Since its publication in 2016, Paper Hawk has been studied by literary critics from different angles, such as its inheritance of the Chinese classical literature tradition, its conception of language and structure form, and even its usage of imagery. The historical imagination in the novel has also attracted great attention in academic circles. As one of the clues in the novel, Chinese cuisine enables the writer to outline the setting of the era and human nature, and reflect on traditional culture with a keen insight. Taking food as a starting point, I explores the path of historical evolution, its development as well as its ups and downs. A warm thanks also goes out to Dr. Xu Shiying for her interview on historical writing (Appendix follows), which represents the historical depth of Paper Hawk in a dialogue format.
Ge Liang’s full-length novel Food Is Heaven depicts the legendary lives of figures such as Master Rong Yisheng, Uncle Wuju, the Seventh Young Master Xiang Xikun, and many others, in over 400,000 words. Generally speaking, Food Is Heaven is a fictional work using imaginary characters as its protagonists. However, its hidden interplay with important historical events from the 20th century onwards is an undeniable fact. These non-fictional elements employed by Ge Liang are part of his artistic strategy of achieving literary authenticity in Food Is Heaven. The incorporation of major historical figures and events into artistic fiction highlights a certain “epic” quality in the narrative which emerges out of its full engagement with historical essence and historical facts.
Time and culture are rivers without banks. The elegance and archaic style of culture is a kind of blood inheritance, and the myriad types of cooked food in the world are also a kind of passing of the torch from generation to generation. Against the vast backdrop of the century-old history of Lingnan (an area south of the Five Ridges in China), Ge Liang’s latest full-length novel, Food Is Heaven, is a wonderful story about the inheritance of four generations of chefs. It describes the cultivation of the industry as well as self-cultivation and conducting oneself in the world. “To see a world in a line of work, and one bodhi in a karma.” This novel reproduces the changes of the times and reveals the profound history and deep patriotism behind the Chinese food culture. It reflects on the inheritance of cooking skills and depicts the extraordinary roots of fine Chinese culture, and studies how the cohesive force of the Chinese nation in different regions has been unconsciously established through those roots.
Food Is Heaven, Ge Liang’s latest full-length novel, is narrated from the perspective of food culture and offers the experience of historical legends to readers by telling stories of simple and repetitive daily routines, forming the writer’s unique perspective of observing and writing about Hong Kong, China. The “eating” in the novel is treated not merely as a daily need in life, but as a reflection on culture and history in the broader sense.
Scarlet Bird and Paper Hawk by Ge Liang have inherited the style of novel of society which began with The Plum in the Golden Vase, carefully depicting scenes of daily life and exuding the great charm of antiquity. This coincides with the trend in contemporary Chinese literature toward using local resources and seeking cultural identity after the 1990s. However, while the neo-classical texts of Ge Liang are quite realistic in appearance, their inner vitality and spirit cannot be easily replicated. In contrast, the “Jiangnan Trilogy” by Ge Fei is far less imitative of classical novels than the novels of Ge Liang, but the pursuit of utopia is used throughout the trilogy to connect the main storylines of the destinies of four generations of the Lu family and is closely related to China’s grand history over the past century. While drawing on ancient Chinese cultural resources, Ge Fei injects brand new and heterogeneous elements into his works, reviving traditional lyrical styles and creating a new “Chinese poetics.”
The short stories written by Ge Liang are simple yet sophisticated, always revealing a slice of life through plain narration. His short stories not only allow one to trace the “pioneering” influence of Su Tong but also carry Su Tong’s unique writing style and characteristics. It seems that Ge Liang is able to offer insight into the softest part of humanity, narrating fatalistic yet hardworking characters. His stories are written in a detailed and authentic style, exhibiting the literary memory of a young southern writer in a “more southern” region with a “southern imaginary” form linked to writers of Su Tong’s generation. This form includes cultural, geographical, and daily life features. Every life detail and the aesthetic style contained has become the basic tone and color of Ge Liang’s writing, forming a literary narrative with a distinct style.
Academic Institution