空气蛹-觅母的变异体　文/郑龙一海

“空气蛹”出自日本作家村上春树的小说《1Q84》中象征邪恶力量的意象, 也是通往另一维度世界的进出口。在我的解读里,“空气蛹”有更多其它的含义, 它是一个充满联想空间的名词。

《1Q84》是对英国作家乔治.奥威尔完成于 1948 年的政治体小说《1984》的回应与致敬, 在两者之间, 村上的“空气蛹” 所对应的是奥维尔的“电幕”-播报机与监视、监听器的复合体。在《1984》中“你的一举一动在别人眼中一览无遗” 就好像《1Q84》中编织空气蛹的小小人无所不知的敏锐触觉。可见, 文化的演变与传播就像生命体的繁衍与进化一样, 生命体的复制密码是基因(Gene), 而文化传播的密码则是觅母“Meme”, 觅母作为模仿文化传播的单位(此概念由理查德.道金斯于 1976 年版《自私的基因》中提出)。人类的文化之所以会在人类意识中复制、辐射、演变都因为其中这 称之为“Meme”的文化基因具有的作用力。

在词源学中,“meme”是“memory”的词根, 也与法语中 Même (同样的) 同音。可见,“Meme”和“Gene”一样携带记忆与复刻性, 同时也会产生突变与异化。人类与其它动物大部分基因相同, 但人类之所以和其它物种有本质区别乃至“主宰”了这个地球, 正是因为“文化”这个东西。文化传播的内容为文本(text), 广义“文本”指任何由书写所固定下来的任何话语, 狭义“文本”指由语言文字组成的文学实体, 代指“作品”(《文本中心论》保罗·科利尔)。本文讨论的“文本”包括视觉图像-即摄影。万年以来人类这种自觉的预见能力归功于觅母这种文化基因的进化。书名引用的“空气蛹”的引用不是抒情,而是一种回溯。

本书所探讨的议题并非文化基因的“复制性”, 而是探讨文本在长时间流传中自觉的演变与变异, 本书的非线性叙事好像一趟跨越文字与图像的时光溯源之旅, 在时间与空间经纬度的牵引下文字与图像充满了奇遇。如博尔赫斯所说:“过 去是构成时间的物质,因此时间很快就会变成过去。”本册书中前部分使用了收集的无从考究的民国时期照片, 与其说照片是现实的切片, 不如说是时间的分泌物。在编辑过程中我感受文本的演变所带来的迷惑, 没被历史记载的就是不重要的吗? 遗落的照片即是时空胶囊, 被时间侵蚀的图像让人无从得知其往昔故事, 真实发生的故事也的确成为了迷, 永远消失在历史之中。

文本的传播会无中生有、有中生新, 例如书中引用的文字“我和这个世界不熟。这并非是我迷茫的原因⋯⋯会停息。” 节 选自互联网相传为著名诗人北岛所作诗歌, 然而并非北岛的原作, 实则为一网络写手的仿写, 由于文风更符合大众的抒情趣味, 被大量转载, 以至诸多网络文学论坛及大众传媒都公然表明作者为北岛本人。这可以理解是一个突变的觅母, 本书的引用和添加文本的新复合体在新的语境中又派生出一个新的觅母, 通过传播它还会不断的转化。文本的变异有时 也会变得非常荒谬, 例如流传为苏格拉底的一句话:“田野与树木没有给我一点启发, 而城市的人们却赐给我颇多教益。” 这句话有反自然的倾向, 而且对反城市化群体而言是过时且失效的。但是对中国高速城市化进程的当下而言又非常写实。因时间推移而扭曲的概念不胜枚举。这也回应了后解构主义认定文本的多义性, 恒定不变的意义是不成立的。

我们永远无法抵达真实, 如何界定“真实”? 有多少种“真实”? 现实中诸多荒诞现象容易让人产生无法克服的抵触情绪, 之所以不愿意相信历史, 是因为历史一直在不断被篡改。乔治.奥威尔在 1948 年已经预言了当下世界, 好比其书中的思想警察所说:“老大哥一直在看着你!” 这不代表绝望, 必须要认清这个多元且扭曲世界里的瑕疵, 这样就有借口说 自己所做的一切都不是徒劳, 带着彷徨, 透过镜头一路寻找我们愿意相信的真实。

只要是绝对纯粹的, 那就是有意义的。

EN：

Mutated Memes: About “TheAir Chrysalis” By Dragon Zheng

“The air chrysalis” originates from an imagery symbolizing “evil spirits”and “an entrance / exit to another dimension” in “1Q84”, a novel byJapanese author Haruki Murakami. From my own perspective, “the air chrysalis”is a noun full of associations and implications. And “1Q84” is aresponse and tribute to “1984”, a political fiction finished in 1948 byEnglish writer George Orwell. In between these two contexts, “the airchrysalis” Haruki Murakami uses in “1Q84” is probably referring to “thetelescreen”, the fictional devices which operate as both televisions andsecurity cameras in George Orwell’s “1984”. Orwell told his readers,“You had to live—did live, from habit that became instinct—in the assumptionthat every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, everymovement scrutinized.” This is somewhat similar to the “know-it-allsensitivities” of the tiny crowds weaving “the air chrysalis” in “1Q84”.

Therefore, technically, the evolvement and transmission of culture is likethe reproduction and evolution in living organisms. The code for thereproduction in living organisms is gene, whereas the password for thecultural communications is meme. Meme was put forward by RichardDawkins, in “ The SelfishGene ”, his book published in 1976, as an element or unit in the imitationof cultural communications. The reason why the culture of human beings can becopied, radiated and evolved is that there are forces within the cultural genesof meme. In terms of etymology, “meme” is the root of the word “memory”,homophonous with “Même” in French (meaning “the same”). Consequently, the words“meme” and “gene” carry the meanings as “memory” and “reproduction”, and theywill also mutate and alienate. Human beings and most other animals aregenetically similar, but it is culture that distinguishes humans from animals.Culture also enables human beings to dominate our planet. In other words,owning to the evolution of meme, we are able to foresee consciously.Except for gene and meme, we shall look at text. Text isthe content of cultural communications and it is encoded twofold; In itsbroadest sense, text refers to any discourse set by any form of writing;Specifically, on the other hand, text is categorized as a literaryentity constituted by language. In this book, visual images, counting photography,are seen as texts. Based on all these explanations, it is clear that mycitation of “the air chrysalis” here as the title of this book is not lyricismbut retrospection.

The book in your hands explores a spontaneous evolution and variation ofthe text over a long period instead of the “replication” of cultural genes. Inthe course of reading, you will find that the nonlinear narrative in this bookwill be like a journey in time crossing over texts and images. You will alsofeel as if you were going through an adventure led by the latitude andlongitude of time and space. Inspired by what Jorge Luis Borges used to say,“The past is the matter that makes up time, and so time will soon be the past”,I selected some old and mysterious photos — the “exudate of time” instead ofthe “section of time ” —screened a century ago. Then I put them into the firstpart of this book. In the process of editing, I was puzzled by the evolution oftexts. And I also raised a question, “Are those things not being documented notimportant?” Later, when I was looking at these “lost” photos, I found apoignant sense behind these “ time capsules ”. And my answers to the questionwould be that, we do not know exactly the stories behind from the images erodedby time, and, undeniably, stories happened had turned into an enigma, vanishingforever into the history. When it comes to the mutation of texts, it issometimes preposterous. In addition, the transmissions of texts can be afabrication. Take the five-line verses (“I’m Not Familiar With This World”)I quoted for an instance, the excerpt from an Internet post was initiallyregarded as a poem by Chinese poet Bei Dao, but it turned out to be a knock-offwork by an Internet user. Many reposted this pseudo-Bei Dao poem because it catersto a popular taste centering on lyricism. For me, this case is a mutatedmeme. The new complexities and quotations added to the context of this bookare expected to derive a new mutated meme, which will transform byitself through communications.

Legend has it that Greek philosopher Socrates once said, “Fields and treesdid not give me any inspiration, but people in the city did teach me a lot.”This saying tends to oppose nature and yet it’s invalid and outdated for thosewho hate cities. However, Socrates’ words are extremely realistic to the extendof the rapid urbanization China is experiencing right now. Concepts that aredistorted due to time changes are countless, and this has reacted to thepolysemy of texts identified by Post Deconstruction. In this sense, constantmeanings do not hold.

We will never reach to the truth because we do not know how to define andclassify it. In the current world we live in, there exist numerously absurdphenomena so we cannot avoid conflicting emotions. We do not believe thehistory because it has always been manipulated. Back in 1948,George Orwell hadprophesied our future by writing “Big Brother Is Watching You!” In my view, thesentence shows not desperations but an attitude towards our reality—we mustrecognize the blemish of this diverse and twisted world so as to make it anexcuse to say that everything we do is not in vain. We can, in fact, seek forthe truth we want to believe, through the cameras and hesitations we carry. Ina word, what is absolutely pure is meaningful.