A Pen as Mighty As A Sword --Musings on A Record of Dissent

Title: A Record of Dissent: The Cultural Situation in Taiwan

Author: Yang Chao

Publisher: Teacher Chang Publishers (Number14 in the "Cultural Images" series)

Price: NT$180

In the kaleidoscopic post-martial law era, author Yang Chao, writing novels on the one hand and critical essays on the other, is much like the hero of a martial arts novel who was said to be able to "divide his attention between two objects." It's not hard to understand why he has attracted the attention and expectations of countless people. Leaving aside for the moment his novels, in 1993 he fired off two volumes of critical essays: A Record of Dissent and Thoughts From the Critical Point. In an era in which everyone has something to say, Yang Chao is back! He is no longer the one who always seems to be missing here on this turbulent island. You can imagine that we'll be seeing much more of the swift and accurate dancing blade of this contemporary hero.

But it seems likely many people are wondering the same thing: Why would Yang Chao, this darling of the media, this multi-faceted cultural star, always like to use terms such as "exile," "dissent," and "at the critical point" --terms replete with implications of isolation and tragedy--which in his hands create even more leverage and are widely accepted by his readers? Is this a revelation of his true inner feelings, a cry from the heart? Or is it a reflection of a subtle dynamic between the message and the medium that enables him to carve out a niche for himself? If we take a trip along the dialectical road of A Record of Dissent, perhaps we will find some tracks along the way which will give us a clue.

Strictly speaking, because the time and space referents of A Record of Dissent are very close to those of Exiled Viewpoint and Thoughts From the Critical Point, the two collections of critical essays released just prior to and just after, respectively, A Record of Dissent, it is difficult to detect much of a shift in thinking. On the other hand, from the book's four sections ("Books and Phenomena,""Film Interpretation," "Feminist Theory," and"Cultural Theory") to the fact that a publishing house seen as moderate is releasing the book on his behalf, and moreover from the extremely explosive contents, you can see differences due to the position from which the essays are written, from the nature of the medium, and from the form of the exposition. These generate radically different effects from similar materials and methods.

The face revealed through A Record of Dissent is like the Corleone family in The Godfather Part III. Yang is able to deftly enter and leave the system at will and yet never lose touch with his grass roots. He is capable of "carefully and politely using the space that others allow to him to smoothly offer an alternative explanation for popular culture. "Obviously only the new generation has this casual, matter-of-fact, yet exuberant pride and boldness.And only those deeply versed in this ambience can go a step further and explore what "dissent" is.

In his preface, Yang Chao clearly states that"dissent" means "a disagreement so that one feels compelled to speak out." But at the end of a century in which political authoritarianism has not been extinguished, and there are new and more subtle restraints, it is usually first necessary to have a firm grip on knowledge before speaking out. It is even more important to have abilities that cover everything from the tops of the mountains to the bottom of the seas. What's strange is that although there are those who see the current era as cacophonous, most of the time the mute are in the majority. Those who are able to and dare to speak out are in the minority. Does this indicate that Yang Chao has yet to leave behind the old style of the elitist enlightener? Is it only because he is skilled at many things, and is a top talent who attends Harvard, that he is able to talk about "dissent" in such a grandiose and forthright manner? Perhaps there are those who would accuse Yang Chao of failing to employ his solid scholarly abilities when introducing or criticizing the people or views in his books. This means that he will never follow in the footsteps of such noted scholars as Alvin Toffler or John Kenneth Galbraith. Is this of any benefit to Taiwan's cultural and academic community?

Perhaps there is some truth to the doubts and criticisms expressed above. But clearly Yang Chao's purpose is not here. He is not like those in their ivory towers who look at ordinary people as if they were insects. He insists upon action in the real world, and has established a display case for himself in the broadcasting world. He comprehends Toffler, Galbraith, and the Japanese writers Kuro-yanagi Tetsuko, Matsumoto Seicho, and Murakami Haruki, as cultural phenomena. Although this means that their stimulating ideas may for the moment be put on the back burner, Yang has never been interested in pure academic introductions or ivory tower academic work, because that would be truly elitist and the gulf between elite culture and the culture of the common people will be increasingly large.

He takes aim at mass culture and daily life, and his starting point is "common sense," abandoning the role of standing above the crowd. Therefore,despite the fact that most of the people active in his books come from overseas, and his discussion of nativist matters is deeply imbued with western style thought patterns, he establishes a dialectical relationship with his theories (phenomena) and readers through his alluring and noble prose, the many levels on which his work can be understood, and his clear and persuasive method of reasoning. This is not something the typical murmuring and anemic literati can aspire to.

When you observe further, you can discover that Yang Chao's spirit combines nativism and internationalism. His theory is: Following the advanced development of communications, people's vision can begin to transcend the limits of a given country or ideology, and it is no longer a dream that the whole earth is as near as your neighbor. Further-more, with the end of the Cold War, people are more able to reflect on their local situation with less interference, leading to a rise in the importance placed on the locality and on historical consciousness. As a result, hollow racial myths and illegitimate political-economic structures will be torn down.

Since this is the post-modernist trend, it is also what gives Yang his strength to attempt to unmask traditional monolithic thinking. Following along this road, we are then able to understand why he wants to run about through all the schools of thought and all the media, because he is a person who will try his hand at anything. Yang Chao subtly overturns the traditional wisdom that "experience is the best teacher." Under the shelter of post-modernism and the power of the media, he is undertaking intensive reform of people's thinking; filled with combativeness and confidence, at this time why would Yang Chao be anxious and uncertain?

If the above interpretation stands, then it is even more the case that the articles in the section "Books and Phenomena" are the cream of the book-- broadest in scope, most widely appealing, and richest with a sense of experimentation. If you want to talk about the length and strength of the articles, the section on "Film Interpretation" is the least satisfying. It seems that his film aesthetic carries too much political and historical structure. Consequently, this reduces the space left to the audience,and its even harder to estimate the number who don't understand at all what he is trying to get across.

Meanwhile "Feminist Theory" operationally lacks any concrete guiding principle, and at the same time ignites fires. It is easy to see why it has drawn such strong reactions from feminists ("Chang Chuan-fen" here represents not only a personal rebuttal, but even more reflects a possible collective tone of voice). Besides being related to differences in the position of the speaker and the nature of the medium, an even more important key is that new masculine theory is still in a primitive stage.

Perhaps what Yang Chao wants to say is that without a dialogue with the new masculinity, although current feminist theory is too powerful to resist, the fact that the fuse is too long means there is a problem of keeping continuity. You cannot say that this is a failing of Yang's writing. Compared to the group of men who are sullenly but intensely at odds with feminist theory, Yang is rather likeable.

As for the fourth section, "Cultural Theory,"it appears to be haphazard and does not constitute a coherent whole. It appears that he personally is in a state of intellectual chaos, unable to make clear-cut points. The result is something like the efforts of the mythic Chinese heroine Nu Wa, who was left to scramble for rocks to patch up a hole in the sky left by a fight between deities. Everything is just thrown out there for the reader to grapple with.

Compared to the green Exile Viewpoint, A Record of Dissent reveals a more dignified, mature posture. If Yang Chao's thinking truly has a consistent spirit to it, it is necessary to talk about two subjects. First, compared to some of the cultural stars drifting around in the light of the media, the fact that Yang takes the label of dissident, nativist, and leftist means that he has a much greater mission and that there are far more obstacles to overcome. There are in fact signs of this in his writings. But looking at his arguments, the majority involve emphasis on the mother country and on reconstruction of a historical consciousness; there is only a small element of class activism or redistribution of social resources. Still less is there any concrete depiction of disadvantaged groups.

The issue is not one of who pronounces the statement of dissent, but on whose behalf the dissent is pronounced, an issue which cannot but be assessed deeply. Perhaps as far as Yang Chao is concerned, this is a problem of the choice of procedure or ordering of events, and not a deliberate omission. Based on his enthusiasm, it's not likely he would quit the team.

Furthermore, in the spirit of "If I don't enter hell, who will?" he has courageously infiltrated the heart of the system. Perhaps on the surface it appears that he can gain status and honored treatment. But, on the outside, he must fend off vicious attacks from right and left, and, on the inside, must constantly be thinking about how to maintain his judgement and not become confused. This is certainly no easy process! Although this is not a problem faced only by Yang Chao, he is at the extreme forefront, and cannot avoid this epic struggle.

In the "Foreword" to A Record of Dissent, critic Ping Lu calls Yang Chao a "David" struggling empty-handed against Goliath. This accolade still seems fair. But thereafter David became King of Israel, and is given special honor as a predecessor to Jesus. This joint political-religious role was not necessarily bitter to play. Sometimes we would prefer to see young heroes not just be courageous and bold, but display confusion, uncertainty, stupefaction, and even error. Because when a hero is portrayed as too perfect, as flawless, the next step might well be for him to prepare for some criticism.

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Social and cultural phenomena in Taiwan are the objects of concern and targets of criticism for Yang Chao in his book, A Record of Dissent. (photo by Diago Chiu)