Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 84 Teachers' Reading Comprehension
There is a saying that some artists are born at the wrong time, such as Van Gogh and Kafka.

Sixty or seventy years ago, when Lin Chaoyang wrote "Little Shoes", it would not be much better than Bing Xin's in the eyes of the literary world and critics.

But now is an era of vitality after ten years of repression and destruction. People who have been suppressed for a long time are madly absorbing all external information and knowledge, and even some people appreciate the crudest things.

The content of "Little Shoes" is not profound or difficult to understand. On the contrary, it is closer to readers than most popular works in today's literary world.

It is precisely because of this friendly style and content that it quickly won the favor of readers more than a month after its publication. The sales of "Yanjing Literature and Art" soared as a result. At the same time, the novel has also been well received in the literary world. Book reviews about this novel have appeared in many newspapers in recent days.

"Here is an article for you to read. The author has a thorough understanding of your Little Shoes."

When Zhang Zhongye was communicating with Lin Chaoyang, he handed him a publication, which was the "Literary Review" published this month.

"Literary Review" was founded in 1956 and was originally named "Literary Research". It was renamed "Literary Review" in 1959.

After ceasing publication in the 78s, it resumed publication in January 1 and has always been a relatively important literary review journal in the domestic literary world.

"Literary Review" is a bimonthly magazine. In the "New Work Criticism" of the third issue of this year which was published a few days ago, a review article entitled "The Little Shoes: The Profound Humanistic Power Behind the Simplicity" was published, which attracted the attention of many people in the literary world.

“…Many people tend to overlook the artistry and narrative depth of Little Shoes because of its positive and sunny side. I believe that this novel deserves in-depth analysis both from an artistic and ideological perspective.

The novel strives to use a relaxed and brisk narrative rhythm to successfully weave a childhood story that is close to life, full of warmth and yet slightly bitter. We can see that the author uses a large number of symbols and metaphors to handle the plot.

The lost pair of little shoes is like a mirror, reflecting the various aspects of life in Chinese rural society and the brilliance of human nature.

From the perspective of the text, the structure of "Little Shoes" is rigorous and layered. The novel begins with a small incident - the puppy loses his sister's shoes as the driving force of the story, which triggers a series of chain reactions, forming an interlocking and fascinating narrative dynamic.

This creative strategy effectively enhances the suspense and viewing experience of the novel, while also highlighting the protagonist's tenacious spirit in actively responding to adversity and striving to survive.

In terms of character creation, the book fully demonstrates the innocence and kindness unique to children, as well as their sense of responsibility to their families. The images of the puppy and his sister are vivid and full, and every conversation between them is full of real emotional expression, allowing readers to deeply touch their inner struggles and expectations.

It is particularly worth mentioning that the author did not fall into the inherent thinking patterns of many people in the novel, exaggerating the sufferings and sensationalism of life.

Instead, through the children's desire for shoes, it conveys the yearning and pursuit for a better life, giving the novel a deeper meaning..."

Zhang Zhonge and others were standing nearby. Lin Chaoyang did not read the article carefully, but just glanced through it. The whole article was basically full of praise for the novel and himself as the author.

"This..." Lin Chaoyang glanced at the signature of the article, "Comrade Hou seems to like "Little Shoes" very much, but the novel still has many shortcomings and does not deserve such a high evaluation from him."

Liu Xinwu smiled and said, "How can there be a perfect work? Little Shoes is already good enough, you are just nitpicking."

After talking about the outside world's response after the publication of "Little Shoes", Liu Xinwu asked about the novel that Lin Chaoyang was currently writing.

Hearing that it was almost finished, Liu Xinwu was very excited, "I really look forward to seeing your manuscript soon."

"It's almost there." Lin Chaoyang said.

Yanshi University, second teaching building.

This morning the Chinese Department had a writing class, and the teacher who taught the students was Teacher Hou Yufen, who is just over 40 years old.

Compared with Yenching University, which has many senior scholars, Yenching Normal University does not have so many famous scholars and masters. The backbone of the Chinese Department is still mainly young and middle-aged lecturers and associate professors.

Unlike the era in later generations when academic qualifications were inflated beyond belief, today there are only a handful of lecturers in the department with doctoral degrees, and most teachers have master's degrees.

Hou Yufen is middle-aged and teaches writing, which is the course closest to Chinese language teaching. She has a good relationship with her students on weekdays.

The shrill bell rang, indicating that the class was over, and students poured out of the classroom.

Tao Yushu was the last one to come, but he didn't rush to leave the classroom. Instead, he came to the podium.

"Teacher Hou!"

"Jade book!"

Hou Yufen couldn't help but smile when she saw Tao Yushu. No teacher doesn't like a good student who is diligent, studious and has excellent grades. Tao Yushu is the treasure of the teachers in the Chinese department.

"I saw the review you wrote in Literary Review," said Tao Yushu.

Hou Yufen laughed when she heard this, "Isn't that a decent compliment?"

A few days ago, Wu Yingfang went to Yan University to listen to Lin Chaoyang's speech and witnessed the legendary love story of Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yushu. After returning to the school, she publicized it widely and it spread throughout Yan Normal University in a few days.

At the beginning of last year's school year, teachers and students in the department only knew that Tao Yushu's marital status was married, but no one expected that Tao Yushu's other half was actually a popular writer.

Especially when everyone heard that Tao Yushu and Lin Chaoyang knew each other when they were humble, and that Tao Yushu had a keen eye for Lin Chaoyang, who was just a young teacher in a rural team, they were all shocked by their love story and were full of admiration for the couple's persistence and perseverance.

The review article "Little Shoes: The Profound Humanistic Power Behind Simplicity" was written by Hou Yufen. When she wrote this article, she did not know the relationship between Tao Yushu and Lin Chaoyang. It was because she was deeply moved after watching "Little Shoes" at that time. She did not expect that she accidentally reviewed the work of her student's husband.

"You write good articles, but his novels are not that good." Tao Yushu said modestly, and then said: "Teacher Hou, Chaoyang and I would like to treat your family to a meal tomorrow."

The teacher wrote an article commenting on her husband's article, and it was full of praise. Even if Tao Yushu didn't know about it in advance, she still had to be polite.

Hou Yufen said with a smile: "I got paid for writing the review, but I still want you two to treat me to a meal. How can I do that? I'll treat you two. Don't go out. Come to my house tomorrow and I'll cook for you."

Hou Yufen's tone was firm, and Tao Yushu couldn't refuse with a few polite words, so he had to agree.

When they returned home in the evening, Tao Yushu and Lin Chaoyang talked about going to their school teacher's house for dinner tomorrow.

Lin Chaoyang was surprised and said, "Today I went to October and they showed me that review. It turned out to be written by your teacher?"

Encountering such a coincidence, Tao Yushu also laughed, "Otherwise, they say that literature is a circle!"

The next afternoon, the couple came to the Yanshi compound with gifts.

At that time, housing conditions in various units were tight, and the Normal University was no exception. Young and middle-aged teachers like Hou Yufen could only squeeze their families into small, simple tube-shaped buildings.

Once you enter the corridor, it's extremely crowded, filled with stoves, cookers, pots and pans. The kitchens in the tube-shaped buildings are all in the corridor, and there are public toilets at both ends of the corridor.

In the summer, the smells are mixed and make people feel uncomfortable. But everyone is in this condition at this time, and no one feels that life is difficult.

The two came to Hou Yufen's house, which was a single room. A double bed, a bunk bed and a desk were crammed into the ten-foot square space. The cramped space was divided in the middle by a curtain.

It looks like the double bed should be occupied by Teacher Hou and his wife, and the upper and lower bunks should be occupied by the children.

In the little space left, apart from daily necessities, the largest amount is filled with books, which can be seen everywhere.

This was the first time that Lin Chaoyang came to the tube-shaped building built in the 1980s, and it was also the first time that he personally felt the difficult housing conditions of today's employees.

He had only one thought in his mind, that if he could avoid applying for the unit's tube-shaped building, he would rather not apply.

Tao Yushu and Lin Chaoyang came with things and were complained by Hou Yufen.

Because they were inviting guests to dinner today, Hou Yufen was busy cooking in the corridor, and Tao Yushu took the initiative to help.

I was standing in the corridor and didn't help much. I was just busy saying hello.

Many young and middle-aged teachers from the Chinese Department lived in this building. When they heard that Tao Yushu brought her husband to Hou Yufen's house for dinner, they all ran over curiously.

"Hello, Teacher Lan!"

"Hello, Teacher Wang!"

"Hello, Teacher Guo!"

"Hello, Teacher Shang!"

Under Tao Yushu's command, Lin Chaoyang greeted everyone one by one and turned his head.

A group of people came to Hou Yufen's house to watch the fun and refused to leave. They pulled Lin Chaoyang to chat, and it seemed that they were trying to get a free meal.

Hou Yufen's family didn't prepare enough food for so many people. Thanks to Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yushu, they brought some food with them. Hou Yufen was busy serving dishes to the table. She was sweating profusely and complained, "How can you be so embarrassed to come to our house empty-handed?"

The teachers were laughing and joking without any psychological burden, which shows that they have a good relationship with each other.

After waiting for a long time for all the dishes to be served, Mr. Wang Furen, who taught modern literature, took out a bottle of Erguotou from somewhere and filled up the bottles for the several male comrades present.

"Don't act crazy in front of me when you're drunk!" Hou Yufen warned, seeming to have experience.

Teacher Hou treated everyone to a meal today. The happiest people were not Lan, Wang, Guo, and Shang who came to eat for free, nor were they Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yushu who came to visit, but her two underage daughters.

Teacher Hou has two daughters, one is in the first year of high school and the other is in the second year of junior high school. They were very excited when they heard that Xu Lingjun was coming to visit their home today.

I have been staring at Lin Chaoyang since he appeared. Although he looks different from the Xu Lingjun I imagined, this is the Xu Lingjun who wrote "The Shepherd" after all.

Talking about Lin Chaoyang's current fame and status in the domestic literary world and among readers, it is actually very interesting.

In general, they have few works but great fame, which is a bit similar to the idol stars in the entertainment industry in later generations.

In particular, "The Shepherd" is a Jack Su novel written in the guise of scar literature, which has attracted a large number of teenage female readers and made Lin Chaoyang's influence in this group reach a level far beyond that of his peers.

Lin Chaoyang felt a little awkward being stared at by the little girl in front of Tao Yushu and several other teachers, and Teacher Hou also noticed his discomfort.

"You two, stop looking at me like that. Be polite!"

"It's okay, it's okay." Lin Chaoyang said with a smile.

After being reprimanded by Teacher Hou, the two daughters no longer dared to look so brazenly, but they still observed secretly.

There was no space for a large dining table in Teacher Hou's house, so the group ate at a small coffee table. Because there were so many people, Teachers Lan and Shang and Teacher Hou's two daughters could only sit on the beds and stools nearby.

Although the dining conditions were cramped and difficult, everyone was in high spirits.

Tao Yushu is well-known in the Chinese Department of Yanshi University for her eagerness to learn and good grades. Not only is she beautiful, but she also has high emotional intelligence. She has always been the favorite student of the teachers in the department.

She brought her husband with her today. Lin Chaoyang was actually in the same industry as everyone else, both doing writing work, so they had a lively conversation.

Today's meal originated from the review article written by Hou Yufen on "Little Shoes". As everyone was chatting, they naturally mentioned "Little Shoes".

Teacher Wang is the oldest among the teachers. He took a sip of wine.

"I think the images of the puppy and his sister in the novel are the most full-bodied images I have seen in recent years. They not only fully demonstrate the innocence and kindness unique to children, but also reflect the sense of responsibility of 'poor children grow up early'.

The dialogues and actions of Chaoyang when dealing with these two characters are full of true feelings, without any sense of disobedience. I especially like the scene where Chaoyang looks at the champion with tears in his eyes after Xiaogouzi loses the game. It is handled very well.

How can I describe that feeling... Not only was I touched, but I also felt heartache, but at the same time, I also felt a sense of indomitable strength.

Beautiful! It’s so beautifully written!”

Teacher Wang could not help shaking his head as he commented on the novel. At the end he took a sip of wine, enjoying himself.

His emotions infected the people around him. They recalled the content of the novels they had read and agreed with what he said.

"My favorite part of Chao Yang's novel is his description of the folk customs and cultural characteristics of rural society. The details of scenes such as school life, neighborhood life, and the market are particularly well described," said Teacher Lan.

"No, no, no, the best thing about Chao Yang's novel is actually the delicate emotions. It looks ordinary, but it has a strong attraction that makes you unable to help but indulge in it. Only when you finish reading it will you feel the surging emotions."

“I think the biggest highlight of this novel is that Chaoyang uses clever contrast and contrast to create the complexity of the adult world and the innocence of children, which makes this novel reach a philosophical level.

But its philosophy is not didactic, and it penetrates the reader’s heart quietly.”

Several teachers drank some wine and seemed to treat today's dinner as a symposium on the work "Little Shoes", talking non-stop.

The author Lin Chaoyang couldn't get a word in when he was in person.

(End of this chapter)