High Life

品 12 #8 2017 年 5 月 From the editor Struggles and acceptance I t was about 20 years ago that I watched Zhang Yimou’s To Live , a film based on the novel by Yu Hua, for the first time. Although the story is extremely sadwith protagonist Xu Fugui losing family members throughout the plot, I still remember laughing through many scenes. That is because in Yu Hua’s work, elements like absurdity, humor and death are often mixed together to give the reader a real sense of what life is. In life there are ups and downs and every human being has his or her own way of dealing with struggles. The genius of Yu Hua’s writing is that he draws parallels between the good and the bad that can happen in life. For Xu Fugui, no matter what occurs, life goes on. At the end of To Live , Xu has lost all of his family members, but he is not suicidal. Left with an old cow as his only companion, he goes on living without any bitterness. He even talks with the cow and encourages him to be more hardworking and positive. Indeed, for those whose lives are plagued by misfortune, acceptance of one’s circumstances, no matter how difficult, is important or else life cannot continue. For a generation of Chi- nese who have experienced the Cultural Revolution and wit- nessed enormous change take place in their country, perhaps that is their ultimate spirit. Irene Sam 抗争与接受 我 第一次看张艺谋的电影《活着》，大约是在20 年前。 这部影片是根据余华的小说改编而来。尽管剧情极其伤 感，主角徐福贵一次次地遭遇至亲的离去，但很多场景中的中 国式黑色幽默同样令我记忆犹新。那是因为，在余华的作品 中，荒诞、幽默和死亡等元素常常交织在一起，让读者真切地 感受生活的真相。 人的一生难免荆棘丛生，每个人都有自己的抗争方式。余 华作品的天才之处，在于他将生活中的好与坏糅为一体。对徐 福贵来说，无论发生什么，生活都会继续。在《活着》的结 尾，他已经失去了所有的家人，但他并没有绝望。最后只剩一 头老牛相依为命，却并没有被苦情淹没，继续生活。他甚至和 老牛说话，鼓励它更加努力和积极。 对于命运多舛的人来说，无论多么艰难，都要学会接受自 己的境遇，否则生活便无法继续。经历了文革、见证了社会翻 天覆地变化的一代中国人，或许，这就是他们的精神所在。 沈爱莲 编者寄语