My era, 1979!

Chapter 161 Xu Chengjun has truly written a magnificent piece of writing!

3000 copies.

These 3000 copies represent the culmination of Xu Chengjun's and all the members of Langchao's efforts.

The head of the Chinese Department, Zhang Peiheng, personally intervened and designated "The Wave" as a "key student project at the department level," and the school's Youth League Committee granted it a "green channel" during the review process.

There is no need to repeatedly modify the content; you only need to report the "print quantity and purpose" to avoid delays in printing due to review.

Professors such as Zhu Dongrun also signed their names as "advisors" in the journal, upgrading "The Wave" from a student-run publication to a department-level journal with academic backing.

Printing 3000 copies would not be considered extravagant or wasteful.

Peking University's "Weiminghu" magazine just launched its bimonthly publication last month; its reputation has been established for a long time.

But how much did they pay?
1200 copies!
"Weiming Lake" was entirely funded by its members through crowdfunding, without any support from publications or writers' associations. Paper and ink had to be used sparingly, so they certainly couldn't afford to print too much. Furthermore, "Weiming Lake" focused on "campus life records," rarely touching on external literary controversies, and thus had a relatively lower need for dissemination.

Therefore, the initial print run of 3000 copies of "The Wave" as a quarterly magazine is already a result of the combined effect of support from Fudan University departments, external literary resources, and Xu Chengjun's personal brand.

Campus fan fiction is difficult to publish.

It's so hard.

Because it's free.

Campus fan publications of this era were born with the gene of "non-profit, pure communication"—even if 3000 copies of "The Wave" were printed, there would be no possibility of charging a fee.

Xu Chengjun did consider expanding the scale.

Using some methods from later generations?

Is it self-funded or through advertising?
But it's simply impossible.

It's impossible to pay for it yourself. You might be able to do it once, but not in the long run.

As for advertising...

That's even more impossible!
In 1979, although China had opened the floodgates to reform and opening up, the planned economy still dominated the operation of the social economy, and commercial advertising was still in its very early stages of "emergence".

Given the combination of policy restrictions, the business environment, the nature of campus publications, and corporate interests, it was virtually impossible for Xu Chengjun to raise printing funds for "The Wave" by advertising for his company.

This model far exceeded the capacity of the time and may even have crossed policy red lines and compromised the purity of the publication.

Judging solely from the purity of the publication could negate all of Xu Chengjun's efforts.

At that time, commercial advertising was concentrated on only a very few channels.

The most famous one is "The Duck Prophet".

In January 1979, Shanghai Television broadcast China's first television commercial (Shen Gui Bu Jiu).

Newspaper advertisements were mostly "product notices" from state-owned enterprises, such as "Butterfly brand sewing machines from Shanghai No. 2 Sewing Machine Factory have arrived."

Most importantly, it leverages the brand recognition of Wave.

No companies are willing to invest.

Therefore, considering the two printing presses that the Wave Literature Society secured, as well as the funding constraints and dissemination needs from various sources, the dissemination requirements were taken into account.

The final number was set at 3000 copies.

These 3000 copies are being distributed to different groups of people through various channels.

The majority of these are located on the Fudan University campus.

Lin Xiaotang, a student from the Chinese Literature Department of Class of '78, was pulled out of "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons" by a series of hurried footsteps.

"Xiaotang! Hurry to Xianzhou Museum! 'The Wave' has been printed! Mr. Zhu Dongrun and Mr. Jia Zhifang both wrote prefaces, and even Mr. Ba Jin wrote an inscription!"

"Who?"

How can these names be put together?
My roommate ran over holding a mimeographed magazine; the word "Wave" written in red ink on the cover trembled slightly in the wind.

It came rushing towards us like a giant red wave.

It's a very unique design, quite bold for a magazine cover these days!

But Lin Xiaotang also found it very avant-garde!

As expected of Xu Chengjun!

That's right, she's also a fan of Xu!

"Both Mr. Zhu and Mr. Jia wrote prefaces!"

"what?"

She squeezed between her roommates and snatched it away.

The handwriting on the title page, reading "Preface 1 by Zhu Dongrun" and "Preface 2 by Jia Zhifang," is vigorous and powerful.

What surprised him most was the small print at the bottom!
"Ba Jin Ti"!
"This...how is this possible?"

Lin Xiaotang's roommate, Wu Jinqiu, was also bewildered: "How long has it been since Mr. Ba Jin wrote an inscription for the campus magazine? The last time was thirty years ago for 'Literary Series'!"

"This 'Wave' magazine has such a huge reputation!"

"What about the reputation of 'The Wave'!"

"This is for the sake of Fudan University and Xu Chengjun!"

What did Ba Jin write?
The eight large characters "Use the pen as a blade, and truth as a tide" immediately came into view!
The eight-character inscription is engraved at the bottom of the title page, with a deep, rich ink and a brushstroke that carries the vigorous strength characteristic of Ba Jin in his later years.

"Using the pen as a blade" directly echoes his early cry to be a warrior.

In 1937, he used his pen as a weapon to dedicate himself to national salvation in the publication "Beacon Fire".

In 1979, it was still hoped that young students would use words as a blade to pierce through the fog of thought.

"Truth as the Trend" closely reflects the core values ​​of "The Wave" magazine and subtly aligns with his expectation that young writers will speak the truth and express their true feelings.

These are eight large characters that Ba Jin sent to Xu Chengjun through Li Xiaolin a few days ago after hearing that Xu Chengjun had founded "The Wave." Ba Jin also invited Xu Chengjun to meet with him after finishing his current business.

On one hand, it was Li Xiaolin doing a favor for others.

On the other hand, the continued buzz surrounding "Red Silk" has subtly established Xu Chengjun as the leading young writer under 35.

With the combined support of Fudan University and Xu Chengjun's personal brand.

Ba Jin's inscription became the best footnote to "The Wave".

Also.

A smaller note was added to the right of the inscription: "Young people should uphold their principles and observe the times when they speak out—Ba Jin, Autumn 1979"

It makes it seem even more solemn.

More and more students gathered around, and suddenly a male history student shouted, "Xu Chengjun! Two essays! Three poems! 'The Unopened Window,' 'Pure Me'... and the inaugural address!"

These words instantly caused an uproar among the crowd.

Xu Chengjun has responded to the comments about him!

Lin Xiaotang squeezed to the stone table, her hands trembling as she turned to the inaugural issue's editorial. The opening line, "Is the true meaning of openness to lose oneself and fawn over others?" struck her directly.

She read on, following the text.

"Essays should adhere to local roots"

"Discussing economic matters requires safeguarding the bottom line of people's livelihood" and "Deliberating on politics requires shouldering the responsibilities of our times."

Zhou Yun from the Foreign Languages ​​Department leaned over, pointing to the sentence "Cultural confidence is not populism," her voice hoarse: "This...this is too audacious! Which campus magazine has ever dared to say something like this before?"

Wu Jinqiu, a girl from the Chinese Literature Department with some insight, stammered, "This is to explain the meaning of the journal's name and establish the soul of the journal. It's incredible!"

"Break the sky!"

"What a wonderful article, 'Speaking for the Tide: The Cry of the Watchers, the Hope of the Icebreakers'! We should all be like them. These people are despicable, selling out their country for personal gain. What a public intellectual they are!"

What is a public intellectual?

"The content of Xu Chengjun's inaugural address! As I understand it, it's just intellectuals using false Western facts to fool the Chinese people!"

"Such tendencies were already emerging at the recent brainstorming session! We should be highly vigilant!"

A foreign language student pursed his lips, having already decided that he must go abroad in the next few years to enjoy the freedom of the world overseas!
"I don't think so! The West is stronger than us anyway, so what's wrong with saying that?"

Wu Jinqiu, quick-witted as ever, immediately retorted: "Xu Chengjun is right! We should have a comprehensive and objective understanding of the gap and strive to improve, instead of deliberately distorting and interpreting it to undermine national confidence!"

in fact.

In the late 70s, a group of public intellectuals with high social visibility and a large public readership emerged.

Actually, some chicken feet were already showing~
However, the practice time was still short, and it wasn't as large-scale as in later generations!

There was a constant murmur of discussion over here.

The members of the Wave Literature Society over there were working up a sweat.

These young students of the new era fully demonstrated a level of initiative that later generations of "oxen and horses" lacked.

A dozen or so people continuously transported about 3000 copies to various places.

The core is the 1500 copies within the school.

However, the more difficult channels are those outside of school.

The journal "The Wave" has a very high level of vision, so Xu Chengjun and his fellow members hope to leverage their position at Fudan University to reach other universities in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Through the connection between the Chinese Department of Fudan University, Xu Chengjun, and the Shanghai Writers Association.

The Langchao Literary Society has established an exchange mechanism with six university literary societies, including Huazhong Normal University's "Summer Rain," Tongji University's "Tongji Literature," and Nanjing University's "Jinling Wind."

Each school will exchange 100 books, for a total of 600 books.

The other party was responsible for distributing "The Wave" to the Chinese Department and the Literary Society on campus.

"The Wave" also helped the other party distribute its publications, forming a closed loop of mutual assistance.

Wu Zhengqun, the editor-in-chief of Tongji Literature and Art and a third-year student in the Chinese Department of Tongji University, was dumbfounded when he looked at the magazine "The Wave".

What is this thing?
Inscription by Ba Jin? Preface by Zhu Dongrun and Jia Zhifang?
Xu Chengjun also wrote an inaugural address, two essays, and three poems.

Then he paid tribute to the Premier and wrote science fiction?
Is this some kind of campus publication?

That's not what you said at the beginning!

I won't even mention your column's inclusion of novels, poetry, essays, and commentary!
What the hell is this "Inter-school Ramblings" thing?!
And those shameless guys from Huazhong Normal University actually submit their work there, huh?! I flipped to the very end and saw the last poem, "Summer," by Lu Haoshi from Tongji University.

He chose to mute himself.

Situation is stronger than people!
He honestly posted handwritten posters in Tongji University's canteen and library that read, "The Wave is launching, feel free to take it."

They even specially marked it on the bulletin board as "Edited by Xu Chengjun, including the transcript of the dialogue with Glass," which attracted many students to pick it up and sped up the distribution.

Fudan University.

Jiang Xuemo, then director of the Political Economy Teaching and Research Office and the Socialist Economy Research Office of the Department of Economics, rubbed his throbbing temples and his gaze inadvertently fell on a publication with the words "Tide" printed in red ink on the cover on the corner of the table.

It was a campus magazine delivered by students from the Wave Literature Society this morning, who said they wanted him to "give more feedback".

Jiang Xuemo picked up the magazine casually and turned to the title page first.

When he saw the words "Preface 1 by Zhu Dongrun" and "Preface 2 by Jia Zhifang," he couldn't help but smile and chuckle to himself, "This literary society is quite capable; they actually managed to get Mr. Zhu and Mr. Jia to write prefaces—young people these days certainly have some drive."

He initially thought it was just an ordinary campus fanfiction magazine, but when he turned to the next page, his gaze suddenly stopped.

Below the title page, next to the four characters "Ba Jin Ti" (巴琻题), the eight powerful characters "Yi Bi Wei Ren, Yi Zhen Wei Chao" (以笔为刃，以真为潮) stand out, and the smaller characters on the right startled him even more.

Xu Chengjun?

Okay, okay~
Jiang Xuemo sat up straight, raised an eyebrow, and asked in surprise, "Old Ba actually wrote an inscription for the campus magazine?"

With this curiosity in mind, he turned to the inaugural issue's editorial, which began with the question, "Is the true meaning of openness to abandon oneself and fawn over others?"

One sentence instantly made him lose some of his relaxed expression.

He read on word by word, and when he came to the line “Discussions should adhere to local roots, economic discussions should protect the bottom line of people’s livelihood, and political discussions should shoulder the responsibilities of the times,” his fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the table.

Upon reading the phrase "cultural confidence is not," he suddenly stopped turning the page and looked out the window.

The bulletin board downstairs still displays the discussion summary from last week's theoretical symposium.

Those arguments that "deny history and blindly worship the West" actually correspond subtly to the criticism of "flattering others" in the inaugural issue.

Jiang Xuemo picked up the magazine again, his brows furrowing and his expression growing increasingly serious.

He recalled that when he went to Beijing last month to attend an economic seminar, someone suggested the idea of ​​"fully imitating the Western economic model".

At the time, he refuted the claim that "China's economy needs to be rooted in local realities."

But I always felt that it lacked some expressions that hit the nail on the head.

The inaugural address before us, however, uses straightforward and sharp language to thoroughly explain the relationship between upholding tradition and innovation.

"This young man, Xu Chengjun..."

Jiang Xuemo murmured to himself, recalling that he had previously read Yu Yuanpei's book "The Granary" on Yu's recommendation, and felt that Yu had a keen eye for rural reform.

Seeing this inaugural address now, I realize that its vision extends far beyond literature.

His insight into the political and economic situation is comparable to that of some senior researchers.

He should have come to the economics department.
He didn't flip through any further.

Instead, he laid "The Waves" out on his desk, picked up a pen, and wrote a few lines in the blank space: "1. Openness is not about blindly following trends; it must be rooted in local conditions. 2. Economic reforms must protect the basic needs of the people and avoid simply copying the West."

After finishing writing, he stared at the few lines of text and pondered for a moment, then suddenly got up and pulled out a stack of manuscript paper from the bookshelf.

That was the outline of his work, "A Local Exploration of Socialist Economic Theory," which he was writing.

Previously, I always got stuck on the chapter on "how to balance openness and autonomy," but now I have a clear idea.

He picked up his pen and added to the outline: "Combining the campus magazine 'The Wave's' concept of 'staying true to our roots and not blindly following others,' we can analyze the local logic of rural reform and urban industrial adjustment. China's economy needs to follow its own path."

The outline is broad.

But it hit the nail on the head.

Xu Chengjun has truly written a magnificent article!

Great kindness!

(End of this chapter)