Generation Z Artists

Chapter 92 The next day, all horses are silent
The unrest among middle school students is still brewing on campus and is unlikely to have an impact on reality for the time being.

But the restlessness in the literary world was strangely suppressed, with only two people writing articles praising it, which made people confused.

On the 23rd, Ms. Li Xiaolin published a long article.

The Freedom and Responsibility of Middle School Students, the Love and Pain of Children, and the Thoughts and Intuitions of Youth in the New Era

In the article, she equated Fang Xinghe with her father.

"Fang Xinghe has more energy than my father of the same period.

After reading this article to my father, I smiled and joked: Think about it carefully, what were you doing when you were 14 years old?
He reacted violently and made a faint hoarse sound from his throat. I knew it was laughter.

In the final stage of his life, he was very happy to see younger generations like Fang Xinghe emerging in the literary world.

I am happy too.

Maybe it’s because I love my father too much, so I can’t help but elevate him - in fact, it can be said that the 30-year-old Ba Jin still did not have the depth of thinking, summarizing ability, literary literacy and great consciousness that Fang Xinghe has today.

The first three are easy to understand. What is great consciousness?

The wisdom to deconstruct the dark side of the world, the courage to look directly at the dark side of human nature, the toughness to criticize the dark side of freedom, and the mission to fight against all darkness.

Many writers are extremely skilled in the art of manipulating words, but they can never write such touching works. What is the difference? Great consciousness.

If you want to achieve greatness, you must have a spirit: knowing that you will die, but facing it with a smile.

But the essence of human nature is selfishness and weakness. How difficult is it to overcome it?

Fang Xinghe was able to do this because of his dark and desperate childhood. This is not worth promoting. Under such heavy pressure, millions of seeds may only grow into one white flower in the end.

Fang Xinghe is that rare flower.

I don't think he needs protection, but I believe that in the dark mud that is beyond our sight, there are thousands and thousands of seeds that are difficult to break through the soil and need protection.

Giving children love and soothing their pain must become an important issue in family education and child care in Chinese society from today on.

Young people are our future. Sooner or later, our motherland will need them to build it. The lack of family responsibility among this generation will inevitably lead to the collapse of social responsibility among the next generation. The law of nature is clear, and retribution is inevitable. This matter should be addressed as soon as possible..."

Li Xiaolin did not directly criticize liberalism, she is also a gentle person.

But she announced to the entire literary world in a very gentle way: I will definitely protect Fang Xinghe, you guys can do whatever you want.

"I don't think he needs protection like this", see, what a subtle wording.

Those who understand will smile knowingly, and those who don’t... with this kind of IQ, they probably can’t beat Fang Xinghe, so there’s no need to worry.

In addition, she also regards Fang Xinghe as "a friend from a different generation who made me cry and feel relieved."

She used very detailed words to express her inner feelings.

"Ever since I saw Fang Xinghe's 'Sex' in March, I've often missed the past.

During that period, my father was beaten down, my mother became a shrew, people avoided her, and almost no one came to visit. As my father's crimes became more serious, the atmosphere in the house became unbearable.

My mother often stared at the ceiling with blank eyes for hours.

And I had nothing to comfort her.

I was very confused at that time. Deep down, I didn't believe that my father was guilty, but facing the overwhelming criticism, I felt at a loss.

I just want to escape.

I stayed at home less and less, and was even afraid to talk to my parents.

In those days, a simple smile, a short letter, or a simple greeting would often make my mother very excited and her eyes fill with tears.

But I alienated my mother when she needed care the most, leaving her alone to face the cold seals in the room and endure the pain.

My mother was exhausted physically and mentally, and became ill from depression. She managed to hold on for a while, but when she lay down, the cancer cells had already spread.

When I felt guilty and remorseful for my selfishness, everything was already irreversible.

I still often think of that night in late June 1972. With the help of relatives and friends, my mother finally did some tests, and that night my aunt invited a surgeon she was familiar with.

The doctor looked at the X-rays and isotope scan report and told us the conclusion that we had always been reluctant to believe: it was advanced cancer.

The doctor said that this type of cancer develops very quickly and the patient would not survive past the National Day at most, so he asked us to make preparations early.

With a glimmer of hope, we asked if there was any other way?
The doctor shook his head and said that they had to find a way to get her into the hospital as soon as possible, as the patient would suffer a lot in her last few days.

Although it was a summer night, I felt cold all over.

I didn't dare go into the room where my mother was lying, because I knew she was anxiously waiting for the diagnosis.

I can't face her.

I went back to my room, lay down on the bed, and tears fell down my face.

I can't imagine that my mother would leave us.

I can’t imagine what would happen to our family without my mother.

What I can't forgive even more is myself. My mother endured the pain silently for a long time, and I was so negligent.

The room was dark, and so was my heart. A soft sobbing sound came from the corner of the wall, and in the dim light of the street lamp outside the window, I saw my brother huddled on the sofa, his face buried in his hands, crying.

How can I comfort him?
We watched helplessly as death approached step by step, and would eventually take our mother away from us, but we were powerless to do anything.

That night, two helpless people overwhelmed by sadness could only hide in the dark night and cry quietly.

For our mothers and for ourselves.

Many years have passed, but when I think back to that summer night, I still burst into tears.

This kind of nostalgia runs through the second half of my life, and has recently been intensified because of Fang Xinghe.

Fang Xinghe's feelings for his mother are more direct and passionate than mine. Through him, I reflect on myself, hate myself, and become aware of myself.

How can he be so brave?
When I read the paragraph about 'canned yellow peaches', I burst into tears.

I am a bad daughter. 14-year-old Fang Xinghe makes me look selfish and cowardly. I love my mother from the bottom of my heart, but I have never thought about taking care of her and protecting her. I am afraid of losing her, partly because I am afraid of losing my safe haven.

But at that time, I should have hugged her back.

Later I did hug her, using a lot of strength, but lacking the most important strength.

I was not her support, nor her pride, and I never even gave her a fair response.

From March till now, I cannot read Fang Xinghe’s articles. Whenever I see them, I cannot help but tremble.

But I still push open the door when it is late at night and take a look at my sleeping granddaughter, then tiptoe to the study, take out the handwritten manuscript, and recall every little detail of the past.

I don't know when I cried enough. My tears didn't dry up, but a little light suddenly emerged from the deep lake of tears. I kept thinking about my mother's expression before she passed away, recalling the corners of her mouth that she forced up despite the severe pain, and the look of reluctance that was engraved on my brother and my face. I knew that she loved us until the last moment.

Just as Xiao Fang realized that his mother had forgiven his helplessness, I also realized that my mother had long since forgiven my selfishness and cowardice. Or rather, she had never blamed me.

She hoped that I would live a good life and reconcile with myself, but I struggled for 27 years and was finally awakened by a little kid.

This makes me feel ashamed, but also relieved. As a weak person, I should learn to draw strength from the outside world.

Now I am no longer afraid to admit my own incompetence.

Fang Xinghe's writing has a deep and grand compassion. I am not a very good writer, and I know I can never write such words, but I love him, love this flower that blooms from the mud of despair.

This child, when facing pain, is far more optimistic, braver, and has a nobler character than many of us adults.

I regard him as a long-standing friend..."

Ms. Li Xiaolin's article spent a lot of space praising Fang Xinghe from various angles, which even made people feel a little excessive.

But as long as you understand this family's past, you can understand her feelings for Fang Xinghe.

Mr. Ba Jin was a person who attached great importance to family education. His children were also family-oriented people. The whole family loved reading and learning. The core values of Fang Xinghe's published articles are simply very relevant to the radio wave.

In addition to the natural affection, the love between mother and son shown in the article "Sex" perfectly fits Li Xiaolin's personal experience.

Given all these factors, it is not quite objective to say that she is a fanatical fan of Fang Xinghe, but her appreciation, love and even respect for her are absolutely genuine.

……

Perhaps it was a coincidence, perhaps not, but on the same day, in another very influential newspaper, Teacher Wang Meng also wrote an article specifically for Fang Xinghe for the first time, praising the literary value of "Sex".

The title is: "The Great Power Born in Despair"

His perspective is completely different from Ms. Li's, and he focuses more on analyzing Fang Xinghe himself.

"Reading Fang Xinghe's writing makes one hold their breath, not daring to let go for even a moment, because he cleverly hides his emotions in the corners of every word. You can hardly feel them when you read them, but once you get into them, you're at his mercy, dragged along by him.

This is a very powerful ability. I doubt whether this ability only appears in teenagers, because when I started writing, I was already a dull older young man. What I wrote has distinct characteristics of the times. It is not very good to read it now - in fact, it was not very good back then, but I was very kind to it and received a few warm compliments.

Enthusiasm is a very extroverted state, often very contagious. I was once proud of it, but as I grew older and my horizons broadened, I began to gradually realize my own shortcomings: my enthusiasm was too superficial.

Fang Xinghe is different. He is deep at the age when he should be outgoing, and cold at the age when he should be passionate.

He is a highly contradictory case.

Leaving aside other articles, I really want to talk about this article "Sex, Violence, and Lies" that has been in my heart for a long time.

This is a very ferocious name. When we first saw it in the editorial office, everyone subconsciously sat up straight, puffed out their chests, and kept their expressions serious and focused, as if they were facing not a middle school student's composition, but some kind of monster.

Because Zhaoyan, the first person to see it, suddenly slammed the table, swore a lot, and walked back and forth around the office, so each of us knew that it was extraordinary.

Of course, I am not saying that it can be compared with the classics handed down in Chinese history. I don’t mean that. In fact, I am not sure at what level to discuss it. Because this is an article, we can only use the article to correspond to it, which caused a long blank in my brain.

Wang Anshi wrote "Song of Zhongyong" when he was 22, Wang Bo wrote "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng" when he was 29, and Cao Zhi wrote "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River" when he was 30...

I know a lot about famous geniuses in history, as do others, so when the two editors thought that Fang Xinghe's article was extreme, eccentric, crude, dark, and the language was rough and of only average quality, I blurted out: He is 14 years old!
The editorial office was quiet for a while. Before that, everyone's attention was focused on the article itself. From that moment on, we finally looked at the text and Fang Xinghe himself together.

This is troublesome, really troublesome.

Because just reading the text is enough to be a wake-up call in our current era. Fang Xinghe extracts and combines the three separate elements of sex, violence, and lies to criticize the dark liberalism that is rampant in the country, and finally sublimates it into love and redemption. It is amazing.

I can think of only a few precedents—

Patrick's "Perfume" explores the interweaving of sex, violence and art through murder and perfume making, revealing human beings' extreme pursuit of desire and control.

Brett's "American Psycho" explores the relationship between consumerism and distorted human nature through Patrick's violence and sexual behavior, revealing the emptiness and morbidity of modern society.

JD Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" may be closer, exploring sex, lies and violence in adolescence, and reflecting teenagers' dissatisfaction and resistance to the adult world.

Or maybe A Clockwork Orange? Lolita? 1984?
There are some overlapping parts, but none of them are similar. "Sex" definitely does not stitch together any of the above works. It is Fang Xinghe's own life, his own feelings, his own despair and strength.

Then, combined with his age, I suddenly don’t know how to evaluate him.

Ever since I read the article in February, I've often pondered this question, discussing it with Yining, Zhaoyan, and others. Eight months have passed, and we haven't spoken out. It's not that we don't want to, but that we forget the words when we pick up the pen and speak.

Then just yesterday, I bought a few magazines and brought them back to show my granddaughter and grandson. The two children who grew up in a happy family were moved to tears after reading them.

At that moment, I finally realized what Fang Xinghe’s life and his writings were all about——

It is a great power born out of despair, and Fang Xinghe used his natural sensitivity and strong dignity to transform it into words, so that it has the profound value of touching people's hearts and being passed down.

I often say: Writing is the glory and eternity of life.

Then, different works must have different brilliance. Everyone's work is unique. There is no high or low in writing, but some texts are naturally great.

Because the life that wrote them is different.

Fang Xinghe is so different.

He developed a deep hatred in his dark childhood, but also saw deep love in his mother's pupils. He hated but did not indulge in it, and sublimated his thinking on the essence of things in his personal feelings. He loved but did not crave, and continued to live upright despite his incompleteness and regrets.

When we were doing the show together, I saw him showing some childishness - he used traps to play tricks on Professor Jiao and Painter Chen like a naughty boy, was arrogant and indifferent in front of the camera, and suddenly laughed at Xie Rong after he left the stage - I laughed too, I like him so much.

Fresh, vigorous, wild, unruly, passionate, so good!

If we talk about "Sex" again, his criticism is correct, and I will just say this: liberalism must obey the law, morality, conscience and responsibility.

I like "Sex" second only to Fang Xinghe.

I hope Fang Xinghe can use his brilliance to awaken the dormant spirit of the masses, and I believe he can do it.

Because he is more than just a text; he himself is a model of the times, a fragrance that blooms amidst the darkness of despair."

……

Ms. Li and Mr. Wang are so famous that they are the only two articles mentioned in "Sex, Violence, and Lies" today.

No one expected that 80 hours after the release of "The Strongest Voice of the Post-24s Generation", the newspapers were completely silent.

The crowds who were waiting to read the Nanfang system's newspapers were greatly disappointed, but what the outside world did not know was that the Nanfang system did not fail to write articles. Not only did they write them, but they also prepared "explosion-proof" articles from various angles in advance.

But they withdrew urgently.

Of course, Ms. Li and Teacher Wang do not have such influence. What is truly powerful is "Sex, Violence, and Lies" itself.

In the face of such a heavy blow, the attacks organized in advance by those people were as ridiculous as a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

October 10rd was the second day that "The Voice of Post-23s" was released.

On this day, the public opinion circle was silent.

*************
The follow-up of the last few days is really difficult to write, so please forgive me for the word count.

Then, thanks to the new alliance somnium, Yuyu Yuyu and Yuyu, Generation Z has reached 19 eagles~~~
Thank you all for voting for the second 10,000 monthly tickets in a single day. We are all proud wild children, haha!

(End of this chapter)