Analyzing Wei Hui and Mian Mian:
Hollywood Ice Cream and Shanghai Lollipop
August 3, 2000, Original By Zha Xi-Duo Translated by Bruce Humes (徐穆实) (摘自黄金书屋)
好莱坞冰淇淋与上海棒棒糖---析卫慧与棉棉
2000年8月3日《读书》 扎西多
在上海不到一周，不同场合里听到谈论棉棉、卫慧的小说。普遍的说法是这些七十年代出生的“新人类”胆大，肤浅，“用身体写作，用皮肤思维“， 写来写去都是些性交、吸毒。
I was in Shanghai less than a week but heard comments in several different venues about novels by Mian Mian and Wei Hui. It's widely agreed that these "New Generation" writers are daring, superficial and tend to "write with their bodies, and think with their skin." Their writing is said to be little more than sex and drugs.
离开上海前在南京路步行街的书店里买了《糖》、《上海宝贝》。有朋友得知后说：“不妨带上飞机翻翻，然后就留在飞机上。“言下之意仍是不屑，倒弄得我越发好奇。
Before I left Shanghai I bought Candy and Shanghai Baby at a bookstore on the new pedestrian-only portion of Nanjing Road. Said a friend on learning of my purchase: "You'd best take it with you on a flight for a quick read, and leave it on the plane when you get off." But the condescending attitude behind these words just piqued my curiosity.
近年中文小说读得少。无论朋友送的还是偶尔听到推荐找来读，少有读得下去的，多半半途而废。有时疑惑究竟是谁出了问题：我自己？小说家？还是这个时代？这回先看了《上海宝贝》，却看得飞快？？难道真和在飞机上看有关？
In recent years I've read few Chinese novels. Be it books given by friends or ones I've bought as a result of an occasional overheard recommendation, it's a rare novel that I don't abandon mid-way. Sometimes I wonder where the problem lies: With me? The novelist? Or our times? But I read Shanghai Baby in no time flat. Could it be because I read it on an airplane?
上回也是在飞机上，正巧赶上去年一部好莱坞片 The Thomas Crown Affair，男女主角都是时髦漂亮的都市人物（男的就是詹姆斯.邦德的扮演者），故事围绕一桩艺术盗窃案展开，拍得既轻捷机智又浪漫刺激，很酷，看时的 感觉象在用眼睛吃冰淇淋。《上海宝贝》也有这种漂亮和速度，但更年轻更颓废，像在幽暗的滑冰场上吃一支柠檬味的棒棒糖。
Last time I was on an airplane too when, as luck would have it, I got to see a Hollywood film released last year, The Thomas Crown Affair. The male and female stars were fashionable, good-looking, big-city types. The story revolves around an art theft, and the film comes across as both clever and excitingly romantic. Cool, really. Watching it was like eating ice cream...with your eyes. Shanghai Baby possesses a similar beauty and rhythm, but it's younger and more decadent, a bit like licking a lemon lollipop in the shadows of an ice-skating rink.
只是好莱坞冰淇淋吃多了，吃完会马上忘在脑后，这支棒棒糖却不这么简单？？毕竟是前所未有的中 国制造。读毕脑子里居然闪过一句话：“女士们先生们，请脱帽，卫慧来了！”这好像是当年美国某篇报评的标题，“LADIES AND GENTS，HATS OFF ，HERE COMES BOB DYLAN！”我当然绝非暗示卫慧是鲍勃.狄伦，那可风马牛不相及。但这本小说的确给我一个鲜明感觉：一个文学新人登场了，一种新都市小说在中国出现了。
When you finish eating your Hollywood ice cream cone, you immediately put it out of your mind, but that lollipop isn't so easily forgotten. After all, it is "Made in China." When I finished Shanghai Baby, I couldn't help thinking to myself: "Ladies and gentlemen, hats off, here comes Wei Hui!" It reminded me of the headline for a 1960s newspaper review: "Ladies and Gentlemen, hats off, here comes Bob Dylan!" I don't mean to suggest that Wei Hui is the new Bob Dylan. But this novel did indeed leave me with a distinctive impression: A new literary personality has entered the scene, and a new kind of urban novel has been born in China.
先要声明我的阅读偏见：因为彻底是城市人，到北京郊区下乡一年更破了原先对田园诗意的幻想，我一向对农村小说隔膜，闻见泥土味就打呵欠，见到“王富贵进了 李有才家，先蹲下了”或者“男人咂吧着烟袋，眯缝着眼看着婆娘大奶子一颠一颠地在灶间忙活着”这样的句子就倒胃。
I should first admit my reading prejudices. I am a city dweller through and through whose romantic fantasies of country life were destroyed when I was sent to till the land outside Beijing for one year. There is a gulf between me and the rural novel; The very smell of soil makes me yawn.
喜欢俄国小说里的乡村描写，也欣赏阿城的撝嘈∷禂，因为那其实是贵族和城市文人睥撘旃榈鲾。究其根底，这褊狭是因为自己生长在城市，住过并且喜欢的也 都是大而老的城市：北京，纽约，芝加哥。可当代中国大陆没有摩登都市，自然难出摩登都市文学。这事无可奈何，怪不着作家们。
I do like the descriptions of countryside in Russian novels, and enjoy A Cheng's novels about educated youth who have been sent "down" to the countryside. But that's precisely because they are about aristocrats and urban intellectuals looking askance at "life in a foreign land." When you really get down to it, my narrowness comes from having grown up in the city. Those I inhabited and loved have all been large and old cities: Beijing, New York, Chicago. But China hasn't any modern metropolises, and thus can hardly give birth to "modern urban literature." Chinese authors needn't take the blame for that.
其实八十年代以来，大陆出了一些个性鲜明的城市小说，从刘索拉，徐星，到九十年代的王朔， 都是。不过那里面的城市和人物仍留有 很强的革命 年代习气，即便反叛，那反叛的对象也极其明确，是正在衰败中的主流。那里面的摲从⑿蹟还带着英雄主义年代的夸张姿态。
In fact, since the 1980s mainland China has produced some highly individualistic urban novelists, from Liu Suo-La and Xu Xing to Wang Shuo in the 1990s. But the cities and characters they portray very much retain the habits of the revolutionary era. Even when they rebel, the object of their rebellion is well-defined: The decaying status quo. Their "anti-heroes" still cling to the exaggerated poses of the socialist hero of yesteryear.
当然，刘索拉多些青 年艺术家的寻索、问号（她笔下的女孩买买 东西弄点脂粉就会自惭肤浅，要做灵魂的拷问），徐星多些边缘青 年的灰暗无聊，王朔则更多 军干子弟的张狂滑滑。这些小说又都 有北方 城市人的作风。大手大脚，大批大笑，大说大闹，大鱼大肉。甩得很。
Of course, one finds a bit more of the searching, questioning young artist in Liu Suo-La's work (her young female characters are ashamed of their superficiality and inflict psychological torture on themselves just for simple acts like going shopping or putting on a touch of make-up), while Xu Xing focuses more on the gloomy, bored lives of youth on the margins of society, and Wang Shuo is more likely to portray the impudent and slippery side of the children of cadres and military families. All these novels have a sense of the northern Chinese urbanite to them: Extravagant, as quick to criticize as to joke, boisterous and given to monumental feasting. Very exaggerated.
当时上海的城市小说家如孙甘露。同一代人，风格就全然两样。 他写城市的办法是营造一场场温柔华美的白日梦。那时的上海物质太贫乏，太少寻欢作乐的场所，从唯美者的眼光看出去真是一片苍白简陋。怎么办？出路只有一 条，变革命文体为文体革命，变乡村的乌托邦为城 市的白日梦。身边没有，那就让想像是的霓虹亮起来，踱进那想像的酒吧里，听那想像的时光倒流爵士乐孙甘露不走写实的路而耽于形式的试验，我想一半也是给逼 出来的，是上海式的对粗糙钢硬文化的抵抗。
A Shanghai writer of the late 1980s, Sun Gan-Lu, had an entirely different style. His solution for writing about the city was to fabricate one delicate and exquisite daydream after another. The Shanghai of that era badly lacked material goods, and had too few places for fun and leisure. In the eyes of one who appreciates beauty, Shanghai was merely an expanse of pale poverty. What to do? There was but one way out: Transform revolutionary prose into a revolution of prose, and turn rural utopia into a city daydream. Since one couldn't find these things in daily life, then let the imagination turn on the neon lights, stroll into an imaginary pub, and listen to that imaginary jazz music, traveling back in time. I tend to believe that Sun Gang-Lu chose not to take the path of realism, instead indulging in this experiment with form, in large part because he felt pressured to do so. It was a Shanghainese way of resisting a crude and harsh culture.
卫慧和棉棉是另一代上海人。革命以及与革命有关的意识形态在她们描写的都市风景里消失殆尽，那一切好像从未发生过。当然绝没有在现实的都市 风景中消失，这一点任何一个视力正常的人在上海街头走上五分钟就会明白？？并非全是红男绿女广告霓虹灯。但她们的小说把这一层干净彻底地剥离了出去。厌 烦？回避？麻木？抑或是所谓政治淡化给了新一代人新的眼睛？
Wei Hui and Mian Mian are a different generation of Shanghainese. Revolution and revolutionary consciousness are utterly absent from the urban scenery they describe, as if they had never existed at all. Of course, they have not disappeared from the actual face of the city; Anyone with normal vision can comprehend that just by walking five minutes on a street in Shanghai, where one will find that it has not been reduced to billboards of neon-lit men and women. But their novels have indeed neatly and thoroughly stripped away this layer of culture. Out of annoyance? Avoidance? Apathy? Perhaps the so-called 'depoliticalization' of society has given the New Generation a new set of eyes?
不管是什么，反正此事免谈，谈也没用只落得个不酷不漂亮。在这一点上，撔氯死鄶俊杰们个个彻底撌妒蔽駭？？或者说干脆长在时务中。令人感叹撓蚯翱磾和撓蚯翱磾到他们这里算是真正开结果，开出了富有中国特色的都市摱裰〝。
No matter why, let's drop the subject -- because talking about things revolutionary wouldn't be cool or attractive. In this sense, each and every esteemed member of this New Generation is thoroughly "in tune with the trends of the times." You could say they are virtually thriving in the midst of those trends. The pun on a political slogan -- "Look to the (money in the) future" (note: "money" and "future" are homophones in Chinese) -- has at last been realized, creating an urban "Flower of Evil" with richly Chinese characteristics.
王朔跟这一比，破绽百出。先说卫慧。这《上海宝贝》写得漂亮，显然作者 是那种集天赋、聪明、良好教育于一身的青年作家。第一本长篇就出手不凡，先要说她语言好。有中文系毕业生爱用现成词组的倾向，但这种不雕字的摾炼钄也使她 行文显得没有负担，轻松流畅，速度快。写人写景都简洁敏锐，清凉利索，有情却不酸，有节制而不造作。有见识却不往深里走，颇有上乘商业文学之风。
In comparison to Wei Hui and her Shanghai Baby, the elder Wang Shuo is a flawed writer. Shanghai Baby is beautifully written, and the young author clearly combines the qualities of a natural feeling for writing with intelligence and a good education. Her first novel is uncommonly good, and it must be said that her language is pleasing. She has a tendency to use off-the-shelf phrases, but this unwillingness to sculpt her language unburdens her prose, making it a light and quick read. Her descriptions of people and scenery are concise, revealing and direct, emotional but not overdone or affected. Her writing offers rich experience but avoids profundity, and classifies as top-notch popular fiction.
性写得不错，在大陆当代小说里绝对是个突破。直率，干净，毫无老派的 扭捏造作，躲躲闪闪，也没有没见过大天的穷造势，光打雷不下雨的 文艺腔。往往直奔主题，但又永远有技术处理。比如写性高潮，竟杂用武侠小说和卡拉OK流行歌曲的套话，就是一种聪明的处理，那些早使滥了的港台腔居然也有 了一种风趣。这书中心主题是性欲，场景又一概精选时髦新潮之地，人物一律务要性感年轻，香港人讲的 时装杂志上那种所谓撚锌钣行螖，外加频频搔首弄姿，估计把它拍成 电影也会好看。
The sex scenes are well done, representing a total breakthrough among contemporary mainland Chinese writers. Direct, uncluttered and utterly devoid of affectation, there is no hide-and-seek or lightning-minus-the-thunder sort of treatment here. Wei Hui moves straight to her theme, but always handles it in a technically correct manner. Take orgasms, for instance. She mixes cliches taken from kongfu novels and karaoke hits, and handles them in such an intelligent way that these formulas, long ago overused, come across as witty in this sexual context. The central theme of the novel is sexual desire, and every venue is a carefully chosen, happening place. Each character must be young and attractive in that way that Hong Kong fashion magazines define as trendy. You can imagine them striking one sultry pose after another, and I assume that Shanghai Baby would make a good film.
上海宝贝》为中国撔氯死鄶们摹了幅精致、潇洒、洋气的肖像。这些 新人类们是谁？摿砝鄶这个词在书中出现多次，但卫慧笔下的人物怕算不得真撜媪砝鄶。他（她）们太时髦风雅，太工于心计，太自我感觉良好。 他们的自嘲十分CUTE，有点撒娇。在享乐的时代他们既有钱？？至少是不缺钱？？又知道怎么享受钱。在道德暧昧的环境里他们洒脱果断，说干就干。
Shanghai Baby has painted a portrait of China's New Generation as refined, carefree and western-oriented. And who are these New Generation types? The term counterculture appears in the book many times, but I'm afraid Wei Hui's characters wouldn't qualify as true countercultural denizens. They are too chic and refined, calculating and self-assured. When they poke fun at themselves it's cute and a bit coquettish. In an era of pleasure, they have plenty of money -- or at least never lack for it -- and they know how to enjoy it. In the morally ambivalent environment where they exist, they are easy but decisive.
而他们所有的摲杩駭都是既性感自恋又小脑清醒边界分明的。一不犯上，三不辱洋，三不毁已。摬簧鲾绝不等于摲干禂。他们遵守游戏规则，明白什么是真危险真安 全，他们是聪明人，决不会把事情搞滥搞大发了搞得无法收场。说到底，他们其实是光怪陆离非驴非马社会中一群得心应手的弄潮儿。
Every time they "go crazy" the line between sensuality/narcissism vs. rationality remains firmly drawn; They commit no political faux pas, do not debase things foreign, and do not harm themselves. Their indiscretion is never equivalent to stupidity. They play by the rules and they understand what is truly dangerous and what is safe. They are intelligent people who never make a mess of things, and never go beyond the pale. When you get right down to it, they are simply a band of strange and unusual youth, neither fish nor fowl, adept at flowing with the tide.
二十世纪九十年代末，从生活方式到道德观念，中国这条古老的大船终于 驶到了新旧交替循环并存的阴阳界。满街处处有老树开新花的妖娆之气，好比老年人久病之后施行整容术，那光鲜的外表下隐藏着深深的恐怖和悲哀，而战胜无奈感 的有效办法是及时行乐。撋虾１Ρ磾们是一族玲珑剔透 的行乐高手。从老主流的角度看，他们当然是道德败坏自私自利的叛逆。从新主流的角度看，他们则是附丽其上尽领风骚的晶莹泡沫。他们一边标新立异，一边占尽 便宜。
At the end of the 1990s, in terms of lifestyle and morality, this old ship which is China has finally sailed to the boundary line where the old gives way to the new. The street is filled with the seductive scent of old trees sporting new flowers. But like an old person who has had plastic surgery after a long illness, underneath that bright, fresh exterior lies hidden a deep sense of sorrow and fear. The most effective way to overcome that feeling of helplessness is to indulge now while there is still time. Shanghai Baby is peopled with nimble-witted hedonists. From the point of view of traditional mainstream society, they are moral degenerates and self-serving rebels. But in the eyes of the new mainstream, they are crystal bubbles moving with the tide to better display their beauty. They attract attention by behaving differently, and exploit that uniqueness to their own benefit.
且书中引用的几位西方文化偶像来约略比一比异同。主人公倪可开篇就宣布 自己的头号偶像是亨利.米勒，这不无道理。一提米勒小说，人们先会想到 放浪形骸的 感性生活哲学对禁欲式文化的反叛。中国新人类们的确 可以由此找到灵感。不过相似到此为止。同是半自传体小说，米勒的主人公 是从布鲁克林区跑去浪迹欧洲的穷小子，感官享乐既是反禁欲的又是反商品的，充满破口大骂整个美国清教徒式资本主义生活的狂野。
Let's examine the way the book cites a few idols of Western culture. At the outset CoCo, the book's female protagonist, announces that her Number One idol is Henry Miller, and not without cause. When one mentions Henry Miller, one immediately thinks of the rebellion of the philosophy of unrestrained sensuality against a culture which denies sexual pleasure. Members of China's New Generation can indeed find inspiration here, but the similarity ends there. Also semi-autobiographical, Miller's protaganist (note: the writer appears to be referring to Tropic of Cancer) is a poor fellow from Brooklyn who wanders off to Europe. His sensory pleasures are a rebellion against both sexual inhibition and commercialism, and the story is filled with rantings against the entire American puritanical capitalistic lifestyle.
倪可的反叛则是名校女生非要下社会闹点不轨的恶作剧方显得卓尔不群、潇洒不俗。归根结底，她还是那种好人家调养出来的娇女孩，野也野不 出大圈儿去，在外边搞得实在太乱了累了还是会回家喝了妈妈的粥睡觉。
CoCo's rebellion, on the other hand, is one of a female student from a top school who feels compelled to "descend" into society and play a few pranks in order to establish her individuality and unconventionality.
汉英对照：评卫慧与棉棉
徐穆实 译
Over the last few months "Shanghai Baby" and, to a lesser extent, "Candy" have been discussed in the most heated tones both on-line and in Chinese newspapers. Eventually, the sale of both books -- in hard copy form, at least -- has been banned within the PRC.
But it is interesting to note that few critics have been willing to discuss "Shanghai Baby" as a work of literature; Most have derided it as literary rubbish and devoted most of their "critiques" to trashing the author and her lifestyle.
Below, I translate an interesting piece by a female critic (pen name=Zha Xi-Duo) who begs to differ.
As usual, I include both the Chinese original and my translation so that you can compare them. Note that I have not translated certain phrases, and even cut a paragraph or two. In some instances, I added notes to explain concepts such as the pun 向前看 and 向钱看. One should never delete or add copy lightly, but I felt this was the right thing to do for my audience -- publishing professionals in the West who don't know Chinese.
I welcome your comments and suggestions.
Bruce Humes
徐穆实
San Francisco
August 18, 2000
brucehumes@worldnet.att.net
