I am not a literary giant

Upon seeing the word "too explicit," Ning Chunyan jolted awake. If that were the topic, she wouldn't be sleepy at all.

"In my opinion, this collection is like carving flowers on excrement with the best knife skills. I don't deny the skill and quality it displays, but at its core it is bad literature; the better the writing, the more reactionary it is."

"Cheng Xing, you've always seemed like a very talented young man to me. How could you stoop so low as to become obsessed with this kind of literature? I don't understand. Can anyone explain this to me?"

The speaker is named Chung Chun-min, a professor in the Department of Literature at Nanjing University and an expert in ancient Chinese literature.

He had extremely solid academic knowledge and was a lovable old man. He was the one who taught Ning Chunyan classical Chinese literature.

She rarely heard the old man speak in such a stern tone, and she immediately became curious about what Cheng Xing had done to offend him.

At this moment, another person spoke up in the group:

"Professor Zhong, I don't quite agree with your point of view. You say this is carving flowers on excrement, but first we need to clarify whether it is excrement or not. Love and sex are inherent components of human nature. If you say it is excrement, then we are all excrement people, and our process of reproduction is all about stirring up excrement. Human history then becomes a history of excrement."

Ning Chunyan's lips curled into a wide smile. The speaker was Huang Xinghuo, also a professor in the Literature Department at Nanjing University, specializing in modern and contemporary literature.

He has a rather radical and avant-garde mindset, and he and Chung Chun-min have huge differences not only in personality but also in academics, so you can always see the two arguing.

However, despite their arguments, they only stayed within the realm of academics and had no conflicts in their daily lives. Ning Chunyan even saw them eating together in the cafeteria last time.

Chung Chun-min said, "Huang Xinghuo, don't misinterpret my meaning using the slippery slope fallacy. Did I deny that love and sex are eternal themes in literature? The question is how literature can transcend them spiritually. If it doesn't transcend them, what's the difference between humans and animals?"

Huang Xinghuo said, "Humans are inherently animals. How do we transcend? Through asceticism or castration? Does becoming a monk, like medieval Western believers, and restricting our humanity constitute transcendence?"

Chung Chun-min said, "Have you seen the collection that Cheng Hsing posted?"

Huang Xinghuo said, "I saw it."

Chung Chun-min asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Huang Xinghuo said, "I thoroughly enjoyed it."

Chung Chun-min said, "Then this is a behavior of indulging in low-level pleasures. What you just said about not transcending is nothing more than hedonism. You were just making excuses for your hedonism. There's no need to say anything more."

Ning Chunyan crossed her legs, leaned over the table, took a sip of water, and began to watch the spectacle intently.

She was different from other children from a young age. When her parents argued, other kids would cry their hearts out, turning their homes into a roaring abyss. But she was different. She liked to pull up a small stool and sit beside them, practically waving her little fists and shouting, "Let's fight! Let's fight!"

Huang and Zhong seemed to be arguing about a piece of work that Cheng Xing had released. Ning Chunyan felt that this matter had nothing to do with her, but that didn't stop her from taking the opportunity to watch.

After a while, Huang Xinghuo responded.

"Is it pleasure or aesthetics? Neither of us can deny the pleasure we felt while reading this collection. But you have to be clear: pleasure is when there is a real object to please me, from which I derive a sense of accomplishment, but that object doesn't exist. I simply drew some kind of energy from reading."

"In other words, if someone can evoke a genuine sense of identification through words alone, then it has become art. Because it is simply an appreciation of beauty. Aesthetics is literature."

Chung Chun-min also replied with a long message:

"Hehe, typical monistic thinking. The pleasure you're talking about can also be achieved by reading pornographic novels. Of course, this isn't pornographic novel, but I don't agree with you only seeing the superficial beauty and ignoring the decay and depravity revealed within the text."

"The purpose of literature is to convey moral principles and cultivate one's character. I see no trace of these responsibilities in this collection. I agree with the techniques, but I do not agree with the underlying principles."

Huang Xinghuo said, "What principles are they conveying? What kind of character are they cultivating? Why don't movies and TV series convey principles? They can simply entertain people. Why should literature bear this heavy burden? It's the 21st century now. Let's stop with such outdated ideas. Besides, what principles does the Book of Songs convey? The Book of Songs doesn't convey any, so why are you imposing such strict rules on other works?"

"How can this collection be compared to the Book of Songs? The Book of Songs is about pure thoughts, but is this collection also about pure thoughts?"

"How can it not be worthy? At least from what I've seen so far, every piece in this collection has a somber and poignant tone, even tinged with a hint of pity. It is this tone that makes it serious amidst the eroticism. This sense of absurdity, woven from contradictions, is a typical characteristic of postmodernism."

"Compassion? You see compassion in the seduction of love?"

"Compassion is compassion; as the highest form of human emotion, it is omnipresent. Can't you see compassion in *Jin Ping Mei*?"

"Jin Ping Mei is not just about love."

"This collection is not just about love and romance. There's an iceberg hidden beneath the surface."

As their conversation progressed, their sentences became shorter, their pace faster, and their emotions more intense. Fewer words meant bigger problems, and the conversation ended somewhat unpleasantly.

Then another person joined the group chat:

"I watched the entire debate between the two teachers, and I also read the collection that Cheng Xingjun sent me. Like the two teachers, I completely agree with the author's writing skills. However, I also feel a little sorry that he used his talent in this way. It gives people the feeling of 'a beautiful woman who became a thief,' and it is ultimately not worthy of being considered high art."

The speaker is Qin Huan, a rising star author. His latest novel, "The Sister-in-Law Tree," has just topped the Dangdang.com bestseller list for literature.

"I don't think so. Where exactly does true elegance reside? It resides in people's hearts. If such writing can truly enter people's hearts, its outer shell is actually unimportant."

The speaker was Haoyue, an editor at Wenzhai.

"Yes, the boundary between elegance and vulgarity has become very blurred in this era. Moreover, this collection gives me the feeling that 'the most vulgar is the most elegant' from beginning to end."

It was the young director Lin Yuhuan who spoke again.

"But we can't completely blur the line between highbrow and lowbrow, can we? It's precisely in times like these that we should strive for elegance. If we keep rushing headlong into pandering to popular tastes, is there any hope for this era?"

This is children's book author Wu Hongjie.

"What everyone just said makes sense. Controversy is a good thing; some values ​​become clearer through debate. If it can generate controversy, then this collection has value. At the same time, I want to remind everyone that Nabokov's *Lolita* was also highly controversial back then. Don't presume that a few of us can define this collection. Only time can determine the literary value of a work..."

This is the famous writer Zhang Mocun.

"I don't have such beautiful words as you all, and I can't describe how well this collection is written. I just kept thinking while reading it, 'Wow, this is awesome. I'll learn a few phrases to flirt with girls. It'll definitely work.'"

This is director Lu Yuhao.

"Director Lu, that's a pragmatic view. We're evaluating this collection of short stories from a literary perspective."

"Hehe, you guys can talk about literary aspects, but that doesn't stop me from showing off with practicality."

……

The banquet at Ningchun was truly breathtaking.

She had never seen this group so lively before, especially so lively because of literature.

Although this is a literary group.

Those who work in literature are also human, with emotions and desires. The usual routine in this group is to compliment each other's work and achievements, and exchange various trends and information in the literary and artistic circles. It's rare to have such a serious discussion about literature.

Everyone in the group has different artistic pursuits, and when opinions differ, they usually move on to silence or lighthearted banter. Seeking common ground while reserving differences is not only the key to maintaining harmony in diplomacy between major powers, but it also works in private social interactions.

They rarely seemed so eager to seriously debate the value of a work as they were today. Watching their heated argument, Ning Chunyan couldn't help but wonder what had sparked this infighting within the group.

She tried to scroll back to the beginning of the topic, but couldn't find it, so she knocked on Cheng Xing's door and asked him, "What short story collection did you publish? Show it to me."