This is a fictional novel. Of course, novels are all fiction, especially fiction, because Lao She was not in Beiping during this period. After the July 7th Incident broke out, Lao She left Beiping alone and went to Chongqing to carry out anti-Japanese war propaganda activities. Until later, his wife brought her children to make peace with him and told him the details of life in the occupied area of Beiping. Most novels come from the author's fiction and imagination, but the novel, a grand work with a million words and a special historical period, has to be said to be a great miracle.
This is another realistic work. Although Lao She was not in Beiping at that time, most of the stories came from the real life of the people in Beiping. Lao She's familiarity, understanding and love for Peiping are real and realistic. The location of the story, Xiaoyangquan Hutong, is the birthplace of Lao She. The customs of life you saw in old Beiping, the noise you heard from ordinary people, every scenery you passed by and the unique smell you smelled were all true.
Most works will have the prototype of the author. I think the prototype of Lao She in this novel is the third son of Qi family. Shortly after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the third son of the Qi family left Beiping and began to resist Japan. This paper holds that Lao She, who left Beiping at that time, must have felt sorry for his mother and family because of his eagerness before leaving home. And Qi Tianyou, an honest man, has been kind and decent all his life. After being insulted by the Japanese, he even chose to splash water to wash away his shame to prove his freedom, cleanliness, happiness and dignity. If we combine them to understand Mr. Lao She's tragic life, we may have more insights.
Back to the work "Four Generations under One roof" itself, this is a novel with the theme of the Anti-Japanese War. The timeline begins with the outbreak of the July 7th Anti-Japanese War and ends with Japan's announcement of surrender. War, national subjugation and national subjugation are the keynote and background, but Mr. Lao She did not directly describe the details of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, nor did he focus on shaping the heroes of the Anti-Japanese War. Even the third child, Rui Quan, the first awakening action, is not the hero in the article. As usual, Mr. Lao She focused his eyes on an alley in Beiping. Xiaoyangquan Hutong is a microcosm of many hutongs in Beiping. There are several generations of old Beiping people who are comfortable and contented, trivial and vivid. Originally they lived their own lives and had their own rules. However, when the war comes, everyone can't stay out of it. Personal choice and national integrity are intertwined, just like the sea scouring sand and fine screening. Every family in the sheepfold is continuing or changing, highlighting or amplifying their own humanity and destiny.
Mr. Lao She has many characters, but everyone has a complete personality and a complete fate track. Mr. Lao She's writing skills are excellent, and interesting language and psychological descriptions abound. Mr Lao She started writing when War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression was not completely finished. His intention of remembering history, loving the nation and calling for peace is obvious.
But in the whole reading process, I have been asking myself, as an ordinary person, what would I do if I were you? Will I become a resolute Ruiquan, a contradictory Ruixuan, a humble Chen, even Professor Niu and Guan Xiaohe?
Human nature is untested. Especially when it comes to the test of the most basic security needs, human nature is often complicated. I think this clue may also be what Mr. Lao She has been thinking and describing. If it is Mr. Lu Xun, he will be sad for his misfortune and angry for his anger. It is estimated that modern young people will "hate iron and not produce steel", criticize the bad habits of China people and shout "ugly China people". With the most in-depth and meticulous psychological description and the most objective and tolerant perspective, Mr. Lao She showed us the true story of ordinary people-they have a sense of justice but no courage, are kind and selfish, and are patient but not enterprising. This is the value of most people in Beiping, and it is also the universal national character cultivated by traditional education for thousands of years. They have their own struggles, reflections, retreats and awakenings. Only by honing in such a complex environment can they collide with different sparks.
Tell me about Rui Xuan in the article. He is the most typical Peiping intellectual. He is kind, conscious and keeps his bottom line. However, he is timid, let alone anti-Japanese. Even his neighbor and the traitor's brother can't pull their faces down. He supports his family and neighbors to go to war. He has to support his family and be filial. He is the pendulum of the old and new cultures, but he dare not act when he resists. He can't choose between life and death, love and hate, laughter and tears, patriotism and war. You can't like him or blame him, because you know his struggle, you understand his struggle, and you can only wait for his awakening and outbreak. In the end, the growth of Ruixuan indicates the growth of Peiping as a whole and the awakening and hope of the nation. Resist and obey, criticize and inherit, look at human nature with a tolerant eye, look at national personality characteristics, and look at the collision between traditional culture and modernity. This is the grand mind of Mr. Lao She.
It took me two weeks to finish reading, but I still feel very confused. The version I read is 17, with only 87 chapters. Later, I searched online and read the next thirteen chapters. The later thirteen chapters were lost, and the present ones are translated from English. I always feel that these thirteen chapters lack some charm, which is estimated to be a lot of cuts in Chinese-English translation, and the fate of the characters is also sloppy. After a while, I will read it again and taste it again.