dating

A heterosexual (bisexual?) character "Aaron" is arranged as a character in series of chapters. What does such a character symbolize?

Guo: In the story, there must be people who belong to this era, and you can't just indulge in the [-]s.The reason for looking at the past is to see what to do next.It is easier to be gay now, and there are more ways to meet people, but with so many complicated options, it makes people more confused.With these more options, can children really understand what sex is?what is loveFor example, Aaron, he has feelings for the opposite sex, but at the same time thinks that it is unclean for him to be the girlfriend of a hotel lady. Under this kind of shame, there is a deeper layer of shame: if he loves the same sex, he likes it. It would be the older Ojisan in his fifties, which only made him more confused—becoming gay, he would become a more marginalized person in a marginalized world.After opening the door, I realized that it was another world, and realized how complicated my heart was, and it was even more difficult to truly face myself.Uncovering the question does not mean that you will get the answer.

He: The gathering of ghosts in front of the gaybar "Melody" made readers frightened. Does this plot imply something?

Guo: Ghost stories are hard to deal with.There are ghosts in all texts, not the kind of ghosts that can be seen with the eyes and hit evil. The ghosts I want to pull out are ghosts in stories, history, and memories, so that they can be presented naturally.I want to catch the ghosts in the story itself, even if the readers see it, they will not be surprised, like my "Sons Who Walks the Night" and "The Man in the Lost Country" have ghosts in them.I have been trying to communicate with different ghosts, after all, ghosts are much more interesting than people.I want to break the concept of space such as tangible/intangible, yang/hell, just like that gaybar, entering it is a dream, and it can lead to everywhere.I wanted to create some new ghosts that were all gay, which I thought would be fun.

He: Some chapters of "Dating the Ages" quoted famous quotes from Wilde, Sartre, EM Foster, and Camus as introductions. Are they related to the theme of the novel?

Guo: It is indeed very relevant.I want to explore the questions that existentialism in a new era needs to think about.I want to go back to the existential question: what is the "existence" of being gay?In the early years of existentialism, God was dead, and now we are stepping towards a more helpless world.I tried to use the novel to provide a hypothesis: In addition to the absence of God, the previously believed relationship of sex, marriage, and family may also face disintegration. What kind of state would that be?The bottom line of this question is that there is no distinction between homosexuality and heterosexuality. "Who am I?" Exactly "I" is the position given to me by society, the oath made by how you love or choose not to love?Or is there another meaning?My novel hopes to be read by readers who have these questions about existence. Even if you are not gay, you can still see yourself from these questions.

—— Issue [-] of "United Literature" magazine

Sand shadow dream soul, the love of all living beings:

Who is the murderer?

Zhang Aizhu

Guo Qiangsheng's "Dating of the Dynasties" is a masterpiece following "Son of a Walker in the Night" ([-]?[-]?) and "The Man Who Confused" ([-]?[-]).In Guo Qiangsheng's gay novels, there are always a group of wandering handsome men, handsome men, leftover men, and abandoned men, squandering their sudden lust and (no longer) youthful rebellious flesh, with a bit of posturing and a bit of slutty Uninhibited, as if eager to prove to others and myself: this body is still alive.However, under the various appearances and physical bodies, there is a loneliness and desolation that penetrates to the bone.Sometimes reading Guo Qiangsheng seems to be reading a queer version of Eileen Chang; however, in Eileen Chang's novels, the machinations of heterosexual heroes and heroines in the dark corners are not only about love, but also the marriage and its added value that love may bring.However, in Guo Qiangsheng's "Eileen Chang Queer Edition", gay men's scheming about love is because marriage and family are not available, and "true love" has become the only appeal, which highlights the twists and turns and paradoxes of gay love.

Compared with the occasional sentimentalism in "Sons Who Walks the Night", the text of "Dating Times" is more concise and precise. Do Rang; he sharply and profoundly hits the gray area of ​​homophobia and homophobia between homosexuality and heterosexuality, and also refers to the interaction of sex and politics, which can be said to be directly following the creation of "American Angel" Tony Kushner (Tony Kushner).The various gay characters portrayed by Guo Qiangsheng are vivid and three-dimensional. They are not limited to the negative silhouettes of Taiwanese literature in the pre-Tongmoung period who were condemned by God and bore original moral sins, nor are they limited to the "political correctness" of certain gay literature in the post-Tongfu period. Good Man Symptoms". Several main characters in "Date" are endowed with complex psychological depth, as well as the struggle of human nature when faced with choices and calculations.

The narration of the novel unfolds in the manner of a mystery novel, starting from the owner of Melody's bar who fell to the ground, was set on fire and haunted by ghosts to track down the culprit of the unsolved case; along this story line, the memories and confessions of several main characters are strung together. Confessions of love, and the questioning of unsolved cases is interpreted as questioning of sexual identity: "Are you?"Old Qi, who is old and decrepit, guards the gay bar at Qitiaotong on Zhongshan North Road. "Meiledi" is his tool for making a living, and it is also the only way for him to spend his life and connect with society.The only lover he believes is a "college student" whom he met many years ago but suddenly lost contact. For this reason, he ignores the persistent pursuit of drag queen Tang Ge.But he provided board and lodging when Brother Tang was terminally ill, and accompanied him through the last journey of his life, which can be regarded as kind and righteous.Xiao Zhong is a folk singer and music producer, and the most reflective character in the novel (he is often also the spokesperson for the author to criticize the social status quo).Xiao Zhong's road to love is bumpy: he was seduced by his classmate Yao Ruifeng in high school, and had his first taste of lust.Reunited with Yao in college, became buddies with Yao and Yao's good friend Ah Chong, under the "cover" of Yao using his girlfriend Angela, staged an ambiguous and seemingly real four-corner relationship.After graduating from university, Yao intends to pursue a career in politics and marries Angela. In college, Ah Chung was a man of righteousness and swayed the flag in social movement activities. Later, he hollowed out his family business and fled to the United States to build a joint venture with Thomas, a native Chinese. lovinghome……

In Xiao Zhong's review, the triangular relationship between him and Yao and Achong between "male-male socializing" and "male-male intercourse" is complicated and confusing, and will eventually lead to different paths: "Rejecting any character will make us Naming, we will never be the real comrades in each other’s lives. In the future, we can only go our own way. The way of survival lies in one thought, and no one can read the scriptures of others. Let the classmates belong to the classmates, and the comrades belong to each other. Comrade."

Xiao Zhong is a person with a conscience, does not shirk his ethical responsibilities, and is honest with himself. However, this has also created an unbearable burden in his life.In the [-]s, "many lies about this island will be destroyed... The old lies will be exposed, and the new ones will be replaced immediately", but Xiao Zhong cannot be as clever and strategic as Yao; The opportunity has opened the door for all those who want to stand up, and the honorable label of the victim is almost too late to be distributed.” During the social transformation period, he used his identity as an aboriginal mother to grab the honorable label of the victim and became a stepping stone to enter the political arena.

Xiao Zhong cared about gay issues and mustered up the courage to come out publicly on the concert stage, but he didn't do the right thing at the right time.In the early days of the gay movement, radicals needed "the blessing of gorgeous, dreamy and colorful lights, and the heterosexuals should clap their hands respectfully", but Zhong, who didn't know the current affairs, asked the audience to sign a joint signature, asking the security unit to sweep up the sauna, "to avoid drugs and The Harm of Unsafe Sex on the Lives of Gays".Such "ignorance of current affairs" made him a reactionary conservative who was rejected by the gay circle.Xiao Zhong's criticism of Tong Yun is filled with the chatter of a misanthrope, but there is no lack of black and humorous whimsy, which makes people think of the master in Wang Wenxing's "The Man Behind the Sea".He imagines a day when the silent majority, like himself, who cannot even obtain citizenship in a gay country, will change the world:

On the day when they finally went crazy, some took off their underwear and rushed into the carnival-style anti-discrimination parade. Cum, look at this world that pretends to be gods and ghosts to terrorize them, and what crimes can they be convicted of in the end!

Although Xiao Zhong came out of the closet, he still did not forget his responsibility to his family.His younger sister immigrated abroad for many years, and Xiao Zhong alone took on the responsibility of taking care of his elderly and sick parents until their death. In the end, he faced the ashes of the two elders in the country house. One thing, at least you know that the time is wrong, not yourself." Xiao Zhong has his own unique observations and witty words about male love and love:

People of the same sex are too aware of the same equipment as each other, and the giving or receiving of the other party cannot be separated from their own sexual fantasies at all... This kind of sex with multiple avatars at the same time is a task that requires more highly evolved brain cells to perform ...

Compared with Lao Qi and Xiao Zhong, Aaron and Yao are characters who walk between the homosexual and heterosexual mechanisms.Aaron, who works in a supermarket, already has his girlfriend Xiao Min, but accidentally gets involved in the stroke of Lao Qi and the fire at the Melody bar.Tony, the ballroom dance assistant who had a crush on Aaron back then, performed in an election campaign and was stigmatized by the media, and even committed suicide in shame.Aaron blamed himself for failing to rescue Tony in time, so he transferred the idea of ​​redemption to Lao Qi, and took care of Lao Qi regardless of Xiao Min's dissatisfaction. qualitative space.Interestingly, even the scene where a group of ghosts roam and wait for the transcendence also concretely and subtly presents the subculture of gay fashion fetishism:

There were already ten people waiting at the gate of MELODY.In the low temperature at night, it seems that they are all dressed in full suits...the kind of big shoulder pads in the [-]s, or the long version with narrow collar and four buttons in the [-]s... a group of well-dressed figures , Just like this, they gathered in front of the store, as if they came to attend a mysterious party.

In the mystery-like narration, the mystery is finally solved. Yao is actually the "culprit" of all the main characters' love disasters: he is the only "college student lover" identified by Lao Qi throughout his life, and he is also the one who Xiao Zhong wants to see when he is dying. The one-sided but unrepentant first love, is Ah Chong's best friend who has been struggling all the way but is hard to please.Yao dealt with all the men with ease, but under the shelter of heterosexual marriage, his career and family were in harmony.In the gay circle, he is a brilliant non-stick player and a predator; however, at the end of the story, due to the fire in Melody, a "lover photo" that Lao Qi had treasured for many years was exposed to the media. Dreams are ruined.From another perspective, he longed for his own home with a broken native family, and his official career was interrupted under the homophobic prying eyes of the heterosexual mechanism. Isn't he a victim?

In the end, when Lao Qi was declared dead, Aaron obeyed the command of Tang Ge's ghost and set fire to Mei Ledi, which also liberated this group of comrades from different ages who were oppressed and shackled.One after another, the thrilling encounters that could have developed into romantic legends eventually changed into specious and deja vu sand shadow dream souls, and queer anecdotes filled with ignorance and charm.

Under Guo Qiangsheng's dramatic multi-line narrative, gay love is inseparable from politics, sex, lies, and homophobia; The history of love injury or injury history that reminds us of the past and present life; the series of love medical records that have been abused and abused by others; If you don’t come out, you have to be like a ghost, guarding a secret base in the dark kingdom as a survival strategy... The collective memory and emotional structure of all kinds of comrades are deeply displayed in Guo Qiangsheng’s pen with both macro and micro.

Zhang Aizhu, Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages, National Chiao Tung University, famous queer and gender theory, theater performance and video culture scholar, author of "Gender Transcendence and Queer Performance" "Global Time, Space, Body, Memory: New Taiwanese Film and Its Influence ", English academic books Queer Performance and performance and Remapping Memories and public Space: Taiwan's Theater of Action in the Opposition Movement and Social Movements, from 1986 to 1997, etc.