Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 311 Oh no, Zhang Chao broke into our home!
Under everyone's nervous gaze, Zhang Chao said calmly: "Mr. Lampam, before I answer this question, let me ask you a question first - Harper's Magazine is the most authoritative new book recommendation publication in the United States. What do you hope your readers will learn from the recommended books?"

Lewis Lampham thought for a moment and replied: “For 150 years since its founding, Harper’s Magazine has always focused on in-depth cultural and social analysis in literature, and has witnessed and participated in discussions on many historical events.

So the readers of Harper's Magazine are often those who want to hear those voices of independent thinking and deep reflection and debate on traditional and modern values ​​from the new books we recommend. "

Zhang Chao listened carefully to Lampam's words, and then said: "That's a pity, maybe the novel "The Great Doctor II" is not suitable to be recommended by "Harper's Magazine".

Of course, it is up to the magazine and you to decide whether to recommend it, and as an author, I have no power to 'resist' it."

Lewis Lampham was speechless for a moment, but still stuck to the point: "I think you should get back to the point - do you think the image of the 'heroic doctor' in this work has the intention of over-promoting 'Chinese perfection'?"

Zhang Chao smiled and said, "My answer is of course - much more than that!"

There was a discussion in the audience. Zhang Chao could answer "yes" or "no" and then attach a long explanation to make himself appear less "cowardly" or "ambitious". These were all acceptable answers to everyone.

But what the hell is “much more than that”?

Lewis Lampham couldn't help but ask: "This answer... well, it's very interesting. Do you have any further elaboration on it?"

Zhang Chao said: "My answer is complete - I hope that through "The Great Doctor II" I can promote far more than just something as shallow as 'Chinese perfection' in the United States."

Lewis Lampham was stunned for a moment, then continued to ask: "Is 'Chinese perfection' shallow?"

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "Yes, your summary is indeed not profound enough. What I really want Chinese and American readers to see is how the suffering Chinese people resist the discrimination, injustice and oppression imposed on them."

Lewis Lampham suddenly thought of something and was about to interrupt Zhang Chao, but Zhang Chao obviously would not give him the opportunity: "You said that readers of Harper's Magazine want to 'hear independent thinking voices' and 'reflections and debates on different values' - this is obviously a highly elitist group.

None of the characters in "The Great Doctor II" dwells on what "independent thinking" is, but instead, driven by a strong sense of mission to their nation, they take action again and again.

They will never wait for the imperialists and feudal warlords who oppress their compatriots to have a change of heart and improve the fate of the entire ethnic group through some "favors".

They will only throw themselves into the movement to save the nation again and again, instead of waiting for the "elites" to show mercy after "independent thinking".

Reflection and debate on values ​​can be described in a phrase from ancient Chinese people as 'paper talk' - that is, 'Theory without practice'.

Don't get too hung up on the debate. 100 years ago, the Chinese people could see a 'miserable world' if they just walked out of their homes and opened their eyes. The same is true for the American people today.

As long as you step out of your home, you can see your fellow countrymen who are displaced because of property taxes, you can see drug addicts who have become zombies due to indulgence in painkillers, you can see children who are living in danger because of class differences in the community, and you can see poor students who are bankrupt because of student loans.

Does this require any reflection or debate?

Some people always 'talk too much and do too little', but they still expect others to be as enthusiastic about 'independent thinking', 'reflection and debate' as they are. Please, 'Revolution is not a dinner party' - Rheya, please help me translate this sentence. "

While Xu Ruiya took the microphone and said "The revolution is not a dinner party", Zhang Chao took the opportunity to drink some water, adjusted his state, and then quietly communicated with Susan.

Lewis Lampham murmured: "So, so you are not trying to promote 'Chinese perfection'..."

Zhang Chao returned to the microphone, nodded, smiled evilly, and said: "Since you insist on asking me whether I am using the novel to promote 'Chinese perfection' in the United States, then I can only say that this is not 'Chinese perfection', but 'Chinese resistance'.

In the process of saving the dying and the wounded, the protagonist witnessed various forms of resistance. This spirit of resistance is a tradition that the Chinese have had since the time of the "emperor" -

"Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers all of different kinds?" and when faced with oppression, one must "rise up in rebellion"!
Don’t believe the lies of some elites. People who are discriminated against, framed, and oppressed should first rise up, and don’t play word games! ”

David Miller and Alice Mayhew turned pale as they listened in the audience - they were worried about Zhang Chao just now, and now, they were still worried about Zhang Chao... but their angles of worry were completely different.

What is Zhang Chao planning to do? Is he going to turn the launch of The Great Doctor into a manifesto for the American civil rights movement? Does he really want to be a "Martin Luther Zhang"?
At this time, Susan walked from the stage to Zhang Chao, stuffed a piece of cloth into Zhang Chao's hand, and hurried downstairs.

Zhang Chao bent down and unfolded the cloth. After confirming that it was correct, he raised his hands high and showed the pattern on it in front of everyone.

It was a poster with the slogan "Me Too!" and Zhang Chao's portrait.

When Zhang Chao was on the podium just now, he noticed that a reader was holding up this poster, so he asked Susan to go downstairs and borrow the poster.

Zhang Chao only showed it for a short while before putting it down, saying, "I hope that after today, "Me Too!" will have a new meaning - that is, 'There were heroes who used their actions to resist oppression - me too! '"

Then he said to Lewis Lampham, who was already stunned in the audience: "Do you accept this answer?"

Then he asked all the reporters, "Do you accept it?"

Lewis Lampham and all the reporters were silent. Regardless of whether the newspapers and media they worked for were left-leaning or right-leaning, the reporters who were able to attend the press conference today generally spoke for the elite class in the American cultural world.

Zhang Chao's statement obviously made them feel a little overwhelmed. The old reporters vaguely recalled the hippie movement, and the young reporters had no experience in this area - there was no such writer who was so "broken jar and broken jar".

Does he still want to sell books in the United States?
In sharp contrast to the silence of the reporters, the readers sitting in the back half reacted and began to cheer loudly, with many shouting slogans:
“Let’s take action!”

"Let those damn elites die!"

“Save America!”

There are also some that are learned and applied right away - "The revolution is not a dinner party!"

...and of course the loud shrill sound of the "rogue whistle".

The readers who were still queuing outside were all confused, wondering why the place suddenly became so lively. What was going on? Could it be that Zhang Chao's recitation of a passage from the book had resonated with everyone? This was a common occurrence.

This immediately made the waiting readers even more excited. At this moment, the queue outside the New York Public Library was more than 3 meters long. Together with the readers waiting inside, the total number of people was close to , and there were also readers coming in from all over New York.

Many of them came to know this young Chinese writer from the "Me Too!" movement. They came not because they were interested in Zhang Chao's novels, but simply to support this warrior who dared to fire at the "abuse of racial discrimination"!

This kind of popularity is rare even among best-selling authors in the United States. It has to be said that Zhang Chao's "controversial nature" has made him a hot topic wherever he goes.

Alice Mayhew and David Miller in the audience covered their eyes in despair. Zhang Chao had completely let this "farce" go in an uncontrollable direction.

They can all imagine what a mess the American cultural and public opinion circles will be in after today. And judging by the readers' reactions at the scene, there is a high probability that the now popular "personal social media" will come to disrupt the situation.

This is the most undesirable situation for Simon & Schuster, a publishing house that has always maintained a conservative business stance!

But a turning point soon appeared -

Lewis Lampham, who had provoked this "war", seemed to have made a great decision and spoke again: "Sir, I'm afraid you misunderstood the meaning of my question just now. Can you allow me to explain it?"

Zhang Chao agreed, "No problem. You can say it again."

Lewis Lampham took a deep breath and said, “What I meant by that question is that you wrote the novel The Great Physician II to promote mutual understanding of each other’s culture between Chinese and American readers;

Especially to let American readers understand the spiritual symbolic role of "Chinese perfection" in China's process of getting rid of suffering - is that right? "

As soon as the words fell, the readers in the back row burst into mocking laughter, and some people booed loudly: "Good job! Mr. Lampam!"

Zhang Chao nodded with satisfaction - this old man is still very flexible - and said: "You are absolutely right, this is my purpose. I said at the beginning that literature is a lone boat that allows people in the world to connect with each other.

I think Mr. Lampham’s understanding of the novel The Great Doctor is profound and accurate.”

Lewis Lampham heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Zhang Chao say this, and was glad that he had a "safe landing." As for the ridicule from the readers in the back row, he pretended not to hear it.

Zhang Chao remained calm, as if everything that had just happened was natural and part of his plan.

Although the old lady Alice Mayhew had witnessed the brilliance of countless writers, she had never seen a "monster" like Zhang Chao.

Writers tend to have polarized personalities - either they are particularly "original" or "socially phobic" like Thomas Pynchon (Gravity's Rainbow) and Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird), who often shy away from the media and don't respond to praise or criticism;
"Brutal" writers like Henry Miller (Warm Winter in Paris) and Philip Roth (American Pastoral) often criticize the media's shallowness and ignorance, and diss journalists almost every other day.

Or they are particularly "socialized", such as Gabriel García Márquez, who used to be a journalist. He would never say the wrong thing in front of the media and always behaved like a master.

Zhang Chao is different from all of them. He seems to regard "media" as a pure plaything or tool, and can easily jump back and forth between "tense confrontation" and "harmonious dialogue".

No matter from which angle Zhang Chao provokes, he seems to be able to make the questioner look particularly stupid and embarrassed, or even forced to sit down and eat his own questions like Lewis Lampham.

Alice Mayhew quietly asked Xu Ruiya beside her: "Zhang, has he always been like this?"

Xu Ruiya smiled and nodded, "I think he hasn't entered the 'combat state' yet? Look, doesn't this give Mr. Lampam a decent ending?"

The old lady was in a trance after hearing this. David Miller had seen some of Zhang Chao's media "offensive and defensive battles" before, which was like a vaccination, but seeing Zhang Chao's actual operation at this moment, he still found it incredible.

You know, in the United States, journalists and freelance writers like Lewis Lampham are so proud to be able to write columns for major magazines.

They often win readers by asking celebrities various provocative questions, or even asking provocative questions directly, and then commenting on them condescendingly in their columns.

Especially at a new book launch like this where there is no live broadcast, although there are a lot of reporters, each with a different perspective. It is actually equivalent to an information black box full of disagreements. The retelling and evaluation of the author's speech depends entirely on the commentator's position and ethics.

To make them hold their noses and change the tone of a question they have already asked is like the sun rising from the west.

Only Lewis Lampham had no way to express his grievances. From the first question Zhang Chao asked him (the purpose of Harper's Magazine), he was secretly pushing him to the opposite side of Harper's Magazine and ordinary readers.

Is Zhang Chao's "agitation" persuasive? It certainly doesn't stand up to scrutiny, but combined with his Asian identity and the recent "Me Too!" movement, it forms a wonderful chemical reaction.

He seemed to have truly become a fair preacher from the East who spoke for the disadvantaged groups.

What's more, what everyone needs is not how "correct" what Zhang Chao said is, but a handle that can trigger "protest."

It was just like the "Floyd incident" that Zhang Chao had witnessed in his previous life - the guy who shouted "I can't breathe", even though he was later proved to be a threatening person with a criminal record, it did not affect people's treatment of him as a "target" at that time.

What made Lewis Lampham even more desperate was that he had deliberately dug two pits on Zhang Chao's "must-pass road", thinking that Zhang Chao would step into one of them no matter what. But what was Zhang Chao's reaction?
He stopped right where he was, took out a shovel, and dug two pits so big and deep that they were big enough to bury himself, the instigator, and many of the reporters who asked questions today.

Zhang Chao is a foreign writer, the worst that can happen is that he can just walk away.

What about Lewis Lampham and other journalists? They have to face the anger of countless readers and overwhelming public opinion controversy, and they may even lose their jobs.

This is why he chose to "explain" - he must first fill the hole he dug and please Zhang Chao, and then Zhang Chao will have the possibility to fill the hole and let him go.

If we go back more than 10 years, there is a sentence that can summarize Zhang Chao's thinking: "Instead of wasting time on yourself, it is better to waste time on others. Refuse moral blackmail and go crazy when something happens."

The American journalist who is most familiar with and adept at manipulating racial issues ended up having his home robbed by Zhang Chao using this trick. Don’t even mention how upset he felt!
At this time, David Miller quickly came out to smooth things over, picked up the microphone and said, "I think everyone has no other questions, right? Let's move on to the next step and present the medal of the "National Book Critics Circle Best Novel Award" to Zhang Chao!"

At this time, Zhang Chao said, "Wait, before accepting this medal, I have something to announce..."

(End of this chapter)