Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 163 Don’t Be a Short-seller Literary Critic

Li Juan never expected that a big shot like Bai Ye, who was so powerful, would take the initiative to let her speak, so she was completely unprepared and was speechless.

Fortunately, her mentor Liu Liangcheng was there too, and he said gently, "It's okay, just speak up."

Li Juan whispered, "Teacher Liu, I'd better not say anything."

Liu Liangcheng had no choice but to say, "I was the editor of Li Juan's first book, so I'm quite familiar with her. I'll just throw out some ideas and talk about her works first..."

Bai Ye interrupted Liu Liangcheng's story and said, "Liangcheng, I think we should not interfere. Xiao Li is just a little shy, give her some time."

Liu Liangcheng could only stop helplessly. It has been less than ten years since he entered the mainstream literary world. Although "A Village of One Person" has a great influence and his reputation as "the last essayist of the 20th century" is also very loud, his foundation is still shallow in this occasion.

At this time, Li Juan had no choice but to go ahead. She said in her unique hesitant, hesitant and tangled tone: "Hello, teachers. I am Li Juan, from the countryside of Xinjiang. In fact, my work still has many shortcomings..."

"I'm actually not very good at writing, and I don't know much about literature. I can't even tell whether what I write is prose or fiction."

"Every article I write is very difficult. People think my writing is good, probably because I cater to the readers' tastes. I hope to be accepted and liked by people."

"I actually deliberately beautified my life to make it seem less difficult. In fact, life on the grassland ranch is very hard, especially when the seasons change..."

"My writing is really bad. Compared with everyone else, I am just a star compared to the moon..."

Liu Liangcheng frowned upon hearing this, and Zhang Chao was also surprised. Li Juan was denying herself almost the entire time, but she lacked social experience and didn't know that such an attitude would not earn people sympathy or appreciation.

Sure enough, Bai Ye smiled and said in a gentle tone: "Xiao Li is very modest and has set a good example for us. A seminar cannot just be about flattery, it should have real insights, even if they are a little sharp.

In recent years, Xiao Li has published some works in "People's Literature" and "Youth Literature". Although the number is not large, the impact is not small.

Especially her "Nine Pieces of Snow", which has attracted the attention of our literary critics for a long time. But the research is not in-depth enough! Today, we can speak freely through Xiao Li's self-criticism. "

When Zhang Chao heard this, he thought to himself that something was wrong. It was obvious that there was something else behind the words. The following "speaking freely" might be "wanton attack".

Sure enough, a critic named Yang Li said: "The theme of our session is 'Big Handwriting in a Big Era', but Comrade Li Juan's prose, although it has a vast background of vast sky and boundless wilderness, is still essentially 'small life, small sentiment'.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that “small life, small sentiment” is bad. But as an essayist, one should not be obsessed with a little personal feeling, but should feel the pulse of the times and integrate oneself into the torrent of the motherland’s development…”

Bai Ye leaned against the back of the chair, crossed his hands on his chest, half-closed his eyes, and nodded slightly, obviously very satisfied.

Yang Li talked for five minutes without even looking at Li Juan's increasingly pale face. After she finished, another critic named Hong Yu quickly followed up, saying, "I think a good essayist should have philosophical thinking.

It is not that prose cannot be lifelike, but it cannot be completely lifelike. Otherwise, it will only provide readers with a sense of novelty. Once they become familiar with your grassland, your cattle and sheep, your yurt, your tailor shop...what else can you provide to readers?
Prose must be inspiring and transcendent. Such inspiration and transcendence can only come from philosophy. So Li Juan needs to read more books..."

Liu Liangcheng couldn't help but said, "In fact, Li Juan reads a lot. She used to..." Bai Ye interrupted him again and said, "Liangcheng, don't worry. Everyone is helping her from their own perspective. Which writer has not been criticized or corrected?
If you get angry, cry out for injustice, or bring up your parents when you are criticized, it means you have no manners. Look, Xiao Li is still very calm!"

Liu Liangcheng had no choice but to shut up. Zhang Chao's forehead was throbbing with veins - "When criticized, he jumps up and down, cries out injustice, and calls his 'parents'" - just show me my ID card.

But after all, they were talking about Li Juan, so I couldn't get angry. I had to be patient and continue listening.

At this time, a female literary theory expert named Chang Lihua spoke up: "I think there is an innate gender bias in Li Juan's works, which makes me, a woman, feel very surprised."

Now Li Juan was no longer calm and hurried to explain.

But Chang Lihua didn't give her a chance at all, and continued to speak like a machine gun: "Li Juan showed a serious patriarchal ideology in her works. In her prose, there is often a blind obsession with male power and male authority...

For example, she wrote that men are strong and trustworthy. She also wrote that female herders who gave birth to boys are stronger and more powerful than mothers who only raised girls. She also used the humiliating term "mistress" which clearly objectifies women...

These contents all show the deep, stubborn and indelible patriarchal ideology in her mind. This is a serious harm to the ideological content of her works and will also have a subtle and adverse impact on women who read her works. "

Obviously, this was the strongest criticism of Li Juan's work at the afternoon seminar. All the doubts about the technical details of the work were not as effective as this "heart-piercing" move.

The sudden blow made Li Juan at a loss as to how to deal with it for a moment. The concession, weakness and self-doubt in her character made her lose the courage to explain as she did at the beginning.

She shrank back in her seat and stopped talking. Liu Liangcheng was obviously irritated, and the knuckles of his fingers holding the pen turned white.

Bai Ye still had a gentle smile on his face, and he spoke again, blocking Liu Liangcheng who was about to speak. He said, "It's over, Xiao Li's work is still excellent overall. Although it lacks a big picture, a broad vision, and a big feeling, these 'big' are not the only criteria for creation.

Writers in the new era should maintain their independent creative personality on the one hand, and on the other hand, they should also pay attention to the trend of the times and take the initiative to move closer to the higher halls of the literary world. Xiao Li just said that he "caters to the readers' tastes", which actually not only shows a spirit of courage to criticize himself, but also reveals some chaos in the current literary world.

Publishing houses always surround some best-selling authors and even spend a lot of money to get their manuscripts. The younger the writer, the harder it is to get out of this circle. I am certainly not against the marketization of literature, but this marketization should be benign and not overly damage the purity of literature.

Otherwise, many young writers today would only enter the market but not the literary world. As a literary critic, I feel deeply sorry for this.”

After speaking these righteous words, Bai Ye looked around with a smile, and suddenly said to Zhang Chao: "Student Zhang Chao, you are an outstanding representative of the post-80s writers, and you are also one of the few who have entered the literary world. What do you think?"

Zhang Chao thought for a moment and slowly said, "Although today is a 'prose seminar', it seems that everyone is interested in more than just prose... I remembered Mr. Lu Xun's last words to his son Zhou Haiying before his death. One of them was:

'When children grow up, if they have no talent, they can find some small things to make a living, but they must not become empty writers or artists.'

I think if he knew what the so-called "literary world" is like now, he would probably add another word - "empty literary critics."

(End of this chapter)