Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 393 Complete success
Inside the auditorium, every seat was taken, with many students sitting on the floor or standing at the back of the auditorium.

Liu Yimin sat down and signed books for a while before walking up to the podium in the auditorium when it was time to speak.

Looking at the Fudan students below, Liu Yimin said half-jokingly, "I never expected to receive such treatment at Fudan. I thought a lot of people would be cursing me!"

"Hahaha!" The audience burst into laughter.

As time has passed, the group of students at Fudan University who were involved in and admired scar literature have left the campus. Today's students have basically lost interest in scar literature, let alone confront Liu Yimin because of it.

"Professor Liu, I remember you said back then that 'scar literature' was just a flash in the pan, and now it seems that's true. How were you so sure back then that 'scar literature' was just a flash in the pan?" A student shouted towards the stage, making a megaphone shape with his hands.

"Because society is constantly moving forward, ten years is an insignificant moment in the long river of history. How long can we write about it in ten years? With the arrival of reform and opening up, writers' pens will inevitably change."

This is an objective law governing the development of things; once this law is understood, such a judgment can inevitably be made.

The students below the stage nodded in agreement once again and gave Liu Yimin on the stage a warm round of applause.

Amidst applause, Liu Yimin officially began his speech. He effortlessly quoted representative novels from various foreign literary genres, including comparisons between Chinese and foreign literary works.

Several Fudan University professors in the audience looked at Yan Jiayan with envy and said, "Yan Jiayan, you've found a gem! This doesn't look like a teacher who's just started teaching. I'd believe you if you told me he'd been teaching for ten years!"

Yan Jiayan's expression remained calm, but the slight tremor of his lips betrayed him: "In our Chinese department, his lecturing ability is actually just average!"

Chen Yunji did not respond to Yan Jiayan's words, but instead talked to Yan Jiayan about Liu Yimin's stream of consciousness.

If there were any parts that I felt were not detailed enough, I would discuss them with Yan Jiayan again.

Liu Yimin's voice rang out again from the podium: "I believe that current foreign novel writing, regardless of its genre, is inferior to true realism. It pursues artistic value too much and has become detached from the general public. Are you part of the public? You are part of the public, but you do not represent the public."

What the public needs are popular literary works, not novels that give them a headache just by holding them. Although I study foreign literary thought, I don't advocate Western-style writing; we should absorb and learn from it and use it for our own purposes.

Chen Zizhan, sitting in the audience, muttered, "Isn't he even cursing himself?"

"Professor Yan, your Chinese Department at Yenching University is so ruthless, they even criticize themselves!" Chen Yunji joked.

Yan Jiayan said seriously, "If you don't like it but can still write about it, doesn't that prove that Yimin's literary skills are even more profound?"

Chen Yunji wanted to refute Yan Jiayan's words, but when she opened her mouth, she found that she couldn't refute them. What he said made sense!

"Professor Liu, is it true that you sang 'Graduation Song' with Chinese students and students of Chinese descent at the San Francisco consulate?"

"It's true, just like Zhang Mingmin's song from last year said, 'Though I wear Western clothes, my heart remains Chinese.' We should all be builders of history, not detractors of it!"

"My Chinese Heart" was released last June and featured on the Spring Festival Gala, gaining immense influence throughout China.

"Professor Liu, I'm a student majoring in marine mechanics, and I especially love your song 'The Motherland Will Not Forget'!" a student shouted.

Liu Yimin smiled and said, "Today's report is officially over. If you like it, how about we sing this song together to end it?"

"it is good!"

Chen Zizhan stood up happily and said, "I'll clap the rhythm for everyone!"

"In the vast sea of ​​people, which one am I? Ready to sing!" Liu Yimin started the song.

Loud singing echoed in the auditorium, and the audience sang with great enthusiasm. Outside, the security personnel from Fudan University slowly walked into the auditorium, ready to go.

Before the students could even react, the security personnel had already escorted Liu Yimin away after the song ended.

This was something Yan Jiayan had discussed with the Chinese Department of Fudan University. Learning from the experience of Beijing Normal University, Yan Jiayan learned to make contingency plans in advance.

The students rushed out of the auditorium, and Liu Yimin was already sitting in the prepared jeep.

Instead of returning to the guesthouse, they went directly out of Fudan University to wait for Yan Jiayan and Sun Yushi, picked them up, and took their belongings straight to the train station.

"Goodbye, Comrade Wang Yu," Liu Yimin said as he took the luggage.

Wang Yu said to the three of them, "You're welcome. Come to Fudan University to give a lecture again when you have the chance. Those kids really like you. Yimin, I also wish you to create more classic works."

As Yan Jiayan walked to the entrance of the train station, he looked at Shanghai with deep emotion and even recited, "I left home young and returned old, my accent unchanged but my hair gray."

Sun Yushi and Liu Yimin both found it a bit funny, saying, "Professor Yan, you come back quite often!"
Once in the hard sleeper carriage, Yan Jiayan and Sun Yushi discussed the results of their work, both agreeing that Liu Yimin was the key contributor to this success.

Liu Yimin, lying on the upper bunk, rolled his eyes and said, "Professor Yan, since he is a meritorious person, shouldn't he be rewarded for his contributions?"

"what do you want?"

"Give me two days off!" "No way! You only have two classes a week, why would you ask for leave?" After saying that, Yan Jiayan lay down on the bed and stopped discussing the "great contributor" with Sun Yushi.

The three arrived in Yanjing by train the following afternoon. They quickly grabbed their luggage and squeezed into the aisle. As soon as the train conductor opened the door, they eagerly got off.

On the platform, the three of them found a quiet spot and took deep breaths of fresh air.

Yan Jiayan felt the temperature and smiled, "It's getting warmer, spring is coming!"

Liu Yimin returned to the courtyard house, while Yan Jiayan and Sun Yushi took the bus back to school.

When Liu Yimin arrived at the courtyard, Zhu's mother had already brought Zhu Lin back, and Zhu's father arrived shortly after on his bicycle, with vegetables hanging from the crossbar.

"Yimin, how was the business trip?" Zhu's father asked with a smile.

Liu Yimin took the vegetables off his bicycle and held them in his hand: "It's a great success. More than a hundred schools have adopted our teaching materials."

"More than a hundred?" Zhu's father said in surprise.

Zhu Lin said, "Dad, there are only a little over a hundred schools. There are still hundreds more to choose from!"

"Linlin, you don't understand. More than a hundred universities have a significant impact! Unlike middle and primary schools, universities have the autonomy to choose their own textbooks. More than a hundred universities are quite remarkable. Once they become the mainstream, other universities will gradually follow suit for the sake of their students and academic pursuits."

Mr. Zhu explained the ins and outs to Zhu Lin, while Mrs. Zhu said, "No matter how many families he has, he's still your son-in-law. Alright, hurry up and go in. Yimin has been on the train for so long, he must be tired. What's the point of him standing at the door?"

The three walked back to the courtyard house. Zhu's mother went into the kitchen to prepare a meal, while Zhu's father assisted her. Zhu Lin held Liu Yimin's hand and escorted him to his bedroom to rest for a while.

"Teacher Liu, you must be exhausted after sitting in the hard sleeper car for twenty hours!" Back in the bedroom, Zhu Lin gently massaged Liu Yimin's legs to improve blood circulation.

Liu Yimin asked, "How have you been these past few days?"

"Your parents are here these days, nothing's wrong, so don't worry!" Zhu Lin said softly.

As Zhu Lin spoke softly, Liu Yimin gradually became sleepy. When he woke up again, Zhu's father and mother had already finished eating and left.

When Liu Yimin was away, the two of them lived in the side room. But as soon as Liu Yimin returned, the two of them stopped spending the night in the courtyard.

The next day, Liu Yimin walked into the Chinese Department of Yenching University. The professors and teachers he met all congratulated him. When he arrived at the office, Wu Zuxiang even led the applause.

Sun Yushi laughed and said, "I've already enjoyed it once!"

"Professors, I've missed you all so much these past few days!" Liu Yimin said loudly.

Wu Zuxiang said, "We've been so bored without you. Over a hundred schools! You've really won big!"

"Sing 'Victory Triumph' loudly!" Wang Yao laughed.

After the excitement subsided, Yan Jiayan convened a meeting to discuss the thesis defenses for Chinese literature students this year.

In a normal meeting, Yan Jiayan would usually be the one assigning tasks. After assigning the tasks, Yan Jiayan said, "As everyone knows, we won a great victory this time."

We need to expedite the compilation of textbooks for other subjects, striving to create even more classic textbooks. Another matter: two sister departments in Henan Province, Henan Normal University and Zhengzhou University, have applied to hire professors from their Chinese departments as adjunct professors at both universities to guide the development of their respective disciplines.

Professor Sun, Associate Professor Liu, and I agree that guiding the development of our sister departments' disciplines is our inescapable responsibility. Comrades, please share your opinions!

Zhu Guangqian spoke first: "This is a good thing. The number one department in the world has gathered excellent professors and students, and it should also give back to other departments. However, it is not advisable to cooperate with too many departments, after all, our energy is limited."

“I agree, but the selection of professors should follow the principle of voluntariness,” Wu Zuxiang said.

“Alright, since everyone agrees, then it’s approved. We will cooperate with Zhengzhou University and Henan Normal University to establish the department.” Yan Jiayan smiled and looked at Liu Yimin beside him.

Stepping out of the office, Wu Zuxiang laughed and said, "These two schools are quite clever; they came up with such a brilliant idea!"

"Change leads to progress!"

After finishing his meeting in the department, Yan Jiayan rushed to the university office to report on the matter. After the New Year, Yenching University had a new president, Ding Shisun, who was also the only democratically elected president in the university's history.

Ding Shisun is a senior professor who just completed advanced studies in the Department of Mathematics at Harvard University in the United States last year. After returning, he was looking forward to reforming his teaching. Upon hearing Yan Jiayan's report, he felt that this was a direction worth trying and immediately agreed on behalf of the school.

"Professor Yan, congratulations on the successful completion of your trip to Shanghai!"

In the afternoon, Liu Yimin left Yenching University and came to Beijing People's Art Theatre. By mid-March, rehearsals for "The Best Restaurant Under Heaven" were coming to an end.

(End of this chapter)