Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 362: The Yamato people are the most outstanding nation in the world!
Zhang Chao and Wang Zhenxu came to the studio, where the lights on the stage had already been turned on and the audience was already in place.

The Yomiuri Shimbun is not only the best-selling newspaper in Japan, but also the largest media group in Japan, with two TV stations: Yomiuri TV and Nippon TV.

Among them, Yomiuri TV is centered in Osaka, and its broadcasting areas include Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Shiga, Nara and other places.

Nippon Television is centered in Tokyo and covers all areas of the Tokyo metropolitan area.

This time they were interviewed by Watanabe Tsuneo on Nippon TV.

But what surprised Zhang Chao was that there were actually four single sofas placed at the scene. Besides himself and Wang Zhenxu, who served as the translator, was there anyone else?

Watanabe Tsuneo was already sitting on one of the sofas, smoking his pipe leisurely.

Japan's anti-smoking regulations are very strict. If he were not in a high position and the incident happened in his own territory, he would have been reported long ago.

Seeing Zhang Chao coming to the scene, Watanabe Tsuneo put away his pipe, stood up, shook hands with Zhang Chao with a smile, and said: "There is an old Chinese saying, 'The young are to be feared', and you are like the concrete embodiment of this saying."

This time it was in Japanese. After Wang Zhenxu translated it, Zhang Chao quickly said a few polite words.

Wang Zhenxu could not hide his excitement. After all, a big shot like Watanabe Tsuneo was of a higher generation than even his mentor, Professor Iizuka Yoshio. The fact that he could see a "living" legend of Japanese journalism history was enough to brag about to his classmates for a while.

The director saw that the two sides were already familiar with each other, so he gestured: "It's time to start."

The three of them stood side by side in front of the camera, and the lights in the studio were turned on. After a brief introduction, they sat on the sofa.

Watanabe Tsuneo spoke first: "Zhang Chao-san, you have done some incredible things in Japan recently. It has been many years since a Chinese writer has caused such a big social response in Japan..."

As Watanabe Tsuneo spoke, Wang Zhenxu translated in Zhang Chao's ear.

After Watanabe Tsuneo finished his opening remarks, Zhang Chao spoke up, "Actually, the main reason I came to Japan this time is to publish my new novel and to do some preliminary work for the upcoming "China-Japan Young Writers Exchange Conference."

It was indeed quite unexpected to be involved in so many accidents. But there is a saying that goes, "Everything is the best arrangement." I believe that everything that happened in Japan is also like this."

Watanabe Tsuneo smiled and said, "It may be the 'best arrangement' for you, but it may not be the best arrangement for some people."

Zhang Chao said seriously: "I think this is also the best arrangement for Mr. Ishihara."

Watanabe Tsuneo was stunned, thinking, "You won't give up on "hunting down" Ishihara on the show, right?" Before he could come to his senses, he heard Zhang Chao explain, "Mr. Ishihara's life was already wonderful enough, but it still lacked a colorful ending.

This may be a bit cruel to an old man in hospital, but for a writer who has been obsessed with verbal disputes all his life, it is a way to make people remember him forever. Just like Yukio Mishima..."

Watanabe Tsuneo: “…” But he quickly took over and sighed: “Ishihara-san has never lost to anyone in his life in terms of talking, but I didn’t expect that he would fail in this way in the end…”

Japan has a different cultural background from China, and there is no "filial piety culture" in Japan, so there is no such strong respect for the elderly. Moreover, Ishihara first placed Zhang Chao in the position of "enemy" and attacked him harshly. Now that he has been "blasted into pieces", no one thinks that Zhang Chao has moral flaws. At most, they think that this guy is too eloquent.

However, Watanabe Tsuneo obviously did not want to dwell on this issue any longer. He did not interview Zhang Chao to lash out at Ishihara, so he immediately changed the subject and asked, "We know that you are a young writer who has emerged like a comet in China in recent years, and you are very different from the impression given by Chinese writers in the past.

You like to express your opinions in the public media and are more like an orator. Is this a common characteristic of your generation of young Chinese people?

Zhang Chao pondered for a while before answering: "If I say that I am not representative and can only represent myself, that would be too hypocritical.

Any writer who has sold millions of copies of his works cannot represent only himself. He must have a quality that resonates with the times.

So I think I represent the characteristics of many young people in China today.

Faced with ideological differences or unwarranted malice, we are no longer as introverted and silent as our parents. In the face of disputes, we often choose to "take a step back and the sky will be clear."

We not only question, debate, and fight, but we do so in an extremely noisy way. The Internet has amplified this personality, and I am considered the first generation of Chinese young people to be imbued with the spirit of the Internet.

So I was extra noisy.”

Watanabe Tsuneo wondered: "The free and equal nature of the Internet does create this kind of character, but Japan popularized the Internet earlier than China, and both portal websites and online forums matured earlier than China.

Why hasn't Japan produced an 'Internet generation' like China? There are many outstanding young writers in Japan, but none of them seem to be as... excuse me, 'noisy' as you. Why is that? "

After hearing the question, Zhang Chao smiled and said, "Why should I tell you the answer? It's in your question."

Watanabe Tsuneo was a little surprised. He thought for a while before answering uncertainly, "You mean, 'mature'?"

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "Yes, mature. In Japan, many new technologies mature too quickly and too early. The Internet has only been popularized for 10 years. Why do you think it is 'mature'?"

This concept was difficult for Watanabe Tsuneo to understand. He asked in disbelief: "It's been 10 years, and it's still not mature enough? You know, in Japan, we can not only rely on the Internet to obtain information and communicate with each other;
We can also do business through the Internet. Companies have set up their own websites. It only takes a few clicks to learn about products and contact production.
Oh, and for daily consumption, as far as I know, many restaurants in Tokyo have ratings on food websites, and diners can find them by just following the directions.

And now with video websites, people can watch wonderful movies and TV shows without leaving home...Isn't it 'mature' enough? "

Watanabe Tsuneo finished speaking, and the audience echoed him. For the Japanese, the current Internet is quite enough, and they can't imagine what it will be like in the future.

Zhang Chao sneered in his heart. To some extent, this was Japan's advantage, but it was also a shackle that bound them.

Compared with the Chinese, they are more receptive to new ideas, new systems, and new tools, and will develop them in their own country within a very short period of time to a level that even their place of origin would be ashamed of, thus gaining an advantage in the competition.

However, after these ideas, systems, and tools are quickly "ripened", the Japanese will stay complacently where they are, repeatedly squeezing the value of the mature products. Even if they have become "dregs", they are still reluctant to throw them away and even make up many good reasons for it.

For example, fax machines and 2024-inch floppy disks are still in use in 3.5, and forum layouts in 2024 are the same as those in 2004...

The result of this conservatism is that once the gap is opened, the entire industry will be completely defeated. Just like the Japanese insisted on using flip phones until 2014, and developed a complete independent ecosystem on them, such as watching TV, browsing the web, mobile payment, video communication, etc. But after the iPhone opened a gap, within two years, Japanese local mobile phone manufacturers were almost wiped out. Not only did they lose the international market, but their domestic market share also dropped to single digits.

Zhang Chao said: "I am not an industry expert, and I don't want to judge or predict whether the Internet has matured in Japan.

What I want to say is that whether it is mature or not is not the point, but the mentality of everyone who can't wait to think it is "mature". "Maturity" means that changes are stagnant and it falls into a vortex of self-repetition.

While Chinese young people believe that there is a vast world with great potential, Japanese young people feel that the world is just like that and it is not worth making their voices heard.

So we have more courage to challenge the existing rules, while Japanese young people either escape or accept them. "

Watanabe Tsuneo's expression froze, and he asked bitterly, "Do you think young people in Japan lack courage?"

Zhang Chao said: "Individuals are not lacking, but the whole is. To be precise, no country or nation lacks brave individuals.

But as a whole, I think Japan at least has not shown the courage to challenge the rules."

Watanabe Tsuneo thought for a while, then suddenly turned to the audience and said, "I am old, and I don't want to look at you from an old man's perspective.

There are quite a few young people among you. Do you think Zhang Chaosang is right? "

As Watanabe spoke, the lights in the auditorium lit up and the camera focused on them.

The audience was obviously a little panicked, and no one raised their hands for a while. It was not until Watanabe Tsuneo said in a half-joking tone, "Hey, don't embarrass the Japanese people. Aren't you confirming Zhang Chaosang's point of view?" that a few people timidly raised their hands.

The on-site director quickly handed the microphone to a man who was about 30 years old, wearing glasses and looked quite bookish. He took the microphone and introduced himself first: "My name is Kawata Makoto, and I think what Zhang Chao-sang said is wrong.

Japanese young people are also very courageous and have many opinions and ideas of their own, but we are not like the Chinese who will speak out their opinions. Speaking out opinions without restraint may not always be a good thing, maybe this opinion is wrong?
It’s really embarrassing to be pointed out when I’ve made a mistake.”

After listening to Wang Zhenxu's translation, Zhang Chao picked up the microphone beside him and asked, "Is it shameful to express wrong opinions?"

The Japanese audience in the audience nodded almost subconsciously.

Zhang Chao continued, "An athlete has been training hard in the gym for four years. Now that the Olympics are about to start, he is afraid of losing to others and thus simply chooses not to participate. What is the point of his previous training?"

Kawada Makoto stood up again, somewhat unconvinced, and said, "That's different. The athlete has gone through four years of hard training, so of course he has to participate in the competition. You can't make that analogy!"

Zhang Chao laughed and asked, "Aren't the education you received, the books you read, and the things you did before 'training'? If these can't support you to speak out your opinions bravely, then do you need more 'training'?"

Kawata Makoto was speechless, his face flushed, and he sat back in his seat dejectedly.

Watanabe Tsuneo listened to the conversation between the two and thought for a moment. He said to Zhang Chao, "So this is why you said that young Japanese people lack courage? We care too much about our reputation. If we think we will be refuted, we simply don't say anything."

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "Yes. Didn't Mr. Ishihara Shintaro rely on his unscrupulous "daring to speak" throughout his life to be regarded as a "man" and a "samurai"? This shows that this kind of courage is a more scarce resource in Japan than in China.

East Asian culture certainly has a restrained and tolerant side, but Chinese people are less likely to indulge in it.”

Watanabe Tsuneo sighed. As a cultural elite in Japan, he had actually thought about these things before, but he had never been able to point them out as clearly as a bystander like Zhang Chao.

In the past, when external scholars studied the Japanese national character, they were either too obsessed with appearances, resulting in biased views, such as "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword"; or they were too "polite" and lacked critical power.

Zhang Chao is not a scholar, but as a writer he has his own sharp insight into the essence of the world. So although the opinions he expressed were not very profound, he was able to start from the details of the communication, get straight to the point, and express them directly and accurately, making all the Japanese present feel a little uneasy.

After all, Japan today is one of the world's most developed countries and receives far more praise than criticism, let alone such open and direct criticism.

Watanabe Tsuneo said: "Zhang Chaosang's words reminded me of Wittgenstein's famous saying, 'The boundaries of language are the boundaries of thought.' It turns out that many secrets of national character are hidden in our mother tongue."

"I don't agree with him either! The Yamato people have never lacked courage!" Suddenly an audience member said loudly, and even without a microphone, it could be clearly heard on the stage.

Watanabe Tsuneo frowned and gave a look to the on-site director, the meaning of which was obvious: get this troublemaker away!

But Zhang Chao spoke first: "Director, can you give the microphone to that gentleman? I think this interview is getting interesting now." Wang Zhenxu also translated Zhang Chao's words immediately.

The director didn't know what to do for a moment and could only look at Watanabe Tsuneo for help.

Seeing that Zhang Chao said this, Watanabe Tsuneo had to gesture again and hand the microphone to the audience member who had just spoken.

The lights in the auditorium came on again, and this time a bald middle-aged man stood up with a proud look on his face. He took the microphone and introduced himself: "My name is Fujii Jushiro, and I'm a middle school history teacher.

I can tell Zhang Chaosang from my expertise that the Yamato people have never lacked courage. 1,300 years ago, we challenged the Asian order established by the powerful Tang Dynasty on the battlefield of Korea;

Four hundred years ago, we were still on Korean soil, challenging the Asian order dominated by the powerful Ming Empire; one hundred years ago, we finally defeated the arrogant Qing Empire on Korean soil and began to become the dominant force in Asia!

In addition, we were the first East Asian country to challenge and defeat the European powers on the battlefield; we also occupied most of China and destroyed the US fleet in the Pacific...

These are great achievements that no one in East Asia, or even Asia, can achieve. If our young people do not have the courage, how can they challenge the existing world order again and again and achieve brilliant victories?

So, Zhang Chaosang, what you said is just nonsense, using clever words to cover up logical loopholes.

In the face of irrefutable historical evidence, all sweet words are pale in comparison!
The Yamato people are the most courageous and outstanding people in Asia and even in the world!"

(End of this chapter)