School of Asian Studies, A Public Lecture“My Portrait of Our Time”, by Sun Wei20th Oct, 1pm, ORahilly Building 255

Sun Wei, a renowned Chinese novelist who has published a number of novels and short stories in China, is currently a writer in residence in Cork. She is distinct from other professional writers in her unique understanding and insight into China’s social and economic transformation through her previous professional experience of working in the media.

In this talk, Sun Wei will give an overview of her novels, each of which represents a specific period of China’s recent social and economical transformation.

Part one: 1970s-1980s, the 1970s generation as the last idealists
Part two: 1980s-1990s, social mentality in the business society
Part three: 1990s-21st century, utilitarianism VS spiritual needs
Part four: reflections of a writer and intellectual

中国三十年飞奔，与我小说中这个时代的肖像

孙未

My Portrait of Our Time
By Sun Wei

引言：我所描绘的这片叶子
Introduction: depicting one leaf

中国有句老话，叫做“一花一世界，一叶一菩提”。

就我这些年活在这个世界上和写作的体验而言，我觉得越往前走，越觉得世界的大，个人的小。写作者所能做的，无非是描绘自己毕生所观察体验的那一片叶子。但是如果能负责而精准地描绘出一片真实的叶子，阅读者往往能从这片叶子中读到整个秋天。

我从很幼小的年纪开始写作，写作就像一种病毒流淌在我的血液里。我做过很多工作，但是始终无法放弃这种本能，最后就不得不放弃其他所有的，专心全职地写作。我是七十年代出生的，写了有三十年。中国经济的飞速发展至今也大约三十年。

我是幸运的，对一个写作者而言，身处一个变化的大时代能有很多事情可做。而对于我所观察的社会群体而言，他们幸运与否我不好说，他们身在这个变动中的心态是颇为挣扎，愉快和痛苦兼有的。我所有的小说及其他随笔、评论等等，都是围绕“时代病”这个主题展开的。我用我的思考来描绘和分析这些社会个体的独特心态，试图使人们从这一片叶子中看见这个时代的肖像。

There is a Buddhist verse, “Each flower is a world and each leaf is a budhi.” In my lifetime, I become more and more aware about how big the world is and how little we are. As a writer, I think I am only capable of focusing on one leaf and make my depiction delicate and accurate enough to present my readers a micro-view through which they would be able to penetrate the vast abyss.

I started writing at a very young age. I’ve done lots of different jobs but never given up writing. In 2003, I made my decision and became a full-time writer. I have been writing for 30 years since I published my first work, which is exactly the period of hyper growth of Chinese economy. I am lucky to be a writer living in such a time of tremendous changes. I cannot say definitely that Chinese people are lucky or not, I’d rather say that their mentalities are intermingled with both happiness and sufferings. My novels and other essays are about one theme: “socio-cultural morbidities in modern society”. I depict and analyze mentalities of different individuals, trying to draw a portrait of our time.

第一部分 中国发展的破与立，以及70后理想主义者所经历的精神裂变
Part one: 1970s--1980s, the 70s generation as the “last idealists”

中国二十世纪七十年代出生的这一代人是这个时代转折时期的标本。我就是其中之一。

我们出生的时候正是文化大革命末期。小学是在计划经济的年代，当时虽然已经经历了“真理标准大讨论”，小学生接受的教育依然是这样的一种基调——所有教给你的东西都是理当如此的，你只要学会遵守就可以了。

我还记得当时的“大讨论”是破“两个凡是”，立“实践是检验真理的唯一标准”之争。现在看来是非常简单的对错，但是却是举国上下郑重其事的一次思想大变革。反过来也可以看出，在此之前社会成员思想禁锢的程度。这个思想上的破和立，为的是在实际的国家建设中破计划经济，立市场经济。

Born in the time of reform, the 70s generation is regarded as the specimen of China’s great transition. We were born at the epilogue of the Cultural Revolution. When we were in primary schools, China was still in the era of planned economy and what we were taught basically was to obey the rules. 

I remember the “Great Discussion” on breaking the “Two Whatevers” and reestablish the tenet that “Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.” Such a great transformation in social thoughts indirectly triggered a series of economic renovations and thus initiated the open and reform era.

八十年代我念中学的那段时候，计划经济的条条框框正在逐步被打破，市场经济开始在越来越多的领域试行。但是那段时间最醒目的还是思想解放运动，青年人允许打开思路去质疑很多旧事物，高校和社会上学习和讨论的气氛一样浓郁，诗歌盛行，国外的哲学和文学书籍被大量翻译到中国。

我就是在那个时候读了很多西哲的书，七十年代的很多人也是在那个时候养成了好学求知的习惯，开启了自主思想之门，也造就了理想主义者的性格。

但是这一阶段的思想解放运动后来被定性为“资产阶级自由化”，被定性为一种对社会有坏影响的事物，被禁止了。好与坏是一组很有趣的概念，我认为那不是评价，而是一种方式。例如，西学在“五四”的时候被定性为好的，这种极端的“好”的定性甚至让国学相形之下成了“坏”的，中医就是那时候被中国人自己否定得体无完肤。思想解放运动起初被定性为好的，因为它支持了改革开放，发展市场经济的观点，后来之所以被定性为坏的，恐怕只是因为时机的问题。

所以说，每件事情，包括很多敏感的事件和话题，我们也并不能单独抽出来看“好”与“坏”，他们只是在恰当的时间做恰当的事情。作为写作者，更是不应该使用好与坏的概念，否则就是丧失了基本的观察世界的能力。

1980s was a time of drastic changes not only in terms of socio-economic reforms but also in the sense of ideological emancipation and enlightenment. It was at that time when most of the western philosophical and literary books were translated and introduced to Chinese readers. Most of the young people born in the 1970s developed the habit of reading and independent thinking and also formed an idealistic personality.

Yet this was soon sentenced as the “bourgeois liberalism” and was banned by the government. “Good” and “Bad” is a very interesting set of concepts: ideological emancipation and enlightenment was “good” because it supported the Reform and Open policy and boosted market economy; it was then “bad” simply because the time was different. Therefore, there is no such a constant evaluation criterion. “Good” or “bad” is just a matter of timing. For a writer, he/she should not be content with making superficial judgment or else he/she may lose the ability of observing the world.

一九八九年之后，思想寂静了。社会开始全速向市场经济的方向飞奔。一九九二年邓小平的南巡讲话之后，中国全面放开了商品价值管制，企业和地方政府争着上项目，一再扩大银行信贷规模，国内货币供应量增幅惊人，当然也导致了严重的通货膨胀。

物价虽然涨了，从生活水平的角度来看，其实每个个人都得到了更多的物资。人们在此之前是没有多少消费选择的，粮票，油票，每件东西都是按人口配给的，衣服都是一样的颜色和款式，从地位、权利和财富而言，人和人之间也没什么差别，单位从托儿所管到火葬场，也没什么可争取和担忧的。九十年代开始，国家成功地让经济加速，国家富裕，社会成员为钱奔忙，在利益中开始了另一种激烈的相互倾轧，被压力和欲望驱使，被不安全感追逐，这也成功地转移了大众对于思考问题的注意力。

七十年代出生的一代人就是在这样的转折中从少年走向中年。这一代人被称为“中国最后的理想主义者”，他们接受传统教育，却经历了中国走向商业社会的变革。他们所遭遇的不仅是经济大环境的巨变，还有价值观的颠覆。他们青年时代的价值观和理想从主流忽然变成了非主流。九十年代以后，如果有人还在谈论诗歌和哲学，一定会被人当怪物看。

当人重视自身心灵需要，愿意为此而付出时间和努力，当人珍惜爱与友情胜过物质利益，当人立志做一些事情为了让这个世界变得好一点，而不仅仅考虑私利，这是人类这种生物独特的幸福。但是当经济成为整个社会的重心，这种幸福被首先省略了。

We’ve been very successful since the 1990s in the economic sense. Everybody was driven by their greed and was chased by the sense of insecurity, which on the other hand, diverted their attentions from ideological issues. Meanwhile, the 70s generation bid farewell to their adolescence and entered the adulthood. They were called as “China’s last idealists” because they experienced the transition from the agricultural society into the business society. What they underwent was not just economic changes but also subversion of the traditional value system. What they were taught to believe and what they cherished in youth time were abandoned by the mainstream mainly because things that were irrelevant to economy were omitted in order to achieve the best efficiency.

我在二零零八年出版的长篇小说《我爱德赛洛》写的就是一个七十年代出生的上海女孩的成长故事，这个故事跨度十九年，背景是一九八七年到二零零六年的上海。我描写了这十九年里上海城市面貌、社会经济生活与电视事业的变迁，对应了女主人公邓夏从十六岁到三十五岁的曲折经历和内心挣扎。

二十一世纪初，经济发达的上海，电视是人们日常生活最主要的娱乐方式。因为那个阶段电视频道资源还很有限，只有几个可以切换，所以电视节目具有很高的影响力和商业价值，主持人是可以名利双收的明星。相比电视台之间的商业竞争，电视台内部对权力和利益争夺更激烈。

当时，年近三十岁的邓夏已经成为了电视台知名的主持人和制片人，她聪明能干，长袖善舞，为了成功不择手段，在电视台的派系斗争中游刃有余，辅佐着她的上司庄庸巧妙地步步高升，直到成为文艺频道的总监。实际上庄庸更像是她的傀儡，总是她为他们两人审时度势，规划好了一切，然后引导庄庸怎么行事，并利用他成为她上升的工具。在庄庸不断升迁的同时，她从一个实习生被越级提拔到节目编导，又越位得到了主持人的美差，继而还成了最年轻的女性制片人。

看起来刀枪不入的邓夏有一个弱点，她只有大学以后的记忆，之前是一片空白。而且每到夜晚，她都会做同样的梦，梦见自己变成了另一个人，一个性格完全相反的高中生夏夏，善良怯懦，总是为别人着想。她以夏夏的身份在梦中经历另一种生活。

十六岁的夏夏生活在八十年代，有一天早上醒来发现唯一的亲人离家出走，剩下她一个人。时值上海改革开放初期，舞厅刚刚出现，当时有一阵老百姓中间非常流行跳交谊舞。邓夏总是在梦中看见一个名叫“德赛洛”的舞厅，夏夏就在那里的吧台打工。为了生存，夏夏一边洗杯子，一边继续学业。她和早熟而美丽的女同学玫瑰、一心爱慕玫瑰的高干子弟翔子、做服装生意的个体户杰克成了好朋友，共度他们艰难而美好的少年时代。“德赛洛”这个舞厅承载着他们的全部青春记忆和爱的秘密，直到一场大火烧毁了一切。

与梦中的夏夏相比，邓夏现在的生活应有尽有，丢了一段记忆也没什么大不了的，并不比丢了驾照更麻烦。但是邓夏总觉得日子毫无生趣。她害怕每个夜晚的梦游，却又发现自己内心更期待梦境的到来，梦中的生活仿佛成为了她主要的生活，而现实生活后退成没有颜色的背景。夏夏和邓夏的性格和价值观是完全相反的，随着邓夏对梦中的身份越来越投入，她发现夏夏开始干扰她的正常思维，破坏她理性的决策。

邓夏和庄庸也是情人关系，她很想结婚，可是因为担心自己人格分裂的事情被知道，她只能违心地拒绝。这个时候，邓夏开始负责一档新的选秀类电视栏目“德赛洛之舞”，这档节目在电视台对手派系的破坏下，危机重重，就在节目终于因为一个契机忽然走红的时候，庄庸却陷入了贪污受贿的丑闻中。
同时，伴随着“德赛洛”这个梦中常常出现的名字，成年后的翔子、玫瑰和杰克逐一出现在邓夏的现实生活中，带来了邓夏少年时代真实的记忆，以及她人格分裂的谜底。

I published a full-length novel The Good Old Days with Democracy, Science and Law, a story of a Shanghai girl born in the 1970s. I described changes of Shanghai city and people’s lives by looking into the character Deng Xia’s personal life from the age of 16 to the age of 35. 

At the beginning of the 21st century, TV was the main way of entertainment. Those programmes had considerable social influence and commercial values because TV channels were quite limited at that time. Deng Xia, the main character in the novel becomes a well known TV host and producer when she is only in her late 20s. With her talent and connections, she does whatever it takes to achieve success. However, Deng Xia could only remember things happened after her university and everything before that was a total blank. She dreams the same dream every night, in which she becomes a middle school student Xia Xia, a kind and timid girl. It seems that she is living another life in her dream with another identity. Comparing to the middle school girl, Deng Xia has almost everything she has expected yet she still feels joyless and boring. In her dreams and real life, Xia Xia and Deng Xia are two characters which are completely against each other. As Deng Xia getting more involved into the identity in her dreams, she finds that Xia Xia is more and more disturbing by affecting her “normal” routines and rational mind. Meanwhile, her friends Xiangzi, Rose and Jack in juvenile days appear in her real life accompanied with the word “De Sai Luo” (Democracy, Science, Law), which gradually unfolds the secret of her split personality.

上海是一座充满传奇的城市。从著名的三四十年代，到中国经济腾飞这奇迹般的三十年。这座城市，有算计、有名利、有繁华、有残酷，有电光火石的温情，有俯仰皆是的冷清。《我爱德赛洛》是一个上海化的书名，“德先生”、“赛先生”、“洛先生”曾经是上海三四十年代流行一时的词汇，我借用在这里作为符号，来描写另一个充满变革和传奇的上海。

邓夏所面临的精神状态事实上是许多七十年代生人共同的困境。在社会重心全线转向经济发展之后，他们一方面要顾及生存的实际问题。另一方面，他们在心理上也有归属感的需要，个人价值感和社会整体价值观有差距是很痛苦的一件事情。同时，地位和金钱也是一种认可的方式，他们都是大好青年，一样有足够的智商和能力去达成，唯一需要做的就是改变自己原有的价值观，放弃自己原本认为善好的东西，放弃那些能让自己的心灵得以舒适和滋养的东西，去塑造另一个用利益作为货币来衡量一切事物价值的自己。

我们常说，最可怕的事情，莫过于等自己到了中年，照着镜子，发现镜子里的那个人恰恰是自己年轻时代最讨厌的类型。

Democracy, Science and Law used to be popular lexicons in Shanghai back to the 1930s and 1940s. In this novel, I borrowed them as symbols to interpret Shanghai, the city full of transformations and legends.

Deng Xia’s problem actually is the common predicament of the 70s generation. On one hand, they have to deal with practical issues and earn a living, but on the other hand they lack a sense of belongingness and are tortured by the gap between their personal values and assessment by the society. In order to live properly, they sacrificed the things that nourished their souls and had no choice but to adopt money as the ultimate standard for everything.

我在二零零七年出版了一个长篇小说《寻花》。这部小说采用的是自叙式的旅行小说的形式，这不仅是一次前往云南和藏区的朝圣之旅，更是一场往事与心灵的旅行。

如今在中国，七十年代出生的这一代人是中产阶层的主要人群。他们有能力在这个金钱社会中生存并赢得一席之地。一部分人安于现状，忍受心灵的枯槁。一部分人则宁愿放弃现有的生活，投入另一种浪漫而又艰辛的生存状态中。

牵引整部小说的是一个北京的纪录片导演和一个上海作家的友谊。这个纪录片导演要远赴云南和西藏地区去拍摄一部他构思很久的纪录片。这个纪录片没有人投资，也毫无商业价值可言，拍摄环境艰苦甚至危险。导演临出发前发短信给这个作家，说是临走前想请她吃一顿饭。为了这顿饭的邀请，作家从上海坐夜班火车颠簸了一千六百四十三公里到来北京，两个人在北京的后海吃饭，道别。

此后很长的日子里，这个导演毫无音讯，手机没有应答。他很可能是在拍摄中遇到危险，也可能是在途中生病，没有人知道他是死是活。这个作家依然记得导演临走前曾跟她说起过一些大概的路线，雪山封山的季节刚过，她就沿着那条路线往云南和藏区的方向一路坐车下去，在偌大的世界和渺茫的人群中，希望能再看到他熟悉的面容。

这是大部分七零后的命运，即便他们没有踏上路途，跨出背离生活轨迹的这一步，也一直处在默默地与自我作战的状态里。时代交替中的成长，注定了他们一边与现实角力，一边永远无法停止对心灵家园的追寻。

Another full-length novel is To Where the Flowers Blossom. The story line is about the friendship between a documentary director in Beijing and a writer in Shanghai. The director is about to make a documentary in Yunnan and Tibet, a trial full of difficulties and dangers. The writer travels 1634 kilometres to Beijing to have a dinner with the director before he leaves for the southwest. After that, the writer loses contact with the director completely and at last she leaves Shanghai and follows the route she hears from the director, traveling along Yunnan and Tibet with the hope of bumping into the director one day on her aimless trip. It is a pilgrimage but also a trip of refreshing past events and minds. The story is a representation of the fate of the 70s generation who are always in a status of fighting with themselves. They are doomed to wrestle with the reality as well as keep looking for their inner peace.

第二部分 超速的经济列车，以及金钱时代中社会成员的独特心态
Part two: 1980s-1990s, social mentalities in the business society

从八十年代开始，广大老百姓多年安生立命形成的经济观念，就开始不断地经历巨大的颠覆。
首先是金钱数值上的颠覆。我记得八十年代，每个人工资才五十几元。当时有人去外企工作，月薪一千，是非常令人惊叹的高收入。有的年轻人辞职出来做个体户，成了“万元户”，那属于现在可以上福布斯财富榜的级别了。如果能有十万元，当时银行利息百分之十，从当时看，就可以终身不工作，靠吃利息过得非常富裕了。现在一万元刚够一个普通城市三口之家一个月的开销。一套上海市中心一百五十平米的普通公寓，带上装修要上千万人民币。

其实是劳动力对应价值的颠覆。在八十和九十年代的中国，有一个特殊的名词叫“暴发户”。八十年代之前，很多老百姓一辈子就每月赚几十元，一声辛苦的积蓄也不过就几百元。那些“暴发户”就是指在很短时间里成为富翁的人，他们有的买认购证和炒股发财，有的倒买倒卖，总是以一种很轻松的方式就飞快致富。

   “暴发户”一开始算是一个贬义词，就像把一地的商品运输到另一个地方卖，赚价差，这种行为一开始叫“投机倒把”，算是犯罪行为，要被抓去坐牢的。但是后来，这些都渐渐成了人们羡慕和想要效仿的目标。

我们都知道，如果用金钱来衡量人生价值、付出、事业、信念和爱，那么这个世界就变得比较糟糕了，但是事实上从非商业社会走过来的人特别容易这样。因为对于他们来说，他们的每一分劳动力价值都公平地被兑换成生活货币，没有利润的概念，没有投机的概念，甚至连银行利率，他们也觉得是万世不变的。而且因为经济短缺，钱显得分外重要，所以这个对应关系就变得更牢固。

他们还来不及知道，金钱这个世界的游戏币，是一种并不比刀叉更好使的东西。人生中有很多重要的东西不能就随便扔进去当筹码。

于是在这种矫枉过正的心态转换下，很多中国人比华尔街那群家伙更热衷投机和奇迹，相信捷径，喜欢在毫无付出的前提下得到很多东西。他们有时候不知道该怎么得到金钱，有时候不知道该怎么使用金钱，被金钱折磨得比没钱还惨。他们习惯用经济学的思维方式来处理生活中的一切事情，但是这种训练有素的状态并不能让他们生活得更好。

In the 1980s, the average salary was about 50 Yuan (five euro roughly). Some self-employed entrepreneurs earned loads of money and soon became the so-called “10,000 Yuan Household”. They could be on the Forbes Rich List if there were such a thing at that time. To give you an idea about the huge difference: now 10,000 Yuan can only meet the cost for an ordinary family with three people in the city. A 150 square metre apartment in Shanghai city centre would cost tens and millions of RMB. Back to the 1980s: there was a special name of “Bao Fa Hu” (people who make their fortunes in a short time), which referred to wealthy people who earned money through buying stocks and shares or doing fraudulent dealings. At first, “Bao Fa Hu” was a derogatory term to describe those who earned easy money yet gradually, these people became admirable models for the public. 

We know that it is awful if we use money to measure the value of life, careers, belief and love. But for people who just enter into the business society, it is only reasonable for them to get payment for their labour. Thus the correlation between money, the “most reliable” currency and other values is regarded as equal to fairness itself which in turn strengthened this correlation. Therefore, lots of Chinese businessmen grow even keener on speculation and shortcut than Wall Street adventurers. They are so well trained to manage everything using economic way of thinking, but this doesn’t help them to live a happier life.

我出版过一套“孙未金钱系列小说”，先后写了七年，包括五部小说集，分别是二零零六年出版的《富人秀》，二零零八年出版的《奢华秀》，二零一零年出版的《钱美丽》、《爱欲季》和《豪门季》。集中写了中国各阶层的人面对金钱表现出的各种古怪的行为和心态，我写的是他们的“金钱之痒”。

这个系列用黑色幽默的喜剧风格来描写现实世界，这种风格让小说里的世界看起来有点荒诞。但是有不少朋友读完了，会对我说，这小说很朴实嘛，很写实啊。

有时候一个人梦游，别人会把他抓住，拖回床上，叫醒他。告诉他，嘿，你在梦游啊。但是如果绝大多数的人都在梦游，他们不会觉得自己的行为很荒诞。我是没本事叫醒他们的，我只能把他们描绘下来。

《富人秀》被称为中国第一部写富人生活的小说。故事的主人公是一对夫妇。丈夫是中国新生代富人中的一员，就是那些让世界人民觉得很惊讶的，带一箱子现金去买奢侈品，现在移民到各个国家去买房子，一不小心把别人国家的房子也炒高了的中国富人。妻子却是一个文艺女青年，一天到晚捧着托尔斯泰在读，想法很天真的女孩。

他们从结婚之初就一直吵吵闹闹，有的是自己生活中的矛盾，有的是因为圈子里别人家的事情。从他们的争吵中，可以看见中国贫富分化过程中社会成员的心态。比如说，妻子笑话某个圈内的富人富到不敢结婚，丈夫却告诉她，他认识的一个穷人穷到没法离婚。丈夫收购了一家亏损严重的医院，计策是买椟还珠，用地皮开发房地产。妻子批评富人太贪婪，丈夫为她做了一个实验，让高级服装店某天一元一件大酬宾，妻子开心地在现场犒劳穷人，却被更贪婪的穷人推倒踩伤。丈夫受邀去奢侈品展，觉得这种场合攀比的压力比考试还痛苦，妻子带他去逛路边摊，丈夫发现，富人购物的乐趣竟然从来及不上穷人。

我以这一对金钱观念恰好相反的夫妇来象征这个社会的物质和于精神，时尚和人文，它们两者就像夫妇一样，既是不离不弃的伴侣，也同时是针锋相对的敌手。可是在这部小说中，更多的是两个人各自的迷惘，是不同阶层的人们对于社会现实同样的兴致勃勃和无所适从。

《奢华秀》讲的是女人们怎样寻找她们的爱情。她们有成功购物的经验，却没有成功恋爱的经验。在物质消费中浸淫长大的她们，想要恋爱和结婚，也只是想要添一件重要的家电或者软装修一样。她们一方面想要得到传说中真正的爱情，小说里、电影里那种，一方面却不由自主地用挑选一只手袋、一双高跟鞋的心态去挑选男朋友。

现在上海和北京有一种现象，很多年轻男女都找不到伴侣，虽然他们学习很忙，工作很忙，社交面很广，可是很多人年纪不小了，还是没有恋爱。然后他们父母着急了，就到电视台去帮他们报名参加省相亲节目，或者到公园大龄青年父母聚会的地方去帮他们物色对象。现在通讯手段越来越多，社交生活也越来越丰富，可是年轻人好像失去了恋爱的能力。不仅如此，各个年龄段和身份的人都面临着情感的匮乏和失能，这是进入二十一世纪以后尤其明显的一种普遍的情感“暖死亡”的现象。

I published “Sun on Riches: A Comedy Series” focusing on this subject. It took me seven years to finish all the seven books. These novels might be a bit absurd because of the black humor. But many of my friends told me they think they are quite realistic after reading these stories.

《富人秀》is the first novel on lives of rich people in China. Main characters in this novel are a young couple living in a large city. The husband is a member of the new rich while the wife is a naive woman who loves to read Tolstoy all the time. The husband and his wife represent material needs and spiritual needs, which are just like a couple who can be mates but also enemies. This novel is more about their own confusions which reflect different mentalities of people from different social stratums. 《奢华秀》is about how women chase for love in modern society. They have been experienced in shopping yet they are frustrated in love affairs. Nowadays, it is a common phenomenon that lots of young people in Beijing and Shanghai failed in finding their mates. It seems that young people have lost their ability to fall in love. Moreover, people from all age groups are facing this desert of emotions. This is widely known as the “warm death” that has worsened since the 21st century.

在二十世纪八十年代和九十年代的经济发展中，中国出现了平民出身，短期致富的一些人，这是一个奇迹倍出的大时代。同等的财富获得在大多数国家可能需要几代人，一百年以上的时间，但是在当时的中国，有时候几年之内就能完成。我们也可以看到，中国的福布斯榜是极其不稳定的，人员变动非常快。有的人可能这个月还是富豪，下个月一贫如洗，或者进了监狱，而另一些人忽然致富替代了榜单上的位置。

到了二十一世纪前后，这个贫富的界限就不再那么容易穿越了。我还记得一九九九年曾经被预言是世界末日，那一年香港金融危机，中国政府救市，为了扩大内需，提升房价，房价从此就再也没有下来过，到现在尾数上已经多加了一个零。二零零八年美国次贷危机，中国政府又投入了四万亿救市，投入大量项目。在这一阶段的经济发展中，这些钱就不是平民们可以有机会赚的了。特权和经济基础是条件。

 “金钱系列”的《豪门季》是《富人秀》的第二部，主人公相同，但是随着时间的演进，这对富人夫妇的生活状况也随之发生了变化。二十世纪九十年代后期，中国的富人都还没有坐稳富人的位置，环境逼迫他们试图从小富升级为富豪，就是马克思所说的“惊险一跃”。

跃上这一台阶的少数人，和官员、特权相结合，财富已经以几何级数离开了原有的水准。而没有跃上这个台阶的，他们的中小民营企业和有特权背景的大企业拉开了越来越大的差距，“马太效应”彰显。没有贷款，有的只能靠民间高利贷等形式维持。除了资金成本，在通货膨胀中，企业的生产成本也不断增高，资产则自动缩水。经营惨淡，有时候几千人的工厂几年的收益，可能还不如别人炒房收益的三分之一。中国政府也注意到了这一点，最近采取了很多积极措施在扶植中小企业。

现在已经不可能再有什么“暴发户”了，贫富界限已经划定了，并且飞快加大。穷人想踮一下脚尖的可能性，外部环境也不给。而且随着下一代长大成人，“官二代”、“富二代”等词汇都出现了。年轻人从起点上就有了巨大的差距，后期他们之间的分化会更大。

The last decade of 20th century is a time of miracles when lots of the new rich made their fortunes. Yet the China’s Forbes List is extremely unstable because people on the list this month would possibly go bankrupt in the next month. Since the 21st century, privilege and capital have set a strict entry for people who dare to break the boundary between the rich and the poor, therefore, “Bao Fa Hu” went out of time and soon became a historical term. 

《豪门季》is the succession of《富人秀》but in this story the rich couple is facing different situations. They are driven to upgrade themselves so as to achieve the “breathtaking leap” as was described by Karl Marx. Few people who managed to do this increased their assets with geometric growths while the rest majority of people were lagged far behind. The Mathew Effect is becoming more and more obvious in China. As the children of the first new rich are growing bigger, new terms like “the second generation of officials” and “the second generation of the rich” become popular among the public, which means young people are not in the same starting line and there could be greater differentiation in future time.

作为一个写作者，我关心的并不是社会经济应该如何发展，我着眼的是现代人如何看待他们的幸福感、成就感和金钱之间的关系。

人们过分地重视游戏币，为此省略了很多真实的生命体验。于是，物质和精神分离，经济和文化背道而驰。这不仅是整个社会群体的态度，也是国家的发展方向使之然，社会价值观是由国家政策导向而产生的。近期中国政府提出了大力发展文化事业，我相信这会是一个很好的引导和转折。

As a writer, what I do care is not the social economy but the way how modern people view the relation between their sense of happiness, fulfillment and money. Life experience is largely omitted because too many attentions have been given to economic growth. This is the current status of social communities but it also reflects directions and policies guided by the government. Recently, Chinese government has issued many strategies for developing the cultural sector, which I think would provide a very positive guidance and an opportunity.

第三部分 功利主义与人的真正需要
Part three: 1990s-21st century, utilitarianism VS spiritual needs

二十一世纪十年，中国和世界经济的发展都遇到了更大的困难。美债危机，欧债危机。世界经济发展缓慢。中国则致力于控制通货膨胀，收紧资金的流动性，同时又要保持增速，还要防止中小企业资金链断裂，这么大的一个家，家长不好当。但是中国政府一直就是想干什么就一定干成，绝对属于行动派的。“摸着石子过河”，从不断的“破”和“立”中就可以看出这种行动力和对效果的关注。另一句名言就是“黑猫白猫，能捉到老鼠的就是好猫。”这也是一句大实话。

事实上，世界上古今往来很多政治家都这么做过，也取得过很好的效果。功利主义是一种有价值的哲学，但是在另一方面，很多人文情怀上的东西流失了。为了多数人的利益牺牲少数人的利益被认为是合理的，为了给一个两个弱势的个人以权利来牺牲多数人的利益，被认为是不可理解的。就像九十年代有一部电影《拯救大兵雷恩》，很多中国人都觉得不理解。当然，为了权力群体少数人而牺牲多数人的利益，这既不是功利主义，也不是人文主义，不在我们的讨论范围。

在功利主义的思维模式下，中国社会成员的心理压力是很大的。因为中国人的性格，一是比较要面子，在乎别人的观感，喜欢追求众人的认同，为公认的标准而活。二是特别有进取心，从小就被教育，这辈子非要成个什么大人物不可，人生不是为了享受活着的时候，而是为了取得成就。那这个时代的成就当然就是赚更多的钱，取得更高的地位。

于是大家都围绕那个经济中心去努力，陷入一种极度焦虑和干枯的状态。

The first ten years of this century has been a hard time for both Chinese and the world’s economy. It is quite knotty for the Chinese government to control the inflation while at same time keep a rapid development. However, the Chinese government has always been resolute to take actions. A very good proof is Deng Xiaoping’s famous saying: “No matter the cat is black or white, it is a good cat if it can catch mice.” and this is in fact the bare truth. In history, countless politicians followed this route and achieved very good effects. Utilitarianism has been proved to be a very useful mean, yet on another side, people have to suffer from a great loss in their inner peace and subtle emotions. Because of the dominance of utilitarianism, every member of the society is struggling with the heavy psychological pressure. Also in our tradition, Chinese are very anxious about their face and wish to get public acknowledgement and thus they try to live up to the recognized standard; besides, each child is taught to take an aggressive way of life so as to become a personage. All these lead to the fact that we’ve been working hard on developing our economy without noticing that we have been lost in an extreme anxiety and exhaustion.

我有很多中短篇小说就是描写这些孤独而焦灼的人。

有个短篇叫做《点火》，一开头好像写的是一对夫妇，分别身为大公司的高级管理人员。丈夫加班很晚回家，想着吃妻子下的速冻饺子，回家一看，煤气灶的点火装置坏了。妻子催促和埋怨丈夫，让他赶紧修好。丈夫却累得完全没心理料理这种维修，事实上他也完全不在行。两个人只能出门去吃饭，来到一个饭店，服务和菜肴都让他们很不满意。这时候他们两人忽然想起，他们并不是夫妻，甚至不是情人。当初，他们只是因为讨厌下班以后一个人去饭店吃饭，所以参加了“饭搭子”团。然后又因为下速冻饺子比在外面吃更省心，所以搭伙在一起每天晚上下饺子吃而已。

中篇小说《顶楼的孩子》写的是现在很多富裕家庭孩子的生存状态。中国人一般都住高层公寓，楼层越高，售价越高，顶楼是最贵的。故事里的小男孩具有正常的孩童心性，喜欢画画，有想象力。但是恐怕就是因为他所表现出来的本性，是在这个金钱社会中已经消亡的东西，所以他们的父母一直把他当成弱智。现在所谓聪明的孩子，就是跟成人一样，现实，物质，对大自然和细腻的情感完全没有感知力，是一些“橡皮人”。

经济发展是为了让人类过上更好的生活，但是人类为此没有少吃苦。货币的发明本来是为人服务的，结果人都在为货币服务。我们应该赚钱消费，结果却被钱消费了。人类做的事情常常就是这样。

Lots of my novelettes are about those lonely and exhausted people. One of them is called 《点火》. Both of the two characters are senior managers of big companies who seem to be a couple as they are complaining each other about stove problems in their apartment but at the end of the story the truth turns out to be that they are not a couple, not even lovers. They finally realize that they are just “dinner partners” because both of them hate to eat alone. In another novelette Children on the Top Floor, the little boy loves painting and he is full of imagination yet such a nature has died out in this mammonish society and thus his parents treat him as mentally handicapped. In reality, the “smart” kids are basically little adult, "plasticine" men with no perceptivity to the nature or emotions. We develop the economy with the hope of living a better life yet we suffered a lot from it. Money was invented to serve the people but now we are all its slaves. That is the sad story.

第四部分 我们从哪里来，要到哪里去
Part four: a writer’s reflections

我是一个慢性子的人，做什么都很慢，生活要求很简单。我总觉得这个世界走得太快了，不仅是中国，各个国家都遇到过走得太快，要得太多，结果忘了回家的路。

自从八年前开始全职写作，我每年都会有几个月去旅行。我到中国的边远地区，各个民族聚居的地方去，学习当地的民俗和宗教，搜集他们的史诗、神话和传说。这是我的一个爱好。人类童年时代的文明里有真正的睿智和优雅，人和自然，和自己的灵魂曾经有那么和谐的关系，但是如今，人类却在他们自己创造的繁荣富裕的世界里受到自己的折磨。

站得远一点，我希望这样能够对这个世界看得更清楚。我也尝试从人类学的角度来写今天的社会现实。

我去年在文学期刊上发表了一个长篇小说，是我三年前完成的，叫做《大地尽头》。这可以说是一份严肃详尽的民俗宗教档案，也是一幅很精致的历史传奇画卷。

“大地尽头”是一个具有象征意味的虚拟村庄，它远离繁华城市，保有着人类文明童年时代的古老习俗与原始哲学。但是随着旅游和商业的开发，人们的欲望日益膨胀，人与自然之间和谐互敬的关系被毁弃、漠视，甚至刻意破坏。就在这个村庄的人们明争暗斗，期待能够从游客身上榨取更多的钱财时，一场与环境破坏有关的洪水灾难到来了，这成了一个人们审视自身破坏行为与生命意义的一个契机。它事实上是用过去的历史来写今天。

这个虚拟的村庄是人类世界的缩影，失意的老国王江龙、痴情的矮司机阿满、穿着西装在地上找饭粒的何疯子、疯子的秘密豢养者金老板、被死神遗忘的六姑、忽然长大的美丽少女杜鹃、生来能看到世人念头的少年僧人格列、活在幻想天国中的老牧师安东尼，这八个人物分别身为权力者、商人、雇工、疯子、孩子、修行者，他们的传奇故事分别诠释着人类最主要的几种欲望与执迷。

I am afraid I am such a slow coach that I always have this feeling that the world is running too fast and we’ve all forgotten the way back home. I take several months for travel every single year since I started full-time writing 8 years ago. I went to remote areas in China to study local culture and religion and also to collect their epics, myths and tales. In this way, I try to see this world in a distance and also try to depict our society in the anthropologic view.

Last year, I published a full-length novel called Death of the Last Arcadian Village. It took me three years to finish this novel which I consider as a serious documentary of the folk religion and also as a delicate picture of historical legends. The village is a fictional space for conservation of old traditions and original ideas during the childhood of human civilization. However, as time goes on, people begin to develop tourism and business in this village and the harmony is destroyed as they growing greedier. I depict this fictional village as a microcosm of the human society so as to mirror the present situation by narrating the past.

我不认为我们应该因噎废食，为了经济发展对心灵的影响而退回到以前去。时间是始终向前走的，这实际上是最好的礼物，我们始终要面对和处理新的问题，永远不知道将来会发生什么，也永远不知道现在做的会对将来有什么影响。所以事情非但没有好坏之分，也没有对错可言。

时间不应退回去，但是人们应该回到离别已久的精神家园，找到符合人性的生存方式。我一直在考虑这个问题，在为此不断学习，写作记录了我思考的过程。人类学并不是“时代病”的出口，只是一面镜子。我还会找寻更多的镜子，找寻可能的出口，成为我描绘这个时代肖像的颜料和笔触。

我认为一个写作者有责任认真思考，以自己的观点记录下自己存活时间对时代的观察，我站在别人的肩膀上看这个世界，我希望有一天别人也能用上我的肩膀。这是一个知识分子的荣耀与使命。

It is nonsense to advocate an illusory nostalgic utopia. Time is like the flow of the water and therefore we are to face and to deal with new issues all the time. We’ve no idea what is going to happen; neither do we know the impacts of what we have done. It is beyond our capability to make judgments on good/bad and right/wrong. We cannot put the clock back but we should go back to our spiritual home to find the way of living that is suitable for the human nature. In my life, I have been thinking about this and I have been learning and writing for this. Anthropology is just a mirror rather than a pharmacy for our morbidities. I will try to find more mirrors to make up the pigment and brush for my portrait of our time. As a writer, I think I am responsible for critical thinking and I regarded this as the honor and mission for every intellectual.