Wong Chun Kit, Banny

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CAH2510 Cultural Exchange in Global Context

Term Paper

Essay Title Xixization of Chalk Circle

Student Name Wong Chun Kit, Banny

Student I.D. 53801751

Instructor Dr. KWON, Hyuk-chan

Due Date 8 Dec 2014

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Xixization of Chalk Circle

Introduction

The Fertile Town Chalk Circle (Fei Tu Zhen Hui Lan Ji 肥土鎮灰闌記) is a Hong

Kong contemporary novel written by Xixi (西西)1 in 1986. Xixi has always been

described as a writer who loves to use various innovative literary devices in her

novels. As Wang Der-wei (王德威) stated, “Xixi is sensitive to the world literature

and tries many new things in her novels.”2 The Fertile Town Chalk Circle is a product

of cultural exchanges of traditional Chinese Yuan play The Chalk Circle (Bao Dai Zhi

Zhi Zhuan Hui Lan Ji 包待制智勘灰闌記) by Li Xing-dao (李行道)3 and modern

Western play The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht4.

In this essay, I will first discuss the flow of cultural exchange of “Chalk Circle”,

followed by a discussion of how Xixi “xixized” her version of Chalk Circle as a

recreation of previous works.

1 Xixi is a famous Hong Kong writer, who once received Huazong World Chinese Literature Award (花

蹤世界華文文學獎) in 2005. Her well-known literary works include A Girl Like Me (像我這樣的一個

女子), Marvels of A Floating City (浮城誌異), My City (我城), and the like. 2 王德威：《閱讀當代小說：台灣、大陸、香港、海外》（台北：遠流出版事業股份有限公司，1991

年），頁 244。 3 Li Xing-dao (李行道) was born in Yuan dynasty and he is well-known because of The Chalk Circle. 4 Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) was a famous German playwright and one of his notable works is The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

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The Flow of Cultural Exchange

Since ancient times, there are several similar stories like “Chalk Circle” in East and

West, such as Indian Buddhist story from The Sutra of the Wise and the Fool and the

bible story of Solomon.5 Both of them are about two women fighting for a kid, and

finally judged through trying to hurt the kid since the biological mother would not

want her child to get hurt.

It is suggested that Li Xing-dao’s The Chalk Circle is the first play to present the story

of “Chalk Circle” in details and with a complete background and dialogue scenes.6 It

is a famous Yuan play in China and it is about the biological mother Hai Tang (海棠)

who was the concubine of Ma Jun Qing (馬均卿) and the wedded wife of Ma Jun

Qing (Da Niang大娘) struggled for the son Ma Shou-lang (馬壽郎) since both of

them professed that they were the biological mother. Meanwhile, Da Niang claimed

that Hai Tang cheated on Ma Jun Qing and murdered him with her paramour. In the

ending, Judge Bao solved the case by using “chalk circle”.7

5 鍾月玲：〈論西西的故事新編〉（桃園：國立中央大學碩士論文，2012年），頁 33-34。 6 鍾月玲：〈論西西的故事新編〉，頁 34。 7 In Li Xing-dao’s play, “chalk circle” was a method by Judge Bao to figure out who was the biological mother of Ma Shou-lang. First, Judge Bao asked his subordinates to draw a circle on the ground, and then Ma Shou-lang was put inside the circle. After that, Judge Bao asked Hai Tang and Da Niang to pull him out of the circle if she was the biological mother. Finally, Judge Bao knew Hai Tang is the biological mother of Ma Shou-lang because it was supposed that the biological mother would not pull Ma Shou-lang out since this action might hurt the son.

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In 20th century, Bertolt Brecht was greatly influenced by Chinese culture; hence, he

rewrote Li Xing-dao’s work as The Caucasian Chalk Circle. It is also a story about

two women (Grusha and Natella) 8 struggled for a kid (Michael) while judging the

custody through using chalk circle. The theme of Brecht’s version is obviously

inspired by Li Xing-dao’s version by entitling as “Chalk Circle”. As Brecht’s script

pointed out, the origin of the story was one of the old Chinese legends called “The

Chalk Circle”.9 On the other hand, Brecht was influenced by Chinese theatre as well

as Mei Lan-fang (梅蘭芳)10, and he believed that, “traditional Chinese acting applies

Verfremdung effect11 subtly since traditional Chinese play uses many symbols12

which make audiences know ‘this is a play instead of reality’.”13 So, Brecht

developed this feature into Verfremdung effect, then integrated this effect into Li’s

The Chalk Circle, and eventually recreated his version of “Chalk Circle”.

In 1986, the Hong Kong writer Xixi was inspired by these versions of “Chalk Circle”

8 In Brecht’s play, Grusha was the maid of Natella as well as the adoptive mother of Michael. Natella was a governor’s wife as well as the biological mother of Michael, but she abandoned him during the war and attempted to get back the custody of him after the war due to her husband’s inheritance. 9 Bertolt Brecht, The Caucasian Chalk Circle (London: Heinemann, 1996), p. 8. 10 Mei Lan-fang (梅蘭芳) (1894-1961) is a famous contemporary performing artist and he was named

as one of the “Four Great Dan” (四大名旦). 11 Verfremdung effect (German: Verfremdungseffekt) is a theatre device invented by Bertolt Brecht. It has different translations, such as distancing effect, alienation effect, estrangement effect or defamiliarization. 12 In traditional Chinese play, symbols are used to represent the scenery, position of characters or objects. 13 Bertolt Brecht, Brecht On Theatre, edited by Marc Silberman, Steve Giles and Tom Kuhn (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014), p. 151.

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and rewrote as The Fertile Town Chalk Circle. How did Xixi recreate her own version

of “Chalk Circle”?

Cultural Fusion of Li Xing-dao and Bertolt Brecht

As Xixi said, “reading classical literature is vital for a writer…because classical

literature has its presentness (現在性)”14 So, Xixi loves to take Chinese classical

literature for reference. First of all, Xixi basically follows the main story plot and

characters of Li Xing-dao’s version. It is about Hai Tang and Da Niang fought for Ma

Shou-lang, and eventually judged by Judge Bao, who used chalk circle to determine

the custody. Moreover, the novel title The Fertile Town Chalk Circle is also a tribute

to Li’s version by using the keywords “Chalk Circle” (灰闌記).

Another application of Li’s version by Xixi is to retain the literary form of Yuan play.

There are some characteristics of Yuan play in Xixi’s work. First, the Yuan-play-like

scripts are used. Xixi mocks the language of Yuan play, and then writes her own

words. For example, when Da Niang pointed the finger at Hai Tang, and she said

“That slut stepped out on Ma Jun Qing and did many immoral things.” (賤皮子背著

員外養著奸夫，常常做些不伶俐的勾當)15 This language is rare in contemporary

14 西西：〈我思我想我如是說〉，載《聯合報‧副刊》，1989年 3月 27日，版 21。 15 西西：《手卷》（台北：洪範書店，1989年），頁 109。

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literature, but it is very common in traditional Yuan play. Second, Xixi directly

borrows the original texts of Li’s version, such as the scripts “Human beings have no

intentions to hurt tigers, yet tigers have intentions to hurt human beings” (人無害虎心，

虎有傷人意) when Hai Tang was accused.16 Third, the use of ke jie (科介) is also

found in Xixi’s work. Ke jie is the signs of actions or expressions on emotions for

actors and actresses to perform, and it is the typical literary form of Yuan play.17 For

instance, when Judge Bao asked Su Shun (蘇順)18 questions about Hai Tang, Su

Shun answered “That woman [Zuo scratching head Ke] violated the Xiao He Lu” (那

婦人犯了[做搔頭科]犯了蕭何律).19

On the other hand, Xixi once said, “a modern-contemporary writer should read more

literature from anywhere…in order to learn more knowledge and sentiment from

world literature.”20 This feature can also be discovered in The Fertile Town Chalk

Circle as Xixi learns the literary device from Bertolt Brecht. In The Caucasian Chalk

Circle, Bertolt Brecht used his well-known technique called “Verfremdung effect”. It

is used to distance audiences from the proceedings on stage in order to understand the

16 西西：《手卷》，頁 79。 17 周貽白：《中國戲劇史長編》（上海：世紀出版集團，2007年），頁 153。 18 In the novel, Su Shun (蘇順) is a district officer of Zheng Zhou (鄭州), and he was in charge of the

murder case of Hai Tang and Ma Jun Qing. 19 西西：《手卷》，頁 103。 20 西西：〈我思我想我如是說〉，載《聯合報‧副刊》，1989年 3月 27日，版 21。

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[real] world better.21 In other words, it is used to make audiences to realize “this is a

play but not reality” and to rethink and rediscover the messages of the play. Xixi

transforms the theatre technique Verfremdung effect into Metafiction in terms of

literary device into her novel. Metafiction is defined as “fiction about fiction”.22

Similarly, it is used to remind readers “this is a fiction but not reality” in order to

encourage them to reflect on messages brought by the novel. At the beginning of The

Fertile Town Chalk Circle, Xixi has already told the readers that “the novel is about a

play” by stating “The Chalk Circle is playing in the theatre in the Fertile Town

Cultural Centre.” Besides, the narrator23 of the novel commented on plots and

characters with the purpose of distancing readers from the story and driving them to

rethink the novel critically. For instance, the narrator commented on Judge Bao as

“muddle-headed and stupid” (糊塗透頂).24

From above-mentioned illustrations and examples, it is clear that The Chalk Circle by

Li Xing-dao and The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht contribute a lot to

Xixi’s The Fertile Town Chalk Circle. But, what are the differences between three

versions?

21 Bertolt Brecht, Brecht On Theatre, p. 5. 22 Bran Nicol, The Cambridge Introduction to Postmodern Fiction (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), p. 35. 23 In novel, the narrator (敘述者) is the voice to tell the story. Generally, there are omniscient

perspective and limited perspective in terms of first person perspective or third person perspective. 24 西西：《手卷》，頁 117。

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Authorial Intents Make Differences

Although Xixi adopts the works of Li Xing-dao and Bertolt Brecht, there are

differences between three versions. The most notable part is the endings. In The Chalk

Circle, Hai Tang was the winner since she gave up pulling Ma Shou-lang out of the

chalk circle, so Judge Bao believed she was the biological mother. In The Caucasian

Chalk Circle, the one who gave up pulling Michael out of the circle was the adoptive

mother Grusha but not the biological mother Natella, so the winner was Grusha. In

The Fertile Town Chalk Circle, it did not tell the endings but left some comments by

the voice of narrator: it was not important who my biological mother was whereas the

important thing was my right to choose. I was the “main character” of the case but

why I had no opportunities to voice.25 In Li’s version, Ma Shou-lang almost had no

dialogues although he was the “stakeholder” of the case. Xixi questions about it by

using Metafiction and she changes the third person omniscient perspective into first

person (Ma Shou-lang) omniscient perspective. Interestingly, it seems that Xixi gives

a chance to Ma Shou-lang to tell the story of “The Chalk Circle” and to voice his

opinions while Metafiction helps reader to focus on the fiction itself rather than the

storyline.

25 西西：《手卷》，頁 110、117-120。

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Another difference is the image of the judges. In Li’s version, the judge was Judge

Bao and he was typically depicted as smart and righteous. Judge Bao is a historical

figure in the Northern Song dynasty; and as the Chinese tradition, Judge Bao is the

representative of justice in both human world and literary world.26 In Brecht’s version,

the judge Azdak is relatively not important as Judge Bao in Li and Xixi’s version

because the spotlight of the story is not the judge. Compared with Li’s version, the

image of Judge Bao in Xixi’s work is entirely different. By the narrative voice of Ma

Shou-lang, Judge Bao was described as stupid because he did not ask Ma Shou-lang

for opinions even he knew everything about the case. In order to make readers to

focus on this “stupid judge”, Xixi highlights on how Judge Bao judged while Li

Xing-dao depicts the entire story within the “Si Zhe Yi Xie Zi”(四折一楔子)

format.27

So, what can be inferred through these “Chalk Circle”? In fact, literary works are

always related to the authorial intents. In other words, writers produce a literary work

with the purpose of conveying messages or emotions to readers.28

26 Daisy S. Y. Ng, “Xi Xi and Tales of Hong Kong”, in The Columbia Companion to Modern East Asian Literature, edited by Joshua S. Mostow (New York: Columbia University Press, 2003), p. 581. 27 In Li’s version, the plot of how Judge Bao judged is only in the “forth Zhe” (第四折) while other

“Zhe”s are about the background of the story. On the other hand, Xixi only shows the scenario of the “forth Zhe” and the background story is told by the narrative voice of Ma Shou-lang. 28 Enrico Terrinoni, Working on Texts: Reading Literature Critically (Florida: Universal Publishers, 2012), p. 6.

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In terms of Li’s version, it may refer to the historical social contexts in Yuan dynasty.

The corruption of Yuan official was very serious since the Yuan officers were lack of

influence of Confucianism, political foresight, cultural literacy as well as the social

justice. Besides, there were no mature law system and regulation for officers.29 Li

Xing-dao may be inspired, and then he “borrows” Judge Bao to satirize this situation.

That’s why Judge Bao is shaped as a hero with wisdom and righteousness.

In terms of Brecht’s version, he rewrites the story with intention to encourage

audiences to rethink an “unquestionable truth” that biological mother always treats

her kid good. Brecht questions about it and believes: a good mother should not only

give birth to the child, but also to raise and protect the child with care and love, just

like Grusha. Besides, it is suggested that the story refers to Brecht’s political

belief—Marxist.30 As the end of the script mentioned that things should belong to

those who do well by them; and it probably implies the notion of Marxist: “from each

according to his ability, to each according to his need”.31

In terms of Xixi, first, it is apparent that she attempts to challenge the Chinese cultural

traditions and to rediscover the story critically while she heavily criticizes Judge Bao.

29 王天有、成祟德：《元明清史》（台北：五南圖書出版股份有限公司，2002年），頁 102-105。 30 鍾月玲：〈論西西的故事新編〉，頁 37。 31 John Roemer, Analytical Marxism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), p. 296.

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Second, it is suggested that Fertile Town is the representation of Hong Kong and its

“Chalk Circle” refers to the 1997-take-over issue of Hong Kong.32 In 1982, there

began the Sino-British negotiations over the issue of sovereign right of Hong Kong. In

the negotiation, the voices of Hong Kong people were neglected.33 This is just like

the case of Ma Shou-lang, who is the “stakeholder” but no one cares his views. This

may answer why the novel was published in 1986.

Conclusion

To conclude, along with the cultural exchanges of “Chalk Circle”, Xixi recreated her

own version, which aims to challenge the Chinese traditions as well as to represent

the issue of Sino-British negotiation towards 1997 take-over, by the integration of Li’s

storyline, characters, literary forms and Brecht’s technique—Verfremdung effect.

32 陳燕遐：〈善變的敘述：西西的小說藝術〉（香港：香港科技大學碩士論文，1994年），頁 92。 33 John M. Carroll, A Concise History of Hong Kong (Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007), pp. 179-183.

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References

English

1. Brecht, B., Brecht On Theatre, edited by Silberman, M., Giles, S. and Kuhn, T.,

London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.

2. Brecht, B., The Caucasian Chalk Circle, London: Heinemann, 1996.

3. Carroll, J. M., A Concise History of Hong Kong, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield

Publishers, 2007.

3. Ng, S. Y., “Xi Xi and Tales of Hong Kong”, in The Columbia Companion to Modern

East Asian Literature, edited by Mostow, J. S., New York: Columbia University Press,

2003.

4. Nicol, B., The Cambridge Introduction to Postmodern Fiction, Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2009.

5. Roemer, J., Analytical Marxism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.

6. Terrinoni, E., Working on Texts: Reading Literature Critically, Florida: Universal

Publishers, 2012.

Chinese

1. 王天有、成祟德：《元明清史》，台北：五南圖書出版股份有限公司，2002年。

2. 王德威：《閱讀當代小說：台灣、大陸、香港、海外》，台北：遠流出版事業

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股份有限公司，1991年。

3. 西西：《手卷》，台北：洪範書店，1989年。

4. 西西：〈我思我想我如是說〉，載《聯合報‧副刊》，1989年 3月 27日，版 21。

5. 李行道：《包待制智賺灰闌記雜劇》，上海：上海古籍出版社，2002年。

6. 周貽白：《中國戲劇史長編》，上海：世紀出版集團，2007年。

7. 陳燕遐：〈善變的敘述：西西的小說藝術〉，香港：香港科技大學碩士論文，

1994。

8. 鍾月玲：〈論西西的故事新編〉，桃園：國立中央大學碩士論文，2012年。