Generation Z Artists

Chapter 116 Shocking Speechlessness, Cultural Power

All the students of Experimental High School warmly thanked Fang Xinghe’s eight generations of ancestors.

Because of his words, Experimental High School launched an unprecedented cleaning campaign. It is no exaggeration to say that even the bricks on the sidewalk had to be polished to a sparkling finish, not to mention the tidying up of the environment inside the classrooms.

Experimental High School is busy, and No. 3 Middle School is not bad either.

With the idea of not allowing anything to happen, they also started to clean up and patched up the gap in the school wall that had existed for years. Anyone who dared to climb over the wall again would be caught and sent directly to the public toilet to clean out feces.

Continuing to expand, the entire small county is cleaning up garbage and tidying up the city.

There were not enough sanitation workers, so all major enterprises and institutions were mobilized, and primary and secondary schools also had to do voluntary labor after cleaning up their own campuses.

The whole county is bustling with activity, and there are dedicated people directing rectification in every corner.

Fang Xinghe was stunned.

"No, you...they..."

Generation Z has really never seen this. Xiao Fang does have memories of collective labor scenes, but he has never seen anything so exaggerated.

Liu Dashan, with a big belly, looked at him nervously and asked.

"Is there something wrong? Where do you think we need to improve? I'll talk to the leader right away!"

The leaders of Dashankou are the two senior officials of the county.

Yes, they are also part of the effort and it is very hard work. They have to inspect many places in person every day.

A completely different sense of the times once again hits us, impacting the worldview of Generation Z.

The day before the "Times" recording crew arrived, two county leaders brought several bureau chiefs to the Experimental High School and had a special chat with Fang Xinghe.

"Xiao Fang, do you think that our current city appearance is sufficient to accommodate the people of this era?"

After several days of communication, Fang Xinghe finally understood their seriousness.

China before 2008 and even 2012 simply lacked the confidence to open up and show itself to the outside world. The earlier the time, the more serious the problem.

It’s okay in big cities, but in small places people are really scared and panicked, and they really take it as a big deal.

That's why the 08 Olympics was a cultural and artistic performance organized with the efforts of the whole country, which greatly enhanced the national self-confidence. The national master will be recorded in the history of China forever because of that opening ceremony. With both merits and demerits, the merits must outweigh the demerits.

And now, the country is stuck on the eve of joining the WTO, and all foreign-related matters have extremely important political significance.

Although the visitor today is only Time Asia, it is more significant than ordinary foreign affairs.

In the eyes of Chinese people at this moment, "Time" is the world's most authoritative, powerful and influential magazine. It is high-end, classy and awesome Class+plus.

The eldest brother sighed no less than five times: "I never thought that the fourth Chinese in the field of culture, sports and arts to appear on the cover of Time would come from our country..."

Fang Xinghe was stunned: "There are only three people in front?"

"Yes!" The leader was also stunned, "Don't you know? The first one was Bruce Lee, on the cover of the Time main issue, the second one was Van Loon, on the cover of the Asian edition, and the third one was Huang Li, on the cover of the main issue."

Strictly speaking, Fang Xinghe is the second one in mainland China and the first among mainland male stars.

Although Generation Z is not impressed by this "honor", people from all walks of life in Jilin Province attach great importance to it.

Outrageous, yet normal.

"Xiao Fang..."

The leader discussed the matter with Tongfang Xinghe in a friendly manner.

"When you are doing the interview, you should be a little more careful. You don't need to answer some questions so directly. We are a country of etiquette. When it is necessary to be reserved, you can be reserved appropriately!"

You see, he panicked.

Well, there's nothing wrong with that. When your brother Fang starts speaking, many people get nervous.

Xiao Wang relied on his close relationship and threatened him with a stern face: "If you set off fireworks again tomorrow, you will be at the school gate the day after tomorrow to collect your body. I will hang myself on the beam at the gate early in the morning and stare at you with my eyes wide open!"

"Hahahaha!"

A group of leaders almost laughed themselves into emoticons. Such an interesting old man is rare even in the Northeast - he is about to retire, and it is time for him to be willful.

Fang Xinghe nodded solemnly: "Don't worry, I will definitely control my temper!"

The flag was tied up, oh my god.

The next day, a bus sent by the province took the interview team from Time magazine to the Experimental High School. With all due courtesy, Fang Xinghe felt very unpleasant when he first met the editor-in-chief.

The editor-in-chief who came today was a senior executive of TOM Company who transferred to Time Asia to be the head of content. His name was Charles Zhao and he had a very arrogant attitude.

As soon as he got off the bus, he covered his mouth and nose, frowned, and complained: "The air quality in the mainland is getting worse and worse."

Then he stood up straight and looked around. The condescending scrutiny emanated from his body, and his critical eyes frowned at everything he saw.

Xiao Wang, who was still very willful yesterday, replied with a smile: "It's a rural area, the environment is simple, distinguished guests, please bear with me..."

Fang Xinghe was also among the reception crowd, and he became furious.

Of course he understood Xiao Wang's helplessness, but temper was something you could only control whether or not to get angry, you couldn't control whether or not to produce it.

I'm going to be frank with you, buddy. I really don't like you.

This displeasure accumulated more and more after the interview began.

When Mr. Zhao sat down on the leather sofa, he was so cautious. The sofa was obviously wiped clean, but his actions showed disgust in his heart.

When he spoke again, it sounded polite at first, but every word tasted wrong.

"Xiao Fang, this is the first time that the Asia edition of Our Times has come to your continent for an interview. Everyone is very concerned about this. You are the top candidate that I have chosen despite all the opposition. Come on, perform well and don't let me down."

Fang Xinghe: ???

There are so many complaints that I can only type a few question marks at once.

Afterwards, your brother Fang was so angry that he laughed.

OK, OK, you want sparks, right? Here, here you go!
Fang Xinghe immediately poked him from the side: "Editor-in-Chief Zhao, your Mandarin seems to have a bit of a Northeastern accent, did you learn it deliberately?"

Zhao Gulas... Zhao Charles... Zhao what's that?

Anyway, Zhao's face revealed a hint of embarrassment and displeasure. He coughed dryly and pretended to be stupid: "Ah? Really? That might be because my Mandarin teacher is from Liaoning Province..."

After a pause, he immediately continued, "Xiao Fang, do you understand Cantonese? Even if you can't speak it, it's okay if you can understand it. My wording in Mandarin may not be accurate enough."

"I don't understand." Fang Xinghe shook his head decisively, "I don't understand anything at all."

"That's regretful."

Zhao Gulas sighed, and then immediately began to educate: "If you have time, learn it well. Cantonese is a beautiful language.

And from a practical point of view, if you want to develop in the entertainment industry in the future, knowing Cantonese will be a great convenience, which will allow big capital and big directors to treat you as one of their own. Speaking Mandarin will not be accepted by the people of Hong Kong Island, which will be very detrimental to your development..."

Is this a good thing to say?
Seems to be.

But it sounds so unpleasant to the ears of Generation Z.

Fang Xinghe did not intend to engage in a direct argument with him, because Hong Kong Island was indeed more developed now. Without strong evidence, he should never talk to others about future trends, as if he could not afford to lose by talking too hard.

He simply replied casually: "Cantonese songs are indeed beautiful. I like "Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies" very much, but the same cannot be said for people who speak Cantonese... It seems that the top talents and beauties in Hong Kong Island in the past 20 years are all immigrants from the mainland, right?"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Zhao Gulas was stabbed in the lungs by a knife and started coughing tactically again.

While coughing, I was suspicious: Is this guy mocking me? How does he know that I am an immigrant from the mainland?
At this point in the preliminary conversation, both sides had actually felt a thorn in their hearts.

The difference is that Fang Xinghe is not afraid of pain at all. After pulling out the thorn to see what is going on, he casually put it back in, letting nature take its course.

After being stabbed, the man surnamed Zhao felt a little stressed, so he wanted to make a big news story even more.

"Shall we officially begin?"

"can."

"I have a preset topic for you, Cultural strength. Xiao Fang, do you know about Time magazine?"

"I don't understand. I never watch it."

"Cough cough..." Zhao Gulas was choked and started coughing again. This guy seemed to have a particularly strong sense of superiority. Any behavior that did not praise him when chatting might arouse his "discomfort and dissatisfaction."

But who has our brother Fang ever spoiled? The premise of a good chat is mutual respect, otherwise we will confront each other.

"You can introduce it to me and broaden my horizons."

Zhao Gulas was very uncomfortable with Fang Xinghe. He always attacked him suddenly, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally, and pulled back after it hurt, so there was no way to be serious about it.

"Well, our era is..."

In his introduction, Zhao Gulas praised the magazine very carefully and emphasized the influence of the Asian edition of Time in the whole East Asia - its sales volume is not the highest, but its readers are all top people, including politicians, capital tycoons, white-collar workers, celebrities, and so on.

Also, the editorial team is very strict in selecting the cover characters, and celebrities rarely have this honor, so you should cherish it.

It is true that celebrities have little chance of appearing on the cover of Time. Every edition of Time tends to be serious and one must have a strong enough reason to be selected.

But...honor...emmm, Generation Z feels ridiculous.

"It's just a business magazine after all, isn't it?"

Fang Xinghe spoke softly, his tone was light, low and calm, and suddenly made Zhao Gulas cough again.

In fact, Fang Xinghe was not unable to tolerate the anger at all, but he realized early on that there was something wrong with Zhao's position - his disdain and superiority towards the mainland were too obvious, almost undisguised.

Just looking at the attitude of his presence, it seems that he is not a staff member who came to complete the interview, but a "fairy messenger" who came down to earth to bring enlightenment to the ants. Is this right? It is very wrong.

No matter how hard you try to please an editor who looks down on the mainland, it will only make him more prejudiced.

So Fang Xinghe spoke frankly: Don’t play this on me, buddies!

You cannot give me the honor that I recognize.

The hidden meaning was so straightforward that it made Zhao Gulas both angry and happy - he was not a fool in the conventional sense. On the contrary, in addition to his condescending sense of superiority, he actually understood the explosive points needed to maintain the influence of the magazine.

"OK, let's start with the international collision of cultures. This is the most exciting topic I've discovered from you."

Zhao Gulas's expression changed, becoming focused and sharp.

"Times Asia has a large readership in East Asia, including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Myanmar and Singapore. I learned about your remarks before I came here, so do you still insist on what you said in the newspaper?
I mean, tanks, bloodbaths, hate speech.”

"Yes." Fang Xinghe shrugged easily and asked him a Western question, "Why not?"

Zhao Gulas narrowed his eyes and suddenly set a trap for Fang Xinghe.

"I heard that your future plan might be to become an international movie star, and you practice martial arts to become a Kung Fu superstar. However, the Japanese and Korean markets are more than ten times the size of your mainland, and the vast Western world is unlikely to like a narrow-minded nationalist who holds Nazi ideas. Aren't you afraid of being boycotted by them and your grand plan being aborted?"

"Look, how Chinese your thoughts are."

Fang Xinghe did not answer directly, but sighed about something completely irrelevant.

Because Brother Fang doesn’t like the phrase “narrow-minded nationalists who hold Nazi ideas”, he particularly doesn’t like it.

So, he stabbed the stunned Zhao Gulas again with his knife suddenly and coldly.

"You use idioms so smoothly and accurately, which proves that the Western context has not completely changed your thinking. When you communicate with those Western colleagues at work, you are a typical Western elite. But in the dead of night, when you start to think about some metaphysical philosophical questions, can you realize that the power that shaped everything you have now is definitely not from that remote island, nor from a famous Western university, but from the land that you are most reluctant to recall and unwilling to admit?"

Fang Xinghe is like a devil.

He deliberately used more complex expressions to make the whole paragraph highly repellent.

Zhao Gulas had to listen carefully and think about it, carefully chewing on the deep meaning of every word and sentence.

With his full concentration, his defense was broken in an instant.

Such tactics will definitely not work against the lower class like Wang Deli, or domestic grassroots elites like Cheng Dayi.

However, Zhao Gulas is of another kind - yellow skin and white heart on the surface, but actually white heart and red blood, a Western elite with an international vision who emerged from Chinese education and traditional thinking.

This description seems quite complicated because the mental state of this type of people is particularly complex.

They are not the kind of stupid people commonly seen on the Internet. Instead, they are the "elite" who are active in the Western world, quite smart, quite hardworking, quite inward-looking, but collectively stuck under the ceiling.

They are capable, ambitious, and have a certain status, but they have no roots.

Later, Fang Xinghe saw too much of the confusion of such people on the Internet, and gradually realized that they lived in the cracks all their lives and had never truly integrated into either side.

A large part of them voluntarily gave up their motherland and national consciousness, but were manipulated like toys by their Western fathers.

Another part tries to find their roots, but falls into various real-life difficulties and spends their whole lives burying their heads in the sand.

Which one of these is Zhao Gulas?
Fang Xinghe was unsure, but he pierced through the opponent's heart with one sword and exposed the fact that he was most reluctant to admit.

Therefore, such a peaceful question without any aggression made Chief Editor Zhao's pupils tremble violently and he looked embarrassed.

"Nonsense! What kind of power?!"

He subconsciously started to refute, eager to distance himself from the matter without organizing his words properly.

“I am where I am today entirely because of my own efforts!
I am indeed a second-generation immigrant from Hong Kong Island. My ancestral home is in Liaoning Province. When my parents took me to Hong Kong, my accent had already been formed.

For this reason, when I first arrived in Hong Kong Island, I was bullied a lot by the locals. I studied hard and refused to give in to anyone. I worked hard all the way to be admitted to the University of Hong Kong, then went to Columbia University to study abroad, and finally returned to Hong Kong to work.

I have achieved what I have today because I can speak five languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, English, Japanese and French, I have a solid education and I work hard!

If there is any inner force that has led to everything that is happening now, it is my own perseverance and fighting spirit..."

"Do you believe that man can conquer nature?"

Fang Xinghe ignored the confusing nonsense and asked lightly.

"Ah?" Zhao Gulas was stunned. "Of course, I work so hard because I don't want to accept the bullying and oppression of the locals..."

“But in Western philosophy, no one can conquer nature.”

Fang Xinghe spoke softly again, staring at the other person quietly. In just a moment, Zhao Gulas froze.

His pupils shrank to the size of a needle tip, and he stared at Fang Xinghe in shock. His lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't form any words for a moment.

Fang Xinghe picked up the chess piece casually and dropped it down calmly, ending the hunt.

“You want to talk to me about cultural strength, but you don’t seem to really understand what cultural strength is.

Is it manifested externally or internally? Is it a describable doctrine or a spirit that cannot be named? Is it Nietzsche's will to power or Marx's battlefield of struggle?

You can talk about it, set all kinds of standards for me, or set any framework for me. It's up to you.

But at this moment, when you remain silent, you have in fact lost the qualifications to define cultural power in front of me.

Well, now, let me tell you -

In our continent, people don’t usually take the initiative to explore the source of cultural power because it is everywhere.

From the ancient myths, such as drilling wood to make fire, Houyi shooting down the sun, Dayu controlling floods, Jingwei filling the sea, to the founding of New China, 100,000 flags slaying Yama, and daring to change the sun and the moon to create a new sky, all of them are the continuation of the same power.

How exactly does it work on our personal will?

As long as you have lived in our continent until you are 10 years old, it has been spontaneously activated in your blood. Now you are fanatically pursuing another cultural force, thinking that it is more advanced, more suitable for you, and can bring you a sense of superiority.

But if you please be frank, what you are doing is just using the best thirty years of your life to deny the fifteen years of your adolescence, that's all.

Is this smart?
No, I don't think so.

If a person spends his entire life just to deny his past self, then every success will cut off a little bit of your connection with the world. In the end, what's left is just a pool of rotten flesh. How can you call yourself a human being?

So now I can answer your question - Are you afraid of being boycotted by Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States?

Don’t be afraid. This land taught me four words long ago: man can conquer nature.”

There was dead silence in the room.

The cameraman held his breath and stared at the boy in the viewfinder, from his stern profile to his shiny hair, greedily wanting to capture every detail clearly.

The reporter who had already stopped writing in shock opened his mouth wide, with only one voice and one sentence in his mind:

I fuck your mother!

So cool...

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(End of this chapter)