On the Transformation of the Traditional“Blood Revenge”in the“Red Literary Classics”〔*〕

Li Xin

(Department of Chinese Language and Literature East China Normal University，Shanghai201100)

ⅠIntroduction

In the“red literary classics”，texts convey“the function to make the revolutionary history classic;texts narrate the original myth of revolution，heroic legend and ultimate commitment so as to maintain the great hope and fear of contemporary fellow countrymen and prove the reasonability of modern reality.The ideology of main object of fellow countrymen has been established in the new order through the narration and reading practice on a national scale.”The“class struggle theory”has been introduced in China in the late 20th century，which has been supported by traditional moral ethics and meanwhile，established a stronger identification of revolutionary ethics.“Class”refers to“the groups divided by the different social status and productive materials in a certain social productive system”.According to the“class struggle theory”of Marx，society is no longer a net weaved by“blood relationship”，but two opposite camps“divided by the different social status and productive materials”，namely“proletariat”and“bourgeoisie”.The depiction of“blood revenge”under this theoretical guidance is bound to be different from other traditional modes.

Ⅱ.Expansion of the revenge object

The“revenge object”should be first identified to take revenge.Chairman Mao pointed put in the Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society that“who is our friend?Who is our enemy?That is the first question of revolution.”

Influenced by the“blood ethics”of Confucianism，there are two types of“revenge objects”in the description of traditional“blood revenge”:first，the revenge object is limited to the enemy himself;second，the revenge object also includes the biological relatives of the personal enemy.In the“red literary classics”，modern“class theory”has taken place of“blood ethics”and the revenge object has expanded from the“enemy”himself to the“class of the enemy”.

On one hand，authors of“red literary classics”have transformed the contradiction between the“avengers”and the“enemies”in traditional“blood revenge”into that between the“proletariat”and“bourgeoisie”.The hatred to the“enemy”in traditional literature has been escalated to that to the class of the“enemy”.“Revenge”is expressed by means of class consciousness，thus possessing sense of justice.

On the other hand，there are two ways to take revenge in traditional revenge literature:first，returning home gloriously after gaining an official position through the Imperial Examination and killing the enemy with his power;second，taking avenge with the assistance of the righteousness of upright officials.However，in the text of“red literary classics”，authors have proven that your enemy is actually the state apparatus owned by the enemy and managed to upgrade the revenge between the“enemy”and“avenger”in traditional“blood revenge”to the class revolution between“proletariat”and“bourgeoisie”.

The authors of“red literary classics”have managed to expand the revenge object from the enemy himself to the class of the enemy and the tool of the class control under the theoretical guidance of modern class struggle theory.It is noteworthy that expansion of revenge object is advocated as the symbol of revenge consciousness and the premise of revenge righteousness.The authors of“red literary classics”have purposely neglected the complexity of“class”as a group and judged the human nature by class nature，which obviously shows the limitedness of history and affected the truth of history writing as well as the literariness of texts.

Ⅲ.Simplification of the revenge method

There are three“revenge methods”in traditional“blood revenge”literature:personal revenge，chivalrous help and ghosts and gods vengeance.But all the traditional revenge methods fail in“red literary classics”because the avenger does not mobilize the power of other“proletariat”.In brief，individual revenge advocated in the traditional“blood revenge”is bound to fail!

Successful revenge stories have been depicted in“red literary classics”，which can be attributed to two key factors，namely the transformation from individual revenge to group revolution and that from blind revenge to the leader of the Communist.

First，authors of“red literary classics”have identified the“revenge object”as“the class of the enemy”and“the tool of class rule”.With such a strong enemy，modern“group revenge”must replace traditional“individual revenge”to achieve success.

Second，the leadership of the Communist，as the key f class consciousness of the avenger，has been repeatedly empathized in“red literary classics”.Author Yang Mo once said that“I want to express how I feel by the story of Lin Daojing.Individual struggle is useless，and we should follow the Communist and believe that the cause of Communism is bound to win so that we will have open mind and great vitality.”

Authors of“red literary classics”have proven that“individual revenge”is bound to suffer failure advocated by traditional“blood revenge”，“group revenge”is the only correct method of“revolution/revenge”in the modern wave of revolution，and that the leadership of Chinese Communist is the guarantee to the success of“revolution/group revenge”.However，Chinese Communist plays a key role in the revolution and construction，which has been proved by history and cannot be denied by anyone.However，Chinese Communist has become religious in advocating the leadership of Chairman Mao and Communism in“red literary classics”.

Ⅳ.Ennobling of the revenge motivation

Fei Xiaotong once pointed that it is blood relationship，kinship and geographic relationship that maintains interpersonal relationship in traditional Chinese society，such as brothers，husbands and wives，fathers and sons and neighbors.Influenced by such cultural atmosphere，the starting point and basis of traditional“blood revenge”mainly involves the moral requirement of blood ethics.Therefore，the motivation of“revenge for the father’s death”is most accepted in the depiction of traditional“blood revenge”.

However，this complex entanglement has been smashed in the revolutionary age by the new“class ethics”.“Class ethics”，on the basis of“class struggle theory”，holds that social structure is not organized by blood relationship，but class relationship，which means that individuals have been integrated into a strong revolutionary family on the foundation beyond individuals，families and family interests.The socalled affection between family members is bound to be replaced by the camaraderie between those in the proletarian camp.The replacement is deemed as an ennobling motivation，which has become a“collective unconsciousness”through the repeated comment and advocating.

Besides，it’s noteworthy that the motivation of“revenge for the father’s death”in“red literary classics”has been weakened and replaced by the“hatred of the comrade”，which manifests the replacement of“blood relationship”by“class emotion”.What’s more，a revolutionary would rebel against their father to take revenge.“Revolutionaries/avengers”have abandoned the affection between themselves and their fathers，thus rebelling against their original class camp.On the other hand，they have maintained their affection between themselves and their mothers，thus returning to their own class camp.The set of“double blood relationship identity”has avoided the embarrassment of“revolution/revenge”in“revolutionary literature”and“left-wing literature”by catering to traditional moral ethics.

Ⅴ.Legalization of the revenge means

Influenced by traditional Confucian culture，“blood revenge”aims at reaching the balance between the two parties，during which indiscriminately slaughter is objected.No violence is supported in the revenge.

However，according to“class struggle theory”，authors of“red literary classics”want to carry out modern“class revolution”instead of“individual revenge”，which has broken the traditional rules and restriction of“red literary classics”and emphasized the irrational and hyperactive violent revenge.

“Blood revenge”advocated by the authors of“red literary classics”is a“violent revolution”，which refers to the slaughter of the human body and the spiritual repression.

First，the revenge scenes depicted in the“red literary classics”are violent and bloody without exception.But authors of“red literary classics”construct texts according to the certain framework of“charge— hatred — revenge— victory”.Therefore，through charging the enemy with their evil deeds，“propertied class”has heavy blood debts.Driven by hatred，the mass or readers would lose their reason and take violent revenge for the loss of their family members，which is referred to as“victory”in“red literary classics”，s symbol of success of the“revolution/revenge”.

Second，according to the authors of“red literary classics”，the“violent revolution”conducted by“proletariat”includes physical annihilation and more importantly，mental shock.“Public exposure”is undoubtedly the most powerful struggle method of annihilating the“enemy class”.

The authors of“red literary classics”have tirelessly depicted the process where the once powerful enemies lose their prestige when publicly exposed，and the once repressed avengers feel proud and elated.Farmers have entered a new world where they oppress others instead of being oppressed and look down upon others instead of being looked down upon.The authors of“red literary classics”obviously forget to express their writing aim of“liberating all human beings”when they strive to advocate violence and ardently praise“public exposure”by stepping on the esteem of“bourgeoisie”.It will be a good thing to well handle the relationship between class struggle，humanity and literature，or it will exert extremely bad influence.Wang Renshu holds that“proletariat struggle maintains that class struggle also aims at liberating all human beings.Therefore，class struggle is also the struggle of humanity.The greatest works in literary history are always full of humanity”，which is still thought-provoking and alarming.

Ⅵ.Conclusion

He Lihua notes that“Chinese literature of the 20th century is closely related to class struggle theory.It is justifiable to say that without the input and establishment of class struggle theory，there would be no Chinese left-wing literature of the 1930s，Yan’an worker-peasant-soldier literature of the 1940s and a series of red classics during the 17 years after the founding of the PRC，such as Red Flag Pedigree and Song of Youth.In one word，without class struggle theory，there would be no Chinese literature of the first half of the 20th century.”“Red literary classics”have succeeded in transforming the story of“blood revenge”into the modern legend of“class revolution”by the decades of text accumulation of revolution literature，left-wing literature，pre-liberation literature and 17-year literature.“Blood revenge”takes on a brand new look in the text of“red literary classics”，namely manifesting the characteristics of“expansion of the revenge object”“simplification of the revenge method”“ennobling of the revenge motivation”and“ legalization of the revenge means”，which is totally different from the characteristics of traditional“blood revenge”.

Notes:

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