1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 582 Yenching University Graduates

It's the hottest time of year in Beijing.

Jiang Xian got up early, first drank some water, and then, having run the air conditioner all night, felt a little sore throat.

"I've ironed all your clothes," Zhu Lin said, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Okay, I got it. You can sleep a little longer."

Jiang Xian agreed and put on his precious custom-made Zhongshan suit from Hongdu.

The clothes were custom-made when he visited Japan. Even after all these years, they still fit him perfectly and look particularly crisp.

He's going to Yenching University today.

Xu Chenhui was already waiting downstairs.

As for the residents of Tuanjiehu, they are used to the presence of this car and know whose car it is. Therefore, even if someone looks at the car, they will quickly look away and will not gather around to discuss it.

Jiang Xian walked downstairs. Wearing a Zhongshan suit in the middle of summer made him feel incredibly hot and humid, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

I opened the door and sat down.

The air conditioning in the car was on full blast, making it very cool, which finally relieved some of the heat in my body.

"Xiao Xu, let's go."

"Okay, Brother Jiang."

Jiang Xian gave the order, and the jet-black Volga immediately started moving, quickly arriving at Yenching University's "Yan Garden" in Haidian District.

Seeing a car approaching, the security guards at Yanda University didn't stop it. These days, campuses are open to the public, and besides, anyone driving a car must have some kind of identity. Therefore, Jiang Xian entered smoothly.

He came to Yenching University today for only one thing—to receive his graduation certificate.

From this day forward, Jiang Xian can finally transform from a writer with low educational background into a proper university graduate!
He is also a graduate of Yenching University, one of the top universities in China.

Don't say that academic qualifications are useless.

How many people in China wouldn't want to be a graduate of Yenching University?
Moreover, Jiang Xian actually cared a lot about this. He had heard that many great writers only had a primary school education, such as Zheng Yuanjie. He would often talk about this in later generations and was quite proud of it.

In the eyes of many people, academic qualifications and writing ability are not the same thing at all. Moreover, throughout history, there have been very few accomplished writers with high academic qualifications, while those with low academic qualifications have made up the majority.

Therefore, most writers don't really care about their educational background, since what does literary creation have to do with education?
Unfortunately, Jiang Xian is more focused on progress.

Besides, these writers who regard academic qualifications as worthless, including Zheng Yuanjie, would they want a degree from Peking University if you threw it at them?
Who wouldn't want to improve if they could?
Moreover, it was only 1987, and a degree from Yenching University was still very valuable to Jiang Xian.

The formal graduation ceremony for this year's graduates of Yenching University has already been held. Jiang Xian didn't attend that time, but it's still necessary to attend today's one, because today's ceremony is a special graduation ceremony jointly organized by the teachers in charge of the Yenching University writing class and the Lu Xun Academy of Literature for the writers' class.

There was no reason for him not to attend such a grand occasion.

"Comrade Jiang Xian!"

To Jiang Xian's surprise, several teachers from Peking University were already waiting for him downstairs, and they immediately came up to him as soon as they saw him.

"Professor Xie!" Jiang Xian spotted an impressive figure at a glance. He was over fifty years old, with gray hair, wearing a black Zhongshan suit, and looking very energetic.

This is Xie Mian, a poet and literary critic. He serves as the vice chairman of the Beijing Writers Association and is also the director of the Institute of Chinese Language and Literature at Yenching University. The writing class jointly run by Yenching University and Lu Xun Academy of Literature is under the jurisdiction of the Institute of Chinese Language and Literature.

Therefore, Xie Mian was the direct person in charge of the writers' writing class at Yenching University.

"Comrade Jiang Xian, it's been a long time." Xie Mian smiled and shook hands with Jiang Xian. The two had met before at a meeting of the Beijing Writers Association and were familiar with each other. "I have read your graduation work. It is very well written and very moving."

"You're too kind," Jiang Xian said with a smile.

Xie Mian did not publish any literary works and has no representative works, but he made great contributions to literature, especially to modern literature.

He not only participated in the development of the discipline of contemporary Chinese literature at Yenching University, but also, under his influence, Yenching University established the first doctoral program in contemporary Chinese literature. As a result, Xie Mian became the first doctoral supervisor of contemporary literature at the university, and his students are all over the world.

However, having more students isn't necessarily a good thing. Several of his students are quite controversial, such as Xiao Ying, who criticized Han Han. He once wrote an article titled "The 'Genius Han Han' is the Biggest Scandal in Contemporary Literary World," which caused a public uproar and was directly labeled as an "anti-Han Han manifesto."

Of course, some people question whether this is purely a self-promotion stunt, because this guy attacks whoever is popular. Besides Han Han, Guo Jingming and Feng Xiaogang have also been targeted, as have Errenzhuan (a traditional Chinese folk art form), Zhao Benshan, and the Hanfu craze.
"I have to thank you," Xie Mian said, pulling Jiang Xian along. "Thank you for giving 'The Little Prince' to Yenching University. It's not just your graduation project, but also a valuable spiritual legacy you've left for Yenching University!"

The fact that "The Little Prince" was written as a graduation project for Yenching University is crucial. In the future, when "The Little Prince" becomes a classic, Yenching University will also be proud and can proudly say that this novel is a graduation project of Yenching University, blah blah blah.

In short, it's incredibly rare to have a graduation project that brings honor to the school. Let alone bringing honor, some people's graduation projects or theses are so bad that the school has to cover for them. They can't even remember which century 49 is from, let alone 1049.
"Look at what you're saying."

At this moment, facing Xie Mian's praise, Jiang Xian remained calm, "There's nothing to thank me for. Aren't I also a student of Yanda University? I just did what I was supposed to do."

As the two talked, Jiang Xian entered the venue for today's graduation ceremony, which was the auditorium of the office building of Peking University, as if surrounded by stars.

Generally speaking, major events at Yenching University are held in the main dining hall, which has 2,200 seats. However, the writing class only has a small number of people, so they don't need such a large venue. The auditorium in the office building is sufficient. This is also where Li Ao later gave a speech.

That year, Li Ao came to the mainland and gave lectures at three universities: Tsinghua University, Yenching University, and Fudan University.

He is indeed a talented man.

He spoke at Qinghua about "the fierce gaze of a Vajra".

He lectured on "The Nun's Yearning for the Worldly Life" at Fudan University.

At Yenching University, the teaching was "Bodhisattva lowers his eyebrows".

The students in the writing class have all arrived at the auditorium and are now chatting in small groups.

Compared to them, Jiang Xian's entourage was definitely the largest among all the students.

No one felt resentful.

There's nothing we can do about it; he's famous and high-ranking.

Among the students in this writing class, Jiang Xiandu is undoubtedly the most outstanding. Even disregarding his background, just considering his literary creation.

Putting everything else aside, just considering their graduation project, "The Little Prince," even the other students in the writing class had to admit that "The Little Prince" was a piece of cake for their graduation projects, easily wiping out a large number of them.

It's so well-written, there's no way to disagree!
After a while, the other university leaders from Yenching University also arrived.

To everyone's surprise, even Ding Shisun, the president of Yenching University, attended the graduation ceremony. He was the same president who personally refused to admit his grandson to Yenching University.

As is well known, graduation ceremonies of this departmental scale are usually attended by the dean or department head.

It is extremely rare for the principal to attend in person.

Furthermore, Ding Shisun was a renowned mathematician who participated in the writing of textbooks such as "Analytic Geometry," "Higher Algebra," and "Introduction to Algebra."

People who aren't from the literary world made a special trip to attend the graduation ceremony of this writing class, which shows how much Yenching University valued this first writing class.

Besides Ding Shisun, there were two other very famous figures in the literary and artistic circles at Yenching University: Ji Xianlin and a certain Cao.

The Lu Xun Academy also extended a very high level of protocol, specially inviting Feng Mu, who was in charge of the Writers Association, as well as teachers and leaders from the Lu Xun Academy, and some senior cadres and well-known editors of the Writers Association's publications.

On a societal level, the graduation ceremony also garnered significant media attention, with many reporters from well-known print media outlets present and frequently taking photos.

The writers in the writing class present were deeply moved by the dazzling array of guests and the many experts and masters who came to celebrate their graduation.

The ceremony began quickly, starting with a brief speech by Comrade Ding Shisun, the president of Yenching University:

"I am honored and very happy to be invited to this graduation ceremony today."

"Everyone here is a renowned and talented writer. Your writing skills far surpass mine. I have read some of your graduation works, which are exceptionally well-written and delightfully entertaining. Take 'The Little Prince,' for example. It is a philosophical fairy tale that uses very simple language to reveal the complexity and diversity of human nature, while also praising innocence and kindness."

Ding Shisun's recitation of "The Little Prince" drew everyone's attention to Jiang Xian.

This...this...this must be considered a personal commendation from the principal!
But they deserve praise too!
I've read The Little Prince.

It's really well written!

There's no way to get anyone to say anything else good!

After Principal Ding Shisun finished speaking, it was Feng Mu's turn to speak. Feng Mu talked about the "truth" in literature, starting from Ba Jin's "speaking the truth," and encouraged every writer present to create "pure" literature.

Then the conversation turned to The Little Prince.

"Just before the ceremony started, I chatted with President Ding Shisun for a while. He asked me which literary work would be best to recommend to the new batch of Yenching University students at the freshman orientation ceremony in September this year?"
I said: I recommend this book, "The Little Prince".

Not only because "The Little Prince" originated at Yenching University, but also because this novel is deeply moving, showing us the various ills and problems of society while inspiring people's pursuit of freedom and truth. This is what Yenching University students who have just entered the university should read, and what they should learn from it—that is, to learn to examine the world from the Little Prince's perspective and not lose their own 'inner selves'.

After Feng Mu finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

The other writers were incredibly envious.

The president of Yenching University personally recommended the novel "The Little Prince" to the new batch of Yenching University freshmen.
This is incredibly impressive!

They stared at Jiang Xian's figure with envy, as if they were rabbits possessed, wishing they were not Jiang Xian and could not write such a good novel as him.

Several more people spoke, including Ji Xianlin and Xie Mian. Among them, Jiang Xian's "The Little Prince" was mentioned several times, which shows that the novel has become a sensation throughout Yenching University and the literary world since its publication in "Children's Literature".

This would be an unparalleled honor for any writer, but for Jiang Xian, it was just that. He sat quietly in a seat near the front of the audience, listening like an ordinary writer.

After the speech, music started playing, and the writers in the writing class were invited one by one to the stage to receive their graduation certificates from Yenching University and certificates issued by the Lu Xun Academy of Literature.

Jiang Xian's name was the first one mentioned.

Clearly, this order was deliberately arranged, and the other writers in the writing workshop had no objections or anything to it.

I can't help but feel resentful!
Let's exclude his two main identities: editor-in-chief of People's Literature and director of the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature.

Based on the quality of his graduation project, "The Little Prince," he should be the first to be invited to the stage.

Jiang Xian first received the red Yenching University graduation certificate from Ding Shisun.

I was also very excited.

Receiving his graduation certificate signifies that his status as a Yenching University student has been officially recognized.

Despite his burning passion, he didn't forget to shake hands with Ding Shisun, who was smiling warmly.

"Today, our Yenching University has lost one student, but gained one more renowned alumnus," Ding Shisun said humorously.

"You're too kind. Among the alumni of Yenching University, I'm not exactly a well-known figure," Jiang Xian said honestly.

Yenching University has an incredibly impressive alumni list.

I won't list them all here, but let's just talk about Mr. Mao Dun. He was a student at Yenching University. When he enrolled at Yenching University, he made a fool of himself because his handwriting was so messy that the teacher mistook the character "鸿" in his real name, Shen Dehong, for "鸣" and he almost couldn't get in.

Later, Hu Shi, the director of the admissions office of Yenching University, saw the student's work and found that he was truly talented in writing. He couldn't bear to miss him, so he made an exception and admitted him.

From that time on, Mr. Mao Dun always wrote in regular script, and never wrote in a sloppy manner again throughout his life.

Besides Mao Dun, there are many other famous people here, such as Zhu Ziqing and Ye Shengtao. As one of the top universities in China, this place has left behind the traces of many people. Even Mr. Lu Xun came here as a lecturer, and there was also a librarian.
Jiang Xian compared himself to this dazzling list, and realized that his fame was nothing compared to theirs. He was well aware of his own limitations.

However, Ding Shisun, the president of Yenching University, saw it differently.

He had a vague feeling that the young man in front of him was not so simple.

Perhaps in the future, Yenching University will be proud that he studied there.

(End of this chapter)