Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 164: The God of Spraying, the Debate with Scholars

Bai Ye and the others' faces changed. Just as they were about to speak, Zhang Chao spoke first, "What I said just now was a bit sharp, but this is also in response to President Bai's call, so it doesn't matter if it's a bit sharp.

Critics can speak freely about writers, but don't we writers also have the right to speak frankly?
Bai Ye felt a tightness in his chest after hearing this sentence, so he had to glance over. Feng Zheng, another critic who had not yet spoken, understood what he meant. Just as he was about to speak, Liu Liangcheng said, "Listen to Zhang Chao's words first. Zhang Chao, just go ahead and say your words. We all have some manners."

Zhang Chao nodded and continued, "Thanks to President Bai for thinking highly of me and saying that I have 'entered the literary world'. I am ashamed to say that I have been to the Temple of Heaven in Yanjing, but I don't even know which way the door of this 'literary world' opens or how much the ticket costs. Just saying that I have 'entered the literary world' makes me feel like I am entering the venue without a ticket.

Or is it all up to the critics, who get on board and who don't get on board?"

The solemn look on Liu Liangcheng's face had disappeared, and a slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Seeing that someone was about to interrupt again, he quickly said in advance: "Zhang Chao, pay attention to the topic of discussion, don't be sarcastic. Go on."

Zhang Chao said: "Okay, let's get back to our topic today. 'A grand era of great style', first of all, this sentence is not true, it is self-deception, and pure... venting. Calling the era you are in and want to describe and portray as a 'great era' is itself a typical fantasy of pedantic writers.

Looking at the history of modern Chinese literature, which era is not "big"? Take the last century, for example. Wasn't the 20s, when the New Culture Movement was in full swing, big? Wasn't the 30s, when the country was in ruins due to internal and external troubles, big? Wasn't the 40s, when two wars ran through it, big?
Wasn't the 50s, when everything was in ruins and the world was changing, big? ... Wasn't the 80s and 90s, when things were getting out of turmoil and moving towards openness, big? In my opinion, for any specific individual, no era is "small".

So deliberately emphasizing a certain era as a "great era" is essentially a sign of lack of confidence in the work, and the need to use a tiger's skin to pull a big banner. In the eyes of us writers, there is no distinction between big and small eras, only the mind and vision are important. "

Bai Ye's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He was the one who proposed this topic. It was his habit to use "big words" to write articles. But now he could only keep silent because Zhang Chao's point of view hit his sore spot. He was still planning a counterattack.

Zhang Chao paused, and seeing that Bai Ye didn't respond, he continued, "Let's talk about 'big handwriting'. I think since it is a literary work, we should talk more about 'writing style' and less about 'handwriting'. Writing style refers to the textual details of the work that can be specifically perceived by readers of different levels, while handwriting usually refers to the size of the work.

We have a misunderstanding that long, large-scale realistic works can "reflect the great era", which is also a kind of self-hypnosis. History is composed of countless fragmented aspects. Everyone lives in a specific aspect. It is difficult to explore the aspect you are in, let alone other aspects that you can only look at occasionally.

With such limited experience, how can one dare to say something as big as "reflecting the great era"? Balzac's "Human Comedy" is a big deal, right? He aspires to be a "secretary of the times", but in fact, the characters he wrote, such as merchants, lawyers, clerks, notaries, etc., are obviously much better portrayed than peasants and nobles.

Because he had been in business, studied law, and worked as an intern notary, and the lives of peasants and nobles were not on the same historical side as him. If such a talented and ambitious writer was like this, what about others? So at the end of the 19th century, after Tolstoy, all the possibilities of this kind of "big-handed" works had been explored and exhausted, and almost no great writers used this outdated concept of "big-handed" to create.

Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude only describes the personnel changes of a family in a small village in Macondo; James Joyce's Ulysses only describes the experiences and psychological journey of the young poet Stephen in one day. However, the former is considered to reproduce the historical and social landscape of Latin America; the latter is more famous and is considered to be a microcosm of human society.

They relied on their insight into the laws of human social development and human nature to compress extremely grand themes into extremely limited time and space. So, is their "handwriting" big or small?

Although the 'modernization' of domestic literature started a little late due to the times, after the 80s, most pure literature writers gradually began to move towards history, society, and people's hearts, rather than floating on the surface and pursuing so-called 'grand works'. "

Zhang Chao was a little tired after talking so much in one breath, but after taking a sip of water, he continued to speak out his own conclusion: "So, 'great era' is a false proposition, and 'grand writing' is outdated. 'Grandiose writing in the great era' is both hypocritical and boring. Discussing any literary topic under this theme can only be a bunch of 'fake, grand, empty' clichés."

"Enough!" Bai Ye slammed his teacup onto the table, making a crisp sound of porcelain hitting each other. The splashing tea quickly soaked through the red tablecloth, forming a black hole.

Zhang Chao was surprised and asked, "President Bai, didn't you ask us to stop 'blowing' and instead talk about 'real insights'?"

Bai Ye's face was gloomy, and he said coldly: "The theme discussion is to comment on literary works and literary phenomena within a theoretical framework with consensus. As for whether this theme is reasonable, it is not within the scope of discussion, otherwise it will become a conceptual dispute."

Before Zhang Chao could speak, Liu Liangcheng suddenly said, "I think what Zhang Chao said makes sense - the so-called 'if the name is not right, then the words will not flow'. It is important to reach a consensus, but the understanding of literature should have the mind of 'seeking common ground while reserving differences'.

Writers should be able to withstand the criticism of critics, and critics should also be able to withstand the criticism of writers. Only by encouraging each other can we make progress together. Don’t you agree, President Bai? "

What about seniority, what about institutional resources, what about literary status...get out of the way! Under Zhang Chao's stimulation, Liu Liangcheng finally realized that today's originally insignificant seminar might be a turning point in the transfer of discourse power in the literary world.

As a writer, he has been "promoted" by critics, but he also understands that this imbalance is pathological and deformed. If the critics' monopoly on the discourse power of literary works over the past decade cannot be broken, then Li Juan's experience today will probably happen again and again.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that during the casual meetings of the Writers Association and the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, everyone is extremely polite to each other, and they all have a peaceful and humble attitude. However, when it comes to the struggle for the right to speak, “every inch of land is worth an inch of blood.”

Once pure literature writers find a mature channel to bypass the critics, the ecology of the literary market will return to a virtuous cycle. So he also took the risk.

Bai Ye looked at the clock. It was still early. The special discussions in other venues had not yet ended. If he forced this discussion to end at this time, it would be tantamount to admitting his failure, which was unacceptable to him who had been wielding power for many years. But now he wanted to speak up to object, but was blocked by Zhang Chao and Liu Liangcheng. He had no choice but to wink at others.

The young critic Feng Zheng finally found an opportunity, cleared his throat and said: "Zhang Chao's statement is a bit confusing. 'Great writing in the great era', 'great era' means that writers should take the initiative to explore the great qualities of the era they are in or depicting.

"Big handwriting" does not refer to one person, but a group of writers with great feelings, who jointly create group portraits reflecting different classes and different groups of people. We in the literary criticism community hope to urge writers to devote themselves to..."

Feng Zheng became more and more proud as he spoke. He secretly glanced at Bai Ye a few times and found that his face was gradually thawing, which made him even happier. His main job now is as a young lecturer at a certain university's School of Literature and a part-time literary critic. If he could get Bai Ye's favor, it would be much easier for him to publish articles and evaluate his professional title in the future...

“Finally, I would like to say that literary critics are not against writers, but discoverers and promoters of writers and their works.”

Zhang Chao listened to Feng Zheng's speech patiently. Seeing his smug look, he couldn't help but sneer. Then he said, "Thank you for your performance. It gave a vivid demonstration to the 'empty literary critics'."

Feng Zheng was furious and said, "You...!"

Liu Liangcheng interrupted immediately, "Zhang Chao, I've told you to be careful not to be hostile and to be united. Go on."

Zhang Chao said: "After listening to your speech just now, I don't know whether to call you Mr. Feng or Mr. Feng. Westin Hugh Auden once said, 'Criticism is a kind of idle chat.' This sentence is a bit unorthodox, but I think it expresses the essential characteristics of literary criticism -

It should come from an instinctive urge to share reading experiences, and be a leisurely conversation under the lamp in front of the stove. No matter how it is sublimated and standardized at the academic level, the original intention cannot change.

Literary criticism can be analysis, description, interpretation, explanation, or even abuse... but it cannot be "instruction" or "guidance." What you just said is precisely instructing writers on how to create, just like a landlord directing farmhands on how to work, and just using some beautiful words to decorate it.

So it is not unfair to call you "Master". You have vividly demonstrated how ugly a literary person would be if he had no creative talent and was arrogant. "

Before the critics in the meeting could react, Zhang Chao directly said, "Not only is there Mr. Feng here, but also Mr. Hong, as well as Grandma Yang, Grandma Chang..." He turned around and asked Bai Ye, "Are you right, Grandpa Bai?"

Everyone else in the meeting room was stunned. Even Liu Liangcheng, who had been very courageous just now, was dumbfounded. He didn't know what to do, whether to help Zhang Chao smooth things over or continue to charge forward.

Zhang Chao would not wait for others to refute him, and continued in a firm tone that could not be refuted: "Master Hong wants Li Juan to read more, Grandma Yang wants Li Juan to write in a 'big' way, and Grandma Chang wants Li Juan not to praise men. The three masters and ladies, please understand one fact - Li Juan can come from the grasslands and forests of Xinjiang and the rural villages to sit in this meeting today precisely because her writing does not have those 'bad habits' you mentioned. She also wants to please the readers, not you critics.

As long as she keeps her current attitude and writes one article after another based on her own feelings rather than your guidance, she will sooner or later become the best prose writer in China. Her cowardice, entanglement, hesitation, self-denial, and her former poverty and displacement, which you despise, will all be the reasons why she wins readers.

Among all these reasons, the only thing that is not included is the "advantages" that you critics think of. Even a teacher teaching English at New Oriental can do a better job than you in letting readers know more and more deeply about her!"

Although I don't know what Zhang Chao meant by the last sentence, the previous words were enough to anger several people. Chang Lihua, who had the hottest temper, was about to slam the table and stand up.

Bai Ye calmed down at this moment, stretched out his hand to stop Chang Lihua, and questioned Zhang Chao: "It seems that you have a lot of opinions about our literary criticism? Do you think literary criticism should not exist? You are wrong, absolutely wrong. Any cultural phenomenon, as long as it has its creators, will have its critics. These are the two sides of the coin, and no one can erase the existence of anyone else.

The creation of writers is certainly the main part of literary activities, but critics can elevate this creation to a higher aesthetic level. Roland Barthes once said, "The author is dead." This means that after a literary work enters the public eye, its meaning space no longer belongs exclusively to the author.

Every reader will understand the work within his or her own experience and construct his or her own space of meaning. Literary criticism is not to judge the quality of a work or a writer, but to integrate and sublimate the above-mentioned space of meaning, giving it a broader connotation of consciousness.

If you deny the value of literary criticism, you are denying the significance of literary creation!"

It has to be said that as an old literary critic, Bai Ye has a very high theoretical level and a quick response. Unlike Feng Zheng who just tried to put literary criticism above creation in a simplistic and crude way, he explained the relationship between the two from an extremely "orthodox" perspective and cleverly placed literary criticism in a more important position.

Zhang Chao paused for a moment, his mind working at top speed, and he grasped the main point in an instant, and immediately asked, "You just said that writers' creations are the main body of literary activities, right? In other words, if there is no literary creation, then literary criticism will no longer exist, right?"

Bai Ye thought about it and felt that there should be no trap here, so he said frankly: "That's right. But this does not mean that literary criticism is a vassal of literary creation..."

Without waiting for Bai Ye to finish, Zhang Chao continued to ask: "From the perspective of maintaining its own survival, the purpose of literary criticism should at least be to 'promote the prosperity of literary creation', right?"

Bai Ye realized what Zhang Chao was going to say and said quickly, "Although that's the case, the reasons for the current downturn in literature are very complicated..."

Zhang Chao said: "The decline of physical publishing is a problem faced by the whole world. But why can the American literary criticism community - such as The New York Review of Books and The Atlantic - still push my novel to sell 100 million copies there? Well, this is the estimate of Random House, and it has sold 50 copies now."

Bai Ye: "..." He really wanted to say that we have praised your "The Vanishing Lover" before - although it was a wrong praise. But this matter has become a black history of domestic literary criticism, and it cannot be mentioned.

Zhang Chao continued to ask: "There is a best-selling book in China right now. Is it because of your literary criticism that the public is buying it?
Or conversely, has our literary criticism ever promoted any excellent but obscure literary work to enter the public eye?"

Everyone was silent. After a long while, Bai Ye said, "Literary works cannot be evaluated only by sales..."

Zhang Chao sneered, "Then ask the writers, which is more important, sales or your comments? However, for our critics, no sales is the best, because then all the evaluation rights belong to them."

Bai Ye said angrily: "Can you please stop talking about sales volume all the time!"

Zhang Chao counted on his fingers and said, "My book has sold more than 500 million copies so far."

Bai Ye slammed the table and said, "Today we are having a literature seminar, not a marketing meeting."

Zhang Chao said expressionlessly: "My book sales have exceeded 500 million copies."

Bai Ye was so angry that he almost threw the cup over: "Don't you have anything else to say except 500 million?"

Zhang Chao said: "The movie I wrote made 8000 million at the box office, and the comic book adapted from my novel has sold nearly 700 million copies."

Bai Ye yelled, "That's just you! Exceptions don't represent the whole population!"

Zhang Chao said: "Shuang Xuefeng of Youth received 5 yuan in royalties last year, and his peripheral income exceeded 10 yuan. Ma Boyong published two books, and the sales of both books exceeded 15 copies."

Zhang Chao figured it out. To deal with this old-timer, he didn't have to fight him on a theoretical level, but had to directly tear apart the reality that they tried so hard to whitewash.

Domestic literary criticism, whether from a spiritual or material perspective, has no value to creation. The only thing they control is the so-called "right to speak".

This right to speak comes from the critic's institutional status and control over resources.

When Bai Ye declared in a self-righteous manner that "most of the post-80s writers have only entered the market but not the literary world", he failed to realize that critics should be more obedient to the market than writers.

Literary critics must be both academic and professional, and also market-oriented, but they must not be power-oriented. But the reality is ironic.

One of the chronic diseases of the domestic literary world is that critics have largely controlled the entrance and occupied positions, resulting in an imbalance between creation and criticism.

They often completely blame the decline of literature on social and economic development and people's impetuousness, but they have never reflected on their own arrogance due to their power, and are actually accomplices.

Bai Ye used all his life's cultivation to suppress his anger and said coldly: "I don't think today's seminar can produce any results. Everyone has their own opinions. Let's go on for a while and see what happens later.

The meeting is over! "

Zhang Chao also collapsed into his chair exhaustedly after hearing this. This tit-for-tat verbal confrontation consumed a lot of brainpower and emotions. Even though he had just been possessed by the God of Spray, he was already exhausted. With this result, he had already won. There was no need and no energy to pursue it.

The rest of the people didn't expect that today's meeting would turn out like this. It was Xiaodao's fault. However, what Zhang Chao said opened a skylight in the minds of all the writers present...

Just as everyone was about to leave, Li Juan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up: "We can't end this meeting, I have something else to say!"

(I’m so tired, this is the only chapter I’ll write tonight.)
(End of this chapter)