A Brief Discussion on the Beauty of Tragedy

     Perfection, in my view, is a beauty of outline, while tragic beauty is a beauty of structure, cellular structure, and artistic conception. Compared to comedy, I prefer tragedy. This is probably because comedy is filled with elements of perfection that people can never surpass, while tragedy, because it resonates more with the philosophy of ordinary life, though heavy, can open people's hearts. Perfection is a human aspiration, or even something people pursue throughout their lives. Because it is too idealistic, it can only remain an ultimate goal or wish. Tragedy, because it often tears apart false appearances for people to see, possesses a certain beauty of imperfection, making it endlessly memorable. Perhaps as human beings, we are unwilling to appreciate further sorrow in the face of already endured suffering, but rather prefer to seek a perfect sense of joy in fairy tales.

    For example, the love between Sun Shao-ping and Tian Xiao-xia in the novel *Ordinary World*, or the love between Han Xin-yue and Chu Yan-chao in *The Funeral of a Muslim*. These two novels, both winners of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, are works I greatly admire. They may not fully capture the essence of Chinese culture, but the cultural phenomena they evoke are eternal and irreplaceable. Sun Shao-ping, an indomitable striver, is ordinary yet extraordinary. He is a coal miner, and Tian Xiao-xia is a journalist. Their love is pure and noble. As characters in the novel, they serve a common theme. The meaning of "ordinary" is not a beautiful fulfillment, but an attitude towards the hardships of life. As characters from two different backgrounds, perhaps their love can transcend professional boundaries and ignore differences in social status. Such love might satisfy people's aesthetic tastes, or it could be treated as a fairy tale lacking profound life lessons. Perhaps Tian Xiao-xia's death is the highlight of *Ordinary World*.

    Tian Xiao-xia's death represents the death of this beautiful love. Because in real life, such love lacks the soil to flourish; only through the suppression of worldly affairs can their inner world be revealed and their characters shaped. Imagine if they had married—it would have satisfied readers' desire for a perfect happy ending. Such works, lacking the depth and richness of ordinary life, lack profound literary value. If they had married, with two different lives and so much inequality, could they have been happy? This is a book about ordinary people; it belongs to life and must conform to the laws of social development. Tian Xiaoxia's death leaves readers with regret and Sun Shao-ping with immense pain. This tragic beauty, because of its imperfection, is all the more unforgettable. This tragic beauty is in no way inferior to hypothetical perfection. Because it is a real existence, existing not only in the work but also in our lives. Perhaps it is because of the support of life that this novel achieves its brilliant status. Tian Xiaoxia died, but Sun Shao-ping did not succumb to despair; he repaid his beloved with the best he could live. Life does not stop because of our misfortunes; living is the greatest comfort to the departed. Because life must go on, and there is still much we need to do. In my opinion, the value of the novel *Ordinary World* lies in its portrayal of an indomitable spirit of perseverance through life's hardships, or perhaps more accurately, in its tragic beauty that elevates ordinary heroes.

    In the novel *The Funeral of a Muslim*, however, we see a different kind of tragic beauty in the characters of Han Xinyue and Chu Yanchao. As a Hui Muslim, born to her father and aunt, this tragic beauty perhaps began shaping her from a young age, both when she was aware of the world and when she was young. She grew up under the oppression of her family, yet she used her education as a means to change her fate. Chu Yanchao, a teacher not much older than her, shared a common ideal with her. Their love was a romance that permeated the campus, a love that was both budding and natural.

    As a novel, as a "funeral" for Muslims, perhaps poignant beauty is an essential element. The characters are born to create tragic beauty, serving the theme of the work. Their love could have had a perfect ending, but it didn't. Perhaps this subtle, layered tragic beauty is merely to unveil the mystery of a people, or perhaps it's simply to fulfill a theme. Han Xinyue is gone. It wasn't so much an illness she contracted, but rather the illness of her family that afflicted her. It wasn't her own illness that destroyed her, but the family's. She was a product of contradictions, a product of right and wrong. Though she wasn't directly involved in the tragedy, this vortex indirectly devoured her family happiness. She is gone, gone into the now-revealed history of the Hui people, gone into a past where resentment has faded, gone into a state of deep regret and longing. Perhaps the tragedy didn't originate with her, but she is the most poignant flower. The past is now sealed away; only she remains, reflecting and revealing the root of all this. Perhaps she didn't even have time to sing the praises of life before she left, carrying with her ethnic sentiments, carrying a tragedy that wasn't originally hers. She encountered love, but couldn't stay with it. Her tragedy wasn't the fickleness of love, but the fickleness of life—a life that both belonged to her and didn't belong to her. Only a long, drawn-out violin melody remains at her grave, in Chu Yanchao's hands. In fact, *The Butterfly Lovers* is essentially a Muslim funeral, perhaps belonging only to Han Xinyue. In my view, *The Funeral of a Muslim* is a celebration dedicated to Han Xinyue, who receives the most attention. Although she is merely a Hui Muslim, there are countless chapters related to her. Her tragic beauty is the cornerstone of the novel's success. Her tragic beauty also allows us to see the origins of the Hui people.

    The above is my brief analysis of the tragic beauty from two novels and four characters. It is tragic beauty that makes these novels successful, because tragedy, through the involvement of life, makes this beauty deeper and more enduring. Perhaps those that merely fill the void of vanity seem so superficial and baseless, lacking the tranquility and lingering attachment one feels after reading!