遷徙與歐美文學

大家好！很高興能夠參加“中澳文學論壇”，也歡迎來自澳大利亞的作家同行Jones、Wright來到廣州，和我們一起探討關于“文學、遷徙、地域”這樣一個論壇主題。對于這個主題，我想大家都會有切身之感，因為我們中的很多人，可能都是這個主題中“遷徙”一詞的親歷者和見證人。

確實，遷徙在今天已經成為一個全球性的話題了，非但在中國，眾所周知，澳洲、歐美等國也都在被這個話題所席卷。那些發生在國與國之間、城與鄉之間的大量的移民和遷居，已經成為我們這個時代少數幾件為各國、各地區所共有的事實之一。

中國有句古諺叫“樹挪死，人挪活”，意思是說，倘若一個人處在困苦、逆境中，那么換個地方生活，或許就能改變逆境。我想，這也是遷徙之于人的最大魅力，通過變遷、游走、流動，借以改善、改良生活。無獨有偶，《圣經》上也有類似的勸誡。《出埃及記》是一篇關于信念的動人故事，可是另一方面，我們也可以理解為，它是一個人帶領一群人遷徙，從而獲得新生的故事。

這種種事例無非是在告訴我們，遷徙是一種古老的人類行為。大抵從人類誕生那天起，遷徙就在伴隨我們，為了存活，我們的祖先中總有人會離開出生地，拖兒帶女，披荊斬棘，一點點地拓展生存疆域；不定到了什么地方，他們就會停下來，開荒，耕種，繁衍……爾后子承父業，由年輕的一代人繼續向遠方探險。所以人類文明的歷史，有時真說不上是因為安居還是來源于遷徙。或者說，人類本來就像鐘擺，幾千年搖晃于安居和遷徙之間，直到今天也不能停止。

今天我們說到遷徙，大概不會有人否認，這是我們時代的一個關鍵詞——也許說到底，在任何時代，它都稱得上是關鍵詞。究其然，我想是因為遷徙帶來太多遷徙之外的東西，不比安居只是安居本身。

我平時很少關注國際新聞，卻也知道，整個歐洲都受困于遷徙之痛，大量中東難民的涌入，把一向平和有序的歐洲逼進了死胡同。對于無辜的歐洲人來說，遷徙這件事，就像一大清早他們醒來，突然發現家門口躺著一群受傷的人，這群人饑餓，哀號，正急迫地想擠進屋里來。很明顯，他們不是自己人，身份可疑而危險。拒絕他們吧，于心不忍，而且很有可能會被攻擊；幫助他們吧，家里的孩子就會餓死。我想，這便是今天歐洲的兩難處境，單純的人道主義在“遷徙”這樣一個強大的現實面前，顯得力不從心。

坦率地說，我了解這一切，不是通過網站新聞，而是依賴文學作品。有一篇小說叫《2666》，前些年在中國很受追捧。這篇小說有一部分是寫到了歐洲的當代生活，主人公是幾個年輕的高校知識分子，分別來自英國、法國、意大利、西班牙。他們相識于一次國際會議上，成了好朋友。這四個朋友，其中有一位是女性，這就使他們的關系變得很曖昧。可是無論如何，他們仍然是好朋友。他們雖然性格不羈，卻很重情誼，常常深夜通電話，表達對彼此的思念。也常常約會，有一次他們就約在倫敦相見了，喝到深更半夜，醉醺醺地上了一輛出租車。車上他們先談了些哲學、文學，爾后很坦誠地談到了愛情。開車的是個巴基斯坦人，起先還參與他們的談話，后來就不說話了。他在聽，慢慢他就聽明白了這四個人的關系，非常震驚，很生氣。于是他就開始罵人了。他罵他們是畜生、母狗，他請他們下車，因為他們不但坐臟了他的車，還弄臟了他的耳朵。后來他就哭了。那個夜晚，我估計那個巴基斯坦人的星空是倒塌了，那是他一生最恥辱的經驗，他聽了他不該聽的話，知道這世上還有人在過著豬狗不如的生活。他的一生就這樣毀了。那幾個歐洲人呢，一開始是被他罵悶了，后來氣不過，就把巴基斯坦人從車上揪下來打了一頓，他們越打越生氣，以至于忘了為什么要打他，就是憑著本能，心懷憤恨，直到把他打成肉糊，他們害怕了，開著他的車跑了。車上他們也哭了。

我想說明的是，《2666》的主題并不是寫移民，可是這偶爾一個閑筆，卻足以使我們窺見歐洲社會的一個側影，那就是紛繁，混亂，人心深處，烽煙四起。如果我們不能說這全是因遷徙而起，至少可以說，遷徙得擔很大一部分責任。讀完這篇小說不久，我就看到一則消息，法國正在啟動立法程序，用來處理中東移民、難民問題。我想一件事情，但凡能驚動到國家立法，說明這件事麻煩大了。

較之歐洲，美國的情況略為寬泛些，當然他們本來就是移民國家，對待一切都見怪不怪。有一篇小說叫《沉溺》，前些年出版的，被譽為是當代美國文學里程碑式的作品。為什么這么說呢？因為這篇小說完全是以一個異域人的眼光和思維，來書寫一個我們很熟的、早已被定型的美國。作者胡諾特?迪亞斯是多米尼加人，八九歲的時候跟隨家人來到美國。這小說應該是他的自傳。他們家，先是父親一個人過來打拼，不定期地寄錢回家。這樣過了些年，母親就帶著一家人過來團聚了，卻發現父親已另組了家庭。于是兩家人含而糊之就這么過著，他們住在新澤西的一條小街上，貧窮，嘈雜，絕望，常常母親會哭，其實生活是很無望的。可是因為這小說是以一個外國小孩的視角寫的，他又憂傷，又快樂，又好奇，他知道自己是在美國，所以心里又很珍惜。他觀察街上的行人，看他們怎樣穿衣打扮，聽他們吹口哨，看天上的鴿子……這一切跟他的家鄉有什么不一樣嗎？當然不一樣，因為這是美國。

我讀這篇小說，完全被這個外國小孩的視角迷住了，一個窮國家的窮孩子，雖然來到美國也還是住在貧民窟里，可是跟著他的目光，我們卻看到了一個全新的、朝氣蓬勃的美國，一個越過新澤西的窮街陋巷、只會出現在好萊塢歌舞片里的花團錦簇的美國。而美國人自己寫的小說，我們是看不到這些的，我們看到的只是成人社會的無聊、貧乏、空虛，我們也會看到某種衰敗。我想說的是，通過《沉溺》這篇小說，我們大概也能感到遷徙另外的賜與，除了不安，危險，種種沖突……它也賜與我們眼光，一個全新的看待世界的視角，由著這個視角，即便灰暗的生活也會生發光輝和希望。

在這篇發言的最后，我想簡略地聊聊南非作家戈迪默的小說《偶遇者》，這是一篇典型的移民小說。南非姑娘茱莉愛上了一個中東來的小伙子，因為種種原因，兩人一起回到沙漠，過著遠離塵世的生活。后來，連丈夫都不能忍受當地生活的孤苦，逃到美國去了。而茱莉卻決定留下來，和一群穆斯林做朋友。茱莉當然也是遷徙，只不過她是反向遷徙，逃離文明社會，主動趨近貧苦。大概對于像茱莉這樣的富家女來說，物質只會使人軟弱，貧苦里卻能生出清堅的力量。

總之遷徙有很多種，有人是為避難，有人是為趨富，而茱莉卻是就貧，也可以說，她是靠遷徙來進行精神自救。

不得不說，當今社會，固守于本土的人確是越來越少了，即便我們沒在遷徙，也必是遷徙者的后代，或將是遷徙者的父母。也就是說，遷徙是人類社會的一個常態，雖然它看上去是非常態的。在人類祖先留下的諸多積習里，遷徙已經成為我們人性的一部分，那就是對于遠方、未知的無止盡和好奇和渴望，它帶來了紛爭、仇視、沖突，可是同時，它也意味著活力、創造，它帶來了某種程度的融合，文化的、生活方式的；因為很難有完全的融合，比如宗教。無論如何，紛爭將會繼續。

就復雜性和豐富性，我認為是遷徙而不是安居一直在承擔文學的永恒主題。這方面的事例，歐美文學可以舉出很多，因為時間關系不多說了，謝謝大家！

Migration and European & American Literature

Wei Wei

Good Morning everybody! First of all, I’m very glad to participate in the “China-Australia Literary Forum” and would like to warmly welcome my Australian peers, the writers Jones and Wright, to Guangzhou, where we have the opportunity to discuss a topic titled “Literature, Migration and Region”. I guess everyone here must have a certain sense of personal concern towards the word “migration”, for amongst us surely many have witnessed or even had a first-hand experience of such an issue.

Indeed, migration is a subject of global importance nowadays, which as we all know, has swept not only China, but also across Oceania, Europe and America. Migration and immigration between countries and between rural and urban areas has become a common issue of this generation and one of the topics that every country and every region share in one way or another.

There’s an ancient saying in Chinese that goes: “Movement means life for a person as much as it means death for a tree”. In other words, when a human being finds himself living in anguish and distress, moving to another place may shackle those feelings of uneasiness and restlessness. I do think this is the greatest charm of migration, for it is through change, movement and flow that one attempts to make one’s own life happier. The Book of Exodus of The Bible is a touching story about faith, but seen from another perspective it is also a story about migration: a narrative about one man leading his people from one place to another into a new life.

This tells us that migration is as ancient as humanity itself. Many of our ancestors left their birthplace for survival, then hacked their way through thorns and thistles with women by their side and children on their back, and little by little started widening the limits of their land. No matter where they arrived, they settled down, tilled the land, threw a seed, reproduced…then the son would continue his father’s endeavour and the youngsters of the new generation would further explore faraway places. Therefore, migrating and settling down are equally important and it’s impossible to tell which one prevails in the history of civilizations. Or we can say the human being resembles a pendulum that sways between settling down and migrating over through the millennia …a pendulum that keeps oscillating. 

Today we discuss the topic of “migration”, a word that, no one would deny it, is a fundamental keyword of our generation … even maybe of every generation, and I believe that a close analysis would reveal that this happens because migration brings so many things other than migration itself, a point in which essentially differs from settling down.

I actually seldom follow international news, but still I do know that at this moment all Europe has suffered the anguish of migration due to the huge amounts of people that has arrived from Middle East, jeopardizing the peace and stability that Europe once had. If we see it from the perspective of the blameless Europeans, migration is just like waking up one morning and realizing that a bunch of injured, wounded people is lying on your doorway. They’re starving, moaning and eager to enter your house. It is clear that they’re not your own people; they’re suspicious and might be dangerous. If you reject them you might feel inhumane and they will likely attack you; if you help them, then your children will starve to death. I think this is the big dilemma Europe faces nowadays, for it seems that in this powerful reality called “migration”, your pure humanism can’t reach your will.

Frankly speaking, I understand all this not because of the Internet news but because of literature. There is a novel that was widely welcome in China some years ago called 2666. A part of the novel swirls about contemporary life in Europe with four young university intellectuals from England, France, Italy and Spain as its main characters. These intellectuals became good friends after meeting in an international congress and, one of them being a girl, at its turn winds up developing a very ambiguous relationship among the four. But regardless of that ambiguity, they remained being good friends and, although they all had quite an unleashed personality, all highly cherished that particular friendship. They called each other at night, talked for hours over the phone about how much they missed one another and every now and then got together. One time, they gathered in London, drank until dusk became midnight and then got into a taxi. Drunk as they were, they first started debating on philosophy and literature and then, very bluntly, moved to talk about love. The taxi driver was a Pakistani who first got involved in the conversation but then remained quiet until he realized the nature of their relationship. Then he became astonished, disgusted, furious…and started to insult them. He scolded them as beasts and bitch. He ordered them to get out of his taxi, for they had stained his car seats and disgraced his ears. They have made him cry. That night, I believe the starry sky of this Pakistani driver collapsed, for this episode was the most humiliating experience of his life. He heard what he shouldn’t have and thus learnt that there are people on this world that live filthier lives than beasts and swine. They’ve destroyed his life. As for those European intellectuals, at first they were indifferent towards the whole cursing but, as the driver went on, they started to get angry until they ran out of patience, dragged him out of the taxi and started beating him. The more they hit him, the angrier they got and that went on until they utterly forgot the reasons why they were hitting him, but still kept going driven by an instinctual force of hatred and wrath. They hit him until he was but a meat plaster against the pavement. Then the intellectuals got scared, jumped into the taxi and ran away. Once inside, they also started crying.

What I want to illustrate with this story is that although the main topic of 2666 is not by any means migration, this narration allows us to get a glimpse of European culture, to gaze at its complexity and chaos, at their human heartedness and at the confusion of a society utterly beset by war. Thus, although we can’t say that all of these aspects are a result of migration, we can at least say that migration is highly responsible for the bigger part. Not long after I finished reading this novel, I happened to stumble upon a news article in which France was bringing forth legislative amendments to tackle the problem of Middle East immigrants and refugees. I believe that something that can go as far as to startle a country’s legislation is evidence enough of the extent and importance of this issue.

The situation in the United States is slightly broader than in Europe. Of course, this may have to do with the fact that the United States is a country of immigrants on the first place, so what once weird was become familiar. There’s a short story, published not long ago called Drown, which has been praised as a milestone literary piece of contemporary America. Why? Because the story depicts a stereotypical image of an America we’ve been long acquainted with, but from the eyes and thoughts of an absolute outsider. The writer, Junot Diaz, was born in Dominican Republic and moved to the U.S. at around eight or nine years old along with his family, so this story might be his autobiography. In the narrative, the father first migrates and struggles to send money back to his family every now and then. Many years later, when his wife and son finally arrive, they realize he was already living with another family, so both families had no choice but to settle in a little street in New Jersey: a poor, noisy, hopeless little street in which his mother used to cry for her equally hopeless life…But this story is told from the eyes of a little kid, so distress mixes with happiness and curiosity. The little boy knew he was in America and treasured that fact. He observed the pedestrians walking down the street, what they had for clothes and wore for make-up, how they whistled, how the pigeons flew up on the sky…was there a difference with what he saw back home? Of course there was. This was America.

I was absolutely charmed with the way this little foreign kid saw the world while I was reading this story. A poor boy from a poor country through whom, although he lived in a desolated slum, we could see a brand new, youthful and vibrant America; an America that transcended that shabby street of New Jersey; a splendid, brightly colourful America that could otherwise only be seen in a Hollywood dancing musical. On the other hand, when this same America is depicted by American writers, we can only see the boredom, meagreness and void of an adult society portrayed with a certain sense of decay. What I like to highlight is that in Drown we are able to see another kind of gift offered by migration, a brand-new horizon to approach life in which the murky grey can be turned into bright light and hope.

Before finishing my speech I would like to shortly talk about The Pickup, a typical novel about migration written by the South African writer Nadine Gordimer. In this novel, a girl named Julie falls in love with a young fellow from the Middle East. For a certain reason they wind up going back to the desert of the fellow’s hometown, living a life far distant from the mundane world. Afterwards, even the husband can’t take the solitude of his own place and decides to run off to America. But Julie decides to stay and forges a friendship with a group of Muslims. Julie is, of course, an immigrant, but a sort of backwards immigrant who left the civilized society to plunge into poverty. For these wealthy girls, it seems, material things can only render us feeble, whereas amidst poverty we can put forth our unyielding will. In sum, many are the causes of migration: some seek asylum, some want to become wealthy and some, like Julie, plunge into poverty in a search to realize her spiritual self through migration.

We have to admit that those who entrench themselves in their own native places are fewer than ever before. Even if we are not migrants ourselves, we could be the descendants or the parents of migrants. In other words, although migration seems to be an abnormal phenomenon, it actually is a common and ordinary behaviour of the human species and among the practices left by our ancestors; migration was already rooted in their habits, for the endless curiosity and eagerness to approach faraway places and the unknown world is part of human nature. Surely, it has brought disputes, hostility and conflicts but at the same time it has conveyed vitality, creation and, to a certain extent, an integration of cultures and ways of living that is only limited because absolute fusion is almost impossible, just like religion shows us. In any case, wrangles are not likely to end in the future.

I believe that is migration and not settling down what has been and will be an on-going inspiration topic for literary creation to approach the complexity and richness of this world. Examples in European and American literature are numerous but due to time limitations, I shall stop here. Thank you very much!