There was a brief silence.
"It's still not right!"
"This point of view is untenable!"
"Right, it can't be written by Gao E!"
"Although there's no evidence, but, but what evidence is there?"
Many people who were not in the elective class, "Appreciation of the Classics", were also discussing. But at this moment, everyone felt that coming to this class was worth it. This was because no matter what Zhang Ye's point of view was, this public lecture would definitely cause a stir in the world of education and literature!
She had too many questions about Zhang Ye's point of view. She raised her hand and spoke again, "I'm sorry, Teacher Zhang Ye. I still can't accept your point of view. The evidence that the last 40 chapters were written by Gao E is still insufficient. There's too little information and too much imagination. Besides, Gao E is just a person in charge of organizing the scrolls. He doesn't have the qualities to write 'Dream of the Red Chamber', so it's impossible for him to continue writing it so well."
Zhang Ye shook his finger, "Little Song, you are wrong about this."
"Why?" Senior Song retorted.
The other Peking University teachers and students also looked at Zhang Ye.
Zhang Ye made a solemn vow again, "Gao E has the qualities and qualifications to continue writing 'Dream of the Red Chamber'. And in that era, I believe only Gao E has it! Hur Hur, everyone, don't look at me like that. You might not know Gao E well enough. You probably only know that he was an organizer, but you do not know his other backgrounds. If you don't believe me, alright. I've argued from the angle of information. Next, I'll talk about it from the angle of sentiment. Well, this part is actually not the main point. It's fine if I don't talk about it. Do you want to hear it? "
"Yes!"
"Of course we want to hear it!"
"Of course!"
Senior Song also nodded.
Even if they did not agree, everyone still wanted to hear it.
Zhang Ye acknowledged, "Then I'll explain it simply. Gao E has always held the title of a preserver, disseminator, and organizer. Actually, a lot of people don't know that Gao E's literary attainments are the most dazzling thing about him." He saw Professor Zeng nodding slightly and said, "It seems like Professor Zeng understands."
Professor Zeng affirmed, "What Teacher Zhang said is right. Anyone with eyes would surely appreciate him — this was the evaluation of Gao E in that era."
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "It's like this. Gao E was a very talented person. Using the words' adversity and frustration, but outstanding talent 'is enough to describe Gao E's life. He was down and out, so he had a similar life experience as Cao Xueqin. In his early years, he was drowned in the imperial examinations, and in his later years, his mediocre official career caused him to be in a state of misery and distress. This allowed him to understand and get close to Cao Xueqin emotionally, allowing him to complete that soul-stirring tragic ending. In addition, we only need to flip through the information to know that Gao E was an honest and kind person. He often encouraged and exhorted his disciples to be loyal and filial and walk the path of Imperial Examinations. His eight-legged essay was very good. His thinking was precise and his writing was vigorous. In his poems, he often painted the dream-like sentimental feelings of life with a layer of Buddha. All of these can be vaguely felt in the last 40 chapters of 'Dream of the Red Chamber'. So from an emotional point of view, Gao E was the most suitable person to continue writing 'Dream of the Red Chamber' in that era. He also had the ability to do so! "
After a pause, Zhang Ye said, "I previously said that Gao E's continuation of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' was a little out of place from the previous chapters, but that was just a difference in personal style. I did not deny Gao E, on the contrary, I respect him very much. He continued to write the ending of 'Dream of the Red Chamber', facilitating the widespread dissemination of 'Dream of the Red Chamber'. Gao E had made a great contribution!"
F * * k!
Why did it sound more and more real!?
A Peking University top student from the History department suddenly raised his hand and said, "Everything you said is based on the premise that 'Dream of the Red Chamber' was continued by someone after the first 80 chapters. I don't think it's time to debate whether it was Gao E or some nameless person who continued, but … based on what do you say that only the first 80 chapters of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' were Mr Cao Xueqin's original manuscript? Based on what do you say that the 120 chapters of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' were continued by someone, and not Mr Cao Xueqin's original work? Based on a poem by a Qing dynasty poet and a small note with 80 chapters? "
Zhang Ye could not help but laugh, "You sure are agitated."
The History department student was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, "How can I not be agitated? What you said has subverted our understanding. Could it be that we have learned all these years of history lessons wrongly? Could it be that the entire education world of China has made a low-level mistake? Even the author of one of the Four Great Classical Novels, 'Dream of the Red Chamber', is not clear? "
This was also the main reason why everyone did not believe Zhang Ye!
With so many experts and scholars, could it be that everyone was wrong? That's impossible!
Although the truth is often grasped in the hands of a minority, aren't you f * * king the minority!? You're the only one who holds this view!
One is the education and academic world, the authority of the authorities.
The other is Zhang Ye, a hooligan of the literary world, a thorn in the broadcasting world.
Who do you think is more trustworthy? The answer was obvious. There was no need to ask!
"We have no evidence to refute you …"
"Right, but you can't refute our point of view either!"
Just like 'Journey to the West'. If you insist that this book was not written by Wu Chengen, but by Wu Chengen's twin brother, then his twin brother's name was also Wu Chengen. He had impersonated Wu Chengen from a young age, but only Wu Chengen's family knew that Wu Chengen was not Wu Chengen, but his brother. As for others, they did not know that this Wu Chengen was not that Wu Chengen, but thought that Wu Chengen was Wu Chengen — if you really put it that way, wouldn't that also work? If someone were to express this point of view, and there was no evidence to refute it, then wouldn't the author of 'Journey to the West' have to change?
If that happened, the literary world would be in chaos!
But Zhang Ye said, "Who says that I don't have evidence to refute?"
The 3rd year Chinese department's Senior Zhou said, "But the information you provided just now …"
With a chuckle, Zhang Ye said, "That was just the opening, to help everyone get into the mood. Since I dared to say such things, I naturally have other evidence and information to back it up. So first, I would like to ask everyone something. The earliest ancient manuscripts of 'Dream of the Red Chamber', other than Gao E's version, be it this version or that version, are there any ancient manuscripts that have been passed down that have more than 80 chapters of the story?"
Everyone was stunned.
"Are there any?"
"I don't know."
"Uh, let me do a search!"
The students began to take out their cellphones to check.
Professor Zeng also frowned. He closed his eyes in thought and began recalling.
A Peking University student from the Liberal Arts department suddenly said, "There is! There's an ancient copy here that has 120 chapters! "
Zhang Ye smiled, "This student, then please check again. What year was this ancient copy printed and distributed? I can tell you that the original copy you are looking at only had 35 chapters. It was reprinted and distributed after 1791. It was edited according to Gao E's version." He had also done a lot of homework.
When the Liberal Arts department student checked, he was speechless. It was really true.
Professor Zeng, Chang Kaige, and Zhen Shuquan also had an idea. Strange, there really wasn't any!
Zhang Ye threw up his hands and said, "So the most complete ancient copy that everyone has seen is the one compiled by Gao E. It was printed and distributed in 1791. Then I have a question. Why didn't any of the previous ancient copies have any stories after the first 80 chapters? If it's only one copy, that's fine, but why are all eight and ten copies the same? "
Yao Mi said, "Is it because the ancient copies were destroyed too badly?"
The preservation of this world's ancient copies of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' was indeed appalling.
But Zhang Ye said, "Isn't this too much of a coincidence? Doesn't everyone have this doubt? Some of the ancient manuscripts only had about a dozen chapters left, while others had a little more, with 40 to 50 chapters remaining. However, these ancient manuscripts that were much older than Gao E's version did not record the story after the 80th chapter. In 1791, suddenly, a complete 120 chapters of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' appeared. From a logical point of view, wasn't this too strange? If the last 40 chapters were also written by Cao Xueqin, why didn't anyone other than Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E copy it? And why didn't anyone else obtain it from 'Gudan'? With such a large volume, even if they couldn't copy it completely, they could at least copy a portion. But why was it that before Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E, no one had even copied a single chapter and attached it to the back of the first 80 chapters? "
Many people were stumped by this question!
Even a few Peking University teachers who had studied 'Dream of the Red Chamber' were momentarily stunned!
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