My era, 1979!

Chapter 87 Let him be strong as he may (310, seeking first subscription)
"The value of works that depict the times lies not only in recording the images of the times, but also in providing positive spiritual guidance for the times. At the end of the work, Chunlan "walks out of the mall stepping on broken glass," and the flowers on her skirt "slowly bloom at night." Although such imagery has literary merit, it conveys the wrong value implications."

"It's good that young authors are talented and dare to explore, but the 'boldness' in literary and artistic creation should be used to better praise labor, commend the collective, and promote positive energy, rather than 'boldly' overstepping boundaries in terms of ideological stance."

It is hoped that Comrade Xu Chengjun and more young authors can establish a firm foothold in their creative work, rooting their pens in the working lives of the people, focusing their efforts on conveying the spirit of collectivism, ensuring that the details in their writing serve the ideology, that the characters they create set an example for the masses, and that the era they depict guides the future. Only in this way can their works truly withstand the test of time and the people, and bear beneficial fruit in the garden of literature and art at shzy.

The article concludes by expressing high hopes for Xu Chengjun.

Xu Chengjun: There's absolutely no need for that!

What excellent political commentary!
No wonder some people have commented that "The Class Teacher" is a "political commentary" disguised as a novel.

Xu Chengjun still remembers that in 2000, this teacher published a new work titled "Advice to Young Girls" (mainly for his granddaughter), the contents of which included:
This includes, but is not limited to, cherishing your innocence—once you lose your innocence, you will never have a second "first time"; not sleeping with just anyone; and remembering that the beautiful young woman in the Oscar-winning film "American Beauty" was not seduced by any man.
The keywords inside are truly eye-catching; showing them to a ten-year-old girl would only be considered curiosity.

Even more Li Yinhe than Li Yinhe.

The problem is that it's one thing for you to show it to your own granddaughter, but you also published it publicly.
Even more dramatic, this teacher once had a wonderful line in his dream, "Ten years of lamplight in the night rain of the Jianghu", and published it publicly. Just one sentence, isn't that amazing!
The key is that it was a thousand years earlier, which is indeed quite good, but unfortunately there was a guy named Huang Tingjian who didn't know what was good for him!
They actually registered it years ago, and even added the line "Peach blossoms and spring breeze, a cup of wine"!
The teacher was also fearless: "I really don't remember when I read his poem, because it did appear in my dream, so I don't shy away from stealing it from my dream."

How dare you!

Of course, the teacher also commented on "Where Wild Roses Grow Is My Hometown," saying a lot, but there's no need to show everyone every word. In short, it's just a child's work!

Different stances are understandable.

Once these two started, a flood of criticism followed.

Even Fudan University's internal publication has shown some signs of this:
A third-year Chinese literature major wrote the following comment in the club's internal publication:

While there was indeed a clash between old and new ideas during the social upheavals of 1979, the essence of this clash was a progressive adjustment in the process of self-improvement of our social system, rather than a "confrontation between the individual and the system." The work, however, simplifies this historical context as a "conflict between rules and desires," using "broken mirrors" to symbolize "the collapse of the system," and "walking on broken glass towards the floral fabric" to suggest that "only by breaking free from the system can one gain freedom."

This artistic treatment completely deviates from the logic of reality: people's yearning for a better life has never been achieved through "violating discipline" or "resisting the collective," but rather through hard work and collective struggle within the framework of the system. Replacing real labor with an illusory "awakening" is undoubtedly a departure from the principles of realist creation.

When young readers across the country, who had been immersed in the resonance of "The Fitting Mirror" and those "piggy girls" who saw their own love of beauty reflected in the work, had not yet recovered from the touch, they suddenly discovered that "The Fitting Mirror," which they truly loved, had been subjected to such sharp criticism.

One moment they are accused of "blurring class boundaries," and the next they are criticized for "focusing on personal desires." Every word hits home.

For a time, "The Fitting Mirror" seemed to become a synonym for "mistake," and even the author, who repeatedly read it, seemed to have become part of the mistake.

But who says people can't yearn for beautiful clothes? The desire for beauty is like water filling a dam; once it has an outlet, it's hard to suppress. This is not some outrageous desire, but rather an instinct hidden deep within everyone's heart.

As a result, more and more readers wrote letters to the Harvest magazine and to the author Xu Chengjun to express their grievances.

Some people sincerely admire Xu Chengjun's delicate capture of the human condition, saying that the thoughts between the lines are heartfelt.

Some people wrote encouraging letters, hoping that he would stand firm in the storm of criticism and remain true to his original aspirations.

Even more unusual is the way young women from big cities secretly attach a neatly edited black-and-white photo, with a note written lightly in pen on the back: "Comrade Xu, is this considered good-looking?"

In an instant, "The Fitting Mirror" was like a pebble thrown into the center of a lake, creating ripples in the hearts of readers across the country and sparking an unprecedented wave of discussion.

This surge of enthusiasm has nothing to do with the clamor of speculation or the tension of discipline; it is simply because Xu Chengjun gently pushed open that tightly locked "cage" with his words.

What's locked inside isn't a raging flood or a ferocious beast, but rather everyone's deepest longing for truth and beauty.

But isn't this the true function of realist literature?
It also had a positive effect, didn't it?
Since 1978, it's not just the economy and the system that have changed and been transformed.

It also includes social atmosphere, cultural landscape, literature and art, and the material and spiritual world of the masses.

When the negative news in the internal publications and newspapers reached Li Xiaolin one after another, she finally couldn't sit still anymore. On the morning of the third day after the publication, she rushed to the Writers' Association Guesthouse early in the morning.

Upon seeing Xu Chengjun still leisurely drinking porridge in the canteen, she was furious: "Good heavens, while we were all anxious as ants on a hot pan, you were sitting back and doing nothing!"

Before Xu Chengjun could reply, another voice rang out: "These people are outrageous!"

Xu Chengjun thought to himself: That's because they haven't met me yet!

Xu Chengjun replied with a smile, "It's alright, isn't 'The Fitting Mirror' a hit now? Let them be strong, the breeze still caresses the mountain!"

"Oh, really!" Li Xiaolin sighed helplessly, but there was a hint of pride in her eyes: "Thanks to you, the sales figures for this issue are indeed quite good so far. It's hard to estimate the exact figures, but based on the demand for subscriptions these past two days, I estimate that daily sales have already exceeded ten thousand copies!"

Don't think that 10,000 copies is a small quantity. During this period, "Harvest", "Contemporary", "October" and "Flower City" were known as the "Four Great Dan", and they were all very popular at one time, with sales exceeding one million copies.

Among them, "Contemporary" and "Flower City" are considered newcomers.

Founded in July 1979, Contemporary is a literary journal sponsored by People's Literature Publishing House. It adheres to the path of realism in literature, represents the mainstream trend, and has published many influential works, such as Gu Hua's Hibiscus Town.

Counterintuitively, the best-selling magazine during this period was "Huacheng". "Huacheng" was founded in April 1979. The novella "Prometheus in Prison" by Hua Xia, published in its inaugural issue, was reprinted three times and distributed more than 300,000 copies, creating a miracle in the distribution of literary journals.

The sales figures for each magazine, down to the individual issue, show that the average daily sales do not exceed four thousand copies. Although this is an annual average, sales are certainly higher in the early stages, but the data for this issue of "Harvest" is still quite impressive.

It's selling out fast!
"That works! We still need to follow the data!"

"Data, data, you look like data to me."

Seeing his listless and indifferent attitude, Li Xiaolin was furious. She threw a stack of internal publications into Xu Chengjun's hands and turned to leave.

"Look what these people are saying! I'll go back and fight them off for you!"

Xu Chengjun casually flipped through the comments, saw them, and curled his lip. There was nothing new about them. He could see no problem with their creative ability, but he could say that their political acumen was lacking.
As soon as Xu Chengjun entered the room, he saw Wang Zengqi smiling at him: "You got scolded, didn't you?"

"Hey, let's sprinkle some water!"

"That's a great attitude and feeling!" she said, giving Xu Chengjun a thumbs up.

"What can we do if things are bad? Just blame them!"

"I'll help you!"

Xu Chengjun looked at the smiling Wang Zengqi with suspicion. Did this guy have no bad intentions?

However, the real reason Xu Chengjun remained calm was that these attacks were exactly what he had expected, and their intensity was like a gentle spring breeze.

It falls far short of the core issues that "The Fitting Mirror" will truly ignite.

So he's really not worried.

After all, scholars have always been prone to belittling each other. The more criticism you receive, the more it means your work actually has status and influence.

Why do intellectuals look down on each other? Xu Chengjun understands this very well.

Coincidentally, in his previous life he was the object of mutual disdain, and also a master at exploiting the mutual disdain among scholars.

Writers, especially masters, are usually more sensitive and critical than people in other professions. They are also more complex in their inner world and more emotionally expressive. They also have more opportunities to comment. The arts and literature industry is the wildest field where there are the wildest differences in direction, approach, style, and school of thought. Unlike science and engineering, where you can decide the winner with formulas, the mutual disdain between them can be particularly reckless.

Moreover, one of the roles of literati is to understand the complexities of life and the world. Every small difference in opinion can become the source of mutual dislike and attack. Even if they share the same opinion, they will think to themselves, "How can this idiot think the same way as me?" Understanding the complexities and subtleties and being extremely sensitive to them is the foundation of a literati's existence.

Faulkner and Hemingway were constantly criticizing each other.
Faulkner also criticized Mark Twain, and then Mark Twain and Emerson criticized Austen together.

Stein criticizes everyone
If we delve deeper and involve some unique individuals...

Behind the mutual disdain among intellectuals lies actually a desire to curry favor and curry power—to stand out and achieve great success.

Some intellectuals are easily reduced to "followers" of power.

laugh.

But if he says that about you, doesn't that mean you're a threat to his position?

Xu Chengjun knew that with his current connections, someone would definitely speak up for him.

But he didn't expect that the first person to speak would be—

(End of this chapter)