Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 23. (Budapest, 2004)
Kornélia MAJOR: The Park of Loyalty and Filial Piety. Chen Yingzhen's Latest Short Stories
tence for a Chinese: the bonds of family and homeland. It is highly symbolic that Yang Bin, while living in the mainland, was slandered several times yet he found his home - he founded a family and his wife kept up his spirits even in the worst times. So he takes roots where he can restore his family bonds. In Yewu, Li Qinghao's marriage breaks because of his job. On the solicitation of his wife he leaves the secret police but stays dependent on them. Eventually, his wife divorces him. His new companion does her best to alleviate his cumulating persecution complex, yet she is unable to create a new home for him - for Li Qinhao, it is impossible to find a home and rest. In Zhongxiao gongyuan, Ma escaped from the continent alone, burning his bridges with the crimes he had committed. He also knows: there is no way back for him. He lives alone in Taiwan; he tends the grave of his former superior with the son of a former subordinate of his. Here family bonds are substituted with criminal's loyalty. By the time Lin Biao returns from war, his wife has died; he brings up his son alone. His son is unable to get ahead in life and, ashamed to meet his father, becomes a homeless beggar. His daughter is brought up by Lin Biao. By the time the girl reaches puberty, Lin is interested in nothing but getting compensation; he hardly cares for his granddaughter. Unexpectedly, she elopes with a hairdresser and returns only years later. In his declining years, Lin is left for himself; now, having experienced a lot of disappointments, he realises that there is no-one to accompany him in his last journey, as required by Chinese customs. He is desperately eager to reunite the family. But his main motive is not his love for his family, but the fear of being alone, that is why there is no "redemption" for him. As far the choice of subject matter is concerned, the Zhongxiao trilogy is utterly different from Chen Yingzen's earlier works. 27 But there is something that remains untransformed: the consistent humanist attitude that Chen shows in his approach to the subject matters. In the course of years, we have seen how his leftist ideas softened into memories and bitter shadows. In the Zhongxiao trilogy it is only dedication to uprightness and humanity that remains unchanged, whatever guises it may take - just as Chen puts it in the opening announcement of the Renjian. Sympathy for the weak was strongly present already in the early short stories (e.g. Jiangjunzu [The Generation of Generals] 1964 28 ); from the Shan lu trilogy on, we meet more and more often the lack of it. It seems that there is a growing lack of solidarity and care in society; as illustrated by Guixiang, Chen thinks that these feelings are to be found in traces exclusively on mainland China. Parallel with that, in his later stories the role of family becomes more accentuated. Solidarity can be found only in family. It is a refuge that harbours, accepts and gives strength to start afresh. Family means future and hope. The short stories in Zhongxiao trilogy deal with the issue of historical responsibility extensively. Besides, from the Shan lu trilogy on, there emerges the question of the parents' responsibility, that is, their responsibility for the next generation. The elderly protagonist of Shan lu feels guilty because she has taught her nephew to forget and thus she became one of those who induced society's collective amnesia. Zhao Nandong's father in the story of the same title has qualms because their children grew up orphans: he was imprisoned because of his dedication and ideas, so it was him who made his son uprooted in the society. Yang Bin discerns that his granddaughter escaped from him because he could not transcend his folly: he was concerned with compensation alone and failed to create a cosy home for her. The older generation is responsible for the fate of the next generations; its members are responsible for the way they are bringing the young up, since faults may not be redeemed later. In Chen's pessimistic vision, the future generation is ignorant and indifferent, or else they degrade and degenerate. The "saving" of the sleazy, drug-addicted Zhao Nandong is but a dim glimmer of hope. As a rule, we can find people of Taiwanese and mainlander origin alike among Chen's characters from the beginnings. On the whole, they live in peaceful relationship. This applies for the Zhongxiao trilogy as well, though at the
