Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 202 Are You a "Running Dog"? (The Third Update)
The classroom where Zhang Chao defended his thesis, like that of other students, was also in the Chinese Department building of Yanda University. It was a larger tiered classroom.

At 9:30 in the morning, CCTV10 and PPSteam broadcasting staff had set up their equipment and were ready to go. Apart from these two, there were no other media reporters present, which was also required by Yanda to avoid interference with the defense process.

At 9:50 in the morning, the six defense instructors who had just finished their meeting in the next classroom came to the classroom and sat in the first row. Yanda sent two professors, Qian Liqun and Cao Wenxuan, while Nanjing University sent Professor Wang Binbin. Fudan University was special in that it sent Wang Anyi.

In 1994, Wang Anyi opened the "Novel Writing Research" course at Fudan University as a visiting professor; in 2004, she officially joined the Chinese Department of Fudan University as a teacher; in 2006, she promoted Fudan University to open a "Master's Program in Literary Writing", which is actually commonly known as the "writer's class."

She and Zhang Chao had a brief exchange at the Shanghai Book Fair two years ago, which was quite pleasant.

The other two experts from the ministries and commissions were only responsible for listening and taking notes, and did not participate in asking questions. So from the perspective of the selection of the defense instructor, the three universities did not intend to embarrass Zhang Chao. After all, Zhang Chao's good performance can prove the correctness of the establishment of the "Writers Class".

But the difficulty lies in how to make Zhang Chao "perform well" - if he is too mediocre or too ordinary, it will definitely disappoint the people watching the live broadcast - so the setting of the questions is very critical.

In the back row were several school leaders and professors including Wen Rumin, as well as Lu Xun College's representative, Vice Dean Zou Guangming. After all, from the perspective of academic status, Zhang Chao was actually a student of Lu Xun College.

To be honest, Yanda agreed to live broadcast, which not only withstood huge pressure, but also took huge risks. It is easy to be accused of "sensationalism", so when the department head Wen Ru proposed live broadcast, there was a big disagreement among the leaders.

Finally, it was Professor Qian Liqun's words that made the president make the final decision: "As far as I know, Zhang Chao has given his best novel in the past two years as his graduation project to Yenching Normal University. Then we at Yenching University only have a 'short' paper, which seems to be nothing memorable?

When people talk about Zhang Chao in a few years, they may only remember that he studied at Yenching Normal University, but not remember that he was also a student of our Yenching University! "

Upon hearing this, President Xu of Yan University slammed the table and said, "No need to discuss! Live broadcast! It must be live broadcast! The quality cannot be low! I'll call CCTV!"

This led to the format of today's defense.

At 10 o'clock in the morning, Zhang Chao, dressed in formal attire, entered the classroom on time and came to the podium. He turned around and wrote the title of his paper on the blackboard: Escape in a poetic way. The equipment in the lecture hall supports the use of PPT, but Zhang Chao decided to present it in the most traditional way.

Then he turned around and introduced himself: "Hello, teachers. I am Zhang Chao, a student of Yanda Class of 06. My student number is... My thesis title is "Escape in a Poetic Way" and my advisor is Professor Kong Qingdong."

Professor Qian Liqun, the head of the defense team, said: "Okay, please first summarize the content of the paper, the reason for choosing the topic, and the theoretical basis."

Zhang Chao began to narrate calmly: "…'Binary opposition' is one of the basic structures of Wang Xiaobo's novels, and the creation of the poetic world in them depends on the author's profound understanding and excellent use of the spirit of 'black humor' and modern novel writing techniques. The former expresses Wang Xiaobo's anger and ridicule of the gray reality, and the latter is his exploration of the pure art field of novels..."

"…"Wanshou Temple" has achieved a perfect balance between ideology and artistry, avoiding falling into the quagmire of critical realism or technological supremacy, and nimbly wandering between the two. The author has always maintained a high level of creative enthusiasm and calm creative rationality, making "Wanshou Temple" a modernist classic work that is fiercely critical yet full of rationality, novel in form yet not dry…"

The five-minute self-introduction passed quickly, and Zhang Chao said in a sonorous and powerful voice: "The above is a brief introduction of my paper. I look forward to your comments."

Several teachers whispered to each other for a few seconds, and soon Professor Qian Liqun asked the first question: "There are many contemporary novelists who use modernist techniques. What made you pay attention to Wang Xiaobo? What do you think is the difference between Wang Xiaobo and the avant-garde writers of the 80s in their creation?"

This question is not difficult, but it is slightly beyond the scope of general graduation defense questions. Zhang Chao knew that Professor Qian was throwing the ball to him, so he must not answer too "boringly". After a little thought, he replied: "I pay attention to Wang Xiaobo precisely because he is not paid attention to, or not paid attention to by the mainstream literary world and the critics. This state of 'collective aphasia' makes me feel unfair and curious.

I don’t want to repeat the external reasons, as you all have seen them some time ago. But this time, I want to find the reasons from within Wang Xiaobo’s creation…”

Zhang Chao on the stage was telling the story. In another classroom, PPS Technical Director Lei Liang was staring at the monitor all the time. He looked at the number of viewers soaring in the background and gave orders in an orderly manner:

"There are more than 50 people online at the same time. We need to connect to the backup server and give priority to the defense live broadcast..." "The peak number of users has exceeded 100 million. We are now moving the movie channel's server to the defense live broadcast to ensure that there is no lag..."

"The number of people online at the same time has exceeded 150 million. Channels with less than 2 people online will be temporarily closed, and resources will be concentrated on the defense live broadcast..."

"The number of users has exceeded 200 million. NBA game replays have also been turned off - wait for a moment, keep the replays of the Rockets and Lakers games, and turn off the others..."

Lei Liang became more and more excited and louder as he spoke. During this period, the peak number of people online at the same time on PPS was 300 million. Now, the number of people watching Zhang Chao's defense live has exceeded 200 million.

One person can stand up to one station, this is not just an exaggeration. How can Lei Liang not be excited?
In front of various screens, the audience's reactions were also varied.

At Zhang Chao's home in Changfu County, Fuhai, Zhang Chao's parents had already called a bunch of relatives and friends over. They drank tea, ate melon seeds, watched and commented on the show.

"How can Zhang Chao be so bold? If I were to see the camera, I would be speechless!"

"Zhang Chao was on CCTV two years ago, on Channel 10, the News Broadcast. Now he's on Channel , and he's still very confident!"

"I heard that it was Zhang Chao himself who proposed this live broadcast. What do you think of this kid..."

Listening to everyone's discussion and watching his son throwing out literary jargon one after another in front of the camera, Zhang Chao's father, the only one who could understand what was said, was very proud and would explain to everyone from time to time:
"Let me tell you, this 'literature is the study of human beings' means that literary works reveal the contradictions and conflicts between man and nature, man and society, man and others, and man and himself through the description of man's character, emotions, and fate..."

Zhang Chao's mother put the cup of tea in front of him with a "pop" and said, "Stop showing off and listen to your son!"

More than 30 members of Xiamen University's Gulang Literary Society gathered in an empty classroom, drew the curtains, turned on their computers and projectors, and projected the live broadcast of Zhang Chao's defense onto a large screen.

"…Wang Xiaobo did not simply mechanically imitate A Traveler on a Cold Winter Night, but creatively developed the method of writing "transcendental novels"—Calvino linked several different stories together in a large framework. Although it has unparalleled openness, it still has not escaped the influence of Arabian Nights and Five Volumes on the technical level…"

In the dim darkness, more than 30 pairs of eyes were staring at Zhang Chao, who was confident and calm on the screen, full of curiosity, amazement, and even awe. Lan Ting was so fascinated that she didn't even hear the questions her classmates whispered to her.

Behind her, Xi Zhenglin, the current president of Gulang Literary Society, looked at Lan Ting and Zhang Chao with a complicated expression.

"Teacher Fang" was also watching the live broadcast in front of his computer screen at home. Seeing Zhang Chao talking eloquently, he was not at all like the "fool" he had imagined. For a few moments, he was dazed and thought he had made a wrong judgment.

But soon, he reaffirmed his inner thoughts and believed that Zhang Chao's fluent answers were the result of pre-preparation. Yanda, Nanjing University, and Fudan University were in collusion and collectively falsified the results!
He flicked his mouse and closed the live broadcast. He opened the document and typed in the latest title:

Zhang Chao's defense live broadcast: a carefully packaged farce

In an office at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Yanjing, a middle-aged woman who was no longer young and even a little bloated, was in tears and murmured, "Xiaobo, Xiaobo, did you see that? There is a young man who really understands you."

Zhang Chao's solid, detailed, and literary answers satisfied all the defense instructors present, and even far exceeded their best expectations. They could even imagine how many children with literary dreams this live broadcast would give a shot in the arm!

But is that enough?
Professor Wang Binbin of Nanjing University raised a rather sharp question at this time: "Nowadays, many young literary people claim to be Wang Xiaobo's 'running dogs'. This is certainly not a derogatory term, but a great compliment to Mr. Wang Xiaobo - then may I ask you, are you his 'running dog'?
What was your mindset when you wrote this paper about Mr. Wang Xiaobo's works? "

(There should be another chapter later)
(End of this chapter)