Soul Mountain

infobox Book |
name = Soul Mountain
title_orig = Lingshan
translator = Mabel Lee


image_caption = 2000 cover of the English version of "Soul Mountain"
author = Gao Xingjian
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = China
language =
series =
genre =
publisher = Lianjing Chubanshe (HarperCollins in English)
release_date = 1990
english_release_date =2000
media_type =
pages =
isbn =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Soul Mountain" (zh-cp|c=灵山|p=língshān) is a novel by 2000 Nobel Prize winning Chinese author Gao Xingjian, first published in Chinese (Taipei) in 1990. It was first published in the United States in English in December 5, 2000, and was translated by Mabel Lee. The novel is a product of the author's journey in rural areas of China, inspired by a false diagnosis of fatal lung cancer.

The novel is a part autobiographical, part fictional account of a man's journey to find the fabled mountain Lingshan. It is a combination of story fragments, travel accounts, unnamed characters (referred to by the pronouns "I", "you", "she", etc.), and folk poetry/legends.

ynopsis

At the suggestion of a fellow traveler, the protagonist chooses to seek out the elusive Lingshan, a sacred mountain. The narrator himself, however, multiplies as the narrative progresses. First he divides into "I" and "you". Then the "you" creates a third voice, a troubled and emotional "she", followed by "he". These characters hold some interest for the sacred mountain, yet in the quest the sensitivity and humanity of the characters is revealed, and the narrator realizes that he still craves the warmth of human society, despite its anxieties.Lee, Mabel. "Soul Mountain" (Introduction). Sydney: HarperCollins. 2000.]

Publication

"Soul Mountain" was first published as "Lingshan" in Taipei by Lianjing Chubanshe in 1990. It was then published in French by Liliane and NoËl Dutrait by the title of "La Montagne de l'âme" in 1995. In 2000 it was published, with an English translation by Mabel Lee, by Flamingo/HarperCollins in Australia.

Autobiographical influences

In the early 1980's, Gao Xingjian faced a great deal of criticism in the wake of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. It was during this time, in 1983, that the author was diagnosed with lung cancer during a regular health screening. With the memory of his father's death by the same cause just two years earlier still fresh in his memory, Xingjian resigned himself to death, which brought about a "transcendant tranquility". However, soon after this diagnosis, an x-ray revealed that his lung cancer was non-existent. At this time Xingjian heard rumors of plans to have him sent to the hellish prison farms of Qinghai province, and thus quickly made the decision to flee Beijing. This decision lead him to begin the journey that forms much of the autobiographical portion of the novel. The journey commences in the forests of Sichuan province and continues along the Yangtze River to the coast. The protagonist obstensively searches for Lingshan (Soul Mountain), but in fact the novel describes "one man's quest for inner peace and freedom" The journey, both in the author's life and in the narrative, include visits to the districts of Qiang, Miao and Yi, located on the fringes of Han Chinese civilization; excursions into several nature reserves; and stops at Buddhist and Daoist institutions.

Political and cultural influences

An important and critical aspect of, and influence on the novel was the political and cultural environment in which it was written. The novel was begun in 1982Lee, Mabel. "Soul Mountain" (Introduction), p.iv. Sydney: HarperCollins. 2000.] , shortly after the ending of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. Additionally, traditional Chinese culture promotes the Confucian ideology of dissolution of the self and promotion of subservience and conformity."Confucianism versus Individualism: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Nurturing and Schooling Between China and the United States". Ziyu Yang. Sino U.S. Teaching. December, 2005, Vol. 2, No. 12. [http://www.linguist.org.cn/doc/su200512/su20051213.pdf] ] . The combination of traditional conformity and the "self-sacrificing" ideology of the Chinese Communist Revolution effectively silenced artists and writers who depended on their creativity of self-expression. Thus, under these circumstances, Gao Xingjian left his native country to finish "Soul Mountain" in 1989 in Paris, publishing it the following year in Taipei. Mabel Lee describes the novel as "a literary response to the devastation of the self".

References