Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 266 Sincerely convinced
The lecture by Liu Yimin and Professor Chen was more like an academic forum than a standalone class, and naturally it lasted longer than a typical lecture.

Liu Yimin's lecture ranged from modern Chinese literary thought to modern Western literary thought, interspersed with questions from students, and even some professors asked questions about theories they didn't quite understand.

Liu Yimin explained to everyone one by one that the cooling sensation produced by the Malva nut tea in their throats was constantly soothing their burning throats.

Literary thought shapes literary writers, literary writers shape literary works, and literary works influence their audience!

The well-known public intellectual magazine "Reading" has been established, but so far it has not published any fabricated articles by public intellectuals.

Liu Yimin was the one who was fooled before, so we need to give everyone a few warnings in advance. It may not be useful, but it's better than nothing!
The impact is a matter for the future, and these students are never short of imagination about the future.

Through Liu Yimin's narration, the vague concepts in their minds slowly began to become clear.

When we opened our doors to the world, Western culture began to slowly approach us and then began to infiltrate and erode us.

The atmosphere in the classroom grew increasingly lively, with bursts of cheers occasionally drowning out the sounds of the lecture coming from the next classroom.

Some students couldn't wait any longer and started sneaking out the back door into Liu Yimin's classroom, where they found a place to sit or stand and began to listen to the lecture.

At first, Teacher Chen was calm and composed on stage, but as more and more people left, she began to feel anxious.

He started listening intently to the voices on the other side, but couldn't hear them clearly. When the applause rang out again, Teacher Chen couldn't stand up any longer.

Taking a breath, he smiled and put down his lecture notes and chalk, then said to the few students and the motionless young teacher below, "Gentlemen, let's go and listen to what Yimin has to say!"

As he spoke, amidst the astonished gazes of the teachers and several students, he straightened up and walked out of the classroom.

His figure was frail, but he stood ramrod straight.

Entering through the back door, Ms. Chen was met with puzzled looks from the students, but she responded with a smile.

"Professor Yan, you're here!" Teacher Chen spotted Yan Jiayan in the crowd, walked over to him, and said calmly.

Yan Jiayan was initially a little embarrassed, but then smiled calmly: "Since you're here, let's listen together! This kid is quite good. He lectures with passion and a touch of humor. He talks about literary thought, but doesn't simply limit himself to it."

Especially his predictions about the future—I don't know if they're accurate, but they always seem pretty close!

"I'll put some fire to the stove, even if it's cold!" After saying that, Teacher Chen looked at Liu Yimin on the podium.

The first lecture went so smoothly, and importantly, it lacked the insecurity often found in many young teachers.

Most young teachers lack confidence when they first or even just a few months before giving a lecture, always feeling that something is going to go wrong.

When a student asks a question, my heart skips a beat.

I sighed inwardly. Otherwise, how could he have become an associate professor?

Because Yan Jiayan was taking two people to class, the seat he had reserved for himself was taken. Since the other person was an older professor, he had no choice but to sit on the steps at the back and listen to the lecture with the students.

He nodded repeatedly; staying on as a student was the right decision!

Zhu Lin sat below, smiling as she watched Liu Yimin, oblivious to the chatter of others, only hearing Professor Liu's voice.

When they saw that the water in the teacup was empty, they immediately went to refill it; the logistics were exceptionally well done.

Liu Yimin, speaking from the podium, continued: "In the future, some of you students here will choose to go abroad, while others will choose to stay in China."

Whether in China or abroad, I hope everyone can always remember that they are Chinese people nurtured by Chinese culture, and the Chinese spirit must not be lost!
Without culture and spirit, you've changed completely, except for your skin color.

Five thousand years of excellent culture, passed down from generation to generation, is enough for us to stand tall. Faced with the dross of foreign culture, I hope we can all, like our predecessors did when facing the military threat from the West, say one thing: "!"

NO! Fuck you!

"We must remain vigilant in the face of so-called cultural product intrusion. We must move forward steadily in the tide of reform and opening up!"

Finally, Liu Yimin asked with a smile, "Now that I'm handing the classroom over to you all, have you ever thought about what China will be like in the future? Everyone can share their thoughts!"

The students and professors below the stage looked at each other and began to discuss among themselves, their eyes sparkling with hope and longing. However, in such a setting, no one raised their hand easily.

Seeing this, Zhu Lin glanced around the dark classroom, and a strange sense of mission made her stand up:
"The future will definitely be filled with multi-story houses, electricity, telephones, spacious homes, and convenient living. There will be abundant resources and well-developed transportation."

Zhu Lin spoke for a while, and Liu Yimin could tell from her words that the life she was talking about was the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

The slogan "Upstairs and downstairs, electric lights and telephones" has been chanted for many years, but it has not yet been realized for the vast majority of people and regions.

"This student gave a good lecture. Come back to the teacher after class to collect a small gift!" Liu Yimin said to Zhu Lin with a smile.

Liu Zhenyun, Zhang Manling, and others who had met Zhu Lin exchanged a glance with pursed lips. These two were truly a perfect match, one singing in harmony with the other, both on and off stage.

With Zhu Lin taking the lead, everyone started talking more. Yenching University students have a broad perspective, so they talk more.

What if in the future all the roads in China were like the main roads of Beijing, and all the cities in the country had buildings as tall as those in Beijing?

Science and engineering students say that trains will become faster and faster in the future, and there will be more and more motorcycles in the country, etc.

Liu Yimin described to them his ideal China: towering buildings, abundant resources, advanced technology, and convenient transportation.
As everyone was dreaming, the class finally came to an end. After lecturing all morning, Liu Yimin's legs almost gave way the moment he stepped off the podium.

If this happened to an older professor, his bladder would have been unable to handle it long ago.

Yang Hui said to everyone, "Wasn't it right to keep this kid here?"

"Liu Yimin, Liu Yimin, Liu Yimin, this surname is all saying that we should leave behind a Liu Yimin, hahaha, how can we not leave!" Zhu Guangqian teased.

A group of students reluctantly left the classroom. Many of them made a point of walking up to Liu Yimin before leaving and calling out, "Goodbye, Professor Liu!"

After most of the people had left, Liu Yimin looked at Teacher Chen, who had unexpectedly appeared beside him. Chen Guoan clapped at Liu Yimin and said, "Well done!"

Yan Jiayan smiled and said, "Yimin, I'm thinking of starting to schedule classes for you from today."

After finally seeing the person off, Liu Yimin sat in the classroom, panting, and said wearily to Zhu Lin, "Why did you come?"

"Professor Liu, this is your first lecture today, I had to come and support you!" Zhu Lin said with a smile.

Liu Zhenyun and a few others, knowing better than to join in the fun, left the classroom.

“It’s not just me, my parents came too, and my teacher’s wife came too. But the three of them were at the back and should have left by now. They wanted to chat and didn’t want us to disturb them.”

Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin walked out of the classroom, but as expected, they did not see Zhu's father, mother, or teacher's wife. They didn't know where they had gone.

At this moment, they were leisurely strolling around the campus of Yenching University. Zhu's father sighed that Liu Yimin was born for the classroom. His calm and composed demeanor was nothing like that of a teacher who was standing on the podium for the first time!

His lectures were also highly "inspiring," repeatedly igniting the students' emotions. "If I can get this many students to attend a single lecture, then I've truly been a teacher for a reason!" Mr. Zhu said to Mrs. Zhu and Li Yuru.

Li Yuru praised Liu Yimin happily while touring Yenching University.

The professors and teachers of the Chinese Department gathered again. Yan Jiayan looked around and said, "The lecture has been given, and everyone has listened. Who agrees with Liu Yimin's promotion to associate professor after graduation? Who disagrees?"

Seeing that no one was saying anything more, Yan Jiayan smiled and said, "Then it's settled. The department will report it to the university, and the university will officially approve it!"

After the meeting, Yang Hui showed off his copies of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Love in the Time of Cholera" to several senior professors.

His favorite work is "One Hundred Years of Solitude," a truly unique narrative style.

"The book says it rained for four years, eleven months, and two days, which sounds absurd, but compared to reality, it doesn't seem so absurd!"

Liu Yimin also took Zhu Lin around Yenching University. Some students who had just finished class saw this scene and thought enviously, "This must be the 'gift' that Comrade Liu Yimin mentioned in class. I wish I had raised my hand to answer the question earlier."

"This is our Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press building. Hmm? Why is there someone inside?"

Liu Yimin led Zhu Lin over, and there were not only people inside, but also quite a few people.

"Oh, so you guys are secretly having a gathering here behind my back, the club president's back?" Liu Yimin said to them with a smile.

Li Congren and the others glanced at Liu Yimin with surprise, then smiled and invited him inside. Zhu Lin followed along, watching the group of foreigners, each with their own unique features.

"Liu, you're never here, so we had to come by ourselves. We were just telling stories about China from our own lives. And who is this beautiful young lady next to you?"

"My boyfriend!"

"Welcome, welcome!" Dozens of people applauded and invited Zhu Lin to introduce himself.

These international students were talking about things that happened to them, and Liu Yimin found them quite interesting. Some of the embarrassing anecdotes made everyone laugh so hard they were doubled over.

“Liu, why don’t you tell everyone one too!” said Kliffe from Malta.

These international students are about to return home, and everyone cherishes these last moments. When Liu Yimin is not around, they often get together.

"Let me tell you something that happened to me. Last year, I went to the beach to watch the tide. By evening, the tide had completely receded, and only a sliver of light remained on the horizon. I was walking on the beach, and guess what?"

"What's wrong?"

"I met a little boy!"

"Hah—"

"This little boy keeps picking things up. Can you guess what he's picking up?"

"What are you picking up?"

"Collecting fish!"

"Hah—"

"The key question is, what are we going to do with collecting fish? Don't you know?"

"What for? We're definitely taking it back to eat!"

"Hey, you guys don't know this, the little boy is throwing fish that are dying of thirst into the sea. Just think, how many can a little boy throw into the sea? I knew it! With so many fish, how could you save them all by yourself!"

"Yes, how can we save them!"

"Guess what the little boy said?"

"What do you mean? Tell me quickly!"

"The boy said he knew, but this fish cares, then picked up another fish and said, this fish cares too!"

After he finished speaking, some people asked if he had saved all the fish. Others applauded the little boy, thinking he was amazing.

"We Chinese people value life very much. We value not only human life, but also the life of all things in nature."

Zhu Lin, standing nearby, wondered when Liu Yimin had gone to see the little boy. Could it be that he had secretly gone to Beidaihe again behind her back?
"Liu, you explained it so well!" Li Congren said.

“I’m not telling a story, I’m stating the facts. There are countless examples like this in our country.”

At the request of several international students to continue speaking, Liu Yimin spoke a few more times.

For example, there's the story of how, decades ago, a sparrow landed on a power line, and the county leaders at the time ordered a power outage throughout the county to save the sparrow.

There was also the story of the emperor practicing archery in the spring, when he accidentally shot a pregnant deer, which ran into the forest wounded.

The emperor felt guilty, so he ordered his men to search the mountains. They finally found the injured deer, and the emperor summoned many famous doctors to heal it before releasing it back into the forest.

A group of people marveled at the Chinese people's emphasis on life, believing that all civilized countries should be like this. Li Congren even planned to tell this story to Americans after returning to China.

“Li Congren, you can submit your work to American magazines!” Liu Yimin said with a smile.

After spending another hour at the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, Liu Yimin's voice finally gave out, and he left Yenching University.

Zhu Lin asked Liu Yimin when he went to the beach to see the little boy, and why he didn't invite him to do such a great thing as saving fish.

"I couldn't sleep at night, so I wandered around the beach and stumbled upon it!" Liu Yimin made up.

A few days later, Yan Jiayan found Liu Yimin and told him about the future establishment of the Teaching and Research Office of Modern Chinese and Western Literary Thought, asking him to pay attention to it.

After graduation, I will take on the responsibility of leading this teaching and research office.

"Your decision to stay on as faculty after graduation has been officially approved by the university. Moreover, Vice President Ji and the President have given high praise to our Chinese Department's bold move, believing that we should not be bound by conventions!"

After seeing Yan Jiayan off, Liu Yimin went to the Beijing People's Art Theatre to watch the rehearsal of "Buttons." Lan Tianye and Zhu Lin sat in the audience below the rehearsal area.

"How is it?" Liu Yimin quietly sat down next to the two of them.

"Well done, a three-act play, one scene for each conflict. Xiao Zhu has put in a lot of effort," Lan Tianye said to Liu Yimin in a low voice, turning his head to the side.

Zhu Lin nodded slightly to Liu Yimin, while the assistant director remained serious and unsmiling during the rehearsal.

(End of this chapter)