Chang'An: The Narcissistic Wound in the Turbulent Times
Understanding Personal Growth from a Narcissistic Perspective
"Chang'An" is a Chinese animated film that delves into the friendship between Li Bai and Gao Shi and their diverse life experiences. The animation highlights the history and culture of the Tang Dynasty, showcasing Chinese craftsmanship, a strong national style, and an epic narrative, which has sparked discussions and interest in both domestic and international media.
This article aims to analyze the film using the psychoanalytic theory of "narcissism."
It is essential to acknowledge that "Chang'An" is a work of fiction, and any references to Li Bai and Gao Shi are fictional characters created by Chasing Light Animation and are not connected to real historical figures.
From a psychoanalytic perspective, "Chang'An" can be interpreted as a representation of "personal growth," wherein individuals often experience fluctuations between omnipotent narcissism and narcissistic injuries. How one handles these narcissistic injuries becomes pivotal for personal development. Li Bai and Gao Shi, due to their distinct personality traits, exhibit unique ways of dealing with these fluctuations, which, to some extent, shape their life experiences.
Personal achievements are influenced by various factors, including the era and society. Concentrating solely on achievements might neglect personality development and even distort narcissism.
The Chinese culture has always emphasized drawing lessons from history to set future goals. In this manner, "Chang'An" also serves as a reflection and response to the current social reality.
Li Bai and Gao Shi: A Mirror of Reflection and Growth
When Li Bai and Gao Shi first met, they exuded youthful spirit and lofty aspirations, envisioning themselves as soaring eagles with ambitious dreams. This was an expression of their "ideal selves" and a manifestation of "omnipotent narcissism." However, as time passed, both experienced setbacks and rejections, leading to "narcissistic injuries," but they also had moments of success and regained their sense of omnipotent narcissism.
From their initial encounter in their twenties to several decades later, their paths diverged. Gao Shi pursued the imperial examination while Li Bai explored the court, Gao Shi diligently studied while Li Bai married into a powerful family, Gao Shi honed martial arts skills while Li Bai responded to imperial summons, Gao Shi served as an aide while Li Bai sought the path of immortality. Despite their versatility and ambition, neither of these young men succeeded in their various endeavors. As they grew older, they found no clear way to contribute significantly to their country.
— From the article "Many Regrets in Life" on Vistopia (translation)
A broader perspective reveals that most individuals oscillate between omnipotent narcissism and narcissistic injuries throughout their lives.
In this process, Li Bai and Gao Shi exhibited different traits under the states of omnipotent narcissism and narcissistic injuries due to their distinct personality traits, leading to significantly different life trajectories.
Li Bai was incredibly talented, akin to a "pearl in a dark room," but he felt "shamed" due to his merchant family background. His subjective emotional experiences encompassed both arrogance and pride, coupled with a sense of humiliation from being belittled. As a poet portrayed with strong narcissistic traits in the film, Li Bai "denied" facts and "belittled" others when faced with setbacks, yet he became arrogant and indulgent upon achieving success.
On the other hand, Gao Shi, born into a loyal family, experienced pressure to ascend in society alongside a sense of security from his family background. Even during political turbulence, and with no clear path to serve his country, he firmly resisted the idea of "marrying into a powerful family" or seeking shortcuts through influential connections. Despite facing speech impediments and challenges in reading and writing, Gao Shi turned inward for introspection and self-improvement during moments of failure, while maintaining inner clarity and rationality in times of success.
In the end, while Gao Shi became the only poet in the Tang Dynasty ennobled based on his military achievements, and Li Bai's poetry endured through the ages, true "winners" were elusive during times of turmoil. From a psychoanalytic perspective, what truly matters is the maturity of one's personality and the forging of one's character through diverse life experiences, a process known as "working through."
Li Bai: Immortals Awaiting the Yellow Crane
Characters in film and television works are often portrayed in an exaggerated and abstract manner, lacking sufficient details for very specific psychoanalytic interpretations.
However, based on the information currently available, the portrayal of Li Bai in "Chang'An" exhibits strong traits of a "narcissistic personality," including, but not limited to:
Exaggerated self-awareness: He believes himself to be a "banished immortal" who will one day "return to the heavens" and write poems surpassing the works of the Yellow Crane Tower and all poets throughout history.
Lack of reality testing ability: Despite facing multiple rejections and failures, he cannot see the truth and insists on confronting reality with his own strength. Gao Shi describes Li Bai as "the most naive and childish person," indicating a lack of emotional maturity.
Objectifying and using others emotionally, unable to respect others as separate individuals: He forgets multiple promises made to Gao Shi, seeking comfort and help from him in times of despair.
Li Bai's subjective emotional experiences are highly polarized, combining grandiosity with shame. He appears confident in his extraordinary talent but desperately seeks external validation.
Every person has two sides, and omnipotent narcissism often serves as a defense mechanism against feelings of being devalued and humiliated. As the son of a merchant, despite possessing great talent, Li Bai still identifies with feelings related to narcissistic injuries due to his lower-class status.
In response to narcissistic injuries, Li Bai adopts denial - "I was born with talent, and it will surely be put to use" - and belittlement, accusing others of having no taste for not admiring him.
From a broader perspective, Li Bai's approach tends to involve switching tracks without commitment, avoiding introspection and personal growth. His various pursuits, such as becoming a son-in-law of a renowned family, seeking immortality, and colluding with rebels while living in seclusion on Mount Lu, are external manifestations of his internal conflicts. Despite being motivated by the story of "grinding an iron rod into a needle" in his youth, a narcissistic person cannot persist in something when hope seems distant.
Simultaneously, his enduring narcissistic injury drives him to seek external validation, even resorting to means like "marrying into a powerful family," which ultimately prevents him from recognizing reality and leads him to seek refuge with the Prince of Yong.
Upon achieving success, he attributes everything to himself, retreating into his narcissistic bubble, proclaiming, "Because of my talent, everyone likes me." He fails to recognize that the trend of Taoism in the Tang Dynasty allowed him to rise again, and he overlooks assessing the situation carefully, leading to subsequent rejection.
Li Bai is agile and ever-changing, adept at "deception," using "false selves" to control others to achieve his goals. He twice marries into renowned families and writes poems praising the Prince of Yong, revealing his manipulative nature.
The sumo technique he teaches Gao Shi reflects his own inner portrait:
Gao Shi, do you know how to deceive your opponent? You need to set up various preconditions, with convincing details, left, right, up, down, it all has to look real - so real that even you believe it.
This passage inadvertently reflects his own personality: narcissistic personalities deceive even themselves, creating a significant distance from genuine emotions; they not only fail to get close to others but also to themselves.
Although Li Bai genuinely believed he could break through societal prejudices and be recognized solely based on his talent, and even held onto the hope of a door to the realm of immortality, these beliefs were gradually consumed amidst the increasingly prominent beer belly and continuous rejection from reality and the distant path to immortality. The shell of narcissism eventually shattered a little.
However, despite the profound suffering experienced by narcissistic personalities, they also possess great charm, which is why Li Bai is always surrounded by high-profile friends. Even in a film that depicts him as a narcissistic personality like "Chang'An," Li Bai's carefree and open-minded nature leaves a deep impression on people.
Gao Shi: I Was a Fisher and Woodcutter in Mengzhu Wilds
Gao Shi did not have any talents to be proud of in his youth; on the contrary, he had a speech impediment and difficulties in reading and writing, making his academic endeavors require more effort than others. The only thing he could rely on was his ancestral Gao family swordsmanship, but it proved useless in winning the affection of Princess Yuzhen; knocking on the door of the emperor yielded no response, leading to one defeat after another.
With his grandfather's achievements, his father's high expectations, and the decline of his family's fortune, Gao Shi naturally developed a sense of inferiority, a narcissistic injury.
But because he started from a low point, he could only move forward and not get worse; every time he suffered a narcissistic blow, Gao Shi always looked inward, felt ashamed, and sought ways to improve himself. He confided in Li Bai about the difficulties and slow progress of his studies, and Li Bai told him the story of "grinding an iron rod into a needle," saying that studying is not easy for anyone, which Gao Shi believed and decided to put everything aside and focus on studying.
Gao Shi always stepped back and returned home repeatedly, partly due to his sense of confidence and security from his humble background, allowing him to live contentedly and continue to grow. His hometown, Shangqiu Liang Garden, became a safe base he could return to at any time; even if he did not achieve great success, he could always go back home and study quietly.
After losing to Pei Shier in a martial arts contest, Gao Shi understood that he was not as skilled as his opponent and decided to cast aside his burden, overcome his speech impediment, and improve his swordsmanship. After witnessing Li Bai's talent and the poems written on the Yellow Crane Tower, Gao Shi returned home and asked a child to read books for him, dedicating three years to studying without writing poems. This prolonged effort eventually enabled him to excel in sumo wrestling, surpassing even fierce and powerful barbarians, gaining entry into the military camp, and achieving fame through poems composed on the border.
Gao Shi never valued easily acquired or even bought nobility, constantly dissuading Li Bai from marrying into a powerful family and refraining from taking advantage of Li Bai's success. Because external status is ultimately illusory, even if attained, it is a loss.
If, despite his efforts, Gao Shi continued to live under the shadow of his grandfather and the expectations of his family, then after reciting "Invitation to Wine," Gao Shi said that he wanted to fulfill his ten-year promise and even if he could not achieve the same fame as his grandfather, he still hoped to make his mark on the battlefield. At this point, Gao Shi had surpassed others' evaluations and social hierarchies, seeking to spiritually inherit his grandfather's aspirations, and seeking inner peace.
That is why, when he succeeded, Gao Shi attributed it calmly to the chaos in the world, which allowed him to advance several ranks, not considering it something worth celebrating; rather, it felt desolate — as if this was how his life would be, but he didn't expect that events spanning centuries would happen in a single day.
Even as the military governor of three prefectures, Gao Shi remained cautious and considerate, asking Guo Ziyi to save Li Bai to avoid suspicion.
As for his final success, he handed all the credit to Yan Wu, which was the ultimate demonstration of Gao Shi's transcendence of fame, power, and worldly matters. Having lived half his life, experienced difficult times, and understood the insignificance of individual efforts, at this point, he sought glory for his grandfather, not worldly fame but to be a righteous and dignified person.
At this point, Gao Shi truly transcended his feelings of inferiority and developed a sense of integrity and healthy self-love from within.
Mutual Transformation
However, the most touching aspect of the film is still the friendship between Li Bai and Gao Shi, as well as their mutual achievements.
"Silver saddle, white horse, swift and meteor-like." This poem, twenty years ago, I wrote it based on your appearance.
One day, the splendor in your heart will be spoken out loud.
Li Bai has always encouraged Gao Shi to express the "splendor in his heart" and also taught him the principle of "grinding an iron rod into a needle." Li Bai composed poems for him, firmly believing in him and having high hopes for him. Not to mention that Gao Shi also learned sumo wrestling from Li Bai and relied on the deceitful techniques taught by Li Bai to recapture Yunshan City.
Although Li Bai lacked the ability to love objects, he was indeed an excellent friend because, as a narcissistic person, he knew that what a person needs most is to be seen and recognized. This was the best gift he could give to Gao Shi.
Idealism in Chinese Culture
It is said that the title of "Chang'An 30,000 Li" (the Chinese orginal title) has a symbolic meaning: "Chang'An" represents the ideal place of the stars in the Great Tang Dynasty, and "30,000 Li" is the distance between them and their ideals.
From the article "‘Chang'An,’ a film that can only be understood by middle-aged people? " on Sanlian Lifeweek (translation)
As mentioned at the beginning, high pressure, competition, and social stratification have become the norm in society, and young people of every era experience a swing between omnipotent narcissism and narcissistic injury in their own way. However, after the rapid development stage in China, followed by events such as the pandemic, the younger generation in China has suffered particularly from this swing. Against the backdrop of an economic downturn, personal development is especially susceptible to narcissistic injury. Consumerism and information technology have added another layer of shackles. This is one of the reasons why "Chang'An" resonates with the audience.
From a psychoanalytic perspective, what needs to be established is a healthy self-love that is not influenced by external evaluation standards, tends towards reality, and is not binary or black-and-white. Guided by ideals and driven by ambition, one can constantly move toward personal development and integration.
Apart from psychoanalysis, it is necessary to carefully consider the outside factors. By not getting carried away by success or sinking into despair after failure, one can continue to work with a calm and determined mindset.
In Chinese culture, renowned for its imperial examination system, there has long been a way to reconcile narcissistic injury: "When you succeed, consider the well-being of the world; when you are in adversity, focus on self-improvement." This philosophy advocates ease in both advancement and retreat. However, regardless of one's personal circumstances, there is always an emphasis on connecting with one's family and the nation, as well as with broader perspectives. "Establish a heart for heaven and earth, establish a mission for the people, continue the teachings of the sages of the past, and bring everlasting peace to the world." This is a unique healing method for the Chinese people, as well as a sublimation of narcissism. Psychoanalyst Otto Rank also has discussions on this topic.
On a larger scale, personal gains and losses, successes, and failures, become insignificant, and all that remains is the saying, "Success does not have to be attributed to me, but the strength and achievements will not be abandoned." As the film says at the end:
Poetry exists, literature exists, and Chang'an is right here.