《独夜舟》头三页和江少川评论的头三页（2025.9.3）
ChatGPT said:
好的，我可以帮您把这三页中文翻译成英文。下面是对应的译文（我会保持原文的学术风格和完整性）：
Chapter Six A New Perspective on the Study of Overseas Hubei Writers
Section One Ouyang Yu’s The Eastern Slope Chronicle: From Novel to the Truth of Reality
The Eastern Slope Chronicle (2016) is Ouyang Yu’s third self-translated long novel, characterized by great experimentalism. Ouyang Yu believes the meaning of writing lies in three aspects:
Writing different kinds of things;
Writing things that cannot be written;
Writing things that have never been written before.
In his preface to The Eastern Slope Chronicle, Ouyang explicitly articulates three essential elements of novel-writing: “The novel is about truth, about reality. If we write a novel merely for the purpose of storytelling, then perhaps it is nothing more than a childish thing, a pastime, a kind of entertainment.” His insistence on truth grants his writing not only artistic charm but also the courage to face reality. He regards writing as a way to probe the world, a kind of sharp scalpel that cuts open the surface of reality and lays bare the hidden, absurd, and alienated essence of it. In doing so, he resists the falsehood of language and all forms of totalitarian pursuit. In this sense, the novel is deeply linked to life itself.
The world is indeed chaotic and absurd, but writing a novel may provide another “truth” outside reality, a truth not meant to deceive but to correspond to reality itself. Thus, in his writing, Ouyang Yu does not avoid pain, boredom, or even madness; instead, he insists on exposing it. For him, writing a novel is not about comforting, not about healing, but about relentlessly facing the absurdity of life. The The Eastern Slope Chronicle is precisely such a work—its hidden core lies in a profound exploration of reality.
I. The Poetics of Anti-Story
Regarding the novel, Ouyang Yu has always held an unconventional attitude. Although his earlier bilingual novels such as The Angry Chinese Poet (1999) and Loose: A Wild History (2014) had already been published, The Eastern Slope Chronicle presents a new academic significance. According to Waugh, metafiction refers to “fiction that self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact.” The Eastern Slope Chronicle is precisely such a work of anti-story.
Anti-story, or non-story, is a narrative that deliberately negates traditional fictional elements. Everything written, including memoir, autobiography, fragment, and essay, may all be classified under “non-fiction.” Once fiction is stripped of its illusory scaffolding, it moves toward non-fictionality. Thus, the anti-story novel stands in stark contrast to conventional fictional storytelling.
As Ouyang Yu himself asserts, the true novel should be one of exploration—an exploration into the boundaries of language, into the human condition, into the absurdity of existence. He draws on Tim Martin’s essay on B.S. Johnson, the British avant-garde writer, to situate his novel within the anti-traditional lineage of modernist experiment.
In his own words:
“You write a novel, and there is not a single complete story in it. How could you be satisfied? You write and find yourself constantly returning to the present era. In today’s era, it is impossible to construct a fully self-contained plot. Writers today can no longer create an imaginary world where readers may indulge. Rather, readers are acutely aware of the artificiality of such writing. They do not believe in it. So, in this sense, I tell stories in fragments—small, disconnected, abrupt—and this makes people restless, makes them uneasy. Yet that is exactly the point.”
This anti-story approach is not only a literary strategy but also a mode of truth-telling.
II. The Truth Value of Anti-Story
The reason why the anti-story novel persists is precisely because the times themselves have changed. People no longer need or desire “comforting stories.” “Society” requires novels to reveal truth, not to weave fantasies. The “truth” of the traditional novel has long been consumed by conventions of narrative technique. The truth value of anti-story novels lies in resisting precisely this convention. By negating narrative’s coherence, by tearing apart its completeness, they establish another dimension of truth.
The significance of Ouyang Yu’s The Eastern Slope Chronicle lies here: it tears apart the illusion of fiction, dismisses completeness, coherence, and perfection, instead embracing fragmentation, absurdity, repetition, and failure. In doing so, the novel becomes a mirror reflecting the world’s cracks and disjunctions.
As Ouyang Yu himself has said:
“Writing a novel is to write what cannot be written. Writing is not for the sake of storytelling, nor for the sake of imagination, but to confront reality directly. The so-called imagination of the novel is nothing but falsehood. Novelists cannot escape reality—they must enter directly into its heart.”
Thus, his novel is both philosophical reflection and literary practice. Its aesthetic lies in rejecting ornamentation, rejecting beautification. Instead, it insists on truth—even if that truth is painful, fragmented, or absurd.
In this sense, anti-story is not a denial of literature but a redefinition of it.
ChatGPT said:
You said:
ChatGPT said:
谢谢提醒！您说得对，书里谈的是欧阳昱的长篇小说《独夜舟》(A Lonely Night Boat)，而不是 The Eastern Slope Chronicle。我来重新为您翻译这三页的正文部分，保持学术风格，并统一把书名译成 A Lonely Night Boat。
Chapter Six A New Perspective on the Study of Overseas Hubei Writers
Section One Ouyang Yu’s A Lonely Night Boat: From Novel to the Truth of Reality
A Lonely Night Boat (2016) is Ouyang Yu’s third self-translated long novel, marked by strong experimentalism. Ouyang Yu believes the significance of writing lies in three aspects: (1) writing different kinds of things; (2) writing what cannot be written; and (3) writing what has never been written before. In the preface to A Lonely Night Boat, he makes clear three essential elements of fiction: “The novel is about truth, about reality. If it is only for the sake of telling stories, it may well be a childish pastime or entertainment.”
His persistence in truth gives his fiction both artistic charm and a will to face reality. For him, writing is not merely an artistic game but a scalpel that cuts into the hidden structures of reality, exposing its absurdity and alienation. In this sense, fiction resists the falsehood of language and the totalitarian pursuit of domination. Thus, the novel is intimately tied to life itself.
The world is indeed chaotic and absurd, but writing a novel may create another “truth” alongside reality, not a deceptive one but one that corresponds with reality. Therefore, Ouyang Yu does not avoid pain, boredom, or madness in his writing; instead, he insists on exposing them. For him, the novel is not meant to comfort, nor to heal, but to face the absurdity of existence head-on. A Lonely Night Boat is precisely such a work, with its hidden core in the profound exploration of reality.
I. The Poetics of Anti-Story
With regard to the novel, Ouyang Yu has always maintained an unconventional attitude. Although his earlier bilingual novels The Angry Chinese Poet (1999) and Loose: A Wild History (2014) had already been published, A Lonely Night Boat shows a new academic significance. According to Patricia Waugh, metafiction refers to “fiction that self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact.” A Lonely Night Boat is just such an anti-story novel.
Anti-story, or non-story, refers to fiction that deliberately negates traditional narrative elements. All writing—including memoir, autobiography, reflection, or fragment—may be considered “non-story.” Once fiction is stripped of its illusory scaffolding, it approaches the domain of non-fiction. Thus, the anti-story novel stands in sharp contrast to traditional storytelling.
As Ouyang Yu asserts, the real novel should be one of exploration—exploring the limits of language, the human condition, and the absurdity of life. In this respect, he echoes Tim Martin’s essay on B.S. Johnson, the British avant-garde writer, situating his novel within the anti-traditional lineage of experimental modernism.
In Ouyang Yu’s own words:
“You write a novel, and there isn’t a single complete story in it. How could you be satisfied? You write, and find yourself returning again and again to the present. In today’s world, it is impossible to create a fully enclosed plot. Readers are already alert; they no longer indulge in imaginary worlds. They sense the artificiality of such writing and reject it. Therefore, I write stories in fragments, without continuity, sometimes abruptly, sometimes at random. This makes readers uneasy, restless—and that is exactly my point.”
Thus, the anti-story is not only a literary technique but also a way of telling the truth.
II. The Truth Value of Anti-Story
The persistence of the anti-story novel is rooted in the transformation of the times. People no longer require “comforting stories.” Society expects novels to tell the truth, not to weave illusions. The “truth” of the traditional novel has long been consumed by the conventions of narrative technique. The truth value of the anti-story novel lies in resisting these conventions. By negating coherence and completeness, it creates another level of truth.
The significance of A Lonely Night Boat lies here: it dismantles the illusion of fiction, dismisses completeness and harmony, and embraces fragmentation, absurdity, repetition, and failure. In this way, the novel becomes a mirror reflecting the cracks of reality.
As Ouyang Yu puts it:
“Writing a novel is to write what cannot be written. Writing is not for the sake of telling stories, nor for the sake of imagination, but to face reality directly. So-called imagination in fiction is nothing but falsehood. Novelists cannot escape reality—they must enter directly into its heart.”
Thus, his novel is at once philosophical reflection and literary practice. Its aesthetic lies in rejecting ornamentation and beautification. Instead, it insists on truth—even if that truth is painful, fragmented, or absurd. In this sense, the anti-story is not a negation of literature but a redefinition of it.
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