The society portrayed in Ghostland suggests a cynical attitude on the part of the author/narrator with regard to the influence of newspapers upon society. On one occasion in
1 It is worth noting that Zhang returns to the theme of the exploitation of women in his short story 'The Smile' ^ , Xiandai 5*^ 193*0, and the story 'Back and Breasts'
• » LiangyouBook Co., Shanghai (19. 2. 1933)
actually describes one woman's successful escape from exploit ation and oppression.
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•A Diary of Ghostland1 the gentlemen of Ghostland*s press are handsomely bribed by one of the sitting party millionaires to write articles in a way sympathetic to the sitting party. . We have already noted above the narrator’s surprise when a meeting that he has attended is reported quite differently in the news- papers the following day. On another occasion, Ba Shandou, in a press conference held early on in the election campaign, deliberately exaggerates rumours of a plot by the lower classes to infiltrate the upper classes when addressing the press.
When the press have left and Ba Shandou is questioned by Lu Lelao about the degree of seriousness of this rumoured threat, Ba answers: "It is of course best to put it like this to journalists, so as to attract people's attention ..##"
The implication behind the references to newspapers and news paper reporting in 'A Diary of Ghostland' is their ability to manipulate and be manipulated; carefully controlled propaganda in newspapers can thus be used to orchestrate society.
Another example of control by the ruling classes in Ghostland is the system whereby writers are controlled by the state.
According to this system all writers are required to register with the state before they are allowed to publish#
The economic exploitation of woman already mentioned above is not the only example of social iniquity to be found in 'A Diary of Ghostland'. Another notable example is denial of higher education to the lower classes. The social system in Ghostland is geared to the perpetuation of the class system and to the retention of power in the hands of the upper classes* To this end, success and power depend entirely on wealth and only those with sufficient funds are able to attend university in Ghostland. In the early part of the work it appears that
political power is in the hands of the three wealthy commoners Lu, Pan and Yan, but in the final analysis these three powerful men are themselves under the thumb of the banks who can oust
the rulers of the day and replace them with yesterday's opposition#
a measure of cynicism, but this cynicism is as nothing when compared with the fiercely sarcastic descriptions of the words and actions of the Christian priest Zhu Shen’en. When the priest is involved in disputation about the evolution of the human race, he puts forward a fundamentalist Christian viewpoint, saying
that according to the Bible we are all descended from Adam and Eve, or as he comically corrects himself: no, we should say
Eve*s name first because cultured people show respect for ladies (*.... A , f t 11'} & . 35 4 L g ,
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He goes on to say that the biblical evidence is based on scientific fact and in a vain effort to make his claims appear more plausible, he proceeds to describe a meeting he had with Jehovah: "He
^~Jehovah_J7 had just finished lunch, and Abraham collected up his knife and fork," ( ^ 'ffc, P)'] ^ 'fife. ,
U /jf^D ^ ^<3 U) On an earlier
occasion Zhu Shen’en had claimed to be in direct communication with Jesus, Hearing this, a newspaper reporter was prompted to ask what Jesus looked like. The priest answered: .... "He is still wearing a crown of thorns, and is clothed in a purple cloak, and above his head there is a halo." ( p.... 'fe lE.
%>) Halo,).
When asked what language Jesus spoke, he answered after a pause: "Chinese", When his interlocutor expressed surprise, the priest went on to explain: "Yes, Chinese, and what is more he also has a bit of a Cantonese accent." ( f 7 fjP ?
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Apart from Ghostland*s political circles, the narrator also gets to know literary figures through introductions from his friend Xiao, himself a writer. The portraits of Sima Xidu
*?) and Hei Lingling ^ are
marvellous caricatures of pretentious literary types. Sima Xidu is described as an expert on literature of the decadent school
^5) 0 L 'i. 11318 deliberately pursued
the kind of existence that leads to neurasthenia; he drinks heavily, smokes opium and sleeps too little, all in the interest of being a literary expert. Hei Lingling, on the other hand, is termed an
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expert on the extreme symbolist school of literature
4jL > C - He talks gobbledygook which is most amusing and totally incomprehensible to the narrator. This is one example;
nI think .... this afternoon, we will be able to drop the intestines of the golden fly onto the grade five striped tiger seal of the nightingale, and also we will go and see whether golden toothed humour can obtain the white rose of the leather bag, or whether it can obtain the ink-bottle of the nine-tailed fox's mother." |
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. j )These two portraits of Ghostland literary types mark a high point in the work and point the way ahead for Zhang's
characterisations in subsequent short stories as well as longer fantastical works like Golden Duck Empire ^ ©//>• ^ The techniques of exaggeration and seizing upon a distinctive
characteristic to which repeated attention is drawn are the two techniques most commonly employed in Zhang's later works.
Sima Xidu and Hei Lingling can be seen as outrageous extrapolations of literary types to be found in China in the late twenties and early thirties. These two caricatures are part of an attack waged throughout 'A Diary of Ghostland' on the romantic school of writers in.the May Fourth era. Another thinly veiled attack is contained in the description of a visit paid by the narrator to the two universities of Ghostland's capital: The State Arts University © — X^. ^ ; and the State Capital University © ^ * The Arts University is for those who espouse the romantic cause. In the main lecture hall, there are all kinds of different chairs arranged haphazardly about the hall. The rooms in the hall of residence use different systems of numbering and are not in sequence.
The implication is that for romanticists, disorganisation is a valid end in itself. In another example, a writer called Wanye
is described at work on a romantic novel. In the middle of a luncheon party, Wanye suddenly bursts out: "All of a sudden inspiration has come to me .•••" ( fr
Inspiration ^ sj , , , , ) • He then hurries off to write the conclusion to his romantic novel before he loses this inspiration. An integral part of his method of composition is to throw a pair
of dice. On one die the following words are inscribed: an actress; a girl full of sorrow and illness; a poetess; a princess; a girl student; and a prostitute. The other die has on it: an actor; a boy full of sorrow and illness; a poet; a prince; a male teacher; and a playboy. ( 'j'q 7 ^
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The dice are thrown to determine the participants in the novel. All the examples of romantic school characters and their
activities that have been outlined above suggest that Zhang held his romanticist contemporaries in considerable contempt and considered their approach to literary creativity as haphazard.
'A Diary of Ghostland1 is an interesting if not entirely successful first attempt by Zhang to use a broader canvas. Not surprisingly it elicited indifferent reviews by contemporaries
1
Li Yishui and Qu ^iubai. Li's points have been referred to above; Qu's criticisms though not dissimilar are couched in more tongue-in-cheek terms. Qu implies that Zhang's satirical objectives are too vague, too unspecific, and he advocates
realism rather than using a fantasy scenario, and if one is bent on using a fantasy scenario, then it is better to use the animal kingdom as one's setting, rather than a land peopled by shadowy ghosts.
1 Qu writing under the pseudonym Dong Long wrote a review article entitled 'Hua gou ba' jjgj ^ in Beidou 1:1 (12. 9.-1931).
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Zhang's old friend and fellow writer Wang Xiyan writing more recently is more generous in his assessment of the place of
•A Diary of Ghostland1 in Zhang's development;
"Starting with 'A Diary of Ghostland', Zhang Tianyi elicited peoples' praise because of his ability at fairly pungent satire. His satirical targets were mainly
intellectuals buried in the morass of indecision, contradiction and hypocrisy, and the urban petit- bourgeoisie who led a banal, dull existence."