Writer 1979: Writing for the People

Chapter 81 The Inevitability of the Decline of Scar Literature

Time flies, and December 5th will soon arrive.

The lecture was scheduled for 9 a.m. in the auditorium, and originally, only students from Northwestern University were expected to attend.

But when Xu Lu arrived a little early that morning and saw the huge crowd inside, he learned from Fang Jing that in addition to students from Northwest University, there were also students from other universities in Anxi City.

"I don't know how students from other schools found out about this, but everyone was very interested after hearing that you were coming to give a lecture."

Fang Jing also looked helpless. He hadn't expected the commotion to be so big. Their literary society had invited writers and editors to give lectures before, and although they were quite popular, they were nowhere near the level of today.

This was under some control; otherwise, it would have been much more than just these people.

Moreover, in the next couple of days, some teachers and professors from the school specifically asked him to reserve a seat for them, as they also wanted to come and hear Xu Lu's thoughts.

Among these people was even Fu Gengsheng.

For nearly six months since June, the name Xu Lu has appeared in everyone's ears many times, and each time in different circumstances.

Today he published another novel, another article on literary theory, and another poem.

This is happening far too often.

  

Therefore, Xu Lu himself is actually more interesting to people than his works.

Of course, to be precise, it's curiosity.

So when they learned that Xu Lu was going to give this lecture at Northwest University, everyone showed great interest. Even though they didn't know what he would talk about, they just came anyway.

Fortunately, despite his surprise, Xu Lu was not intimidated by the scene before him.

"Oh dear, so many people! Luckily we arrived early, otherwise there wouldn't even be room to stand!"

A little while before nine o'clock, Lu Meng, the head of the Yanhe Novel Group, spoke up, saying that their editorial department had practically turned out in full force today, with almost everyone who could spare the time coming over.

"Yes, I didn't expect Old Xu to be so popular. Not only is the auditorium packed with people, but the area outside is now surrounded by layers of people."

Lu Yao chimed in, knowing that there would be a lot of people coming today, but he didn't expect there to be so many. It seemed that he had underestimated Xu Lu's current popularity.

"By the way, what is Xiao Xu planning to talk about today?"

Team Leader Lu asked again, but Lu shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.

No one knew the details of what Xu Lu was going to talk about today, not even Lu Yao had asked him.

He might share his own work, talk about the creative process, or even something else entirely. After all, it's a lecture, so what he talks about is entirely up to him.

As the time came to 9 a.m., after the host introduced Xu Lu, the entire stage was quickly given to him.

As he walked up the stairs to the stage, the entire auditorium erupted in thunderous applause.

Those crowd gathered outside the auditorium, waiting to hear what was happening, knew that Xu Lu was taking the stage.

So I quickly kept quiet, hoping to hear it more clearly later.

As for Xu Lu, who had already arrived at the podium, he first bowed to the audience below before picking up the microphone on the table.

Hello everyone! I'm Xu Lu!

A simple greeting caused the entire auditorium to erupt in cheers again, and Mr. Fu, who was sitting in the front row, also joined in the applause.

He also whispered to another elderly professor next to him.

"Comrade Xu Lu has a great attitude. He's not intimidated at all standing there. If he came to our Chinese department as a lecturer, he probably wouldn't be too bad."

The old professor next to him nodded in agreement, and then said.

"Let's hear what he has to say today."

The question of what Xu Lu will be talking about in today's lecture has certainly piqued everyone's interest.

In the past, when other people gave lectures, they would either decide on the topic well in advance, or there would be some word of it.

This time was an exception. Not to mention others, even Fang Jing, who had invited Xu Lu over, looked completely bewildered.

Because he didn't know what Xu Lu would say today.

With everyone watching, Xu Lu quickly got to the point after introducing himself.

"At the invitation of the students of the Hope Literature Society, I am here today to give a lecture and share my thoughts. Actually, I just want to chat with you all."

As for what to talk about?

Actually, I was quite conflicted at first. If we're talking about my work, I don't have many works, but they're quite diverse.

We can talk about novels, poetry, and literary theory; and if you'd like, I can even talk about children's literature.

Standing in front of the podium, Xu Lu spoke eloquently, and his humorous remarks quickly amused the audience, instantly creating a relaxed atmosphere.

Lu Yao, standing in the crowd, looked on with admiration. This Old Xu was truly an all-rounder, good at everything he did. On his first speech, in front of so many people, he was able to remain so calm.

Compared to him, I have so much to learn.

"With too many choices, you don't know what to talk about for a while."

As for sharing our creative process, my fellow writers have certainly discussed that extensively before, so I don't plan to talk about it today.

"So what should we talk about?"

I thought about it and finally decided to talk to everyone about it —

Here, Xu Lu slightly elongated his voice before quickly adding the second half of the sentence.

"The Inevitability of the Decline of 'Scar Literature'!"

Upon hearing this, the smiles on everyone's faces froze instantly, followed by astonishment, confusion, and disbelief.

It should be noted that scar literature is still prevalent today. At the recent National Congress of Literary and Art Circles, the conference officially ended the old framework of "literature and art being subordinate to politics," established the general direction of "literature and art serving the people and serving socialism," and reiterated the "double hundred policy."

Therefore, this also effectively legitimizes the creation of "scar literature" and completely eliminates the political risks.

When almost everyone thought that the popularity of "scar literature" would reach new heights, Xu Lu actually said in front of so many people that "the decline of scar literature is inevitable."

This was absolutely unexpected for everyone present.

After a brief moment of distraction, Lu Yao, sitting in the audience, quickly felt a surge of worry.

He indeed does not approve of the passionate creation of "scar literature," a point he has already mentioned in the creation of "A Heart-Stopping Scene."

But he also knew that this trend was still prevalent, so he didn't want to express any opinions publicly, and he didn't want Xu Lu to be the one to stick his neck out.

Because this is something that does absolutely nothing but harm.

As for Old Master Fu, he was a scholar of ancient poetry and didn't have any particular preference for these things. He was just very curious as to why Xu Lu would suddenly bring this up.

He didn't think Xu Lu was making baseless accusations, much less that he was foolish enough to believe that Xu Lu was trying to gain attention.

He is already quite famous, and as long as he continues to create, even if the content of his works is controversial, it will not have a significant impact on him.

But if he were to express this opinion at this time, he would truly be putting himself in the eye of the storm.

If it were truly just for fame, he wouldn't need to do this at all.

So if he dared to say such a thing in front of so many people, he must have his own reasons.

He just wanted to know what the other party had based their conclusion on!

As for Xu Lu, he remained relaxed despite the increasingly noisy audience below the stage.

There wasn't any particular reason why he brought this up today. He was talking about his work because there was just too much to choose from, and he didn't know which one to talk about.

As for discussing creative work, unless he has the energy to give specific advice to everyone, it would be better for them to write more themselves.

Chatting for two or three hours is basically just casual rambling and doesn't really mean anything.

After thinking about it, he decided to talk to everyone about "scar literature".

That's why I made the statement just now.

After the noise subsided a little, he continued speaking.

"I believe that what I've talked about today has aroused enough curiosity in everyone. As for what you think, you can go back and think about it slowly after I finish speaking."

Before discussing the inevitability of the decline of "Scar Literature," could any student tell me why it has suddenly surged in popularity in the last two years, even becoming the most powerful literary phenomenon since the founding of the People's Republic of China?

Before discussing the decline, Xu Lu wanted to talk to them about the rise of "scar literature".

Soon, some audience members raised their hands.

"It's because 'scar literature' is highly literary and educational; it reflects the suffering in real life—"

"Because it brought literature back to the right path of realism —"

"It's because many excellent articles have emerged in this field in recent years —"

After calling on several classmates, Xu Lu finally began to express his own opinion.

"In my opinion, what those students just said is inaccurate!"

The rise of "scar literature" was actually a product of a precise resonance between people's traumatic emotions and the political environment of intellectual liberation at the time.

"Writers began to turn their attention to that past that left deep wounds, hoping to use their pens to open up the historical corners that had been covered up and buried, and to draw people out profound thoughts on historical justice and social progress from the scars of the times and the tragic fate of individuals."

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"Therefore, its rise was historically inevitable."

"In other words, its rise was not solely due to the artistic achievements of literature itself, but rather it was chosen by the times."