Chapter 1360 - Cultural significance
Chapter 1360 – Cultural significance
“Mr. Feng, the writer, Lao Si, had contacted me and showed me your story outline. It’s… errm… very unique. It doesn’t fall under any of the current genres, and it might be a hit.” Qidian’s Chief Editor, Bao Jianfeng, told Feng Yu over the phone.
Feng Yu smacked his lips. What do you mean by it might be a hit?! It will surely be a hit if the marketing is done right.
Everyone is used to stories about knights and magicians and interested in Eastern Xian Xia novels. After all, this is China. People had been hearing stories about deities since young and had never heard of knights and magicians here.
“After Lao Si starts posting this novel, other writers will be inspired and will start writing novels in this genre. I dare to say these novels will be extremely popular in the next few years. Have you heard of fairy swords? This novel is similar to it, but there are some differences. The story is set entirely in the East, and it’s suitable for our culture.”
“Online novels should not be treated as a pastime. It should have some significance, and Qidian has an important role.”
“Ah? What significance can online novels have? It’s all about romance, war, fights, etc., and people read it to past time. Very few people will read traditional literature online.” Although Bao Jianfeng wants to increase online novels’ status, he could not see any significance in it.
“No. Our online novels are also online literature, and literature is a form of culture. Why are there so many novels about knights, magicians, saints, aliens, and monsters? That is because we are affected by external cultural influences. For example, anime, manga, video games, etc.”
“Our novels are spreading classic culture like Taoist, Buddhist, and even Confucianism cultures. This includes some classical literature works, like legends and folktales. All these represent our Chinese culture.”
“We used to call ourselves Descendants of the Dragon, but how many people will say this now? The dragon represented a form of culture and was passed down by our ancestors since ancient times. How many years has it been? Are we going to wait until those western big belly winged lizards replace our dragons?”
“We are one of the greatest ancient civilizations, and our culture is being invaded and replaced by the Western culture. Different countries have different cultures and values. If we allow our culture to be replaced, will China be the same?”
Feng Yu starts to exaggerate. Of course, he is not trying to scare Bao Jianfeng. The US had been using its culture to influence other countries’ citizens’ values. They showed their best to the rest of the world and hid their ugly side.
The cultures of different countries are different and do not share the same value. In the US, people value individualism. But in some monarchies, or China’s neighbor, N. Korea, people put their country above themselves. Their assets belong to the country, and some countries don’t even have the concept of personal wealth. Everything belongs to their king!
The US promotes its culture, and values can be easily understood through a business perspective. They are setting the standard, and other countries have to follow them. This way, they can maintain their status.
In ancient China, the ones who occupied the Central Plains will call themselves the Heavenly Kingdom and start pushing their cultures and values to the surrounding countries. All powerful nations will do this.
Suppose you want to become a powerful nation. In that case, you must not let other cultures and values influence your people unless you are participating and one of the core members of setting this standard.
China and the US cultures and values are very different. If the western cultures and values influence them, they will slowly become the other party’s lackey.
When Japan occupied Northeast China, they started pushing their culture by forcing everyone to learn Japanese. This includes Japan importing a large amount of manga, anime, films in recent years. This is another form of cultural invasion. When people start to imitate the characters, Chinese culture will be doom.
“Manager Feng, you are making it sound too serious. This is only a novel. Although it can be considered a cultural product, it does not represent all the cultures.”
Feng Yu seriously replied. “Dripping water wears through a stone. Most people will not care initially and will think nothing about it. It will be too late when you realize the seriousness of it. The cultural invasion might influence a generation. If it influenced three to five generations, it would be impossible to get back our culture!”
“We can learn from other cultures but must never forget our own. The US had done well in some areas, but they also have a dark side that many do not know.”
“Every American is promoting their culture and values everywhere. Some of them think their culture and values are the best, while others are just tagging along. They claimed to be proud to be Americans, even when they faced discrimination in the US. But when they are overseas, they will have a sense of superiority.”
Many foreign teachers in China don’t even know how to teach. Many of them are people who can’t survive in the US. Some are on welfare and have never received a proper education.
But after they come to China, they become English teachers. Many women flock to them, offering their bodies. The US culture brainwashes these women. China doesn’t need these women, and they should leave. They will also not make any significant contributions if they remain.
“Then I will let the editors contact some writers to write novels on this topic.”
“Yes. You can organize a classic cultural writing competition. I will provide the prizes. The top stories will get at least 50,000 RMB, and the top prize will get 300,000 RMB!”
Bao Jianfeng is overjoyed. “Thank you, Mr. Feng. I believe many people will start writing such novels and attract more writers to our website. We are not far from becoming the No. 1 in the online novel industry!”
Promoting classic culture will boast online literature to another level. It will be accepted easily as a form of mainstream literature.
Translator’s note: Lol, the author is getting more racist and extreme. No wonder this book is removed from Qidian. Let’s hope all there will be no more nonsense chapters like this in the future.