Wang Shuo versus Jin Yong

Anyone remember the 1999 incident involving mainland Chinese writer Wang Shuo (王朔) and popular Hong Kong martial arts novelist Jin Yong (金庸)?

I was in Beijing then and remember the controversy as reported in the media, but the issue only made more sense to me recently when I read Yvonne Chang's book on "Literary Culture in Taiwan: Martial Law to Market Law."

In the book, Wang Shuo was described as the "brilliantly cynical, hugely successful bad boy of PRC literature, television and film." In 1999, he published some negative comments on the writings of Jin Yong, "the erudite Hong Kong writer and businessman whose martial arts novels rank among the most popular ever read by modern Chinese readers."

Of course the challenge to someone of Jin's stature stirred up a controversy that spread in the Chinese newspapers, in magazines, and on the Internet.

Declaring that his criticism was actually motivated by a sense of frustration, Wang reportedly said: "I was one of the makers of contemporary Chinese culture, especially the new culture of Beijing, which included literature, film, and music. But today, everyone, including my daughter's generation, has lost his/her head over the culture of Hong Kong and Taiwan. I do not understand why things have declined so rapidly."

But what struck Yvonne Chang as revealing was Wang's - and people like Wang on the mainland - "fundamental assumptions about what constitute worthy literary projects for Chinese writers".

She wrote: "The "popular" tastes of the Chinese reading public run against the idealist vision cherished by the modern Chinese intellectual class. The prevalence of elitism in literary discourse becomes even more conspicuous when evoked by unlikely candidates - Wang Shuo himself is considered "popular" by most critics and his membership in the intellectual class is by no means unequivocal."

I am not sure if I can agree with Wang that "things have declined so rapidly," as mainland interest in popular culture from Hong Kong and Taiwan is not a recent phenomenon. Indeed, the phenomenon is understandable particularly in the early 90s due to the trendier and "hipper" image portrayed by Hong Kong and Taiwan culture, as compared to their mainland counterparts.

And besides, by taking on someone as popular as Jin Yong, there was the impression among many quarters that Wang was trying to heighten his popularity.

But nevertheless, the issues and debates that came out of the controversy - particularly the question of just who is supposed to have a "monopoly sway" on popular culture - were interesting and worth looking into.