Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 232 Chaotic Scene (Two chapters in one, please give me a monthly ticket)

Zhang Chao was shocked when he heard this. Has he already lost his dignity? He looked up at the host Lin Zhien and found that his facial expression was slightly distorted. It was obvious that this question put a lot of pressure on him.

A TVB executive on the sidelines couldn't help it, and said to the director beside him: "Quickly cut the commercial and change people."

But the woman in red said, "Don't cut it. Look at Zhang Chao, his expression is not panicked at all, which means this problem will not affect his performance. Cutting it now will only make the public think that TVB is protecting Zhang Chao, which will be disadvantageous to him.

No matter what Lin Zhien did today, as long as he is still in the spotlight of TVB, he represents our TV station. "

The director was at a loss, looking at the senior executives, then at the woman. Finally, the senior executives sighed and said, "Listen to Sister."

The only person who can be called "Ajie" in TVB is, of course, the senior host Wang Mingquan. She is nearly 60 years old and is the "official emcee" of TVB's large-scale programs. She has a great influence and is not a senior executive, but she is better than a senior executive.

Zhang Chao thought for a moment and said with a smile, "You could be more specific."

Lin Zhien said expressionlessly: "As a writer, you not only clashed with many of the mainland's literary predecessors, but also used vicious words, without any regard for human dignity, and only cared about your own verbal pleasure.

You seem to have no regard for the tradition of respecting the elderly in our Chinese culture. Do you think such behavior can be a model for young people to learn from?"

Zhang Chao thought, you've been thinking about this for a long time, and this is the result? But then he realized that the other party's question was actually a trap waiting for him to step on. Hong Kong and Taiwan are the so-called traditional cultural bases, and many middle-class families still have conservative and traditional ideas.

If Zhang Chao said something low-key like "These are all disputes of ideas, and I actually still respect these predecessors", not only would the audience feel that Zhang Chao was not sincere enough, but Lin Zhien would definitely bring up some more specific details to tangle with him, and then the purpose of participating in this interview today would have deviated.

However, if he behaves too "arrogantly" and says something like "challenging tradition is one of the factors in becoming a writer", then many older, parent-like audiences will definitely have opinions about him.

Zhang Chao's mind raced, and he immediately asked back, "The ethics you're talking about, are you referring to the respect for the elderly and love for the young in daily life, or the distinction between the high and the low in literary concepts?"

Lin Zhien said: "Is there a difference? As the saying goes, 'The writing reflects the writer.' The way of literature is the way of being a human being. First learn how to be a human being, then learn how to do things. Isn't this common sense?"

Zhang Chao put on a smile - discussing literature with me? - and said calmly: "There is a big difference. The fact that you can say this shows that you don't understand literature, and you don't understand how to be a human being."

Lin Zhien couldn't hold back his anger and was about to speak out to refute, but Zhang Chao didn't give him the chance and continued, "I hope you have the demeanor and quality of an interview host and don't interrupt me."

After saying this, regardless of Lin Zhien's blushing face, he continued, "'The writing reflects the writer' is just a beautiful imagination of ordinary people about the character of writers, just like 'The handwriting reflects the writer'.

In history, the treacherous ministers Cai Jing and Qin Hui were both great calligraphers, but their personalities had nothing to do with their handwriting. As for writers with bad personalities, there are countless of them.

Even great poets like Du Fu and Xin Qiji, who have been passed down through the ages, have many flaws if their personal ethics are carefully examined. If we learn from their poems, will we also become radical, alcoholic, corrupt, and lustful?
Not only writers, but scientists are no exception. Newton was narrow-minded, Bacon was extravagant, Edison was selfish... If we are illuminated by electric light today, will we become like Edison?"

Lin Zhien obviously didn't know much about this. After Zhang Chao said this, he didn't know how to refute it, so he could only reluctantly say: "These masters are no longer alive, so we only enjoy their achievements and will not be influenced by them.

But Zhang Chao, you are a living example. Have you never considered how badly your frequent conflicts with seniors will have a negative impact on young people? "

Zhang Chao said: "Have you ever heard of this sentence by Wittgenstein - "The greatness of what a person writes depends on other things he writes and other things he does." "

Lin Zhien shook his head in bewilderment. Zhang Chao sneered and continued, "I dare not say that what I wrote can be called 'great', nor will I say that those highly offensive words were not from my heart.

At the same time, I don’t want to defend myself in this short show. I did clash with those ‘old veterans’ more than once, and I can tell you with certainty that I never lost once. ”

The audience in front of the TV were a little shocked. Zhang Chao's frank admission of his "aggression" and "results" was quite unexpected. Many Hong Kong parents who were watching TV frowned.

After all, they had little exposure to information from the mainland, and almost no one had paid attention to the causes and consequences of Zhang Chao’s previous “conflicts”, so they subconsciously thought that Zhang Chao did look a bit like a rebellious young man.

Lin Zhien was delighted. He had dug two traps for Zhang Chao, and Zhang Chao finally jumped into one of them. So he hurriedly sneered, "It seems that you are very proud!"

Zhang Chao's expression remained unchanged as he said to the camera: "I am indeed very proud. But I am not proud of myself for not losing. I am proud of the breadth and inclusiveness of our mainland literary world.

The reason why I say "literary world" instead of "literary world" or "literary circle" is because "literary world" or "literary circle" often only include the group of writers and ignore other participants. It is not a complete literary ecology.

So even though many so-called "seniors" were not happy with my existence, I was able to "escape death" many times. But every time, I also received support and help from many seniors, and I was not fighting alone.

More importantly, I have received support from many book fans, which has given me the confidence to fight back against the doubts that have been cast upon me. A sufficiently broad literary market and artistic environment, even if it has been depressed for a while, is enough to support a young writer like me to this day.

In fact, I am not the first mainland writer to achieve success in recent years. Before me, there were Han Han, Xiao Si and others. Although our styles are completely different, even if we are recognized by a very low proportion of readers, we can still go on this path of literature.

I am proud of having such a literary world, not because I won an argument with someone. There is nothing to be proud of. Back to Wittgenstein's words:

'Conflict' is an integral part of my literary life. Perhaps it is not indispensable, but since it already exists, I will accept it and will not be proud of it, nor will I be ashamed of it.

However, what can define these 'conflicting' values ​​is the achievements of my other literary works and the evaluations I have received for other things I have done.

Now, I came to Hong Kong not to get close to anyone or to suppress anyone. I just hope that young people in Hong Kong who love literature can get in touch with and even embrace a broader literary world.

As for whether I am personally worthy of learning, is it important? Do parents have so little confidence in their children and their own family education that they think their children will become disrespectful to their elders after taking a few glances at my works? "

Zhang Chao took advantage of Lin Zhien's question to raise the topic to a higher level. He did not defend his own character, but instead showed his insights to the audience and also showed all the young literary people in Hong Kong a more possible future.

As for a person's character, it becomes insignificant in the face of such a grand narrative.

Lin Zhien was speechless. All his preparations fell on Zhang Chao's self-defense, but he didn't expect Zhang Chao to be completely indifferent to it and let others judge him. It seemed that he was very successful.

The TVB executives in the audience finally breathed a sigh of relief and joked, "The show seems to be quite good? Perhaps only such an aggressive topic can inspire a better Zhang Chao." But Wang Mingquan frowned and said to the director, "Be prepared to cut to commercials at any time."

Everyone in the audience was very surprised. Didn’t Zhang Chao handle it perfectly? Why did they need to change people?

Wang Mingquan sneered, "I don't know why Lin Zhien went crazy. But since he has done this, it means he is ready to step down, that is, to be fired. The situation is already very unfavorable to him, and it is hard to say that he has not prepared something desperate."

Sure enough, Lin Zhien said on the stage: "Mr. Zhang Chao is indeed a sharp-tongued person. But your personal ethics are not only in conflict with your predecessors. As far as I know, you also used your status as a best-selling author and screenwriter to take advantage of new movie talents."

As he spoke, he flipped a large card as big as an A4 paper from the table, on which was a photo of him and Song Jia shopping. At that time, Song Jia was not as famous as he is now, and Zhang Chao did not appear on TV frequently, so neither of them covered their faces and was clearly photographed.

In fact, the relationship between Zhang Chao and Song Jia is no secret in the mainland's literary and media circles. It's just that either because of their good relationship with Zhang Chao, they didn't report it, or it was suppressed; or because of the strange sense of shame among intellectuals, they would not bring it up even if they fought fiercely. So no one brought it to the table.

Zhang Chao didn't know where Lin Zhien got these photos from, and was a little confused for a moment.

Lin Zhien said with a bit of smugness, “This is Miss Song Jia, right? According to people in the film and television industry, she got the role of Wei Lai in the movie “Better Days” because of your recommendation, and you even added a special scene for her. Then you started dating.

Excuse me, how do you explain a writer who uses his power to get an unknown actor to throw himself into his arms? ..."

Before he even finished speaking, Hong Kong citizens, who love celebrity gossip the most in the world, began to look forward to it. If the previous interviews were just for fun, this gossip really tickled their fancy.

Writers secretly have sex with female stars - something that Jin Yong failed to do, but Zhang Chao succeeded? You must watch this.

Unexpectedly, the live broadcast was suddenly cut away at this time, and an advertisement was inserted forcefully - "Wai Yuen Tong Yang Yin Pills, as warm as the sun... The sun is out, the sun is out..." (Of course, it was not the 06 advertisement, I just suddenly thought of "Lord of Destruction")

“DIU~~~~~” There is a Cantonese charm in front of the TV.

The TVB scene was in chaos. TVB executives, directors, and staff all stepped forward and pulled the almost crazy Lin Zhien off the stage.

"Sister" Wang Mingquan walked up to Zhang Chao and apologized sincerely in Mandarin: "Mr. Zhang Chao, I am Wang Mingquan. On behalf of the TV station, I would like to express my deepest apologies to you. It was not our intention for the on-site host to have such a situation, and we were very surprised.

We will definitely deal with Lin Zhien seriously. I will take over the next show. Are you willing to continue? "Wang Mingquan's Mandarin pronunciation is not the standard of a broadcaster, but there is almost no accent, which sounds very comfortable.

Zhang Chao watched Lin Zhien being dragged backstage by many people. The table and chairs were tilted and the scene was in a mess. Lin Zhien's final roar was still ringing in his ears: "Zhang Chao, you're done, you're done..."

Zhang Chao said with emotion: "In fact, I never want to have so many "conflicts" around me, but it seems that I always become the target of public criticism. - Hello Sister Liza, I used to watch a lot of TVB programs to learn Cantonese, and I really like your hosting style. If you are the host later, I think I can take over.

But after the show is over, I hope TVB can investigate and give me an explanation. This incident involves more than just Lin Zhien. If TVB can't even control these, I will be very disappointed and will seek other solutions. "

After that, he reached out and shook hands with Wang Mingquan. Wang Mingquan saw that Zhang Chao's attitude was relatively calm. Although the request was tough, it was still within a reasonable range. He relaxed a little and continued, "When we switch back to the live broadcast, I will tell the audience that this is your privacy issue and is not within the scope of our interview. Do you think it's okay?"

Zhang Chao was surprised and said, "How can that be possible? Wouldn't that prove that I was having an affair with the actress?"

Wang Mingquan advised: "Hong Kong citizens don't have a long memory. After a few days, when other news comes out, everyone will forget about this incident."

Zhang Chao shook his head and said, "That won't work. If I avoid this question, what will Song Jia think?"

Wang Mingquan was surprised and said, "Miss Song is not... or you can just say that you and she are just ordinary friends." She has been in the entertainment industry for decades. How many romantic affairs have she witnessed? It is normal for a young man like Zhang Chao, who is rich and talented, to have a few casual affairs with a few small stars who stick to him.

She thought that Zhang Chao and Song Jia had such a relationship, so she said that.

Zhang Chao smiled and said, "Sister Liza, you can ask questions based on this photo later, and I will handle them."

Wang Mingquan said helplessly: "Well, then I will ask directly? But I won't dwell on this question for too long, after all, the focus of this live broadcast is not the scandal."

While the two were having a brief conversation, the staff had already cleaned up the scene as if nothing had happened.

Zhang Chao and Wang Mingquan quickly took their positions, the lights came on again, the cameras were set up, and at the director's command, the live broadcast resumed.

The audience soon saw Wang Mingquan appear in front of the camera with a calm face, and they all exclaimed "Huh". Changing the host in the middle of a live show, especially at such a sensitive time, was a major accident that had never happened in TVB's history.

Wang Mingquan said in a deep voice: "The theme of today's live broadcast is to hope that Mr. Zhang Chao can explain to the public the various disturbances caused by the 'New Concept Essay Contest' in Hong Kong, as well as the follow-up measures.

The interview just now has deviated from this theme and was Mr. Lin Zhien's personal performance. So the station decided to let me take over the hosting. I hope everyone will understand. I think Mr. Zhang Chao's private life should not be the focus of today's interview.

But since it has already appeared in front of the general public, Mr. Zhang Chao, can you please respond a little bit to avoid misunderstandings about you?"

The camera was pointed at Zhang Chao again. Zhang Chao nodded slightly and said with a smile: "Everyone loves gossip, I think it's normal. But the story between me and Song Jia is not as dirty as Lin Zhien described, nor as erotic as everyone imagines..."

Then he briefly talked about the process of their relationship, emphasizing that they had no intersection before he recommended Song Jia to act. The subsequent relationship was also a normal process, and he also met the other party's parents last winter.

Everything went according to the normal relationship route. Although both of them are considered "celebrity", they are no different from ordinary people.

Finally, he made a joke: "I can be considered to have made a comeback through literature. I wonder if this can give some confidence to the vast number of young literary people in Hong Kong?"

Wang Mingquan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Everyone knows the whole story. What everyone wants to know most now is how Mr. Zhang Chao will deal with the various problems that occurred during the preliminary round of the 'New Concept Essay Contest' in Hong Kong?"

What measures will you take to compensate those students who were not treated fairly? How can we ensure the fairness of the rematch? "

(End of this chapter)