Because of these dialect writing, novels in different regions have different faces, different voices, or Wunong soft language, or Shaanxi dialect Jin language, abandoning the one side of thousands of people and different regions, thus having different tastes.
Reporter | He Yingyu
Dialect is the soul of a place.
Blossoms Shanghai introduced the Shanghainese dialect into the text, and the words and deeds of Shanghainese jumped from the page. In fact, as early as before Blossoms Shanghai, in the late Qing Dynasty, novels such as Biography of Flowers on the Sea and He Dian had incorporated Wu dialect into their novels, making their novels more agile and more life-like. This tradition was once forgotten by people until the publication of Blossoms Shanghai, and the new territory of Wu novels was continued.
Dialect writing is certainly not a patent in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai postal areas. Writers in northwest China, Sichuan and Yunnan are also keenly aware that the dialect in their hometown is a great killer, and it can add a lot of color to the novel if used well.
What local characteristics does dialect writing bring to the novel? Because of these dialect writing, novels in different regions have different faces, different voices, or Wunong soft language, or Shaanxi dialect Jin language, abandoning the one side of thousands of people and different regions, thus having different tastes.
China’s First Dialect Novel
Left: Han Bangqing’s Biography of Flowers on the Sea is the first dialect novel. Right: One of Li Jieren’s "trilogy of river novels": "A stagnant water ripples".
Biographies of Flowers on the Sea written by Han Bangqing in the late Qing Dynasty is China’s first dialect novel. It was originally called Spring and Autumn of the Flower Country, also known as Drawing a Treasure Mirror of a Brothel, and Drawing the Romance of a Brothel on the Sea. The book has 64 chapters and was first published in 1894. The main content of this novel is to write about the brothel life in Shanghai Shili Foreign Market in the late Qing Dynasty, involving the officialdom, business circles and the social level connected with it. When Han Bangqing wrote this novel, he said, "This book was written for exhortation". In the book, many vivid images of prostitutes and clients were portrayed by the experience of Zhao Puzhai’s family. The dialogues of the characters in the book are all in Suzhou dialect, which is lively and creates a precedent for dialect novels. Zhang Ailing loves this book very much. She once translated it into English and Mandarin, and the Mandarin version was renamed Flowers on the Sea, which is divided into two parts: Flowers on the Sea and Flowers on the Sea. Zhang Ailing also said: "The Marriage of Awakening the World and Flowers on the Sea are both the best realistic works. I often feel unfair for them, and I always feel that they should be world masterpieces. " It can be said that it is a very high evaluation.
Hu Shi believes that Su Bai’s literature originated in the Ming Dynasty, but Su Bai is in a subordinate position, whether it is the role of speaking Bai in legend or singing Bai in Tanci. It was not until Biography of Flowers on the Sea was born that Su Bai was widely used in the book. Since then, Su Bai’s subordinate position has changed, and Su Bai literature was formally established. Hu Shi said: "Flowers on the Sea is the first masterpiece of Wu literature. The formal establishment of Su Bai’s literature starts with Flowers on the Sea. Han Ziyun and his Biography of Flowers on the Sea have really opened up a new situation for China literature. I hope they (Wu-speaking literati) will continue to develop this mature trend of Wu-speaking literature. The victory of Flowers on the Sea is not only the author’s personal victory, but also the victory of the movement of Wu literature. "
After Biography of Flowers on the Sea, Wu novels frequently appeared. Although Biography of Flowers on the Sea is "the first masterpiece of Wu literature", it is considered as a "lost masterpiece", that is, Hu Shi only dares to make a conclusion that "the literary value has finally attracted the appreciation and imitation of a few scholars". The achievement of Biography of Flowers on the Sea is not only that "the work of writing Su Bai greatly reduces the difficulty for later generations to write Su Bai literature", but also that its unique bilingual system takes Mandarin as the narrative language and dialect as the dialogue of characters, which combines the vivid description of Mandarin with the vivid description of people in dialects in one book, which has both advantages and disadvantages, thus causing the later scholars to follow suit, setting off the climax of Wu Yu novels in the late Qing Dynasty, and determining the basic features of Wu Yu novels involving many narrow evils. In addition, the word "shou" created by Biography of Flowers on the Sea has been used up to now and has been included in the dictionary of Wu dialect, which is also a great contribution of Biography of Flowers on the Sea to Wu literature.
The representative of Sichuan local literature
Some people say that Li Jieren’s novels must be read in Sichuan dialect.
As a representative of Sichuan local literature, Li Jieren "lives in a humble abode" between Bashan and Shushui, and depicts the warmth and coldness of human feelings in the land of abundance with simple Sichuan dialect and unique narrative style. From the time he published his first literary work at the age of 21 to his death at the age of 71, Li Jieren published four novels, four novellas and more than 30 short stories, and also wrote plays and a large number of local chronicles. Except for the novella Sympathy, which describes French students studying abroad, almost all his works are based on Bashu, describing Bashu social customs, telling stories of Bashu people and showing Bashu cultural interests with dialect vocabulary.
From 1935 to 1937, Li Jieren published "Trilogy of River Novels", including "Stagnant Water", "Before the Storm" and "Big Wave", which left a deep impression in the history of China literature. It is worth mentioning that among these popular works, Sichuan dialect is a highlight. Li Jieren is the first writer of Sichuan vernacular novels, and his novels use more Sichuan dialect words, which is groundbreaking. Li Jieren’s innovation lies in consciously describing Chengdu people and Chengdu stories in Sichuan dialect.
There are many words in Sichuan dialect that are divorced from classical Chinese. Li Jieren skillfully transplanted Sichuan dialect into literary creation, which is full of charm and refreshing. These words, which are closely related to the daily life of Bashu, describe a scene full of life flavor to readers. Dialect words such as Youda (meat dishes), Chongkezi (chatting) and Maozi (being assassinated) are often found in his works. In addition, Li Jieren is even familiar with Sichuan Paoge’s slang, such as opening Hongshan (killing people at random), helping others (helping others), fat pig (kidnapped people), rising water (critical situation), etc., which is used more when describing specific characters, bringing readers into the Jianghu world of Bashu.
Li Jieren naturally knows the difference between foreign language and native language, but it is strange that he chose the most native dialect in his writing. In fact, this shows his language consciousness. Li Jieren dabbled in Sichuan local and historical themes, and he chose to write in Sichuan dialect, which has a unique charm in characterization and story telling. Dialect writing is vivid, lively and thorough. Reading Li Jieren’s novels often amazes him for his proper use of Sichuan dialect, which can be described as delicious and wonderful, but not in another language. In fact, Li Jieren also kept the most vivid Sichuan dialect in his works, and gave literature a spiritual and free soil to prevent it from being eroded by normative language. This is not narrow-mindedness, but a contribution to literature.
Shaanxi dialect is simple and heavy.
Shaanxi dialect is simple and heavy, such as Chen Zhongshi’s White Deer Plain, Jia Pingwa’s Shaanxi Opera and Chen Yan’s novel The Protagonist, which is an open writing based on life and tradition, drawing materials and nutrition from life and the smallest livelihood.
"White Deer Plain" is all about people and things in Guanzhong, so the author chooses to use a large number of Guanzhong dialects. For example, say "dark room" at night, the house is called "mansion house", and the afternoon is called "afternoon". These languages with Shaanxi characteristics have become the finishing touch in White Deer Plain, which is impressive.
Similarly, Jia Pingwa grew up in Shangluo area, and his growing environment deeply influenced his language expression, which fully reflected the strong emotional color in Jia Pingwa’s language works. A large number of localized languages-Shangluo dialect were used in the creation of Qinqiang Opera. Shangluo dialect belongs to northern dialect in essence, which is very similar to Mandarin in expression and can arouse readers’ emotional resonance. In addition to using a large number of Shangluo languages, a large number of proverbs and sayings are also used in the creation of this work, which plays a very important role in expressing the profound connotation of the work. For example, "What I hate most is winter. People are not alive in their hearts, but they are cold. I only have to lift stones in Qiligou with my head stuffy." "You are used to listening to the Qin opera in the tweeter, and sometimes you feel bored, but once you can’t hear it, your heart is empty and you feel lonely in your ears and mouth." Among them, "accepting life" means comfortable and comfortable in the local people, and "few" means little and tasteless. These words scattered among the people seem to be "rustic", but with the author’s flexible application, they are endowed with new vitality and vitality, which can make readers fully feel the quaint and civilized language of the works and enhance the vitality of the articles.
Above: Chen Yan and his novel The Protagonist written in Shaanxi dialect.
In 2019, the winners of the 10th Mao Dun Literature Prize were announced, and the work "The Protagonist" by Shaanxi writer Chen Yan was on the list. This book is based on the memory of Qin E’s half-life acting career, involving the vast sentient beings’ mode and the changes of the times since the reform and opening up 40 years ago, and showing the true appearance of "human" in the interlacing of life and traditional culture, society and individual.
The protagonist is also praised by the Shaanxi dialect in the dialogue of the characters:
"Singing in an opera is to see how your kung fu and voice are, not how you dress. Even if you dress up in a glazed leather palm, what’s the use of lifting your feet to make a cold skin and opening your mouth to make a pack of cigarettes? "
"A ditch knows that you are doing well in the provincial capital and have great fame. That fame is the door and the way. Even the people who can’t compete with you in the group have made a windfall and bought a Rolls Royce. If you want to make a fortune, don’t be sloppy. "
Talking about the characteristics of Shaanxi dialect in the novel, Chen Yan told reporters: "Now our novel writing is more in the language of translation. After urbanization, there are fewer and fewer rural memories and regional cultural memories. We look at China’s traditional novels, whether it’s Jin Ping Mei, A Dream of Red Mansions or Water Margin The Journey to the West, and there are many local dialects that we don’t understand today, so we need experts to annotate them. But even if we can’t understand them at once, when we try to figure out the meaning of these words, we will find them very wonderful. I am rereading Four Great Classical Novels again this year, and I have been thinking about the language repeatedly. It should be said that there are many languages with regional and national characteristics, which are very interesting to read. When I write about Sanqin culture, I must use the local dialect. I think language is the biggest feature of a place, just like a traditional opera, if it doesn’t use dialects, this kind of drama will not exist. Now some troupes are exploring, and it is suicide to call it that kind of drama in Mandarin. The same is true of novels. I want to pursue the aesthetics of China, the nation and the traditional literature of China, and always have some characteristics in language. If I follow the crowd, the novel will be tasteless to read. The use of dialect slang in novels is a good tradition. When we read such classics as Water Margin, we often marvel at those vivid dialects. In my novel and drama creation, I always insist on salvaging some local dialects and proverbs that are about to be lost. I think it will be more appropriate to write about which side of the country, water, soil and people, and to express it in which side’s language and habits. The language of novels must be vivid and vivid,It should be more like talking, a narrative style that sticks to the land. "
Witchcraft in Yunnan
In 2023, Xinxing Publishing House published a collection of short stories by young writer Jiao Dian, Peacock Bodhi.
Above: Young writer Jiao Dian’s masterpiece Peacock Bodhi has a strong breath of Yunnan rainforest.
In the gap between cities, there is a large rainforest. One foot in, here the elephant is light, the crocodile is merciful, and time breaks free from linear rules and flows at will. There is really a six-legged horse here, and there is a relic in the horseshoe, which flies to the sky when riding; There is a Mulan boat here, and there is no need to prepare paddles. Half a cup of rice wine is drunk and floats far along the river. Even if you break your leg and walk for two moons in a wooden wheelchair, you can return to your home in the Woods. Of course there are women here. They can understand the rainforest, and they are too smart and brave. I can’t control anyone, whether riding a horse or riding a boat. As long as my legs are still in my body, they will definitely run …
Turning to Jiao Dian’s Peacock Bodhi, Yunnan Rainforest is in sight. Born in Jiaodian, Yunnan Province in 1996, he was admitted to Beijing Normal University in 2021, majoring in literary creation, and studied under the famous writer Mo Yan. However, her writing seems to have nothing to do with her teacher. Her writing is her writing, coming from Yunnan, her hometown.
Jiao Dian’s writing has always been like "Suni" or "Bimo" in her hometown of Yunnan (Yi people refer to witches or priests), trying to "channel" in that "frontier" world. She said that she never took the initiative to "choose" Yunnan as the location of the story. It was Yunnan that chose her and Yunnan came to her with its breath and story.
When talking about the use of dialects, Jiao Dian told reporters: "Our generation is actually a generation of Putonghua, and the popularity of Putonghua is absolutely good in all aspects. But for literature,’ standard’,’ common’ and’ same’ are just some taboos. This does not mean that we should go back to the ancients and speak with the ancient accent, nor do we mean that we should only speak dialects and engage in the mountainism of language. The fundamental direction should be the free expression of words and things, which is a free spirit. Of course, in specific works, excessive and too crude use of dialects will bring obstacles to reading, so it is necessary to change, not to use local dialects and dialects directly, but to use classical vernacular and dialects on the basis of written common language and Putonghua. What I hope is that even if I am not from Yunnan or Southwest, it will not affect the reading of novels. In this respect, I need to continue to improve. "
Jiao Dian believes that it is not so much a writing style for Yunnan that it is better to say that Yunnan’s local conditions have allocated these characters. Some people think that her writing is very poetic, and she thinks that this is the mountain road in Yunnan. When she was walking, a sharp corner suddenly appeared, and then there was a big turn. Suddenly she met a deep and wide cave, threw a stone into it, and heard an echo after a long time. The strangeness of natural scenery is the strangeness of words.
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