1979: My fiancée is a goddess

Chapter 184 Jiang Feng: The first of the younger generation!
Two days later.

On the train platform, a group of people were standing scattered on the marble floor, carrying luggage and taking their children with them, looking at the tunnel in the distance, waiting for the train to arrive.

"Clang, clang, clang~"

After a while, bursts of sound came from the bright tunnel in the distance.

A black and red steam locomotive drove into the platform, and the friction between the train wheels and the rails produced dazzling sparks and a crackling sound.

"Passengers, BJ is here..."

In carriage number eight of the train, a middle-aged man wearing a white T-shirt with a white shirt over it was leaning back in his seat, drowsy with luggage in his arms.

At this time, the train arrived at the station and he was awakened by the conductor's loud voice.

“We’ve finally arrived!”

The middle-aged man took off his glasses, rubbed his face, and spoke with energy.

He is Professor Jiang Feng, who was invited by the Journal of Peking University to come to BJ to assist in reviewing papers.

After receiving the letter a few days ago, Jiang Feng, who learned what happened, was very interested in the paper mentioned in the letter.

As soon as he received the letter, Jiang Feng immediately asked for leave from school, got a letter of introduction and other documents, and embarked on a journey to Beijing.

'What kind of paper is a children's literature theme? What kind of person is the author of the paper? There is finally new blood in the field of children's literature research.'

Jiang Feng looked at the scenery outside the window at the arrival station and thought with some anticipation.

Children's literature research is a branch of literary research, and there are very few researchers in China.

To cultivate new blood, this is also the reason why Jiang Feng established the Children's Literature Research Institute with the support of Zhejiang Normal University.

Children's literature, as a field that is opposite to adult literature, should not be in the current situation where no one cares about it.

In fact, Jiang Feng knew that internationally, children's literature research has gradually shifted from the field of literature to the field of culture.

However, the domestic situation is in a state of transition, a wasteland... and is far behind the international level.

"When will we be able to catch up with the international level... Alas..."

Jiang Feng thought of the article he wrote, "Introduction to Children's Literature", and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, feeling that he still had a long way to go.

At this moment, a voice came from the side:
"Teacher, let me get the things. You don't have to hold them so tightly. I'm here."

"Thank you, Xiao Fang."

Jiang Feng turned his head and saw a tall and strong young man sitting next to him.

He was wearing a sleeveless sweatshirt, revealing his strong muscles. He was Jiang Feng's graduate student.

The trains have not been peaceful in the past two years, with kidnapping, theft, and robbery happening everywhere.

With such a strong man by your side, the journey will be much safer.

"Nothing, just to ensure your safety, let's get off."

Xiao Fang shook his head.

The two got off the bus and left the station. They took out their letters of introduction to confirm that they would stay at the Peking University guesthouse, and then they groped their way around.

It was not until noon that we arrived at Peking University, a nationally renowned institution of higher learning.

At the guard's office, the staff took them around the school and finally arrived at the editorial office of the journal.

They stood at the door but did not go in.

"Xiao Fang, wait here for a while. I'll go wash up and change my clothes."

Professor Jiang Feng said to Xiao Fang in a deep voice.

After saying that, he turned around and left.

After such a long journey, and with no facilities for washing on the train, it is inevitable that there is a slight odor on my body.

Professor Jiang Feng, who always liked quietness and paid attention to his image, naturally couldn't stand it.

Wipe your body in the bathroom, then change into clean clothes and come out.

Jiang Feng then knocked on the office door, "Knock, knock, knock!"

"Please come in."

It was noon and there was only a young teacher on duty in the office, so he was allowed to come in.

Jiang Feng walked into the room with Xiao Fang, cleared his throat, and introduced himself: "I am Professor Jiang Feng from Hangzhou University. I was invited by your editor Yan Jiayan to review the paper."

"From Hangzhou University? Please take a seat. I'll go get you a cup of tea."

The young man nodded, even though he had never heard of the professor's reputation.

However, the editorial department of Peking University Journal often invites scholars from various fields to assist in reviewing papers. Those who are invited are top scholars in their fields and must not be treated lightly.

After he finished speaking, he turned around and poured two cups of tea. "Have some tea. Director Yan has gone to eat now and will be here soon. By the way, what kind of scholar are you studying?"

"Haha, you may not have heard of me. I do theoretical research on children's literature. Have you heard of the Children's Literature Research Institute of Zhejiang Normal University?"

Jiang Feng took it and took a sip to moisten his throat, then explained with a smile.

"Children's Literature Research Institute? It's a great name, but I've never heard of it."

The young teacher thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"This is the first research institute in the country, and Professor Jiang Feng is the first person in the country to recruit graduate students in children's literature."

Xiao Fang, who was young and energetic, felt dissatisfied when he heard this.

"I'm so sorry, that's not what I meant."

The young teacher apologized and scratched his head embarrassedly.

"It doesn't matter. If you haven't heard about it, then you haven't heard about it."

Professor Jiang Feng held Xiao Fang, shook his head and didn't want to say more.

The three of them waited until half past twelve, when finally a voice was heard in the corridor outside the office door.

It was Director Yan who came.

"Director Yan, Professor Jiang Feng from Hangzhou University is here. He said he was invited by you to review your paper."

The young teacher stood up and said.

"So fast!?"

Director Yan was a little surprised and quickly stepped forward to shake hands with Jiang Feng. "Hello, hello. I am the editor Yan Jiayan who invited you here."

"Jiang Feng, thank you for your trust."

Jiang Feng smiled and felt the other party's enthusiasm.

"I also learned about you from Ji Zhenhuai, the head of our Chinese Department. Besides, you are an expert in children's literature research. Who else can I turn to if not you?"

Director Yan praised.

During this period, he also collected a lot of information and learned a lot about Professor Jiang Feng.

It can be said that Jiang Feng is the best in the field of children's literature research, second only to older scholars such as Chen Bochui and Fang Weiping. It is most appropriate to invite Jiang Feng to review Cheng Kaiyan's paper.

The two exchanged greetings for a while, and Director Yan arranged accommodation and meals for them. Then the young teacher took Xiao Fang to rest.

At this time, Jiang Feng stopped the topic, "Okay, let's not talk too much, let's take a look at this theme paper. I've been looking forward to it for a long time on the train."

"Then Professor Jiang, please follow me."

Director Yan smiled. Professor Jiang really had the demeanor of a scholar. He was obsessed with this paper, otherwise he would not have come all the way from Zhejiang to BJ.

The two walked closely to a seat near the window in the office. Director Yan took out the paper from a pile of documents and handed it to him.
"Professor Jiang, please read it at my seat. Time is not tight. You can be more casual in the office. If you have any requests, you can go to the teacher just now. I have something else to do here, so I won't stay any longer. See you tomorrow at noon." Jiang Feng took the paper and nodded, "Don't worry, I will try to speed up the progress."

Watching the other party leave, Jiang Feng sat on the stool and read the paper with great concentration.

It's probably a few hundred pages long and quite thick.

"It doesn't look like a paper, but more like a book. I hope this paper won't disappoint me."

Professor Jiang shook his head and scrolled down.

The article says in the abstract: This article chooses the theme as an element, which helps to explore the unique meaning and aesthetic characteristics of each theme, so as to fully grasp the literary work.

Dividing children's literature into three themes: love, naughty children, and nature is not to compare the superiority and inferiority of the three, but to gain a deeper understanding of different types of works.

Based on the classification principles of the three major themes, this article will construct a complete aesthetic and critical framework for children's literature works, supplemented by other children's literature theories...

"Love, naughty children, and nature? These three themes can indeed cover many works."

"The use of the theme here to divide existing children's literature works is indeed quite amazing."

Jiang Feng placed one hand on the table, lost in thought.

Or continue reading.

What is the theme?

Motif is a term used in literature and art to refer to a recurring element or theme in a work of literature, art, music, or other cultural expression.

These elements can be specific images, symbols, plots, themes, scenes, character types or any other significant features that serve to convey a specific meaning, emotion or message in the work.

American scholar Steve Thompson has a definition in "Classification of World Folk Tales". He said: "A motif is the smallest component in a story that can maintain its existence in tradition. To do so, it must have some unusual and moving power."

In literary theory, motif is often used to refer to universal themes or patterns that recur in the works of different cultures, different times, and different authors.

To put it bluntly, it can also be understood as a disguised "routine".

Such as universal human experiences such as "love", "death", "war", and "growth".

Symbolic: Such as certain objects, animals or natural phenomena, which may have similar symbolic meanings in different cultures.

Narrative: narrative structures such as “the hero’s journey,” “tragedy,” and “comedy.”

……

There is no doubt that motifs are particularly important in children's literature because they can help convey complex concepts that are suitable for children to understand, while stimulating children's imagination and cognitive development.

Professor Jiang Feng was reading and writing down some words on a piece of paper, feeling very excited.

This discovery was enough to make his trip worthwhile.

Apparently, the author, Cheng Kaiyan, made many explanations in order to reduce the difficulty of reading and understanding.

"Wow~"

Turn down one page to enter the main body of the paper.

In the first section, the article mentions the detailed division of three themes and their respective characteristic elements.

The maternal love theme is a standard creation from the perspective of adults, reflecting the perspective of adults, especially the perspective of mothers.

This type of work accounts for the majority and usually does not have a serious educational purpose, but rather allows children to gain happiness and pleasure from the story.

The stories are often far from reality, with twists and turns in the plot but not too exciting, and often end with a "happy ending".

The language reflects maternal kindness and serenity, with moderate humor and exaggeration, which is in line with children's play psychology.

For example, in "Cinderella", every time Cinderella encountered difficulties, there was an external force to help her overcome the difficulties.

Fatherly love works are full of education, and their aesthetics focus on facing the difficulties in life. Its aesthetic pursuit begins to shift towards "revealing the unspeakable mysteries of life". The biggest feature of fatherly love works is "facing life".

Then, the theme of naughty children fully fits the theory of childlike innocence and child-centeredness, and explores the world completely from the perspective of children. For example, "Alice in Wonderland"
The natural theme represents all things in nature, and "man is the only witness."

……

"It's a very rigorous classification principle. I didn't expect the author to make a thorough analysis of so many classic works, the first of which is Mr. Ye Shengtao's "The Scarecrow"."

This is the pioneering work of modern Chinese fairy tales. Its appearance marked the independence of Chinese fairy tale creation from folk tales and myths and legends, and the beginning of literary works created specifically for children.

As an expert in children's literature research, he can recite this work by heart; he is so familiar with it!
The more Professor Jiang Feng read on, the clearer his mind became.

As expected, the author conducted a very detailed analysis of many of the following works based on his theory.

The "love" in "The Scarecrow" is reflected in the scarecrow's loyalty and care for his master, a poor old lady...

Although the scarecrow is weak and incompetent, he is willing to save all those who are suffering, which embodies a kind of selfless love...

This kind of love is one of the characteristics of "maternal love" works, that is, standing on the perspective of adults, conveying care and protection for children.

The unique perspective of the scarecrow represents children, thinking about the world, everything happening around them, social reality and the complexity of human nature from the perspective of children.

This creative style of facing reality directly echoes the aesthetic characteristics of the "naughty child theme", which is to reveal and reflect on real-world problems through children or child-like characters.

……

The more he read, the more excited Jiang Feng became. "Such a complete theoretical framework and logical chain of argumentation are simply too perfect!"

Time passed little by little until half past six in the evening.

At this time, the sky around was getting dark, and the only light outside the window of the office was dim, and it was quiet all around.

Jiang Feng was so hungry that his eyes were dizzy and his stomach was growling, but he still read the paper without sleep or food.

"pat..."

Suddenly, the light in the office suddenly lit up, causing Professor Jiang Feng to cover his eyes with his hands and subconsciously ask, "Who is it?"

"Professor Jiang, it's me, Xiao Fang. I'm here to bring you food."

Professor Jiang looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tall and strong man named Xiao Fang walking into the office, handing over a box lunch.

After opening the lid, Professor Jiang, who had been reading a paper the entire afternoon, immediately started eating it in big mouthfuls.

ten minutes later.

After eating, wipe your mouth.

Xiao Fang then asked, "Professor, did our trip here not come in vain? How is the quality of the paper?"

After returning to the guesthouse at noon, Xiao Fang slept all afternoon and did not wake up until five o'clock. He took the meal ticket and went to have dinner. Then he realized that Professor Jiang had not come back, so he hurriedly bought food and went straight to the office.

"Amazing, with a complete theoretical framework and a combination of theory and practice... Comrade Cheng Kaiyan's depth of research on children's literature can be regarded as the first among the young generation of domestic children's literature."

Professor Jiang Feng took a deep breath, suppressed the excitement and trembling in his tone, and spoke in a deep voice.

How long has it been since I saw a research paper in the field of children's literature in the country?
He has been waiting for this day for too long, otherwise he wouldn't have come all the way to BJ just for a paper?
Of course not, he did it for this person named Cheng Kaiyan!
God have mercy on me, I am not alone!
"The first one?!"

Comrade Xiao Fang was shocked and asked quickly, "Are you not as good as him?"

“In terms of the completeness of the theoretical framework, I am not as good as him, but in other aspects, the difference is not that big.”

Professor Jiang Feng secretly glared at the student, his old face flushed and said.

"Teacher, the name Cheng Kaiyan seems a little familiar."

“No matter what, you should take a look at the paper. It will be very helpful to you in the future. Let’s go!

Let’s go back and finish reading this paper all night.”

Professor Jiang stood up and picked up the manuscript, and the two turned around and went back to the dormitory.

At three o'clock in the morning, the teacher and student finally finished reading the paper.

After reading it, I fell asleep and didn't wake up until 11 o'clock in the morning. I rushed to the editorial office to inform Director Yan Jiayan.

(End of this chapter)