1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 528 "Who says there's no postmodernism?"

"Here it comes! The Literary Gazette has published a commentary!" An editor rushed in excitedly.

"It's in the Literary Gazette?" The editors of Contemporary magazine immediately surrounded them.

The Wenyi Bao (Literary Gazette), a newspaper that represents the winds of literary and artistic trends in New China, is a focus of close attention for all literary and artistic workers.

If other places published the review articles of "The Playboy", the editors of "Contemporary" might not care too much.

But the Literary Gazette was different.

The fact that the Wenyi Bao (Literary Gazette) was able to publish the novel "The Playboy" symbolized, in a sense, the approval of the official will.

That would definitely be worth watching.

"Hey, it's Yan Gang's commentary!" someone shouted.

"Teacher Liu, why didn't you tell us?"

"That's it."

Liu Yin, who was mentioned next to her, blushed and said, "I only knew that he wrote it, but he didn't tell me that he submitted it to the Wenyi Bao (Literary Gazette)."

“Professor Yan Gang wrote a commentary, which is a big deal. You kept it from us. That’s not fair of you.”

"Teacher Liu is trying to give us a surprise, haha."

"Alright, alright, stop talking. Let me see what Comrade Yan Gang wrote!" Zhang Zhong'e, who had come to inquire, asked.

Seeing that Zhang Zhong'e had arrived, the editors dared not chatter any longer. The editor who brought in the *Wenyi Bao* (Literary Gazette) handed it to Zhang Zhong'e. In a very prominent section, Zhang Zhong'e saw Yan Gang's commentary, "Thoughts on Reading Jiang Xian's 'Playboy'":
Our society needs a Jiang Xian!
In Jiang Xian's novel "The Playboy," all the "three Ts" (three substitutions) represent a resolution on a spiritual level:
To take the blame for one's husband and make one's wife happy; to arrange a date for one's doctor and make one's girlfriend happy; to award a literary prize to a struggling writer and alleviate his disappointment at not winning one; to be an audience member for an obscure comedian and comfort his unrealistic ambitions; and to use all sorts of witty and eloquent language to persuade homosexuals, masturbators, and those who complain about the high price of meat.
"Playboys" don't solve real problems; they only soothe and calm people's anger and anxiety.

From this perspective, Jiang Xian's "The Troublemaker" is actually very valuable.

The characters in Jiang Xian's works, whether Ma Qing, Yang Zhong, or Yu Guan, are all minor figures who lack the desire and ability to change the system and rules.

However, they all achieved a spiritual escape from reality through self-deprecation and irony, which is exactly what society needs most right now.

It is clear that the popularity of "The Troubleshooters" is not due to any major breakthrough or excellence in its literary quality, but rather because the Chinese people collectively chose this novel.

Contemporary Chinese society needs a story like "The Mischievous Ones," and it needs a Jiang Xian.
Zhang Zhong'e was all smiles after reading an article.

First of all, the author of this article, Yan Gang, is not only a writer, but also has held important positions in People's Literature, Literary Gazette and Selected Novels. He is quite famous in the domestic literary criticism circle. Readers familiar with him know that his criticism has an eight-character style: clear likes and dislikes, and a dignified and upright character.

Furthermore, the publication of this article was the "Literary Gazette," which is the most well-known and influential publication in the field of literature and art in our country, and its status is beyond doubt.

The fact that the novel "The Playboy" was published in this newspaper is enough to show that the novel has been recognized and affirmed by the mainstream literary world, especially by official organizations.

This relieved Zhang Zhong'e greatly.

Is the novel "The Troubleshooters" dangerous?
Of course it's dangerous.

In his novel, Jiang Xian treats serious words in a playful way, and the protagonists openly identify themselves as vulgar and even openly affirm vulgarity as a value with meaning.

Openly advocating the use of meaninglessness and boredom as tools to combat life.

This novel is too dark!
That's incredibly outrageous!

Most importantly, Jiang Xian has a criminal record.

Zhang Zhong'e remembers that Jiang Xian once published a novel called "The Ferocious Animals".

When this novel was first published, it sparked heated debates in China.

The most famous critic was Liu Xinwu, a writer who had just become famous for his "scar literature" such as "The Class Teacher," who bluntly labeled this novel as "hooligan literature."

Not to mention the attacks launched against Jiang Xian by other writers, critics, and theorists at the time.

This was a very lively event back then.

Therefore, before the publication of "The Troublemakers", Zhang Zhong'e was very worried that "The Troublemakers" would once again be attacked by a group of conservatives who disliked it.

However, it now appears that the situation is much better than they had anticipated.

The novel "The Troublemaker" has been widely accepted by both literary circles and the general public.

It was not met with indifference from readers, nor did it receive any high-profile criticism. It was not criticized by any literary giants, and it even made it into the "Literary Gazette" and received a commentary from Yan Gang!

"That's great news!" Zhang Zhong'e couldn't suppress his smile.

Perhaps it's due to the initiation and promotion of various literary trends in recent years, coupled with the concessions made by modernist literature to avant-garde literature, the liberation of people's minds, and Jiang Xian's rising status in the literary world.
Moreover, "The Troubleshooters" did not cross any red lines; it merely skirted the edge, using satire and banter to attack or express heretical ideas in certain sensitive areas.

Everything seemed to fall into place naturally!
All of these factors combined to enable the novel "The Playboy" to quickly seize the high ground in public opinion.

"Hey, stop looking at Professor Yan Gang! This literary review is even more brilliant than Professor Yan Gang's!" Just as the editors were discussing Professor Yan Gang's literary review, another editor said anxiously.

"There's another one?"

"who?"

The editor who had just spoken quickly slammed a copy of "Literary Review" onto the table.

"Look, it's a commentary article written by Comrade Wang Meng."

"Who?"

"Comrade Wang Meng?"

"Oh dear, we really have to take a look."

The editors of Contemporary magazine were in an uproar again.

This time, I was much more excited than when I saw Yan Gang's comments earlier.

First of all, "Literary Review" is a national-level journal supervised by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Moreover, unlike the Literary Gazette, Literary Review focuses on the field of literary criticism and is a leading professional journal in the field, with a wide and lasting influence in the entire Chinese literary criticism community.

Naturally, only a publication of this caliber is worthy of articles written by someone of Wang Meng's stature. In the literary world, there are many excellent writers who are also outstanding critics; the literary scene is not lacking in such figures, and Wang Meng belongs to this category as well.

As everyone knows, Wang Meng is known for her quick wit and prolific output of novels, as well as a considerable number of literary criticisms, including countless discussions on literary theory, creative writing, and reviews of writers and their works.

However, after Wang Meng came to power, he became less active in the literary world, and few of his articles were published.

This is also due to their status.

But this time, he surprisingly didn't hesitate to write such a review for Jiang Xian's novel.

This not only expresses my appreciation for the novel "The Troubleshooters," but also my appreciation for the author Jiang Xian.

Zhang Zhong'e glanced at it; the title was "On the Postmodernist Literature Embodied in the 'Playboys'":
"I have heard some comrades say that China has no postmodernism."

"How could it not be?"

“I must refute this; yes, it exists, and it appears in Jiang Xian’s writing.”

Zhang Zhong'e knew what "postmodernism" was and had some understanding of it, so when he saw this sentence, he was so surprised that he could hardly close his mouth.

Unlike Yan Gang, Wang Meng's status prevented him from expressing his views in a high-pitched manner.

However, in his literary review of Jiang Xian, he still managed to give such a startling conclusion right from the beginning.

Of course, while Zhang Zhong'e knows about "postmodernism," there are naturally those who are unfamiliar with philosophy and do not understand what "postmodernism" is.

These readers are able to grasp the high level of Wang Meng's assessment, but their lack of understanding of "postmodernism" will certainly affect their comprehension of this commentary.

Even in the editorial department of *Contemporary* magazine at that time, many editors, upon seeing this sentence, couldn't help but inquire around:

What is postmodernism?
"Postmodernism" has only been introduced to China for a short time, and most people are still relatively unfamiliar with this concept.

Fortunately, Wang Meng had already considered this issue, and he wrote in a subsequent article:

"What is postmodernism?" I would like to explain it using a quote from the philosopher Caputo:
Modern themes are universal and precise, while postmodern themes are different, individualized, and appreciate irregularity and chaos.

In other words, we pursue progress and rationality, while postmodernism rejects the idea of ​​pursuing progress and rationality.

For example, it means refusing to acknowledge the hierarchy between superiors and subordinates, rejecting moral blackmail among relatives, and refusing to conform to worldly values.
In short, postmodernism is about values, outlook on life, morality, marriage, and love; it's about opposing the confinement of one's vibrant life to these fixed, universal narratives.

"As expected of Wang Meng." Zhang Zhong'e couldn't help but admire him. In just a few words, he explained "postmodernism" so clearly, a concept that would require a lengthy explanation.

"The novel 'The Playboy' cannot tell a complete story because life itself has been fragmented, the story has ended, and the meaning has been lost."

"In other words, the world of 'The Troubleshooters' is a world where meaning dissipates, and in this sense, Jiang Xian faithfully reproduces life."

"The inner world of the characters in the novel is just as boring as the outer world. People use irony to relieve the pressure of life. The meaningless inner world is a reproduction of the meaningless outer world."

“The characters in Jiang Xian’s works are able to maintain a passion for boredom in life, using emptiness to overcome emptiness, and boredom to overcome boredom, just like Hegel’s ‘comic subject’, in which the subject and the world achieve a kind of virtual relationship.”

"These characters calmly accept the loss of meaning, without resisting, but facing it through dissolution. They possess postmodern qualities, and all their postures are postures of dissolution. Life is full of difficulties, anguish, and mistakes. Faced with the indifference of the times, people can only become indifferent characters. They simply empty themselves, becoming remnants of the world of meaning, eliminating their unhappiness in an unhappy life."

"Thus, Jiang Xian's novels embody the characteristics of postmodernism, which opposes rationality and the sublime, and advocates the full expansion of secular desires. They deconstruct the traditional sense of belonging and also have the shadow of postmodernism in the depths of their deconstruction of the traditional value system."

"Comrade Wang Meng has passed the baton to Comrade Jiang Xian," Long Shihui couldn't help but exclaim when discussing the commentary in private.

Zhang Zhong'e wholeheartedly agreed with this.

Because Wang Meng's article, "On the Postmodernist Literature Embodied by 'Playboys'," is truly insightful.
spare no effort!

Zhang Zhong'e and Long Shihui are both veteran comrades who have witnessed Wang Meng's rise to power. They are extremely familiar with Wang Meng and are also well aware of the internal divisions within Wang Meng herself.

Because Wang Meng's early years were a highly political era, and after the emergence of new literature in the 80s, he gradually began to avoid his past entanglements with politics.

So when Wang Meng found himself in a position where he could no longer escape the entanglement, it seemed he was going to hand over the baton to Jiang Xian himself.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xian was having a celebratory banquet at Quanjude.

This meal was treated by Xie Jin, and the entire cast and crew of "Hibiscus Town" were present.

At the recently concluded "Outstanding Film Award of the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television," which later became the "Huabiao Award" ceremony, the film "Hibiscus Town" won the "Outstanding Feature Film" award.

Here comes the interesting part.

Why is it "Outstanding Feature Film" and not "Best Feature Film"? You should know that later generations have had an award for "Best Feature Film".

This is quite intriguing.

However, the crew of "Hibiscus Town," including director Xie Jin, screenwriter Li Zhun, and even Jiang Xian himself, were already quite satisfied.

After being suppressed for so long and going through so many obstacles last year, "Hibiscus Town" finally premiered at the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival at the beginning of the year.

Not only did she win two Golden Rooster Awards for "Best Feature Film" and "Best Actress," but she also earned the title of "Golden Rooster Best Actress."

The Hundred Flowers Awards were even more impressive, with five major awards: Best Feature Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.

In other words, "Hibiscus Town" won the entire Hundred Flowers Award!

Although it ultimately won the "Outstanding Film Award" from the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television, it only received the "Outstanding Feature Film" award along with other films.

But this result is enough to satisfy the entire team behind "Hibiscus Town".

Such an achievement is enough to make the film "Hibiscus Town" a legendary film. Looking back at Chinese-language films in the future, the numerous honors bestowed upon "Hibiscus Town" will solidify its immortal status in the Chinese film industry.

At the end of the meal, Xie Jin, his face flushed, raised his glass.

"Comrade Jiang Xian, I salute you. Without you, there would be no movie."

"Oh, you're too kind."

After Jiang Xian finished his drink, several other members of the production team came to toast him one by one.

Soon it was Liu Xiaoqing's turn.
(End of this chapter)