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 When speaking the truth means breaking a silence |
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ILoveNewYork
头衔: 海归中尉
加入时间: 2007/01/17
文章: 13
海归分: 6072
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作者：ILoveNewYork 在 海归商务 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
When speaking the truth means breaking a silence
VIVIAN WU
In Shanghai's muzzled arts world, softly spoken playwright Sha Yexin has made a habit of irritating officialdom with his independent voice.
The self-described off-beat writer has acquired a reputation for exposing and criticising the dark side of society, through his plays, articles and willingness to speak out.
Last month, he was the first mainland intellectual to voice support publicly for writer Zhang Yihe's rare challenge of the General Administration of Press and Publication's (GAPP) ban of eight books.
In a strongly worded article circulated on the internet, Sha condemned the clampdown as an attack on the freedom of publication and described GAPP deputy director Wu Shulin , the man blamed for the ban, as turning "millions of readers at home and abroad into enemies".
During the past two decades, Sha's reputation has spread beyond the mainland's borders and today the 68-year-old playwright will be in Hong Kong to attend the annual meeting of PEN International, the writers' association, despite considerable pressure from culture officials in Shanghai.
Born in Nanjing to a Hui Muslim family, Sha was raised to be smart, disobedient and humorous. He had an early start as an agitator, writing a critique of an article by Gang of Four member Yao Wenyuan while at college. After graduating from East China Normal University's Chinese Department, he started researching drama and published his first one-act play, Yi Fen Qian (One Cent), in 1965.
The Cultural Revolution put a hold on his output until 1979 when Sha wrote his first full-length play, If I Were Real (also called The Imposter), a satirical comedy harshly exposing the favouritism in a chain of corrupt Shanghai officials.
The play was a breath of fresh air in a city and country exhausted by political movements, but its reflection of real social problems prompted a national ban in 1981 by then party general secretary Hu Yaobang .
Undaunted, Sha continued to write controversial dramas including Yesu, Kongzi, Pitoushi Lienong (Jesus, Confucius and John Lennon), which was invited to festivals in Germany in 1989 and 1991. But the authorities stopped the play from going abroad and it has never been approved for an overseas production.
He did try to work within the system, accepting an offer in 1985 to head the Shanghai People's Art Theatre, the organisation he had been assigned to since 1963. He stepped down in 1993 after two terms because of the prospect of becoming trapped in bureaucratic affairs, losing his freedom of expression and criticism.
"I was trying to push away all the official titles; once you are financially dependent, you cannot keep your soul and speech independent," Sha recalled yesterday, in an interview in the book-cluttered study of his home in Shanghai's Minhang suburb.
"I refused to participate in any kind of party education or brainwashing. I like to say whatever I want to say. I try not to tell lies, or use false words. I'd rather shut up."
Since then, he has focused on writing dramas and articles. His play Jiang Qing and Her Husbands was published in Hong Kong 1992. In 1994 a Hong Kong company wanted to turn it into a movie, but mainland intervention put a stop to the project.
His 1998 dramatic tribute to Peking University's first president and free-speech advocate Tsai Yuan-pei, What A Blissful Encounter of Mr Tsai, was turned down by mainland theatres before reaching the stage in Hong Kong in 2000.
Recently, Sha has gained attention for a series of essays critical of officialdom and, as a result, been labelled the most outspoken intellectual in Shanghai. He has also written about his Muslim heritage, in an article published in September.
He spent three years researching and writing The Culture of Corruption, an attack on official corruption and a warning that it has put China on the verge of its most dangerous period in history.
The essay came out months before Shanghai's pension fund scandal and included criticism squarely aimed at the city government over its failure to investigate corruption.
In The Culture of Propaganda, he criticised the party's totalitarian approach to stifling opinion and the use of the media as a government and party propaganda tool.
All the articles were widely circulated on the internet and generated repeated pressure from the authorities, but Sha is unrepentant. He said, "as a righteous intellectual, how can one not show resentment about the darkness in the world and show basic sympathy and compassion for those who suffer?"
The Shanghai arts world has also been target of Sha's critical tongue. The city is the mainland's most cosmopolitan centre and its residents are open to outside ideas and fashions. But Sha says its intellectual community is escapist and has squandered an opportunity to revive its intellectual heritage and take the national cultural lead.
"No impressive works of literature have been produced in Shanghai. Even its popular music, magazines and newspapers lag far behind those of Beijing. Shanghai is worsening all the time.
"Not many Shanghai writers tell the truth, and most are muted on many important social issues."
Although a party member, Sha says he has distanced himself from the city's official structure and has also explored other parts of the country to seek out like-minded souls motivated by a similar commitment to public service.
He says he is always aware of the potential dangers in speaking out, but believes that what he is doing is right and that a wise government should have the strength to bear criticism and take advice.
"They should tolerate genuine critical realism, which will do good rather than harm to stability. Crude and simple government measures [to block freedom of speech] don't work, especially when times change," Sha said.
"I just want to be good to the party. I am always constructive, sensible and have kind intentions, despite the aggressive criticism of my recent articles. If they considered creating a truly harmonious atmosphere by freeing up the media and speech, it would benefit both the government and the public."
作者：ILoveNewYork 在 海归商务 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
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 When speaking the truth means breaking a silence -- ILoveNewYork - (6358 Byte) 2007-2-07 周三, 03:04 (2192 reads)
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