A Study On The Imagination Of Hong Kong In Xixi’s Fertile Soil Town Novel Series

The name of Fertile Soil town appears frequently in many literary works of Xixi city,which is a self-sufficient aesthetic space built based on Hong Kong.Under different historical backgrounds,through continuous writing and rewriting of Fertile Soil town stories,Xixi actively reflected the urban change of Hong Kong,thought about the issue of Hong Kong,exceeded the time and space of Hong Kong,and answered the questions about identity and construction of Hong Kong: "Where does Hong Kong come from? What is Hong Kong like ? Where is Hong Kong going?".To answer the question "Where does Hong Kong come from?” Xixi repeatedly rewrites the legend of the historical origin and the geographical identity of Fertile Soil town.In the Story of Fertile Soil Town(1982),She writes city fables of two versions,including the Flying soil town and Floating soil town.In Marvels of Floating City(1986),Xixi tells the legend that the pirate ships bombard the floating city from the clouds.In Flying Carpet(1996),Xixi reflects on the memory of the pirate ancestors’ opium burn.In Giant Island(2001),Xixi recalls the anecdote that the island originally is the penal colony of leprosy patients.These works show different stages of development where Hong Kong’s subjectivity changes from preliminary confirmation to turndown to newly construction to sticking to minorities.To consider the question "What is Hong Kong like?",Xixi writes specific encounters,realistic problems and urban worries during different historical periods.In the Story of Fertile Soil Town,Marvels of Floating City,Flying Carpet and Giant Island,Xixi writes,respectively,fertile soil,focusing on Western and local culture combination;floating state,meaning loss of city’s root and options;fertile water,implying good wishes of the city’s prosperity;fat people,urban minorities lacking voice.It presents the native consciousness of Hong Kong people from the early establishment to escalation to reuniting to focus on minorities.The mind of "Where is Hong Kong going? " is embodied in the idealized heterotopia of Xixi’s Fertile Soil town Series.The ideal home,in the Story of Fertile Soil Town,is an ancient house that accompanies and guards city despite its rise and fall;in Marvels of Floating City,is the space between the sky and the land,as well as a city where every one and every thing can fly;in Flying Carpet(1996),is the flying carpet embodying human’s deep feelings towards the earth and Lotus Nut Tea House symbolizing the preservation of the city’s memory and Chinese culture.In Giant Island,is the Leper Island rebuilt by the fat people on the border of the Fertile Soil town.Influenced by historical time and space,the series of Fertile Soil town stories show two major trends: turning inward and turning outward.The former focuses on the city itself,beginning with the Story of Fertile Soil Town,and the anxiety about the future of the city reaches a climax in Marvels of Floating City.The latter emphasizes the connection with the mainland and the world,mainly reflected in Flying Carpet,which focuses on the integration of Chinese and western culture in Hong Kong,and Giant Island,which shows the collision between local and globalization.Before 1997,the main themes of Hong Kong’s identity construction are local identity and national identity,while western culture was the important Other.After the return of Hong Kong to China,the national identity has been confirmed.Nation tradition,local consciousness and global perspective constitute the constructive elements of Hong Kong’s identity.The uniqueness of Hong Kong’s city identity in the future is a multi-cultural construction based on the identity of home country.