伪满洲国

by Zijian Chi, 迟子建

《伪满洲国（上下）》的作者追溯《伪满洲国》的写作动机，那还是十二年前在北京鲁迅文学院求学期间萌生的。不过那时作者对这一段特殊的历史所知甚少，那种动机只能是一种想法，很快就被其他的写作淹没和冲淡了。一九九○年作者毕业回到哈尔滨，拥有了一间属于自己的小屋，终于可以安定而踏实地读书和写作了。这时《伪满洲国》的写作念头又不可遏止地浮现出来。《伪满洲国》在作者心中只是一个雏形，觉得支笔写它为时尚早。在接下来的七年时间里，作者着力进行一些中短篇的写作，从这种写作中获得了文字的锻炼，同时，仍然注意搜集《伪满洲国》的历史资料，这里既有从图书馆复印来的，也有从书店购置的，更宝贵的是从一些旧书摊寻到的。到了一九九八年，作者觉得《伪满洲国》的意象在其心中愈来愈丰满，创作的冲动已经出现，于是又集中做了两个月的资料，到了四月迎春初放之时，便开始了写作。

834 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

Chi was born in Mohe County, Heilongjiang in February 1964. Her father, Chi Zefeng (迟泽凤), was the president of a local school. Chi Zijian was named after his father's idol Cao Zijian, a poet and prince of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period.

Chi entered Daxing'anling Normal College (大兴安岭师范学校) in 1981 and she started to publish novels in 1983.

In 1988, Chi was accepted to Northwest University, majoring in writing. One year later, she attended Beijing Normal University and Lu Xun Literary Institute.

In 1990, Chi joined the Heilongjiang Writers Association.

Her novel, Last Quarter of the Moon, was published in 2005, which won the Mao Dun Literary Prize in 2008.

Chi won the Lu Xun Literary Prize in 1996, 2000, and 2007

Reviews

[Chin Joo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about the lives of a cross-section of people in Manchukuo when it existed between 1932 and 1945. The author gave a very broad sweep of people from various social classes to give readers an idea of how people in the different strata of society lived their lives in a state that functioned more like a Japanese colony. All were affected in some ways, the poor more than the rich as the rich inevitably have better connections. But besides being more adversely affected, the poor were also affected much earlier than the rich. For the rich, as long as the Japanese were winning the war, life carried on more or less as it used to be. For the poor though, many were already forced enlisted into the many labour teams used by the Japanese to build the facilities and infrastructure that they needed. The labourers joined up either because they were deceived by the promises of food and lodging or because they had nowhere to hide from the militias going after them. Villagers who were not enlisted fared worst; what was left of their grains were forcibly taken and many were killed indiscriminately.

What makes the book truly a compelling read is how individuals were depicted in the book. Structured into 14 chapters, each carrying 6 sections, and each section focusing on one person or a group of people as they lived through the years, one can see how lives of different people changed along with the destiny of Manchukuo, or more accurately, Japan. The lives of some of the characters crossed path, while those of others did not, but everyone has a story and collectively, their stories tell the story of Manchukuo.

With great nuance, the author explored the individuals and how they felt about life then. People like 王亭业 (pg 3) and 张容彩 (pg 26) harboured animosity towards the Japanese, but were careful about expressing their feelings publicly. Pragmatic ones among the populace would cooperate if not for actual rewards which can come in the form of extra food, (see pg 371), then just to stay out of trouble, happy to let others do the resisting (pg 35). But there were others who collaborated, yet where they could, they tried to help their own (pg 434). Of course there were also those who took up arms by joining the militia. Unfortunately in this book, their plight invariably involved a life of hardship, deprivation and in many cases, betrayal leading to torture and death.

Most intriguing to me has got to be the way the author depticted specific Japanese characters. Although there is a general negative portrayal of the faceless Japanese military man, when it came to individuals, the author was a lot more nuanced. There was one that did research on living and dead humans in the notorious Unit 731 (北也南次郎) and had no compunction about watching his subjects suffer the most inhuman treatment, all because of his passion for his research. But he too was to exhibit some feelings especially after establishing a curiosity about Patient 26 (王亭业). His friend 羽田, on the other hand, is perhaps more paradoxical. As a Japanese military personnel, he defied that general image of cruelty and arrogance to always save his feelings for that one special girl who gave him that lucky scarf. Throughout his time in Manchukuo, he did not participate in any of the excesses commonly associated with Japanese soldiers. It makes one wonder about the motives of the author in her inclusion of this character.

One particular character stood out ironically despite his relative immunity from the political and military upheavals. 胡二 started off as a bandit, but after an operation that went wrong largely because of him, he escaped into the mountains with his abducted wife. From then on, his life would have its ups and downs mainly due to his inability to control his libido. This is an interesting character that would be usually missed out in books depicting lives of people in those times for his life was unscathed despite the great political turmoils and human sufferings. For that I credit the author for being able to give the story of Manchukuo a wholesome treatment, almost missing out no one. But more, I credit the author for so skillfully placing this character in the reader's heart. One that would be easy to dislike, if not hate, yet through his love for his family, especially his son, his big-heartedness in his business dealings, and his generousity towards a Japanese fugitive at the end of the story, he redeems himself in the eyes of the reader making the reader feel for him, and if it carries some relunctance, there is a lot more forgiveness.

At the start of the story, an old man gave his two grandsons two halves of a mirror just before they left home to pursue their own careers. They were to reunite the two halves of the mirror as a commitment to their own reunion. Alas, the two halves of a mirror were united, only that they were in the hands of two other people. Like the story of China and Manchukuo, the three north-eastern provinces would eventually reunite with the rest of China, but it would be through a long and tortuous path. And despite all the sufferings and death in the book, one hopes for live to be better.

[Ellen Klempner]

Finally after reading over 800 pages (two volumes) of misery, oppression, greed and vice I am done with the ex-Manchuko.! And yet the author does not tie up loose ends of her huge cast of characters.