Time: The end of 2006
Place: Beijing Xiaoxitian

Part One of Two

Zhang Qinghua: Where did your earliest impulse to write come from? Was it during your early teens, or were you even younger? What influenced you to become a writer? How long did it take you to become a true writer with published works?

Yu Hua: I started writing in the 1980's. That was China's most brilliant period of literature in a half century-- almost all literary journals published several hundred thousand copies. My start in writing has a definite relationship with this. Also, I enjoyed reading. But what was it after all that made me decide to be a writer? Now that I think about it, I can't exactly remember. But I actually don't believe that this question is important; what's important is why so many people choose not to persist while others do. An author's maturation is definitely intimately related to his environment; when I wrote my first short story, publishing books was not that important,but being published in a famous periodical was. By writing one short story, an author could become famous. With this premise, our generation of writers all were fundamentally first writers of short stories, then of novelettes, before they finally went on to write longer pieces of fiction. For me, the first three short stories are important. What encouraged me in writing the first short story was the need to finish it, this conviction.

Zhang: Were you a dentist then?

Yu: Yes. I was twenty three at the time. What encouraged my second short story was the discovery of a few exquisite sentences, and this was an extremely important element that compelled me to go on. Of course, now when I look back on it those lines were a mess. When I wrote the third short story, I discovered that one character I was writing about was very interesting, and as a result I progressed with it quickly. At that point the story was published.

Zhang: Published where?

Yu: In Xichao, the first issue of 1983. It was written very poorly but was still published.

Zhang: What was it called?

Yu: 'The First Dormitory'. I've always been unwilling to let people know about this piece of fiction.

Zhang: Did you use the name 'Yu Hua'?

Yu: Yes, though at that time I had thought of using a pen-name. Afterwards I decided against it. I knew that it would be hard to be published, and I was afraid that even if I was published people wouldn't say that it was my work. So in the end I did not use a pen-name. There was one benefit to sending drafts to publications back then-- we didn't need to attach stamps. As long as you cut a corner into the envelope, the publication would pay for it.

Zhang: This continued until the 80's.

Yu: Yes. And if it was returned I would just turn over the envelope, change the name of the periodical, cut another corner, use some glue, and throw it into a mailbox. I marvelled at how my stories traveled even farther than I had-- of course, in China. For me, a very significant event was when some of my freelance work was published in Beijing Literature. They then awarded me the Beijing Literature Prize after the evaluation committee voted it first. My career as an author probably started at that moment.

Two Teachers: Franz Kafka and Kawabata Yasunari

Zhang: You and another few authors have been collectively called 'vanguard authors'. In the literary climate of the 80's, although your emergence was inevitable, it was also quite sudden. Where did your avant-garde writing style come from and when did it form?

Yu: My first writings were not different from other writing of the time. I just mentioned that in 1984 I won the Beijing Literature Prize. But this process was not always smooth and did not become popular all over the country that quickly and win a national prize. Many years later, I bumped into a friend who voted for me for that prize, and he said that at that time the judges felt it was a pity that it had been ignored by the national prizes, because many of them actually went to short stories from Beijing Literature.

Zhang: Was your style in that fiction the same as your later style?

Yu: Not really.

Zhang: Thankfully it wasn't criticized. If it was, it would have misled you greatly.

Yu: Well, it's like this. At that time many publications had returned my works, including the Peoples' Literature, because I always first sent my drafts to them and Harvest. When they returned my submissions I would feel disheartened but also very rebellious. But eventually I understood something-- that when I sent my works to a periodical, only if my work was more superior than the others could I catch the attention of the editor. Only then could they discover a new author and be willing to cultivate them. Actually, I think this is a good thing. Like you just mentioned, if I had won a national prize prematurely, I would have been misled. So those first steps, from beginning to end, were always small accomplishments, not big ones. Afterwards, one winter night in southern China where there is no heating, I read Kafka's 'Country Doctor' while wrapped in a quilt. I was dumbstruck, I never knew fiction could be written like that!

Zhang: When was this around?

Yu: 1986. At that time I had gone to Hangzhou, and the Peoples' Literature Press had just printed the 'Selected Works of Kafka'. There was only one copy left when an writer friend of mine went to buy it. He gave it to me when I left. It was the second night when I read 'Country Doctor'. The deepest impression came from his descriptions of the horse-- the horse was extremely free. Our traditional education in fiction writing told us to tie one character to the next. This is a lot like a chain. Lets say for example that someone goes out of a door, they go downstairs, after that they will probably face an alleyway or a large street. How would Kafka write it? 'They walked out the door, and then they are at the square.' There is no fooling around with cushioning.

Zhang: Episodic.

Yu: Yes. On this point, Kafka enlightened me. Why do I say that I am a writer with very good luck? Because I didn't have great success but also didn't experience failure. Failure would have driven me back to pulling teeth. I'm extremely thankful that from 1983 onward I was publishing works, but I believe my true works were from 1987 onward.

Zhang: Had you read Kawabata Yasunari earlier than Kafka?

Yu: You could say that Yasunari was my first teacher of liturature. Although I'm now very far from him I'm also still very grateful to him-- he taught me how to write details. He made me be enamored with writing details. Aftewards I read Yukio Mishima and other Japanese works, and discovered that they all pay close attention to detail but have loose structure, unlike 20th century European literature that stresses storytelling. After going to Japan I understood-- Japan is a country that stresses detail everywhere. The stress of detail in Japanese literature comes from the stress of detail in history, cultural and life.

Zhang: In what work did you establish your true style?

Yu: 'Distant Journey at Eighteen'. I'm extremely thankful for the experience of publishing from 1983 to 1987. Looking at the time, it's a really strange coincidence; my first short story 'First Dormitory' was published in Xichao in 1983. My first award-winning piece, 'Star', was published in Beijing Literature in 1984. My true writing started with 'Distant Journey at Eighteen', which ws published in Beijing Literature in 1987.

Zhang: Everyone would prefer to consider 'Distant Journey at Eighteen' as your first work.

Yu: Hah, what's important is that I am willing to consider it as my maiden work, because I'm unwilling to give my immature works to my readers.

Zhang: The significance of this work is that it changed the previous Chinese concept of fiction-- to simple be positive. Actually, it provided an entirely different thing, that is, the brutal truth. Because eighteen is a symbol. His morals and conduct in society go out the door, and on a long journey and he learns a lesson, discovers that the morals of adults are worse than the morals of minors. After understanding this, the implication is that his life will be smoother from then on. I believe this is a criticism of the failure of moral education in China at that time, and something that the older generation today remembers in their heart of hearts. As we mature, we become 'bad'. I don't believe it is good for this work to be a part of middle-school curriculums because it doesn't have that 'positive value' to impart to adolescents.

Yu: It's difficult to approach. I had seen something in a tabloid about an apple transport car being robbed. I thought it was so strange... during that time, all news in China was positive. This is what made me write that short story. Kafka didn't teach me how to write like this, but to cast off my shackles...

(Part two can be found at: http://www.eeo.com.cn/ens/business_life/2007/03/15/49464.html)