Han Han, the influential writer, race-car driver, and now social commentator, tells Southern Metropolis Weekly (English | 中文) that some of his recent commentary was designed to deflect the immediate deletions that come with controversial statements on Chinese web platforms:
Q: You once said that the first two essays were padding, while the last essay was the end goal?
A: If you only write the last essay (including <My 2011>), it will surely be deleted. When something gets deleted, it has no value. You can boast on the heroes’ honor roll that you wrote another censored essay and that you were victimized once again. Many rightists rank themselves on the basis of the degree of persecution. This is a somewhat pathetic ranking. The ultimate height in sexual intercourse is the climax. You cannot let someone climax as soon as they read it. You need your padding.南都周刊：你曾说前面两篇文章是铺垫，后面一篇才是目的？
韩寒：你光写后面一篇文章，包括现在的《我的2011》，肯定会被删掉的。当一个东西被删掉了，就没有什么价值了，也只能在英雄谱上把自己说得更牛一点— 老子又写了一篇被删掉的文章，老子是受害者。很多右派是按照被迫害的程度来排资历高低的，他们已经形成了一种比较病态的排序。性爱的最高境界就是高潮，你不能让人家直接看完就到高潮了，你得有你的铺垫。
The interview is a good read, as Han Han takes on the rightists, the leftists, and the intellectuals.
The three essays in question: “On Revolution,” “On Democracy,” and “On Freedom“—followed by “My 2011.” Each of these was translated and posted on Roland Soong’s indispensable East South West North.
Leave a Reply