Rethinking the Attitude Toward Roots in Papa Papa

I. A Criticism of the Ignorant and Backward Forms of National Culture

Although Han Shaogong believes that the "roots" of literature should be found in the traditional culture of the nation, Papa Papa shows a dialectical criticism and skepticism of the traditional culture, and argues that "searching for the roots" should not blindly apply all the traditional folklore and customs to literary creation without distinction. However, Papa Papa shows a dialectical, critical and skeptical attitude towards traditional culture, arguing that "searching for the roots" should not blindly apply all traditional folklore and customs to literary creation without differentiating between them. There are positive parts of the national culture that can serve as the "spiritual foundation", and there are also negative parts that show a morbid, ignorant and backward mode of thinking.

The novel reflects the image of an ignorant and barbaric group with collective unconsciousness on the concept of survival from the main character Caijiao and the villagers of Jitouzhai, and thus criticizes this backward and deformed form of national culture in traditional culture.

In the novel, C Cub is a demented child who is born to speak only two opposing words: whatever is good in his eyes, he calls it "Papa Papa"; whatever is bad, he calls it "X Mama". This kind of discourse is a metaphor for a typical dichotomous mode of thinking and discourse, and a simple and one-sided perception of the world. In fact, C.C. does not have the ability to distinguish between good and bad, and his perception of the world is not a rational and sober cognition, but a physiological reaction to the things around him. The characterization of Prophecy is a symbol of the ignorance and barbaric "collective unconscious" in traditional culture, which clearly points out the lack of rational cognition in the closed and backward folk culture.

There is also an episode in Papa where all the villagers in Jitouzhai worship Cui as a god: when they are facing a natural disaster and praying to heaven for blessings, they inexplicably see Cui's dementia and his illness of only saying "Papa, Papa" and "Mother X" as a kind of prophet who can predict what will happen. They see it as a mysterious ability to predict prophets. In the face of the disaster, Chicken Head Village puts its fate in the hands of a demented child's unnecessary babbling, which ultimately leads to the tragic fate of the entire village, with heavy casualties and a step-by-step approach to the end of the village.

This again reflects the stupidity and absurdity of the entire primitive village?

This is another manifestation of the stupidity and absurdity of the entire primitive village --- delivering its own destiny to something purely irrational, and thus falling into a kind of blind unconsciousness. Therefore, "Papa Papa" actually puts forward a merciless criticism of the backward and ignorant forms of traditional culture from the regional culture.

Second, the hope for the reconstruction of a new order of civilization

In the past, literary critics generally thought that Han Shao Gong's Papa Papa held a negative attitude toward the "root" of literature, that is, a kind of criticism of the backward and ignorant traditional culture of the nation. However, through repeated pondering and thinking about the characters and plots in the work, we can also see the positive side of Han's attitude towards the search for the "root", that is, the hope of finding and establishing a new order of civilization.

Because of the villagers' blind obedience to the absurd and collective unconsciousness, Jitouzhai had to fall into the tragic fate of the destruction of all. Although C.C. is accidentally worshipped as a god, he can't escape this fate in the end. However, the novel describes the plot of "resurrection" of C.C. after being fed poison by the arbitration seamstress. Not only did he not die, but he also became more full of vitality and tried hard to look for his own home in the surrounding area. The "resurrection" of C.C. actually reflects the hopeful attitude of "Dad" towards the new culture, which is reborn like the phoenix rising from the ashes after a backward and ignorant civilization has been destroyed. The subversion of the old civilization heralds the awakening and rise of a new civilization.

? Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that the design of the demise of Jitouzhai in the novel heralds the overthrow of the old civilization order, and the resurrection of the Ciao in the end of the novel puts forward the author's pursuit of and hope for a new national culture, which will appear in the form of a new order with the rational attitude of the modern civilization.

Third, a profound reflection on the rural living environment and civilization reconstruction

Although Papa Papa does not directly present the causes of the tragedy of the demise of Jitouzhai, it does reflect on the overall backwardness of this primitive village, and questions and reflects on the cultural structure of the rural society in the text. The geographic location of Jitouzhai is not explicitly stated in the novel, but its remoteness and backwardness are described in detail. Like the remote mountain village in "Returning", the remoteness and isolation of Jitouzhai also bring a sense of strangeness and isolation to people, even though there are already "automobiles" in the external world, the geographic and spiritual isolation makes the whole village feel isolated. Even though there are cars in the outside world, this geographical and spiritual isolation makes the civilization of the whole village in a state of isolation, which in turn cultivates the savage and vulgar spiritual temperament of the Jitouzhai mountain people and their ignorant and blind way of thinking.

There are also characters in the novel who rebel against the irrationality and ignorance of the backward civilization. The other main character in Papa, Renbao, is a slightly rebellious character who gradually awakens through contact with the outside world. At the beginning, Renbao only has a desire for the opposite sex and rebels against the traditional order of manners and customs, and because he has little status in the village, he also has a great desire for the right to speak. With a strong desire to break through the confines of real life, Renbao gradually begins to come into contact with the outside world, learning many new terms and making some new changes in his thinking. He longed for the modern civilization of the outside world to be able to change the closed environment of Jitouzhai, but in the end, he could not resist the stubborn fact that this primitive village was backward and ignorant, and it was difficult to return to the past, so he finally chose to leave. Renbao is obviously a special anomaly in this village, and the author's portrayal of the marginalized fate of this anomaly is a metaphor for the marginalization of modern civilization over the ignorant and backward traditional civilization.

In such a living environment, the possibility of rebuilding a new civilized order is a kind of exploratory reflection on the "roots" of Papa Papa. Although the death and resurrection of the cubs reflects the author's hope for a new civilization, the author holds a wait-and-see attitude towards the reconstruction of civilization, just as the end of the novel does not explain the final fate of the cubs.

? Conclusion

The above is a brief analysis of the root-seeking color and the attitude towards "root" in Dad Dad. The novel's search for the "root" of literature is an exploration of the survival state and spirit of the whole human race beyond time and space, relying on the historical precipitation of the Chu witch culture.

Through the analysis, it can be seen that Han Shao Gong's attitude towards the "root" in Papa Papa is not purely negative, and this "negativity" has at least three levels of different meanings: criticism of the ignorant and backward national culture, hope for the reconstruction of a new order of civilization, and hope for a new order of civilization. This "negation" has at least three different meanings: criticism of the ignorant and backward national cultural form, hope for the reconstruction of a new civilized order, and deep reflection on the rural living environment and civilization reconstruction. These three aspects are not in opposition to each other, negative to each other, or isolated from each other, but are interdependent and progressive in this practical novel about the concept of searching for one's roots.

"Papa Papa" exposes and criticizes the rationality and absurdity of a nation in the context of the Chu-Mu culture from a socio-historical point of view, but at the same time reconstructs the establishment of a new order of civilization through the author's strong intention of "rational design", and has a profound reflection on the dilemma of "where should we go to look for our roots? "

Daddy's book is the first in a series of books that have been published in the United States.

Daddy provides a literary expression of the spirit: we can't look for the "root" from the backward primitive traditional culture and mythological thinking, but we should reflect on the traditional culture to find a feasible way of cultural construction. As Han Shaogong himself said, our responsibility is to use the "heat" of modern concepts to recast and brighten the "self" of our nation.