Shades of Mao | MaoSpeak
By Wang Shuo
Introduction by Geremie Barmé
Many selections in this volume [Shades
of Mao] reek of MaoSpeak, or NewChina NewSpeak (Xinhua wenti), popularised
on Mainland China as the political and social lingua franca from the
1940s. The Beijing novelist Wang Shuo utilized this language from the
late 1980s in his satirical studies of life under socialism in its terminal
phase.1
In the works of Wang Shuo the play on Maoist language was part of a
sincere at the same time as ironic revival of Mao and, in the early
1990s, Wang's work created a fad of its own which encouraged a tongue-in-cheek
recycling of Party language in the Chinese media, in particular TV.
MaoSpeak did indeed repeat itself, first as tragedy then as farce.
Wang's nostalgia for the Cultural Revolution is real and vital. For
him and many of his generation what was officially dubbed the "ten years
of chaos" (shinian dongluan) had offered opportunities for sexual liberation,
playing truant and the joys of gang warfare.2 In 1990s' China, with
the help of Deng's Reform policies, Wang and his fellows helped turn
the rowdy youth culture of the Cultural Revolution into a pseudo-ethos
of the Reform Age. Many of them also made a lot of money out of China's
further social and cultural degradation. The anti-intellectualism evident
in much of Wang's work--he consistently lambasts Chinese intellectuals--has
also antagonized some readers who see in it a disturbing streak of chip-on-the-shoulder
Maoist hooliganism. He has defended himself by quoting Mao Zedong: "The
lowly are the most intelligent; the Žlite are quite ignorant", and he
claims that only by overthrowing the intellectuals can people like him
enjoy true freedom (fanshen).3Although one may appreciate Wang's dim
view of intellectuals, to use satire, a weapon traditionally best employed
against the powerful, to consistently denegrate the weak and powerless
is not so much funny as vulgar.
Wang Shuo's novel Don't Treat Me As a Human Being (Qianwan bie
ba wo dangren), or No Man's Land, was serialized in 1989 and
reprinted in 1991 and 1992. It is Wang's satirical masterpiece, a loving
and scarifying look at the dark side of the Chinese national character.4
In a 'letter of appreciation' (ganxiexin) to the Party leadership read
out by the grateful denizens of Tanzi Alley at the end of the novel,
Wang Shuo creates an extreme parody of the logorrhea of Chinese political
and commercial language, with some gratuitous references to traditional
Chinese snake-oil remedies thrown in for good measure. The letter is
read out as a tearful incantation by the mother of Tang Yuanbao, the
novel's picaresque hero.
"Praise be to you, Lord Clear Sky! We the inhabitants
of Tanzi Alley thank you for rescuing us from the bitter sea, from the
flaming pit, from hell itself."
Tang Yuanbao, at the head of the inhabitants of Tanzi Alley, led everyone
as they knelt down in the dirt in supplication. [The Party leader] Fatty
approached on a horse, dismounted, helped the old lady [Tang's mother]
to her feet and called out to the others:
"What is all this? Come on all of you, up on your feet. This really
is too much. After all, I'm one of you, your servant. All I've done
is make some decisions on your behalf and give you my support. You don't
have to thank me."
At this point, Yuanbao's mother began mumbling. Crying and chanting
she praised Fatty:
"You have righted the wrong and crushed the bad in one fell swoop. Respected
wise dear teacher leader helmsman pathfinder vanguard pioneer designer
bright light torch devil-deflecting mirror dog-beating stick dad mum
grandad grandma old ancestor primal ape Supreme Deity Jade Emperor Guanyin
Bodhisattva commander-in-chief:
"You who are busy with: ten thousand weighty matters each day, long-suffering
one bad habits die hard and overworked to the point of illness done
too often can be habit-forming shouldering heavy responsibilites speeding
through the skies powerful and unconstrained staving off disaster and
helping the poor dispelling the evil and ousting the heterodox, you
who eliminate rheumatism cold sweats strengthen the yang and invigorate
the spleen the brain who are good for the liver stomach pain relieving
and cough repressing, and able to cure constipation.
"You personally yourself in propria persona have come deigned lowered
yourself honoured us with your presence to investigate look over police
search patrol pay a visit to ask about express solicitude and come to
our alley. For our alley this is the most magnanimous expression of
concern a massive encouragement a great impetus a considerable relief
formidable expression of trust and care a great honour and really a
nice thing to do. We are little people knaves the black haired scum
your children grandchildren tufts of grass little dogs and cats a gang
of liumang [hooligans] the cretinous crowds the great masses the hundred
surnames and we feel ohsolucky extremely moved exceedingly uneasy terribly
embarrassed so very pleased boundingly enthusiastic very very overwhelmed
by our good fortune grateful as all get out tears o'fill our eyes our
hearts swell like the seas and we're utterly and thoroughly lost for
words. Ten thousand words a million songs endless mountains and seas
ceaseless groans and grumbles mumbles and whispers expressions and phrases
all combine into one sentiment which rends the very heavens an hysterical
sound cracking through the universe circling the rafters for three days
deafening reverberating through heaven and earth moving all who hear
it mysterious and beautiful beyond compare making people drunk pissed
completely out of it so they don't know the taste of meat for three
days for it is the overriding chord of the age: longlife longlife longlonglife
longlife longlife longlonglife!
Yuanbao's mother fainted dead away and Mother Li stood up to take her
place, continuing in rapid fire:
"Without you we would still be lost in the darkness dimness greyness
dustiness sootiness ashiness in a ditch a hole in the ground a cave
a ravine a gully an abyss in a wok of boiling water in a firepit a vat
of boiling oil in the bitter waters and we would be splashing gnashing
crashing flashing flipping kicking..."
She too went into a swoon and Yuanfeng took over:
"You are the light hope future ideal banner clarion wardrum victory
success pride dignity triumph heaven Buddhaland wiseone shaman genius
magician tuletary diety saviour sun moon stars effulgence splendour
light ray beam brilliance... ..."
She gave up the ghost and her place is taken by Blackie:
"Hercules hawk falcon lion tiger bronze-headed golden-faced steel-legged
iron-armed lightning-fisted cannon guided missile mainstay tombstone
great wall mountain pass. Without you we would freeze to death starve
to death be beaten berated argued to death die for being disorderly
burn and drown to death die of hanging from falling and being treated
really badly by others.. ..."
"Enough already," Fatty said with a benevolent smile. "If you go on
you'll just keel over and faint too. In the past, I've heard my fill
of respectful praiseful laudatory admiring speeches. You could go on
until everyone in this alley died from exhaustion and you still wouldn't
run out of things to say. It doesn't do a thing for me. I don't want
you to run yourselves down like this. If you really want to make me
happy then learn how to take care of yourselves. That's the best present
you could give me."
"But you have to take us in hand, no matter what," Blackie said tearfully.
"We can't survive without you. You are the clear skies, we are but tufts
of grass. Without the sky how could the earth exist? Grass needs to
be tended, watered, weeded and cut. We can't do it ourselves. Anyway,
we're used to being kept in place. If you make us take over and leave
us without anyone to cuss us kick us hit us and push us around we won't
be able to eat drink sleep or shit. We'll lose control completely."
"No matter what, you can't leave us like this," the residents of Tanzi
Alley chorused as they knelt. "We're happy to let you ride beat berate
whip us. If it makes you happy order us around drive us and trample
us under foot. If you're displeased feel free to punish humiliate and
generally take it out on us. If anyone dares utter the slightest objection
you won't have to lift a finger because we'll take care of them ourselves.
Do what you will with us, but whatever you do don't say you're going
to leave."
"Come on, get up," Fatty said with a heavy sigh. "How could I possibly
leave you to your own devices?"
Notes
1. For a single-volume collection of these stories, see Wang Shuo wenji
(4): xiexue juan, Beijing: Huayi chubanshe, 1992.
2. See the depiction of this world in Wang's 1991 story "Dongwu xiongmeng",
reprinted in Wang Shuo wenji (1): chunqing juan, Beijing: Huayi chubanshe,
1992, pp. 406-493; and, Jiang Wen's 1994 screen version of the story,
Yangguang canlande rizi.
3. See Wu Jiafeng, "Ping Wang Shuode yiduan hua", Ershiyi shiji, 1993:
12, p. 144. During a tour of inspection of Dandong, Liaoning Province
in 1958, Mao visited a tractor factory and wrote an inscription (tici)
for the workers which read: "The lowly are the most intelligent; the
elite are the most ignorant" (beijianzhe zui congming, gaoguizhe
zui yuchun). Since the inscription was penned on 18 May (5 yue 18
ri), the
factory changed its name to Factory No. 518. See also Ying Da, "Wang
Shuode yuyan" in Liang Huan, ed., Mingren yanzhongde Wang Shuo, Beijing:
Huayi chubanshe, 1993, pp. 116-120.
4. For further details of this story, see Barmé, "Wang Shuo
and liumang ('hoooligan') culture", The Australian Journal of Chinese
Affairs, no. 28, July 1992, pp. 51-60.
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