The Story of the Yellow Bird —— China's Practice of Magic Realism

The first contact with magical realism was paulo coelho's The Alchemist (also called The Fantasy Journey of the Shepherd Boy). Later, I saw many of his works one after another, and then I saw Marquez and perfume. My favorite work of magical realism is Love Chocolate, written by Laura Esquel, a little-known writer. This book is only available in electronic version. This genre of works is very readable, and some of my friends who don't like reading can finish reading such a book with great devotion. I think it is probably because it is mysterious and realistic, more realistic than pure magic style and more interesting than realism. This compromise is more in line with real life. Even if the society develops to the present, all kinds of "legends" can't be avoided, which makes people feel awe. There are not many magical realism works in China's literary world. I've only heard of Mo Yan before, but I haven't seen his works. I saw a lot of Chi Zijian's works some time ago, and I think many of them can be classified into this category. I didn't know it belonged to this genre before I saw it, but I just showed it to the author Su Tong. Many years ago, I read his "Riverside of Harvest" and found that the writer's choice of writing points was ingenious, and that kind of difference would not make people feel deliberately exaggerated. So before I went to Nanjing, I chose this book as my travel companion.

? The Tale of the Yellowbird is divided into three parts: the spring of Baorun, the autumn of Yagyu, and the summer of Miss Bai, that is, the story is explained from the perspective of three protagonists. Su Tong chooses to tell the story in a small scene, and the main scenes are only Toona Street and a mental hospital. The first role is Baorun's grandfather, an old man who lost his soul and lived forever. He runs through the whole paper from beginning to end, and the fate of the three protagonists is firmly tied to him. Grandfather lost his mind and went to a mental hospital. Baorun mastered a good rope art because he wanted to take good care of his grandfather and met a fairy who lived in a mental hospital, later Miss Bai. Yagyu also knew Baorun because of rope art, and then a series of stories and conflicts broke out like dominoes, one triggering another.

None of the three protagonists are villains, and their social environment is the most common at that time, so neither internal nor external factors can lead to their later tragedies. Therefore, their tragedies may be classified as invisible arrangements, which seem to meet the requirements of magic, but they are also realistic, because many tragedies in the real society can't find the reasons, and people can only shake their heads and sigh "sin" when talking about it. Baorun, who grew up in a family with a strong mother and a weak father, was withdrawn and depressed, and could not find an outlet to vent. After my grandfather was sent to a mental hospital, a long snake appeared when my mother cleaned my grandfather's room and emptied it. My father called it a domestic snake. If I fail, I will set Baorun free. This released snake later seemed to be a rope in Baorun's hand. He suddenly found that he had a gift for rope art. When the rope listened to him, he also got the pleasure of venting in the constant binding, which eventually led to the first tragedy. Yagyu, a smart and active person, had a bright future, but he escaped the first tragedy because of sudden evil thoughts, but not the second. Miss Bai was called a fairy when she was a child. As the name implies, this fairy has a beautiful appearance, but her personality is very annoying. When reading this book, I can't sympathize with her even if I know that she is a victim. The first tragedy, the fairy is cicada, Baorun is mantis, and Yagyu is yellowbird. Mantis paid the price for this tragedy, so Baorun can only reluctantly become a victim with the fairy. When they met ten years later, what Yagyu and his family said most was "Let bygones be bygones." The injurer can't understand the pain of the victim and understate it. This attitude often makes the victims more disgusted. Even if the wound scabs, it will leave scars and the pain will always exist. Maybe you can forgive, but you can't forget. Before the second tragedy, three people formed a strange relationship. Obviously, they should hate each other the most, but they have reached an unspeakable relationship, and naturally they are in danger because of hatred. The second tragedy happened soon. This time, there is no winner.

The angle of the story itself is very special, and the mysterious image makes it more readable. Grandfather lost his soul, domestic snake, carved big bed, flashlight with remains, Buddhist temple formerly known as water tower, angry baby. The interpenetration of these images is very natural, connecting the stories together. One of the two plots that impressed me the most was that Baorun stuffed the fairy photo she took by mistake when she took grandpa's photo into the hole left by the domestic snake and sealed it up. The author described the photo in detail, saying that the fairy in the photo had a beautiful face and an angry look. Baorun stuffed her photo into a black hole, as if indicating that her future is a cicada. The second plot is the end of the novel. The fairy gave birth to a red-faced angry baby, moved into the water tower that marked her suffering, gave the baby to her grandfather one day and left. No one knows whether she will come back. The angry baby with a red face reminds me of a work of art I once saw. Hong Haier, the immortal grandfather finally accepted the angry baby, as if indicating a continuation.

When the shepherds quarrel, the wolf wins. After reading the complete book, you will know that neither cicada, mantis nor yellowbird can escape the net woven by fate. Magic realistic works such as The Yellowbird are avant-garde works in China's literary world. It is also a successful practice and worth reading.