After reading this novel with great pleasure, I closed the book and began to think: the protagonist of the book, this woodworking apprentice born in Jiangnan, a self-taught surgeon, a versatile mediation spy, a strange old man who "retired" the countryside, a duckweed in the surging waves, and finally the innocent and mentally retarded child - the colonel, or we call him eunuch, is he a hero?
He has experienced a battlefield of artillery fire. He has fought with the Red Army , fought with the Japanese, and fought with the Americans. As a military doctor, he used his superb technology to save countless soldiers wrapped in horses and corpses. He has traveled through the surging Shanghai, and is at ease and confined to the place of unjust in this largest city in the Far East ; he finally returned to the countryside where he was born, returned to tranquility, and depended on his two beloved cats for life, but caught up with the magnificent "Cultural Revolution". After going crazy, he was cared for by his former subordinates and lovers. Although he lost his intelligence, he also spent his last time decently and romantically.
—Looks very legendary, doesn’t it? But in this book, his "legend" seems to be exaggerated. "I" is the narrator of this story, the child of the colonel's close friend. A teenager must be full of naive imagination about everything. The mysterious legend of the colonel has been popular in the village for a long time. Of course, the most curious thing is the place where the colonel is, or is it? "I" is a qualified eavesdropper. I can't hear the conversation between the colonel and his father, the conversation between the colonel and his grandfather, the conversation between the grandfather and his father, and their conversation with the old security chief - another village with rich experience. In their words, the legendary life of this legendary figure emerged in my mind. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. The vigorous movement in the 1960s affected this quiet countryside, and characters such as "Little Blind Man" and "Commander Hu" made a debut. They regarded the colonel as an enemy and tortured him with severe torture and his beloved kitten. On one night, the "little blind man" could not help but curiosity and turned his eyes to his "tat place". The colonel launched a counterattack. He broke free from the shackles and murdered the "little blind man" who deserved it, making him unable to speak or write. After that, he fled from the village. The story after
is very sad. After being rescued, the "little blind man" started revenge, and he spreads rumors about "my" father. In order to restore the reputation of the defiled family, my grandfather not only talked with the old security chief many times, slowly uncovering the mysterious veil of the colonel, but also did another thing - he reported the colonel and asked the public security bureau to dispel the negative rumors about "my" father. After the colonel was arrested, the "Little Blind Man" and others started to urge him to take off his pants and find out what was going on, which led to the colonel's collapse. Later, Aunt Lin, the former subordinate and lover of the colonel appeared and took the colonel to Shanghai and accompanied him for the rest of his life. Another consequence of grandpa's behavior was that "my" family became a shameful whistleblower and was scolded by the whole village. "I" fled to Spain and gained a strong foothold. My grandfather committed suicide, and my father stayed in the countryside to survive by rolling his eyes and despising him. "I" also met two kind girls in Spain. At this point, the title of the book " Life Sea HTML " appeared in the text. The girl said, "Life is a sea of sea, and it is not courage to die. Only by living requires courage. If you die, I will not marry you in the underworld. Remember what you said when you proposed to me? There is only one kind of heroism in the world, that is, you still love life after realizing the truth of life."
So back to the initial thinking: Is the colonel a hero?
Also, is "I" in the book a hero?
Sometimes I wonder why compared to the hymns of heroes, we are more in love with works such as "Youth", "Ordinary World", "Sky of History" and even " Muslim Funeral " that describe the ups and downs of the fate of small people in the big era and environment.
Perhaps because when we read these works, we are not reading their stories, but our own stories, the stories of our relatives, friends, and teachers. In an era of changing winds and clouds, we are in the torrent, and we are floating like floating duckweed in the sea of life. If we lived in such an era, some of the characters in the book might be ourselves. Now, through these strange names, we recall the distant life and lost scenery in vain, sigh and cry for them, and then let time, dust, and the paper and title page of books block the faded illustrations. The
question has already been answered.
There is only one kind of heroism in the world, that is, to still love life after realizing the truth of life.
—Romain Rolland
Meet by chance. No one is mediocre,
Everyone is a hero
All glory is engraved in the heart
From the heart My smile
—Zhou Huajian, Lin Xi "I am a star"
