Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 138: A Little Shock to the American Literary World
On August 8, the 24 "International Writing Program" officially opened, and the opening ceremony was held in a conference room in the main building of the University of Iowa.

The ceremony was presided over by poet Christopher Merrill, president of the University of Iowa and director of IWP since 2000. His speech was relatively brief, mainly reviewing the history of IWP and mentioning that many foreign writers have come here to write in residence, such as Yu Hua and Mo Yan from China, and Orhan Pamuk from Turkey.

Zhang Chao suddenly remembered that Pamuk should win the Nobel Prize in Literature next year (for "My Name is Red"), but Moyan will have to wait a few more years.

Merrill also mentioned that this is also a writing mecca for American writers. Flannery O'Connor and Raymond Carver both studied creative writing at the University of Iowa. To date, more than 40 Pulitzer Prize winners and 7 poets laureate have studied at or worked at the University of Iowa.

After the opening ceremony, Carlson led the writers to IWP's office, Shambaugh House, and distributed the three-month schedule to everyone.

IWP is not a study class or training class, and there are not many "classes" to attend. It is mainly composed of various visits, keynote speeches and sharing by writers. Each writer will be arranged to give 4 to 5 speech sharing sessions. Excluding weekends, there are about 2 sessions every day - of course, you don’t have to attend every session, you can choose on your own.

There won't be any exams or anything like that, but you will be asked about your personal writing plan and then some assistance projects will be arranged, such as translation.

Zhang Chao looked at the schedule and found that his first speech was scheduled for three days later. The topic was very broad. He just needed to introduce Chinese literature and his own writing. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The next few days were filled with optional activities arranged by IWP, including visiting the writers' memorials in Iowa City, watching films, and visiting the farmers' market. Zhang Chao had a heavy writing workload and also had to prepare for a speech, so he only chose two projects that could be carried out on campus and spent the rest of his time focusing on writing.

The speech was not given at the Shambaugh House, but on the second floor of the Prairie Light Bookstore, located in the south side of the city where celebrities socialize actively.

In addition to IWP writers, there are also undergraduate and graduate students majoring in creative writing at the University of Iowa, totaling more than 50 people.

The theme of Zhang Chao's speech is "Writing in China: Legacy, Dilemma, or Curse?"

"Writing in China may be more difficult than in other countries. The long and continuous history of civilization has left us a rich literary heritage, which is both a gift and a curse."

"600 years ago, ancient Chinese poets explored the limits of classical Chinese expression. When he was young, Alexander the Great was worried because his father had conquered too much land, and he was afraid that he would not be able to expand the territory after he inherited the throne."

"This dilemma is just a story or a fable in Europe, but it has been truly interpreted for hundreds of years in the field of Chinese literature."

"Many young Chinese people who want to engage in literary creation often feel that there is a heavy weight on their pens, and there are many eyes watching them from behind. Classical Chinese is a language that is 'small in size but huge in quality.'"

"A little bit of its legacy, such as idioms, has put modern writers under tremendous pressure to express themselves. If you carefully read the best contemporary Chinese novels or prose, you will find that many writers tacitly and collectively resist using idioms in their expressions."

"There are few countries where writers face such harsh evaluations as Chinese writers. Whether it is vernacular novels or poems, they are inevitably compared with those immortal works."

"So the expression of Chinese needs to change. The glory of the classical era cannot cover up the reality that it is becoming rigid. However, we are in the midst of invasion by foreign powers and internal and external troubles. We no longer have time to wait for classical Chinese to change from within and complete the transition to modernity through self-renewal like English or French."

"Fortunately, the expression standards of modern Chinese were completed by a group of writers who mastered the best classical Chinese at that time. They were so determined that they almost created a new language based on classical Chinese, and laid a solid foundation for this new language with very outstanding literary works."

"..."

The 40 minutes passed quickly. Zhang Chao's perspective on modern Chinese literature was very tricky. It was not a simple review of literary history, nor was it a general evaluation of writers or works. Instead, it reviewed the creative situation faced by modern Chinese writers from a linguistic perspective. However, it was normal for everyone to find it fresh. This method of using linguistics to observe literary history is still unpopular even after more than ten years. If Zhang Chao had not done some special research and written a paper, he would not have been able to explain it so thoroughly this time.

The translator arranged by IWP for him was Yang Yuzhe. No matter what other aspects this person has, he has strong literary and bilingual skills. In addition, Zhang Chao sent him the speech manuscript in advance, so he was accurate and fast.

Zhang Chao's novel viewpoint quickly sparked discussion among the writers and students present. At this time, a girl with burgundy hair and a nose stud asked, "Europe also has a long history and cultural heritage. Ancient Greece, ancient Rome and even the Middle Ages left many works. Why don't European writers have this problem?"

Zhang Chao quickly replied: "Language is still an important factor. The differentiation of European languages ​​has created diversity. Wittgenstein said that the boundaries of language are actually the boundaries of thought.

Different language environments provide different ways of thinking, and naturally lead to different creative methods. Writers in Europe, America, and South Asia often grow up in a bilingual or even multilingual environment, so it is difficult for them to perceive the impact of this language environment on their creations.

But Chinese writers are different. We can usually only discover this difference from dialects. But dialects are just a branch of Chinese after all, and it is difficult to fundamentally subvert our way of thinking..."

Unconsciously, today's speech became a one-man show by Zhang Chao. Originally, the Pakistani playwright Yusman was the next speaker, but he took the initiative to ask the host of the event to postpone his time, as he was also very interested in what Zhang Chao said.

After an hour and a half, the host had to interrupt the discussion and let Yousman, who was still eager to speak, go on stage.

After the event, a white-haired, bearded old man sitting in the back row of the crowd stopped Zhang Chao, handed him a business card, and introduced himself: "I am Harold, a columnist for The New York Review of Books. I am very interested in your views and your works. Can I interview you?"

Yang Yuzhe introduced it to Zhang Chao with some surprise and excitement: "The New York Review of Books is the most influential literary review magazine in the United States. The writers and works that appear in it will become the vane of discussion in the American literary world for a period of time."

Zhang Chao hesitated for a moment, then agreed. The interview took place in a corner of the Grassland Light. The format was very relaxed. The two of them had a cup of coffee in front of them, and they chatted while drinking.

Zhang Chao systematically explained his creative ideas to Harold and also introduced his creative experience. Harold was surprised at Zhang Chao's youth and felt sorry that American readers could not see Zhang Chao's works. He also wanted to recommend Zhang Chao's speech to the New York Review of Books.

Zhang Chao agreed: "Then I will go back and sort it out and supplement it."

After the visit, Harold was very happy and said with a smile: "I come to IWP almost every year, but most of the speeches are boring and official, and only a few people are interesting. This visit is the best achievement I have gained in the past five years.

I have a feeling that your speech and our visit can give a small shock to the lifeless American literary world. "

When Zhang Chao returned to the dormitory and checked his mailbox, he saw the email from Susan. In just three days, she had completed a draft of her masterpiece, but the title almost made Zhang Chao knock over the teacup on the table -

"All the Way to the West"

He immediately replied with an email: "The direction is correct, but can you change the title..."

(End of this chapter)