Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 23. (Budapest, 2004)
Kornélia MAJOR: The Park of Loyalty and Filial Piety. Chen Yingzhen's Latest Short Stories
with the world. In this situation they fight only against themselves and are unable to find their identity; this brings about their fate (usually suicide). The background of Chen's novels written after his release from prison (the so-called Washington House series 14 ) is Taibei, the modern city joining in international market economy. In this world, big multinational companies (symbolised by an office block called Washington House) play omnipotent role; they penetrate everywhere, shape everything in their likeness, change local culture, corrupt and degrade local people. Being the representatives of economic and cultural colonisation, they spread cultural schemes of their own. In the place of the oppressed heroes of the former short stories there appear local employees working for these companies. They are neither oppressed nor of marginal position, but servants of the new colonizers, slaves of money and Western culture. Some attempt to resist yet their revolt is bound to fail. These are short stories of satirical tone and end in a rather pessimistic note. Chen condemns new (economic and cultural) colonisation, big capitalist companies and their servants who humiliate themselves; however, though his approach is anticapitalist, he cannot point at a real alternative. The only solution is to retire and start a new life in an "unspoiled" region. 15 In his works written in 1983 and later, the background undergoes another change: it is determined by the White Terror of the 1950s. Again, the characters of the so-called Shan lu trilogy 16 are oppressed people, who came to a choice of alternatives at history's turnings points. Formerly, they were young people of progressive spirit, who were leftist at heart, that is, revolutionists who fought for the elevation of the poor and a glorious future of their homeland. Though while being active, they were persecuted, they were by no means in marginal situation; they did not become estranged from their immediate environment and community they are not alienated characters. Alienation occurs later, in the course of retrospection. Many years after the events, having been imprisoned for decades, they are compelled to realise that their one-time fight and efforts mean nothing for the new generations (the leftist ideas are outworn and have not stood the test of practice and history); they also have to recognize that they have become alienated from their own old ideals. They are unable to cope with the conflict which results form the fact that in their heart, unconsciously, they still believe in the truth conveyed by idea; yet it is not only the circumstances that have changed but they themselves. In the short story entitled Shan lu, past (that is, heroic self-sacrifice) in the light of the present (that is, forgetting) means nothing for the main character, an elderly woman, but useless sacrifice and self-deceit. At the same time, there is no point living in the present without the memory of this past. This inner conflict results in her death. In Lucien Miller's view, the characters' alienation and uprootedness is complete in these stories, and evaluates them as a bitter and pessimistic break with political dreams. 17 In contrast, David Wang says (after Derrida) that the spirit of communism haunts all sentences of Chen, even the bitterest ones. 18 Between 1985 and 1989 Chen Yingzhen published the journal Renjian [World], which exercised strong influence with its sociographical photos, interviews and articles on forbidden issues and on environmental protection. "And if you ask why I want to publish a journal like Renjian in such a dreary age, my answer is as follows. Because I cannot believe that it is necessary for the Chinese who created such a prosperous and rich material life in Taiwan to have so inferior and ordinary spiritual life. I cannot resign myself to the fact that nothing fills the souls of the Chinese in Taiwan but an unsatisfiable desire for material wealth, so that care, hope and love cannot even plant a foot in their heart. No, I do not want to believe it! Therefore, our aim is to help alienated people get closer to one another and make the people of this estranged society care for each other again." 19 As evidenced by the above quotation, social activity is highly important for Chen. He
