Chapter 216 The Trial
From the end of the long table to the seats, all eyes converged on the man at the door; this figure blurred by the sunlight became the vanishing point of the entire venue.
Wang Zixu raised his eyes and looked past Tian Zhenlei and Ji Shaofei, past Duan Xiaosang with a playful look, past Gu Zao who stared at him thoughtfully, past Xiao Mengyin with a complicated face, and Zhong Junmin with his eyes closed to rest, until he reached the door facing Shi Tonghe.
The two people's eyes met, and Shi Tonghe gave him a smile that didn't look like a smile.
A bit ugly.
After An Younan analyzed it, in the end, Wang Zixu still stood here fine, which made her face feel a little hot.
An Younan has been smart since she was a child, but there are only two types of people she cannot guess: one is a fool, and the other is a ruthless person.
Seeing Wang Zixu appear at the door, she couldn’t tell whether he was stupid enough or ruthless enough.
No doubt he is stupid enough. If he is not stupid, he should know better than to go to the tiger mountain if he knows there are tigers in the mountain.
But he is ruthless enough. If he wasn't ruthless, he wouldn't have gotten into such a quarrel with Shi Tonghe, just for his boring ideals and self-esteem.
He is not like a dog that cannot be adopted, nor is he like a tiger that can sit alone in the mountains. He is like a wolf.
He was like a lone wolf that had lost its fur, taking cautious and detailed steps towards the goal.
Shen Qingfeng crossed his legs, stared at Wang Zixu with a narrow expression, and was the first to speak out:
"Zixu, why are you here? You can step into such an important occasion. It seems that you don't care about this seminar."
We haven't seen this guy for a long time, but this guy is still so annoying.
“Vice President Shen, you came to the meeting early. Do you care about me too much?”
Everyone laughed. Only Shen Qingfeng looked at him strangely, feeling that this kid was a little different.
A person at the long table greeted with a smile: "Come here, your seat is here."
He stretched out his hand and pointed to the last chair at the end of the long table.
Wang Zixu glanced at the chair and stood upright opposite Shi Tonghe. If you draw a boundary between Chu and Han on the table, he will fly over and eat you.
“Shouldn’t I be sitting in the spectator seat?”
The man at the long table looked kindly: “Old Shi has high expectations for you, and specifically asked them to move your seat over for the convenience of guidance.”
Wang Zixu sat down on the chair and looked forward. Experts and scholars were sitting in two neat rows, extending to the Shitong River at the end of the line of sight. There was a strong sense of oppression.
Almost everyone on the table stared directly at him. This is less like a seminar and more like a trial.
“Ahem.”
Xiao Mengyin, who was sitting at the bottom, not far from Wang Zixu, coughed twice, moved her arm, and touched the pen on the table to the ground. She bent down to pick it up, and when she raised her back, Wang Zixu saw that there was an extra piece of paper on the ground.
Shi Tonghe said: "Since everyone is here and the time is up, let's start now. Editor-in-chief Li Minyang, please make an opening statement."
Li Minyang cleared his throat and said: "First of all, thank you very much, colleagues, for coming to this seminar..."
Xiao Mengyin put her hands to her mouth, moved her legs under the table slowly, stepped on the piece of paper with her feet, and slowly pushed it to Wang Zixu's feet. She used Li Minyang's voice to cover her movements, so that her movements were not exposed.
Wang Zixu didn’t know what Xiao Mengyin was up to. After glancing at her and meeting her eyes, Xiao Mengyin tapped the table with her index finger. Seeing that Wang Zixu didn't respond, she kicked his calf with her toe.
Wang Zixu had no choice but to bend down, crumple her paper into a ball, and pick it up from the ground.
Put it on the table, unfold it gently, and see only one line of words written on the paper:
“Be sure to control your emotions!”
The last exclamation mark of this sentence was bolded with a pen and repeated on the outline, making it look extremely dazzling.
He looked back at her, and she immediately looked away, focusing on her seminar materials.
Wang Zixu knew what she meant.
Xiao Mengyin didn’t ask him to think about how to refute, nor did he mention being mentally prepared. He only said to control his emotions.
Because of the results discussed at this symposium, "Fire in the Stone" is bound to be stamped with a brand, which will accompany this work throughout its life.
But works are just works. To readers who don’t know what’s going on, it’s just a novel written by a new author that is not well-received—isn’t this natural?
Therefore, he must control his emotions.
He still has a chance. If he can't control his emotions, he will have no chance at all.
Shi Tonghe specially placed his seat here just to prevent him from controlling his emotions and to see his defeat.
If he fails to restrain himself and rises up, he will be in trouble.
Wang Zixu raised his head, Li Minyang had just finished speaking, and Shi Tonghe took over:
"Teacher Li Minyang just said that today we are witnessing the rise of the flame of "Fire in the Stone", but we must also realize that seminars are not a place for research instead of publicity.
"Our seminars cannot become friendly and boastful, only saying good things and not daring to offend others. As the night watchmen of literature, we must always hold high the sacred fire of inheriting the literary tradition, and use our collective wisdom to chart the burning trajectory for the reckless sparks. "
After saying that, he smiled and said: "That is to say, we can't let this fire burn out. "
After a pause, Shi Tonghe continued: "I hope that all of you here can use the Spring and Autumn style of writing to shape future generations, so as to preserve literary courage and maintain the standard of literary awe. ”
After Shi Tonghe said this, several people in the room frowned.
At first glance, what he said seems to be a cliché, but when you think about it carefully, it is extraordinary, and every sentence has a subtext.
This seminar has not even started yet, but I started to say that the seminar is not a place for research instead of publicity.
Which of the current seminars does not have the purpose of publicity?
Even Shi Tonghe’s son’s seminar was held to promote his works.
It goes on to say, "Don't be afraid of offending people", which means don't be afraid of offending Wang Zixu; "Demarcate a trajectory for the reckless flames", which means that the flames have burned out; "Carve the younger generation with the brushwork of Spring and Autumn", which means feel free to scold and criticize harshly.
In short, after saying so much, I have already shown my attitude that "this work should be criticized without mercy", and every sentence is a precaution.
At this point, even those who don’t understand the dispute between the two can understand the undercurrent of this seminar.
Shi Tonghe continued: "Now, the first step is to introduce the work."
After finishing speaking, he put down the materials in his hand, raised his head and said: "Since this work is relatively long, we can just ask one representative to introduce it. We don't need everyone to come."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Mengyin immediately raised his hand and said: "Teacher Shi, let me do it."
Shi Tong He raised his eyes and looked at her: "Are you impressed?"
Xiao Mengyin whispered: "I, I have written a speech, I don't want to waste it."
When introducing the work, there is no need to give a detailed analysis, just extract the plot, which avoids directly criticizing the work itself.
Xiao Mengyin already has a headache about how to "freely criticize" later. If he speaks now, he won't have to speak later.
Just as Shi Tonghe was about to speak, Gu Zao raised his hand again and said:
"Teacher Shi, it’s up to me to do this. I read the work in detail and stayed up all night last night. "
Shi Tonghe nodded: "Let Gu Zao do it."
Xiao Mengyin glared at Gu Zao, full of resentment.
Gu Zao picked up his speech and said loudly:
“No nonsense, let’s get straight to the point. This book covers the period from 1913 to 2013. It focuses on the fateful entanglement of five generations of the Liu family and the Zhou family in East China, from the blood feud at the end of the Boxer Rebellion to the commercial wave after the reform and opening up. The two families have experienced betrayal, redemption and forgetfulness in a century of drastic changes...
"The author uses 'Mars bursting out of stone' as a metaphor to embed individual destiny into the national epic. Through the struggle of five generations between the patriarchal system, revolutionary beliefs and the logic of capital, he explores how historical violence tempers the resilience of human nature and the possibility of reconciliation...
"The work reconstructs folk memory with a multi-line narrative. The research on historical details is quite ingenious, and some chapters show an astonishing narrative density... ”
When Gu Zao was making his speech, Shi Tonghe’s expression was becoming more and more strange.
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Wang Zhongxing looked at him several times, as if waiting for him to interrupt, but Shi Tonghe did not say anything after all.
Gu Zao’s speech was different from what he thought. He originally thought that this young writer should be smarter and hear the subtle meaning in Shi Tonghe's words.
He was also hand-picked by Shi Tonghe to make this opening statement, but listening to his introduction, it seems that he has a high opinion of "Fire in the Stone".
The opening was crooked, which was not in line with Shi Lao’s intention, so Wang Zhongxing frequently looked sideways at Shi Tonghe.
The stone is as immovable as the river.
Gu Zao continued:
"Zixu is a young new author. New authors often deal with immaturity when handling grand historical themes.
“For example, in this book, there are problems such as the facial makeup of secondary characters and the reliance on coincidences in some turns.
“But we need to note that these problems cannot be concealed. Even if they exist, they are not serious, because their advantages are large enough to cover up the shortcomings.
“In any case, this subject matter and structure are extremely difficult and challenging. It is a writing method that has never been challenged by anyone in the history of our country’s literature, or even in the history of human literature. The author’s ambition should be affirmed...”
"That's enough." Shi Tonghe suddenly interrupted Gu Zao, "Now is the introduction session. Your personal appreciation can be discussed freely later."
Gu Zao put down the materials expressionlessly: "I'm done."
Shi Tonghe picked up the celadon tea cup, the green liquid was rippling, he blew twice, took a sip, and spit out the tea foam. No one spoke in the room, only the sounds coming from Shi Tonghe's lips could be heard.
To the ears of people who don’t know the inside story, there is nothing special about Gu Zao’s speech, but to Wang Zhongxing’s ears, it is almost like he is talking against him.
Before the symposium, the "Small Review of the Chinese Version of "One Hundred Years of Solitude"" written by Wang Zhongxing had already included Wang Zixu's age and qualifications in the title, completely disparaging "Fire in the Stone".
In Gu Zao’s speech, he also said that “Wang Zixu is a new writer” and repeated the issues pointed out by Wang Zhongxing, but then the topic changed and he made another judgment that “the flaws do not hide the flaws”.
He even pointed out a key point: before "Fire in the Stone", no one had ever written in this form in human history. Wang Zhongxing's statement that he "wrote a subject badly" is self-defeating.
To “write badly about a subject matter”, the subject matter itself must exist and there must be someone to write about it. No one has written like this before, and it is extremely difficult. Who has the right to blame the writer for wasting this subject?
Gu Zao spoke first and had the upper hand, which undoubtedly helped a lot. Wang Zhongxing would not be able to make a fuss about this later.
Even if he took out the opinions in his short review and reiterated them, if the convincingness was weak, Gu Zao would not have to refute them face to face and offend others.
They are all smart people.
An Younan said in Duan Xiaosang’s earphones in a leisurely tone:
“This Gu Zao didn’t even fart yesterday, and today he rushed to help Wang Zixu. This person is also an idiot.”
After saying that, she thought for a while and revised her words: "It's not like I didn't fart at all yesterday. Maybe their Zhang Ailing is really pregnant with Kafka's child."
She finally managed to get two people to meet yesterday. One refused to ask for help, and the other pretended to be cool even to death, and no friendship was established.
As a result, when we arrived at the scene today, Gu Zao actually tacitly provided cover for Wang Zixu. It was like the ancient chivalrous style - you don't need to open your mouth, I will help you, no need to be verbose.
Lu Qingxuan stood at the door and eavesdropped, then quietly slipped out and took out his mobile phone. There was a message from Ning Chunyan on the other end:
"How is it?"
Lu Qingxuan raised her head and thought. Thinking, he lowered his head and typed: "It seems... OK?"
"What does OK mean?"
"Gu Zao's evaluation was quite high, but unfortunately, Shi Tonghe interrupted him halfway."
The person at the Ning Chun Banquet looked very happy: "Beautiful. Shi Tonghe is getting more and more shameless!"
In the venue, Shi Tonghe finished drinking tea and said:
“Then let’s start with free criticism. Editor Li, as the inviter, do you have any comments on this work?”
Li Minyang waved his hand and said: "I won't comment."
Shi Tonghe glanced at Zhong Junmin again. He had also said that he would not speak before, so he just ignored it and said to the person next to him. Kong Huaifang said:
“Teacher Kong, let’s start with you.”
“Ahem.”
Kong Huaifang cleared her throat and unfolded her materials.
From the second he coughed, Wang Zixu had a bad premonition. Next, Kong Huaifang’s speech confirmed this.
“Thanks to Gu Zao for introducing this work to us and thanking him for his evaluation.
“It is indeed as he said, it is extremely difficult to create with this kind of subject matter and method. He suggests that we need to affirm this literary ambition.
“But what I want to point out is, as long as there is ambition, should we affirm it? Should we praise it as long as it challenges difficult subjects?
“The answer is obviously: no.
"Just think about a child putting his hand on the fire to roast it. Of course he wants to explore the mysteries of the world. Maybe in time, he will learn profound scientific principles from the burst of light and heat.
"But the moment he reaches out to touch the flame, what we should do is obviously not to encourage his ambition and curiosity, but to shout: No! Then stop him immediately!
“As for the work “Fire in the Stone”, my opinion is that we should immediately shout: No! And then stop this author!”
After saying that, Kong Huaifang’s sharp eyes shot towards Wang Zixu, spitting out a vicious cold light, like a sticky and moist jungle python.
(End of this chapter)