This article, like the emperor's new clothes, is virtual, not realistic. You can tell from the title. If I am a king, the premise is that I am not an emperor at present, not a king. At the beginning, the author announced that he didn't want to be king at all. He looked down on the king. If I were a king is an absurd fantasy, a kind of "hypothesis and assumption". However, the beauty of the whole article is that it is all hypothetical and imaginary.
When we appreciate it, we can naturally feel this advantage of the article. However, because it is too natural, it is not wonderful. In particular, the popular concept of mechanical materialism often gives people the illusion that the way of writing is to write what exists in reality. I don't know that imaginary things can sometimes show the true meaning of life better than real things. "The Emperor's New Clothes" is fictional, and it is written about things that cannot exist in the real world. It is not only very touching, but also thought-provoking. This phenomenon often appeared in Chinese college entrance examination compositions in the early 20th century. Writing fables in a virtual way is often more profound and creative than writing real situations. Ms. Zhang Xiaofeng, a Taiwan Province writer, gave a composition lecture entitled "If I were God". This topic is wonderful because it can stimulate students' imagination. Once people's imagination is mobilized, the potential energy of thought may be supernormal. In poetry, there are many similar themes. For example, Ai Qing's if I were a bird, Shu Ting's maybe (another form of if).
However, this article by Mr. Nie is not a lyric poem, but an article that blends rationality and passion, with obvious essay-like sharp criticism. Mr. Nie Gannu has made great achievements in prose creation. In memory of Nie Gannu, translator Feng quoted Wu Zuguang as saying that he was a legendary figure, a scholar who abandoned literature and devoted himself to the revolution, and a master who learned from ancient times to modern times after Lu Xun and Mao Dun. His essays can be compared with Lu Xun's, but different from ordinary essays, he used a self-deprecating style to cover up his criticism of autocracy, thus showing a unique style.
This style hides sharp criticism in absurdity.
The author does not criticize autocratic power directly, but follows the logic of autocratic power, deduces into an absurd situation, and expresses the absurdity of autocratic power itself with the absurdity of the result. If the author criticizes autocratic power positively, it is necessary to demonstrate the decay of autocratic power from theory and fact, which is a general way of argument. If so, the article may be more comprehensive and profound. Nie Gannu also often uses this writing. For example, written at about the same time, there is an essay called "Flattery".
Of course, a positive and critical essay has its advantages, which can be said thoroughly and comprehensively, but it is better to assume that you are an emperor, which is more intelligent and interesting.
Absolute monarchy has a long history. The throne is far from daily life (psychological and physical). Although absolute monarchy is full of barbarism and absurdity, habits, history and present situation are binding on people's thoughts, and ordinary people cannot keenly feel the irrationality, absurdity and barbarity. The self-righteous method certainly loses the comprehensiveness and thoroughness of reasoning, but it also has the advantage of narrowing the distance between the barbaric system and personal feelings, amplifying its paradox and making the absurdity hidden under the gorgeous system ridiculous. Gorgeous and absurd conflict with each other, showing profundity from absurdity, and also showing the author's wisdom, agility and interest. This is the so-called intellectual interest or rational interest, which is different from general interest. This intellectual interest comes from the witty exposure of absurdity, not the general exposure, but the deep exposure of its absurdity.
The first level of absurdity: if you are the king, your wife will be the queen, your son will be the prince and your daughter will be the princess. No matter how mediocre, some people will be sought after. "Even an idiot who knows nothing is still a prince or a prince." "No matter how ugly and stubborn you are," "you will be held like the stars in the sky." If you are satisfied with such absurdity, that's all right, but the article may seem very thin. The author's effort is to deduce the absurdity to a deeper level.
The second level of absurdity: as an ordinary person, I have become "long live", and every greed of my own has sacred legitimacy, and I can do whatever I want without negligence or crime. All people, regardless of seniority, bow and scrape to me. All people have no language but flattery and praise. Everyone wears a mask: "I dare not laugh when I am happy, and I dare not stop laughing when I am unhappy." I dare not cry when I am sad, and I dare not cry when I am not sad. "Absurdity is extreme, but irony is not. On the contrary, the author suddenly turned from negative satire to positive criticism. Although my authority and honor are supreme, I feel "lonely and lonely". This stroke tells the author's humanistic values. This kind of value transcends worldly vanity and pays attention to people's spirit, especially people's emotions. People who flatter "me" have no feelings, no self-esteem and no personality. They are a group of slaves, together with "my respected elders, teachers and friends are slaves." "Strictly speaking, people are not people, so' I' is just the leader of a group of slaves." As a slave leader, I will be the greatest shame and sorrow. "
The article is written here, which can be described as a sharp turn. Finally there is a big turning point. This is the biggest logical turning point of the article from the beginning, and its moving place is not entirely fun, but wisdom, which is the witty spark inspired by thought. This turning point can be said to be a stroke of genius. However, the deepening of thoughts and interests did not stop, and then there was a logical turning point, which was greater than the previous turning point and had a greater impact on readers' imagination. This big turning point is:
I will be a tyrant, or just a wise king: I will kill my subjects together, along with my elders, teachers and friends, and no slave race will remain on the earth. I will have no subjects, and I will no longer be the monarch of my minions.
This logical turn has changed the connotations of "tyrant" and "wise monarch". What is more worthy of appreciation is that from this turning point, another turning point is derived:
If I were the king, I wouldn't be the king in the end, but I would really be the biggest king at all times. "Long live, long live, long live!" I will join the real people all over the world.
This is self-contradictory on the surface, but it is the most profound pen and ink. I can't be king, because being a slave king is not worth it. I will kill all my subjects, and I will have no subjects. Ancient and modern, China and foreign countries are the biggest kings, which refers to the "king" who killed all slaves and eliminated the social and ideological basis of kingship and servility. Everyone is equal, everyone can be "king" and everyone is the "king" of his own master. The king of feudal kingship is only the leader of a slave, and his essence is servility, not the real master. Once you are not on the throne, people will no longer hold you up, but step on you like a slave. Therefore, compared with the false king of slave owners in the past, such a true master and true "king" is naturally the biggest "king". Or in other words, such a person can be the "king" and "king" in the world, and it is the biggest "king". Just as Lu Xun said for the last time in A Chang Shan Hai Jing that she has "great power" is the most wonderful key word of the article, here "tyrant", "wise monarch", "can't be king" and "the first king in the world" are also the essence of the article. Characters have dual connotations in different logics and contexts, which are contradictory and unified, misplaced and harmonious. They are often the climax of ideas and the highlight of art..
A bright spot extends from one bright spot to another, and the density of turning points and bright spots is very high. This seems to be Europe? Henry's novels turn around one after another at the end, so that readers can enjoy the surprise of reading over and over again. This is an excellent opportunity to cultivate readers' sense of prose style. A clever Chinese teacher should stick to it. Of course, education in any language cannot be conducted in isolation. We can't forget that such climax and twists and turns show the author's anger, wit in anger, sharpness in wit and profundity in sharpness.