Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 51: One Night at Yan University (Part )
Zhang Chao became more and more excited as he spoke, and it seemed as if he could talk endlessly.

Since his rebirth in this life, he has never discussed literature with anyone seriously and heartily. Although Lan Ting loves literature, she is too immature. She only has some instincts for literary aesthetics, but no basic ability to appreciate it. So talking to her about literature is more like a teacher teaching a student.

But it is different at Yanjing University, where he can freely express his own opinions.

The students in the debate society were all listening attentively. Although they were all top students with a passion for literature, they had only been in school for a year or two and their accumulation of reading experience was not deep enough. They mostly used terms from literary theory to interpret the works.

Zhang Chao is different. In the process of answering, he not only focuses on literature, but also combines relevant content from society, economy, history, and even psychology, digging deep into a small question raised by the girl just now.

The students were fascinated by the lecture and felt that many young lecturers in the school might not be able to explain things in such a profound and simple way.

However, although Zhang Chao's mouth was still able to talk, his stomach was not cooperating. When he paused for a moment, the "gurgling" sound of his intestines betrayed him.

Zhang Chao smiled sheepishly and said, "It's a bit late. I guess everyone must be hungry. Let's eat first."

At this time, a girl interrupted him and said, "Don't be anxious. Do you still want to hear this student continue speaking?"

All the students answered: “Yes!”

The girl said, "The study room must be full now. How about we just sit on the lawn and talk?"

"Good!" the students responded loudly.

"Teacher Kong, do you want to go back first?"

Kong Qingdong laughed and said, "How can I leave when I am attending such a grand banquet? Today's scene reminds me of the time when I was studying in Yanyuan 20 years ago. At that time, under any tree, on any lawn, or on any bench, I could see classmates discussing literature in such a pure and beautiful way..."

The girl said happily, "Okay! I'll take care of the food." She took out her cell phone and dialed a number: "Hello? Buy some food right now and send it to Jingyuan Lawn. There are more than a dozen of us. Bread and mineral water will be fine. Oh, there's another teacher here, so hurry up."

After hanging up the phone, the girl made an OK gesture.

At this time, Kong Qingdong spoke up: "What this student just said is very interesting. Although I haven't read the novel "Young Babylon", from your discussion, I feel that the 'county town narrative' seems to contain a unique aesthetic value. I haven't studied much related works, and I don't come from a small county town. I wonder if you have done any research on this?"

Zhang Chao said: "Teacher Kong is worthy of being Professor Qian's first disciple. He has a keen sense of literature. I think this kind of aesthetic value does exist. If the city and the countryside are the two sides of the coin of Chinese literature, then the narrative of the county town is the damaged edge of the coin."

Kong Qingdong was obviously interested: "Oh? Tell me more about it."

Zhang Chao said: "There are more than 2000 counties in China, each with a county town, with a total population of more than 2 million, accounting for one-third of China's urban population. However, these 3 million people are a corner forgotten by literature. If it were not for the series of images shot by Jia Zhangke about his hometown Fenyang, Shanxi Province, we might hardly pay attention to these places and these people..."

As she was talking, a boy came over breathlessly, carrying two large plastic bags, and walked up to the girl who had just called. He took out a bottle of Nutri-Express and a box of expensive-looking cake rolls from the bag and handed them to the girl: "Xin, eat quickly."

The girl named "Xin" took it and handed it to Zhang Chao: "Student, you eat first, and continue the talk after you are full.

What kind of plot is this, Pleasant Goat, Beautiful Goat, and Boiling Goat?

But Zhang Chao had no choice but to take it. He seemed to hear the sound of glass breaking... He didn't dare to look up at the boy, he just buried his head in his food. The girl then shared the water and bread in the plastic bag with Kong Qingdong and other classmates.

"Oh, I don't even know your name. I can't just call you 'classmate' or 'classmate'."

"It's actually quite nice to call me 'this classmate'... or you can just call me 'Lu Xiaolu', the protagonist of 'Young Babylon'."

"I've only heard of anonymous publications, but I've never seen anonymous speeches."

"…Isn't it because you are afraid that your speech will be disgraced by your master?"

"Which department are you in? Philosophy? History? None? Are you from the Faculty of Science?" "...Let's discuss the work."

"Then, Mr. Lu Xiaolu, what do you think are the aesthetic characteristics of the 'county town narrative'?"

Finally someone asked the real question. Zhang Chao let out a long sigh of relief, swallowed the last piece of cake roll, drank a sip of Nutri-Express, and then answered:

"I think it is a kind of 'roughness', which comes from the contradiction and transition of the county town. The county town is an area between urban and rural areas. This specific spatial environment makes it inherently 'contradictory'. On the one hand, the county town bears the impact of modern economic culture from the city, but on the other hand, the traditional rural thinking makes people's consciousness relatively closed and conservative, unable to break away from the old life track.

"Young Babylon" emphasizes this sense of contradiction. Lu Xiaolu yearns for the big city, but the idea of ​​"state-owned factory", "stable job" and "eating the government's food" restricts his steps. If Bai Lan had not appeared, he might never be able to break free and could only sink.

Secondly, the county town is a transitional zone in a great era of change, and it has a "transitional nature". Jia Zhangke's words summed it up well: the entire county town has undergone tremendous and turbulent changes in front of me, which makes me feel that there is something very exciting in China's current reality, and I have an urgent need to shoot everything that is about to disappear. The interweaving of "sense of contradiction" and "transitional nature" constitutes the unique artistic tension of "county town narrative".

"Young Babylon" uses Lu Xiaolu's emotional experience and growing up memories as clues. It is not a 100% restoration of the prototype, but extracts these two commonalities to construct a community with cultural imagination. The unique public nature and slight sense of obsolescence of the county town allow readers to automatically construct a warm fantasy of the era of having a home.

In addition, life in a county town has its own distinct characteristics. For example, the lack of private space and the alienation and indifference of family affection in the family space..."

As Zhang Chao was speaking, he suddenly felt a buzz of whispers in the oppressive atmosphere. He looked up and saw several circles of people surrounding him, several times more than before, at least nearly a hundred people. The people in the back row couldn't hear him clearly, so someone in the front row whispered the key points of his speech one by one.

The sky was already full of stars. Zhang Chao hastily concluded with a sentence: "A big city cannot accommodate the body, and a small county town cannot accommodate the soul - perhaps this is the source of the spiritual dilemma of a generation of county town youth, and it is also a landscape that cannot be missing in our literature."

The students listening to the lecture burst into warm applause that lasted for a long time.

Kong Qingdong said with emotion: "I think what this student said can be used as a small research topic for our Chinese Department. I can help you apply for it. Who among you is willing to join?"

"I!"

"I!"

"I!"

……

However, Zhang Chao took advantage of the opportunity when Kong Qingdong attracted everyone's attention and quietly slipped out of the crowd under the cover of night.

By the time everyone realized that the voice that should have joined hadn't been heard, he had already walked to the periphery. The girl named "Xin" hurriedly shouted: "Classmate Lu Xiaolu, why did you leave? Aren't you going to join?"

"I won't! And my name is not 'Lu Xiaolu', my name is Zhang Chao! Believe me, I am not just a shooting star!"

Before everyone could react, Zhang Chao's figure was lost in the crowd, leaving only his voice echoing over the Jingyuan lawn.

Zhang Chao seemed to be walking in a leisurely manner, but in fact his heart was pounding. It was the first time since his rebirth that he felt so comfortable pretending to be cool.

My body and mind feel opened up. Is this the highest institution of learning? ...

Unconsciously, he arrived at the south gate of Yanda University. As soon as he went out, he saw countless high-rise buildings with bright lights. This is the Silicon Valley of China in this era - Zhongguancun!

At this time, a short man approached him stealthily, and Zhang Chao immediately became alert - there was no electronic payment now, and everyone carried cash, so there were a lot of petty thefts and highway robberies. He just didn't expect that there would be someone so bold as to commit a crime at the gate of Yan University.

The man suddenly opened his arms and lifted up his coat. A silver light flashed, blinding Zhang Chao's eyes. The man whispered to Zhang Chao:
"Brother, do you want a plate?"

(End of this chapter)