Sichuan's teahouse tradition, dating back to the dawn of Chinese tea culture, embodies a philosophy of slow living—a legacy of the basin's abundant harvests and centuries of tranquility Photo: IC PHOTO

In the pursuit of literature with Chinese style and sensibility, Ma Shitu’s Ten Amazing Stories stand out as a distinctive contribution to the literary landscape of the post-reform era. His work demonstrates an instinctive grasp of local aesthetic tastes. As Ma once remarked, “I am from Sichuan. Sichuan people have their own temperament...This gives my work a ‘Sichuan flavor’.” By coincidence, recent years have seen a string of cultural phenomena with this same “Sichuan flavor” capturing national attention—from internet personality Li Ziqi and singer Dao Lang to Ne Zha director Jiaozi—reminding us to consider the deeper cultural logic driving the current popularity of Bashu culture [referring to the historical region encompassing modern-day Sichuan and Chongqing].

Unique cultural personality

Geographically, Sichuan’s mountainous terrain historically limited access to the outside world, while its fertile basins and gorges earned it the name Tianfu—the Land of Abundance. As a result, Bashu culture blends the inward-facing self-sufficiency of a basin civilization with the centrifugal pull of peripheral cultures, having long operated semi-independently from Central Plains civilization. Like wine aging undisturbed in a cellar, this region developed a rich and singular heritage—steeped in folklore and cultural style. Over time, it evolved into a cultural personality defined by free-spiritedness and an anti-authoritarian spirit.The consciousness of the frontier, though non-mainstream and closed off, points to an aesthetic of carefree living and a self-sufficient, stubborn personality.

This personality might appear contradictory or comedic in daily life, but in literature, it produces a rare and unmistakable flavor: like a wild, disordered outburst of primal life that expresses itself as a form of secular resistance and folkloric exuberance. From the unrestrained verse of Li Bai and the resilient optimism of Su Shi, to the liberated, strong-willed women like Deng Yaogu in Li Jieren’s Ripples Across Stagnant Water, Bashu has long produced iconoclasts. Even in today’s internet culture, the so-called “Sichuan-Chongqing Tyrannosaurus” [a tongue-in-cheek nickname for petite yet outspoken young women from the region] carries this rebellious spirit. Phrases like “Lao zi shu dao san” [a homophonic pun in the Sichuan dialect, usually spoken by upset women in threatening tones: “I’ll count to three, and you’d better confess everything”] reflect a local temperament that is blunt, bold, and playfully fierce.

Bashu offers a living environment as gentle and secure as a giant panda, with a leisurely and abundant way of life. It also nurtures a folk survival approach that aligns with the rhythms of nature. The region’s leisurely and humorous teahouse culture, along with its famously fiery hotpot culture, are both testaments to a cultural identity forged through eclectic fusion. In Ten Amazing Stories, Ma Shitu draws directly from this world, transforming the vivid characters of Bashu’s streets, teahouses, and hotpot joints into unforgettable literary figures—unruly, unbowed, and thoroughly alive.

Rich regional cultural resources

The southwestern region forms a comprehensively ecological system. The altitude, climate, and species of plants and animals vary greatly, with tropical, temperate, and cold climates and biological zones, reflecting the phenomenon of vertical climate variation. Meanwhile, the southwestern region forms a cultural and ethnic “botanical garden.” Geographical fragmentation has led to many ethnic groups living together or in small communities, and multi-ethnic art and literature is among the core pillars of Bashu literature. The diversity of geography and natural ecology not only determines the diversity of civilizations but also influences the long and complex process of civilization development. Due to the closed nature of the southwestern mountains and the incomplete development of southwestern society, the cultural identity of the region’s ethnic groups reflects distinct dynamic coexistence—a phenomenon anthropologists refer to as an “acculturated state.” Some liken it to a partially charred wooden stick—white ash at one end, untouched wood at the other, and flames in center. Because of this rare richness, the southwestern region has become a hotbed for anthropological fieldwork.

Historically, the southwestern region’s political control and Confucian influence were relatively weak, while Taoist culture in Sichuan thrived, forming a spiritual gene of freedom and anti-authoritarianism. In modern times, the original wildness of southwestern culture and literature has gained the opportunity to fully erupt. In the face of the exhaustion of imaginative resources, traditional and local cultures now hold rare and valuable significance. Bashu literature and art are now poised to grow even spicier and more dazzling.

Bai Hao is a professor from the College of Liberal Arts at Sichuan Normal University.

Edited by REN GUANHONG