she was trying to fight their decision:

"It wasn't a question of being willing or not. Of course, anyone would have protested. They just tied her up with a rope, stuffed her into the bridal chair, carried her to the man's house, put on the bridal headdress, performed the ceremony in the hall and locked them in their room; and that was that. But Hsiang Lin's Wife is quite a character. I heard she really put up a great struggle…They said she shouted and cursed all the way, so that by the time they had carried her to Ho Village she was completely hoarse. When they dragged her out of the chair, although the two chair bearers and her young brother-in- law used all their strength, they couldn't force her to go through the ceremony. The moment they were careless enough to loosen their grip—gracious Buddha! — she threw herself against a corner of the table and knocked a big hole in her head.” (Lu, 1960)

17 Ach, dokud bič přírody nedopadne na holá záda Číny, Čína zůstane věčně Čínou, nezmění na sobě vlastní vůlí ani vlásek. 53

She survived the injury; however, it affected her mental condition. Eventually, her second husband died as well, and everybody was treating this woman badly and with rejection. In this short story Lu Xun describes how cruel was the traditional society towards women. Their rights were very limited, and nobody asked about their opinion or desire. They were often forced to do certain things and at the same time rejected because they did it.

The examples cited above manifest Lu Xun´s complex criticism of Chinese society. He calls for a change in education system, healthcare, social engagement, and the liberation from the traditional family relations. Lu Xun hopes that his writings will help to awaken and cure Chinese nation. In one of his essays, he calls Chinese society a dry desert. The society is arid, does not bring any peace to people, only chaos, coldness, and absurd illusion. (Lu, 1951, p.275) His expression of self-loathing is direct and easy to identify in all the aspects of Chinese society.

3.1.5 Lao She – Cat Country (猫城记) (1932)

Lao She is one of the most important intellectuals and writers of 20th century. His particularity was the usage of Beijing dialect. His work is reflecting the problems of Chinese society. The work chosen for analysis is called Cat Country. It is a science fiction novel and a satire of China. The critique of Chinese society is clear and easy to identify for the readers and Lao She´s criticism aims also to Kuomintang government. On following examples will be demonstrated Lao She´s view on a state of Chinese society. Lao She´s style in Cat Country is showing to the reader how a decadent society destroys an individual. The story of Cat Country is set on planet Mars. The ideas about the life in there were popular during that time and several authors are using Mars as a place for their story. (Raphals, 2013, pp.73-74, 77, 79)

In our story, the astronauts land on this planet and only one survives. While he is trying to bury his companions, he is captured by the humanoid population of the planet. They have furred, narrow- wasted bodies and cat heads. As he must stay on Mars and live with cat people, he needs to learn their language. „I learned cat language in three months. It is possible to learn Malay language in six months, but the cat language is so much easier.”18 (Lao, 2012, p.30, translated by author) With the knowledge of about five hundred characters, one is able to speak and the narrator himself mentions an interesting trait of cat people, if they don´t have a vocabulary or any other way to talk about a certain topics or issues, they don´t talk about it at all. Even though the language is limited, the cat people have a long and rich history: „Cat people have history, more than 20000 years long civilisation.” 19 (Lao, 2012, p.30, translated by author) But the civilisation entered era of decline about 500 years ago. The allusion to

18 三四个月的工夫，我学会了猫话。马来话是可以在半年内学会的，猫语还要简单的多。 19 猫人有历史，两万多年的文明。

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China is easy to identify. The duration and decline of Cat people civilisation are referring to Chinese civilisation.

Little by little, the captured astronaut learns about the Cat city and different aspects of the society are described from his viewpoint. Cat people started to grow the revery trees which were brought by foreigners and developed the leaves addiction, which initiated their decline. „Initially, only people from upper class ate the leaves, later the revery trees spread and everybody developed the addiction.”20 (Lao, 2012, p.31, translated by author) The leaves addiction refers to opium addiction in China. Opium was brought to China by foreigners and similarly to leaves from the book, the addiction spread among the whole Chinese population. The addiction caused the deterioration of society, decomposition of societal structures and morals.

Lisa Raphals mentions this similarity in her article Alterity and Alien Contact in Lao She´s Martian Dystopia, Cat Country as well: „The cat people are also superstitious. The staple of their society is the revery tree, introduced five hundred years previously by foreigners and cultivated for its opiate leaves to which the entire society is addicted (the allusion here is to the British introduction of opium into China and to the social consequences of widespread opium addiction in the nineteenth century). The result is a complete degeneration of the society and an “Age of Plunder.” (Raphals, 2013, p.74)

Cat country´s government forbid the eating of leaves in order to stop the spreading of addiction. However, the interdiction was ineffective, and the leaves became the national food by emperor´s order because the emperor himself became leaves addicted. This order resulted in a decreasing development speed and later paralysation of society and the growth of revery trees became profitable. The revery trees are owned by landlord Scorpion who is hiring the foreigners to protect the trees. The astronaut has to do it as well and Scorpion is trying to get him addicted to the leaves. The social class of landlords is completely corrupt, the oaths does not mean anything anymore and people are mistreated.

Over time, foreigners gained a significant amount of power but also immunity from prosecution, the laws of Cat people did not apply to them. „You kill somebody, nobody cares about it, the laws of Cat Country don´t apply to foreigners, it won´t cost them not even one leaf, I myself hate that I am not a foreigner.”21 (Lao, 2012, p.49, translated by author) This part refers to exterritoriality law which China was forced to accept after the Opium wars. The Chinese laws did not apply to them on the territory they took from China. Lao She is clearly not satisfied with the current situation and the description of the whole situations proves his negative feelings towards the special treatment of foreigners and more importantly towards the fact that they did what they wanted, and China did not had power to fight against it.

The education system of Cat Country is not effective. The traditional system was abandoned and replaced by a foreign one, but with no moral integrity of teachers and devaluation of diplomas,

20 最初只有上等人吃得起，后来他们把迷 树也搬运了来，于是大家全吃入了瘾。 21 你打死人，没人管，猫国的法律管不着外国人，连‘一’个迷叶也不用费；我自恨不是个外国人。

55 which were given to students the first day of school, there is no real education: „On this graduation, everybody is the first, how glorious! I place the certificates here; everybody is free to take it. Because everybody is first, there is no reason to have an order of succession.”22 (Lao, 2012, p.118, translated by author) The absurdity of this situation is a satire of Chinese traditional education. On one hand, the scholars were studying the old books and problems unsuitable for modern age and consequently they were not able to face and solve the modern challenges. In Lao She´s time, China strived with the problem of modernisation of education. On the other hand, the individuals who studied abroad are more educated, but incomprehensible for the rest of the population. (Raphals, 2013, p.75)

Lao She wrote this work after he returned to China form England. He lived in England for a few years and he could not feel anything else but the disgust when he saw the state of China. The Cat Country is mirroring the problems of China, which did not end with ineffective education. (Raphals, 2013, pp.75- 76)

The oldest generation of cat people hated foreigners and wanted them to leave: „The old cat shouted: ’We don´t want foreigners! Don´t want foreigners! Don´t want! Don´t want!’ This, for sure, was Big Scorpion´s dad.”23 (Lao, 2012, p.85, translated by author) The middle aged population blamed them for all the problems and the youngest one did not really minded their presence, but at the same time the young people were very sceptical and apathic towards the future of their planet. They did not feel any need to fight. „Your own head is more worthy of concern than others.”24 (Lao, 2012, p.88, translated by author) The apathy of people prevented the change in Cat Country and in China as well.

Besides, Lao She is criticising the traditional relations. When the astronaut is discussing the issue of marriage and family life with Big Scorpion´s son, he described the traditional practice of marriage in a similar way traditional Chinese wedding was happening. Small Scorpion was engaged at the age of six, bride was chosen by his father and he had to get married at the age of twelve. The cat people emphasised the importance of early marriage and having children as soon as possible as a way to honour the ancestors. To have concubines was a common practice as well.

However, the young generation is opposing the traditional practice, they want to find a partner by their own. They no longer think that the traditional way is natural and the only one. At the same time, the young generation is not free. „ To marry a wife, to marry a concubine or to live in a free union, in every case you have to raise children: who is in charge of raising children? There is no way for old people, for us there is also no way, nobody can do anything about it.”25 (Lao, 2012, pp.113-114, translated by author)

22 “此次毕业，大家都是第一，何等的光荣！现在证书放在这里，诸位随便来拿，因为大家都是第一，自 然不必分前后的次序。散会。” 23 老猫喊起来：“我们不要外国人！不要外国人！不要，不要！”这一定是大蝎的爸爸。 24 自己的脑袋到底比别人的更值得关切一些！ 25 娶妻，娶妾，自由联合，都要生小孩；生了小孩谁管养活着？老人没方法，我们没方法，大家没方法。

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Even though the younger generation is refusing the traditional practice regarding the marriage, for example, they feel no hope for the future and often are leaves addicts as well. (Raphals, 2013, pp.73-75)

The traditional system of beliefs still shapes thinking of a certain part of population. For a part of cat people, the traditional morals were more important than humanism or their own desires. The societal role was their everything. The explicit example is the behaviour of Ambassador’s wife:

‛This one’, she pinched the skin on the face of one of the dead girls, ‛this dead fox – when she was only ten years old, she was gotten by the Ambassador. Ten years old! Her flesh and bones had not yet got their full growth, and she was used by the Ambassador! The first month she didn´t want it to get dark. As soon as darkness came, she – this little dead fox – he would cry out – call for father and mother – clutch my hand and wouldn´t let it go. She called me Mother – called my Ancestor – wouldn´t let me leave her. But I´m a virtuous wife. I couldn´t compete with a ten-year-old slave girl for the Ambassador´s favours. If the Ambassador wanted his pleasure, I couldn´t interfere. I was his wife and I had to maintain my wifely dignity.’26 (Lao, 2012, p.101, translated by author)

The Ambassador´s wife is using the terms of virtuous wife and wifely dignity multiple times. Her biggest concern was how the society perceives her and her actions. The virtue in this case is a cruelty against a girl. Lao She´s criticism is brutal. He condemns the Confucian morals because they make people inhumane. (Hsia, 1999, p.546-548)

The readers of Cat Country were supposed to easily recognise the common traits between China and Cat city and also not to like the Cat people. Chinese as well as Cat people saw themselves as the centre of the world and were praising their traditional culture, but the China at the beginning of the 20th century was not able to react to change. (Raphals, 2013, p.82) The same scenario applies for the Cat Country, but with a different end, the Cat population was slaughtered by the foreign invaders. The last two Cat persons were locked into one cage and they had to fight to death:

… there were already two cat people left, probably the last two living people in the cat country. The enemy was there as well, both of them were already in a fierce fight. The dwarf soldiers did not kill them, they put them in a big wooden cage, they continued

26 “这个，”她揪住一个死妇人的头皮：“这个死妖精。十岁就被公使请来了。刚十岁呀，筋骨还没长全， 就被公使给收用了。一个月里，不要天黑，一到黑天呀，她，这个小死妖精，她便嚎啊，嚎啊，爹妈乱 叫，拉住我的手不放，管我叫妈，叫祖宗，不许我离开她。但是，我是贤德的妇人，我不能与个十岁的 丫头争公使呀；公使要取乐，我不能管，我是太太，我得有太太的气度。

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the fight inside the cage, until they bit each other to death; thus, the cat people completed their extinction themselves.27 (Lao, 2012, p.214, translated by author)

This is a symbolism for the fact that the Cat civilisation completed the destruction by itself in the end. And again, we see the author´s fear that Chinese people would destroy themselves because of their inability to change.

3.1.6 Ba Jin – Family (家)(1933)

This novel written by Ba Jin was published in 1933. The novel received large attention from Chinese public, especially from younger generation, because they could identify with the indictment of traditional family and society system. „The author himself claimed that in Family he “wanted to write ... the history of a typical feudal family,” and the “inner struggles and tragedies inside those families— how lovable youths suffer there, how they struggle and finally do not escape destruction”. As Ba Jin portrays it, the traditional Chinese “family” is, ironically, a hotbed of cruelty, corruption, greed, hypocrisy, misogyny, infighting, and other generally negative attributes.” (Kaldis, 2003, p.413)

The story describes life of traditional Chinese family at the beginning of the 20th century and the challenges of modernisation. The younger generation received the modern western education and their opinions are much more individualist, when compared with master of family, who thinks only about family as whole. Three brothers from Gao family are in the centre of novel. They represent different models for characters of young Chinese intellectuals from the beginning of the century.

The Gao brothers are called Juexin (juexin 觉新), Juemin (juemin 觉民) and Juehui (juehui 觉

慧). The names are suggesting their personality types and behaviour in the story. „…jue means "realization," xin "new," min "the people," hui "wisdom. Juexin realizes new ideas but he is a tragic compromiser and victim of his own cowardice.” (Li, 1995, p.116) He never stands against the decisions of grandfather who rules the Gao family. He repeatedly claims he makes a voluntary sacrifice for the sake of family: „You don´t know how much I suffer. I´m not young. I don´t have any youth. I´m not happy and I never can be happy… …I don´t revolt because I am not willing to revolt, I, myself, am ready to make a sacrifice. I was like you, I had a beautiful dream, but everything was smashed by others.”28 (Ba, 2002, p.90, translated by author)

27 已经剩了两个猫人，大概就是猫国最后的两个活人。敌人到了，他们两个打得正不可开交。矮兵们没 有杀他们俩，把他们放在一个大木笼里，他们就在笼里继续作战，直到两个人相互的咬死：这样，猫人 们自己完成了他们的灭绝。 28 你不晓得我心里很难受。我不是青年，我没有侵害春。我没有幸福，而且也永远不会有幸福…我不反 抗，因为我不愿意反抗，我自己愿意做一个牺牲者……我跟你们一样也做过美妙的梦，可是都被人打破 了。

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Contrary, Juemin and Juehui fight against grandfather´s decisions, such as arranged marriage or university studies. Juemin refused an arranged marriage and Juehui run away from home to Shanghai to study at university. The difference between brothers is that even though all of them realise the decline of traditional family, only two of them fight for their personal freedom and satisfaction.

Juehui is described as the biggest rebel of Gao family, he sees his family as hopeless and as an enemy. He diligently writes articles for student newspaper and participates in student movements promoting the new culture and language in China. „When Juehui is forbidden by his grandfather to participate in student movements, he feels weary and sad, but he dreams of the pleasure of smashing the old system in the spirit of what some mainland Chinese criticism would term "revolutionary romanticism."” (Li, 1995, p.119)

Juehui represents the model version of rebelling Chinese youth, according to author. Moreover, Juehui „is somewhat an alter ego for the author. … …Juehui and Ba Jin are almost stereotypical examples of the young (mostly male) Chinese intellectuals who came of age in the early years of the twentieth century. They saw Chinese society and culture as decrepit, poisoned by the “feudal” ways of its past, and they viewed themselves as ultimately responsible for bringing about its change and reform.” (Kaldis, 2003, p.414) To bring a change is Juehui´s dream: „From his childhood, he yearned for only one thing: he wanted to be a completely different person from his ancestors.”29 (Ba, 2002, p.87, translated by author)

On the other hand, „… Juehui is also held up as a negative example of those who privilege purely academic approaches to changing society over immediate, practical responses to events. Although Juehui is the “courageous rebel” of the story, his devotion to changing China through intellectual means, at the expense of concrete action, is shown to be a tragic flaw.” (Kaldis, 2003, p.415) Juehui as dedicated intellectual failed to hear a cry for help from Mingfeng, a servant girl whom he secretly loves. Hopeless Mingfeng chose suicide over being forced to be married as a concubine to a lecherous old man. In this case, the obsession with academic ideas about modernisation of China prevented Juehui to understand a real crisis. Even later, when he „mourns her, we feel that he is mourning the destructiveness of the ‘system,’ not the death of the woman who has devoted her life to him.” (Kaldis, 2003, p.416)

The case of Mingfeng highlights the difficult position of women. Ba Jin´s description of females and their destinies shows us that women had almost no power to fight against the traditional system. Ba Jin describes women mostly as victims of this system. Not only servant girl did not have any say concerning her own future, another victim of traditional family is Juexin´s wife. She is sent away from

29 他还是一个小孩的时候，他就有一种渴望：他想做一个跟他的长辈完全不同的人。

59 the family and from the city shortly before giving birth to a countryside because of superstitious grandmother. She dies in solitude during accouchement. (Kaldis, 2003, p.416; Li, 1995, p.119)

The last example of woman character is Qin. She is a main female character of novel, who received a modern education and who has progressive opinions about future position of women in society. Even though her family is more openminded, she could not make decisions without a help of male characters. (Kaldis, 2003, p.416; Li, 1995, p.119)

Through Qin, Ba Jin models a modern Chinese woman. She learned to write in baihua: „In order to learn to write letters in baihua, she carefully studied the correspondence column in magazine New Youth.”30 (Ba, 2002, p.29, translated by author); she introduced her mother to new ideas and practices, such as males and females studying together, females studying at university or a new practice of women cutting their hair short:

‚What are you saying, male college is accepting female students! And you want to sign up?’ surprised Madame Zhang asked and wondered if she heard wrong. … ‚Who knew the world would change so much! It is not enough to have female schools anymore; they make males and females to study together!’ sighed Madame Zhang. ‚When we were girls, we would never think there would be such a thing!’ 31 (Ba, 2002, pp.26-27, translated by author)

However, Qin respects deeply her family, she is a devoted daughter to her widowed mother, which prevents her from arguing with her mother, even though she expresses her opinions clearly. For example, about arranged marriage: „‚Are you saying women are only men´s plaything? … I am not going that way. I want to be a person, the same kind of person as men are. … I want to take a new path.’”32 (Ba, 2002, p.216, translated by author)

Qin fights for her desire to be equal to men: „‚It won´t make any difference if my mother agrees or not, in this matter. I should decide for myself in this issue, because I am the same as you are, I am a human too.’ … ‚You are right’, said approvingly Juemin who was aside, ‚You truly are a modern woman!’”33 (Ba, 2002, p.43, translated by author)

Finally, as states Nicholas A. Kaldis in his article Ba Jin´s Family: Fiction, Representation and Relevance: „…Ba Jin’s favored technique in Family is the didactic description of individual characters’ responses to decisive events, through which he hopes to inspire his readers to act and think.” (Kaldis,

30 她为了学写白话信，曾经把《新青年》杂志的通信栏仔细研究过一番。 31 “你说什么，男学堂收女学生！你还要去投考？”张太太吃了一惊，疑心她自己听错了话，便惊讶地问 道。…“世界不晓得要变成什么样子！有了女学堂还不够，又在闹男女同学！”张太太感叹地说。“我们从 前做姑娘的时候，万万想不到会有这些名堂！” 32 “难道女人只是男人的玩物吗？…我不走那条路。我要做一个人，一个跟男人一样的人。…我要走新的 路。” 33 “说的不错，”觉民在旁边称赞道，“你真是一个信女性！”

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2003, p.415) The novel Family expresses Ba Jin´s refusal of traditional practices and his wish of liberation of Chinese youth. The liberation and individualism are „the first step toward the denunciation of the larger national malaise. A further concern of the new intellectuals … was how to come to terms with an aggressive alien culture which was backed up by military power, modern science and technology.” (Li, 1995, p.114)

Ba Jin did not create perfect heroes. His characters are often torn between tradition, which make them suffer and modernisation, which alienates them from their families. This experience with modernisation of Chinese society is similar to author´s own experience. Ba Jin chose the modern way of living and he sent his young characters the same way.

3.1.7 Shen Congwen – Shen Congwen´s Short-story Collection (沈从文全集) (1928-1935) Seven Savages and the Last Welcome of Spring (1929); Meijin, Baozi and the White Kid (1929); The New and the Old (1935)

Shen Congwen is openly opposing the modernisation in all his short stories. He sees it as an element destroying the pure nature of people: „It didn´t take a long time and also to the Northern Gulley came people who ate without working, moneyed men who lived from the lies and cheats and great personas who by assassination achieved the fame and wealth. Other innovations were the human trafficking and the rapid growth of opium dens supported by the officials.” (Shen, 2013, p.17, translated by author) As we can see, this text describes the modernisation and the establishment of bureau in negative way, as the author states: „They did understand the magnificence of a state, but they did not need to look down on other people, to investigate anyone, to imprison or to beat them as a punishment. That is why they did not need an official who would rule them, they had all their life in their hands.” (Shen, 2013, p.16, translated by author)

He is repeatedly defending and glorifying the traditional life of local people. The official governance of the territory cannot help to really improve people´s lives:

How could the bureau and the soldiers settling here do us good? … If a tiger comes or the grasshoppers invade us, the bureau will not carry it off. … the bureau will not be able to save us. Up to now, there are no people who would not admit their debt in between us. … Where the bureau is, there people learn right away to live by cheating others. (Shen, 2013, p.11, translated by author)

The morals of local people are higher that the morals of Han Chinese, according to the author.

Shen Congwen is deeply influenced by his childhood lived among the minorities and their lifestyle. In the short story Seven Savages and the Last Welcome of Spring he describes the establishment of a bureau in the area of a small village. However, in his eyes, it will not bring anything good to local

61 people: „The progress was that they had to pay the benefits and they had to follow the regulations that were hard to remember. If there were fight between landlords who ruled different areas and provinces, men at peak of their force who able to work were forced to join the army. These were the advantages for the villagers brought by the establishment of bureau.” (Shen, 2013, p.8, translated by author)

He distinguishes between Han Chinese and non-Han Chinese. For Shen Congwen, the Han Chinese are dishonest and wherever they come with modernisation, they transfer their dishonesty and habits, so the local people lose their own culture: „The places governed by the officials start to prosper little by little. The morals and practices of local people conform to practices of Han Chinese, the ingenuousness and generosity of non-Chinese nationalities disappears.” (Shen, 2013, p.7, translated by author)

The seven young man in this short story represent the purest form of traditional life:

Men usually gifted women wildflowers, fruits from mountains or fur of mountain braver. … Their mouths, unlike the mouths of Chinese, did not spread the lies. Every man undertook work that needed to be done and none of them were able to understand, that there were people who enjoyed the indifference and laziness. (Shen, 2013, p.15, translated by author)

They are the idealised image of author about people from Miao and Tujia minorities. For Shen Congwen, these men represent the traditional character and lifestyle of minorities before the modernisation changed the habits and way of life.

But the modernisation is inevitable, as Shen Congwen himself admits. The seven young man are killed after a celebration of new year in traditional way. The officers are suspicious about their lifestyle and the support they have from the villagers: „The posted announcement proclaimed that men were exterminated as rebels attempting to overthrow the official authority.” (Shen, 2013, p.18, translated by author) But as the modernisation is inevitable: „It didn´t take a long time and the villagers forgot what have happened. The progress won in the Northern Gulley village.” (Shen, 2013, p.18, translated by author)

The second theme of Shen Congwen´s short stories is love. In short story called Meijin, Baozi and the White Kid author describes the traditional way of marriage of Miao minority. Once again, he glorifies the beauty and purity of those people and their old habits. Two young protagonists of this story Meijin and Baozi sing to each other and they are supposed to meet in a cave during the night. As a gift, man has to bring a white kid. According to Shen Congwen, the love in the past used to be pure and he uses the example of Miao women to highlight the practices of Han women. Moreover, there is again mentioned the inevitability of change and loss of the tradition:

But as I already said before, good habits of this area are now gone, and the warmth of human feelings cooled down. Local women are gradually more and more like women

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from Han nation, just like Chinese women, they put their love into cows, goats, silver and gold, into all vanities of the world. Love has lost its grandeur, charming songs stepped aside to desire for fortune, and they became useless. (Shen, 2013, p.23, translated by author)

For author, love nowadays is dishonest and people are not even able to love in a way that Meijin did: „… miao women had lost the warmth of feeling. They still forgive men, often sacrifice themselves for them and they can still touch human hearths with their singing. But none of them is able to do what Meijin did herself!” (Shen, 2013, p.31, translated by author)

The third short story called The New and the Old concentrates on a habit of execution during the period of imperial China and how it was forgotten after the revolution. In the past, everyone knew what needs to be done after the execution, it was a deeply rooted tradition „… and traditions are meticulously preserved until the moment when the structure of society falls apart or change completely.” (Shen, 2013, p.124, translated by author) Which happened in this story and after many years, when executioner was already old and the guns replaced his profession, he was asked once again to execute two people. But nobody knew the old ritual anymore and people thought old man was mad when he ran away with a sword in his hand. „The officiant who used to serve in temple was no longer among the living. Also, the older generation of locals was mostly dead. Nobody cared about the old practice, nobody even knew there used to be such a practice.” (Shen, 2013, p.130, translated by author)

The modernisation in this case brought the ignorance towards their own cultural heritage. The old executor and the rest of people were not able to understand each other. „Don´t you know the proper manners? I was ordered to do justice. After the execution, I ran to bring myself to justice, as the practice orders me to do. You pursued me and wanted to shoot me. … You set it up well, very well, allegedly I´m a madman!” (Shen, 2013, p.132, translated by author) Shen Congwen´s opinion on the issue of abandoning one´s own culture and practices is similar as with the previous issues. He sees is as inevitable result of modernisation, but he does not consider it to be right.

3.1.8 Chang Eileen – Lust, Caution (色，戒) (1940s-1979)

The first short story that will be analysed in this work is called Love in a Fallen City, qingcheng chilian 倾城痴恋 in Chinese. The main protagonist is Bai Liusu who is a divorcée living in her brother´s household which counts numerous family members. Bai family was traditionally noble and wealthy and even though the world is changing, they still live like traditional Chinese family. Which means several generations and siblings with their wives and children share the same house and the head of family is responsible for finances. Men of Bai family make all the decisions: „The Third and Fourth Master started to talk about her as if she had nothing to say in this matter.” (Zhang, 2012, p.10, translated by author)

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Women of this family do not work, and marriage is on one hand seen as financial security for woman and on the other hand, as a transfer of woman to husband´s family. The divorce was rare at that time and the head of Bai family did not consider it as valid, he had the traditional view on family relations: „Do not draw attention to legal order, it is changing every day! But justice and human feelings, three basic rules and five virtues of ethic order, they will never change! During your life, you belong to their family and after your death your spirit will belong to their family as well…” (Zhang, 2012, p.11, translated by author) The position of Liusu in family was low, she was seen as a financial burden and by getting a divorce she shamed the Bai family.

In this short story, Eileen Chang criticises heavily the relations within the traditional Chinese family and especially women. Women who are a product of being raised in the traditional environment because of hypocrisy of their thinking and behaviour. Liusu´s former husband was abusive, but she does not receive any sympathy from women of Bai family:

The Fourth Mistress chuckled: … ‚Seventh Sister, when you will move to husband´s family, behave well there. You will no longer be able to do as you please. And such a thing as divorce is no small thing! … If it would be that simple, why wouldn´t I divorce your Fourth Brother, he´s such a dork! I have mother as well, it´s not that I have no place to go but in fact nowadays I have to think about their family budget as well … I have some pride!’ (Zhang, 2012, p.14, translated by author)

Liusu herself seeks second marriage for financial security, emotional or physical attachment is not crucial in her decision making: „The position won´t feed you but it would be a shame to lose it. Especially now. Not all hope is lost with Fan Liuyuan, she can´t sell-out herself now, otherwise he would have an excuse for not marrying her.” (Zhang, 2012, p.45, translated by author) Another example is even more open: „She had to admit Liuyuan was excellent, he knew how to excite her and how to delight her as well, but she wanted the financial security at first place anyway.” (Zhang, 2012, p.48, translated by author)

As Eileen Chang states herself in this short story: „Woman, no matter how good she is, she will not be respected by other women, unless she gets attention and love from men. Therein, women are very pathetic.” (Zhang, 2012, p.23, translated by author) She describes her female characters in realistic way, they have positive and negative personality traits. But what is significant for them is that they are not able to overcome the limitations of their traditional upbringing and education. Eileen Chang does not have a lot of compassion for them, she shows us how unsuitable is traditional lifestyle and education of Chinese women in modern era. Liusu is not an official wife, she is useless for society because she does not have any other skills: „It´s a pity that besides people she doesn´t have any interests. That little bit of knowledge she had is centred only around people. Primarily, she learned how to be a perfect wife and devoted mother. But here she is like a warrior with a useless weapon in his hand.” (Zhang, 2012, p.49,

64 translated by author) Her skills are raising children and save money in household. But being a mistress of a rich man, she does not have children to raise or money to worry about.

Liusu´s story has a happy ending, the Japanese attack on Hong Kong makes Liusu and her lover to forget about their ideals and marriage strategy: „‚You already said you love me a long time ago.’ ‚That does not count’, Liuyuan smiled. ‚But back then we were busy with courtship, how could we have time for love?’” (Zhang, 2012, p.57, translated by author) Eileen Chang is pointing out that the traditional relation was more about finding a good match and not an emotional affection. But because in the end both main characters were able to abandon at least partly their traditional views on relationship, they could create a marriage based on mutual trust and affection.

The last example of women´s hypocrisy in this short story is the Fourth Mistress who finally divorced the fourth Master even though she previously claimed she would never do such a thing: „The Fourth Mistress decided to divorce the Fourth Master and everybody whispered that it was Liusu´s fault. She got a divorce and got married again with such a success that her example inspired the others.” (Zhang, 2012, p.58, translated by author)

Different type of character is Qiqiao from short story Golden Cangue or jinsuoji 金锁记 in Chinese. She is from a family of commoners with no education of noble families. She grew up in family shop chatting with customers. However, she is considered lucky because she got married to an old, rich family. Unfortunately, her husband is handicapped and together with rejection of other family members, she is unhappy with her life. Furthermore because of her luck of education and manners suitable for traditional family, she insults people around her:

She was smiling and joking but her hearth was seized with anger. The prying hands did not stop, the were squeezing, kneading, dabbing, and banging at Lanxian´s nape as if she wanted to chase her out. Lanxian was very well behaved, but she was running out of patience. … ‚Is she angry with me?’ … ‚Perhaps I said something inappropriate?’ (Zhang, 2012, p.70, translated by author)

The contempt of family towards Qiqiao is getting stronger with time and is worsened by Qiqiao´s personality and behaviour. She is unable to fully understand it: „‚I just don´t understand why am I worse than the others? What is wrong with me…’” (Zhang, 2012, p.72, translated by author)

Even though Qiqiao´s behaviour is not as delicate as behaviour of people raised in the wealthy family, the family members have no understanding or compassion with Qiqiao which worsens her personality as well. All the family feels ashamed by Qiqiao and when her brother comes for a visit, the head of family, the Old Lady, she does not welcome him, and the rest of family prefers to not to acknowledge his presence. „‚The Old Lady asked who it is, the Young Lord had a look and said it is probably Master form Cao family. The Old Lady did not ask anything anymore.’ When Qiqiao heard It … she left. Everything in her was agitated as she was going down. ‚So, you will pretend you don´t

65 know anything.’, she mumbled.” (Zhang, 2012, p.74, translated by author) Eileen Chang describes the hypocrisy of the traditional family. In her eyes, the money, social status, and pride were connected with sometimes inhuman behaviour.

About ten years later, after death of her husband first and Old Lady later and Qiqiao is free. She moves away with her two children. However, her mental state is not good, firstly she destroys her own chance for love and later her children´s, especially her daughter´s chance to marry. The younger brother of Qiqiao´s deceased husband comes and tells her he loves her, but she is obsessed with idea that everyone wants to steal her money: „Does he want the money – her money, those she sold herself out for?” (Zhang, 2012, p.85, translated by author)

She was so afraid to lose her money that she made her son and later also her daughter smoke opium. She wanted to keep son at home, so he won´t spend money and she did not want to pay for a doctor when her daughter was sick. Qiqiao´s daughter grew up without completing any education and with deformed feet as Qiqiao was binding them for a year. Qiqiao was extremely manipulative mother: „Men…hold aloof from them! Everyone will desire your money. Your mother acquired with difficulties some money, it´s not easy to guard it. One day you will inherit it and I will not watch someone to take it away from you. You must be careful, protect yourself. Do you hear me?’ ‚Yes, mother.’” (Zhang, 2012, p.90, translated by author)

Furthermore, she destroyed the possible marriage with a Chinese man who returned from Germany:

‚Later, she started to smoke herself because of a sickness. … She even tried to stop but her health is weak, and she is spoiled, to stop smoking – easy to say and hard to do.’ … Shifang´s face paled. Qiqiao had the perceptivity and sagacity of a madman. … The concubine will have a baby. So, this is that old China he liked so much… His quiet Chinese girl from an old family was an opium smoker! He sat down. He dropped his head into his hands, he felt foreign and lonely. (Zhang, 2012, pp.111-112, translated by author)

Eileen Chang describes the traditional society with repulsion, she criticises the hypocrisy of women trapped in the habits of old society and she sees the only option for amelioration in abandonment of the tradition.

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3.2 Period 1949-present

3.2.1 Wang Shuo – Please Don´t Call Me Human (千万别把我当人) (1989)

The novel Please Don´t Call Me Human, often translated into English as No Man´s Land was originally published in 1989. It „is Wang´s most politically devastating satire, and it may be read as having strong picaresque elements…” (Barmé, 1992, p.51) According to article called Wang Shuo and Liumang (`Hooligan') Culture written by Geremie Barmé in 1992, the title suggest following interpretation: „'one Chinese makes a plea to all the other Chinese that: whatever you do, don't treat me as a human. Treat me like a human being [i.e., like other Chinese], and I'll be finished, I'll have all of the faults of everyone else. Then the problems of our nation will never be solved'.” (Barmé, 1992, pp.52-53)

This title suggests the dehumanisation of characters and the need of self-destruction and reconstruction, which „ becomes a motivating force, a national imperative, and it is realized through a mordant yet black tale.” (Barmé, 1992, p.53) This interpretation summarises what happens with the main character Tang Yuanbao. He is discovered by a governmental organisation as the Great Dream Boxer, who is supposed to revenge the defeat of China by a foreigner in sport competition. Tang Yuanbao, originally a pedicab driver, is firstly trained in martial arts, but later he is remade to be a pure Chinese, a westernised man, an intellectual, an actor or a ballet dancer. Along this training, he does not show his own will, he even says he is not a human: „Don´t feel crappy; I´m not human, never have been.” (Wang, 2003, p.232)

In the end of his training, he is neutralised and becomes a woman, as it turns out, only women can enter the new competition. „…this episode can (and is) easily read as a comment on collective impotence or emasculation.” (Barmé, 1992, p.54) In other words, author repeatedly criticises the Chinese people and their national character. Wang Shuo calls the Chinese „benighted, useless specimen and stupid.” (Wang, 2003, p.231) He does not see the Han Chinese as capable of maintaining the national dignity: „You balked when it was time to cut them off. You Han Chinese can´t hide anything from me. You pretend you´ve got backbone, pretend you´re tough, try to make people believe you, act like you can take any suffering. In fact, there´s no suffering for you and damned few who care to save face.” (Wang, 2003, p.254)

In the end of the novel, Tang Yuanbao attends the „international championship in 'the art of endurance' (renshu); they are there to see who can tolerate the most humiliating and painful treatment.” (Barmé, 1992, p.56) Tang Yuanbao wins all the rounds. For example, he lets bind himself up into a smallest and tightest shape, he drinks the piss or encourages his torturer to continue with smile and many others. He wins an international competition in self-humiliation by cutting of his own face. This scene is direct satire of traditional Chinese principle which is not to lose face.

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William Callahan elaborates further the idea of national humiliation through the loss of face in his article National Insecurities: Humiliation, Salvation, and Chinese Nationalism. He summarises the meaning of Tang Yuanbao´s victory in context of Chinese society:

In the end, she wins an "Olympic" medal for China for "humiliation" in the International endurance competition by ripping off her own face. The one thing that Chinese excel at, Wang tells us, is enduring national humiliation: Castration was not enough; China also needed to lose face on the international stage. Rather than, in modernist style, showing ruins and humiliation pointing toward a unified Chineseness, Wang's novel points to a postmodern "fragmentation of the past as well as the present." But this criticism, though entertaining, is limited. It tends to reproduce national humiliation, albeit via farcical inversion and hyperbole. (Callahan, 2004, pp.213-214)

The hyperbole created by this competition mocks the official strategy of the CCP government. The official goal of China is to overcome the national humiliation by wealth of country and comfortable lifestyle of people and not to train a Chinese to humiliate himself and the whole nation even more.

The second story line is the interrogation of Tang Yuanbao´s father Tang Guotao, who took part in Boxer Rebellion. At the beginning of the novel, Tang Guotao was a hero, who preserved the Great Dream Boxing and passed it to the next generation. But the interrogation of police reveals that Tang Guotao betrayed the Boxer Movement. In the end, he is found guilty not only of betrayal of Boxer Rebellion, but also „ for 'undeniable responsibility for the various social disorders, evils and general corruption' in China today. He is pilloried by his judges as 'the cause of all chaos, troubles and misfortune… … He is public enemy Number One'.” (Barmé, 1992, p.55) „The whole episode can be read as a satire on the Party's use and abuse of history and its purges of such figures as Peng Dehuai, Liu Shaoqi, Lin Biao, the Gang of Four, and more recently himself. For, in each of these real cases, any and everything was blamed on the victim of the purge, often to the point of absurdity.” (Barmé, 1992, p.55)

Wang Shuo´s elaboration of different topics in this novel can be interpreted as a part of a debate about „ the Chinese 'national character' (guominxing) that from the late 1980s was a central feature of the general 'cultural fever' and was, in part, intensified by the publication in China in 1986 of the Taiwan essayist and novelist Bo Yang's essay 'The Ugly Chinaman' [Chouloude Zhongguoren]. This debate revolves around what I call the 'self-loathing tradition' in modern Chinese culture.” (Barmé, 1992, p.52) His critique of the Han Chinese is more than clear, he satirises the loss of face, which is so important in everyday life for every Chinese and the story suggests that the Chinese are blaming everybody but themselves for the current state of Chinese society. Furthermore, Wang Shuo points out the inhumanity of Chinese towards each other, if it can bring a profit to them personally.

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Finally, Wang Shuo gives us an accurate and natural image of problems of Chinese nation from the end of the 20th century. The ending of his story does not suggest a lot of hope for improvement of the Han Chinese.

3.2.2 Mo Yan – The Republic of Wine (酒国) (1992)

The ten chapters of The Republic of Wine are structured, the reader follows firstly the story of detective Ding Gouer, secondly the letters sent to the author by Li Yidou who is aspiring to become a writer as well, thirdly Mo Yan´s answers to Li Yidou´s letters and finally the short stories written by Li Yidou. These short stories are occasionally connected with the main story of detective Ding Gouer. The narration style of each part is different and unique, and the reader is able to understand the whole story after finishing the last chapter. Each part is giving us a different perspective. (Qiao, 2008, p.214)

The period of Chinese history after the Opening and Reform was marked by fast change in wealth of Chinese people. Mo Yan´s critique of Chinese society aims to highlight the loss of morals and virtue, a typical goal for traditional society. The society after the Reforms and Opening Up has one main goal which is to make money. At the beginning of The Republic of Wine, there is a scene where son behaves rudely towards his father: „He said he must leave for Liquorland, there is a case, father was explaining. ‚Well, and so what.’, son replied. … ‚Well, and so what means that I don´t care.’, responded son, ‚Why should I care?’”34 (Mo, 2015, p.22, translated by author) The society from the end of the 20th century does not have the same values as in the past.

In fast developing society, money is in the centre of people´s lives. The emphasis of revolution from the Mao Zedong period as well as the division of people into social and political classes is not valid anymore. The slogans and terms which had serious meaning in past are ironized in Mo Yan´s work: „He saw the spirals of her hair on the top of her head, back of her neck and yes also deep into her cleavage. Then he realised that this kind of snooping is not in accord with the morals of the party and underwent self-critique.”35 (Mo, 2015, p.85, translated by author) But with the reforms and growing wealth in society comes also the corruption, consumption society and cheating. The criticism of these elements of Chinese society is the most visible trait in Mo Yan´s novel The Republic of Wine.

The detective known for his moral integrity becomes corrupt during his stay in Liquorland, he is first tricked to excessive drinking of alcohol: „When mother offers a goblet to her son, how can he refuse it? The filial love gives him strength, he raises up the cup with alcohol and drinks it down.”36

34 Že prý musí odjet do Kořalnice za případem, vysvetloval mu otec. „No a co já s tím,“ synek na to. ... „Co já s tím znamená, že je mi to volný,“ opáčil chlapec, „proč by mě to mělo zajímat?“ 35 Pak si ale uvědomil, že takové šmírování není v souladu se stranickou morálkou a podrobil se sebakritice. 36 Když matka podá číši vlastnímu synovi, jak by mohl odmítnout? Synovskou láskou takto posilněn zvedá sklenku kořalky a pije do dna. 69

(Mo, 2015, p.49, translated by author) When intoxicated, the inspector is unable to understand the irony of Liquorland officials, who use it as a tool to manipulate him. (Zhang, 2014, p.1113) Later he gets involved with a lady trucker: „Her gestures are savage, without slightest feminine tendresse. This is love making for her?” 37 (Mo, 2015, p.159, translated by author) And finally he becomes completely devastated and drowns in a septic tank: „‚I protest! I pro…’ The pitiless muck sealed his mouth as the irresistible force of gravity drew him under. Within seconds, the sacred panoply of ideals, justice, respect, honour, and love accompanied a long-suffering special investigator to the very bottom of the privy…”38 (Mo, 2015, p.305, translated by author)

The detective comes to Liquorland because of rumoured cannibalism. The motive of cannibalism is known from already from older generations of Chinese writes, such as Lu Xun. In this story, it is eating of little boys. The politicians and the wealthiest inhabitants offer it as a local specialty to the most important guests:

‚… why do they feed themselves with small kids? The answer is simple: because the beef, lamb meat, pork, chicken, duck, horse meat, goose and rabbit are not good enough for them. They overate themselves with dogs, mules, squeakers, donkeys, camels, … so they want to eat small children because our meat is softer than beef, fresher than lamb meat, more aromatic than pork, …. Shortly, the taste of our meat is like none other.’39 (Mo, 2015, p.98, translated by author)

Mo Yan presents the desire to eat children as a result of consumption society. Nothing is enough for the powerful and wealthy ones from Liquorland. And on a more general level, he applies it on the whole China:

Are you saying it is not a child but a famous dish? … During the Warring States period, over two thousand years ago, I Toothed cooked his son for duke… Where do you think you´re going you Toothed men? Put your hands up, you will appear in court. You can´t even hold a candle to I Toothed, he cooked his own child at least, but you cook children of the others. … … while you, the leaders of the Party and government, you kill our people´s children, only to fill your potbellies!40 (Mo, 2015, p.81, translated by author)

37 Gesta měla neurvalá, bez sebemenší ženské něhy. Tomuhle ona říká milování? 38 „Já protestuji! Já pro...,“ svinstvo mu však velmi neslušně ucpalo zobák, zemská přitažlivost ho pomalu, ale jistě stahovala níž a níž, takže o několik minut později všechny ideály, spravedlnost, čest, pravda a láska, všechno to posvátné uvízlo i s nebohým inspektorem na samém dně té žumpy... 39 ...proč se živí malými dětmi? Na to je jednoduchá odpověď: protože už jim není dost dobré hovězí, skopové, vepřové, kuřecí, kachní, koňské, husí i králičí, už se přejedli psů, mezků, holoubat, oslů, velbloudů, ... takže se jim zachtělo malých dětí, jelikož jejich maso je měkčí než hovězí, svěžejší než skopové, voňavější než vepřové, ... Chuť našeho masa zkrátka nemá ve světě obdoby. 40 Říkáte, že to není dítě, ale vyhlášený pokrm? ... v době Válčících států, před víc jak dvěma tisíci lety, nechal I Zubatý upéct svého syna pro vévodu...... Kampak, kampak, vy Zubatí?! Ruce vzhůru, půjdete před soud. Ani tomu Zubatému nesaháte po kotníky, ten aspoň nechal upéct své vlastní dítě, zatímco vy vyváříte děti 70

The cannibalism represents seeking of power of politicians, the less powerful are victims of desire for power.

The story of The Republic of Wine has multiple storylines. In one of them, Li Yidou writes letters to Mo Yan and as he is aspiring to become a writer, he asks Mo Yan for help. As time goes by and there is no progress in this matter, he suggests that Mo Yan bribes people in publishing house:

I am, of course, aware that nowadays one needs friends even in crematorium, let alone the publishing houses! I would be infinitely grateful if you will fight fiercely for me, if you will invite whoever you need to for a lunch, if you will give gifts to relevant places, I will, naturally, pay you back all associated expenses (I would just ask you for the sales slip).41 (Mo, 2015, p.59, translated by author)

In Mo Yan´s China, the bribery is a common way to resolve the problems, which is till nowadays a serious problem of Chinese society.

The second example from this story line is Li Yidou offering his help to Mo Yan: „Some of my old classmates work for the Municipal Party Committee and for the government …, so if you need a formal invitation from either organization, or something along that line, I can ask them to help out. Chinese in leadership positions are impressed by official seals, and I’ll bet it’s no different in the army.”42 (Mo, 2015, p.231, translated by author) The importance of personal relations in China in the end of the 20th century is very high, the relations and money help to solve everything and this kind of help is an example of criticism of corruption in the society.

Money is the main force of modern society in Mo Yan´s eyes, for example, the dwarf restaurant manager uses money to get anything he wants:

‚You will write my biography and I will give you twenty thousand.’ … ‚Enough of hypocrisy, you coward, you have money, you have everything or how people say it. Maybe there are people in this world who don´t like money but I never met anybody like that. Which is, by the way, the reason why I can say it out loud in front of everybody that I will slip every beautiful girl in Liquorland a length.’ ‚Your irresistible charm plays an important role as well.’ ‚Oh God, fuck you, already chairman Mao said: The most

ostatních...... zatímco vy, vedoucí představitelé Strany a vlády, vy zabíjíte děti našeho lidu, jen abyste naplnili svá panděra! 41 Je mi samozřejmě jasné, že člověk dnes potřebuje známé i v krematoriu, natožpak v nakladatelstvích! Proto bych Vám byl neskonale vděčen, když se za mě pustíte do lítého boje, pozvete na oběd, koho bude třeba, věnujete dary na náležitých místech, já Vám pochopitelně zaplatím všechny výdaje s tím spojené (jen bych prosil paragon). 42 Mám několik starých spolužáků, kteří pracují na městském výboru Strany i na městě..., takže pokud byste potřeboval nějaké potvrzení či pozvánku od stranického výboru, stačí říct a já to u nich okamžitě zařídím. Čínští předáci mívají oficiální razítka rádi, ti armádní jistě nebudou výjimkou. 71

precious gift for a man is true self-knowledge. Don´t lay it on with a trowel and leave!’43 (Mo, 2015, p.143, translated by author)

For the dwarf man his wealth is a way, he does not believe in any moral values and his usage of political slogan is ironic in this situation because the original meaning had the connection to morals and values of an individual.

The detective from the story is not different, he likes to show off his money as well:

Gou´er´s self-esteem took a beating, the investigator fantasized that he had a crisp new hundred-dollar bill in his pocket, its edges sharp as a razor, which he would flick with his finger to make it snap, then fling it at the old man, before flashing him a superior look, turning on his heels, and walking off whistling, the sound slicing through the vast night like a dagger, teaching the old man a lesson he’d never forget.44 (Mo, 2015, p.217, translated by author)

Unfortunately, the detective was robbed and had no money: „Unfortunately, the investigator was broke.”45 (Mo, 2015, p.217, translated by author) He does not know how to resolve an embarrassing situation without money. He feels like nobody because money means status and power. He is not as good and ethical as he believed himself to be at the beginning of the story.

Mo Yan represents the Chinese society in the end of the 20th century as rotten. The wealthy part of population uses money to get anything they want, regardless of morals or justice and the poor people are just trying to survive. The materialism is the only virtue of people. „You have to admit yourself, Ladies and Gentlemen, what is more important for those living on this planet than food and drinks?”46 (Mo, 2015, p.131, translated by author) As the story continues, this motive is elaborated further: „…let´s hurry up to reach our goal! Of course, you are right, our main goal really is the communist society based on principle ‚from each according to their ability, to each according to his needs’, but there are smaller goals and here I mean to get to the Yichi´s restaurant as fast as possible...”47 (Mo, 2015, p.134, translated by author) Again there is mockery of political slogans and strategies. People from Liquorland have only

43 „Ty napíšeš můj životopis a já ti dám dvacet tisíc. ... Dost bylo pokrytectví, prďolo, když jsou peníze, je všechno, nebo jak se to říká. Možná, že na světě fakt existují lidi, co nemají rádi peníze, ale já jsem ještě nikoho takového nepotkal. Což je mimochodem důvod, proč můžu přede všema říct, že přefiknu všechny krásný holky v Kořalnicích!“ „Váš neodolatelný šarm v tom sehrává také důležitou roli.“ „Bože, běž s tímhle do prdele, už Předseda Mao říkal: Nejvzácnějším darem pro člověka je jasné sebepoznání. Tak mi tady nemaž med kolem huby a padej!“ 44 Skobiceho sebeúcta dostávala na frak. Patřil mezi lidi, kteří mívají po kapsách i zbrusu nové stojüanovky s okraji ostrými jak žiletka, takhle by s ní zašustil mezi prsty, hodil by ji staroušovi, jen by na něj mrknul, a s hvizdem na rtech by odešel, jeho hvízání by jako břit jediným řezem přeťalo nekonečný prostor noci a ve starci by zanechalo nezapomenutelný dojem. 45 Bohužel Skobice neměl v kapse ani vindru. 46 „Uznejte sami, dámy a pánové, co je důležitější než jídlo a pití?“ 47 ...a pospěšme za naším cílem! Jistě, máte pravdu, naším největším cílem skutečně je komunistická společnost založená na principu „každému podle jeho schopností, každému podle jeho potřeb“, ale existují jěště menší cíle a zde mám na mysli především co nejrychlejší přesun do hostince U Palečka... 72 one goal, to make money and satisfy all their needs. Mo Yan talks about the Chinese nation in general: „…how much more can Chinese invent because of food. Clearly, for the majority that has access to these unordinary meals, it does not cost much, they want them mostly because of pure belly-worship. It is also true that we are living in a period of Great guzzling…”48 (Mo, 2015, p.253, translated by author)

This period of Great guzzling is used also by merchants, they want to sell more in lower cost, which results in cheating. „Do you know how to get that monkey head mushroom? – you just replace it with Jew´s ear and whatever.”49 (Mo, 2015, p.253, translated by author) The overall image of Chinese society is deeply negative. Rich people are using money to satisfy themselves; the merchants try to cheat them, and the poorest people cannot afford anything, and they are forgotten: „‚…I should have right for this care…’ … In his desperation, he was realising that nobody will redeem nobody, that everybody has their own troubles and that the words cannot feed hunger, quench thirst.”50 (Mo, 2015, p.224, translated by author)

3.2.3 Jiang Rong – Wolf Totem (狼图腾) (2004)

The author of Wolf Totem Jiang Rong based his book in his own experience with nomadic Mongols. He lived with them over ten years. The main message of this literature work is his admiration of character of Mongol people and their teachers – wolfs. He repeatedly says that Chinese are cowards, he compares Chinese character to character of sheep who let wolfs kill them without making any noise or fight: „I´m completely useless, coward just like a sheep … I´m worse than Mongolian dogs.” (Jiang, 2010, p.19, translated by author) He also mentions the sheep character of Chinese mentioned in Lu Xun´s work: „He remembered a book of Chinese contemporary writer Lu Xun, which describes stupid and uneducated Chinese who crane their necks to see better the Japanese executing Chinese people… No wonder nomadic nations look down on them and compare them to sheep.” (Jiang, 2010, p.344, translated by author)

He argues that Chinese character is missing something, which is the reason why they were defeated by foreigners: „I never understood clearly what we, Chinese, were missing. At home, we are fighting and killing each other, but we always lose to foreigners.” (Jiang, 2010, p.490, translated by author) He also suggests Chinese should be more like Mongols and adopt some of their predacity. He glorifies the courage of Mongols and the strength of Mongol women who are willing to sacrifice their children in fight with wolfs: „If Geserma riding a horse would be send to fight, I bet she would take

48 ...co všechno dokáže Číňan kvůli jídlu ještě vymyslet. Je jasné, že většinu z těch, kteří mají k těmto neobyčejným pokrmům přístup, to nestojí, jak se říká, ani floka a vyhledávají je povětšinou z čirého obžerství. Dále je pravdou, že se nacházíme v období jakési Velké žranice... 49 Víš, jak získáš tyhle opičí hlavy? – Prostě je nahradíš uchem Jidášovým a jakýpak copak. 50 „...já bych měl mít na tuhle péči nárok...“ ... Ve svém zoufalství zjišťoval, že v tomto světě nikdo nokoho nespsí, že každý má své trampoty a že slova hlad nenasytí, žízeň neuhasí. 73 the shine out of Hua Mulan …And she was a legendary Chinese warrior.” (Jiang, 2010, p.20, translated by author)

The main character Chen Zhen is Han Chinese himself and at the beginning, he hates wolves: „But the majority of Chinese are peasants. … We are land-cultivating nation, herbivores, we deeply hate wolves and we fear them at the same time, how could we worship the wolf totem?” (Jiang, 2010, p.42, translated by author) He changes his opinion over time, when he learns about their role in grasslands. „…with Chen quickly appreciating the majesty of the wolf while collaterally embracing ethnic self- loathing as a Han Chinese.” (Varsava, 2011, p.286) Chen wants to study wolves and he even tries to domesticate one. According to author, the nomadic Mongols traditionally worship the wolf totem, but as the modernisation comes to grasslands, the younger generation prefers higher income: „‚I want to earn some money, so I can build a new yurt and get married.’ … ‚And what about your sons and grandsons when they will want to get married but there won´t be any gazelles in grasslands? … Young people, you all start to talk like those immigrants.’” (Jiang, 2010, p.49, translated by author) Or they are slowly accepting the culture of Chinese people who came to grasslands. The result of excessive hunting of wolves and agriculture destroy the environment and the grasslands slowly turn into a desert.

The modernisation for Jiang Rong is negative, because the Han Chinese who are coming to grasslands lack knowledge about a specific type of environment and it destroys the whole nomadic life. „Seeking modernization through the introduction of agro-industrial practices in animal husbandry and land management, the Han Chinese neither know the actual environmental consequences of their re- shaping of the local ecology, nor are they aware of that ignorance. The negative consequences of their intervention compound are devastating in the aggregate, not only to Mongolia but to Beijing and much of northeastern China.” (Varsava, 2011, pp.293-294)

For Jiang Rong, it is the Chinese culture that needs to change in order to improve the national character, not the Mongolian grasslands:

The spiritual culture of wolf totem is older than Chinese Confucian culture and more natural diffusion and viability. Some of Confucian rules are already outdated but the base of wolf totem will always be valid and won´t age. Till nowadays it is valid among the most developed nations around the world. The wolf totem is the most precious spiritual heritage of humanity. If Chinese could pull up the rotten parts of Confucian system from their nature and plant into the holes just one burgeon of wolf totem spirit, it would bond with Confucian love for peace and tradition emphasising education, than the Chinese would grow up, that kind of China would have hope. (Jiang, 2010, p.412, translated by author)

This text summarises the best Jiang Rong´s opinion and believe. His glorification of nomadic life despite the hardship is not objective. But he truly believes that Chinese nation should adopt a part

74 of Mongol spirit, in order to become better and to have a future. Otherwise, he does not see a bright future for Han Chinese nation. (Varsava, 2011, pp.285-289)

Finally, the most important thought from Wolf Totem is Chen´s manifestation of ethnic self- loathing as a Han Chinese. His admiration of wolves and Mongols´ wolf spirit is creating the opposition to subtle Chinese sheep nature, which he despises. In his opinion, his own ethnic group is too subtle and unable to fight. Jiang Rong also describes the modernisation coming to the Mongolian grassland. His description of modernisation as a negative element and his manifestation of self-hate towards his own ethnic group are two the most highlighted ideas in this work. (Varsava, 2011, pp.285-289)

3.2.4 Chan Koonchung – The Fat Years (盛世一中国 2013 年) (2009)

The story of novel The Fat Years creates utopic future of China. Chan´s future China overcame a world financial crisis, China is wealthy and internationally influential: „Only China has been able to recover, surging forward while others are on the decline. … Not only China changed the rules of the international economic game, we´ve also changed the nature of Western economics.” (Chan, 2012, p.39) And almost all inhabitants of China are feeling happy: „I feel better and that familiar feeling of happiness comes flooding back.” (Chan, 2012, p.37) The epilogue explains that the feeling of happiness is caused by a drogue which is added to tap water: „After you take it, you feel really great, you feel like the world is full of love, you want to hug other people and tell them everything, but you´re clear-headed and don´t have any hallucinations, just like I am now.” (Chan, 2012, p.288)

However, there is a small minority of those who are not constantly happy. This group is represented by Little Xi, for example. She is a character who kept an independent and critical thinking. But as an individual, she cannot persuade the majority: „That´s why I cannot adapt to today´s situation. Suddenly in the last two years, since China´s so-called Golden Age of Ascendency officially began, not only has everybody stopped criticising the government, but they have all become extremely satisfied with the current state of affairs.” (Chan, 2012, p.73) The hypothesis is that certain medication can prevent the drogue from affecting an individual.

Fang Caodi is also one of those who are not affected by the drogue, due to his asthma. He travels the country and investigates the events preceding the China´s Golden Age of Ascendency. In the end, he kidnaps a high-ranking official, who explains what happened in China. Besides the political and economic strategy, he justifies the restriction of Chinese people. He argues that Chinese people fear anarchy more than dictatorship, they are used to have a leader and could not handle unlimited freedom. (Chan, 2012, p.249)

75

This statement is further elaboration of thinking of Old Chen, another character in the centre of novel. When he found out than every historical book which was not in line with official government propaganda had disappeared:

Old Chen than considered a new concept: ‘90 per cent freedom’. We are already very free now: 90 per cent, or even more, of all subjects can be freely discussed, and 90 per cent, or even more, of all activities are no longer subject to government control. Isn´t that enough? The vast majority of the population cannot even handle 90 per cent freedom, they think it´s too much. (Chan, 2012, p.162)

The concept of 90 per cent freedom reflects the present reality of China. Same as in the novel, many subjects can be discussed freely, and the country is favourable for opportunists who know how to make money and for those who work for the government and support the official propaganda.

This concept suggests the lack of trust towards the Chinese from Chinese. Chan Koonchung does not see the Chinese nation as capable of unlimited freedom. They need guidance and control of government, so they can live almost as good as the Western nations. According to Chan: „The only disparity is that, theoretically, the power of Western government is given to them by the people, while in China the people´s freedom is given to them by the government.” (Chan, 2012, p.163) This distrust is an example of self-loathing in the end of the 20th century. Even though the economy of China is developing rapidly, the Chinese people themselves still need to improve. Chan´s theory might lead to thought that the Chinese nation needs to grow up in order to take the full responsibility for their country and lives because currently, they are unable to handle full freedom.

Another explanation is that Chinese accept the current system, they do not seek anything different with the reasoning „‘The things are much better today than they were before.’” (Chan, 2012, p.163) If they chose it, they want this system and its restrictions.

3.2.5 Yan Lianke – The Explosion Chronicles (炸裂志) (2016)

The Explosion Chronicles is a fictional history of a Chinese village Explosion which pursued the fast economic development at all costs. As Yan Lianke himself states: „The motto ‚the ends justify the means’ is a shortcut to progress and affluence and a lot of heroes and successful people are using it. The power and money banded together, and they are stealing people´s souls.”51 (Yan, 2016, p.487, translated by author) This is the main motive and the main critique of Chinese people after the Reforms and Opening up in the end of 1970s. The writing style author uses in this novel is called the mytho- realism, because the relation between cause and effect are often ignored. For Yan Lianke,

51 Heslo „účel světí prostředky“ je zkratkou k pokroku a blahobytu, žebříkem, po němž šplhají hrdinové a úspěšní. Moc a peníze se spolčily a okrádají lidi o jejich duše. 76 the unbelievable and fast development of China can be described only with this new approach to writing. (Song, 2016, p.645)

After the Reform and Opening up of China, the first man in Explosion who earns ten thousand yuan and becomes a major of Explosion, gained his fortune by stealing. He teaches the whole village how to steal: „In less than half a year and Explosion people perfectly mastered the unloading of trains, they were no more unorganised peasants randomly throwing themselves on the trains. They created work groups, rules, work hours and breaks, … and divide the profits.”52 (Yan, 2016, p.41, translated by author) And when it is not enough anymore, he sends people to big cities to steal there or to work as prostitutes: „I don´t care, go find Zhu Ying and be prostitutes and gigolos, clean shoes of rich people with your own tongue, lick their asses if you have to, don´t come back home without money.”53 (Yan, 2016, p.64, translated by author) The fast and constant development is the only priority. Even the death of father or mother is used as a political strategy: „‚Won´t you go home for your father´s funeral?’ ‚The biggest personal affair is not more important than the smallest official business – not excluding the death of father and mother.’ … ‚If every municipality and district secretary would be like you, this country would be flourishing!’”54 (Yan, 2016, p.233, translated by author)

Money is everything, corruption is expected and inevitable: „In Beijing, he already met with all the representatives and experts he was supposed to meet, the generous gifts nobody knew about, were given.”55 (Yan, 2016, p.451, translated by author) Cheating and protectionism are normal. People from Explosion forgot their old habits and morals. One of the examples are cable factory workers who celebrate the second cable order from the same city, even though the cables from Explosion are low quality and everybody knows it:

‚Why?’, asked the town clerk. ‚We gave them a huge discount.’, guide of town clerk explained. The Town clerk sent a message to cable factory manager to increase net up to ten for the stable customers who would buy cables from Explosion after conflagration. Those who would order one million worth cables, would get one hundred thousand back to his own pocket. Those who would order for ten million, would get one million back to his hands.56 (Yan, 2016, p.164, translated by author)

52 Netrvalo ani půl roku a Rozpukovští se v oboru vykládky vlaku stali mistry, už to nebylo žádné nahodilé vrhání se na vlak neorganizovaných rolníků. Utvořili oddíly, zavedli pravidla, pracovní dobu a přestávky, ... a spravedlivě dělit zisk. 53 Pro mě za mě, běžte si třeba za Ču Jing a dělejte šlapky a gigoly, vlastními jazyky čistěte bohatým boty, i kdybyste jim měli lízat řitěm domů se bez peněz nevracejte. 54 „Nepojedeš domů na pohřeb?“ „Ani tá největší soukromá záležitost není důležitější než nejmenší úřední záležitost – smrt otce a matky nevyjímaje.“ ... „Být všichni funkcionáři jako ty, země by jen vzkvétala!“ 55 V Pekingu se již setkal se všemi představiteli a odborníky, s nimiž se setkat měl, tučné dary, o kterých nikdo nevěděl, taky rozdal. 56 „Proč?“ nechápal tajemník. „Dostali velkou slevu“, vysvětlil tajemníkův průvodce. Tajemník tedy nechal vzkázat řediteli kabelárny, aby napříště svým věrným zákazníkům, kteří u něj budou nakupovat i po požáru, zvýšil rabat o dalších deset procent. Kdo objedná za milion, dostane do vlastní kapsy navíc sto tisíc zpátky, kdo objedná zboží za deset milionů, dostane navíc zpátky do ručky milion. 77

As Yan Lianke said before, they lost their souls. Hypocrisy is just another way how to earn money. The brothers from Kong family who are the main characters help each other to maintain power: „‚I see it this way: older brother in politics, younger brother in business, in three to five years, Explosion will be declared prefecture, I will be prefect, you will have hundreds of millions of assets, maybe tens of billions.’ … ‚Brother, we are so corrupted.’”57 (Yan, 2016, p.309, translated by author)

The life of an individual means nothing. The individuals are sacrificed for the economic development, they are killed while stealing, by the pollution in later stages of development or by the excessive labour. At the beginning of the Explosion development, when the first young man is killed while stealing from the train, money is once again used to calm down the anger of his family: „Damin was martyr. He sacrifices himself for the well-being of the whole village. … Your house will be the first one to be rebuilt. It will cost you nothing, the whole construction will be payed from village money and we will support your grandson until he is eighteen.”58 (Yan, 2016, pp.44-45, translated by author)

With growing economy of the region, Explosion becomes polluted which affects inhabitant´s health:

Day by day, the chimneys were emitting a black smoke, red flames were billowing from furnaces … from morning till the night, the smell of acrylate and decay of sewerage water was biting the noses. But everybody got used to the new air, so when the rain purified the air, almost everyone caught cold or cough. … the more patients, the bigger need for their own pharmaceutical industry…59 (Yan, 2016, p.160, translated by author)

Anything in Explosion village was used for economic profit, the sickness of people did not mean searching for healthier environment or industry, which is a current problem in China. Yan Lianke expresses his opinion on the fast development clearly. What was happening around him in China was often hard to believe.

Even later in development of Explosion, for the political leader of Explosion, the life of individual was nothing, as we can see on these examples: „…county clerk took his breath away by his willingness to sell out the dignity of inhabitants of Balou Mountains.”60 (Yan, 2016, p.317, translated by author); „‚Human life, Brother!’, Minghui screamed in surprise. ‚Very soon we will start the second

57 „Já to vidím takhle: starší brácha v politice, mladší v byznyse, za tři pět let bude Rozpukov vyhlášenej prefekturou, ja budu prefektem, ty budeš mít majetek v řádu stamilionů, miliard, možná desítek miliard.“ ... „Bratře, my jsme tak zkorumpovaní.“ 58 Ta-min je mučedník. Obětoval se pro blahobyt celý vsi. ... Jako první z celý vsi přestavíme váš dům. Nebude vás to stát ani vindru, celou stavbu zaplatíme z obecního, a vašeho vnoučka budeme živit až do osmnácti. 59 Den co den se z komínů valil černý kouř, z pecí šlehaly rudé plameny...... od rána do noci štípal do nosů pach akrylátů a hniloba z odpadních vod. Všichni si ale na nové ovzduší zvykli, a když přišel déšť a pročistil vzduch, téměř každý dostal rýmu nebo kašel. ... A čím víc pacientů, tím větší potřeba vlastního farmaceutického průmyslu... 60 ...a okresní tajomník svou ochotou zaprodat důstojnost obyvatel Oradla. 78 stage of construction.’, said the second-born…” 61(Yan, 2016, p.375, translated by author) The second brother, the leader of Explosion thinks only about the progress of the city, not about the well-being of people.

This attitude is shown again in the end of story, when he needs to build the metro line and Asia´s biggest airport in a few days. This example is brutal in its description, the third brother is using bloody fingers and legs to build it fast. This mytho-realistic example is a metaphor of people who lost their lives in the process of development of country: „‚I will build for you what you ask, but you have to give me five thousand bloody legs and ten thousand bloody fingers.’ ‚So, you think you can´t break legs of so many people and cut fingers? Is it too much trouble for you to kill so many people? And do you think that those buildings will climb up from the ground just like that?’”62 (Yan, 2016, p.434, translated by author) And the third brother really gets those legs and fingers. The building of metro and airport are fast and Explosion will become a megalopolis:

The space of hillside, grasses, thistles and bushes were trampled down by the soldiers, they threw there the bloody fingers … the places soldiers went though, stepping on vegetation and bloody fingers, there was hardpacked soil left. … When they used up all of five thousand bloody fingers and ten thousand broken legs, the airport was there, fully equipped, and functional, ready to be used.63 (Yan, 2016, pp.436-438, translated by author)

61 „Lidskej život, brácho!“ vykřikl překvapeně Ming-chuej. „Už brzo zahájíme druhou etapu výstavby,“ řekl druhorozený... 62 „Vystavím ti, oč mě žádáš, ale musíš mi dodat pět tisíc krvavejch nohou a deset tisíc krvavejch prstů.“ „Tak ty myslíš, že nemůžeš tolika lidem zpřerážet nohy a uřezat prsty? Je ti zatěžko pobít tolik lidí? A myslíš, že takový stavby vylezou ze země jen tak?“ 63 Porost na stráních, traviny, bodláčí a křoviny, podupali vojáci, poházeli tam krvavé prsty ... a kudy prošli vojenské oddíly po divokém porostu a krvavých prstech, tam porost zmizel, zůstala jen ususaná hlína. ...když použili všech pět tisíc krvavých prstů a deset tisíc krví zbrocených zpřerážených hnátů, letiště stálo na svém místě plně vybavené a funkčí, jen ho použít. 79

4 ANALYSIS OF SELF-LOATHING EXAMPLES

The examples of self-loathing, which are cited in the third chapter can be divided into several categories according to reason of self-loathing. In the chosen literature works from previous chapter, there were found three reasons for author´s elaboration of self-loathing.

The first reason is the backwardness of China when compared with western nations, which is the traditional form of self-loathing. To this category belong The Lunar Colony, The Travels of Lao Can, Sinking, Call to Arms, Family, Cat Country and short stories Love in the Fallen City and Golden Cangue. The main character in The Lunar Colony represents all the defective traits of Chinese nation, which according to author cause the backwardness of China. Long Menghua is inactive, melancholic, and trapped in the traditional teachings. (Isaacson, 2013, p.41) Similar traits were found in main character in Sinking. Besides the traits described higher, he fights with frustration, loneliness, and sexual desires. Yu Dafu´s character kills himself while blaming China because he cannot free himself from the tradition. Contrary to him, Menghua cut his tail and changed into western clothes. He was able to realise at least once what he needed to do to diminish personal suffering caused by traditional habits, even though during the rest of novel, it was his Japanese friend who saw the real problems and state of China. (Isaacson, 2013, p.46)

Lao Can is similar character type with Tamatoro. He is a well-educated and skilled man; whose modern knowledge and effective solutions contradict the traditional scholarship and its ineffectiveness. The reason why these characters are capable of action is the modern western education they received. (Yang, 1983, pp.7-8) The difference between characters with Chinese literature training and those with western education is the first example of traditional self-loathing.

The second example of self-loathing the authors elaborate is the description of the whole society as rotted, inactive, or backward. This is the case of Lu Xun, Ba Jin, Lao She and Eileen Chang. Lu Xun in Call to Arms presents the traditional Chinese society as the society of men-eaters, as passively waiting what will happen to them, or as a nation following the superstitious practices, hypocrites and inhumane. Cannibalism is a metaphor of how Chinese society is destructive for individuals. (Hsia, 1999, pp.542- 543)

Lu Xun´s characters believe in superstitious practices and rituals of traditional medicine, which results in death and the others watch the suffering of lonely and powerless widows without helping them. The scholars are not virtuous and devoted Confucians, as the example of Kong Yiji showed us. In one of his essays, Lu Xun describe the Chinese society as being worse than demons. People themselves created much worse and much more cruel hell than devils: „Thereafter humanity completely took over

80 the rule in the hell and exceled in it more than previous ruler of hell.”64 (Lu, 1951, pp.250-251, translated by author)

Eileen Chang penetrates the world of women of higher society. In her short stories, it is the author, not the characters who see the inhumanity and cruelty of traditional system. Chang is direct and calls women deplorable or useless, if they blindly follow the rules of traditional life for women. (Zhang, 2012, pp.11; 14; 23; 90)

Lao She created a fictional planet reflecting the problems he saw in Chinese society. His elaboration of inhumanity is explicit and direct. For example, in the way the ambassador´s wife treated concubines with cruelty under excuse of being truly virtuous wife. Or the extinction of Cat nation. It was done by themselves, not foreigners. (Lao, 2012, pp.101; 214)

The self-loathing discourse examples which have connection with comparing China to western powers and their technical superiority have similar traits, as shown above. The intention of authors was to point out the problems of China, in order to mobilise the nation to action and change. But at the same time, authors like Lu Xun, Lao She or Huangjiang Diaosou do not see hope for future of Chinese nation and suggest their replacement by more advanced or more humane societies.

The second reason for self-loathing is ethnicity. This category is represented by short stories Seven Savages and the Last Welcome of Spring, Meijin, Baozi and the White Kid, The New and the Old and novel Wolf Totem. Shen Congwen is partly Han Chinese and partly has roots from Miao and Tujia minorities. His childhood memories of life of minorities shaped his perception of Han majority practices. He saw their incomprehension of traditions and lifestyle of minorities, when the Han Chinese came into villages inhabited by those minorities. The examples from Shen´s short stories describe the opposition of minorities´ peaceful coexistence with nature and the greediness of Han officials who brought the opium addiction, trafficking with people and wars. Over years, the minorities lost their identity because they abandoned traditions and forgot about it. (Shen, 2013, pp.7; 11; 17; 23; 124)

Jiang Rong is ethnically Han Chinese, but his experience with nomadic life of Mongols changed him and it shaped his vision of Han Chinese as well. He elaborates the contradiction of weak sheep character and strong wolf character, as it was described in the third chapter. Jiang Rong´s questioning of character of Chinese nation brings the ethnic self-loathing even further than Shen Congwen, as he himself is Han Chinese. Jiang Rong sees the problem of Chinese nation deep in their national character, which according to him is the cause of repeated defeats by foreign nations. (Varsava, 2011, p.286)

Shen Congwen and Jiang Rong both denounce the modernisation as harmful for society. Jiang Rong´s suggestion of change of national character would make the Han Chinese stronger, but Shen

64 Nato převzalo lidstvo zcela a výhradně do svých rukou vládu a moc nad peklem a předčilo v tom i dřívějšího vládce pekel. 81

Congwen is more pessimistic. For him, the modernisation is irreversible and permanent, and the amelioration of society is not possible.

The last reason for self-loathing found in this work is the absence of spiritual values in current, relatively wealthy, and developed China. The novels Republic of Wine, The Explosion Chronicles, Please Don´t Call Me Human and The Fat Years criticise the focus on economic development at all costs and consequent inhumanity of Chinese. These four authors lived in the end of the century and experienced the economic transformation of China, which led to novels describing the current Chinese society with exaggeration of inhumanity of society, corruption or opportunism, as it is in Republic of Wine. Furthermore, Mo Yan elaborates the idea of cannibalism, which is present in Chinese literature since Lu Xun´s short novel The Diary of Madman. In Republic of Wine, the cannibalism represents the exploitation of poor people by rich part of society. (Mo, 2015, pp.98; 224)

The Explosion Chronicles adds the mythorealistic elements to the description of real world and events in the novel, as a way to understand the unimaginable, as author himself claimed. (Song, 2016, p.646) In Mo Yan and Yan Lianke´s novels, they both describe Chinese nation as constantly chasing the economic profit where the life of an individual means nothing. These authors suggest the missing spiritual values, which would guide the economic growth of society. The inhuman society is a result of lack of moral values. The cannibalism, corruption, or indifference towards death of many individuals are just examples of lacking morals.

Mo Yan and Yan Lianke describe what Chinese society had become after the economic reforms and opening to the world. The intention of their elaboration of self-loathing is to bring Chinese people to find the lost moral values and improve for the future of nation.

The last two novels Please Don´t Call Me Human and The Fat Years represent the fictional futures of China. Both of these future Chinas are developed, wealthy, even economically ahead of the rest of the world. However, the price of the economic success of China is extreme dehumanisation of Chinese nation expressed thought the training of Tang Yuanbao in Please Don´t Call Me Human. Satire of his training is another elaboration of winning at all cost. The ultimate humiliation by ripping off his own face brings the inhumanity of cheering of the whole nation to a new level. (Wang, 2003, p.254)

The fictional future world from The Fat Years presents Chinese society controlled by censorship and drogue in tap water which caused constant happiness. Only a small minority of Chinese resisted the influence of drogue, but they were powerless when pointing out the problematic past of country or the current state, which is too perfect. The author Chan Koonchung proposes two explanations. The first, the society willingly exchanged their freedom for manipulation, wealth, and comfortable life. According to Chan, Chinese want to be controlled, because they fear anarchy and long for stability and wealth. Or

82 the second explanation, the government´s control must be strict because Chinese cannot handle more than 90 % of freedom. (Chan, 2012, pp.162-163)

Chan Koonchung and Wang Shuo predict the future China to be controlled and manipulated by government, because Chinese nation exchanged any moral principles or values for material wealth and money. These authors suggest Chinese would become or do anything if it would guarantee them a profit.

Shortly, the reasons for self-loathing vary over the century, but the discourse of self-loathing stays present in literature creation. The discourse of self-loathing reflects different problems of different decades, which explains why the reasons for self-loathing change and evolve during the 20th century. Authors want to accentuate different aspects and problems of Chinese society associated with modernisation of China and their production of self-loathing in literature varies accordingly.

At the beginning of century, the technological superiority of West provoked the call for modernisation of society and rejection of their own tradition. The ethnic self-loathing highlights the destruction of society by abandonment of traditions. In the end of century, authors witnessed another transformation of society, economic growth became a goal and replaced the ideology of Mao Zedong´s era. It caused the dehumanisation of society seeking the profit at all costs. Without a change, the authors predict the future of Chinese nation as being dehumanised and fully controlled by government. As can be deducted from continuation of tradition of self-loathing from the books published after year 2000, the discourse of self-loathing will probably be present in literature creation until the Chinese writers will feel and think that Chinese nation needs to change and to improve.

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CONCLUSION

The main objective of this work was to analyse how is the discourse of self-loathing produced by Chinese authors and how was the self-loathing discourse evolving during the 20th century. The first and the second chapter set the theoretical frame for the later analysis. The first chapter contains the definition of term self-loathing, the description of main historical events in China and philosophical changes of the 20th century. The second chapter completed the theoretical part of this thesis by adding short biographies of authors.

The third chapter presents concrete examples of self-loathing discourse in novels and short stories. The analysis of these examples showed us how each author perceived modernisation of Chinese society and on what elements they base their production of self-loathing. For example, Huangjiang Diaosou aims his critique on technical and educational backwardness of Chinese nation or on traditional habits and cultural practice, such as foot binding. (Isaacson, 2013, p.43) Ba Jin criticises the lack of capacity to understand real problems, when young intellectuals focus on education and academic approach towards the modernisation of China. (Kaldis, 2003, p.415) Yan Lianke talks about the inhumanity which accompanied the development of Chinese economy at the end of the 20th century. (Yan, 2016, p.487)

The analysis of the third chapter presents the concrete elaborations of self-loathing by different authors. The analysis of concrete examples of self-loathing was used in the fourth chapter, where are distinguished three reasons for self-loathing. The first one being the traditional self-loathing, which focuses on need of modernisation of Chinese nation through abandonment of traditional thinking, habits and adoption of modern, western education and technology. In this case, the modernisation is seen as positive and necessary. To this category belong The Lunar Colony, The Travels of Lao Can, Sinking, Call to Arms, Family, Cat Country, Love in the Fallen City and Golden Cangue.

The second reason for self-loathing is ethnicity. The examples are Seven Savages and the Last Welcome of Spring, Meijin, Baozi and the White Kid, The New and the Old and Wolf Totem. Shen Congwen and Jiang Rong´s reasoning is contradictory to traditional self-loathing. They refuse modernisation and they are advocates of traditions of minorities, which are suppressed and morally destroyed by Han majority. Both authors present the national character of Han Chinese as defective.

The third and the last reason for self-loathing found in this thesis is the dehumanised society, which abandoned any morals or spiritual values in order to gain material wealth. In this category are four literature works. Two of them, The Republic of Wine and The Explosion Chronicles, set their stories in the end of 20th century and present Chinese society focused purely on economic development and personal profit. In these stories, the life of individual is meaningless, and opportunism, corruption and fraud rule the society.

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The last two examples The Fat Years and Please Don´t Call Me Human present the future, as the authors see it, if the society will not change. The society from Mo Yan and Yan Lianke´s novels would transform into completely dehumanised and fully controlled by government in exchange for wealth and comfort.

The analysis of the third and the fourth chapter proved that the discourse of self-loathing is present throughout the 20th century in Chinese literature, but the reason change. The connecting theme is call for amelioration and improvement of Chinese nation. The authors consider it as a way for better future of China. This motive continues to the 21st century literature creation, which suggest the persisting unsatisfaction of authors with state of Chinese nation and China.

Finally, the future research regarding the discourse of self-loathing could be extended by analysis of more literature works from different authors. Further research would lead to determine more types of self-loathing. It would be possible as well to continue the research in literature works from the 21st century, to detect the examples of self-loathing and to compare the results with the 20th century and determine, if the authors see the same problems in Chinese society or if they changed once again.

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