Ever since his first full-length novel was printed, Su Tong, the
now well-known Chinese writer whose works are marked by sensuality
and gloom, has had big book sales while critics vary in their
opinions of his writing.
One of his novels Plural Wives, depicting polygamy in a
large southern family in old China, has been adapted for the record
breaking film "Raise The Red Lantern" directed by China's Zhang
Yimou, who is considered the first and most prestigious of the
country's fifth-generation directors.
Using the same title as the film, a New Year gala ballet
performance also based on the novel, was staged by China Central
Ballet Troupe Friday night in Beijing. It was the premier
performance and will be followed by a world tour.
Su
is currently working on a book which exposes the lives of people
which he describes as "teetering on the edge of city and abandoned
by their time".
"I
have never been troubled with what can or cannot be written, " the
writer said.
The art elite of China is enjoying a freedom they could not dream
of a decade ago, when they still had to think twice before writing
about a "taboo" topic.
Every night while millions of Chinese people stay at home watching
the TV series about an early emperor from the Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911), many urban youngsters are browsing the Internet for
romantic love stories or raving about avant-garde dramas at
theaters in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.
Some novelists create large works about fateful historical events
and social evolution, such as the Town of Bailuyuan by Chen
Zhongshi while other popular writers publish many beatage novels
including "Wandering" and "Worldliness", which are being positively
reviewed by even the particular critics.
While addressing the 7th National Congress of the China Federation
of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC), CFLAC president Zhou Weizhi,
said that China's literature and art sectors have been experiencing
a boom in recent years, with a diversity of schools, artists and
opuses standing out in recent years.
All this has not come easily, the official said, scholars in
ancient China often suffered bitterly because of strict cultural
taboos, even in modern times, creative literature was severely
restricted during the "Cultural Revolution" period (1966-76).
"Most artists had to give up work and join the masses in the
countryside or factories as only eight model revolutionary
theatrical works were permitted, mostly in the form of traditional
Peking Opera," recalled Xie Jin.
"Female Basketball Player", a popular movie directed by Xie in the
early 1950s, won high awards at two international film festivals in
the late 1950s and early 1960s.
But during the ten-year period of the "Cultural Revolution", the
once productive director had no work.
Since the opening up and reform policies in late 1970s, Xie has
become active again and has produced a number of movies revealing
the tragedy of the revolution. These are regarded as master works
and are shown in cinemas across the country.
"Chinese art and literature now have slipped out of the formal
restrictions and can accept opinions and ideas which are poles
apart," the 78-year old man said.
Xie is directing Taiwanese artists in a drama "The Last Evening of
Dancing Girl", which is adapted from a novel popular among overseas
Chinese.
Under the cultural policy of content and multiformity, artists and
writers are encouraged to produce works reflecting real life and
modern changes in the country.
Even art and literary works on sensitive political themes are
entering forbidden zones. In April 2001, a novel about a notorious
smuggling and corruption case became a best seller.
Photographers have even started to focus on AIDS patients and
prostitutes, once socially unacceptable subjects.
New and modern art and literary works have become fashionable and
have opened the minds of Chinese people, who no longer get upset by
any art creation.
Even with their traditional frugality, residents in south China's
Shenzhen City recently were able to appreciate an action art work
by Gu Xinde, who unloaded ten tons of ripe apples into a pool
demonstrating life from birth to death and decomposition.
"Without freedom, no creative works will be produced by writers of
the younger generation," said Wang Anyi who is famous for her
tragic novel Pathos of Life, emotional recitations of women
living in oriental Shanghai from the 1940s to 1980s.
However, immoral content including violence and pornography ought
to be banned from literature in every society, she pointed out.
The writer, who has just been elected president of the Shanghai
Writers Association, urged writers to improve their literary
development by depicting genuine people and unmasking the
artificial way of life.
It
is commonly thought among Chinese artists that the country needs to
develop variety and diversity in the fields of culture and the
arts, the writer said.
But shallow literature aiming to gain popularity in limited circles
and to earn only commercial benefits from publication should be
banned, she added.
(Xinhua News
Agency December 22, 2001)