Fiction has always been a big part of my life. I started reading at a young age and never stopped. In primary school, I was the school library’s reader of the month a good couple of times. At the public library, I would also usually borrow the maximum number of books available (something like 8 normally and 16 during public holidays). I literally always had a book in my pocket in primary school (pockets were big then) and the start of secondary school. Sometimes in primary school, I would read till I had a fever, get an MC and continue reading at home. That is how entranced I was by the limitless possibilities of fiction that seemed much more exciting compared to the so-called real world out there. Yep, I sorta closed myself off from the outside for a loooong time.
Eventually, I branched out from English books to Japanese translated stuff such as light novels. A few years later, I even started reading CN translations and became a translator myself. I remember that back in NS (National Service), I was so into a CN webnovel that I would read it on the staircase after the lights in the corridor went out (was in On Job Training for my unit back then). I also vividly remember how my COS duties at some point consisted of me finishing Game of Throne books in 1.5 days. Compared to finishing Chinese novel ‘raws’ which hold thousands of chapters in a single go, how does that compare, I wonder?
Nowadays, I have properly allocated my energies to the ‘natural’ world as well. Most of the time, I follow ongoing series rather than completed ones (not just novels, also shows). I still go into hardcore mode from time to time, but I only do so having considered the implications. I consciously make a choice to commit to that individual piece of art, such as that 36 episode Chinese drama that I finished watching 2 days ago in a week (Note that my definition of fiction does not merely include literature but more like all creative stuff and imo fiction is great because you don’t have to question their truth values).
What kind of fiction do I like? Well, let me start off with what sort of fiction I don’t like, because that seems easier for me. One genre that I do not like as a standalone thing is mystery. Personally, what makes or breaks a story for me are the vibes. The mystery genre on its own gives off cold and rational vibes with no sense of warmth at all. I’m aware that some people get a kick off intellectually figuring out stuff. However, for me, it simply makes no difference to me at all because there is no reason for me to care about the fate of the characters. I seek to empathise with them, but what’s there to empathise with a detective? Therefore, I need to have characters I feel something for before I can enjoy a work of fiction. Some psychological movie like Joker or something more existential where everything ends up like 竹篮打水一场空 (turns out you were trying to collect water with a bamboo basket and it all falls through the holes) also fits the bill, probably.
Back to vibes. Let me just put it this way. Given a character that faces reality, acknowledges their deficiencies and strives to improve, versus one who bears a negative attitude towards life and does not treasure all the good things before their eyes, I definitely prefer the former. A whiner who is severely limited by their own delusions is an ultra turn-off for me whereas somebody who desperately yearns to be a better version of themselves is strangely compelling. Well, it does not have to be that preachy. It can just be someone trying their best, and it’s heartwarming enough already.
Besides characters who are living the life and aiming to fulfil their dreams, I am also attracted by worlds in which social constructs no longer reign as accepted ‘truth’ and people are forced to face reality and choose for themselves how they will navigate it. Simply put, a dystopian world like inside the Hunger Games, waking up in some other reality like in Seven Seeds and the like – I feel that humanity truly manifests in places like this. In contrast, if it is a show set in modernity about people scheming against one another for some business empire, no thank you! You are all messed up and I want nothing to do with you! This is what I meant by social constructs, accepted truths etcetera (money has no innate value beyond our giving it that status; if you’re a sensor, think that this is just some fanciful thinking and impractical and something you can forget about right now, there are applications). Greed is an insatiable, unsustainable thing that sends you running around like a clown. Rather than play this zero-sum game, relationships are just much more rewarding…
Well, in my opinion anyway:
Fiction shows you the world. Fiction shows you the way. Fiction opens your eyes. Fiction opens your mind. Fiction transports you from a world with non-existent stakes and dead emotions to a real life situation (applicable for part of the population).
壮 志 饥 餐 胡 虏 肉
笑 谈 渴 饮 匈 奴 血
Don’t mind me, was bored recently so just memorised Yue Fei’s Man Jiang Hong for fun. This is about eating the flesh and drinking the blood of your enemies. Cool, huh (don’t take that literally now!!!).
Anyway, I already have a couple of (fiction-related) things in mind that I wouldn’t mind posting about at my own pace. Take a look if you’re interested (when that time comes)! Also, here’s a link to the main blog, just because!