Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 323: The “Great Ceremony Controversy” in Online Literature (First Update)
"Hey, have you seen the shortlist for this year's Mao Dun Newcomer Literature Award?"

"You said readers can vote and recommend which one?"

"Yeah, yeah, did you participate?"

"It's boring. Zhang Chao didn't even participate. You can't ask me to vote for Xiao Si, right?"

"This news is outdated. Look at this..."

"Hmm? "A Different Time and Space: The Rise of China", "Zhonghua Yang"? "The Mystical Journey", "Xiao Qian"? "In Search of the Gods", "Wild Fox Under the Tree"? What the hell are these? I've never heard of them..."

"It's an online novel, haven't you read it?"

"Online novels? I've only read "First Intimate Contact", "Dancing Lightly", "Pizi Cai"... Oh, there's also a recent novel called "Those Things About the Ming Dynasty", which I read on Tianya."

"It's not the same thing."

“Are these novels… interesting?”

"It's great! But I recommend you read this book - The Dust of History, written by Zhiqiu, a masterpiece!"

"Really? Let me see. No, I've read this book!"

"Ok?"

"When I was in high school, I rented it from a bookstore next to the school. But wasn't it written by Huang Yi? The cover was black..."

……

After the "Mao Dun Newcomer Literature Award" announced that it would include "online literature" in the selection scope in addition to traditional genres such as novels, essays, and poetry, it caused huge controversy among different reader groups.

Most people's understanding of "online literature" still remains in the early 2000s, when Pi Zi Cai's "First Intimate Contact" did attract widespread attention; and later Li Xunhuan, Murong Xuecun, Xing Yusen, Jiangnan...

Although they use the Internet as a medium for writing, both the content and style are closer to traditional literature, and their final destination is physical publishing.

As for the "online novels" that gradually appeared and became increasingly mature after 2002, with super-long serials as the main form and paid online reading as the main commercial means, they have faded out of the vision of the mainstream literary world and physical book readers.

This also led to "online literature" being in a state of "aphasia" for a decade.

It was not until the "Richest Writers Ranking" was dominated by online writers time and time again, and finally had to list a separate "Richest Online Writers Ranking", that the mainstream literary world realized that this "backwoods place" that was once looked down upon has grown into a behemoth.

Zhang Chao's "new opinions" were not all smooth sailing, and the opposition he encountered was the most intense since he joined the organizing committee.

However, under Zhang Chao's insistence, this award was still established. In addition to Pizi Cai, Zhonghua Yang, Zhiqiu, Li Xunhuan, Jin Hezai and others, the preliminary list also includes many well-known IDs that have left a strong mark in the history of online literature:

Xiao Ding, who wrote "Zhu Xian", Yan Leisheng, who wrote "Heaven Walks Strong", Wandering Toad, who wrote "Tian Peng Zongheng", A Yue, who wrote "New Song", Guan Pingchao, who wrote "Xian Lu Yan Chen", Tong Hua, who wrote "Bu Bu Jing Xin", Mao Ni, who wrote "Suzaku Ji"...

Of course, there are still some missed gems. In order to take care of the old writers and take into account the social impact, most of the selected works are "positive". Those online writers who are too easy to shatter the readers' three views, such as Xuehong, are not included for the time being.

Even so, it is still difficult for many veteran writers to accept.

An old writer later told reporters in anger: “At first he proposed to limit the age to 30 years old, but I didn’t say anything because I thought it was understandable to make a distinction between the Zhuangzhong Literary Award (the age limit is 40 years old).

Later he proposed to extend the deadline for first publication of works to 1999. I didn't say anything - because there had never been such a newcomer award before, and it could be considered a kind of compensation.

After that, he proposed to introduce a reader voting system, where all works would have to go through a dual selection process of "the Internet" and "experts". I didn't say anything - anyway, I was not the chairman of the organizing committee and I only had one vote.

Finally, he even proposed to include "online literature" in the selection range. I felt that it was time for me to speak up - but no matter what I said, it was useless..."

When the reporter asked the old writer why "nothing is useful", the old writer hesitated for a while, and finally sighed: "Zhang Chao gave too much!"

After saying this, the reporter and himself were both shocked, and the old writer quickly said, "What I mean is that Zhang Chao gave too much data... I can't repeat it, so you can ask him yourself.

In short, this is a matter of life and death for literature! You must use the power of public opinion to make Zhang Chao give up and let the organizing committee correct its mistakes!
Great etiquette cannot be abolished, and literature cannot be insulted! It's up to you!"

Driven by the outside world's growing curiosity, Zhang Chao had to hold a press conference on behalf of the Writers Association to respond to the various controversies caused by the "Mao Dun Literature Newcomer Award" in the past month.

Zhang Chao originally wanted to decline by saying “I’m not a member of the Writers Association”, but was eventually pushed to the forefront by Wang Meng, Yu Hua and others - who made him the instigator?
But this is exactly what the Writers Association hopes for. An award is not afraid of being controversial, but it is afraid that no one knows about it!
For example, the Mao Dun Literature Prize has been accompanied by controversy from the very beginning - some of the winning works in the first session were very unconvincing, such as Mo Yingfeng's "General's Chant", which was rarely mentioned before and after the award, and had no impact on literary history.

A similar situation also occurred in the second prize-winning work, Zhang Jie's "Heavy Wings". In addition, Yao Xueying's "Li Zicheng" in the second prize was also considered to lack inspiration for contemporary literature and was considered unworthy of the award.

The era when the "Mao Dun Literature Prize" was most controversial was also the era when it attracted the most attention. Later, when everyone discovered that the nominees each year were either well-known old writers or chairmen and vice chairmen of local writers' associations, the controversy certainly decreased, but at the same time it also lost attention.

The controversy has become smaller and the attention has decreased. Which one happened first, and which is the cause and which is the effect, I am afraid no one can tell clearly anymore - but the result is there.

So when Zhang Chao faced the reporter, the first question he had to answer was: "Is the inclusion of "online literature" in the selection range of the "Mao Dun Newcomer Literature Award" a gimmick created to increase the popularity of the award?"

Zhang Chao habitually flicked the microphone first, and then said righteously: "Of course it's not a gimmick, I'm just an online literature writer, how could I joke about my career!"

Reporters in the audience: “…” Only then did everyone remember that Zhang Chao’s early works seemed to have been published and serialized on the Internet, and there is also a "serialized" work on Qidian.

At this time, someone muttered in a voice that everyone in the room could hear: "You still have the nerve to say that, you've been off for so long..." Zhang Chao didn't blush or feel his heart skip a beat. He just pretended not to hear it and continued to explain: "Including "online literature" in the selection scope and setting it up as an independent item is just because everyone still thinks it is a 'non-mainstream' form of creation, so it needs to be treated differently.

But I believe that one day in the future, this boundary will eventually disappear. Whether a literary work is "online serialized" or "physical publication" will no longer be the starting point for people to evaluate it. "

The reporter asked excitedly, "Oh? Do you think that 'online literature' will also move closer to traditional literature, and that 'online literature writers' will create with a more rigorous and serious attitude?"

Zhang Chao was surprised and said: "Of course not... What I mean is that the 'Internet' will eventually become the mainstream carrier of literary creation, and 'Internet literature' will also become the basic foundation of literature.

Let me give you some basic numbers:

By the end of 2006, the total number of online literature readers had reached 4930 million, equivalent to the total permanent population of three BJ cities.

In 2007, online platforms such as Qidian, 17K, Rongshuxia, and Tianya Forum had an average of more than 3000 works created every day, a number that exceeded the total number of new paper literary works published nationwide in 2006.

There are currently more than 1740 million extant works of online literature, a number that is 38 times the number of classics recorded in the Siku Quanshu.

We online writers certainly need a more rigorous and serious creative attitude, but we must first acknowledge the existence of this "alluvial plain" - because it may be the breeding ground for the future "White Deer Plain" or "Red Sorghum."

The reporters were confused by the large numbers. It was then that everyone realized that Zhang Chao had several sheets of paper in front of him this time, which was different from his usual style of never bringing a manuscript and speaking without any ideas. He was looking at the papers while reporting the data.

It is a well-known fact that online literature has developed very rapidly in recent years. Some institutions, such as the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, have conducted research, but because the mainstream media does not pay attention to it, they have not been summarized into an overall picture of "online literature."

It was like when everyone was blindly groping in the dark, Zhang Chao removed the black cloth covering everyone's eyes.

The reporter who interviewed the complaining old writer suddenly understood why Zhang Chao was able to convince those "old antiques" in the Writers Association - when vague feelings are replaced by precise numbers, the stimulation of truth on consciousness can often surpass the daily petty calculations.

However, some reporters were still unconvinced and continued to question: "Some people say that including "online literature" in the award selection is a 'grassroots carnival'. Both the creators and the audience are 'dancing on the edge of literature'. Do you agree with this view?"

Zhang Chao said: "This is a prejudice born out of ignorance - if I don't know, then it's false. We usually say that those who can access the Internet in the past are 'highly educated' and 'elites', or simply 'rich people', so how come those who write and read novels on the Internet are 'grassroots'?
Isn’t this kind of logic paradoxical?”

The reporter who asked the question was speechless and didn't know how to respond.

Zhang Chao continued: "According to the latest survey of the Academy of Social Sciences and the internal data of Qidian.com, 61.2% of the core creators of online literature have a bachelor's degree, and 17.4% have a master's degree or above. This proportion is basically the same as that of the authors of traditional literary journals.

In the preliminary list, A Yue, the author of New Song, holds a master's degree in history from Sichuan University; Gray Panda, the author of Stealing Ming, is a computer engineer who studied in France - can such a creative lineup still be called a 'grassroots carnival'?

Of course, it is not wrong to say that these authors and readers are "grassroots" - in traditional concepts, as long as you don't have power, aren't you all "grassroots"? Those who say that "online literature" is a "grassroots carnival" are not only kneeling themselves, but also hoping that others will not have knees either. "

A "hissing" sound of inhalation was heard at the scene. At first, the reporters thought that Zhang Chao had changed his style and was going to conquer the world with data, but now the familiar formula and taste are back.

You should know that the proposal that "online literature" is a "grassroots carnival" was not made by just any random person, but was a very important article in a series of academic special articles published in "Shanghai Literature" some time ago by the Institute of Literature and Art of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

Zhang Chao is still the same, really not afraid of offending people to death.

The reporter was still unwilling to give up and asked: "Most writers of online literature are 'latecomers'. Although there are many good works among them, the uneven quality of creation has always been a major problem of online literature..."

Zhang Chao became impatient and said, "You mean that all the writers who follow the traditional path nowadays are of 'good family background'? They hold a fountain pen in their mouths from the moment they are born, have never done anything else in their lives, and all the works they write are excellent?

Anyone with common sense wouldn't think so, right? Please use your brain to filter this kind of question before asking it, otherwise I can only think that the reporters who came to the scene today are of mixed quality. "

The reporter, who was rebuked by Zhang Chao, blushed and could only mutter, "This is also what Shanghai Literature said..."

Zhang Chao casually took over and said, "So not all articles printed on paper with lead type are good. There are also 'good and bad'!"

But this cannot satisfy everyone. Some reporters still asked: "Online literature has only been around for less than 10 years. Isn't it too hasty to give it a title like the 'Mao Dun Literature Award' now?"

Can we wait a few more years until "online literature" is more mature? For example..."

Zhang Chao asked with a smile: "For example, in a few years? Ten years? Or twenty years?"

The reporter hesitated, but nodded.

Zhang Chao said: "Many years ago, Mr. Mao Dun emphasized in his reform manifesto for Fiction Monthly that 'literature should reflect the times.' Today, this trend is being drawn by 230 million online creators.

The literary world can’t always recognize people after the fact, right? As a national award, the Mao Dun Newcomer Literature Award has the responsibility to establish a forward-looking value anchor for the development trend of Chinese literature.

In 1936, less than 17 years after the "vernacular movement" began and Chinese vernacular writing was still in its exploratory stage, Shanghai's Liangyou Book Company compiled a "Complete Series of New Chinese Literature" to complete the historical archive of the vernacular movement in advance.

The editors of this "Complete Collection of New Chinese Literature" include Hu Shi, Mao Dun, Lu Xun, Zhu Ziqing, Zhou Zuoren... We haven't even started editing the book yet, we're just giving out an award, so why are we so "anxious"?

As a worthy Writers Association, it is impossible that it is not as bold as a private book company in the Republic of China, right? "

While taking notes, the reporters racked their brains to think of other angles from which to question Zhang Chao. Finally, they came up with one: "If 'online literature' gains widespread attention because of the golden signboard of the 'Mao Dun Literature Award', and everyone goes to read online novels, it will inevitably impact physical reading."

But we know that the backbone of literature is still in physical form. You yourself are also mainly a physical book writer. How do you view this impact? "

The other reporters were all excited when they heard this, thinking that this angle was quite fresh - people's reading time and reading material consumption are limited. If more is spent on online literature, then less will be spent on physical literature. This is definitely a process of one increasing while the other decreases.

Zhang Chao can't let the "Mao Dun Newcomer Literature Award" become a traitorous award, right?
(There will be another update later)
(End of this chapter)