Shanghai subway a "vent column" is "clean" or "intensification"

Hui-chu

2500's classic "vent / clean that" even in the West are not only right and proper. Do not make people want to vent? How to purify? What are the conflict of different groups in different psychological characteristics? This problem is much more than literary theory, and social management more closely related to related to the hundreds of millions of people's mental health and social stability, and the urgent need in-depth study

A subway station in Shanghai recently there have been some "vent column", as people vent their anger and kicked. TV correspondent said the support of many passers-by are tables, one interviewee said: "foreign like a lot, so we have to give vent to look good."

East West's psychological needs the same?

In fact, as long as a good thing, whether it be foreign there. But as far as I know, Europe does not encourage any public place to vent. Media was often said that foreign countries can be hit into the rubber people "venting room" and the like, but I spent seven universities in North America, send their children in a number of schools, asked a lot of European and American colleagues and friends, but have not seen, at least not in schools. That is probably the Japanese invention, but "venting room" after all, a closed space, talking greeting subway stations, public order, we kicked on pillars, which estimated that people will frown.

However, "catharsis" concept, the idea really came from the West. Some of China's media like to call it as "universal human" needs, is it? Have a look at the classic Europe and Asia. Aristotle in "Poetics" in that "vent / clean that" (Catharsis), in order to explain why the preference for Greek tragedy, a vicious plot against humanity; later Freud put it more bluntly: You subconsciously fear someday it will kill his father and marry his mother? will kill the child to punish the unfaithful husband? to make these tragedies do not occur, put the fear of performance, the play "Oedipus" play "Medea", vent deep inside the complex that you can let the mind be purified, in real life you'll be safe.

The argument in the traditional Asian sounds incredible, not to mention the plot can not play, even with this idea is terrible. Many people pray every day to meditate on in order to control the psychological, so can not have evil thoughts, they are through self-reflection, to achieve self-purification; stage can only be respected on the virtues, such as restraint and patience, and so on. Chinese opera like happy, no matter how tough the final play as well as "butterfly" in order to soothe the sorrow of the soul. More emphasis on Indian classical "harmony" in the Vatican's most famous drama "Shagongdaluo", the actress and the countryside hunting for the King one-night stand after giving birth to a child, separation was more than happy end, we know the child is his father King, happily into the temple, to become one of the king's many wives. Oriental drama often weave a fairy tale than reality is much more the United States, want to live but also as "good"; Western tragedy always show a much more tragic than the reality of a nightmare, will not want to live so bad. "Hope" can not be achieved is not important, important was the psychological satisfaction. However, the psychological needs of East and West, like it?

"Vent / clean that" even in the West are not justified

Some people say that all the old almanac, and can only reflect the era of cultural isolation and psychological differences between East and West, now the world's harmony, everybody feels the same, is it?

I have a recent example. Students improvise a classroom situation a teacher-student conflicts, students who play intense performance so that students are surprised, later said it was because she thought of the conflict and former teacher, Yue Yanyue to gas. This exercise would have meant by catharsis to purify, the results also allows the resurgence of fuel, do not want to reproduce the unhappiness that the past has been to stimulate and amplify the mood of the time. So to say, the virtual performance is not necessarily "clean", there may be "intensified"? I immediately asked the students present, more than half said reproduction with negative emotions lead to action, "intensification" may be much greater than "clean."

In fact, the 2500 classic "vent / clean that" even in the West are not justified, the Brazilian director and social activist Boao also dedicated a book critical of Aristotle's "clean" theory; it is more and too many Chinese contrary to human psychology. Do not make people want to vent? How to purify? What are the conflict of different groups in different psychological characteristics? This problem is much more than literary theory, and social management more closely related to related to the hundreds of millions of people's mental health and social stability in desperate need of further study.

Western theories not to have blind faith, blind repeated the baseless assertion, do a lot of experiments, analysis of the data accumulated, it may draw reliable conclusions. We started a little bit, not enough hope to have more caring people to participate.

(The author is vice president of Shanghai Drama Professor)