The Characteristics of Henggou's Official History Mystery Novels

Masashi Yokomizo is an important writer in the history of Japanese mystery novels . His attainments in mystery novels have reached the pinnacle of heights. Together with Edogawa Ranpo and Matsumoto Seicho , they are called the three peaks of Japanese mystery novels. His works integrate the creative styles of the two schools of original style and change, and add a dark and treacherous artistic style to the rigorous logical reasoning, creating a series of mystery novels well-known to women and children. The author intends to start with the plot setting of Henggou's official history mystery novels, respectively explore the characteristics of his novels in this aspect, and strive to let readers understand the excellence of Henggou's official history mystery novels.

The plot mainly refers to the experiences of the characters shown in the work, various conflicts and a series of specific events that can show a certain relationship between the characters themselves, between characters and characters, and between characters and the environment. Therefore, a plot in a broad sense is an event, an event that the author tells through the novel according to a certain intention. For the plot, we discuss two aspects. First, the novel does not construct the plot of the novel through the shaping of the character image, but the image of the character is shaped through the plot of the story. Second, the plot is often integrated with the story and has a more important role. First of all, we must make it clear that plots and stories are often mixed together, but the difference between them is very obvious. Specifically, both plots and stories are narrating events, but plots emphasize causality more than stories, that is, Propulsion and purpose of action. All in all, the plot completes the characters and tells the cause and effect of the story. It can be clearly seen that the plot occupies an important position and cannot be ignored in the construction of the entire novel. As an important category of novels, detective novels are the type of novels that mainly describe the occurrence of cases and the process of reasoning and detection. Since it became popular in literary creation, it has been loved by readers for its unique appeal in plot setting. As a detective novel, Henggou Zhengshi also naturally has great achievements in this regard.

Qiao Mengfu, a literati in the Yuan Dynasty, put forward the metaphors of "phoenix head", "pig belly" and "leopard tail" when talking about the rules of Yuefu, to describe that an article should have a good beginning, main body and ending. This statement requires that the work should have a beautiful and exciting beginning like a crested head, a body with substantial and rich content like a pig's belly, and a powerful ending like a leopard's tail. Later generations quoted Yuan Ren's statement as the basic theory for judging the quality of works. However, in the detective novels of Henggou’s official history, it is surprisingly found that this theory is in line with this theory. This is undoubtedly a breakthrough in the original traditional plot setting mode of detective novels. The following is from the beginning, the process, the ending and the new mode. It discusses the innovation of Henggou's official history detective novels to the tradition in four aspects.

1. "Crested Head" - a rich start

As for detective novels, many novelists believe that the center of the novel should be placed in the introduction of the case and the process of reasoning and solving the case, so often at the beginning of the novel, not much effort is spent, only brief, even It's a rough explanation. In terms of function, it is only to make the main case of the novel appear immediately in the special atmosphere formed by the reader's upcoming story. Therefore, the beginning of most detective novels is only to serve as a prelude to the case. Forewarning, which usually means that a crime has already been done, or that there is some sort of frightening premonition that a crime is about to happen. For example, Edogawa Ranpo's famous novel "Dazaka Murder Incident", the opening part reads: "One afternoon, "I" was sitting in the Baimeixuan coffee shop and drinking coffee leisurely, and had a conversation with the wise young man who had just met. Goro observes a slightly strange second-hand bookstore together. Such a simple opening description leads to the plot of the proprietress of the second-hand bookstore being strangled to death. It can be seen from this that in traditional detective novels, the description at the beginning is intended to lead to the case.

However, on the basis of absorbing the writing experience of the predecessors, Henggou Zhengshi perfected the role of the beginning part in setting the plot of the whole novel, making the original simple beginning gorgeous and exciting. This point can be analyzed from the writing style of Henggou’s official history novels. His emphasis on the layout of the beginning lies in the fact that he uses the rendering of the atmosphere of the novel that he is good at, especially the writing characteristics that introduce horror emotions into the novel, and apply it to the writing at the beginning of the novel. The more common method is to use horror, weird and frightening legends or stories, and spend more effort on the introduction of the background of the story. In this way, the original lagging of detective novels is brought forward to the beginning of the novel, so that readers can read Enter the special atmosphere created by the novel as early as possible, and enter the world of detective novels he constructed. While being able to better attract readers' attention, it also plays a logical role in paving the way for the follow-up case in terms of structure. The most representative work in this regard is " Eight Tomb Village ".

At the beginning of "Eight Tombs Village", a legend of a horrible rash man was introduced as a background introduction. At the beginning of the novel, Henggou Zhengshi describes a terrifying ghost story, which easily makes readers feel a strong atmosphere of horror at the beginning, and there is also a structure in the introduction of Bamu Village, where the case described in the novel is located. The necessity of the above has paved the way for the mystery of the characters in the Batou Village and the murder cases that occurred in the Batomb Village. And the series of serial murders that followed coincided with the legend of the eight samurai in Batomb Village who were killed and took revenge on the villagers. The number of deaths involved was also eight, which made the Readers subjectively feel that this is another revenge act of ghosts and gods echoing back and forth, and the murderer uses this seemingly accidental but internal structurally related coincidence to design a murder plan, which makes readers feel creepy At the same time, I admire Henggou's official history in setting the plot of the novel before and after and the skill of elaboration.

Compared with the simple beginning, a wonderful beginning will not make readers feel that the beginning of the novel is bloated, but it will attract readers' desire to continue reading. The characteristics of Henggou Zhengshi's layout at the beginning make the whole novel more unique in terms of plot setting. Distinctive style. This type of novel represented by "Eight Tomb Village" is based on the excellent opening design, combined with the description of the follow-up main story, to play a role of integration and mutual echo, so that readers can feel the ingenuity in the novel The reading enjoyment it brings.

2. "Pork belly" - a complete and concentrated process

The most critical part of the plot setting is the process from the reasoning of case clues to the final detection and revelation of the mystery, and how to make this part shine is the homework that all detective novelists need to complete. In this part, Edogawa Ranpo usually uses the contest of strength and wisdom between the detective and the criminal suspect to make the story spiral upwards, making the plot intense without losing the logic of strict reasoning. For example, in his novel, for the famous detective Akechi Kogoro, an old enemy with twenty faces is tailored. into a complete event. The use of this design technique not only conforms to the classic pattern of detective novels, but also is a development of the classic pattern. The multiple contests between detectives and criminals are also repeated uses of the classic pattern, making the novel grand and compact.

However, Henggou's official history has taken a different approach, starting from the integrity and concentration of the plot setting in the process of the novel, and achieving the goal of making the plot setting in the process shine through the extremely high requirements for these two characteristics of the novel.

Completeness requirements for plot settings. Generally speaking, detective novels put the focus of the reasoning process on how the detectives reason to solve the case. There is nothing wrong with such a writing method for detective novels, but this often results in overemphasis on detective reasoning and neglect of the fluency of the plot. Make readers unable to maintain the consistency of thinking while reading. Henggou's official history has seen this point, so on the basis of detective novels emphasizing reasoning logic, they pay full attention to the integrity of the plot of the novel and pursue the perfect presentation of the plot. As for how to do this, the official history of Henggou adopts the method of downplaying the special role of the detective in the case, making the detective a witness of the case, experiencing the case from the same perspective as the reader, first of all making the detective the eyes of the reader, rather than the reader's brain. Although in the process, some detectives' analysis and thinking about the case will be added, but it does not take up too much space, it is just a simple sorting out of the case, not so much for thinking about solving the case, as it is for readers to clarify the case The organization of the plot does not affect the fluency of the plot. At the end of the novel, when the detective explains the process of solving the case, he introduces rigorous logical reasoning to analyze the plot. This method of concealing the detective in the plot maintains the original strict logic of detective novels without losing the integrity of the plot, enabling readers to read in the double enjoyment of rigorous reasoning and complete plot. . The book " The Inugami Family " is the masterpiece of the author's pursuit of plot integrity. The book tells the story of the detective Kindaichi who accidentally met Miss Tsuse, a member of the wealthy Inugami family, and was drawn into the tragedy of the Inugami family's internal murder. Throughout the novel, from the killing of Satake Satomo, to the mystery of Saqing's identity, and then to the killing of Shizuma, Kindaichi's role in the middle is hard to think that he is a detective. The book plays the role of a thinker like the reader, and his detective behavior is implied in the plot, which is a factor that serves the development of the case. Finally, after rigorous logical deduction, it is deduced that Zuo Qing's mother is actually the murderer. From the motive of the crime And the modus operandi is elaborated in detail, which is in line with the characteristics of detective novels. This also proves that the official history of Henggou attaches great importance to the plot of the case.

Centrality requirements for plot settings. The requirements of Henggou’s official history detective novels on the integrity of the plot can be said to make the novel reach a certain level in the breadth of the plot, and how to make the novel achieve something in the depth of the plot, he adopts a method that requires a high degree of integrity. At the same time, it emphasizes the concentration of the plot, thereby intensifying the intensity of the plot, making the novel reach a deeper place in the reader's heart and touch the reader's deeper heart. As for how to emphasize the concentration of the plot, Henggou Zhengshi adopted a simple method, which is to minimize the development space of the story, in other words, to limit the character setting and plot activities of the novel to a certain In a narrow space environment. The emphasis on the concentration of the plot of the novel is achieved through the high concentration of the story space. This point can be reflected in many novels of Henggou's official history. In the " Honjin Murder Incident " mentioned above, the case is limited in space in the new house of the Honjin, which can be described as narrow; in "The Inugami Family", the case is set in the manor of the Inugami family. This setting is similar to The "big family manor" model established in the golden age of Europe and the United States is also a small space; the space setting of "Eight Tomb Village" is relatively large, and it is indeed only in a small village. The same space type has " "Prison Gate Island " and "Queen Bee" are just on a mysterious and airtight island. The motive of committing the crime constitutes the whole horror story.

The plots of novels such as "Prison Gate Island" are all set in a relatively narrow space, and through the various horrific and strange cases that broke out in the small space, the novel has a kind of novelty that appears due to the narrow space in reading. The sense of compactness comes out, and the intensity is thus strengthened. Henggou's official history emphasizes the completeness and concentration of the novel's plot, so that the novel finally achieves the purpose of enveloping readers in breadth and depth, enabling readers to experience a three-dimensional reading pleasure, and triggering readers' strong reading enjoyment. Therefore, the characteristics of Henggou's official history in terms of plot setting are the key to its success.

3. "Leopard Tail" - a smooth but powerful ending

Regarding the ending of a detective novel, as mentioned above, it often ends with the arrest of the criminal and the confession of the criminal, which is closely related to the part where the case is solved, and can be said to be the part that brings the whole case to an end. Such a traditional mode often makes the novel come to an embarrassing situation where it comes to an abrupt end after reaching a climax. With the development of detective novels, experienced readers have higher and higher requirements for each part of the novel. After experiencing the roller coaster interpretation of the case, many readers find it difficult to accept the plain ending of the capture of criminals, which is ironic. Novel dog tail continued mink. It is not uncommon for novels to be rated lower because the ending of the novel is too flat and the entertainment is unfinished.

Zhengshi Henggou discovered this in the creation of detective novels, probably because of his emphasis on the integrity of the story and the pursuit of a unique artistic style, which made him attach great importance to a vigorous and powerful character when creating detective novels. The setting of the ending, and how to set it up, he adopted a plot setting method similar to the "Otter Tail Method" commonly used in ancient Chinese novels. The so-called "Otter Tail Method" was mentioned by Jin Shengtan of the Qing Dynasty in his "Reading the Fifth Talent Book", "After a large text, it is not easy to live in silence, but to play the aftermath. For example, after the return of Dongguo Yanwu in Liang Zhongshu , when Wenbin was promoted to the magistrate of the county. Wu Song came down from the hill after beating a tiger, and met two hunters, blood splashed behind the mandarin duck building, and waited for the moonlight by the moat." That is to say, after the main part of the plot and the climax of the plot, in order not to stop it abruptly, the novel sets a continuation of the climax and a slowly descending aftermath-style ending, that is, "make waves after things have passed", so that the novel can achieve waves. There are waves in the middle, waves behind the waves, and the waves are connected to each other, repeating itself, and even playing to the end.

Henggou Zhengshi skillfully applies this "Otter Tail Method" to the creation of detective novels. Without affecting the weight of the key part of the detective novel to solve the case, the ending is set vigorously and intriguingly. , so as not to come to an abrupt end. The representative work of this kind of ending is "The Inugami Family".

The ending of "Inugami Family" reveals the real murderer behind Saqing's mother Inugami Matsuko, and Saqing was sentenced to help her mother dispose of the corpse in the dark. Matsuko confessed to the evidence, and Zuo Qing was also arrested and served his sentence voluntarily. The ending seems to be a cliché ending, but the clue about the love between Ms. Zhushi and Sa Qing in "The Inugami Family" played a role here. After being arrested, Zuo Qing and Zhu Shi confided their love to each other, and expressed their willingness to wait until the day Zuo Qing was released from prison to marry Zuo Qing. Therefore, Zuoqing, who had the motivation to survive, went to serve his sentence with hope, and Songzi, the mother who planned to commit many murders for her son from the beginning to the end, felt that her life was over after watching N)Lzi get happiness. Gained great satisfaction, so he chose to commit suicide to end his life. Such a happy and tragic ending follows the main line of the case detection in the previous part of the novel, and it can be said to be an aftermath of the setting after the climax. Let readers accept the pleasure of interpretation brought by the climax of the plot, and then end gently at the ending instead of stopping abruptly.

This "Otter Tail Method" ending setting makes the original somewhat flat ending setting of detective novels powerful and gentle, which is really a breakthrough creation for the plot setting of detective novels.

4. New mode - flashback reasoning

There is a special kind of member in the creative genre of world detective novels—flashback reasoning or anti-narrative detective novels. This type of novel is different from traditional detective novels in plot setting. The criminal behavior of the murderer is revealed at the beginning, and the focus is on how the detective catches the murderer. The story usually unfolds from the perspective of the murderer, and the criminal will first complete a perfect crime. After the detective comes on stage, he will use various clues to find out the truth and catch the criminal. Since the key to solving the case must be fully revealed to readers through the narrative during the crime process in the first half of the story, flashback reasoning is also regarded as "the fairest puzzle-solving reasoning". Therefore, the difficulty of this type of novel lies in how to detect, how to confirm the criminal, and how to convict. The heart war between the prisoner and the detective. The so-called "seeing is not the truth" also has flashback reasoning and occasionally has a narrative technique. This kind of novel is called reverse reasoning novel by Edogawa Ranpo, and it is an innovative attempt in the plot setting of detective novels. In the field of detective novels, because such novels involve psychological content, there are few creations. In the field of 13 detective novels, there are few good works, and among the few works, Edogawa Ranpo has made great achievements. vulgar achievement. The official history of Henggou has also made many attempts in flashback reasoning novels, among which "Night Walk" is considered to be a relatively successful work. Yadai Inta, the protagonist of "Night Walk", is the narrator of the whole story. As the narrator of the incident, Yashiro Tota, at the beginning, calmly narrated the incident as a bystander, but at the end, at the moment when revenge was about to succeed, he suddenly changed his face and became a terrifying murderer. Yashiro planned the whole process, but at the beginning, he watched the incident as a detective novelist, but his writing was impeccable and flawless. Later, in his confessional expression, a sense of cruelty emerges spontaneously in the calmness. In the symphony, the wonderful variations from wind music to cymbals, from bass to treble, let the listener feel the beauty of endless changes. The official history of Henggou makes the novel achieve the sensory enjoyment brought to readers like a symphony through the use of flashback reasoning techniques. This peculiar design of the plot plays a role of surprising the readers, allowing the readers to feel the reading enjoyment brought by the novel while wowing the audience. Henggou Zhengshi's innovative attempt of flashback reasoning in plot setting also makes him more important in the history of detective novels.

The reason why Henggou's official history can be called a master has a very important relationship with the plot layout of its works showing a very high level of detective novel creation skills. His detective novels emphasize the design of the beginning of the novel and the integrity and concentration of the plot setting in the process, which greatly improves the appeal of the novel to readers and the coherence and rigor of the plot description, and the powerful and gentle ending setting is more perfect. It is to let the ending of the novel have waves within waves, waves after waves, and waves connected to each other, repeating itself again and again. The use of flashback reasoning, which is different from the traditional plot setting method of detective novels, has made a great contribution to the broadening and development of detective novel creation, and has influenced the innovation of Japanese detective novels, which is also worthy of attention. To sum up, as the three peaks of Japanese detective novels, Henggou Zhengshi has a convincing level in the creation of detective novels, and has an indelible role in promoting the development of detective novels. The performance aspect of the setup is equally impressive.

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