I'm The Hard Rice King

Chapter 385 The Significance of Literature

Human beings are endowed with seven emotions. They respond to things and express their aspirations when they feel things. Isn't it natural? ——"The Literary Mind and the Carved Dragon"

People have seven emotions and six desires, and when stimulated by external objects, they will produce certain reactions. It is natural to chant something when you feel it in your heart.

To put it simply, writing novels is to express one's feelings, and reading novels is to find resonance with one's own feelings.

This is the ‘comfort’ that Yu Hua talks about. Li Peifeng agrees that the cool thing about online writing is that it is a kind of ‘comfort’, and YY is so comforting.

But he believed there was some deeper meaning to literature...

In fact, these meanings are the problems of contemporary literature.

Almost everyone in the literary world is well aware of this, especially those who study contemporary literature. However, they are unwilling to talk about the problem because it will offend others. Asking for more details will make the leaders lose face, and it will also make contemporary literature unclear. It is worthless, and the status of those engaged in contemporary literature research has also been damaged.

As a graduate student at the North China Normal University, Li Peifeng is also considered a member of the literary world as an online writer. He is a little grasshopper who doesn’t care whether the contemporary literary world is damaged or not. He wrote two articles on contemporary literature in his early days as a graduate student. Essays on Literary Criticism.

In the paper, Mr. Li expressed his thoughts. In his opinion, the biggest problem in contemporary literature is that these old traditional writers have a somewhat too single understanding of the meaning of literature.

There was nothing we could do about it. They grew up in the environment they grew up in over the past few decades, a time when they were surrounded by enemies, the people endured humiliation, and were turbulent and unpredictable. This had a huge impact on their worldview. As a result, their interpretations of literary meanings and story backgrounds tend to be similar.

Even though negative things such as guilt, heaviness, and suffering are the oldest problems of mankind, literary works cannot avoid them. But everyone knows that where there is darkness there must be light, and black and white exist in the world at the same time. But the description of the bright side seems to be a shortcoming of contemporary writers.

They do a good job when dealing with the darkness of human nature, but they do a terrible job when dealing with the brilliance of human nature, such as "hope, happiness, love, ideals, beliefs" and other elements.

Perhaps these contemporary writers don't bother to write at all, feeling that these elements are not on the table, so they should use gloom and despair as the main tone, use pen as a tool to resist all injustices, expose the darkness of society, the bad nature of human nature, and expose the ugliness. It can be displayed in front of people, causing deep thought and reflection, so as to achieve the purpose of transforming society.

This is actually no problem. Mr. Lu Xun, who sits at the top of modern cultural history, did just that. But the problem is that contemporary writers do not have Lu Xun’s writing skills, profound thoughts, and fearless optimistic fighting spirit. Even the attitude of using pen to save the country and the people and the mentality of standing with the people at the bottom are lacking.

Naturally, it is impossible to write an article like Lu Xun, who was in a desperate situation but still insisted on being saved in the hopelessness, and could arouse the people of the country to fight against feudalism, patriotism and save the nation.

Most of them only have prejudice and resentment in their hearts, and what they write is naturally filled with resentment. The form of expression is very problematic and can be described with terms such as distortion and twisting.

If we were to be more specific, we could use the "rough" writing style of these contemporary writers to describe their books. It would be like: they have been neglected by tradition and politics for too long, with a sense of imbalance of values ​​and a lack of confidence due to just being a good person. A low self-esteem old chick...

When a contemporary literary leader received the award, he made a speech and said: Literature is meaningless. After a few years, he finally couldn't help but speak his mind; I have always had a prejudice that literary works should not whitewash reality, and literature and art should expose darkness.

It sounds like this sentence is very pitiful and righteous, but in fact it is prejudice and lacks historical and scientific knowledge. A speech by a certain librarian is suitable to answer his sentence:

"For revolutionary writers and artists, the objects of exposure can only be the invaders, exploiters, oppressors and the bad influence they have left on the people, not the masses of the people. The masses of the people also have shortcomings, and these shortcomings should be used To overcome the criticism and self-criticism within the people, and carrying out this kind of criticism and self-criticism is also one of the most important tasks of literature and art. But this should not be said to be 'exposing the people'. For the people, it is basically a matter of educating and improving them Only counter-revolutionary writers and artists can describe the people as 'naturally stupid' and the revolutionary masses as 'authoritarian thugs'."

"It is necessary to criticize the shortcomings of the people, but you must stand on the standpoint of the people and speak with full enthusiasm for protecting and educating the people. If you treat your colleagues as enemies, you are putting yourself in the shoes of others. ”

Li Peifeng believes that they cannot simply be summarized by the issue of stance, but can only be said to be the impact of multiple factors.

To this end, Li Peifeng published several papers to criticize and analyze. Zhao Qingge was her mentor and of course knew what he was thinking, so she wanted to discuss this topic further. However, before that, she used some other topics to pave the way.

"Teacher Yu is right, and classmate Li is right. This level of tacit understanding makes me wonder if you have communicated in private... Peifeng, do you want to change your tutor?"

"No idea at all!"

Yu Hua held up her chin and smiled: "It's possible, I'm recruiting doctoral students."

Li Peifeng laughed and did not talk about studying for a Ph.D. Instead, he said, "I have been reading your books since I was a child." Then he talked about Yu Hua's works one after another and praised them to change the topic.

"Strictly speaking, I started reading your books from "Blood Plum Blossoms". I remember that I was just in the first grade of junior high school. There were many books on my dad's bookshelf, but most of them were serious literature, or philosophy and social sciences. As a child, I was not interested in these academic books. I preferred popular martial arts novels at the time, but there were none on my dad’s bookshelf. Later, I accidentally searched and searched, and saw this book "Blood Plum Blossoms". The title of the book attracted me immediately, and I looked at the text again, including Taoist Priest Qingyun, Rouge Girl, and Black Needle Hero. I thought I found the right book, this is what I want!"

"After reading it, I realized that I had been deceived. This was not a martial arts novel at all. It was a story about the impermanence of fate and how life is vain and desolate through the lens of martial arts. As you can imagine, this was very disturbing to a twelve-year-old child. Big blow, this is simply a scam!”

"After that, I mentally labeled the author of Yu Hua as 'selling sheep's head to buy dog ​​meat', and vowed never to read his books again. Not long after, I discovered "Xu Sanguan Selling for Sale" in a Chinese textbook. Excerpts from "Blood Chronicle". Hey, there's nothing we can do about it..."

Li Peifeng used a tone as relaxed and humorous as possible to talk about his experience of reading Yu Hua's works since he was a child. Of course, some artistic processing was indispensable, such as from resisting reading to actively looking for Yu Hua's books to read. This paragraph is processed. He was trying to make the experience as twisty and interesting as possible.

Finally, Li Peifeng mentioned a sentence written by Yu Hua in his book.

"Human life is only once, but in writing and recalling, not only can life be repeated infinitely, but also the way of survival can be chosen. Therefore, reading and recalling is tantamount to living again, which can fill the regrets of life... I felt at that time This sentence is so well written and so wise, and it has had a great impact on developing my reading habits.”

"I've even forgotten this sentence myself. Which book is this from?"

After Li Peifeng finished speaking, Yu Hua joked a few words. After Zhao Qingge asked, he also started to praise him: "I also loved reading martial arts novels when I was young. I sent you the "Sword and Law" one hundred After reading all the 10,000-word manuscripts, I kind of found the feeling of reading martial arts novels. Well, in recent years, I have also read online articles, but I always have to wait for updates. Sometimes I forget after reading them, so in the online articles This book of yours has the largest number of words that I have read, and as soon as I read it I became very eager to read it. I didn’t eat, drink or sleep, I just wanted to read on.”

"But after reading martial arts novels, I just feel excited and energetic. After reading "Sword and Law", it's a different experience. It's very fresh and surprising. It's a bit like... It's a bit like the first time I tasted chocolate. It tastes very good. It’s strange, very bitter, very fragrant, and the aftertaste is very sweet, I still want to eat it.”

"And at first I read it as a popular novel, but after thinking about it carefully in the past two days, I feel that your book has made some breakthroughs in the integration of online literature and tradition. It has a lot to do with religion, philosophy, Issues such as politics, race, etc. are all covered in the book, but the manuscript you sent me is not finished yet, so I’m not sure, so I want to hear your own words..."

Then, Li Peifeng began to explain his psychological journey of creation, and the two really began to discuss literature. Zhao Qingge didn't interrupt much, but occasionally asked questions along with them.

About half an hour later, the conversation between Li Peifeng and Yu Hua slowed down, and Zhao Qingge spoke up, affirming Yu Hua's ideas and clearly believing that "Sword and Law" had indeed made some breakthroughs, and at the same time raised the original questions. , that is, traditional literature has not changed yet, what is Yu Hua’s view?

Her expression was calm and composed, but her words were sharp:

“When Internet writers have been able to create excellent commercial value for their works, they then aim to impact people’s minds and romantically write stories that have a mysterious dream and fantasy color to express strong emotions, which is very exciting. It’s amazing to shoot the crime and be immersed in it.”

"When Internet writers set the background of their books as the universe, aliens, and alien planes, when Internet articles contain war, immortality, will, gods, original sin, devils, the collision of different thoughts of different races and non-humans... and so on. content, traditional writers are still describing the people and things of the last century..."

"Perhaps in order to cater to the public and attract people's attention, online articles are too mysterious and illusory, empty of imagination and lack of literature. But doesn't contemporary traditional literature seem a bit stingy, overly realistic, reminiscing and detached? Is it popular?"

Zhao Qingge really dares to say it, and she really thinks so. She is the one who most recognizes the concept that contemporary literature is dead, otherwise she would not have given up traditional contemporary literature and turned to the study of online literature.

Literary critic Zhao Qingge is fearless!

And facing Yu Hua, who was slightly stunned, she continued to speak.

"I feel that this excessive reminiscence has caused our literature to fall into a dilemma of style and look disgraced. We rarely have literature that thinks about philosophy and human nature, and focuses too much on describing various problems of past reality. This is certainly true, but without exploring current problems, without imagining the future without thinking, without delving into the complexity of human nature and the human spiritual world, literature will lack the depth it should have... Teacher Yu, you What do you think?"

The three of them had mentioned this question before, but Li Peifeng and Yu Hua didn't expect Zhao Qingge to ask it so straightforwardly, and they couldn't avoid it in the slightest.

Li Peifeng glanced at the excited Shen Liao under the stage, and thought to himself, you asked my question to be asked for me. Except that Lao Zhao didn't say the words 'contemporary literature is dead', what did he mean? It's the same.

The rest of the audience in the audience were also inspired by Zhao Qingge's question. There were whispers among the students, and several professors from the Faculty of Arts frowned slightly.

Zhao Qingge's words hit the hearts of many people, but also revealed the fig leaf of many people.

"Dean Chen, hasn't Professor Zhao reviewed the manuscript for this lecture for you?"

An old professor of the Faculty of Arts was slightly dissatisfied.

Chen Shucheng shook his head: "How can there be any manuscripts for this kind of lecture? Establish the theme and talk about whatever comes to mind."

Another professor euphemistically said: "Professor Zhao should be more cautious in the face of the lectures of teachers and students in the school. Do you need someone to come on stage to remind her?"

"It's just normal literary discussions and literary criticism, and there are no out-of-the-ordinary topics. What can I remind you?"

Some professors, like Zhao Qingge, who are in the field of online literature research, spoke out, and some remained neutral and advised: "Listen again, it is just an academic lecture for the school, as long as it is literature, you can talk about it, there is nothing you can't talk about."

At this point, the professors in the front row fell silent. Chen Shucheng looked intently at the three people on the stage, thinking that Zhao Qingge was going to pave the way for his students... no, he was going to pave the way for his boyfriend.

Oh, the fusion of traditional online literature has allowed her to find a role model that she can set... She wants to use Yu Hua's power to push Li Peifeng and online literature forward. It's such a great relationship between teachers and students!

"This question is actually a cliché."

After the initial daze, Yu Hua quickly came to his senses and said with a smile: "Writers' imaginations cannot keep up with the current status of magical realism. This is a worldwide problem. Not only domestically, but also abroad. The reality is too absurd. , you will never be able to catch up with it, I am jealous of reality! We always say that literature is higher than reality, that is a lie, it is impossible."

"As for online novels like "Sword and Law", which fictionalize a weird world, although its background is not the real world, I think its core is actually no different from realistic novels. Realistic novels follow the broad road, while weird novels follow the narrow road. Yes, whether it is weird novels or absurd novels, there is no distinction between them. The purpose is to reach reality. Of course, driving on the road is very safe. If you walk fast, there are security guards watching on the roadside."

"If you take the trail, you may get lost, you may take a long detour, you may be more tactful, more interesting to watch, and more resistant to pondering, but you must be low-key..."

Yu Hua looked at Li Peifeng and smiled and said: "As the old saying goes, wealth is not revealed, so you should be more discreet when taking small roads, otherwise you will easily encounter robbers. I think you did a good job in this regard, and you were quite restrained."

Then, Yu Hua elaborated on avant-garde literature, and then related his age from avant-garde literature: "I was a avant-garde writer a long time ago, but that was a long time ago, and I am now sixty-two years old. If you ask us to It is a bit inappropriate for a group of people to be pioneers. Ages matter at any age. Now I will be more tender and realistic... As for the future, it belongs to all the young people sitting here."

"Pa bang bang~"

There was warm applause, and Zhao Qingge and Li Peifeng also applauded along with the audience. After six or seven seconds, the applause gradually weakened.

The topic of the lecture changed and changed, switching between heavy and light, and returning to soothing after intense.

More than an hour passed in a flash, Zhao Qingge controlled the rhythm of the whole process, saw the time, and started the question and answer session.

Because he learned the lesson from Li Peifeng's last lecture, this time the host Zhao Qingge was responsible for identifying who would answer. For those good-looking girls, no matter how they stood up and raised their hands, Lao Zhao chose to ignore them. More Let the boys answer.

Most of the questions were innocuous, except for the works of the two, some asked if Yu Hua was writing a new book, and some asked how to do a Ph.D. under him. Others asked Li Peifeng whether he had encountered any setbacks in his online writing career and where he should start if he wanted to write online writing.

The two exchanged answers fluently. Seeing that the time was approaching nine o'clock, Zhao Qingge chose the last boy wearing glasses as the questioner.

"My question is for Mr. Yu and Renjian Yiliangfeng. It is very simple, that is, how much is each of you's manuscript fee each year?"

"Wow~~"

There was an exclamation from the audience, and then there was a lot of laughter. Obviously, everyone wanted to know.

A bit tricky!

Yu Hua and Li Peifeng looked at each other silently. The two agreed that this was probably the most difficult question in this lecture, and Zhao Qingge's question was nothing...

Why?

Yu Hua said it all just now; the money is not in vain!

One of the two is a teacher in the school, and the other is a student in the school. If they tell the truth about the manuscript fee on this occasion, it will cause some unnecessary troubles in the school.

Yu Hua once faced friends who asked the same question, but always chose to answer in a roundabout way: I live by "To Live".

This sentence has also become a hot topic...

"You first." Yu Hua smiled politely.

Li Peifeng also humbly said: "You are an elder, you answer first."

Yu Hua laughed: "I'm the elder, I'll let you answer first."

Oh, damn! Are you relying on your old age to sell your old age?

Li Peifeng took the microphone, feeling a little bit difficult, but just after two seconds of jamming, the boy took the microphone and said with a smile: "I hope both of you can answer truthfully, especially Senior Li Peifeng, I saw you this morning Came out of the neighborhood in a Mercedes-Benz G!"

"Ah~~"

"Xu~~~~"

"Scumbag!!"

This time the audience was shouting everything, Li Peifeng explained calmly: "Here I want to clarify that the car was given to me by someone else, not I bought it, and the car has not yet landed on the road. In my name... As for the manuscript fee, my manuscript fee last year was around two to three million yuan after tax. This year is not over yet, so I don't know."

After speaking, he looked at Yu Hua. Li Peifeng simply pretended not to hear the audience yelling about avoiding the important and neglecting the important and cunning.

"You may not believe it, but I don't know my manuscript fee either."

Yu Hua will even open her eyes and tell nonsense: "I have two cards, one for salary and one for manuscript fee. The salary card is in my hand, but the manuscript fee card is in my wife's hand... oh, this You reminded me, when I go home, I will ask her to see how much my annual manuscript fee is."

…

(End of chapter)