Chapter 306 - A Lecture that Subverts All Understanding! (1/2)

Outside the auditorium.

The chaotic commotion from inside spread outside.

A few Peking University teachers from the Mathematics department walked past.

“Hmm? Why is it so chaotic inside?”

“What happened? Isn’t this a public lecture?”

“That host, Zhang Ye, is having a public lecture, right? Why is it so noisy? And there is even screaming?”

“Man, is this a cla.s.s or the filming of a horror film? Must there be so much shouting? What’s the fuss all about. Isn’t it just a lecture?”

The few of them left after pa.s.sing the auditorium by.

Many students, who were on the floor below, also heard the commotion from the auditorium. They were also extremely curious. No one knew what was happening inside.

Only those present in the public lecture knew that shocking view thrown out by Zhang Ye!

He was bold!

Simply bodacious!

People who dared to propose such ideas were either geniuses or madmen!

Standing behind the podium, Zhang Ye, who saw the shocked expressions on the students and reporters’ faces, subconsciously stood up straight. He felt extremely dignified and was also a bit honored. As Zhang Ye’s world had a person, whose name was Hu s.h.i.+h. He was formerly Peking University’s President, and during the early years of the People’s Republic, Hu s.h.i.+h and Yu Pingbo had suggested that the last 40 chapters of “Dream of the Red Chamber” mismatched the first 80 chapters in artistry and ideology. They had made a bold guess that the last 40 chapters were continued on by someone else, causing quite an uproar. Zhang Ye was actually replicating what Hu s.h.i.+h and Yu Pingbo did back then. And fate had it that he was doing so at Peking University, who Hu s.h.i.+h had been President of. At least the superst.i.tious Zhang Ye believed in such matters, so he wanted to do a good job. He wanted to reveal the truth that everyone from his world knew to this world. This was a show of respect to Mr Cao Xueqin, as well as to the work, “Dream of the Red Chamber”!

“Teacher Zhang!” Someone raised a hand.

Upon looking over, it was straight As student Senior Song who was in Year 3.

Zhang Ye said with a smile, “Please speak.”

Senior Song stood up. She also wanted to let go of her prejudices and calcified knowledge from before, but she could not do so. She really could not accept Zhang Ye’s conjecture. “According to your inference, if the last 40 chapters were not written by Mr Cao Xueqin, then who wrote it? Who can pa.s.s off the spurious as genuine?”

Everyone p.r.i.c.ked up their ears to listen.

Zhang Ye looked at her and answered, “Your question has two slight problems. Firstly, what I said just now was not a deduction, but a certain fact. As for why I say so, I will explain and a.n.a.lyze it one step at a time later on.” Regarding this matter, Zhang Ye was very certain and definite, hence he said it with conviction. There were still disputes as to who finished up the work, but the last 40 chapters were definitely not the work of Cao Xueqin. This was indisputable. “Secondly, I think the words pa.s.sing off the spurious as genuine is inappropriate. Maybe some people feel that the last 40 chapters and the first 80 chapters match very well, and the plot has proper contrast, but I don’t think so. In fact, I find it incongruous. Of course, this will be slowly talked about later on as well. As for you asking who wrote the last 40 chapters, I can answer you right now.”

Senior Song asked, “Who?”

Zhang Ye smiled. This time, he was not that certain, but said it with precise words, “I presume it is Gao E!”

Who?

Gao E?

How could it be Gao E!?

Many students gave him looks of suspicion. Clearly, they did not know this name, but many Peking University professors and students knew of this person!

Senior Song was rendered even more speechless. “Gao E was the collator and conserver of ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’. He made a great contribution by conserving and spreading ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’. How can he be the author? This is a groundless statement! Besides, Gao E was not of the same era as Mr Cao Xueqin! How could the both of them create ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ together?” Through her explanation, many Peking University students who did not know now knew who Gao E was.

The collator became an author?

Department Dean Chang Kaige wanted to turn away. What this Little Zhang was saying was becoming more and more preposterous!

Zhang Ye still had a calm expression. “I never said Gao E and Cao Xueqin had produced ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ together. In my opinion, due to various unknown reasons, the original chapters of ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ after Chapter 80 were lost. As a fan of ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’, Gao E continued the story with his own 40 chapters!”

The reporters stared. The original ma.n.u.script was lost?

Senior Song exclaimed, “That’s impossible!”

Li Ying also stood up and said, “That is unfounded!”

“That’s right Teacher Zhang.” Senior Zhou also said, “Why do you say that?”

Zhang Ye chuckled. “It’s not unfounded. There is actually a reason behind it. However, with everyone’s preconceptions, no one noticed it, so many things were missed before their very eyes. What I want to do now is help to open everyone’s eyes. I want to let everyone see what you should have seen and discovered.”

Saying that, Zhang Ye flipped open the lesson plan in his hand and took out a piece of paper before walking to a projector. He projected the information to let everyone see it, “Here I have a poem. Of course, it was not written by me. It was written by an outstanding poet, scholar, and artist in the Qing dynasty, Zhang Wentao. This poem is t.i.tled “Dedicated to Gao Lanshu, My Contemporary Examinee”. Well, the content of the poem is not important and is just average in standard. It does not have much literary value either. However, the important part is the note following the poem, ‘Chapters after the eightieth were all supplemented by Lanshu’.”