"As expected of a master. Mr. Qiushui, it seems you've been fully devoted to scholarship and never looked into this. Let me explain. Huaguo's author ranking system is quite complex. It not only evaluates book sales, but also the value of the articles you publish."
"I know that. Sun Zaian mentioned it before. But right now, this is just people arguing."
"No, Mr. Qiushui. On the surface, it looks like an argument, but in reality, it's a theoretical debate in the literary world. Prose is an important genre in Huaguo literature and has made great contributions to its development. As long as your ideas relate to literary theory, even if it's not a formal article, as long as your theory makes sense and gains broad recognition, your author rank will increase accordingly.
In recent decades, many top academic masters have raised their rankings through literary theory rather than just writing works. This is actually a faster path than simply publishing articles. That's why, once 'Guanghui Daily' opened the stage, so many people rushed in to criticize your 'loose in form, unified in spirit.' Of course, part of it is because your idea threatens their interests, but more importantly, they want to participate in this theoretical debate to boost their own rankings. Even if they can't level up immediately, gaining experience points is still valuable."
"I see."
Huang Yifan nodded, gaining a deeper understanding of the ranking system.
"So if I defeat them all, my rank will shoot up?"
"In principle, yes. And the more classic your theory is, the more ranking points you'll gain."
"How many levels could I go up?"
"Hard to say. But from experience, at least 4-star. Even 5-star isn't impossible."
"5-star…"
Huang Yifan felt a surge of excitement. Gaining two stars from a single debate was an incredible opportunity.
After all, going from 1-star to 2-star was easy, and 2-star to 3-star wasn't too hard either. But reaching 4-star from 3-star stopped countless authors. As for 5-star, the official requirements included joining the Huaguo Writers Association and achieving over one million copies in sales. Neither was easy. Some authors never reached that level in their entire lives. And even with one million copies sold, promotion to 5-star wasn't guaranteed due to various other factors Huang Yifan didn't yet understand.
But now that there was a faster path, he was very interested.
"Alright, Editor Ji, I'll join this debate. I'll send you my article later. I'm going to buy some newspapers first."
"Great! I'll be waiting for your masterpiece."
After ending the chat, Huang Yifan went out and bought several newspapers near No.2 High School.
'Guanghui Daily', 'Literary Gazette', 'Southern Metropolis Daily', 'Xinmin Daily', 'People's Livelihood Daily'… and also 'Youth Daily'.
He bought more than ten papers and ignored everything else, focusing only on content related to prose.
Fortunately, these articles were easy to find, either on the front page or highlighted headlines.
This Tao Yuanbai makes some good points.
This Li Qi isn't bad either.
And this Qiuhanshi, all of them are far more capable than Nianhua. Their counterarguments are quite strong.
As he read, Huang Yifan evaluated them in his mind while also planning his own response.
Hmm, Shen Junru?
Isn't he the critic who recommended 'A Chinese Ghost Story' before?
Why is he also opposing "loose in form, unified in spirit"?
Though slightly surprised, Huang Yifan quickly understood. Shen Junru had recommended 'A Chinese Ghost Story', but that work was published under the pen name Fanchen, so he wouldn't know they were the same person. And even if he did, it wouldn't stop him from defending his own views.
Unlike others, Shen Junru focused on public acceptance. He argued that while "loose in form, unified in spirit" seemed reasonable, it was actually too hollow. He even gave mild support to Nianhua, stating that although his character was questionable, his prose aligned with public taste and wasn't meaningless rambling.
At the same time, Shen Junru emphasized that literature serves the public. If the public accepts something, it already holds literary value. Writing purely for the sake of "literary value" can lead to forced ideas, which is the real case of "forcing sorrow just to write new verses."
Impressive. Truly impressive.
After reading Shen Junru's piece, Huang Yifan couldn't help but admire him.
From his earlier "On Zhiguai Fiction," Huang Yifan had already noticed his sharp insight. Now, his analysis of prose was equally profound.
In truth, even in Huang Yifan's previous life, the definition of prose had always been debated. While "loose in form, unified in spirit" was widely accepted, even among the general public, did prose truly have to follow that rule? Personally, Huang Yifan wasn't entirely convinced.
But since he was the one who proposed it, there was no way he would contradict himself now.
Besides, this time he was here to win.
Even if his theory had flaws, he would still crush his opponents.
For the sake of ranking up, Huang Yifan was fully committed.
His mind raced as he thought about how to counterattack.
A few minutes later, his eyes lit up.
He thought of a famous historical figure from his previous life, Han Yu.
Why Han Yu?
Because not only was Han Yu the foremost among the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song dynasties, but he also strongly opposed parallel prose.
What is parallel prose?
It emphasizes symmetry, rhythm, and ornate language, somewhat like poetry. But it is still prose. And prose should carry meaning and substance. Overemphasizing form and embellishment only leads to empty writing. After reading hundreds of words, you realize it could have been said in a single sentence.
Thus, Han Yu advocated that writing should have real substance.
His ideas were later supported and developed by figures like Ouyang Xiu, Liu Zongyuan, Wang Anshi, the three Su fathers and sons, and Zeng Gong.
Although modern prose isn't the same as parallel prose, Huang Yifan's "loose in form, unified in spirit" shares a similar core with Han Yu's idea of meaningful writing.
And now, many critics were redefining prose as "beautiful writing," focusing only on aesthetic form, even without any central idea.
In other words, modern prose was becoming dangerously similar to parallel prose, all style, no substance.
Such writing needed to be corrected.
In that case, let Han Yu, the foremost of the Eight Great Prose Masters, shake up these people who treat prose as mere decoration.
With that thought, Huang Yifan opened a document and began typing:
"Broadly speaking, writing should flow like clouds drifting and water running, without fixed form, yet always moving where it must and stopping where it must. Its logic is natural, its posture vivid…"
This means that writing, like clouds and flowing water, has no fixed structure, yet follows inherent principles. It moves when it should and stops when it must. Only then does it achieve natural coherence and vitality.
Prose is the same.
It has no fixed form, but that doesn't mean anything goes. Lack of structure does not mean lack of internal logic.
Move when it should move, stop when it should stop.
When prose follows this natural rhythm, like clouds and flowing water, then one can truly write a great, even timeless, piece.
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