Literary Master 1983

Chapter 28 The Poets

There were not many people coming at the beginning, only the poets from the May Fourth Literary Society arrived early.

They found that Yu Qie had no intention of causing trouble, but was just sitting there pretending to be asleep, so they tried to win him over:

"Yu Qie, we are friends. Your novel is well written, why don't you let us publish it?"

"Luo Yihe?"

"Look, you already know me, Yu Qie."

Yu Qie shook his head and said, "Luo Yihe, your nonsense has come to my head. Our Yanda club is too influential. Many people across the country will follow your example. I am just taking precautions."

Soon people from the Spanish Department arrived: Yu Minhong and a few friends were greeting Yu Qie.

Luo Yihe noticed it and immediately stood up, "Yu Qie, are you going to fight again?"

Yu Che said, “I am here to share knowledge.”

——"Do you know how big the cultural differences are between China and abroad?" Yu Qie stood on the steps, with the water of Weiming Lake behind him. His shadow swayed on the lake and spread far away, like a magician casting a spell, bringing the future into the present.

He said, "For example, Chinese people are always used to taking a shower at night, while foreigners are used to taking a shower in the morning. Do you know why?"

The students answered: "They are more polite and care about their appearance. Chinese people only pay attention to feeling comfortable after taking a bath."

"Because they have showers, and our bathhouse is closed in the morning."

"do not know."

There are several types of answers.

Yu Qie said: "Because foreigners have more developed sweat glands and have a strong body odor, they have to take a shower in the morning to remove the odor. So, if there are foreigners discriminating against you in school, you just need to make this move..."

Yu Qi exposed his armpits, fanned himself gently, and then made a stinky expression.

More and more people began to gather around Yu Qie. His movements were large and what he said was interesting to listen to.

"When we pursue foreign girls, we should pay more attention to self-expression and be more direct. For example, now there is a foreign girl who is willing to be with you, you have just started dating, and it is already evening, what should you do next?"

Yu Minhong raised his hand and said, "Send her back to the dormitory like a gentleman."

Wang Qiang next to him shouted, "At least say something sweet to her. Chinese people are romantic!"

Someone from the May Fourth Literary Society couldn't help but interrupt, saying, "We can also share the poems we just wrote. Love is expressed in poetry."

Yu Qie revealed the answer: "No, no, you want to invite her up to watch a movie... What if there is no TV? Ask her to come up to read with you, but you say you don't have a book? You always have a mouth, right? You still want to talk to her, but it's not convenient on the street, so ask her to come to your room... She comes in, and then what, are you going to chat all night?"

Yu Qie said: "You can kiss her boldly. Whether to continue with other actions should be determined by the feeling at that time. If there is no obvious resistance, never stop. Then, you are now a Chinese with an American soul..."

"Now let's talk about how to be a real American."

"Many people want to get a visa, but they all fail. They work very hard, learn foreign languages, dress themselves up, and earnestly explain how they admire American culture and how they will support themselves after arriving in the United States... They don't know that a pilgrim is actually further away from the United States."

"Because there are so many people who want to go to the United States, when you want to accomplish something, you must first hide yourself. It's not okay to go from A to B, but from A to C to D, and back to B, that's it."

Yu Qie's speech began to work. Not only the Spanish department, but even the members of the May Fourth Literary Society wanted to defect, and they couldn't help but listen attentively.

Because Yu Qie is talking about America, that’s America!
The previously arranged support began to work.

The first person came to the May Fourth Literature Society to ask, "I saw a poem in Weiming Lake, and I also want to write one... Wait a minute, what they say over there is quite interesting, I'll go over there first to take a look." The literature society member was anxious: "Your classmate, why did you leave?"

“Because it’s boring.”

The second guy had a sharp head. He asked, "Then let me ask you, can Chinese poetry help me get foreign girls?"

"You can learn a foreign language and then translate your poems..."

"Then let me ask you, why don't you just read foreign poetry?"

The third person was Wang Qiang. He was too lazy to act. He said, "There are more people over there, there are girls over there, and they can teach us how to study abroad. I don't want to join your club. I want to go there and listen to the lectures..."

What are you talking about over there?
Yu Qie was talking about Mr. Qiao's visit to the United States, and how he kissed a little girl from an American choir on the forehead in Texas, the most conservative red state in the country, breaking the foreign narrative of demonizing China and winning the favor of ordinary people.

The audience exclaimed: "No wonder Mr. Qiao's visit to the United States was so successful? He conforms to the American way of expression."

These surprised voices were particularly harsh to the people in the literature club.

Later, things took a turn for the worse for the poets of the May Fourth Literary Society.

The audience who came because of his reputation asked them to move, because Yu Qie's voice could not be heard clearly in the outer circle, and there were already many people in front of him. If the friends from the literature club could move aside, there would be room for them.

"Please make way for us." said a classmate.

The poets gave way.

Yu Qie was talking about how in 1979, US President Jimmy Carter encountered a rabbit that jumped onto a boat while on vacation. President Carter was shocked and panickedly used the oars to drive the rabbit away... So, the media used an exaggerated "troll" rabbit and a short Carter to mock this kind-hearted president who was "afraid of rabbits."

"Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness will not earn you respect from others. They don't play with these. What they need is for you to show your strong side. Table tennis and kung fu are our strengths. They are only willing to talk about these things, but these alone are not enough..."

This was a piece of news that was known to every household in the United States. It directly led to the good old Carter losing the next re-election. At this time, the students of Yanjing University felt like they were listening to a bizarre and exotic story.

There were so many students who wanted to listen that the newcomers had no idea what had happened before. They only saw someone blocking the way and reciting their poems in a circle.

"What are you doing? I don't want to hear you recite poetry!"

"We went first. We got to this place first..."

"Get out of the way. Your poem is meaningless. I want to hear what that man has to say about America."

"We are creating Chinese poetry! Listen, students, above the ancient city/the sky is blue and vast/the elephant is a kind of god, a kind of cut flesh..."

"Please get out of the way! What is that guy talking about? He's talking about American literature. It's interesting..."

An intolerable anger erupted in the hearts of the "poets". This outburst was not directed at Yu Qie, nor at Yu Minhong and other Spanish-language scholars, but seemed to be directed at the world.

Why don't you pay attention to me?

Why did I lose attention so easily.

Poetry, rock music, jeans, including criticism of Yu Qie's articles...what they are always pursuing is the same thing, that is, the unparalleled sense of attention and the self-importance that comes with it.

Poetry simply became the most widespread and easily available carrier in the 1980s, attracting these followers.

So, in order to express their anger, the members began to push, swear, and swing their fists, and a fight bigger than the previous one began.

(End of this chapter)