Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 281 Ludao Night
Zhang Chao asked in confusion: "What are you doing...?"

Professor Iizuka asked: "Which of your works have been published in Japan so far?"

Zhang Chao thought about it for a moment and replied, "Your Name, Vanishing Lover, The Great Doctor... Basically, Kadokawa will publish any popular literature I write as soon as possible.

As for pure literature... you know, pure literature in Japan has very low sales. They are a commercial publisher, so they will not do business at a loss."

Professor Iizuka's eyes lit up, and he asked hurriedly, "What if someone is willing to do business at a loss?"

Zhang Chao was surprised and said, "Oh? Tell me about it."

Professor Iizuka said: "The Institute of China Studies has begun compiling the literature section of the 2006 China Yearbook, and I will still be the editor of the literature section this year.

Your rise is the most important event in Chinese literary circles in the past two years. I hope to introduce and include your works in the Yearbook.

Usually, works included in the yearbook are translated and published by the research institute. Since your popular works have been published by Kadokawa, please leave your pure literary works to us. "

Zhang Chao thought about it for a while, nodded and said, "That's no problem, I can promise you. But if I translate everything, won't the time be too tight?"

Professor Iizuka said hurriedly: "Just choose one or two works to translate and publish. I hope it will be "Young Babylon" and last year's "Crime Police Glory". This way you can show the evolution of your style and techniques."

Zhang Chao heard this and said readily, "No problem. 'Young Babylon' is a novella, and 'Crime Police Glory' is a shorter novel. They can be put together into a book."

Professor Iizuka said happily: "Then I, on behalf of the Institute of Chinese Studies, would like to thank you! The sooner we start the translation, the better."

Zhang Chaolian said no, and said: "I will send you the electronic manuscripts of these two works when I go back tonight. It's okay to sign the agreement later."

On this point, he still believed in Iizuka Eiichiro's academic reputation. As for royalties and such... he would just take his time with it. Zhang Chao had no expectations for it.

Let me put it this way, his teacher Yu Hua's "To Live" was officially published in Japan by Kadokawa in 2002, and it was also marketed by being sold/released simultaneously with the movie "To Live", which can be said to be a lot of effort.

You know, in 2002, both the novel "To Live" and the movie "To Live" have won numerous awards around the world and have been best-sellers for many years.

But the end result was that the book sales were average and the movie box office was even worse.

So much so that Yu Hua lamented that "Japanese readers don't like Chinese literary works."

After Professor Iizuka reached a "gentleman's agreement" with Zhang Chao, he pointed to Wang Zhenxu beside him and said, "I, a useless student, will also participate in this translation work.

Translating a work is not only about translating sentences and words, but also about presenting the original author's intentions and thoughts to foreign readers.

If Xujun can follow you to study in the next two weeks, record your communication with Xiamen University students, and ask you about the language details of "Young Babylon" and "Glory of Criminal Police", it will surely make the translation work smoother.

I wonder if you can agree to this request? Oh, for these two weeks, just treat him as your student. "

Zhang Chao was stunned when he heard this. Did they assign him a personal attendant to write his daily notes? He was not worthy of this.

So he quickly refused, "How dare I? If you really need it, I can ask my classmates from Xiamen University to copy a record for you after each activity."

Professor Iizuka Eiji was very persistent. He turned to Wang Zhenxu and said, "Xujun, can you treat Zhang Chaojun the same way you treat me?" His tone was more severe than ever, and his eyes were more cold than ever.

Wang Zhenxu couldn't express the frustration and pain in his heart at this moment. He was forced to be Zhang Chao's follower and treat him as a teacher. This kind of humiliation was simply destroying his personality.

Zhang Chao also came to his senses. He thought that Wang Zhenxu must have spread some rumors about him in front of Professor Iizuka, so Professor Iizuka wanted to punish him in this way.

Iizuka Eiji is an old-school Japanese intellectual elite. He can neither cover up for the mistakes made by his students nor pretend to be ignorant of them, but he will not embarrass himself by stating them openly. Therefore, he must take actions to let Zhang Chao feel the sincerity of his apology.

The culture of island countries often has this characteristic. What Japan calls "ambiguity" and the British call "understatement" are generally like this.

If he still wanted to maintain his dignity, Wang Zhenxu would have to bow deeply to his mentor Eizuka Iizuka, say "Sorry, I can't do it, please expel me", then stride out of the door, go straight to the airport, buy a ticket and go back.

Thinking of this, he turned around, bowed deeply to his mentor, and said, "Hey! I can do it, teacher. I will treat you like I treat you... Zhang Chao."

Yes, it is possible in imagination but not in reality. Saying this sentence in Japanese so that Zhang Chao cannot understand is his last bit of stubbornness.

He was reluctant to give up his newly launched literary career, and the convenience brought by being "Iizuka's disciple". Even though he knew that his mentor was using his utilitarianism to torture him, he had no choice but to swallow the bitter fruit.

This bitter fruit was caused by one's own arrogance and lies.

Professor Iizuka nodded in satisfaction at this moment, and said to Zhang Chao sincerely: "Xu Jun has agreed, I hope you can accept it. He will not interfere with your private life, and his actions will be limited to this campus."

Zhang Chao looked at Iizuka Rong, then at Wang Zhenxu, thought about it, and finally agreed to the request: "Okay, but forget about treating me as a teacher."

Professor Iizuka gave Wang Zhenxu a deep look. Wang Zhenxu trembled and bowed to Zhang Chao and said, "Aligado!"

Professor Eizuka and others finalized the matter and left with his students with peace of mind.

Zhang Chao just breathed a sigh of relief, only to see the backstage door opened again soon, and several young teachers from the Chinese Department and active students from the literature club squeezed in - just now they saw Iizuka Eiji and his students inside and did not dare to come in.

Shu Qiong, a young teacher who specializes in literary theory and women's literature, said to Zhang Chao: "What you just said is inspiring to everyone. It is rare for us to see a young writer who can get rid of the 'chaotic' creative state at such an early stage and look at his own creative process from a rational perspective."

Xu Binbin, another teacher who specializes in dialect literature and comparative literature, asked curiously, "What did Professor Iizuka talk to you about just now? Are you planning to translate your work into Japanese?"

Yang Chenpei from the Literature Club was a little excited and said, "Just now, all the students in our club were clamoring to come and see you. There were too many people, so we only sent a few representatives."

Zhang Chao saw that there were about 20 people crowded in the small backstage room, chattering one after another, and it was difficult to explain clearly and answer the questions in detail, so he said, "I will treat everyone to a midnight snack. Where is the best food stall here?"

"Then we'll have to be rude!"

"Eat the rich?"

"Eat the rich!"

"For midnight snack, of course, it's 'Little Glasses Food Stall'!"

"Okay, then 'Little Glasses'."

"Okay, let's go!"

"go!"

Zhang Chao waved his hand and left the library surrounded by the crowd.

The head of the Chinese Department, Li Wuwei, and several other older professors were chatting downstairs. They wanted to wait for Zhang Chao to come down and talk about his lecture, but they saw Zhang Chao being surrounded by young teachers and students and heading towards the school gate. He didn't even notice that they were waiting for him.

Li Wuwei couldn't help but feel jealous and said to Lin Danya beside him: "This...he is too popular!" Lin Danya said: "Young people...but Director, we must seize the opportunity this time!"

Li Wuwei was stunned for a moment and asked, "What opportunity?"

Lin Danya said: "In the past two years, everyone has an experience that Zhang Chao basically leaves something wherever he stays. He left two novels and more than a dozen essays for his hometown; he left a graduation defense live broadcast for Yanda University and a novel for Yanshi University.

When I went to Shanxi, I left behind a TV documentary; when I went to Hong Kong, I left behind a martial arts novel; when I went to Japan, I left behind an animation; when I went to Shanghai, I left behind a magazine and a competition...

I recently went to a small mountain village in Guizhou and left them with three novels and two roads. "

Li Wuwei majored in elementary school and didn't pay much attention to contemporary literature. After hearing what Lin Danya said, he immediately became very interested and asked, "You mean, we must let Zhang Chao leave something behind?"

Lin Danya said: "'The wind leaves its sound behind, and the wild geese leave their traces behind'. Although Zhang Chao is young, he is destined to leave his name in the history of literature. It would be great if he could leave something for the school."

Li Wuwei nodded and said, "Then you should do a good job and inspire Zhang Chao to have a sense of identity and belonging to Xiamen University. Isn't his father an alumnus of ours? Oh, and creativity."

For a university department to stand out, it must rely not only on "substance" but also on "face". And "face" is largely supported by relationships with industry leaders and media exposure.

80 years ago, Lu Xun stayed in Xiamen University for a total of 4 months and 12 days. He was very disgusted with the university and complained about everything in his diary and correspondence with Xu Guangping, from the food to the living environment to the relationships with colleagues.

So much so that later there was a saying on the Internet that Xiamen University entertained Lu Xun with "three chairs, two lamps and a cellar".

However, this did not affect the fact that "Lu Xun Studies" later became a signboard of Xiamen University. A memorial hall was also built specifically for it. Even the school name inscription at the school gate was collected from Lu Xun's calligraphy.

Zhang Chao naturally cannot be compared with Xun Weng, but in terms of fame and media effect, he is the choice of today's literary world. If Zhang Chao can leave something memorable for Xiamen University, it will undoubtedly greatly increase the value of inviting him this time.

While they were discussing, Zhang Chao and his teachers and classmates had already taken several taxis and arrived at the "Little Glasses Food Stall" on Hubin Middle Road.

Unlike the chain restaurants that opened later, the "Little Glasses Food Stall" at that time was still a "food stall" with a few tents set up on the open space on the roadside. The seafood was either chilled in the freezer or kept in stacked blue plastic boxes.

The boss is a small middle-aged man wearing a pair of glasses. He is a local of Ludao, so everyone calls him "Little Glasses". It was originally a small family shop. Because of its good quality, low price, clear price and authentic cooking methods, it soon became a star stall among local seafood stalls and was crowded every day.

When Zhang Chao and others arrived, the seats were immediately tight, but fortunately it was a "food stall" and it was easy to make adjustments. The boss with glasses quickly directed the employees to make room for them and set up two more tables, so that they could reluctantly sit down.

The two teachers and Zhang Chao ordered dishes at the seafood section of the food stall. Although they were "big eaters", they did not order any expensive seafood, but only home-cooked dishes such as soy sauce squid, spicy fried clams, pepper and salt mantis shrimps, stir-fried sweet potato leaves, steamed turbot...

Because there were classes the next day and both students and teachers were there, they tacitly agreed not to order wine and only allowed drinks.

As soon as the hot dishes were served, everyone's mood became high; after a few drinks, the differences between teachers and students at the table faded.

At that time, the atmosphere in universities was relatively relaxed and free. The antagonism and struggle between teachers and students were not so common. There were no ridiculous things like students recording the teacher's lectures and then reporting them. Therefore, everything quickly became harmonious.

Everyone had originally wanted to discuss literature with Zhang Chao, but when it came to this moment, they talked about everything under the sun.

To my surprise, I discovered that there’s more to Zhang Chao’s life than just literature and art – he can talk about NBA, games, gossip, keyboard politics… He can chat about almost anything, a typical liberal arts college student of the 2000s.

When speaking in private, there is no mystery at all and everything he says is the truth.

After chatting for a long time, a student from the literature club finally plucked up the courage to ask, "Last year, a German sinologist named Gu Bin said that 'contemporary Chinese novels are all garbage', which caused a lot of controversy.

I noticed you made any comment on this, was it approval?"

Zhang Chao put down his chopsticks and asked, "This... I really didn't notice it. When did he say this?"

The student recalled for a moment before answering, "Probably, probably in December of last year." (It actually happened on December 12, 2006.)
Zhang Chao smiled and said, "That's it. At that time in the mountains of Guizhou, there was no signal for cell phones, let alone Internet access. We were almost cut off from the outside world. So I really didn't know he said these things."

The student asked, "Now that you know, what do you think?"

Zhang Chao thought about it and did not answer directly. Instead, he asked: "Are you sure that this is Gu Bin's original words? Have you read his original text or listened to the original audio of the interview?"

The student who asked the question was speechless. He had indeed only seen the reprint of the article in a domestic newspaper, and then saw that public opinion in the newspaper and on the Internet was boiling.

Zhang Chao continued: "If you want me to comment on Gu Bin's statement that 'Chinese contemporary literature is garbage', then I must confirm that he really said this. Otherwise, I will talk about it for a long time, and then Gu Bin will say that he made up the story or took his words out of context, and then I will have to apologize to him.

Germany is too far away and German is too difficult. I don’t want to go there, nor do I want to learn it.”

The first part of the speech was quite serious, but the last sentence still made everyone laugh and livened up the slightly tense atmosphere.

At this time, Yang Chenpei asked: "What do you think of China's contemporary literature? Is it lagging behind the rest of the world?"

Zhang Chao didn't rush to answer the question. Instead, he ate a plate of spicy fried clams and drank a sip of happy water before asking, "The world you are talking about, does it only refer to Europe, the United States, and Japan?"

This sentence choked Yang Chenpei again.

Zhang Chao smiled and consoled her, "It's okay, it's okay. It's a good thing to be like these three. At least it shows that you have great ambition. In fact, in literature and even the entire art field, it's not impossible to regard 'Europe, America and Japan' as the world.

The cultural influence of these three places accounts for at least 70% of the world's total. They also produce the most cultural products in the world and can certainly represent the trends and directions of world art.

In this sense, it is not an exaggeration to say that we lag behind the world.”

Yang Chenpei heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this.

Zhang Chao saw that all the teachers and students were looking at him, and he quickly said, "Everyone, eat your food, and chat while you eat."

Then he took the lead while eating and chatting: "But even so, it does not mean that the literature of these three places will definitely dominate the literary pursuits of other places, or is destined to be the standard of 'advanced'."

Someone asked curiously: "So what do you mean?"

Zhang Chao asked: "Does everyone still remember Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel Prize winner for Literature last year? Have you read his book My Name is Red?"

Everyone nodded. It would be a shame if they hadn't seen such a fresh and hot masterpiece by a Nobel Prize winner.

Zhang Chao continued: "He is Turkish, far away from the three major art 'axis' countries of Europe, America and Japan, but he is one of the most important novelists in the world in the second half of the 20th century, almost a pillar level.

Have you ever wondered how he did it?"

Zhang Chao paused here, and everyone pricked up their ears to hear what he would say next, even the teachers who taught modern and contemporary literature were no exception.

Looking at such an important writer from a scholar's perspective and from a writer's perspective may lead to completely different conclusions, which is of great interest to all researchers.

Zhang Chao's next words really overturned their views.

(End of this chapter)