Chapter 38: Thoughts of Innocence

Ning Chunyan was shocked when she saw the words "too pornographic". If she heard this, she would not be sleepy anymore.

"In my opinion, this collection is like using the best knife skills to carve flowers on shit. I don't deny the skills and qualities displayed in it, but it is bad literature at its root. The better the writing, the more reactionary it is.

"Cheng Xing, you have always been a very talented young man in my opinion. How could you fall so low as to indulge in this kind of literature? I don't understand. If anyone can understand, please come out and explain it to me."

The person speaking is named Zhong Junmin. He is a professor in the Department of Literature at Nanjing University and an expert in ancient Chinese literature.

He has a very solid academic background and is a lovely old man. He was the one who taught Ning Chunyan ancient Chinese literature.

She rarely heard the old man speak in such a stern tone, and she was suddenly curious about how Cheng Xing had offended him.

At this time, another person spoke in the group:

"Teacher Zhong, I don't quite agree with your point of view. You said it was a carving on shit. First of all, we need to clarify whether it is shit or not. Love and sex are inherent components of human nature. If you say it is shit, then we are all shit people. The process of our reproduction is to stir up shit, and human history has become a history of shit."

Ning Chunyan's mouth corners lifted completely. The person who spoke was Huang Xinghuo, also a professor of literature at Nanjing University, and he studied modern and contemporary literature.

He has radical and avant-garde ideas, and has huge differences with Zhong Junmin not only in personality but also in academics, so the two can always be seen arguing.

However, even though the two quarreled, it was only limited to academics and they had no conflicts in daily life. The last time Ning Chunyan saw them eating together in the cafeteria.

Zhong Junmin said: "Huang Xinghuo, please don't misinterpret my meaning with the slippery slope fallacy. Have I denied that love and sex are the eternal themes of literature? The question is how literature can transcend it spiritually. If it does not transcend it, what is the difference between humans and animals?"

Huang Xinghuo said: "Humans are originally animals. How can we transcend? Abstinence or castration? Does becoming a monk and restraining human nature like the Christians in the Middle Ages in the West mean transcendence?"

Zhong Junmin said: "Have you read the collection posted by Cheng Xing?"

Huang Xinghuo said: "I saw it."

Zhong Junmin said, "What do you think?"

Huang Xinghuo said: "It's very delicious."

Zhong Junmin said, "Then this is an act of indulging in low-level interests. What you just said about not transcending is nothing more than hedonism. You just made an excuse for your enjoyment. No need to say more."

Ning Chunyan crossed his legs, leaned over the table, drank some water, and began to watch the fun seriously.

She was different from others when she was young. When her parents quarreled, other children would cry and turn the house into a roaring abyss. But she was different. She liked to move a small stool and sit beside them to watch. She was just about to wave her little fist and shout "fight, fight!"

Huang and Zhong seemed to be arguing over a work released by Cheng Xing. Ning Chunyan felt that this matter had nothing to do with her, but it did not stop her from taking the opportunity to watch.

After a while, Huang Xinghuo accepted the challenge.

"Is it enjoyment or aesthetics? You and I cannot deny the pleasure I feel when reading this collection. But you have to distinguish that there is a real object to please me and I get a sense of accomplishment from it, that is enjoyment, but that object does not exist. I just simply draw some kind of energy from reading.

"In other words, if someone can make people experience a true sense of identity through words alone, then it has become art. Because it is a pure appreciation of beauty. Aesthetics is literature."

Zhong Junmin also responded with a long speech:

"Haha, typical monistic thinking. The pleasure you mentioned can also be achieved by reading pornographic novels. Of course, this is not a pornographic novel, but I don't agree with you that you only see the beauty on the surface and ignore the decay and corruption revealed in the text.

"Literature is a medium for conveying moral principles and cultivating one's character. I don't see any trace of these tasks that should be shouldered in this collection. I agree with its techniques, but I don't agree with its principles."

Huang Xinghuo said: "What is the truth? What is the nature? Why don't movies and TV series have to carry the truth? They can simply please people. Why should literature take on this heavy responsibility? It's the 21st century now. Don't talk about such outdated ideas. What's more, what truth does the Book of Songs carry? If the Book of Songs doesn't carry it, why are you putting a tight ring on other works?"

"How can this collection be compared with the Book of Songs? The Book of Songs is pure in thought, but is this collection also pure in thought?"

"Why not? At least from what I've seen so far in this collection, the tone of every article is gloomy and painful, and even contains a hint of compassion. It is this tone that makes it serious amidst the eroticism. This sense of absurdity formed by the interweaving of contradictions is a typical feature of postmodernism." "Compassion? You see compassion in the teasing of love?"

"Compassion is compassion. As the highest level of human emotion, it is everywhere. Can't you see compassion in Jin Ping Mei?"

“There is more than just love in Jin Ping Mei.”

"There's more to this collection than just love. There's an iceberg hidden underneath it."

As the two chatted here, their sentences became shorter, their frequency became faster, and their emotions became stronger. The fewer words they spoke, the bigger the matter became, and it seemed like they were parting on bad terms.

At this time, another person joined the group chat:
"I watched the debate between the two teachers just now, and I also read the collection sent by Cheng Xingjun. Like the two teachers, I completely agree with the author's writing skills. But I also feel a little sorry that he uses his talent in this kind of place. It gives people a feeling of 'you are a beautiful woman, but you follow the thief', which is not worthy of being accepted by the upper class."

The speaker is the latest emerging author Qin Huan. His latest work, "Sister-in-law Tree", has just topped the best-selling list of literature books on Dangdang.com.

"I don't think so. Where is the place of elegance? It is in people's hearts. If such words can really enter people's hearts, it doesn't really matter what kind of skin it is covered with."

The speaker was Haoyue, the editor of Digest.

"Yes, the boundary between elegance and vulgarity has become very blurred in this era, not to mention that this collection of works gives me a feeling of 'the most vulgar is the most elegant' from beginning to end."

The person who spoke was the young director Lin Yuhuan.

"But we can't completely blur the boundaries between elegance and vulgarity, right? It is in times like this that we should strive for elegance. If we just keep rushing towards vulgarity, is there still hope for this era?"

This is the children’s book author Wu Hongjie.

"What everyone said just now makes sense. Controversy is a good thing. Some values become clearer the more they are debated. If this collection can bring about controversy, then this collection is also valuable. At the same time, I would like to remind everyone that Nabokov's Lolita was also very controversial back then. Don't think that a few of us can characterize this collection. Only time can determine the literary value of a work..."

This is the famous writer Zhang Mocun.

"I don't have the same beautiful words as you guys, and I can't describe how good the writing style of this episode is. I just kept thinking while reading it, it's really awesome, learning a few sentences to flirt with little girls will definitely be useful."

This is director Lu Yuhao.

"Director Lu, your view is pragmatic. We are now evaluating the value of this collection of short stories from a literary perspective."

"Hey, you guys are talking about literature, but that doesn't stop me from showing off with practicality."

……

Ning Chunyan was breathtaking.

She had never seen this group so lively before, especially for literature.

Although this is a literary group.

People who engage in literature are also human beings, with seven emotions and six desires. Usually, the daily routine of this group is to compliment each other on the achievements of each other's works and exchange various trends and information in the literary and artistic circles. It is rare to discuss literature seriously like this.

Everyone in the group has different artistic pursuits, and when they encounter disagreements, most people stay silent or skip the topic with laughter and anger. Seeking common ground while reserving differences is not only the secret to maintaining harmony in diplomacy between major countries, but also works for private social interactions.

They rarely try to argue over the value of a work as loudly as they did today. Seeing them arguing so vigorously, Ning Chunyan couldn't help but wonder what exactly triggered the internal strife in this group.

She tried to scroll up to the starting point of the topic, but couldn't find it, so she had to knock on Cheng Xing's door and ask him, "What short story collection did you publish? Can you show it to me?"

(End of this chapter)

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