Qing Dynasty·Zhang Nanzhuang's "He Dian" Chapter 3
Zhang Nanzhuang
[Qing Dynasty] (living around 1868 AD) unknown , No. Passerby, his residence and year of birth and death are unknown. He was alive around the time of Tongzhi, Emperor Mu Zong of the Qing Dynasty. There is no test in life. He is the author of ten chapters of "He Dian", a collection of ghost stories written by eleven talented scholars, which was reviewed by Chen Shiren in the "Bibliography of Chinese Popular Novels".
He Dian"
"He Dian" is a Qing Dynasty satirical novel written in Wu dialect that uses ghosts to tell stories. It was completed during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty and reprinted in the fourth year of Guangxu (1879). It was really popularized in 1926. In 1981, Industrial and Commercial Publishing House published an "internally published" edition, and in 2005, Xuelin Publishing House published a new color-note picture book.
The editor of "He Dian", "Passer", was originally named Zhang Nanzhuang, a native of Shanghai in the Qing Dynasty; the reviewer, "Mr. Maojia Er", was originally named Chen Deren, a native of Changzhou (now Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province) in the Qing Dynasty. In June 1926, Liu Fu (a semi-peasant) reprinted this book with punctuation. Lu Xun once wrote an inscription for this book (later included in "Collection of Collections and Supplements").
"He Dian" is a peculiar classical novel. Its defiance of all courage, irregular writing style, and thorough colloquialism and colloquialism are both a rebellion against traditional literature and a It is a true return to popular literature. It is in this sense that "He Dian" not only subverts the classics, it also becomes a classic itself.
"He Dian" is a unique classical novel. At the beginning of this century, Wu Zhihui, a veteran of the Kuomintang, was famous for his hilarious and scolding articles. He claimed that the model for his articles came from "He Dian". What kind of book is "He Dian"? Everyone only hears his name. In May 1926, Liu Bannong inadvertently obtained the old version of "He Dian", published it after correcting the punctuation and annotating it, and asked Lu Xun to write a preface. On May 25, Lu Xun wrote two articles: "Inscription" and "After Inscribing "He Dian" for Bannong", he believed that "He Dian" "talks about ghosts just like the human world, and uses new canons like classical ones", " It shows the living aspects of the human world.”
Before and after the publication of this book, the New Culture Movement was vigorously promoting "vernacularization", calling vernacular literature "human language literature" and classical Chinese literature "ghost language literature". "He Dian" is completely colloquial, colloquial and "nonsense", which caters to the appetite of "vernacular literature". In the first edition of "He Dian", Liu Bannong deleted some "nonsense". After Lu Xun read it, he criticized him, saying: "The blank spaces are depressing" and "the scholar-bureaucrat seems to have too much anger". At the end of that year, when Liu Bannong republished "He Dian", he restored the full version. In his "inscription" for this edition, Lu Xun commented that "He Dian" "talks about ghosts just like the human world" and "demonstrates the appearance of living in the human world", which can be described as exquisite. Precisely because "He Dian" talks about "nonsense", it does not care about the many things in the world that "should be said and should not be said", and speaks openly and directly expresses one's feelings, making people more understanding when experiencing the "human world".
In 1932, Japan compiled and printed the "Complete Collection of World Humor". Lu Xun recommended "He Dian" to Masuda Wataru as one of the eight kinds of humorous works in China.
The third aspect of "He Dian" that has caused controversy in the literary world is the author's life experience. Due to a fire set by the Taiping Army, the life experience of the author Zhang Nanzhuang has become an eternal mystery.
Zhang Nanzhuang’s life experience cannot be tested. According to the postscript written by "Xia Ke from Shanghai Dining" in the book, Zhang Nanzhuang was known as a "Shanghai talented man", a calligrapher named Ouyang, and a poet named Fan Lu. His talents were ranked among the top ten "unappreciated talents" in Shanghai at that time. Although he wrote a lot of books, he died penniless and unable to publish them. In addition, due to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the early years of Xianfeng, all Zhang Nanzhuang's writings were burned, and only "He Dian" survived.
Zhang Nanzhuang’s son Zhang Chunlei and grandson Zhang Xiaofan. "Seaside Diner Xiake" is Zhang Xiaofan's cousin. That's all people know about Zhang Nanzhuang.