The literary work of Gao Xingjian
China has had to date only one writer awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature: Gao Xingjian. This does not mean that there are no Chinese authors of modern value, but that probably the limited distribution of their writings in the Swedish language has made it difficult for the nomination for the Nobel prize. To be a candidate it is essential that a number of works have been published in Swedish. In the case of Xingjian, the merit of its popularity in Sweden should be ascribed to the translation of Göran Malmqvist, and the representation of two of his comedies, summer rain in Beijing and fugitives, the Royal Theatre of Dramatic Arts in Stockholm.
Gao Xingjian, born January 4, 1940 in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province (eastern China), is the son of a bank clerk and amateur actress. Attend school elementary and middle schools in China and graduated in French at the Department of Foreign Languages in Beijing in 1962. Playwright, novelist, short story writer, literary scholar, translator, painter (he shows the covers of his books) is severely attacked during the Cultural Revolution and sent to a reeducation camp for over a decade. Next, set free, can publish his plays, which, inspired by Artaud, Brecht and Beckett arouse sensation in the public and elicit strong criticism from those who are opposed to a literature influenced by symbolism, expressionism, poetry absurd. Are comedy of the year for warning signs (1982) and his masterpiece in the genre of the theater of the absurd, the bus stop (1983). After the announcement of his work in 1986, Gao Xingjian went to Paris, where he obtained political refugee status (1987). In France, concludes on the major novels, The mountain soul, who waited since 1982, a work of great beauty and depth, and the book of one man, the most autobiographical content. The work
a fishing rod for my grandfather, published in Italian in 2001 (1) contains six stories chosen for the occasion among those published by the author in collections GEY WO LAOYE NEVER Yugan (Taipei, 1989) and ZHOUMO SICHONGZOU (Hong Kong, 1996). The stories tell different stories: For example, in the first, The Temple of perfect grace, is the familiar serenity of the couple on their honeymoon to be in the spotlight. The second, the incident, tells of a car accident, which involved a cyclist and a son who brings in a wheelchair. At the center of attention after the brief description of the accident, are the same in different moments of the story and the people who are crowding around to it, identified and characterized by rapid sentences comment on the incident. The third story describes, in a wonderful way, the illness of a swimmer and his attempt to return to shore battling a painful stomach cramps. Among other stories, we note again that which gives its name to the collection, a fishing rod for my grandfather, written in Beijing in 1986.
analyze in detail the first story, The Temple of perfect grace, originally published in the journal number 7 you yan (Procellaria) in 1983.
The text is a masterpiece of freshness. Two young couples (it is the narrator who recalls the story, turning from time to time to the bride as if to recall the story) go on their honeymoon. During a break in the journey, they decide to visit the town in which they are randomly stopped. After informed by a passerby about the interesting things to visit, head to the ruins of an ancient temple on a hill not far from the city. The path is long and demanding and passes through a stream to cross, taking off the shoes. Finally arrived at the temple, after having rested, they meet a man with a worried look, giving them a melon, taken from a bag and that 'full and responsible, sometimes enigmatic silences, their curious questions. A little distance, a child excited about chasing the crickets in the fields with a basket in hand. As occurred, the two characters disappear, away from the couple, who lives with joy the moment just passed.
The story is not 'some original or particularly eventful, but it is remarkable how it is written. Every situation, every single movement, are painted with soft colors and sharp features, each sequence and 'a quick overview that appears and disappears to leave room to the next. The language is simple and essential, we are faced with large open spaces and a luminous sky, three-dimensional image of man melons, grace and joy of the child with the crickets, the ruins of the temple and love (sadly remembered by flashbacks) of the young couple.
The landscape is always present, in harmonious union with the feelings of the spouses. During their walk must ford a river: "The river water was clear and fresh. With one hand was holding the heels of Fangfang and my leather sandals. With the other held her hand while she held up her skirt. We went on trial and error, with bare feet in the water, it's been so long since I walked barefoot, and it seemed that even the slippery stones of the riverbed I fancy the walk. " Further on, come on top of the hill where the temple: "There was no one around, the silence was absolute. You could feel the mountain breeze mormorane among the old pine trees outside the temple. Undisturbed, we were stretched in the shade of the trees in the grass. The mountain wind had swept away the summer heat, bringing gusts of fresh air. Fangfang was leaning on my chest and looked the thin filament of a white cloud which vanished in the blue sky. It was a joy hard to put into words, which requires a calm like this. "
The appropriate term to describe the environment created by the author's pen is just that: peace of mind. It shows not only the description of the environment, the loving words between the two newlyweds, but also by the irrepressible joy of the child in search of the Crickets "\u0026lt;Qui c'e' a grillo!> The voice of a baby came over the gate. On the ridge appeared a little boy who was holding a cage of wire mesh. \u0026lt;If C'è, in a moment to help you acchiapparlo> said the man. The child ran to meet us hopping. "
The simplest everyday
are made with a medium of great efficiency, made of things that can evoke images, feelings, melancholy reflections on life and the world.
E 'permitted to make comparisons with an author and a filmmaker in nearby Japan. The style at times reminds one of Kawabata, while the events described have the same rhythm light of some sequences of the fairy-tale film Kurosawa's Dreams. In different parts of the narrative we are within a play: the scenes follow one another without any connection, as is the case, particularly, in the theater of the absurd, where it passes from one situation to another without any apparent logic: "The man strode up the hill, waving his arm in the bag full of melons. He went down the slope. Fanfang taken by the arm and drew her toward me. \u0026lt;Not Do così> struggled. \u0026lt;Hai D'erba a thread in the capelli> explained away a pine needle that had been entangled in her hair. \u0026lt;Quella Tile is going to cadere> said. She also noted that golden tile tilted in the balance. 'If it falls now meglio, otherwise could hurt qualcuno> he murmured. \u0026lt;Potrà Still last for days> added.
This brief collection, characterized by the fusion of traditional Eastern art and narrative methods of modern Western drama, is a useful introduction to Gao Xingjian, whose complete work has resulted in Italy by Rizzoli. (2)
Note 1) Gao Xingjian, a fishing rod for my grandfather, Rizzoli, Milan 2001
2) Review published in Arts of the East, May-June 2005.
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