Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 328 Late Contestant!
"Student Zhang Chao, last year you said that the questions for the semi-finals of the competition would be 'more expensive in one session, cheaper in the next session', so it seems that you are not going to push a big cake this time?" Reporters gathered in front of the semi-final exhibition hall of the Shanghai Exhibition Center, and immediately blocked Zhang Chao and others who were coming.

Zhang Chao smiled and said, "Very cheap!"

The reporter was unwilling to give up and continued to ask: "How cheap is it?"

Zhang Chao thought for a moment and said, "Basically, I didn't spend any money!"

The reporters looked at each other in bewilderment. “Basically free?” How could it be cheaper than the bitten apple and the paper thrown into the water in the first session?

However, Zhang Chao had already flashed and entered the exhibition hall.

The reporter then turned the microphone to Zhao Changtian, Li Qigang and others, but the strange thing was that they looked a little... sad at the moment, in short, they didn't look very happy.

Before the reporter could speak, Zhao Changtian said, "We don't know what Zhang Chao's topic is this time."

Then he quickly walked into the exhibition hall, leaving the confused reporters: "Is Zhang Chao going to do such a big thing this time? Even the people at New Sprout magazine don't know the title."

After Zhang Chao and others entered the exhibition hall, they first looked at the venue layout. After confirming that there were no problems, they went to the judges area to meet with the judges.

The jury for this session has a new group of people, especially the chairman of the jury. After consultation between "New Sprout" magazine and Zhang Chao, Shanghai-style female writer Wang Anyi was invited to serve.

In addition to writing, Wang Anyi has also reached the peak of his career in the past two years. Not only has he become the chairman of the Shanghai Writers Association, he has also served as a tutor in the creative writing master's program at the Chinese Department of Fudan University.

As soon as Wang Anyi saw Zhang Chao, he smiled and said, "You still refuse to tell us the topic for the semi-finals - what, do you want to give us a difficult question too?"

Zhang Chao also laughed and said, "How dare I? I have indeed been thinking about several questions over and over again in my mind, and it was not until yesterday that I finally decided on one." Then he stepped forward and whispered the question.

After listening to this, Wang Anyi pondered for a while before smiling and saying, "You little brat, you have a lot of tricks up your sleeve!"

Zhao Changtian and others who had just walked into the room behind him also happened to hear the topic Zhang Chao mentioned, and asked in surprise: "Are you serious?"

Zhang Chao nodded and answered seriously: "Of course I'm serious!"

Wang Anyi didn’t know about what happened at the New Sprouts magazine before, so she didn’t understand what “the real deal” meant. But seeing that Zhao Changtian and others looked unhappy, she didn’t ask any more questions tactlessly.

Soon it was time for the contestants to enter.

The door of the exhibition hall opened, and more than 400 contestants of the semi-finals walked in one after another - there were not many changes here compared to last year, except that because the number of people increased a lot, the venue was larger, with more tables and chairs, and more bookshelves.

It still has a minimalist, pure white style, matched with soft milky white light sources, which looks bright, generous and simple.

The only difference was that there were a lot of advertising banners hanging above the field, all of which were sponsors of this competition. The height of the banners was just right, so the players couldn't see them unless they looked up, but they couldn't avoid them when they zoomed out during the broadcast.

Among the more than 400 contestants in the semi-finals, many had been here last year, so they were relatively quiet; but many more were here for the first time. Even though they had been here countless times on TV and in their imaginations, they still couldn't help but exclaim in surprise when they really set foot on this venue.

After everyone was seated, Zhang Chao walked out from the judges area backstage and stood in front of everyone.

Looking at the young and immature faces in front of him, it was impossible for Zhang Chao not to feel touched - in fact, he felt a little sorry for these seventeen or eighteen-year-old teenagers.

Whether it was the list of 300 people he saw in the "New Sprout" conference room, or the list of 400 people that was added at his request, Zhang Chao hardly saw any names that he felt familiar with.

In his previous life, as a researcher, he kept an eye on newcomers in the Chinese literary world for many years. He couldn’t say that he knew all the names 100%, but he at least had an impression of most of the famous ones.

But this time he looked through the list twice and found that there were indeed almost none. Unlike last year, he picked out several well-known young writers.

This is in line with the laws of literature - groups of outstanding writers often show the characteristics of short-term "blowouts", and a group of influential figures often appear in a very short period of time and limited literary activities.

Then comes the long dry season.

Zhang Chao did have a few other names in his mind: Yang Zhihan, Cheng Jiaoyang, Lin Zhao...but these people were either too young or had not yet started literary creation.

This made Zhang Chao more determined to make this competition his "final performance"!

After the place had returned to silence, Zhang Chao raised his hand and someone at the back of the place moved the bookshelf away and walked in, pushing a large square object covered with a white cloth.

The students and reporters were a little surprised. Didn’t they say it was “very cheap”? How come it seemed like a “big deal”?

The "big thing" has three "sides" in total. The sides are very thin. It is taller than a person and about 3 to 4 meters wide. It is not light.

Reporters were all speculating what this was. One said it looked like Sony's new ultra-thin plasma TV, but someone immediately rolled their eyes and asked, "Have you ever seen a TV this big?"

Zhang Chao did not keep the person in suspense. After the "big thing" came to a complete stop, he turned around and pulled down the white cloth covering it.

Only then did everyone see clearly that there were actually three blackboards covered with words and in a mottled state. Each blackboard had cracks of varying depths, and some places were obviously worn out, and even the words could not be seen clearly.

Zhang Chao pointed at the three blackboards and said, "These are three blackboards that were dismantled from the school. I got them for free - cheap enough, right?" There was laughter at the scene.

Zhang Chao continued, "The blackboard in the middle has the rules for this competition written on it. There are 22 rules in total. I think I explained them all during the meeting with you yesterday, right? I won't repeat them."

The students in the semi-final all nodded.

Zhang Chao continued, "The blackboard on the left shows the first prize winners of the New Concept Composition Competition over the years. You should be familiar with some of their names." Of course, especially the first and second first prize winners, whose names are well-known, such as Han Han and Xiao Si.

"The blackboard on the right shows some of the most influential and representative works among the previous award-winning works. You should have seen many of them."

Everyone looked in the direction Zhang Chao pointed, and indeed saw many familiar titles: the most famous of the first session was, of course, Han Han's "Seeing People in a Cup", in addition to his "Bookstore" and "Seeking a Doctor"; oh, Xu Minxia's "Standing at the Tail of Teenagers" is also very famous;
The second prize-winning works include Lin Yao's "Mom" and Liu Lina's "Code in the Wind"; the third prize-winning works include Gan Shijia and Hao Jingfang...

Familiar names flashed past, stirring up everyone's memories. The ups and downs of the "New Concept Essay Contest" over the past eight years flashed through everyone's minds like a movie.

No one can deny that the "New Concept Composition Competition" has been the top promoter of Chinese youth literature for a long time, carrying the fantasies of countless young people about literature.

"Zhang Chao is thoughtful!" a reporter outside the venue exclaimed, and immediately many people agreed.

"This time the topic is really unique! Should the theme be 'inheritance' or 'transcendence'?"

"You are superficial. Didn't you see that Zhang Chao put the blackboard with the rules in the middle? It shows that the theme should be 'change' and 'unchange'."

"That's not necessarily the case. Maybe Zhang Chao wants to create an atmosphere where everyone is suppressed and constrained by rules and seniors, and then let these students break it?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I think it's very possible!"

"Didn't Zhang Chao become famous because he overturned the competition? He himself is the lawless monkey. These first prize winners and works are the 'heavenly soldiers and generals' who came to suppress him!" "That makes sense! With your brain, it would be a pity if you don't participate in the competition!"

"Yeah, I'm only 200 months over the age limit..."

While people outside were discussing the matter, the students inside were also preparing their speeches.

It is hard to say whether the topic this time is difficult or easy. It is indeed a headache to find the right angle of approach among the densely packed text.

Especially those "famous people" and "famous works" have more or less had some influence on the students present, but if you fall into the trap of imitating them when writing, then you definitely can't think about winning the first prize.

Zhang Chao looked around at everyone and asked, "Did everyone see it clearly?"

The students nodded and answered in unison: "I see it clearly!"

Zhang Chao smiled slightly, and under the shocked gaze of everyone, he picked up an eraser from the chalk slot under the blackboard and wiped the contents of the three blackboards clean in no time.

After wiping the blackboard, Zhang Chao turned around, his hair covered with white chalk dust, but he didn't care. He smiled and said, "The topic is ready, everyone can start writing."

Then he clapped his hands, left everyone in shock, and walked out of the venue.

The students did not come to their senses until they were reminded by the assistant teacher on site. They returned to their seats with hesitant steps and began to ponder.

The blackboard full of words was wiped clean. What did Zhang Chao want to express?
Although it is the same as cutting and dividing the cake last year, both of which turned "existence" into "nothingness", but the intention is obviously different.

Zhang Chao erased all the content on the blackboard, leaving a blank space. Does this symbolize starting from scratch, breaking tradition, or the mentality when facing the unknown?

Some students may think this is a challenge to the rules, some may think this is an encouragement for innovation, and others may think this is a reflection on history.

When Zhang Chao arrived at the interview area outside the venue, reporters immediately surrounded him and began to ask him about the thinking behind this question.

Zhang Chao said: "The 'New Concept Essay Contest' has been held for the eighth time. After so many years of holding the contest, many people are very familiar with how to write the 'New Concept Essay'..."

The reporter got a hint and asked, "Do you mean that this question requires students to subvert the routines and patterns of the previous "New Concept Essay" and write their own words?"

Zhang Chao shook his head and said, "Their writings all belong to themselves, but belonging to themselves does not mean that they have independent literary thinking..."

After a few more rounds of questions and answers with the reporter, Zhang Chao hid in the judges' area backstage. The team that broadcast the competition this year was the same team as last year, and they had more experience, so he didn't need to control what to shoot and what not to shoot.

In the large conference room in the judges' area, there is a large TV that is receiving the real-time broadcast of the competition. Wang Anyi, Zhao Changtian and others are sitting in front of the TV screen, watching the students' every move.

Zhang Chao stood quietly behind them for a while before asking, "What do you think?"

Wang Anyi didn't say anything, while Zhao Changtian sighed and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Zhang Chao did not rush them to respond, but returned to his seat, took two sips of water, and then said, "It's much more boring than last year, right?"

Wang Anyi, Zhao Changtian and others also returned to their seats. After hearing Zhang Chao's words, they said nothing.

Unlike last year's competition, when students were generally relaxed, this year's semi-finalists seemed much more nervous and restrained. Fewer students went to the bookshelf to borrow books, fewer students went to the rest area to sit and discuss, and no one was so relaxed that they just wrapped themselves in a blanket and took a nap.

If it weren't for the grand venue and the occasional students walking around freely, it could have been seen as an ordinary student essay competition.

This is very different from what most people imagine - everyone thinks that with last year's experience, this year's contestants will be more relaxed and more like attending a party.

Now it’s not like a party, it’s just an exam.

After a long silence, someone asked, "Why is this happening? Isn't the competition no longer linked to college entrance exams? How did it become like this?"

Zhang Chao smiled and said: "Since it is a competition, we have to dig out some practical value. Since it is not linked to college entrance examination admission, can't the "New Concept Essay Competition" be utilitarian in other ways?
We underestimate our parents, teachers and classmates."

At this time, one of the judges, Professor Liu Xiaofeng of the Chinese Department of Nanjing University, said after hesitating for a moment: "This phenomenon does exist. Although the first prize winner of the "New Concept Essay Competition" cannot be directly admitted to the university as an exception, this award is written on the resume, and it can be considered a plus point when participating in the independent enrollment interview.

Although it's "impression points" that are added - but impression points are also important!"

At this time, another judge, Xiao Fuxing, said: "As far as I know, after the influence of the competition expanded last year, many schools are also organizing students to participate in the competition collectively..."

After the two finished speaking, the judges area fell into silence again, which was indeed beyond the expectations of many people.

Zhao Changtian sighed again and said to Zhang Chao, "These students are what you call 'skilled workers', right?"

Zhang Chao said: "As long as the essay competition continues, there will always be such problems. If the special recruitment policy of the "New Concept Essay Competition" continues, I am afraid that some schools will run "New Concept Classes" just like "Olympiad Classes". "

Li Qigang, who was the most opposed to Zhang Chao's "last song", was also speechless, but he was still unwilling to give up. After a while, he suddenly said: "There may be a rough gem in it!"

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "There must be unpolished jade - but the further we go, the less unpolished jade there will be, because no matter how good the quality of unpolished jade is, it is not as dazzling as pre-polished glass."

Li Qigang said dejectedly: "Could it be, could it be that this is really going to be our last song?"

Wang Anyi asked curiously, "'Final song'? Do you mean this is the last session?"

Zhang Chao smiled and shook his head, saying: "Whether it is the last session depends on whether these students are willing to work hard; as for whether it is the 'last song'...if the process and the work are mediocre, how can it be called the 'last song'?"

Zhao Changtian also said doubtfully: "Yes, if the works are not outstanding, wouldn't it be a joke to call this competition a 'final performance'? But...but..." He glanced at the TV screen again.

Most of the more than 400 students sat quietly in the examination room, some writing furiously, while others frowning and thinking hard.

The reporters also discovered that it was almost noon and they could not find any exciting material like last year, so they became bored.

Zhang Chao walked to the TV screen, watched for a while and said, "It seems that this year's competition is not very good... But it doesn't matter, there is another contestant who will leave a deep impression on everyone."

Wang Anyi and Zhao Changtian became curious and walked over to Zhang Chao. They took another close look at the student on the screen and asked in confusion, "Which one is it? How did you figure it out?"

Zhang Chao said confidently: "He is late, but he will definitely participate this time!"

Li Qigang flipped through the list of contestants and asked in confusion, "Who? All the contestants for the semi-finals are here!"

(End of this chapter)