Literary Master 1983

Chapter 360 There are too many people here, it can't accommodate everyone.
These five people are Ba Jin, Ma Shitu, Zhang Xiushu, Sha Ting, and Ai Wu.

They are all prominent figures in Sichuan Province. Among them, Ma Shitu is the youngest at 72 years old, while Zhang Xiushu is the oldest at 92.

To welcome Ba Jin, the group elected Ma Shitu to write "Welcoming Ba Jin Back to Sichuan," which recorded the grand gathering of these five Sichuan natives. Ma Shitu also composed a poem, "Preface to the Guihu Collection": "The autumn scenery of Chengdu is beautiful, the clear air fills the sky..."

Then, all five people signed their names on the poem.

Ma Shitu loved this poem very much and said, "I want to hang all of your calligraphy in my study and look at it every day."

However, what hung in Ma Shitu's study was a rare, out-of-print five-star flag, a fact known to many. Sha Ting, who knew him well, asked, "Where's your red flag? Where did you hang it?"

“I gave it to Yu Qie,” Ma Shitu said. “When he was writing ‘Lurking,’ I was very excited. I had nothing to give him, so I gave him that flag.”

Ma Shitu recounted the inside story of Yu Qie's creation of "Lurking".

After hearing these words, Buffett's expression was very complicated.

He is introverted and therefore enjoys lively people. Duanduan is his granddaughter, and because she is so lively and active, he likes her even more than his own granddaughter.

Old Ma has found a good apprentice: he can be both lively and quiet.

Others also thought of this.

Logically, a gathering of five people should be a joyous occasion, but the thought of not having any successors and being so old makes it hard to maintain composure. Right now, the five names are listed side by side, with Ba Jin slightly ahead... But fifty years from now, when the names are listed, future generations will probably only know Ba Jin and Ma Shitu.

The atmosphere became quite somber for a moment.

Old Ba secretly blamed himself: He had ruined the atmosphere.

That day, the five of them visited Sheng'an Guihu Lake and collaborated on another piece of calligraphy, "Collaborative Running Script Poem and Prose Scroll." They wrote one line each, with Ma Shitu being the last to finish.

Ma Shitu wrote, “Who says life is like the stars Shen and Shang? The five elders have gathered as scheduled.” He laughed and said, “Shen and Shang are stars in the sky that can never be seen. As an atheist, I shouldn’t believe in reincarnation, but I hope we can all live to be a hundred years old and still be able to contribute our remaining energy.”

"We'll get together again in the future! We'll get together again in the next life!"

Upon hearing this, Ba Jin burst into tears.

Of the five, the youngest, Ma Shitu, is over seventy years old, while Mr. Ba is already 83. He doesn't know how much longer he can live, and he feels that his days are numbered. Since being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he has had great difficulty moving around and has to rely on a wheelchair to get around. A few years ago, he accidentally fell and fractured his left leg, requiring him to be hospitalized for eight months.

Other ailments also came on, one after another—a cold—for six years, he had recurring high fevers and was hospitalized for unknown reasons; another time, a lung infection, which required hospitalization. While translating his own novel, his elbow was resting on the table for a long time when he suddenly felt a piercing pain. The doctor told him that his bones could no longer bear such force, and that in the future, a clap or a jump could cause him to suffer a compression fracture.

Illness eroded the literary giant's willpower; even the most resilient hero must succumb to the passage of time. His close friend Wan Jiabao (Cao Yu) often wrote to him, telling him that his health was also poor, suffering from some strange illness that made him feel as if a gust of wind could knock him down.

It wouldn't be surprising if he died tomorrow.

However, his creativity is gone, but he is still a writer. He can write letters, he can dictate... In short, he should do his best to do something, and find new people who can take on the responsibility.

That evening, Ba Jin and Ma Shitu took the lead in writing their last piece of calligraphy, "A Letter to Yu Qie".

The letter expressed concern about the spread of the "uselessness of education" theory and hoped to reverse this trend. Based on their life experience, they believed that cultural knowledge was definitely useful; going into business or becoming a speculator... such ventures might not last long, as the world changes too quickly.

After the letter was written, Ma Shitu repeated it to everyone in Sichuan dialect:

"Brothers, I'm the youngest among you, so I'll speak on your behalf! Is that alright?"

Everyone shouted in unison, "Yes!"

“Good!” Ma Shitu said with intonation, “First of all, we are all ordinary people, not great people. We each have some quirks. For example, Li Yaotang (Ba Lao) is afraid of ceremonies and big occasions... but he always has to move forward, and he is still moving forward and climbing forward today.”

"What does it mean to move forward? Not reading, skipping classes, and playing cards are obviously not moving forward. We believe that entertainment is beneficial, but it should not be excessive."

"Who wrote this? Who wrote this?! Who plays poker and bridge, yet advises others not to play?" The old writer Sha Ting suddenly asked, knowing the answer already.

Ma Shitu put down the paper and defended himself: "Playing cards doesn't interfere with my work. I've been to university several times... Every time I was in jail, I had to collect intelligence and develop downlines for the organization. I haven't forgotten my responsibilities because of playing cards."

No one argued with him anymore.

Ma Shitu continued unhurriedly, "Secondly, the term 'national pride' has become popular recently, and people often crown veteran writers with such a title. Of course, we are not national pride, but just ordinary people. Our love for our people and our motherland is not a reward for honor, but an unwavering part of our nature."

"From this perspective, the highest praise we can give to this person is that he is an ordinary Chinese man, and that would be more than enough for us."

At this moment, the wind outside the window rustled and rattled against the glass, carrying a chilly atmosphere after the late spring rain. Yet, the room was perfectly quiet, the lights were bright, as if time had stood still.

Ma Shitu's voice grew louder and louder. He couldn't help but stand up: "Thirdly, we must say that we most admire today's children, these young people. I would like to live again, to dedicate all my energy to our nation and our people, and to make our flowers bloom anew!"

"While it's natural for people to have their own pursuits and ideas, the key lies in mindset. If you have the ability, do good deeds; if you lack the ability, learn from others. We place our hopes on you and wish you courage and determination!"

Just as Ma Shitu was about to speak again, he heard Old Ba say, "Wait!"

"what happened?"

"Write another fourth point, saying that we should learn from today's outstanding individuals and take them as role models."

"Who is this role model?" Ma Shitu asked.

Ba Lao said, "Yu Qie is such a person. Of course, there are many role models, not just Yu Qie. Isn't Li Yong a role model recently? He is a role model. Wasn't Nie Weiping a role model a couple of years ago? Yes."

Zhang Xiushu, the oldest among them, knew that the gathering was organized by Ma Shitu.

Furthermore, she knew that Ma Shitu was brought together by Yu Qie to write the letter. Therefore, Zhang Xiushu asked bluntly, "There are no specific people mentioned in the letter, so how will others know why we wrote it? Because there are only five of us here!"

“Someone will know, someone will do research!” Old Ba said.

He said, "Four years ago, after recovering from a serious illness, I visited Lu Xun's former residence. I saw that Lu Xun had written many things that were both cursing and praising people, without naming names. But later generations clearly know who he was praising and who he was cursing."

"Each sentence has a small footnote. We don't need to add anything extra."

However, Zhang Xiushu insisted on being even more outspoken. During the Republican era, Zhang Xiushu served as the deputy director of the political training department of the wartime training corps under Liu Xiang, a warlord in Sichuan Province, where he secretly recruited members. Because of this experience, he suffered some injustices, and some people always doubted his background.

Therefore, he believes that one should not be afraid to be straightforward, but rather be straightforward.

Otherwise, if someone tries to muddy the waters in the future and says, "This matter has nothing to do with Yu Qie, it refers to some other person," that would be bad.

He was the oldest among them, and he talked about his past experiences, which convinced everyone.

The only one who objected was Ma Shitu, but he was only being polite.

Ultimately, the five elders renamed the letter "A Letter to Yu Qie" as Yu Qie's response to Li Yong's letter, showing their support for him from afar.

The letter was first sent out in the name of the Sichuan Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and was immediately reprinted by the local newspaper, Sichuan Daily, followed by Chongqing Daily, Sichuan Farmers, etc., which aroused strong reactions.

From then on, the series of events, from "Candlelight Night Talks" to "Yu Qie's Letter to Primary School Students," finally came to a close at the gathering of the five elders in Chengdu. This series of events together formed a denunciation of the "uselessness of studying" theory and reversed the trend of thought.

By mid-April, no university campus, from south to north, was unaffected. Debates erupted on every campus, with students and teachers who believed in the usefulness of education attacking those who held the view that education was useless. The Guangming Daily once again spearheaded the discussion with an article: "Today, let's talk about the 'uselessness of education' theory again. This concept, like a ghost, has appeared several times across China."

"The phrase first appeared during the Republican era, when students abandoned their studies to join the army during the invasion of China. Students in North China were so angry that 'North China is so big that it cannot accommodate a single desk' that they dropped out of school to join the army. This statement came from Jiang Nanxiang, a member of the underground Communist Party and a student in the Chinese Department of Tsinghua University. Just over a decade later, the country entered a construction phase, but the whole country faced a shortage of science and engineering talents."

"The value of college graduates has risen accordingly, and they are quickly entering government agencies."

"The second instance occurred a few years ago when there was not enough respect for knowledge. However, after the resumption of the college entrance examination, college students could obtain urban household registration and be assigned jobs, and the idea that studying was useless disappeared."

"The third time is this year. Some of the best junior high school students are entering teacher training colleges and vocational schools, giving up the college entrance examination in order to directly solve their employment and household registration; at the same time, college students are giving up further studies and going into business instead, and the campus is filled with a dislike for studying... But there is a force gathering, and perhaps this is the beginning of the next wave of the argument that studying is useful."

"The saying 'knowledge changes destiny' remains a truth today and can absolutely withstand scrutiny. Everything must be proven by practice."

The author of the article was of a very high rank, and after the article was published, a larger number of media outlets joined the debate, and the result was one-sided.

Of course, that's true. The reason Yu Qie got involved in this matter is because, no matter how fast the versions change in the next thirty years, reading will still be useful.

By this time, "Carrying Dad to School" and his letters had been reprinted by more than thirty newspapers and magazines. Even Japanese filmmakers visiting for exchanges took this phrase back with them, promoting the idea that education was useful in China to the Japanese audience.

Because it is so influential, Yu Qie is now beginning to have the title of "educator".

Yu Qie is now a writer, economist, revolutionary, war correspondent, philanthropist, father of nuclear literature, honorary citizen of Bogotá... He has too many titles to contain even thirteen houses.

It's really become the Pro Max version of Da Bing! Where's my golden left cheek?
Did I make a prophecy?
It's not a prophecy.

The truly good days are yet to come; the protagonists of the future era will be those who went to university in the late 1980s.

Gulou Street, Yu Residence.

Holding the phone, Yu Qie said, "I am a military literature writer, and that has never changed! My experience on the Laoshan front is a memory I will never forget. I will always be a friend of the soldiers, no matter where you are, on the blue waters or in the blue sky..."

"Here, I wish the 'South China Sea' writing event hosted by Zhongshan Magazine and the naval officers and soldiers a complete success! I look forward to everyone's works!"

"Salute to you!"

"Snapped!"

hang up the phone.

Yu Qie made a witty remark: "If it weren't for the conflict with going to Spain, this conference would have practically kidnapped me to write a novel."

The person who contacted him was Su Tong, an editor at Zhongshan.

Previously, Su Tong had written research articles for Yu Qie, thus becoming a Yu studies expert. Yu Qie, of course, had to support his work.

Zhang Li raised her eyelids slightly and said, "You're really something!"

"Zhang Li, why do you sound like Chen Xiaoxu?"

“Xiao Xu is gone, I miss her,” Zhang Li said.

Yu Qie leaned forward, cupped Zhang Li's face in his hands, and said in surprise, "Isn't this related to you? Because we haven't made any moves, Chen Xiaoxu took on another role in the drama 'Family Spring and Autumn,' and she went off to film."

“I know. Xiaoxu is so wonderful. She is so gentle. Ever since I started studying, she has stopped studying. She always feels that between the two of us, only one of us needs to be in business, we can't both be doing the same thing.”

This is Chen Xiaoxu's way of showing weakness.

Where does Zhang Li get her business resources from?

In the original timeline, she relied on herself; now, she naturally relies on Yu Qie.

If Chen Xiaoxu also goes into business, this could easily lead to conflict.

Therefore, Chen Xiaoxu voluntarily gave up the opportunity to be a female boss. Coincidentally, when the director of the TV series "Family Spring and Autumn" was being selected, director Li Li, seeing the huge success of the TV series "Dream of the Red Chamber," immediately chose Chen Xiaoxu as the female lead.

Zhang Li was also selected, but not as a lead actress. She is interested in business and somewhat downplays her acting career.

Yu Qie asked, "Don't you think being an actor is bad?"

"How is it bad? But compared to writers, compared to professors... it can't be compared at all."

Tradition!

Yu Qie then asked her how her studies were going. Zhang Li opened several textbooks and asked Yu Qie to test her.

Zhang Li studied humanities. Since 86, the college entrance examination has used a nationally unified test and questionnaire. Chinese, mathematics, and English were the main subjects, and they were quite simple. The humanities subjects were even simpler, especially politics, which only required fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, and short answer questions. Many of the questions were general knowledge.

"According to the Seventh Five-Year Plan, we must prioritize [blanks] and strive to make them a priority in the future..."

Zhang Li quickly answered, "Reform."

Yu Qie then asked: "In April 1986, the State Education Commission issued an 'Opinion' requiring the construction of a teaching force to meet the needs of popularizing [blank] and improving the level of basic education."

"Scientific and cultural knowledge".

"On January 28, 1986, the US Space Shuttle [Space] exploded shortly after liftoff..."

Challenger!

……

This is an exam paper from 86.

It is indeed simple. It's just that the admission scores differ, so it's simpler in some regions.

Yu Qie's gaze shifted downwards to the last question, and he slowly read aloud: "The first large-scale charitable event in China to fund children's vaccines, organized through fundraising by the public and society, was [blank]..."

Zhang Li looked up at him and suddenly smiled: "Operation Spring Rain. Yu Qie."

Yu Qie's heart skipped a beat; he rarely felt so content.

He said, "There is no spare parts here! This is organized by the people and society."

"But I'm willing to write."

"You got a perfect zero, a complete zero! That was unnecessary! You can't do that during an exam. Nobody knows you're my wife! They won't give you a break!"

"Then I'd rather not have those two points! I'll just write your name on it!"

Yu Qie shook his head repeatedly, but he was very happy inside. He then picked up Zhang Li. "Let's study in another place and ask you a few more questions."

(End of this chapter)