Chapter 58: The Masterpiece that Shocked the Entire Hall!
May we all be blessed with longevity?
Though thousands of miles apart, we are still able to share the beauty of the moon together?
Zhang Ye had already finished reciting his poem, but the sound lingered on. Everyone present seemed to have their goosebumps explode. They were momentarily silent! The entire auditorium was echoing with the sound from the microphone!
With the poem unleashed, it shocked the entire auditorium!
Meng Dongguo was already stunned when he heard half of it!
Big Thunder, Zheng Anbang, Little Red Mushroom and the other Writers’ Association’s Teachers were dumbfounded!
Even without mentioning them, one could tell just by observing the atmosphere in the auditorium. Everyone in the audience had turned silent. Even the host, Zhang Huo, was at a loss for words while holding onto the microphone. The female host, Sung Mengjie, was even worse. She stared straight ahead and did not even realize that her hand had lost its grip on the microphone. Only when it issued a heavy thud on the red-carpeted floor of the podium did she come around. Following this, the souls of the people returned to their empty bodies, as if they had just crawled down from the moon in Zhang Ye’s poem!
Wow!
Shouts immediately exploded!
“Good poem!”
“What the f***!”
“Heavens! What did I just hear!”
“The pen of God! The pen of God!”
“Too awesome! This poem is enough to explode!”
Some people could not help but stand up and applaud loudly!
Director Zhao Guozhou and Wang Xiaomei were stunned!
Big Sis Zhou exclaimed, “What a good melody poem! Teacher Little Zhang really created it on the spot? Oh, my God! Oh, my Buddha! Oh, my Guanyin Bodhisattva! Oh, my Jesus! Oh, my Heavens!” She believed in quite a few religions, as there were all sorts of variations. “That ‘The Song of the Stormy Petrel’ was made on the spot. ‘Flying Bird and Fish’ and ‘A Generation’ were also improvised on the spot. ‘See Me or Not’ was also written there and then. This is also written at the last minute? How could this be possible!? What sort of brain does Teacher Little Zhang have!?”
Wow!
It was unknown who gave the first applause! Thunderous applause!
This was not an analogous description! It was really like thunder! The entire auditorium’s ceiling seemed to have been blown away! Other than applause, nothing else could be heard!
What was good about this melody poem? Many laymen might not be able to tell what was good about it, but they knew that it was definitely good.
Only Meng Dongguo, Zheng Anbang and company knew what realm this melody poem had reached. This was written too well. It revolved around the thoughts and imagination that opened up due to the Mid-Autumn’s moon. It embodied the joys and sorrows of the world into a philosophical pursuit of the meaning of life and the universe!
When will the moon be clear and bright? With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the clear sky.
In the heavens on this night, I wonder what season it would be?
Almost every word was classic. Each word had a charm to it. Some of the words even needed to be repeated several times to gain an understanding of the profound meaning behind it! For example, the sentence, “ride the wind to return home”? Why was the word “return” used? A few people from the Writers’ Association did not understand the first time that they heard it. Only as they heard to the end did they slowly understand. The word “return” was the finishing touch. It expressed how the original author, Zhang Ye, was in fact not treating himself as a mortal of this world. He treated himself as an immortal that had detached from the world; hence, he needed to “return” to the immortal palace, and not “go” to the immortal palace. It sounded insolent, but this melody poem’s essence, energy and spirit had suddenly broke the confines of this world, and had raised the bar by more than one grade! Coupled with the ending sentence, the dozen or so Teachers and authors from the Writers’ Association were too shocked for words!
Zhang Ye?
Who was he?
What sort of person is he!?
Other than Meng Dongguo and Little Red Mushroom understanding Zhang Ye a bit more, the other Teachers from the Writers’ Association did not know this person. They had never even heard of him; hence, they were so shocked. How could a person that could write such a melody poem be some nobody? How could he be a rookie that they had never heard of? Furthermore, these people had prepared for the Mid-Autumn Poetry Meet for several days, while this person was called out onto the stage! He did not even have time to prepare! Just this alone! No one present felt that they could do it themselves! What’s more, he produced such a shockingly great melody poem!
When did the realm of poetry have such an awesome person!?
Two minutes. The applause lasted for two minutes before it ended!
“Zhang Ye!”
“Zhang Ye!”
“Zhang Ye!”
“Zhang Ye!”
Finally, loud cries began to shout out in unison. Many people were calling out Zhang Ye’s name, cheering him on and encouraging him. They were backing him!
Why?
It was because Meng Dongguo was too much of a bully!
He had publicly invalidated Zhang Ye? And even said that he was an amateur? And even called him out to get him onstage for a showdown? And even wanted to find his faults, so as to show everyone how to write a poem? Don’t forget that this was Beijing Radio Station. It was Zhang Ye’s unit. Everyone was a bit angry that their colleague had been bullied! Hence, seeing Zhang Ye coming up with such a magical and godlike poem in an impressive fashion, everyone seemed like they were on stimulants as they cheered him on. Although they were cheering on Zhang Ye’s name on the surface, they were in fact trampling on Meng Dongguo, Big Thunder and company!
Deputy Station Head Jia’s face turned black. He stood up to clap his hands. This was a live broadcast. What were they doing!?
Seeing the station’s Leader’s attitude, everyone stopped shouting and began to sit down one after another. They were all waiting to see the commotion that was to follow!
The host, Zhang Huo, managed to come around and speak. As he drew in his breath, he asked, “Teacher Zhang Ye, what is the name of this melody poem? Can you tell us?”
Zhang Ye smiled. “It’s called ‘Shuidiao Getou’.”
Sun Mengjie said, “I already do not know how to evaluate it. I’m a layperson and do not understand melody poems much. However, with me dropping the microphone without realizing it, you should know how much I love this poem. Really, I love this poem to death. Its words are beautiful to an extreme!”
Zhang Ye was a person who did not fear stirring up chaos in the world. He immediately said, “It’s alright. You are a layperson, but there are many experts on-site. They are professional Teachers from the Writers’ Association.” Turning his head, he looked towards Meng Dongguo and Big Thunder. Both of them had already returned to their seats when Zhang Ye recited his poem; however, Zhang Ye was able to find them with a glance. “Teacher Meng, Teacher Big Thunder… Previously, the both of you said my works have no literary value. Previously, you have also said I might not be good at writing poems. Yes, I admit I’m a beginner and an amateur. I shall modestly ask you Teachers for advice to please help me improve my level. Can you advise me on this poem?”
Zhang Huo nearly burst out laughing.
Sun Mengjie was also at a loss as to whether to laugh or to cry.
Upon hearing this, Big Thunder nearly vomited a mouthful of blood. He nearly cursed his mother. Your granduncle! I advise you, my ass!
Find a problem? Find faults? I haven’t even fully understood the melody poem’s complete meaning! Where can I find fault with it!? Although he was unrelenting and was angry, most of this anger came from being embarrassed. To be fair, Big Thunder had no choice but to admit that Zhang Ye’s poem was flawlessly perfect. Not even them, probably no one could pick a fault with it. Zhang Ye had trampled on them!
Meng Dongguo was even more direct. He stood beside a youth from the Writers’ Association and whispered with his head down. It was as if he was discussing the poem and had pretended not to hear Zhang Ye’s words.
Everyone who had called him out no longer made a noise!
Against such a dazzling poem, they had no means of making a noise!
Upon seeing this, Zhang Ye also felt it was meaningless. There was no need to say anything more. He had already expressed himself using his work. Furthermore, it was a live broadcast, with many listeners listening into it. It was not good for him to say so much, as it was easy to make a mistake with too many words. It would make himself seem agitated. Although anyone could tell that those words were Zhang Ye’s way of fighting back, what he said was without fault. He had admitted to being an amateur and had asked for advice as a newcomer. No one could speak ill of that. Hence, he passed the microphone back to the host and prepared to go offstage.
Zhang Huo was actually quite warm-hearted, “Teacher Zhang, although we are in the second poetry appreciation segment, it is still part of the Mid-Autumn Poetry Meet. Your poem will definitely be voted upon by netizens. Do you want to canvass for votes for yourself?”
Zhang Ye turned around and smiled. “It’s alright. There’s no need.”
No need to canvass for votes? Meng Dongguo and company had all canvassed for votes, but you don’t need to?
Zhang Huo did not understand what Zhang Ye’s attitude was and could only respect his idea.
Meng Dongguo, who was below the stage, squinted his eyes slightly upon hearing this. He was not canvassing for votes? It was alright, even if he canvassed for votes. He believed that he was guaranteed to receive first place.
There were two reasons. Firstly, he also felt that his poem was very good. He did not believe that his “Thoughts of a Rainy Mid-Autumn Night” was in any way inferior to Zhang Ye’s “Shuidao Getou”. He felt that it was one of the best Mid-Autumn works that he had created in recent years. Secondly, he had the advantage of time. Meng Dongguo was the first person to recite his poem at the Poetry Meet. It began at 12 noon and ended at 2 P.M. There were two hours, so the longer the program went after your poem was presented, the more people there were to vote for you. There was no dispute. This was also the reason why Meng Dongguo had arranged to be the first to present a poem. As the Beijing Writers’ Association’s Vice President, and a leader of the capital’s poetry industry, he could not even show his face if he got second place for this sort of competition. He and the radio station had at least done their best to make sure that he would be the champion. If not, Meng Dongguo would probably not have participated in it, as it would affect his prestige.
But what about Zhang Ye?
Now, it was already 1.30 P.M. That was to say, Zhang Ye had barely half an hour left!
Even if the netizens and listeners liked his poem and voted for him, how many votes could they cast? It definitely could not exceed the votes for Meng Dongguo. Hence, he believed the championship title was likely in the bag!
Other people also shared his thoughts.
For example, Big Thunder and Little Red Mushroom had the same thoughts. Although they knew that Zhang Ye’s melody poem was well-written, it had no chance of becoming the champion. It was also quite impossible for him to enter the top three. How many votes could one garner in 20+ minutes? The other people already had more than ten thousand votes. It was already not bad if Zhang Ye could get into the top ten! When the results were out, people would not care about the procedure or that there wasn’t enough voting time. They only looked at the final outcome. When the top three was dominated by people from the Writers’ Association and Zhang Ye was ranked beyond third place, then it was a way for the Writers’ Association team that Meng Dongguo led to save their face!
Ah, alright!
Your melody poem this time had a lot of literary value to it!
We acknowledge that your melody poem was indeed very good!
But so what? Aren’t you still ranked behind us? In the end, everyone will still see that you are inferior to us professional Teachers from a professional body like the Writers’ Association!
Scholars tended to be more stubborn. There may have been some small conflicts at the beginning, but as the situation worsened, neither side would agree to back down. Anyway, they were going to go forceful on Zhang Ye! This was probably the clash between their orthodox background as Teachers of the Writers’ Association and Zhang Ye, a half-past-six unorthodox “amateur” that wrote supernatural stories, fairy tales and poems! They would not give up until they beat the other party into submission!