What animal walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?
This is the most famous riddle of mankind. It is also the core of Yu Hua's writing.
Discussing the morality of good or evil in fictional characters is meaningless. The actions of fictional characters are a reflection of their own will. Self-will is not determined by the environment. On the one hand, the environment can influence a person's choices, and on the other hand, regardless of one's background, one can be good or evil. This is what allows for chance and free will.
Contemporary Chinese novels are often extremely brutal, but as long as they are written by top-notch authors and not authors of pornographic crime sensationalism, these moral and ethical elements are not points of concern for an ideal reader. Pointing at the moon, the moon is suddenly pointed at. The style of a novel is a presentation. When you read "The Metamorphosis," you shouldn't focus on how he turned into a beetle. When you read "To Live" or "Doctor Zhivago," you shouldn't focus on why there are so many coincidences.
The world depicted by Yu Hua is also extremely brutal, and this brutality is not overly exaggerated, but rather a recognition of reality. Yu Hua has always written about humans, the kind of animals that walk on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening. Youthful innocence, bravery, and fearlessness, the vigor and desires of adulthood, and the silent gaze towards the sky in old age.
In Yu Hua's highly acclaimed novels, emptiness follows brutality, and anything that carries positive meaning is considered impure. Humans have their free will, but in the end, it is all in vain.
Many people may not like "Wencheng." They may wonder what it is about. They may want to find hidden allegories and central ideas. But what he writes is clearly there, without any hidden meaning. He shows more kindness towards individuals thrown into purgatory, even if they will eventually die, he wants to give them the brilliance of self-completion, unlike in his earlier work "To Live" where he repeatedly beats down on life as if it were merciless fate.
What Yu Hua writes is tenderness towards humanity. In this cruel and ultimately meaningless world, there are people who are loyal, faithful, trustworthy, and brave, who live earnestly.
Many times, Yu Hua leaves a glimmer of light in this brutal world. Many children in his writing are brave, intelligent, pure, and self-sacrificing. They are like superheroes in this brutal world. But these superhero-like children also grow up and cannot save this world.
Here, let's mention Quentin Tarantino. Many people watch his movies out of curiosity, enjoying the clever narrative techniques and crazy climactic scenes. But if you look deeper, Quentin is full of tenderness towards people. He loves the people in this world and feels regret for its absurdity, injustice, and brutality. So he always wants to make up for it through his movies. Just like Yu Hua and Eileen Chang, he writes legends. They all give tenderness and unwillingness to this brutal world.
Therefore, as readers, we cannot bear their tenderness. When we watch "Raise the Red Lantern," "Red Sorghum," or "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," we know what the true history is like.