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著名女作家王安忆教授的新收获

2016-04-13祖丁远

文化交流 2016年3期
关键词:中文系王安忆复旦大学

●祖丁远



著名女作家王安忆教授的新收获

●祖丁远

我知道的只是,当我们在地上行走的时候,能够援行我们、在黑夜来临时照耀我们的,只有精神的光芒。

——王安忆

2016年新春,王安忆的长篇小说新作《匿名》在上海、北京、杭州等城市新华书店与读者见面,很快引发人们热议。

2015年1月15日,著名作家王安忆代表作《长恨歌》再次搬上话剧舞台。历时3个小时的《长恨歌》谢幕之时,王安忆成为全场焦点。人们对她的到来,报以经久不息的掌声。她表示,《长恨歌》能再次回到舞台,实在是件非常让人高兴的事,“虽然这已不是我第一遍看她,但看到自己笔下的人物能活在舞台上,心里依然非常激动”。她认为“好作品必须经得起时间的慢慢沉淀。”

如今,王安忆既是文学创作成果丰盛的著名作家,又是复旦大学中文系“创意写作专业硕士(MFA)”导师。作为鲜为人知的复旦大学中文系在编教授,她率先设立文学写作专业硕士点,专业培养作家。

长篇新作《匿名》颠覆一贯的创作风格

王安忆的最新长篇小说《匿名》,近日由人民文学出版社出版。在此之前,它在《收获》杂志分上下两部连载完已有一段时间。作者写作这本书,整整用了两年零五个月,“是自己所有长篇小说中写作时间花得最久的一部,《匿名》是我写得最用力的故事,但写完后隐隐有点不安,有种不放心的感觉。”而几乎所有看完《匿名》的读者,给出的评价都是“不好读”,有人甚至把它评为“2016年开年最烧脑的小说”。

王安忆的写作一向以现实主义的文学创作方法为主,她的文字被公认为炉火纯青,夹叙夹议一直是她写作常用的手法。小说主要表现在对故事的叙述,作品内容偏重于写实。而《匿名》却颠覆了王安忆以往的创作风格,构成了读者对作品阅读的挑战。

《匿名》是一部处于作者创作风格转变尝试中的作品,带有强烈的象征意味,议论和说明要远远多于对故事的讲述。作家在这部作品里“通过对日常材料赋予更多的意义,引出一段段隐喻和警语”。作者在《匿名》里已不再像以往那样是一个故事的叙述者,她试图阐释的是语言、教育、文明、时间这些抽象的概念,在虚写与实写之间表达对于文明进化的独特理解。

新书《匿名》讲了个什么样的故事?这回的主角变成了一个退休人物,他遭遇阴差阳错的绑架后,被丢在野山里,失去了名字,失去了记忆,遇到形形色色奇怪的人和事。失踪者踏上漫漫飘零路后,与深山的哑巴、麻和尚等人相遇,后被养老院收留。他照顾患先天性心脏病的孩子,寻机联系上福利院,总算辗转要返回时,却失足坠入江中,仿佛落入永恒的时间里。一桩桩隐秘背后,是无数的人的邂逅和离别。

整部作品35万字,没有一个字的前言和后记,连最基本的内容概括、章节标题都没有,似乎执意想要留给读者最大的思考空间。

之所以会有这样的设定,因为几年前,王安忆整理母亲茹志鹃的日记时,根据母亲剧本里提到的地点,去了趟浙江括苍山。她逢人便问“林窟在哪”,结果所有人都回答“没有了”。这让她非常惊讶,在母亲的笔下,林窟曾是个异常闹猛的小山村,地处三县交界之处。然而等到她亲自寻去,曾经如此繁华的地方,已经消失。道路也被杂草给吞没了,越往山中走,越没有路。这给了王安忆极大的灵感,“我这本书想表达的东西太多了。我们生活的世界,你眼中看到的就是它原本或真实的样子吗?不一定。”王安忆点到即止。

写了37年小说、共出版12部小说的作家王安忆坦言:“可能是年龄的关系,也可能是写得太多的关系,我现在写小说的话,就会变得很挑剔,变得特别挑。挑的时候就会需要抉择,就不会像以前写得那么舒服、那么顺利了。其实写作是自我满足,如果那种方式不能满足我的话,那就不那样写了。”

王安忆自认是“后发式选手”,“这是我一贯的慢热风格。我曾跟朋友说笑,请他们耐心点,坚持看完下半部。实际上真正的精华都在下半部。”

撇开表面化冲突,小说设置了更大悬念。王安忆的这部长篇小说越来越抽象,几乎摆脱了文学故事的元素,与其说是讲述故事还不如说是在议论故事。

看来王安忆要进行的是一场先锋文学的试验。

左图为王安忆早年在绍兴茹家蒌寻根;右图为王安忆1994年在杭州采访。Left: Wang Anyi seeks ancestral roots in her home village in Shaoxing in Eastern Zhejiang. Right: Wang Anyi in Hangzhou

在复旦大学的文学试验

2012年的最后一期《收获》杂志,发表了王安忆的中篇小说《众声喧哗》,这期杂志一度脱销。翌年,上海文艺出版社以《众声喧哗》为主另收入了六篇王安忆近年创作的短篇小说出版,想不到这部《众声喧哗》出版当月,加印到23000册。这在当代纯文学作家的作品中,十分罕见!

王安忆是中国当代作家中的代表性人物。2013年8月王安忆荣获法国文学艺术骑士勋章。女作家方方说:“就综合实力,我认为中国当今女作家中王安忆是排在第一位的。”就其作品数量之多、质量之高、风格之多变,王安忆在中国当代作家中的地位也是毋庸置疑的。

1994年9月,王安忆应邀在复旦大学中文系开了一门《小说研究》课程,讲授她对《悲惨世界》等世界文学经典名著的解读心得。当时的中文系主任郑重地把聘书交给王安忆,聘书上的职位是“小说研究课程专任教授”。那个学期,王安忆每周去一次复旦大学,给学生们上课。

2004年2月,王安忆正式调到复旦大学,从那时到现在,她已经在复旦大学工作了十多年,和许多作家的兼职、挂职不同,她的编制正式到了复旦大学,担任中文系现当代文学方向的教授和硕士研究生导师。

过去大学中文系是不直接培养作家的,王安忆到复旦大学率先设立了文学写作的专业硕士点。2007年,复旦的“文学写作硕士”对外招生三名。“复旦培养作家啦!”一时间成为社会热点话题。蒲跃辉是王安忆带的第一个“文学写作硕士”,现在已在《上海文学》杂志社一边当编辑,一边写小说。

王安忆长篇小说新作《匿名》Wang Anyi’s latest novel Anonymous was released in January 2016.

在蒲跃辉之后,叶兆言的女儿叶子来了复旦大学,和另一位青年写作者陶磊一起,师从王安忆。同时,王安忆还邀请美国哥伦比亚大学“创意写作”创始人舒尔茨来到复旦大学开设“西方文学创意写作”课程。舒尔茨向复旦大学推荐了哥伦比亚大学培养作家模式—文学写作专业硕士(MFA)。中国作家白先勇、严歌苓、哈金都读过这个专业,并获得MFA学位。

2009年经教育部、国家学位办同意复旦大学开办两年制“创意写作MFA”专业,毕业时主要以文学作品的质量作为评判依据,毕业可获得MFA学位。2014年北京大学中文系也招收创意硕士研究生,还有更多大学加入进来。我国高校有了文学创作专业后,和国际接轨了,中文系不仅培养学者和报刊、网络编辑,也可以培养作家。

走过30年艰辛漫长创作道路

已故的著名女作家、王安忆的母亲茹志鹃,祖籍浙江绍兴,出生于上海。她生前接受我专访时曾经坦诚地说:“我没有想要把安忆培养成作家。我倒希望安忆长大以后做个医生,靠一技之长安分地治病救人。”然而王安忆却走上了艰辛的文学创作的漫长道路。

王安忆自1979年开始发表文学作品以来,共创作短中长篇小说以及散文、文艺评论等500多万字,其作品获全国短篇小说奖、全国中篇小说奖,成为当代海派文学的代表作家。她的代表作《长恨歌》,细致描写上世纪40年代上海女人王琦瑶。当时还是中学生的王琦瑶被选为“上海小姐”,从此开始命运多舛的一生。这一文学作品被王安忆一支细腻而绚烂的笔,写得哀婉动人,跌宕起伏,2000年终获第五届茅盾文学奖。2005年王安忆又获鲁迅文学奖。

王安忆部分著作Some of books by Wang Anyi

王安忆与母亲茹志鹃(左)在一起。Wang Anyi and her writer mother Ru Zhijuan

王安忆(右)与张抗抗(中)、陈祖芬(左)在全国政协大会上。Wang Anyi (right), Zhang Kangkang (center), Chen Zufen (left) attend an annual session of the CPPCC in Beijing.

1983年,受爱荷华大学的邀请,茹志鹃携王安忆赴美参加国际“写作计划”,与德国、波兰、阿根廷、南非、土耳其、印度等国家的作家结识和交流。回来之后,视野大为开阔的王安忆开始以犀利的眼光来历史地、哲学地思考问题、关注社会。她于1984年秋天写出了揭示人的命运与情感变化的寻根文化小说《小鲍庄》,一举获得全国中篇小说奖。

王安忆在与年届花甲的母亲茹志鹃合写了散文集《母女同游美利坚》之后,开始在写作中借鉴西方现代派的表现手法,对现实生活的深度和力度进行全方位的拓展,比如在篇章结构上,采用“意识流”的时序颠倒或者跳跃方式反映时代,将情节一步步推向高潮;在语言使用上,尝试运用冷峻、深沉、富于哲理以及辛辣嘲讽的语言,以显示鞭挞社会痼疾的力量。

凝望Wang Anyi poses for a photo at a scenic spot.

她的创作不断地激发评论界的深切关注与热情点赞。

从知青作家到寻根作家,从海派传人到著名文学家,王安忆走过了30年艰辛漫长的创作道路。感悟人生,行走世界。窗外的人与窗里的人互为风景;书外的情思与书里的情思交相辉映。王安忆的散文创作也获得了令人瞩目的成就,题材丰富多彩,形式散淡不拘,志趣高远,文采华灼。《情感的生命》《王安忆散文集》等是她的散文精品集,书中渗透着作者的生命体验。

(本文图照由洪晶提供)

Prolific Author Teaches Creative Writing at Fudan

By Zu Dingyuan

Author Wang Anyi has been teaching at Fudan University for more than 20 years. Her teaching career at the university started in September 1994 when she was engaged to teach a course of fiction studies at the Chinese Department of Fudan University, one of the Chinese ivy-league higher education institutions. In her initiative lectures she offered insight into world classics such as Hugo’s Les Misérables. As a guest professor, she gave a lecture once a week.

While teaching at the university, she has kept writing fiction and turning out impressive novels that are critically acclaimed and appear on bestseller lists. In February 2004, she was officially employed by the university as a full-time professor of modern literature and postgraduate supervisor.

Wang Anyi’s employment set an unprecedented example in China. Chinese Departments across the country had never offered any fiction writing course designed to cultivate fiction-writing talents. In 2007, Fudan announced its plan to offer a two-year MFA writing program and enroll three students for the new program. The news caused a big stir across the country. Pu Yuehui is the first graduate from the program under the guidance of Wang Anyi. He now works as a writer and editor with Shanghai Literature.

An innovative educator, Wang has introduced western ideas to the writing program at Fudan. At the invitation of Wang, John Schultz, an American writer and teacher who originated the Story Workshop method of teaching writing in 1965 and practiced the method at Columbia College, came over and taught a course of western literature and creative writing at Fudan. Schultz recommended the Columbia University MFA Writing Program as a model for Fudan’s writing program. Some established writers such as BaiXianyong, Yan Gelin and Ha Jin are graduates from such programs in the USA.

Universities across China have followed suit after the success of the MFA writing program at Fudan under the tutelage of Wang Anyi. In 2014, the Chinese Department of Beijing University started its own MFA writing program. The prestigious Shanghai University, Guangdong Foreign Languages and Foreign Trade University, and Nanjing University are among those that have followed suit.

Wang is highly qualified for the teaching job she does at Fudan. As a writer, she has won Mao Dun Literary Prize in 2000 and Lu Xun Literary Prize in 2005, two top national literary honors. Her literary fame climaxed with her novel The Song of Everlasting Sorrow (长恨歌) in 1995, which is considered a modern classic. It was translated into English in 2008. She was a nominee of the Man Booker International Prize in 2011. She is now in the third term of chairpersonship of Writers Association of Shanghai.

王安忆手稿《仁者寿》A manuscript page of Wang Anyi’s novel Kind People Live Long

Probably the seed for her teaching work was sowed in 1983 when her fiction writer mother Ru Zhijuan took part in Writers’ Workshop at the University of Iowa. Wang Anyi, a fledgling fiction writer back then, tagged along. During these years, some Chinese writers took part in the prestigious program with the assistance of Hualing Nieh Engle. Her husband Paul Angle was a graduate from the workshop and worked as its director from 1941 to 1965.

左上图王安忆与前辈作家萧军在一起;右上图与前辈作家金庸在一起;下两图为2005年王安忆在台北“上海书展”上。Clockwise from top left: Wang Anyi and Xiao Jun, Wang Anyi and Louis Cha, Wang Anyi attend Shanghai Book Expo in Taipei in 2005

In Iowa, Wang Anyi bonded with writers from Germany, Poland, Argentina, South Africa and India. Back to Shanghai, she began to examine society historically and philosophically more closely. Her novella Baotown came out in 1985 and won a national literary award, which firmly established her as a writer.

In addition to fiction writing, Wang is also a prolific essayist. After her stay in Iowa, she and her mother published a joint collection of essays about their exotic experiences and meditation there. She has published a few books of essays. On January 15, 2015, The Song of Everlasting Sorrow was staged as a drama in Shanghai. This theater version she likes very much. Comparatively speaking, the 35-episode television adaptation in 2006 didn’t appeal to her at all. The film adaptation in 2005 was directed by Hong Kong-based Stanley Kwan.

After teaching so many years at Fudan, Wang Anyi might have gained something special herself. In January 2016, she launched a new novel titled Anonymous, which is a breakaway from her past 11 novels in a realist style. The new novel turns to symbolism, discussion, and exposition. She tries to get interpretations in the evolution of civilization and life itself.

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