Tokyo: The life of a literary giant begins with home self-defense!

Chapter 277: Becoming the Great Devil of Japanese Literature 1

Chapter 277: Becoming the Great Devil of Japanese Literature 1
Whether to choose to compromise or not, according to the eldest lady, not voting for "Beauty and Sorrow" in the Group Portrait Award has always been a question that Ryukawa Toru has been thinking about.

If he just avoids it, will the so-called public opinion "forgive" him?
Is it really true that Imamura Yukawa doesn't care, just to throw some dirty water on him?

All the thoughts made Longchuan Che smile when he arrived at the so-called [Mutual Learning among Civilizations and Reconstruction of World Literature] scene.

There are many scholars and teachers. Today's topic is "The Tale of Genji". Should this classic island work be retranslated and reconstructed into world literature?

"That's pretty ambitious."

After looking at today's discussion, Longchuan Che pressed the brim of his hat and sat down.

"The Tale of Genji" is the oldest novel in Japan. If it were really used by Western scholars to create world literature, Japanese scholars would commit seppuku to apologize.

The possibility of world literature was first proposed by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who read a Chinese novel called "Flower Notes" and believed that if German culture wanted to be independent, it should not follow the practice of other countries in exploring and reviving German local culture and folk traditions.

He wanted a culture that was broader in scope and better in quality.

Thus the concept of world literature was put forward.

At the forum, a professor from Princeton was talking about the origins of world literature, while Matsueda Muko and Ryukawa Toru were sitting in the corner.

"It does seem like a kind of literary assimilation."

It was created to help Germany get rid of the influence of French culture, but if it wanted to enter, it had to go through a process of rejection and convergence.

The more that professor named Martin Pisner spoke, the more Songzhi Muzi felt that what her boyfriend said made sense.

The literary boundaries between countries are not so easy to break. To enter, you have to give up something.

If national customs and traditional culture really have to reach the point where everyone else can understand them, will Japanese culture still be Japanese culture?
"Are you still interested in this?"

Matsueda Muko's explanation was very logical, and Takeda Akane was a little speechless.

She felt a headache just listening to this lecture, but Songzhi Muzi actually understood it.

"This is war, Akane."

The little girl imitated Ryukawa Toru and looked serious towards Takeda Akane.

After listening to Songzhi Muzi's description of the cause and effect, the girl sneered.

"Let's not talk about the fact that Japanese literature and culture are independent. If there is really a cultural entry, who does Ryukawa Tetsu think he is?"

Takeda Akane understood what was going on. It seemed that these two people came to participate in the literary exchange with some lofty ideals.

But Matsueda Kiko has a slight love-brain problem, but Takeda Akane doesn't.

"Look there."

The girl raised her chin towards the podium.

At this time, the Princeton professor finished talking about the origins of world literature and spoke to the people in the audience in a serious tone.

“The era of world literature is coming. Everyone should contribute their part to accelerate the arrival of the era of world literature.”

“I suggest that the University of Tokyo start a project to reconstruct The Tale of Genji worldwide, leaving out some of the minor details, so as to help Japanese literature better go global.”

Translation and reading.

This is a way to help other countries better understand their own country's literary culture.

But this Princeton professor is clearly not a simple literary translator.

He suggested abandoning some obscure things in this translation so that Japanese literature can be better integrated into world culture.

There was silence at the scene, and then a Japanese scholar immediately sneered.

As people who are all involved in literature, everyone knows the purpose of these Westerners.

Abandoning national culture is equivalent to being colonized by an alternative, not to mention that the other party’s first target is something like "The Tale of Genji".

"The Tale of Genji is the world's first novel, and I don't think it makes sense to focus on translating Western literature."

The person who spoke was Kaga Yufu, whom Ryukawa Tetsu had met during the New Year's Writers Tour. Although this writer is currently focusing on the international market, he has no intention of letting his own culture be eroded by other countries' cultures.

Japanese culture belongs to the East Asian cultural circle and has its own heritage.

"Mono no aware, yugen, wabi-sabi, it's hard for Westerners to even understand, how do you translate this?"

The exchange meeting was for scholars from the two schools to take turns giving speeches, and then people in the audience would give suggestions and ask questions.

Martin Pisner opened his mouth.

"Western literature emphasizes narrative, while Eastern literature prefers to express emotions through scenery. I suggest that we change to a direct narrative approach, such as here..."

The professor in a suit pointed at the projection behind him.

A short sentence was projected onto the white screen.

"If the idle clouds were corpses and turned into ashes, the evening sky would still be dear to me when I look at it from afar."

"This is a poem written by Master Guanghua. It actually expresses the other party's grief. This can be done by using a narrative technique similar to Chandler."

Raymond Chandler is a famous American writer, and he once wrote "The Long Goodbye".

Professor Martin tapped his absent-minded assistant, signaling him to turn to the next page.

"The clouds are like dry bones, thin and white. If they are the remains of a loved one, then they are not scary."

The other party translated the originally obscure sentence structure which also had a touch of traditional literature.

But it was immediately refuted.

"If the idle clouds were corpses and turned into ashes, the evening sky would still be dear to me when I look at it from afar."

"This sentence can be translated in many different ways. Even your so-called expression of grief is not accurate."

"The Tale of Genji" is the earliest classical Chinese novel, and there is even more than one version within the island country.

Longchuan Che saw a scholar and said.

"The sky is filled with hazy clouds, the beauty's soul is gone, leaving only smoke, the smoke turns into evening clouds, prompting my feelings."

"This is the content compiled by Mr. Miyagi. In addition to Master Guanghua's grief for his relatives, he also expressed his gratitude for his partner."

The Tale of Genji was created in the 11th century, and its various cultural contents have been sorted out countless times by Japanese scholars.

The other party attempted to present "The Tale of Genji" in a Westernized form, but was immediately rebuked by Japanese scholars.

"You see it."

Professor Martin walked off the stage in disgrace, and Takeda Akane raised her eyebrows at Matsueda Kiko.

Regardless of whether the purpose of this seminar is to assimilate Japanese culture, the scholars from the University of Tokyo sitting here are no pushovers.

National duo, University of Tokyo.

With the foundation and strength here, we are not afraid of those despicable people.

Cultural invasion is a slow and long process. With people like those from the Institute of Oriental Literature here, we don’t have to worry about this kind of thing for at least the next hundred years.

"Ah, then Archer won't be of any use."

Still holding the idea that Ryukawa Toru was here to resist Western scholars, Matsueda Muko sighed.

If Ryukawa Toru can really protect Japanese culture from the invasion of Western ideas, then cheating will not be a big deal.

"I'll leave for a while."

The seminar will have an intermission.

Long Chuan Che stood up, walked forward, carrying the little assistant who had been secretly looking over here, and walked towards Professor Martin.

(End of this chapter)

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