This year’s Macao Arts Festive presented Westland Feuds, a traditional Chinese play rarely seen on stage in Macau. The play was adapted from the fiction book of the same title written by the Shaanxi author, Chen Zhongshi.
Consisting of 500,000 Chinese characters, Westland Feuds was first published in the renowned literary magazine Dangdai (across two issues: in the sixth issue of 1992 and the first issue of 1993). After that, People’s Literature Publishing House published it in one volume, and in four months it was reprinted six times with 400,000 copies. The popularity of the book was sensational, making it the most remarkable long fiction work the 1990’s in China, and considered “the best long fiction in China since the ‘May 4th movement’”.
In Westland Feuds, Chen Zhongshi describes the conflict between the two families of Bai and Lu over a period of 50 years. From the Xinhai Revolution to the civil war between the Nationalist and the Communists, the story goes through the ups and downs of the families of Bai Jiaxuan and Lu Zilin. Through the stories of this community, the background of the history of China during this turbulent half of a century is reflected. It is not only a fiction mixed with fantasy and realism, but is also an epic monumental literary work that reveals politics, culture and humanity.
However, Chen Zhongshi’s descriptions of politics and sex in Westland Feuds have been widely criticised. Before he was eventually awarded the fourth Maodun Literary Award (1997), he overcame quite some obstacles, and in the end he had to make certain amendments in the book concerning some political issues and the straight-forwardness of certain descriptions.
Compared to the “sexual” descriptions which challenged the traditional cultural tolerance, the “political issues” were actually much more complicated. When talking about the book, Chen once said, “Westland Feuds is a griddle” (a cooking utensil which Shaanxi people use to make pancakes). While cooking, the griddle has to be turned upside down and over again in order to cook the pancake inside. The writer used this as a metaphor to reveal the reality of China during this half a century, where people were being tormented due to changes in political powers as well as constant interpretations of ideologies.
The book not only describes the power struggles between the Nationalists and the Communists, but also the incessant “metamorphosis” and “stripping off” of the modern Chinese society during its development, which brought fundamental destruction to the traditional family system and the social order.
This indeed is different from the traditional Chinese way of thinking and that is why the book received so much criticism. It was not until 2002, that the National Educational Department of China listed Westland Feuds on “the booklist of University students” that the “political issues” controversy was eventually silenced.
Today, Westland Feuds is recognised as a classic literary work. And since it’s publication, there have been numerous adaptations for radio broadcast shows, Shaanxi opera, ceramic pieces, comic story books, dramas, dance, cinema, television and other artistic interpretations and forms.
In 2005, Beijing People’s Art Theatre completed its adaptation of Westland Feuds into a play. The following year after its premiere at the Beijing Capital Theatre, it toured nationally. In 2015, Shaanxi People’s Art Theatre put it on stage based on the script of the Beijing People’s Art Theatre version of the work.
This year, it was brought to the stage in Macau to the appreciation of local audiences. It is indeed a unique and precious opportunity for us. Apart from this, there is also a television adaptation of the book in a series of 85 episodes, which is very closely adapted according to the original work and was broadcast in mainland China recently. For anyone who is interested, it is worth checking it out on the Internet for further information.
