(East-West Question) Ding Qi: How do Mongolian interracial marriage and love novels express ethnic integration?
China News Agency, Tianjin, February 23rd, title: Ding Qi: How do Mongolian interracial marriage and love novels express ethnic integration?
China News Agency reporter Zhang Daozheng
Mongolian inter-ethnic marriage novels express the prayer of ethnic integration through the love relationship between young men and women of different ethnic groups, and reflect the sense of literary mission of maintaining national unity and forging a sense of community of the Chinese nation.
How did this unique type of narrative come to be?
How to express national cultural kinship through the theme of eternal love?
What is the practical significance of these creations?
Professor Ding Qi from the School of Letters of Tianjin Normal University recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West Questions" to interpret this.
The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
China News Service reporter: Interracial marriage and love have become an important theme in Mongolian novels. In what social and historical environment was it formed?
Ding Qi:
China is a unified multi-ethnic country with the Han nationality as the main body. Different ethnic groups maintain ethnic boundaries due to differences in geography, history, culture and belief.
However, from a long-term historical point of view, multi-ethnic exchanges and integration are still the mainstream trend, and inter-ethnic intermarriage is an important form of ethnic exchanges.
"Harmony" was once an important way for Chinese feudal dynasties to consolidate harmonious relations with the surrounding ethnic minorities. The love stories of Zhaojun's departure from the fortress, Songtsan Gampo and Princess Wencheng are all literary and artistic crystallizations under the historical background of Harmony.
In December 2021, the dance drama "Zhaojun Out of the Forbidden City" will be staged in Guiyang, Guizhou Province.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Qu Honglun
The Mongolian people are a minority that has more intermarriages with foreigners.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Mongolian people intermarryed with other ethnic groups, especially with the Manchu, Han and Daur people.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, along with the inclusive ethnic policy and the influx of Han immigrants, the Han nationality became the main target of Mongolian intermarriage. Therefore, Mongolian interracial marriage novels are the most common stories about Mongolian-Han intermarriage.
China News Service reporter: What are the creative characteristics of Mongolian interracial marriage and love novels in the new era?
Ding Qi:
Mongolian literature has always had a fine tradition of maintaining national unity, from Malaqinfu and Odesir in the 1950s and 1960s to Ayunga, Guo Xuebo, Bai Xuelin, Haiquan and other writers in the new era , both praised harmonious ethnic relations in literary and artistic ways, and condemned narrow ethnic concepts and acts of ethnic division.
Interracial marriage and love novels inherit this fine literary tradition and use love and marriage as a carrier to express the cultural kinship among Chinese multi-ethnic groups.
In the new period, the creation of Mongolian interracial marriage and love novels is increasingly prosperous, and reflects the dynamic development and changes of Mongolian society and spiritual confusion.
In the process of Mongolian national modernization, the social economy and culture have developed rapidly, but the machine-led industrial civilization has gradually replaced the ancient nomadic way of life and traditional values.
Whether it is to maintain oneself or embark on the train of modernization, at what levels to maintain oneself, and at which levels should be innovated, Mongolian novels, under the lead of love clues, give in-depth thinking and aesthetic expression to these times and social transformation issues.
On February 19, 2019, Mongolian students from Changchun Hope High School performed a dance.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Yao
Novels often use the love relationship of young men and women as a metaphor for national exchange and integration. On the one hand, it expresses national cultural confidence, reproduces the magical regional customs of the Mongolian people from the perspective of foreign observers, sings the traditional virtues of the Mongolian people's simplicity, kindness and selfless dedication, and promotes grandeur and grandeur. On the other hand, it also shows anxiety and development confusion about social transformation, which can also be regarded as thinking about the future and destiny of the nation.
The profound ideological connotation and full emotion of Mongolian novels originate from its creative principle of paying attention to the reality of social development and complying with authenticity.
China News Service reporter: What are the main obstacles to interracial marriage? How do Mongolian writers express ethnic integration?
Ding Qi:
The main obstacle to interracial marriage is ethnic differences.
Due to differences in ethnic origin, region, language, customs, culture, religious belief, etc., objective ethnic differences are formed.
Generally speaking, when the two ethnic groups have a high degree of cultural assimilation, and there is no language barrier between the ethnic groups, no religious conflict or mutual tolerance between the two ethnic groups, there will be a large number of intermarriages between the two ethnic groups. will encounter resistance.
Based on this social reality, Mongolian inter-ethnic marriage and love novels often set ethnic differences as narrative conflicts. The hero and heroine fight for pure love. A happy marriage does not cause estrangement, but strengthens ethnic exchanges and cultural integration, with romantic love narratives. Express a strong desire for ethnic exchange and integration.
On February 10, 2019, entertainers performed the marriage scene in a Mongolian wedding.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Wenhua
"Mashan Intermarriage Examination" is based on the first case of interracial intermarriage in Mucun, Mashan, and reproduces the historical process of interracial intermarriage before and after the founding of New China from the perspective of life emotions.
Before the founding of New China, Dagui and Alima were forced to separate due to opposition from the tribe. The injured Dagui became a defender of the backward concept of "no intermarriage between Mongolia and Han", and opposed the love between his nephew and Alima's daughter. After the twists and turns, the lovers finally tied the knot.
The works reflect the historical process of inter-ethnic intermarriage from closed to open, explaining that ethnic differences do not exist forever, and the social and cultural commonality of human beings makes this concept a history.
With the progress of the times, the resistance of primary ethnic differences will decrease, but at the same time, new dynamic ethnic differences will emerge, which will bring resistance to interracial intermarriage in a more subtle form.
Fiction creation must possess the power of realistic observation and artistic expression, explore these dynamic differences, interpret and break the resistance in the form of literature, and demonstrate the moving power of the unity of all ethnic groups.
Surtaratu's "Reunion" is such a typical text.
The novel tells the story of the Han nationality's mother Wang from Beijing to the grassland to find Wang Xiaomei, her daughter who fell in love with the young man in the grassland. Wang's mother firmly opposed the relationship between the two. When she was going through the transfer procedures for her daughter, she found that the secretary Su Mu was a former lover and two single elderly people. Continuing the front line, both mother and daughter married Mongolians.
This work touches on the issue of dynamic ethnic differences. Mongolians and Han people have different progress, ways and forms of modernization, thus forming de facto differences in economic, social and cultural aspects.
Wang Xiaomei's mother and daughter are located in a central city. They are economically prosperous and represent advanced culture, which determines that they have the initiative in marriage, while the Bartel family has almost no say due to their remote location, poor family background and low educational level.
Mother Wang's transformation from rejection to recognition was dramatic and contingent to a certain extent, while Wang Xiaomei showed the demeanor of a contemporary youth who values hard work and fame and fortune.
This work not only reflects the hidden and dynamic ethnic differences, but also reveals the various possibilities to resolve this contradiction.
China News Agency reporter: What is the social practical significance of Mongolian interracial marriage novels?
Ding Qi: Interracial
marriage and romance novels always have a sense of literary mission to strengthen national unity. From the perspective of national harmony, it shows the customs, cultural psychology and values of various nationalities, and expresses the openness of "each is beautiful, and the beauty is shared". national concept.
Under the aesthetic vision of seeking common ground while reserving differences, efforts are made to strengthen the cultural kinship between all ethnic groups in China, which also forms the overall aesthetic style of interracial marriage novels that are warm, bright and harmonious.
On May 18, 2021, two girls in Mongolian costumes admired the oil painting "Festival - Dressed Buryatia".
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Wenhua
Mongolian inter-ethnic marriage and love novels are devoted to the theme of ethnic harmony. They believe that although there are ethnic boundaries between different ethnic groups, there is no cultural gap. The commonality of human culture enables different ethnic groups to realize integration on the basis of mutual understanding. With one after another love myths, the long-standing rigid national concept of "non-I races must be different" has been eliminated.
In reality, interracial marriage is a complex issue involving economic, social, cultural, gender and other factors, and it cannot be completely resolved overnight.
In the future, Mongolian fiction creation must be rooted in real life, deeply consider the primary differences between ethnic groups and the dynamic differences developed with the times, and create works that truly reflect the real society and are full of ideological creativity.
Let literature play the function of participating in reality and shaping the world in addition to aesthetics, exert influence in the field of national thought, and contribute wisdom to casting the consciousness of the Chinese nation's community.
(over)
Interviewee Profile:
Ding Qi, professor of the School of Literature of Tianjin Normal University, director of Tianjin Jiefang District Literature Research Association, director of Tianjin Liangbin Literature Research Association, and the 10th contract writer of Tianjin Writers Association. His main research fields are Chinese contemporary literature and ethnic literature.
Published 2 academic monographs, presided over 2 projects of the National Social Science Fund, published more than 70 academic articles in "Chinese Social Sciences", "National Literature Research", "Journal of Minzu University of China" and other publications, and won the 15th Tianjin Social Science The third prize for outstanding achievements, the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department Excellent Research Report Award and other awards.