The Serene Scenery and the Imagination of Rural China: A Discussion of the Meaning of “Exhibition” and an Interpretation of the Objects in Li Rui’s Short Stories on Agricultural Utensils
Resource
臺大中文學報, 53, 149-198
Journal
臺大中文學報
Journal Issue
53
Pages
149-198
Date Issued
2016-06
Date
2016-06
Author(s)
Lai, P.H.
Abstract
In this paper, I discuss the notion of “exhibition” and the objects in Li Rui’s novel Serene Scenery. First, I focus on how the pictures of the agriculture utensils and the accompanying text are brought together and analyze how he constructs the visual sense and the reading context of the Serene Scenery. I argue that Li shows civilizations and historical objects by exhibiting agricultural utensils and leads readers to recognize them. By placing the utensils in a metatextual framework that includes texts like Wang Zhen’s writings on agriculture and Ancient China’s Agricultural Utensils, Li sheds light on the historical development of the objects and the way knowledge and meaning around them is constructed. In discussing how the novel interprets materiality, I concentrate on (1) changes in the use of agricultural utensils and the way they reflect the predicaments and pressure of modern peasants, (2) the relations between objects and people and the dramatic materialization of living conditions, and (3) how the material environment of modern society influences the fate of the countryside, peasants, and traditional agricultural utensils, with a focus on the novel’s landscapes and phenomena as commodification of landscapes and depastoralization of the countryside. Finally, I discuss how Li imagines the reality and the future of this changing “rural China.” Making a comparison with Liang Hong’s Liangzhuang rural documentary series, I point out Li’s particular fondness of rural China and demonstrate that his exhibition of agricultural utensils has both commemorative and mournful meanings.
Subjects
李銳、《太平風物》、展覽、農具、鄉土中國(Li Rui, Serene Scenery, exhibition, agricultural utensils, rural China）
Type
journal article
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