What is a traditional novel?

1. What is the relationship between the law of literary development worldwide and the different laws of literary development between regions with different social systems? From a macro point of view, although the development of literature in different regions, nationalities and countries in the world is different, there are indeed some laws of the same sex. For example, myths and epics appeared at the beginning of the history of civilization, then there was a prosperous period of poetry, then there was a prosperous period of drama, and the form of novels appeared relatively late ... At that time, people's spoken language was originally used in literary works. Later, on the whole, there was a period when "classical Chinese" tended to be divorced from contemporary spoken and written language, but in modern times, they all returned to "vernacular" ... In the pen of "comparative literature" researchers, haven't there been many examples of "coincidence" in content and form? Therefore, we must admit that the development of the whole world literature has some objective laws, both ancient and modern. Therefore, the best literature of different regions, nationalities and countries in the world, including countries with different social systems, can and should be exchanged and used for reference. As a part of the total cultural accumulation of all mankind, they have the same value.

However, there are obvious and strong differences in the development of literature between regions with different social systems. Even though the social system is basically the same, due to the existence of economic development, different writers, different readers' education levels, different printing and publishing capabilities and levels, their respective literary development will be influenced by their own unique laws. Frankly speaking, as China is a socialist country, our literature development must be carried out under the premise of "Four Persistences". The current composition of writers and readers in China and the economic, educational and social life structure of the whole country have made the development of China literature in modern times have its own special laws.

My general feeling is that you look at the problem from a macro perspective, that is, the general law of the development of world literature, but you don't look at the problem from a relatively micro perspective, that is, the special law that restricts the development of modern literature in China.

For example, although the appearance of rural areas in China has undergone very gratifying changes in the past two years, that is, farmers have generally become rich, it is hard to say how much the cultural level and philosophical habits of rural readers have changed. Therefore, when writing for them, China writers can learn from the modern novel skills analyzed in Gao Xingjian's pamphlets, but after all, they can't all fall into the category of "modernism". This is not only the case in rural areas, but also the general urban residents, workers in many factories and mines and PLA troops, waiters and soldiers in various service industries. Their cultural and educational level and their philosophical interests and habits as aesthetic subjects may make it difficult to digest "modernist" literary works.

Warmly welcome China's "modernist" literary works, cheer for them, fall for them, or argue for them, praise them, even be dissatisfied with them, and have higher aspirations. Generally speaking, there are still a few people with high cultural literacy in cities, especially young and middle-aged people, especially college students. Of course, like you, I agree that some writers-including us, including me-sometimes write for them, because they are also builders of socialism, and their contributions will be greater than ordinary people in the historical task of realizing modernization. So, in this sense, China really needs "modernism"! Moreover, after a period of development, the cultural and educational level of the workers, peasants and soldiers mentioned above has improved, and their interest in appreciation has also changed, some of which (note: not all! It is also possible to join the ranks of readers who appreciate "modernist" literature, thus promoting the further development of "modernist" literature. But writers who are not called "modernists" but keep pace with the times must still have the most readers. After the improvement of cultural and educational level, these readers are not inclined to appreciate "modernist" works, but are likely to be more inclined to put forward higher technical requirements for traditional literary forms.

Second, what is the relationship between the general law of formal beauty in literature and art and the special law of formal beauty in different categories? In your letter to Li Tuo, it seems that you started from the general law of formal beauty of literature and art too much, and emphasized the independence of form itself to an almost absolute degree. Yes, in some categories of literature and art, especially in the fields of architectural art and craft design (such as automobile design), it is sometimes really difficult to say how much inevitable connection its form has with its content, that is to say, the philosophical, political and ethical tendencies reflected through the form itself are tortuous, tortuous and subtle, if not almost non-existent. In most arts and crafts designs, the formal beauty of some themes, such as plastic arts, calligraphy arts, garden arts, and even some absolute music, is often (of course not all) quite independent. However, when it comes to literature, especially novels, it seems difficult to separate content and form so clearly. Obviously, novels that appeal to the reader's second signal system have their own special laws in embodying formal beauty, and the particularity of this law must be carefully studied.

I thought Gao Xingjian paid more attention to this rule in his pamphlet. He seldom affirms the works of western modernism like you, because he appreciates the strangeness and strangeness of its form, so he can't help overestimating its content. It seems that he tried his best to disassemble the formal beauty into various technical elements for investigation, which makes people feel that he has drawn inspiration from Stalin's study of linguistics. Language itself is not a superstructure and has no class nature. Only when the subject (person) who uses language connects words and expressions to express a complete meaning can he reflect a certain political tendency, class emotion or moral concept. Therefore, it is necessary for people from all walks of life to master the language well, and it is no harm to learn from each other in the process. Modern novel skills (not the whole form itself) should also be classless. Therefore, for writers of any country, any nation, any political belief and any aesthetic taste, they can learn more modern skills, so as to calmly choose the latest excellent weapons in the most abundant arsenal to enrich and develop their own charm of conquering readers.

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