An Analysis Of Wang Shuo’s Portraval Of The Chinese Society In A Transitional And Chaotic Period

It can be stated that, during the80’s and the90’s period of the past century, Wang Shuo was one of the most influential figures on the scene of contemporary Chinese literature, inasmuch as he gave rise to the so-called Wang Shuo phenomenon. According to their standpoint, different researchers expressed different points of view on Wang Shuo’s work and the controversies surrounding him are not few. In spite of this, we should nevertheless acknowledge the most important value of Wang Shuo’s work, namely its individual portrayal of a chaotic image of the Chinese society as it was going through a period of transition. Among contemporary Chinese writers, Wang Shuo was one of the first to portray this transitional period as well as all the great changes that China experienced at the time, changes that touched an array of different aspects, ranging from the social structure to ways of behavior, from systems to concepts, from ways of production to ways of living. Naturally, the value of his works should dialectically be viewed from two angles:on one hand, through the creation of the hooligan type of characters that can be found in some of his novels, Wang Shuo managed to portray a sort of culture and values that have a slightly deconstructive spirit. In concrete terms, this deconstructive tendency manifested itself as a reaction against the ideology of the time and even against the traditional culture by the urban culture of the newly-emerged market economy. The portrayal of this state of affairs represents, in fact, Wang Shuo’s most valuable contribution to literature. Nevertheless, on the other hand, it should be kept in mind that, between1980and1990, Chinese society was just entering this transitional period. Although, by that time, the previous system had already exhibited its various negative traits, the new set of values that were coming into being was not yet entirely formed, the newly emerged urban culture of the time was not mature enough so, as a consequence, its own negative aspects appeared as glaring as those of the previous decades. Wang Shuo took this immature, newly emerged culture as a basis. Although he was successful at criticizing and mocking it he could not provide any clear, modern perspectives. This fact manifested itself very clearly in Please Don’t Call Me Human. Please Don’t Call Me Human is one of Wang Shuo’s most representative novels. Its accomplishments, its shortcomings, its aesthetic value can all be considered typical of Wang Shuo’s other works. In this novel, the writer makes a vivid portrayal (which includes social life as well as the ethics and values of the time) of the Chinese society as it appeared in that chaotic, transitional period. Wang Shuo did not display indifference or approval in his portrayal. Nevertheless, he clearly showed the theoretical position of his creation, namely a rejection of ideology, a sort of rejection of newly emerged cultures and a deep reflection towards the meaning of nationalism. Literature is an act of creation and Wang Shuo’s involvement in the society was through literature, as most writers’. He also attached importance to aesthetics, investigating language, structure, character creation and plot construction as important aspects of writing. This is actually one of the reasons why Wang Shuo gained undeniable status. Moreover, taking world literature as a background, we notice Wang Shuo is not alone regarding this type of artistic creation. The value of his works allows for associations with other representatives of world literature, such as Emil Kundera or Jaroslav Hasek. As a matter of fact, Wang Shuo’s work can be compared with that of those writers, further proof of his own value.