中国大好き

Lesung für Li Bifeng

What is Chinese literature about? What is art about, in any medium, time or place? The reading for the imprisoned underground poet and activist Li Bifeng on June 3rd, 2013 in Vienna will include works by a diverse range of authors. Li Bifeng has become known through his association with Liao Yiwu, the exiled poet and documentary writer, now in Berlin. On his own, judging from his available work and his literary impact in China, even in dissident circles, Li Bifeng would not have become famous. This doesn’t mean he is not worth reading. But he has had little opportunity to find an audience, and not everything that is available online now is as compelling as Liao Yiwu’s signature poem Massacre, or any other famous piece of writing in Chinese. Actually, none of the works by Li Bifeng I have read up to now sound very dissident at all. They are “just art”, so to speak. He could have published them, as a different person.

I am currently translating a long poem by Li Bifeng into English, and have translated several small texts into German. Two of these will appear in the literary journal Wienzeile this summer in bilingual fashion. The artist Sara Bernal is supporting the reading on June 3rd with a display of paintings.

What other texts will be read at Vienna University on June 3rd?

On May 3rd, 2013, we had a very interesting workshop and discussion at Vienna University’s East Asia Institute, on literature in Korea, China and Japan. It was initiated by Lena Springer, who invited Zhang Chengjue 張成覺, expert on the year 1957 and the so-called Anti-Rightists-Campaign in China. Zhang and Springer were inspired by Lu Xun expert Qian Liqun from Peking University, who called for research on the late 1950s in China across disciplines. The workshop in Vienna was about censorship, political changes, publishing conditions and (self-)perceptions of artistic quality. Professor Schirmer told us about a debate in South Korea 45 years ago, in 1968. A big-wig critic who became culture minister later published an essay, lamenting the lame state of Korean literature. A poet responded and said he had poems that could not be published, and his friends also had literature that could not be published because it would be considered dangerous, unstable, unsettling. 不穩。The critic said he didn’t understand. Surely good art would be independent of politics and would only need imagination and talent? Not so, the poet replied. Art is potentially unsettling, if it is powerful art at all. The critic didn’t get it again. Sounded very much like Prof. Kubin and his friends in China. Also like Taiwan 30 years ago, of course.

維也納大學遠東語言文化系在今年五月三日剛進行了文學討論會，主要談不同政權、時代的言論情況。張成覺講1957年中國『反右』，朝鮮半島語言文化系的人談了在二十幾年前在韓國的文學討論，有以後當文化部長的評論家寫文章大講韓語文學敗退，非常像顧彬對當代中國文學的廢話。有一位作家回答那以後當部長的評論家說他的抽屜裡有不能刊登的詩，而他朋友有不能出版的文章。那時候韓國聽起來像國民黨獨裁的台灣，書店有希特勒的書，但如果你家裡有馬克思你會下獄。不過那位作家不用這樣說，只需說他的詩不能刊登，因為好的文學從來都是『不穩』的 。

日本語文化系有人談當代日本語文學的討論，也有老頭藐視他後代的文學和比較年輕的作家談當地政治、社會問題跟文學的關聯。『年輕人』是沖縄県來的目取真俊, Medoruma, Shun, 1960.10.6 -。老頭是大江 健三郎。他支持研究大量沖繩島嶼人在二戰結束時被迫自殺的歷史真相。所以他一點都不像韓國的評論家支持維穩。只是藐視他後代的文學。日本語文化系還有其他人講日本三十年代初檢查雜誌和『伏字』的現象。

中文系魏格林教授介紹莫言的短篇《糧食》，以後進入了長篇《丰乳肥臀》。《糧食》和莫言自傳性的文章都證明他並不像美國林佩瑞教授所指的無視大躍進飢荒，反而承認自己像其他貧窮的農村孩子因為飢餓失去了自尊。除了進入軍隊喊主席萬歲沒有很多選擇。現在說不出來什麼反對制度的話難怪，制度給他寫作的機會已經那麼難得的。魏格林教授成功地證明談論莫言應該仔細讀他的小說。最近談論莫言這樣仔細的文章很少，希望快能出版。

中文系並且提供關於朦朧詩人北島、舒婷、顧城的感人講話，還有講《天雲山傳奇》這部電影的技術和觀眾成功的現象。 總共說非常值得組織遠東系一塊談文學，大榭張成覺，Lena Springer 和所有參加的專家！

最近五月底有兩種國際消息讓我想起文學和權利的聯繫。德國工會Verdi呼籲亞馬遜(Amazon.com)員工舉行罷工，藉此要求全球零售業龍頭提高基本薪資並改善夜班待遇。五月14日第一次罷工，五月27日又報告罷工通知。李必豐第一次被關起來因為六四。第二次因為在四川小城市組織罷工，阻擋交通。現在被關第三次，得了12年有期徒刑，好像要代替廖亦武。奧地利筆會支持德國亞馬遜員工的罷工：http://penclub.at/blog/2013/05/16/2139/

第二消息是絕食。美國关塔那摩湾拘押中心絕食消息讓我想起施明德《囚室之春》。台灣1947年二二八死了幾萬人，1991年才承認。小布什時代美國長得很醜陋的面孔，像獨裁者同樣一直公佈世界上只有一種歷史觀。廿世紀美國長期支持各種獨裁、虐待政權。無論什麼地方，社會多元化、實現底層、少數權利、都需要長期鬥爭。

Besides works by Li Bifeng, the reading for Li Bifeng in Vienna will include texts by Li Khin-huann (Taiwan), Shih Ming-te and Shih Ming-cheng (Taiwan), famous fiction writer Liu Zhenyun (Henan, Beijing), the female migrant worker poet Zheng Xiaoqiong (Dongguan), famous iconoclastic poet Yi Sha (Xi’an) and last but not least Zhao Siyun, whose poem for June 5th was introduced by Michael Day on the MCLC list in 2010. Maybe also “Farewell to the 20th century” by Song Tik-lai, if we have time. Or other stuff from Taiwan and other places.

無論怎樣，諾貝爾文學獎、和平獎十二年之內三次給中國人就是很大的機會。這次給主流作家，有矛盾。有矛盾就更加討論。像顧彬在艾未未被綁架的時候站在中國政府一邊，這樣的漢學家謝天謝地畢竟很少。馬悅然絕對不會這樣。

Liao Yiwu, Meng Huang and Maria Rosen: A performance in Stockholm

Mo Yan and Liao Yiwu

Stephane Hessel and the state of the air