作家名片 | 张楚：写出这个尘世的各种味道

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近年来，中华文化“走出去”的影响力不断扩大，在全球文化多元化发展日益兴盛的背景下，中国文化译研网(CCTSS)联合中国作家协会《小说选刊》杂志社，启动“新世纪中国当代作家、作品海外传播数据库”项目，将100位中国当代优秀作家的简介、代表作品以及展示作家风采的短视频翻译为10种语言，集结成1000张中国作家名片向全球推介。千张“作家名片”将鲜明地向世界宣告：我是中国作家，我在进行中国创作。

此种形式和规模是中国故事走向世界的一大创新，会让世界更加全面、客观、公正地了解中国优秀作家作品，同时也是打通中国文化走向世界的“最后一公里”。

张楚，本名张小伟，男，1974年3月生，籍贯河北省滦南县。大学毕业后在国税局当了十八年公务员，后调到河北省作家协会任专业作家。曾就读于鲁迅文学院。2001年发表处女作，2014年短篇小说《良宵》获第六届鲁迅文学奖。《良宵》《野象小姐》《曲别针》《樱桃记》《七根孔雀羽毛》等作品被翻译成英文、意大利文、德文、西班牙文、日文、韩文、俄文等。

张楚的创作题材主要以县城故事为主。他的作品既不是一种带有启蒙批判眼光的“归去来”之旅，也不是立志走出小城的个人奋斗史，它所聚焦的是此时此地的“此在”。小城镇是他的生活场域，是他的小说叙事空间。铁凝曾这样评价其作品：“他十分敏锐地洞察了小镇人物所面临的生存困境和精神焦虑，并通过展示不同命运、不同性格的人的生存状态，通过刻画他们的生存困境和困境中的挣扎，表达着自己对于生活和生命真相的追问和思索”。李敬泽先生说：“张楚的声音超然全能，有一种着意克制的悲悯，似乎在他看来，人的无边守望本是自然。他之令人心动而又难以解释，是因为，他之所写，就是我们所'在’，就是在我们说得出来的、滔滔不绝地说着的一切之下，那个沉默的、无以言喻、难以判断的内心区域。”

中篇小说集《七根孔雀羽毛》收录了七部中篇小说。《七根孔雀羽毛》描写了在物质主义钳制下的人的状态，人人都在渴望幸福，并且为了幸福铤而走险。当他们在不归路上行走时，往往忘记了灵魂的软弱、温润和明亮。《梁夏》中，留守妇女萧翠芝对梁夏产生了感情，某天夜里引诱梁夏不成，为了保全名节选择了诬告梁夏强奸她。梁夏为自己的清白，反复上告，从乡里到县里最后到市里，并最终导致了萧翠芝上吊自杀。萧翠芝的悲剧并不是个体的悲剧，而是时代造成的悲剧。《夏朗的望远镜》中，张楚在夏朗身上，设置了一个“出逃——返回”的结构，呈现出日常生活令人震惊的事实。夏朗种种抗争的失败，预示这是一个新时代“娜拉出走”的故事。天文望远镜的意义，恰恰在于它的实用功能在夏朗现实生活中的“无用性”。这个关于日常生活微观政治的故事，并无大喜大悲的离奇情节，却让人看到隐藏在日常生活表象下的精神处境。

2017年，张楚写了一系列关于“河流”的小说。在工业时代，远古的河流被污染、被遗忘，而在河流里居住了上千年的河神们，有着如何的精神疑虑和苦恼？张楚想用类似《聊斋》的小说，对世道人心做出新的诠释。

Zhang Chu

Zhang Chu, real name Zhang Xiaowei, was born in Luannan County (Hebei Province), in March 1974. After graduating from university, he worked as a public servant at the State Administration of Taxation before transferring to a position as a professional writer for the Hebei Provincial Writers Association. He previously studied at the Lu Xun Literary Institute. He made his debut in 2001. In 2014, his short story A Fine Evening won the 6th Lu Xun Prize for Literature. This story, as well as Miss Elephant, Paper Clip, The Cherry Memoirs and Seven Peacock Feathers have been translated into languages such as English, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Russian.

Zhang Chu's works largely revolve around the seat of his home county. Contrary to the many works that evoke a protagonist who makes the difficult decision to move to the city, and who later returns to make enlightened, critical observations of their hometown, Zhang Chu's stories are profoundly anchored in the immediate realities of his place of birth. The small city is both his chosen place of residence and the main setting of his stories. Tie Ning, another eminent writer and the President of the China Writers Association, once made the following critique of Zhang's works: "He makes highly acute observations of the life-and-death struggles and psychological distress that his characters face. By demonstrating how people of different backgrounds and personalities struggle to ensure their survival in spite of dire circumstances, Zhang shares his reflections on the true nature of life." Li Jingze, an eminent literary critic, offered the following praise: "Zhang Chu's voice is transcendental and universal. It has a restrained pity, almost as though, as far as he is concerned, it is in our nature to always long for more. If it is hard to put one's finger on why his works are so moving, it's because they are so firmly embedded in our present reality — they represent the silent and ineffable feelings that linger underneath everything that we do manage to express."

Seven Peacock Feathers is a collection of seven novellas. These novellas evoke how people think and live within the confines of materialistic society. Everyone longs for happiness and is willing to do whatever it takes to find it. By the time they pursue this material "happiness" beyond the point of no return, they have lost all sense of tenderness — of the importance of spiritual satisfaction. In Liang Xia, Xiao Cuizhi, one of China's "rural left-behind women" (women whose husbands leave to work in the city for most of the year), develops feelings for Liang Xia. After Cuizhi fails to seduce Xia one evening, she falsely accuses him of raping her to protect her moral integrity. In a bid to prove his innocence, Liang Xia repeatedly appeals the conviction. The case is taken from the village, to the county, and finally to the municipal courts, with the result that Xiao Cuizhi hangs herself. The story of Xiao Cuizhi is not just an individual tragedy — it is a collective tragedy caused by the mores of the time. In Xia Lang's Telescope, Zhang Chu tells the protagonist's tale in two parts — their escape and their return — recounting the startling details of their daily life during these tumultuous times. Xia Lang's various failed rebellions tell the greater story of what happened after a new generation of Chinese people "walked out" [translator's note: a reference to Lu Xun's essay What Happens after Nora Walks Out?] on a constrictive society. The significance of the telescope is precisely that its practical function serves no purpose in Xia Lang's real life. While this story about the "micro-politics" of everyday life doesn't have a dramatic plotline, it nonetheless offers readers insights into the spiritual realm that lingers under the mundane surface.

In 2017, Zhang Chu wrote a series of stories about rivers. In the industrial age, the ancient rivers have been polluted and neglected. What are the concerns and woes of the river spirits who have lived there for thousands of years? Zhang Chu uses a format similar to the Strange Tales of the Lodge of Leisure to offer unique interpretations of life and human nature.

编辑 | 朱贺芳

“文化互译，沟通世界”