Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 19: The lecture received enthusiastic response
At 500 o'clock on Friday evening, nearly senior high school students sat in the auditorium of No. Middle School, waiting for Zhang Chao to start his lecture.

After all, his miracle of getting 145 points in the Chinese language test had spread throughout the grade, and even the teachers were curious.

After Gu Yan, the head of the senior Chinese preparation group, gave a brief introduction, Zhang Chao stood on the podium, panting.

Facing the pairs of clear and foolish eyes in the audience, Zhang Chao felt as if he had returned to his past life. He skillfully flicked the microphone and made sure that there was no problem with the amplification before speaking:

"Dear students, it is not difficult to get 145 points in Chinese..."

There was a low "buzzing" sound from the audience. If the sound could be transformed into concrete weight, Zhang Chao would have been crushed into a pancake by the word "pretender".

"Everyone, please be patient. I am not saying this to show off, but to share with you sincerely. I will start with the essay that you are most interested in. Many students regard essay writing as 'metaphysics', which is essentially because they have not grasped the rules of essay review.

Is composition a test of ideas, expression, and accumulation? Yes, but not entirely. For each composition topic, in addition to examining the literal topic, we must also examine the underlying topic, that is, the subtext of the question setter. For example, the composition topic for the first mock exam this year gave us two materials.

The first material is the story of a frog boiled in warm water, and the other material is the proverb "capsize in a ditch". Finally, the scope of our writing is framed, "be cautious with difficult things and ignore easy things". Many people may judge this as a typical "dualistic thinking type" essay question at the first time, focusing on "difficult" and "easy". Some people, who examine the question more comprehensively, will include "caution" and "ignorance" together.

But in fact, when we focus on the words "be cautious in difficult situations and ignore easy ones", have we ignored the analysis of the proverb "capsize in the gutter" in the second material? There is a very important line in it - "this phenomenon is common in real life."

This sentence is very important. It is the key to unlocking the subtext of the topic - that is, the essays you write should be closely related to "real life". Does "real life" mean that any example that happens in the real world can be included in the scope of writing? If so, then the scope is endless.

The "real life" here has a clear direction. Since it is a test for high school students like us, of course it hopes that we can relate to our own reality. Have we ever been "cautious about difficult things and careless about easy things" in our lives? What inspiration and guidance does the saying "cautious about difficult things and careless about easy things" have for our lives?

Only on the basis of this topic, the underlying logic of this essay can be constructed, and then it can rise to a higher level more naturally - in this society composed of countless "we", has there ever been a "cautious approach to difficulties and negligent approach to easy things"? Many students ignore that high-level ideas need to be built up step by step. In writing, they often start with a high tone, and immediately push to the heights of "society", "country", "nation" and "all mankind", which will appear stiff.

Moreover, our question setters may not necessarily want everyone to sing high-sounding slogans. Of course, this is just an example. We can also review last year's college entrance examination essay. The material was a fable of Han Feizi, but the analysis part was very long..."

Zhang Chao spoke more and more fluently, and the teachers and students in the audience listened more and more attentively. Gu Yan whispered to Zhang Ting: "Zhang Chao is not stage-frightened at all. He spoke in a simple and profound way, and there are some angles that I have not thought of."

Zhang Ting nodded and said, "He... is indeed not simple. How come he has such a brain that he can understand the psychology of the person who sets the questions so delicately."

Gu Yan said: "You really picked up a treasure. He might be able to give everyone a surprise in this year's college entrance examination."

Zhang Ting covered her mouth and laughed, "I hope you're not frightened."

Gu Yan said: "It's his total score, this..."

Zhang Ting's smile froze when she heard that, and she didn't know what to say in response.

At the same time, Lan Ting and Song Shiyu were also whispering. They were in Class 4 and Class 9 respectively, so they couldn't sit together. However, top students always have privileges. As long as it didn't affect the order, the teacher would turn a blind eye.

"Shiyu, Shiyu..." Lan Ting waved her hand in front of Song Shiyu's eyes, and then Song Shiyu came back to her senses. "There's something wrong with Zhang Chao's face, and your eyes are wide open." Lan Ting said angrily.

Song Shiyu blushed and said, "He speaks well - how come he can do everything? He can get 145 in Chinese, get full marks in composition, and can write poems and songs... He is not afraid of giving speeches..."

Lan Ting was full of disdain: "Knowing everything? Didn't you hear how he scored in math? 8 points! It's hard to get into university..."

Song Shiyu said: "Alas, that's such a pity. I wonder where he will go after the college entrance examination?"

"Why do you care so much about where he goes?"

"I...I was just talking casually."

"Why are you feeling guilty... In fact, if Zhang Chao could participate in this year's 'New Concept Essay Contest', he might still have a chance. Unfortunately..."

"More than 300 points... If he works hard, he should be able to go to college, right? I heard that he actually has a good foundation."

"I hope..."

Zhang Chao on the stage has already started talking about the language expression of composition:
"You may have been greatly influenced by the essay "The Death of Red Hare" written a few years ago, so you may have used some classical Chinese sentences in your essays intentionally or unintentionally. But after all, we grew up and learned in the context of modern Chinese. If we don't have a special love and study of classical Chinese, we often can't use classical Chinese sentences well.

Many students think that changing the "的" in a sentence to "之", or deliberately omitting the subject, or changing a two-character word to a single-character word, is the so-called "literary talent". But these will only make your sentence look neither ancient nor modern. Not only does it not add icing on the cake, but it is like learning to walk by imitating others.

If you really want to show your literary talent, it is better to quote openly rather than revising your own sentences. I especially recommend classics such as The Book of Songs and Chu Ci, for example, a sentence like this…”

"Now let's talk about accumulation. Many students think that accumulation means memorizing all kinds of relatively new composition materials, especially character materials. For example, this year is the Olympic year, so use more examples of sports stars. But writing is not "chasing stars". The key to using good materials is to use them appropriately and to support your own views.

In fact, our textbooks have already provided a lot of materials. Especially the four courses of Chinese, history, geography, and politics, which are essentially about people and things. The materials are not limited to the deeds and famous sayings of celebrities. Historical events, social changes, and the vicissitudes of life are all wonderful writing materials. For example..."

Before he knew it, Zhang Chao had spoken for a full two hours at a learning outcomes report meeting, far exceeding the originally scheduled length of "two classes".

When Zhang Chao said, "That's all I have to say. Thank you everyone," thunderous applause broke out in the small auditorium and lasted for more than a minute.

Gu Yan said with emotion: "Last year, when we invited Professor Xie, who participated in the formulation of the college entrance examination questions, to give a lecture, the applause was not this enthusiastic."

Then he turned around and told the other teachers, "Don't spread the content of Zhang Chao's speech today. He is our senior three Chinese language group's secret weapon!"

(End of this chapter)