This is a prelude to opposing literary autocracy, emancipating the mind, profoundly reflecting on history, and calling on the party and the state to make major changes in the ideology, principles, policies, methods and leadership mechanism of leading literature and art. This is not only a good start for literature and art in the new period, but also a solid foundation for the development of literature and art in the past 30 years of reform and opening up.
First, the influence of expansion has increased.
The 30 years of reform and opening up are slightly longer than the sum of 17 years after the founding of New China and 10 years of the Cultural Revolution. But no matter from the number of literary and artistic works, or from the breadth and depth of reflecting and infiltrating life, it is incomparable to the sum of the previous two historical periods. The influence of literature and art has expanded unprecedentedly, and its penetration into life has been greatly enhanced. As far as literature is concerned, according to an article by Professor Zhang Jiong, former vice chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, "... in the early seventeen years of New China, only 320 novels were created, and only 140 novels were published during the decade of the Cultural Revolution. At the beginning of the new period, the number of new novels published every year increased to about 100, and from 19, 1 to 10. In the last ten years, it has averaged 800 to 1000 per year. ..... Over the past 30 years, the membership of the Chinese Writers Association has increased from more than 900 at the end of the Cultural Revolution to more than 7,700. There are more than 50,000 writers' associations in all provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. There are countless freelancers and amateur writers on all fronts. ..... the potential readers of China electronic network literature reach 120000000. "①
You can add a few unsystematic numbers here:
-The novel Wolf Totem, published in April 2004, sold 2.4 million copies in four years. In 2007, the world English copyright of the novel was transferred to the famous Penguin Publishing Group, with a royalty of 10% and a down payment of $654.38 million. This is the highest reward for the copyright transaction of a single book since the founding of New China. The CEO of publishing group announced at the Beijing Book Fair that Wolf Totem is the most important book of Penguin Publishing House in 2008, and it is confident to sell 2 million copies.
-According to the book "China Art Film Catalogue" (1949- 1979), in the past 30 years, * * * has shot a total of feature films 109, which is only about a quarter of the output in 2007 (402 films); "According to incomplete statistics, from 1978 to the end of June 2008, China * * * created and produced 4,425 feature films" (3), more than 40 times that of the former!
-Guangzhou's new music album CD has a circulation of 700,000-1 10,000 copies.
-There is an abstract publication "Reader" in Gansu Province, which mainly focuses on literary and artistic works and accepts entertainment content. The single-issue circulation exceeded10 million copies, creating a worldwide miracle.
-In recent years, the number of newly filmed TV dramas in China is around 15000 (episodes) every year, not including animation. At present, there are 1974 TV channels at all levels in China, of which 1764 channels broadcast TV dramas. With a population of 65.438+0.3 billion, the average person watches TV dramas more than 1 hour every day. Tens of millions of viewers are watching CCTV's Youth Singing Contest and The Same Song. According to the statistics of relevant institutions, CCTV's annual Spring Festival Gala has been watched by more than 90% for many years, which has become an important part of the Spring Festival and an inseparable new folk custom.
-Zhang Yimou has won almost all other film festival awards except the "Nobel Prize in Film Industry" Oscar, and its influence has gone far beyond national boundaries. His major income is also in Southeast Asia and even North America, which has never happened before.
Second, theoretical exploration
The development of literature and art in these 30 years is based on theory. Its symbol is the unprecedented development and in-depth study of the basic theory of literature and art and the aesthetic theory called "philosophy of art"
"According to the statistics of Wei Wu, 1980- 1999, 224 western aesthetic translations have been published. Its content is extensive, including almost all the works of major aesthetic schools that emerged in the 20th century "; Since Wang Chaowen edited Introduction to Aesthetics, a large number of systematic works on China's aesthetic principles have emerged. According to Liu Sanping's statistics, from 198 1 to 2002, * * * published 242 books on aesthetic principles. (4) Aesthetics once became a prominent school. These aesthetic theories can be roughly divided into the following categories: the aesthetic theories of Zhu Guangqian, Gao Ertai, Cai Yi and Wang Chaowen can be collectively called "social aesthetics"; Later, the "practical aesthetics" represented by Li Zehou was widely popular and still endures; At the turn of 1980s and 1990s, "Aesthetic Activity Theory Aesthetics" appeared. In the second half of 1990s, the so-called "post-practical aesthetics" represented by Yang appeared. At the beginning of this century, the concept of "ecological aesthetics" was put forward, and its discipline system is under construction.
Literary theory has always been in the most striking position in the study of literary and art disciplines, and it has also shown an extremely active trend. Mr. Qian Zhongwen, a famous literary theorist and researcher at the Institute of Literature of China Academy of Social Sciences, said in a retrospective article: "An important achievement in the new period is that under the guidance of modernity, the autonomy of literature, including literary theory, has been generally clarified, and literary theory has returned to itself"; "The modernity of literary theory ... has consciously become the dominant issue in theoretical research", and there are "subjectivist literary view, epistemological (or ideological essence) literary view, symbolic literary view, life ontology literary view, formalism literary view and aesthetic formal literary view based on aesthetic reflection; In 1990s, there were rhetoric views and production views, and literature views of literature were discussed from the perspective of network. Not long ago, there appeared a literary view that "literature is a form of social consciousness"; There is also a "literary view that only literary phenomena ... are not expressed metaphysically". In short, the concept of literature presents a pluralistic state, which "embodies the depth and diversity of literary freedom". As for the theoretical research of other literary and artistic disciplines, it is also in an extremely active state.
Third, the adjustment of policies.
The policy of literature and art implemented before the new period in China can basically be summarized as two sentences: literature and art obey politics; Literature and art are tools of "class struggle" and "proletarian dictatorship". The policy of "letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend" was indeed mentioned, but soon after it was released, the anti-rightist struggle began, and "letting a hundred schools of thought contend" became two factions of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Naturally, the "letting a hundred schools of thought contend" also existed in name only, leaving only the "instrumental theory" to serve the "proletarian struggle and dictatorship" in practice. With the development of political movements, this policy often became a hostile criticism in the literary and art circles. During the Cultural Revolution, it became a "tool" for the Gang of Four to exercise fascist dictatorship over the vast number of literary and art workers. Facts have proved that there are serious problems in these two formulations.
On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, Deng Xiaoping made appropriate adjustments to the party's literary and art policies in his Speech at the Fourth Congress of Literary and Art Workers in China, which conformed to public opinion. The "congratulatory message" only mentions that literature and art "serve the broadest masses of the people", especially clearly pointing out that literature and art do not require obedience to temporary, concrete and direct political tasks; Later, this policy was summarized as "literature and art serve the people and socialism".
Literature and art have long been regarded as ideology and an important part of mainstream ideology. From 1980s to 1990s, there were many discussions about literary (cultural) products and commodities. After the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, literature, art and culture are regarded as an important part of "comprehensive national strength", an important part of maintaining national cultural independence and security, and an important aspect of national "soft power". Literature and art are not only ideological but also industrial to a great extent. The reports of the 16th and 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward the tasks of reforming the system and mechanism, rationalizing and optimizing the cultural market, and vigorously developing the cultural industry. In the report of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the task of promoting the great development and prosperity of (literature and art) culture is related to the implementation of Scientific Outlook on Development, the transformation of growth mode, the sound and rapid development of the national economy, the protection of citizens' cultural rights and interests, and the sharing of social development achievements. It is closely related to enhancing the "international competitiveness" of culture itself and social equity.
In terms of leadership style, the indicative style that serves the ideological struggle is the guiding style of paradigm effect, that is, abandoning the "great criticism" of past political movements and guiding literary and artistic creation with awards such as "Five One Project Award" and "Outstanding Literary and Artistic Achievement Award". Since the new century, the award criteria not only pay attention to ideological content, but also take into account the popularity of works in society. At this time, the selection activity of "National Stage Art Boutique Project" was set up, which paid more attention to artistic creation, from paying attention to the current educational function to paying more attention to the position, value and durability of works in the future art history. These measures are gradually showing positive effects.
Fourth, the evolution of the system
In the 30 years of reform and opening up, the most remarkable performance of literary and art circles is the large-scale emergence of free intellectuals and private cultural groups. Free cultural people include freelance writers, poets and painters, from extras and singers in dance halls to various entertainers, as well as musicians who create and produce songs related to them, creative producers of film and television dramas and TV entertainment programs, publishers of books, especially literary books, and of course, more publishers of literary books and art CDs.
"The emergence of' freelance writers' presents a new way of life for cultural people, and it is also a kind of institutional change"; "It brings new activities and values to literature", which is "the independent consciousness of rejecting any dependence". ⑤ Gu Qingsheng's Wandering in Beijing and Wang Jifang's Broken: Literary Stories at the End of the Century published at the end of last century are representative works reflecting their living conditions. According to the data released by Freelance Writer's Website in June, 2005, 5438+065438+ 10, there are "not less than one million" and about "ten thousand people" with a monthly income of more than 5,000 yuan. Generally speaking, Beijing has the largest number of free cultural people. As a result, "drifting north" has become synonymous with "free cultural people". Its appearance is a cultural and social phenomenon. At first, painters lived in the countryside around the site of Yuanmingyuan, but now they take "798 Art District" and Songzhuang in Tongzhou as their two bases. "Now 798 is not only an art business card in Beijing, but also ... major international customers are stationed one after another. Following the Ullens Art Center in Belgium and the Iberian Art Center in Spain, Pace Gallery in new york, known as the' Imperial Gallery', signed a lease of 10, and set up its first multinational branch' Pace Beijing' in a 3,000-square-meter workshop in the 798 Art District, which just opened on August 2. " ⑥
Nowadays, the entertainment circle may have become the mainstream of the "North drift" group. According to relevant data, there are only 20,000 people like 1992 (in the entertainment circle), and so far it has reached 300,000. In front of the North Cinema, there are tens of thousands of people waiting for the crew to be hired all the year round. The living condition of "North drift" has been continuously concerned by film and television works, from "Mixed in Beijing" to "Made by Stars" until the film "beginning of spring" released not long ago, which has aroused strong repercussions.
Among private cultural institutions, the film and television industry is the most outstanding. 1994165438+10, the first "folk TV organization" in Beijing, Shi Jia Advertising Culture Development Co., Ltd. was listed. In 2002, there were 80 to 100 film and television production companies in Beijing. "At present, there are more than 2,000 film and television production organizations in China." ⑦ Most of them are private. They have played a very important role in promoting the development of TV art in China.
Deng Jianguo, known as the film and television "crocodile", started shooting in the name of "Star Studio" in Zhu Ying in 1995, and formally established Guangdong Superstar Film Company in 1997. In the same year, he filmed eight film and television works, including Kangxi's Private Visit. Later film and television dramas, The Romance of the Opium War, A Private Visit to Kangxi and Ji Xiaolan, a Romantic Scholar, made Deng Jianguo famous. In 2000, he was named the first of the "Top Ten People in Film and Television".
Paget and Universal Media are one of the largest private media organizations in China. Its global TV, entertainment, news talk show "Oriental Talk" and music variety show "Qiu Chunhua Time" are its brand TV programs. By the end of 2005, the company had provided programs for more than 400 TV stations such as CCTV, Beijing and Shanghai Oriental, and also planned and organized many large-scale activities with great influence, successfully pushing Yang li Ping Impression Yunnan to European and American markets.
Suzhou Fu Na Culture and Technology Co., Ltd. is the only company outside Beijing that has obtained the first batch of Class A shooting licenses from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. By the end of 2006, Fu Na Film & Television Company, a subsidiary of Fu Na Film & Television Company, had shot more than 30 TV series with 1000 episodes in the10 years since its establishment, thus creating a "Southern School" style. His films "The Beauty of New Jiangshan" and "Pigs with Bright Spring" have excellent market performance. Others, such as The Years Burning with Passion by Chang 'an Film and Television Production Company, Luo Guo by Premier Liu, Yu Guanyin by Hairun Company, have great influence. Hairun Company also created the TV series of "New Literati Drama" with "Da Gong Ming Ci", "Orange" and "Empty Mirror".
Other groups, such as Hengdian Group and a large number of animation production companies, have played a vital role in the development of China film and television industry and the rise of national animation industry.
The most famous private performing arts group is Yang li Ping Song and Dance Troupe. Her elaborate "original ecology" large-scale dance "Yunnan Impression" has not only been performed in large and medium-sized cities in China, but also gone abroad. Due to the pursuit of "original ecology", the play has also made inestimable contributions to the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage.
Individual artists, free intellectuals, private art institutions and performing arts groups are the remarkable achievements of the reform of the literary and art system in the past 30 years; Without the artistic contributions of individual artists, free intellectuals, private art institutions and performing arts groups in these 30 years, the spiritual and cultural life of our country would be unimaginable.
Five, colorful art garden
30 years of contemporary literature and art have gradually shown diversified characteristics; The art park has become a colorful art park. Diversity here not only refers to artistic styles, styles, techniques and techniques, but also includes ideas. New concept composition, new realism, new historicism, family history writing, new experience, new state, feminist literature, etc. All show some unique characteristics. A commercial "blockbuster" called "form is greater than content" by critics; In vocal music, there are four singing methods: national, bel canto, popular and "original ecology". Accompanied by some subversive "Red Rock", desolate and hoarse "Dao Lang" singing, folk song cover, "super girl" and "super man" phenomena; The "Hong Kong and Taiwan accent" and "Hong Kong and Taiwan flavor" of vocal performance, film and television performance and literary narrative; The phenomenon of "joking" and "nonsense" in the style of film and television dramas; The "performance art" in the art world gives people the feeling of being different, unorthodox and very different. The emergence of a large number of entertaining literary works has formed a situation in which mainstream literature, elite literature and popular literature coexist.
In the literary and art circles, there are a large number of "alternative survivors", which is also an outstanding performance of the pluralistic picture of literature and art.
Han Han, who won several "New Concept Composition" awards in succession, never put on a serious listening posture, casually looked at everyone and didn't look straight. There are differences in the concept of being a man. This is completely different from the traditional concept of being a man, and it is the representative of some contemporary teenagers. Han Han's books often produce hundreds of thousands, and they are bestsellers. His works have always highlighted the "alternative" characteristics of this concept of being a man and treating people. You may not like it or advocate it, but you can't help but allow it to exist. Only by embracing the "other" can art be diversified.
Six, towards the rule of law, to ensure the healthy development of literature and art.
The purpose of developing and prospering literature and art is to meet the needs of all people's cultural life and spiritual development; Externally, it is to maintain the independence, root and influence of Chinese culture, make the ancient and great Chinese culture integrate into the world, become an integral part of "world literature" and make contributions to the development of modern human civilization. A concentrated expression of the influence of national culture and national literature and art is a world-class master, master and classic; Its realistic symbol is to win various literary and artistic awards recognized by the world, including the Nobel Prize, the Oscar Award, the three major film festivals and so on. Its market performance is the global circulation, attendance, box office and so on. With this amount, the gap between our literary and artistic development cannot be calculated by Tao.
The fundamental way out for the development of literature and art lies in fully liberating literary productivity, encouraging the protection of creativity and cultivating originality. There should be policies to encourage cultural innovation and create an environment conducive to the production of excellent products, talents and interests. It is recognized that the whole cultural and literary circles lack creativity, especially originality. Taking the study of aesthetic theory as an example, as Professor Zhang Fa pointed out, there are still two major defects in our aesthetic theory system: "The unique aesthetic characteristics and theoretical characteristics of China culture are not highlighted in aesthetic principles"; Instead of walking out of the narrow vision of "comparison between China and the West", we should think about the construction of aesthetic future from the idea of "multicultural knowledge interface". The existing theories show systematic traces of some (western) theories in the past, and there are few original things. The "serious crisis" of literary theory lies in the lack of theoretical innovation and originality. There seems to be a lot of controversy, but there are also many academic bubbles. "Some people are still old-fashioned. To change this situation, we must explore the objective laws of the emergence and development of literature and art, and act according to these laws. This law is creative autonomy, that is, literary artists should enjoy full autonomy in thinking dimension, thinking space and thinking mode.
1905, 1 1 In June, Lenin once emphasized: "The most important thing in literary career is to mechanically average and unify, and the minority is subordinate to the majority"; "It is absolutely necessary to ensure a vast world of personal creativity and hobbies, a vast world of ideas and fantasies, forms and contents." Attending doctor. It is true that it is also in this exposition that Lenin demanded that "literature must be a part of the work of the Social Democratic Party, and it is closely related to other parts". He even demanded that "writers must join the Party organization". Lenin also sharply mocked and criticized the hypocrisy of bourgeois so-called "free literature" ... but he did not deny the law that literary creation must have the greatest autonomy of thinking and imagination, association and fantasy.
At the beginning of reform and opening up, Comrade Deng Xiaoping also emphasized this point. On behalf of the Party Central Committee, he made a "congratulatory message" at the Fourth National Congress of Literary and Art Workers, which not only reiterated Lenin's above proposition, but also said: "We advocate the free development of different forms and styles in artistic creation and the free discussion of different viewpoints and schools in artistic theory." The creative freedom emphasized here also includes the freedom to explore literary theory.
At the fourth congress, "creative freedom" was written into the document; Soon, no longer mentioned; What is mentioned more in similar fields is "academic democracy". Which is more in line with the law of creation? No one seems to think much; But the problem cannot be avoided. Democracy is an institutional and procedural arrangement of group activities, and one of the important principles is that "the minority is subordinate to the majority"; Literary and artistic creation is a personal thinking activity. The discovery of scientific truth and the novelty of literature and art cannot be "the minority is subordinate to the majority" at all. Are relativity and a dream of red mansions the result of "academic democracy"? Can't we judge their research and criticism by "academic democracy"? "Academic democracy" is a matter in the field of management, which has nothing to do with research and creation, and has nothing to do with literary and artistic creation.
Literary creation and literary production are essentially the creation of thinking and consciousness, as well as psychological imagination and association activities. We should ensure a sufficiently broad space and multi-dimensional possibilities, and we should break any obstacles in space and dimension, and break any psychological obstacles and spiritual constraints. As we all know, the Gang of Four was autocratic in literature and art, and they ruthlessly destroyed literary and art workers and literary productivity. The "Cultural Revolution" and the ultra-left ideological trend before it were "guilty by words" and "guilty by thoughts", which were also blamed and denounced by thousands of people, and their harm was self-evident; Since the new era, the CPC Central Committee has repeatedly reiterated the "three noes"-"no picking on braids, no beating sticks and no labeling". In Comrade Deng Xiaoping's "congratulatory message", he also solemnly announced on behalf of the Central Committee that in literary and artistic creation, "what to write and how to write it can only be explored and gradually solved by literary and art workers in artistic practice. In this regard, don't interfere. " Nevertheless, it cannot be said that there are no obstacles and concerns in literary and artistic creation. Our writers' lack of creativity, especially originality, is proof. "Creative autonomy" has not been followed by us as a basic law. Over the years, we have criticized the specific crimes and ultra-left ideological trend of the Gang of Four, but we have not criticized their way of thinking. Some people still have the same old way of thinking, and use different forms of sports criticism intermittently to eliminate dissident views. Over the years, we have not fully explored the system in which the ultra-left ideological trend can run rampant, especially the defects in the legal system; In theory, we stopped it in concrete behavior, but failed to put an end to it in the system, especially in the legal system. We have declared the consequences of extreme leftism, but we have failed to fundamentally reveal that any organization, group, institution or individual has never had the right to "grasp the braid, label and beat the stick"; No matter what name he uses, it is an infringement and harm to the individual rights of citizens, which is fundamentally illegal; It not only violates the fundamental law of the constitution, but also violates the criminal law and civil law. Therefore, it is imperative to transform the moral commitment of "three noes" and "non-interference" and the soft constraint of administrative policy into the rigid constraint of legal system. This requires the press and publication law and other laws to protect citizens' personal rights and interests to be promulgated as soon as possible. Not only that, we should also build a social environment that encourages literary originality, literary thinking dimension and innovative thinking mode. Only in this way can the productivity of literature and art be fully liberated and the creativity and originality of the nation can grow rapidly.
To annotate ...
① Zhang Jiong: Retrospect and Prospect of Literature in the Thirty Years in the New Period, Journal of Shanxi University,No. 1, 2007. (2) Cataloging of China Fine Arts Films (1949— 1979), edited by China Film Archive and China Academy of Art Film Research Institute, and published by Culture and Art Press, 1982. (3) Zhao Shi: "Vigorously Prospering Rural Film Creation", People's Daily, 3 1, July 2008. ④ ⑧ Zhang Fa: On the Evolution of China's Works on Aesthetic Principles since the New Period, academic journal of zhongzhou,No. 1 2007. The following classification of aesthetic disciplines is also based on this article. ⑤ Han Yuhong: Society and Literature in Drastic Changes —— Description of China's Literary Transformation and Analysis of Social and Cultural Background at the Turn of the Century, Henan People's Publishing House, 2004, pp. 78-90. ⑥ Li Hongyu: Contemporary Art in China after Prosperity, Southern Weekend, August 7, 2008. ⑦ Li Peisen: Brilliant Achievement of Dreams —— Review of China's TV Plays in the Past 30 Years, Contemporary TV, No.6, 2008. ⑨ Qian Zhongwen: Thirty Years of Literary Theory —— From the new period to the new century, Literary Contention, No.3, 2007. Attending Lenin: Party Organization and Party Literature, on Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin, People's Literature Publishing House, 1980, p. 163. Deng Xiaoping Literature and Art, People's Publishing House, 1989, p. 7 and 10.
About the author: Han Yuhong, male, researcher at the Institute of Literature, Henan Academy of Social Sciences.