Textual variations of post-1976 literature inspire research
Four versions of Fan Hua by Jin Yucheng Photo: FILE
Since 1976, literature, especially famous writers’ works, has been one of the most dynamic cultural elements of contemporary China and a major embodiment of cultural confidence in global exchange. Years of overseas dissemination and widespread influence reflect the progress in comprehensive national strength regarding culture and literature. Since the reform and opening up, scholars have traced the moves of renowned writers and conducted studies of post-1976 literature through the prisms of theme, genre, value, technique, style and school. Some writers have revised or rewritten their works due to changes in the social environment, market forces, cultural psychology, artistic aesthetics, printing technology as well as the development of the internet and new media. The different versions that can exist of a single given text, however, have been little studied.
First-hand documents
Undoubtedly, it is hard to study the revisions and variant versions of post-1976 literary works because authors, most of them alive, may amend their writings in the future and the task of collation and compilation is an overwhelming workload. The act of publishing various versions of collated texts is unlikely to receive support from writers or the understanding of dead writers’ relatives. However, the long history of collation in China and abroad has paved the way for many fields. In the 1980s, the study of historical materials regarding modern Chinese literature shifted its focus to the collection, compilation and research of new versions of texts. The undertaking has come to fruition. Many post-1976 literary works have undergone revisions or were published in multiple versions. It is of immense practical and academic value for scholars to compile texts of contemporary Chinese literature, including the post-1976 works.
From a historical perspective, Western modern textual criticism and the study of variant versions of ancient Chinese books have grown into mature compilation fields because worldwide literary masters have written classics worthy of research and dissemination and passed them on to our generation. There is another vital factor. A long time and diasporic circulation have made it a nearly impossible task to ascertain a classical version popular in a selected era. Scarcity may cause fractures in literary inheritance, and thereby scholars complete many studies of the classical versions of ancient books for the sake of rescue and restoration.
Many classical versions of ancient books have become extinct today. Time has slipped away; scholars now find it impossible to accurately sort out and collate them because many versions of post-1976 literary works are out of reach. Contemporary scholars, for three reasons, are more suited to the textual criticism and tracing the textual evolution of post-1976 literary works by major authors. Books published in recent times are more accessible. Also, the ability to study different versions allows for the development of a new perspective and approach to literary criticism. Above all, the study can help collect accurate textual materials and promote the spread of classic works in coming generations. If people recognize these works’ value in the remote future, it will be more time-consuming and labor-intensive for them to analyze, compile and study these works, as they will have become “ancient books.” Scholars are unlikely to have better results than the present.
Currently, major writers’ post-1976 works, especially famous novels, have various versions, forming a noticeable literary phenomenon and creating difficulty for version collection and identification. For example, Heavy Wings by Zhang Jie has four versions. There are also four versions of White Deer Plain by Chen Zhongshi, including a manuscript version. Jin Yucheng has published four versions of Fan Hua in about five years. There are nearly ten versions of Zhang Yang’s The Second Handshake, including a manuscript version.
Most common readers can’t tell the difference among these versions. Some professional readers and researchers may fail to clarify the development process and textual revisions. And these differences and revisions are not minor changes. In terms of length, different versions can vary as many as 300,000 characters, and numerous writers have revised tens of thousands of characters in a story. Many revisions are important information and materials that reflect writers’ psychology, artistic features and social transformation. There are textual secrets hidden in different versions, providing a new source of first-hand documents for literary study and information that can be shared with neighboring disciplines, such as linguistics, hermeneutics and communication. Therefore, textual revisions deserve a great deal of attention from academia.
Theoretical value
Regarding post-1976 literature, there is an urgent need for more textual criticism of major writers’ works. At present, many writers don’t deem it necessary to preserve their original or revised manuscripts, and publishing organizations hold the same attitude toward the filing of original publications. In the internet era, the digital copies of drafts may be long gone, and the collection and compilation of all different versions is demanding. Therefore, it is urgent to collate different versions.
More than minor textual alterations, the evolving editions of these works deal with the continuation, addition or reshaping of characters, the rewriting of plots and characters’ life stories, and the change in a writer’s standpoint and attitude. Textual criticism can turn these differentiated texts into first-hand materials for academic research. It can help explore textual revision’s complex relationship with award selection criteria, the literary marketplace, commercial factors, regional culture, network media and a writer’s artistic self-improvement. After a story being finalized, a consolidated edition can be passed on to future generations, which allows experts, scholars and readers to trace the book’s textual evolution. Developing such editions, brimming with academic value, should become the focus and backbone of contemporary literary study.
For post-1976 literary works by important writers, collation and the study of textual evolution can provide reliable documents for historical criticism or literary history. Textual collation and compilation are intimately related to literary criticism. Both of them aim to push forward historical criticism.
A critical essay has a clear target just after the earliest version of a writer’s work is published. But a story obtains different versions as its writer makes revisions. In this circumstance, readers can become confused about which version is referred to by the critical essay. In some cases, a literary critic randomly selects a version to represent the literary work, making the target of criticism obscure. Sometimes, a literary critic reads one version, but comments on another version. These phenomena badly hurt the rigor of literary criticism.
For post-1976 literary works by important writers, collation and the study of textual evolution promotes historical criticism, literary history and literary canonization. Different versions can provide for insightful studies. Scholars can focus on the theoretical features, core phenomena, influencing factors and textual variations of the revised and rewritten texts. They can discuss literary criticism targeting different versions and its academic significance in contemporary times. Previous studies have emphasized aspects such as theme, text, method, thought and school. Today, the field can shift its focus to the textual study of revised and rewritten versions, and thereby add a new theoretical approach to contemporary literary study.
Luo Xianhai is from the Yuelu Academy at Hunan University.
edited by MA YUHONG