이방인의 시선에서 바라본 長安 — 《長安的荔枝》를 중심으로

초록

The novel the Litchi Road by the post-80s writer Ma Boyong(馬伯庸) is the story of Li Shande(李善德), a low-ranking official in the Shanglin Office(上林署) in the 14th year of the Tianbao(天寶) era (755), who is appointed as the Lychee Envoy(荔枝使) and struggles to bring lychee from Lingnan(嶺南) to Chang’an(長安). Inspired by Du Mu(杜牧)’s poem “Three Poems on the Journey Through the Huaqing Palace(過華淸宮絕句三首)” from the Tang Dynasty, the story of the Litchi Road centers around the character Li Shande, who transports wild yew, rather than Yang Guifei(楊貴妃). In this way, Ma Boyong attempts to approach the history of the prosperous Tang Dynasty(盛唐) through the ordinary person Li Shande. Intertwined with political slogans such as the Chinese Dream and the Belt and Road Initiative, cultural content has always highlighted the prosperous Tang Dynasty as the most prosperous era and Chang’an as a splendid, vibrant, and internationalized society. However, in the Litchi Road, Chang’an is depicted as a place where ordinary people live, a corrupt and decadent city that eventually falls into ruin. Instead, Lingnan, known as a land of barbarism, is depicted as a place of abundance and sentiment. This shift in perspective stems from the unique background of Ma Boyong, who was born in Inner Mongolia of Manchurian descent and raised in Gulin. The Tang Dynasty, viewed from a microscopic perspective through the eyes of an outsider, appears entirely different from conventional narratives. History is truly driven by “ordinary people,” living ordinary yet intense lives. Therefore, the narrative that unravels the epochal historical event of the “Anshi Rebellion(安史之亂)” through the “Little man(小人物)” of Li Shande has deeply resonated with modern readers. Focusing on the life of a single man struggling for survival challenged the authority of grand narratives, and the new interpretation of Lingnan, Chang’an, and the prosperous Tang Dynasty ultimately spoke to the sensibilities of the era.

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