Appreciation of Chen Huansheng’s works in Shangcheng

From "The Head of the Funnel Household", "Chen Huansheng Goes to the City" to "Chen Huansheng Goes Abroad", Gao Xiaosheng's "Chen Huansheng Series" is actually a history of the fate of contemporary Chinese farmers. The writer traces the life and destiny of Chinese farmers and pays attention to closely linking the fate of farmers with China's social and historical destiny. On the one hand, the fate of China's social history restricts and even determines the fate of farmers. On the other hand, the development of Chinese society and history can also be glimpsed from the fate of farmers. The writer told people in "The Head of the "Funnel Household"" that only by first solving the problems of food and housing can we talk about other life, spiritual, cultural and other pursuits of farmers. The sequel "Chen Huansheng Goes to the City" considers the development history and reasons of China's rural areas and farmers' fate from the perspective of Chinese history and culture, and raises a question that arouses people's thought: after solving their survival needs, do farmers still have the spirit? pursuit. In "Chen Huansheng Goes to Town", Gao Xiaosheng conducted an in-depth analysis of the cultural psychology and spiritual structure of Chinese farmers by shaping Chen Huansheng's artistic image, which triggered the issue of transforming China's national character.

Chen Huansheng, described by Gao Xiaosheng, is a typical example of Chinese farmers: kind and upright, without edge, bright-hearted, and reasonable; so honest that he suffers losses but does not know how to investigate; he is so simple that he will do nothing if he is deceived. Be aware. They hold on to two beliefs: first, they believe that they can survive by relying on their own labor in any difficult and difficult situation; second, they firmly believe that the Communist Party can gradually improve their lives. They always have unlimited hope for reality and always make every effort to realize that hope. Between the lines of the novel, the writer is full of admiration and gratitude for them. However, at the same time, the writer also points out that although Chen Huansheng and the Chinese farmers he represents and even the broader Chinese people have solved the problem of food and clothing, psychologically they are still "still There is no relief from the burden of tradition.”

In "The Head of a Funnel Household", the protagonist Chen Huansheng, who once fell into mental numbness due to lack of food, got rid of the hat of "Head of a Funnel Household" after the Third Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and felt full. When you wear new clothes, you will have a desire for spiritual life, eager for the opportunity to get "air", and eager to be respected by people. Next, Gao Xiaosheng humorously exaggerated Chen Huansheng's eagerness to "show off", and then carefully designed Chen Huansheng's "adventure in the city". Chen Huansheng went to the city to sell oil ropes in order to buy a new hat. He fell ill at the station and was arranged to stay one night in a high-end room in the guest house by his old acquaintance Wu Chu, the county party secretary. The secretary's kindness made him burst into tears, but it also made him depressed because of the five yuan he earned from selling oil ropes, so that he lost his psychological balance and even used methods such as "jumping" on the sofa and entering the house without taking off his shoes. Vent anger. . Then he suddenly realized that "this five yuan is well spent" - "Let me ask, among all the cadres and members of the brigade, who has ever taken a ride in Secretary Wu's car? Who has stayed in a high-end room that costs five yuan a night... He can I want to tell everyone and see who can still look down on him... Ha, when people are proud, he bought spiritual satisfaction for only five yuan. He really found a very bargain. "Through this kind of thing. Ridiculing himself, Chen Huansheng proudly got rid of material burdens, and his vanity was satisfied as never before. This kind of Ah Q-style self-deception and self-narcissism creates another kind of mental numbness and confusion in a vicious cycle.

"Chen Huansheng" typically expresses the complex spiritual phenomena existing in the vast number of farmers in China, contains rich connotations, and has a profound sense of reality and history. Chen Huansheng's psychological "mutation" in "Adventures in the City" contains the peasant cultural psychology, and even the pitiable and pitiful mentality in the cultural and psychological structure of the entire nation, showing the inevitable confusion of farmers when they arrive in a new life. While farmers can partially control their own destiny, they are lost sheep who cannot control their own destiny. When Chen Huansheng gained more autonomy, he had no sense of ownership. As the author himself said, this weakness "if it is not resolved, China will still have an emperor."

Typical plot design

The writer first decided on the plot of "the former "funnel household" owner who has just filled his stomach, has just stood up and has not yet stood firm, has low self-esteem and self-respect, goes to the city to live in a high-end guest house to make a joke" A large framework, and then a careful layout was made to make this kind of thing that was impossible to happen in real life at the time "reasonably" happen. Chen Huansheng could never afford to live in a guest house. He must have a very powerful introducer. The reason why the introducer introduced him was because he was sick and could not go back. The reason why he was sick was because he caught a cold. The reason why he caught a cold was because he had no money. Buy a hat and wear it. The fact that he didn't buy the hat was due to Chen Huansheng's calculating and reckless character. He planned to use the profit from selling oil rope to buy hats, so he didn't bring any money. However, he failed to calculate that the store would be closed by the time the oil rope was sold out, and he could only buy it the next day. So, he could only sell out. After Yu Sheng spent the night together in the waiting room of the train station, she happened to meet Secretary Wu and was sent to the guest house "of course". In this way, the writer cleverly conceived the plot using backward reasoning, and the reasonable layout involved a series of interesting stories. At the same time, the typical stories enriched the characters' personalities.

Ingenious narrative method

In "Chen Huansheng Goes to the City", the author makes extensive use of the "free narrative" narrative method (that is, using third-person objective narrative on the surface, but in fact It is the narrator switching to the character's point of view, imitating the character's tone to describe things or psychological description), and flexibly changing the narrative perspective and person. In the paragraph describing Chen Huansheng's use of the "Spiritual Victory Method" to achieve psychological balance and satisfy his vanity, the author writes: "He asked himself questions and answered questions, thinking about things, but it was always wrong. Suddenly his heart brightened, and he clapped his thighs, happy He shouted: "Yes." He thought that this trip to the city and this touching experience made him finally have something to be proud of. , has anyone ever taken a ride in Secretary Wu’s car? Has anyone ever stayed in a high-end room that cost 5 yuan a night? He wants to tell everyone, who can say that he has nothing to say! Who can look down on him? ... His energy suddenly increased, and he suddenly seemed to be much taller. He had a way to deal with it, as long as he mentioned the 5 yuan. It was Secretary Wu who thought highly of him, so he let him use it, and his wife promised to obey. "The "self-questions and answers" at the beginning indicate the psychological activities of the character, and the following "He finally has something to talk about that he is proud of. Among all the cadres and members of the brigade, who has ever taken a ride in Secretary Wu’s car?” The narrative perspective becomes blurred, and it seems like the narrator is narrating, and the character is talking to himself. "Who can say that he has nothing to say! Who can say that he has never seen the world? Who can look down on him, huh!" This sentence uses the third person narration again, as if the narrator is narrating from a zero perspective. . The onomatopoeic word "Mei!" at the end adds to the feeling of direct quotation. The narrator replaces the characters in a covert way, stripping these psychological activities that have the same effect as direct quotations from the quotation marks, forming a smooth narrative. The omission of the subject successfully erases the traces of transformation, and the exclamation mark Retention allows the indirect quotation to maintain the sense of presence of the direct quotation. All this simultaneously creates the illusion of "objectivity", allowing readers to regard Chen Huansheng's psychological activities as the narrator's objective statement, which greatly increases the content of the work. sense of reality.

Vivid psychological and action portrayal

The author uses interesting language to create the typical image of Chen Huansheng through changes in psychological activities and detailed action capture. Chen Huansheng had the simplicity and kindness of a farmer. He huddled up in bed, knowing that he was not clean and was afraid of soiling the quilt. Then he quietly got up, picked up his shoes, and walked out barefoot. At this time, he didn't dare to sit on the sofa chair, for fear that it would be flat and not full. The image of a farmer who doesn't know what luxurious city life is, who is trembling and has a bit of inferiority complex, emerges vividly from this description.

Chen Huansheng also had the cunning, narrow-mindedness and violent mentality of farmers. When he learned that he had to pay a large price of five yuan for a night's stay, he couldn't help but feel angry. He was no longer afraid of getting dirty, so he walked back to the room with his shoes on. He sat down on the sofa that he dared not touch just now: "Never mind it, it's none of my business if the seat is flat. I paid five yuan." "I wanted to find a towel to wash my face, but there wasn't one. I felt guilty. He picked up the jacquard pillow towel and wiped it for a while. "He wanted to fully enjoy this high-end room that belonged to him for the time being. Since he could go there until twelve o'clock, he would just stay there for these few hours without taking off his clothes and just cover himself with the quilt. After sleeping, this time he was no longer afraid of getting dirty. Even if the room turned into a pigsty, he wouldn't do anything else. He paid five yuan anyway. However, after thinking about it carefully, "If I stay sleepy in this bed, I will become more and more hungry. I don't have food stamps with me. Where can I eat lunch? I will be so hungry that I can't walk. Should I stay here for one more night?" He panicked. , kicked the quilt away, put it into the travel bag, opened the door and left. Although this place is nice, it is not a place where I will love you for a long time. Although I still have two or three hours left, I can't take it with me, so I reluctantly give up. "This kind of twists and turns of psychological portrayal and action description make the protagonist flesh and blood, fully exposed in front of the reader.