Throughout the three texts of Mei Zhao's "Female Series in the Prosperous Tang Dynasty", the female consciousness is undoubtedly very distinct. This is mainly reflected in the writing and handling of the relationship between men and women in these three texts, which are not the same or even completely opposite. If the female consciousness in her writing has not finally got rid of the male perspective in her first two texts "Wu Zetian" and "Princess Gaoyang" (Wu Zetian is always tormenting herself by being watched; Princess Gaoyang is addicted to "being watched", but "he is", and has not yet stepped out of the traditional writing framework of the relationship between men and women; Then in its third text, Shangguan Waner, it is "free" and self-sufficient.
It not only gets rid of the fetters of the male perspective completely, but also constructs a historical survey of the patriarchal culture through the replacement writing of the historical context in which the male/female center is reversed and misplaced. There are many men in the text, but these men all appear because of the appearance of women, often in the position of being spoken, observed, examined or even denied, showing the empty writing of ideal men. While the well-known historical scenes were eliminated, women became the protagonists of "seeing". On the contrary, men become the narrative landscape of "being seen" and even be placed in a "blind spot". The traditional relationship between men and women has been rewritten, thus forming a profound reaction to the traditional patriarchal culture.
The life and death of two old and young women, Wu Zetian and Wan'er, can be found in their Politics and Destiny. Mei Zhao's "Shangguan Waner" describes the female relationship of "lesbians", and constructs a super-consanguineous spiritual inheritance relationship between two female characters. It is the mutual support between the super-consanguineous quasi-mother-daughter relationship that enables them to save themselves with strong spiritual strength under the heavy pressure of male chauvinism, which has anti-male chauvinism cultural significance.
Liu Huiying once pointed out in "Walking Out of the Barriers of the Male-dominated Tradition": "When designing the future cultural blueprint, women (including all mankind) should not only abandon the dross of the male-dominated tradition, but also try to avoid overcorrection-creating new inequality and opposition", thus putting forward the idea of "establishing an impartial culture" and "realizing the harmonious balance between men and women". It can be seen that this theoretical concept of "androgyny culture" and "harmony" has aroused strong concern of Chinese feminist critics. However, some feminist propagandists and the awakening of women's consciousness are often biased intentionally or unintentionally in response to the patriarchal tradition, resulting in new inequality and opposition. Mei Zhao's "Female Series in the Prosperous Tang Dynasty" also has this tendency to some extent. From Wu Zetian to Princess Gaoyang, and then to Shangguan Waner, this tendency has become more and more prominent. Finally, in Shangguan Waner, her "misogyny complex" reached the extreme. None of the people he wrote could be recognized by him. This ideal of expelling men from women's field of vision undoubtedly loses the foundation of gender identity and the possibility of establishing equal and harmonious relations between men and women. This is undoubtedly dangerous to correctly grasp Mei Zhao's female consciousness and should arouse vigilance.
An unyielding elegy for survival
Shangguan Waner is a talented poet in the official history, a concubine who holds power in the ruling and opposition parties, and a slut who sells herself for glory. However, when Mei Zhao portrayed Shangguan Waner as a historical figure, he put aside the traditional historical view of emperors and generals and class struggle, and looked at history from his historical perspective and gender perspective as a man and a woman, thus discovering the truth that another unconscious gender in male history could not find, that is, Shangguan Waner had only one purpose-to live, whether she was seducing power, selling her body or even losing her personality. So Mei Zhao put the narrative focus on the survival of Shangguan Waner, and around this focus, further described her love with the three princes, her physical love and spiritual love with Wu Sansi and Cui Zhuo, as well as her extraordinary political talent and her pain and suffering in survival. When we interpret Shangguan Waner, we can turn it into a series of questions: What makes Shangguan Waner aim at life? As an individual, how can she live in such extreme conditions? What is the meaning of living?
one
Sartre once said: "People are free, and the so-called human freedom refers to people's freedom of self-choice, which is absolute and unavoidable for people." Heidegger once said that "man is the sum of his choices", which means that life is faced with many choices, and there is no escape for those who choose. Not choosing is actually choosing not to choose. But Sartre's freedom is "freedom in the situation". A person's position, his body, his past, his relationship with others and his foothold have been determined by the instructions of others, which will affect his self-choice. For Shangguan Waner, the birth of the handmaid and the complicated relationship with the enemy who killed her father forced her to live as her survival goal.
When Shangguan Waner was still in infancy, because of a "game" (family storm) between the queen and the emperor, the innocent Shangguan Waner family was implicated, so that she lost all her relatives overnight, and she followed her mother into the cell. For women, Ye Ting is undoubtedly the tomb of the living dead. However, for Shangguan Waner, who was born here, she doesn't know what the outside world is like, so she can live quietly and happily in this dark alley. If she doesn't leave Ye Ting all her life, she may be able to live happily, live an isolated and indifferent life, she may not have to live so heavily, and she won't live for her. However, fate made her walk out of the closet one day, pushing her to the edge of life and death, forcing her to make a painful choice about her future.
The appearance of Wu Zetian made Shangguan Waner feel the crisis of life. Wu Zetian brought her out of the tomb of the living dead, giving her room to display her wisdom and making her life more colorful, so Shangguan Waner thanked her, loved her and respected her. But Wu Zetian's life experience of being killed by the door made her hate this woman. This hatred comes from both sides. It's like a barrier between these two women, like a burning flame, which can destroy either of them at any time. However, the balance of life is more inclined to Wu Zetian's side. She is not only a noble queen under one person, but also holds the power of life and death, which makes Shangguan Waner's survival on thin ice. She always wears a sharp knife around her neck. As long as she makes a mistake, this sharp knife will wave at her without hesitation. It can be said that Shangguan Waner's departure from the imperial court does not mean that her life has been guaranteed since then. On the contrary, she has been pushed to a more difficult way to survive.
Another reason for Shangguan Waner's goal in life is that in China, a country with a history of more than two thousand years, women have always been in the position of "the other", and they have been victims of a patriarchal society since they were born. For Shangguan Waner, as a woman, the living space is extremely narrow, and more unfortunately, she broke into the court (politics) belonging to men. In feudal society, imperial court and politics were synonymous with men. The moment when women are excluded from school marks that they are also excluded from politics. The social custom of "women are virtuous without talent" and the social division of labor of "men dominate outside and women dominate inside" make women divorced from politics. They don't want or allow women (their slaves) to be equal with them and discuss state affairs. However, due to the historical opportunity, Shangguan Waner entered the forbidden area for women, which is bound to cause panic and dissatisfaction among men. What's more, she has always been the spokesperson of the Queen, and is often used by the Queen as a tool to kill people, making her bear unwarranted charges, thus attracting more hatred and plunging her life into another crisis. She must not only defend against the sharp knife that Wu Zetian waved at any time, but also against the enemy from the dark, and even contend with the whole patriarchal society. If at this time, Shangguan Waner has not clearly realized or said that she is unwilling to take living as her only goal in life (because she still has love and ideals to realize in her life). Then the death of Prince Li Xian made her goals more clear.
Prince Li Xian is the first man in Shangguan Waner's life. Like other ladies-in-waiting, she likes this charming and handsome young son of heaven and is "attracted by some mysterious power emanating from the prince". However, this love has just begun, and disappeared as the prince failed to resist the queen and was exiled in a different place. With the disillusionment of Shangguan Waner's love dream, she became more aware of the fragility and vulnerability of love. "No matter how deep love is, it will be crushed by the iron fist of politics." Love is associated with life. Without life, everything can only be nothingness, and only living is the first. Wu Zetian and Princess Gaoyang, who also have beauty and wisdom, are different. Their status of less than 10,000 people makes their lives in a relatively safe state. Wu Zetian only needs to please the emperor with her beauty, and she has wealth and supreme power. Princess Gaoyang used all her energy in her life to pursue the ultimate love-hate relationship. For Shangguan Waner, who is a handmaid, all the attachment of life is luxury for her, and only life is real.
two
In Kierkegaard's view, people's choice is not only free, but also of great significance to people, which determines their way of life. When Shangguan Waner took living as her life goal, she found three ways to live for herself by the method of "three caves of cunning rabbits".
The first lifestyle that Shangguan Waner found was forbearance. The identity and status of the handmaid gradually endowed her with a kind of forbearance (bearing the burden of humiliation), which even became a state of her life. She has to endure not only the revenge of killing her father, but also the disobedient ink tattooed on her cheek by Wu Zetian (for Wan'er, she will bear a lifetime of shame, which is a more cruel punishment than death), and the loneliness of a woman who loves but can't live alone. She suffered both physical and mental torture. But for her, only humiliation and tolerance can lead to death and afterlife.
However, this forbearing lifestyle is not enough to ensure the life of Shangguan Waner. The second way she sought for herself was to make full use of her wisdom. Long-term court life has made her smarter and smoother. She can always assess the situation, be far-sighted, constantly adjust herself and find her ideal position for advancement and retreat. After investigating that Wu Sansi did not have the qualifications to be king, she immediately played the role of Queen Li Xian as the Prince, which not only welcomed the wishes of the Queen, but also complied with the wishes of the officials of the dynasty, saying that she did not dare to talk nonsense, and even left a way out for her life after Li Xian returned to the court. Shangguan Waner is entangled in the whirlpool of politics, but she is free from the politics of mutual strife, so she can always stand at the top and predict the future. "So she can plan today in advance and choose tomorrow's position, and now she will begin to attach herself to the power of the future." She can always rely on her intelligence to deal with all kinds of forces. She doesn't hurt the weak. On the contrary, she helps them from time to time, because she clearly sees that things in the imperial court are always changing rapidly. Today, she is a minister, and tomorrow, she may become a prisoner. Therefore, no matter which forces come to power, they can accept her and even reuse her as a confidant. More importantly, she can control all kinds of forces in her hands. While helping them realize their desires such as lust and power, she also has a handle on them, which gives her an extra layer of protection for her survival. With her wisdom, Shangguan Waner saved her life again and again, turning her from a little maid-in-waiting into a concubine who mastered the real power in the DPRK and manipulated various forces.
Shangguan Waner's third way is to exchange her body for survival. Originally, Shangguan Waner disdained Wu Sansi, a snobbish and flattering villain, and even wanted to kill him to report the shame of hanging. However, with the increasing success of Wu Sansi's official career, she saw Wu Sansi's future power (possibly inheriting the throne). After repeated weighing, she gave up revenge and accepted Wu Sansi's physical love. She saw their relationship clearly, and they were just a complementary physical relationship. Even in bed, she stays awake. Although her love for Wu Sansi's body satisfies her desire for the body as a woman to some extent, this desire is based on her desire for survival. When her and his life were threatened, she resolutely abandoned the man she loved with her body and handed him over to Wei Ruyun, who was in power, so that her and his life were guaranteed. If there is a physical need between Shangguan Waner and Wu Sansi besides the need of each other's survival, then the physical relationship between her and Li Xian is entirely out of the need of survival. As an emperor, Li Xian is weak, but after all, she has supreme power, which makes Shangguan Waner realize that only by attaching to the emperor who holds the power of life and death on earth can she live safely. "Wan'er once again deeply realized that her body is wealth. Her body can not only bring her survival and safety, but also bring her prosperity and endless strength that she is keen on. This is Shangguan Waner's helpless and wise choice as a woman, because "a woman exchanges her sex for her survival in a patriarchal society, or she has to hand over her sex in order to survive". Li Zhongrun's coup in the future also confirmed the correctness and wisdom of her choice of this lifestyle.
Both Shangguan Waner and Yu Hua's Fu Gui take living as their life creed, but their attitudes towards life are really different. Fu Gui fell from a rich young master to a first-class poor man, and experienced the departure of seven relatives in his life. Faced with the heaviness and misfortune of life, he did not take active measures to save them, but took a passive way to resist death. On the contrary, Shangguan Waner always holds a positive attitude towards life. When her and her relatives' lives are in crisis, she always stands up and tries her best to save her and their lives. So for Shangguan Waner, who has such a strong desire to survive, why did she disobey Wu Zetian at the expense of her life? Doesn't this contradict her life goal? In fact, this is just an indulgence of Shangguan Waner's own life. In order to survive, she sometimes has to sell her conscience, dignity and personality, which is her unwilling and helpless choice. Born in a noble family, she naturally has an elegant and noble temperament. "Wan'er has the dignity it deserves." Coupled with the influence of taxi culture for more than ten years, she unconsciously accepted the dignity of a "scholar who can be killed and humiliated", but she was cornered by her survival problems. Therefore, when her dignity was trampled by Wu Sansi, she always took the principle of saving her life and fought back desperately. This is an indulgence of her dignity, but at the cost of losing more dignity. On the other hand, in order to live, she is always in a state of mental and physical tension. She must be careful everywhere, always on the alert, in case anything happens. She is like a broken string, an explosive bag that will explode at any time, which also makes her need to indulge her life, so that she can devote more energy to the more arduous battle for survival.
three
Shangguan Waner's life is a life to live. She never gives up life lightly. She once lived in the cracks of suffering, which made her understand very well that the core of daily life is how to treat everyone who has only one life. This kindness is not to drag out an ignoble existence, not to seek pleasure, but to realize the value of life. For her, the meaning of life lies in life itself. Just as Yu Hua said, "People live for living itself, not for anything other than living", and living is meaningful to every specific individual.
For human beings, the living space is limited, and the limited space cannot support the infinite expansion of population and desire. Therefore, human beings should try their best to expand their living space, and in the process of expansion, it will inevitably hurt other creatures. For example, the expansion of human beings to nature makes the living space of animals even narrower. This is true not only for all mankind, but also for individuals. When Shangguan Waner seeks more space for herself and her relatives, it will inevitably threaten the survival of others. The root cause of Li Zhongrun's coup was that the existence of Shangguan Waner threatened his life, and he wanted to kill the woman who invaded his living space to defend her life. This incident made Shangguan Waner clearly see that she had come to the end of her life, because "the process of learning to survive, in a sense, is the process of becoming despicable day by day", and she has fallen deeper and deeper in the quagmire of sin. This is a sober sinking, and it is precisely because of sobriety that she is more painful, more self-blaming, more difficult to extricate herself, and more irreparable. She questioned her survival goal-living, so she began to live in exile. We say that although she has given up hope for life at this time, one thing needs to be affirmed is that she still has a strong desire to survive subconsciously. Only when external factors forced her to re-examine what she had done did her inner conscience overcome her desire for survival. However, when life is really in do or die, living has become her whole life. When she knew that Cui Zhuo, her beloved, was going to be demoted to Jiangzhou Sima for taking bribes (which meant death), she quickly came out of decadence, mobilized all her wisdom, ran around and saved Cui Zhuo's life, and finally saved his life. In fact, Shangguan Waner not only saved herself, but also saved Cui Shu's life. There is a deep spiritual love between her and Cui Zhuo that transcends the body. Their love began with poetry. They convey love to each other through poetry, and explore the true meaning of spirit and love in poetry. Only in poetry can she get a moment's peace and liberation from the sinful body, and can she have spiritual promotion beyond the body. She found another self from Cui Shu's poems (the pure and noble true self with outstanding talent and noble temperament), and her love for Cui Shu is actually her love for another self. So she is not so much saving Cui Zhuo as saving herself. She gave up the destroyed body and saved the spiritual self.
Shangguan Waner cherished life all her life. Even at the last moment of her life, she was still attached to life, but she slipped too deep in the quagmire of survival, and no one could save her, including herself. There is a passage in the article that can well explain her persistence in life:
"When Li Longji dismounted and came to her, she was already unconscious. She knew that she had ended her life. However, she insisted. She tried to keep her eyes open and didn't want to leave in such a hurry. She felt that she was still awake and wise. It is because of sobriety that she feels that her sobriety is slowly abandoning him. All she knows is that sobriety and life are one. When life has passed away, how can she have human sobriety and wisdom? She can only say goodbye. Say goodbye to this life she has no regrets. "
This is Shangguan Waner's profound understanding of life after the storm: life is precious, without the support of life, it depends on everything in life-love, power and money desire, "Shi Kuang's sobriety and wisdom" can only go with the wind, "everything is empty after death"; However, when life is irreparable, as long as you work hard, you will have no regrets. After all, the value of life lies in the process of life. The significance of Shangguan Waner's persistent living is that she is alive, and living itself has great value. This is just as Nietzsche said: "The greatness of human beings lies in that it is a bridge rather than a destination. The loveliness of human beings is that this is a process and a decline. "
Feeling Shangguan Waner
It took me two days to finish reading this book, and I was so moved by the description in the book that I couldn't bear to leave my eyes until my eyes ached. So I traveled with Wan'er in that glorious historical era, and rose and fell with the protagonist's fate until the end of my life.
The version I read is the Four Talented Women series edited by Bao Li. Judging from the composition and structure of the article, it doesn't seem to be very classic. The processing method is simple and not described in chronological order. It seems that I can write wherever I want, which may be related to the way many people write. In addition, when explaining historical stories, too much subjective play makes people doubt whether it is in line with historical facts; The analysis of the causes of some historical events is obviously blocked at both ends, which leads to the contradiction between the positions of the characters before and after. Even so, it touched me. I've wanted to know this role for a long time. It is enough to have a preliminary understanding of Wan'er's story.
I have a little "Shangguan Waner Complex", which comes from an essay written by Zhao Mei that I happened to see in those years. It tells how she wrote Shangguan Waner, a historical figure. The article is extremely beautiful and exquisite, which makes me miss the opportunity to read her masterpiece in the future. But when I found this book many years later, I had no interest in reading, because I didn't expect her novels to be so obscure and coherent. Now, I finally read a book about Shangguan Waner. I really can't wait, and I have read it deeply, but it seems that the aftertaste is not long, and there is always a feeling that the brushwork is not strong enough. Maybe we should look at other people's works again in the future, and observe this character from another angle, which will definitely have a different feeling.
In this book, what I really like best is the waste prince Li Xian who appeared in the early stage. Wu Zetian has four sons, and the eldest son is Hiro. It is said that he was poisoned because he angered Wu Zetian. The second son was Pei, who was forced to commit suicide the next year after being abolished; The third son, Wang Xian, was emperor twice before and after, and was exiled for fourteen years. The fourth son is Wang Xiang Dan, the most honest and upright, and he is already a veritable emperor. Li Xian was convicted of treason for possessing weapons and armor in the East Palace. In this book, he is described as a dissolute and decadent idealist with keen mind, strong will and deep feelings. His tragedy stems from his clear understanding of his mother's political ambition. He was the first man to seduce Wan'er, and it was also the deepest pain in Wan'er's heart after many years. Xian's betrayal made a major turn in her mind. From then on, she was no longer that innocent little girl. Since then, she has slipped further and further on the road of humanity with guilt. Although she is talented and proficient in politics, she has been in power for several years and manipulated the court, which eventually aroused public anger. Finally, she died in a coup, and a generation of beautiful women left.