钟理和:以“左翼”的姿态冲撞民俗的囚笼——兼与蔡登秋先生商榷

Chung Li-ho: Clashing with the Cage of Folk Customs in a‘Leftwing' Posture, and also in Consultation with Mr Cai Dengqiu

钟理和缺席日据时代台湾皇民化阶段,是一颗遗落的"左翼"种子,崇尚"赛先生"和"德先生",与主持《联合报》副刊的林海音等人有暗合之处,其塑造的平妹形象为台湾文坛吹进了一股清新的风;《笠山农场》热情地歌颂年轻人对封建习俗的反抗斗争精神。后半生的钟理和却为民俗所包围,陷入了人间炼狱。返台初期的作品依然保持着强烈的社会批判精神,但1954年次子立民夭折对他产生巨大的精神打击。此后的作品依然带有微讽的意味,斗志却逐渐被消磨,民俗书写越来越凸显。

Chung Li-ho, absent from the kōminka period of Taiwan in the Japanese occupation era, was a lost‘leftwing’ seed, who worshipped‘Mr Science’and‘Mr Democracy’and whose ideas happened to accord with those of such people as Lin Haiyin, affiliated with the literary supplement of The United Daily News. The image of Ping Mei（or Younger Sister Ping）, one of his fictional protagonists, brought a new breath of breeze into the world of letters in Taiwan, and his Lishan Nongchang （The Farm at Lishan Mountain）, passionately sings of the spirit of the young in their fight against the feudalistic customs. In the latter part of his life, however, Chung Li-ho, surrounded by the folk customs, was plunged into a hell on earth. Although his work in the early days of his return to Taiwan retained its spirit of strong social critique, but the death of his second son, Li-min, in 1954, came as a great spiritual blow to him. Even though his subsequent work remained slightly ironic, his fighting spirit had worn down and his writing became sharply oriented towards the folk customs.