Passing on the all-embracing Lingnan culture
Professor Ge Liang, Professor at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature and his award-winning novel Food is Heaven.
Earlier this month, renowned contemporary novelist Professor Ge Liang was awarded the first prize of the “10th Dream of the Red Chamber Award: The World’s Distinguished Novel in Chinese” with his novel Food is Heaven.
In recent years, Professor Ge’s writings have revolved around Lingnan culture. For instance, Cantonese cuisine – an intangible cultural heritage – played an important role in Food is Heaven, while Cantonese dialect such as “gwo3 gong1 lung4” (referring to overseas talent) can also be found in the award-winning novel.
Growing up in Nanjing, and having lived in Hong Kong for more than two decades, what is the reason behind Professor Ge’s enthusiasm in Lingnan culture, and what is his journey in writing?
The all-embracing Lingnan culture
Professor Ge joined HKBU in 2007, and is currently Professor of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature. Apart from Food is Heaven, Professor Ge in recent years has devoted himself to addressing Guangdong and Hong Kong in his works, with a series of masterpieces such as The Barber and Raccoon. Noting the necessity of years of preparation, Professor Ge explained, “On one hand, it boils down to the accumulation of emotions. You really need to love the land beneath your feet before you can start writing about it, because readers can feel the warmth of your books; on the other hand, you need to be familiar enough with the region, especially its traditions and its historical roots – this is a standard I set for myself.”
Over the past few years, Professor Ge has dedicated himself to showcasing the diversity and openness of Southern Chinese culture through his writings. The themes and focus of his publications, from the “Family and Country Trilogy” to “Atlas of the South”, all reflect his fondness for Southern Chinese culture.
From Scarlet Bird in the early days, which tells the tales from his hometown; Paper Hawk, which explores the history of his own family; Food is Heaven, which illustrates the societal changes of modern China by depicting the development of Cantonese and Hong Kong’s cuisines; to his latest work Hidden Spirit, which reflects the century-long stormy times of Guangdong and Hong Kong, Professor Ge called Lingnan “a wonderful place for storytelling”.
The renowned novelist elaborated, “That is because the oceanic culture has a feel of an all-embracing atmosphere. Although there has always been a tradition of looking north towards Zhongyuan (Central Plain) in southern narratives, the South encompasses a diversity of cultures such as Jiangnan, Lingnan and Southwest China. As a matter of fact, its iridescence and openness are sufficient to mirror the Zhongyuan culture.”
Encounter with Cantonese
Professor Ge believes that Cantonese is an important “cultural slice” of Lingnan, hence he has put it into practice in his literary creation. Substantial Cantonese dialects, and even Cantonese slang, can be found in Food is Heaven, which readers in Hong Kong find endearing. In his view, Cantonese expression has a distinct advantage, given its inclusiveness, simplicity and precision. He recalled that back in 2000, when he departed for Hong Kong to study for his master’s degree, he took a course on classical Chinese poetry, during which the instructor recited some popular poems in Cantonese.
It was at that time Professor Ge found himself falling in love with Cantonese, as he praised Cantonese dialects for preserving a lot of phonological elements inherited from the ancient Chinese language and dating back to the Tang dynasty, in addition to its profound expressiveness. “Cantonese is a wonderful language for reciting poems, not only because it demonstrates all the rhymes and harmonic tone patterns, but it also embodies the unique rhythms and appealing aesthetics of the Chinese language,” Professor Ge described in detail.
Upon discovering its allure, Professor Ge was determined to learn and study Cantonese, drawing on movies as well as everyday life. “Learning a language is in fact a process of cultural experience,” he said.
An exceptional complement: The dual role of scholar and writer
Professor Ge believes that instead of being in conflict with one another, the dual role of scholar and author is highly complementary. In this context, he emphasised that his grandfather, the renowned art historian Professor Ge Kangyu, has been a role model for him.
“When my grandfather was teaching at the Central University in Nanjing, he studied art history and painting concurrently, and his viewpoints on the harmony of art and literature continue to bring me new insights”. The scholarly role has allowed Professor Ge to conduct field study, data collection and validation with ease, and the textual logic developed in the process has also motivated him to create his novels. Citing his novella The Barber as an example, Professor Ge mentioned that he was researching on intangible cultural heritage at the time, which enabled him to apply his research outcome to the book’s conceptualisation.
With The Barber, Professor Ge in 2022 won the 8th Lu Xun Literary Prize, which is widely recognised as one of the leading Chinese-language literary awards in the world, making him the first-ever writer from Hong Kong to claim this award.
In early September this year, HKBU announced the winners of the “10th Dream of the Red Chamber Award: The World’s Distinguished Novel in Chinese”, with Food is Heaven being awarded the first prize. When asked how he felt about the award, Professor Ge said he was deeply honoured, and that the award held special meaning for him. “When it comes to incorporating dialect into literature, Dream of the Red Chamber itself is a tall mountain,” said Professor Ge. He added that Dream of the Red Chamber has a deep connection with his hometown Nanjing, something that he found particularly heart-warming.
Epilogue
As an old Chinese saying goes, “wind arises from the tips of dwarf waterclovers”. During the interview, Professor Ge Liang repeatedly stressed the importance of “dwarf waterclovers” in this context. History often begins with the smallest of events, from which one can appreciate the big picture and anticipate the thoughts of the individual.
Looking ahead, he hoped that there would be room for new interpretations of historical figures, especially in the portrayal of their emotions, which may resonate more strongly with the readers.
A globally celebrated author, Professor Ge’s works include the novels Scarlet Bird, Paper Hawk, Food is Heaven and Hidden Spirit, novellas The Barber, Raccoon, Try to Remember as well as the cultural essays Reflection of the World and Pears and Dates. His works have been translated into various languages including English, French, Italian, Russian, Japanese and Korean.
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