Chapter 22 From Role Model Years to "Youth Leaders"

Is Jane Zhang a "Youth Leader"?What makes her a "Youth Leader"? In 2005, Zhang Ziyi and several other outstanding entertainers, economists, and journalists were selected as one of the "Top Ten Young Leaders" by a certain domestic media. leader' behavior.A year later, when it was reported that Jane Zhang would be the sole representative of the Asian entertainment industry, together with well-known entrepreneurs such as Robin Li, to attend the "Special Roundtable for Young Leaders" of the Boao Forum for Asia held on April 21, it also attracted condemnation from countless netizens .

The many debates on the Internet made me have to lament that "limited language" is an "infinite cage".We use language to think, but we have to sit and watch the sky in the trap or stereotype of language. The word "leader" can be searched as an example.Since modern times, the word "leader" has been sanctified, and the memory scars caused by "leader" make people feel fearful when they see it again.However, in today's era of openness, the meaning of "leader" has undergone essential changes. If we still apply the previous "leadership concept" that "politics leads everything and encompasses everything in life" to explain the lives of today's "young leaders" , It is inevitable that the lips of the donkey will not match the mouth of the horse.Here, in order to better analyze the meaning of "Youth Leader", we need to examine the birth of these words and do some simple work to get to the bottom of it.

So what is a "leader"?From the literal meaning, it is naturally "collar" and "sleeve".For example, "Continued Han Shuzhi Fourth Etiquette Records 1" said, "Everyone wears Dufu robes and single clothes, Zaoyang Yuan leader's middle clothes, crowns Jinxian, and holding sticks." From this, it can be seen that the "leader" was originally a The most mundane words in people's daily life.When a person goes out and enters the house, as part of social etiquette, the "leader" often pays attention to himself and is noticed by others.

Of course, due to the key role played by "leader" in clothing aesthetics, it was later used to refer to the leader, leader or backbone of a country or a group.In the 17th chapter "Kuang Xiucai revisited the old place, Dr. Zhao is high in the poetry circle", there is a record about the "leader": "Jing Lanjiang pointed to the pockmark and said: 'This is Mr. Zhi Jianfeng.' Pointing to the A bearded man said: "This is Mr. Pu Yuqing. They are both leaders of our poetry club." From this, it can be seen that the old "leaders" not only may not be graceful, but may even be ugly.

Sometimes "leadership" is also used as a reward for bad guys.For example, in "Chu Ke Pai An Surprise Volume 12", "Tao Jiaweng Dayu stays with Jiang Zhenqing to get a wife": "Who knows this person is a big bachelor in Yangzhou. He is a soldier, a prostitute, and a child. He's the leader of the fireworks, the leader of the turtle." So, before the word "leader" was sanctified, it did not appear entirely in a positive and praiseworthy form.Even in the Qing Dynasty, words such as "leader" and "leader" and "leader" still had similar artistic conceptions.

From the perspective of etymology, the appearance of the word "leader" can be pushed back at least to the Jin Dynasty. "Book of Jin" records Sima Zhao's comment on Wei Shu: "Emperor Wen highly valued him, and he would sit down every time he met, and he said after seeing him off: 'Wei Shu is dignified, and he is also the leader of people.'" This passage means that, Wei Shu is a good person, and he can set an example for others. However, this is not to say that Sima Zhao, who is "well-known to everyone", is willing to abdicate his position. He hopes that Mr. Wei Shu, who only started working as a sesame official at the age of forty, will become the political leader of the country and let him lead the Wei and Jin Dynasties, so as to take over the Zhulin people's hearts.In other words, when Sima Zhao said that Wei Shu is "the leader of the people", he didn't mean to hand over his "leader (and) sleeve" to the general, and he was willing to walk in the time of history wearing a humble vest.

As for "youth leader", it is a foreign term.One of the important awards of the Davos Economic Forum is the "Young Global Leader". A full member of the Leaders Forum.It is worth noting that "Leader" does refer to "leader" and "leader", and it does not have the special meaning of "king over everything, controlling everything" in the Chinese context.In fact, the misunderstanding of "youth leader" is exactly the same as the misunderstanding of the concept of "opinion leader".In the past few years, when some critics of the times who were active on the Internet were successively called "opinion leaders" by the domestic media or scholars, they immediately encountered a lot of fierce opposition.However, the main reason why there are so many protests is that many people do not understand the term "opinion leader".

Tongxiang, "Opinion Leaders" is also the introduction of the key concept of "Opinion Leaders" by the Chinese communication circles.Of course, the more accurate meaning of "opinion leader" is "opinion leader", which is the concept first proposed by Lazarsfeld and his assistants in "The People's Choice".There are two points worth noting. First, "opinion leaders" refer to "those who play an influential intermediary role in the process of transmitting media information to social groups", that is, the so-called "opinion leaders" refer to "Information brokers" are not decision makers of opinions; secondly, "opinion leaders" are usually cited as a plural concept, which is very important, and it is sufficient to illustrate the diverse characteristics of opinion leaders in the discourse space, that is, public opinion The formation of a unified opinion layout is not done unilaterally by a specific person.Furthermore, in theory everyone can act as an opinion leader, just like the concept of "round table warriors", in addition to specifically referring to warriors, it actually implies a spirit of equality.

As mentioned above, in the Chinese context, translating "Opinion Leaders" into "opinion leaders" may be more in line with people's understanding of this key concept.However, if we examine the origin of the Chinese word "leader", we also find that "leader" did not initially appear as the incarnation of a ruler with the highest political morality and political wisdom, who could stand high and be admired by all people. Lovers who sigh and linger outside of marriage often think of "In the Mood for Love"; those who feel that "time will not pass, we are the ones who pass" will often talk about "Water Like Love", and even some best-selling novels are dubbed "Crass-like Love". Years" is striking.All these, all show how precious time is to human life!If we take stock of the past history of China, it is not difficult to find that for thousands of years, due to the over-emphasis on political morality and the subsequent oppression of human nature and self-consciousness, the history of Chinese civilization has actually become a part of history. History of "Model Years".

When young talents in ancient times talked about their bliss in life, they all mentioned "the night of weddings and candles in the bridal chamber, when they were named on the gold list". In today's terms, they have reaped love and career at the same time. . However, the ancient "gold list title" also brewed countless tragedies.Those who spend their whole lives only reading sage books, the so-called diligent study is nothing more than "practicing literary and martial arts well, and being good at the emperor's family". They pin their lifelong ambitions on the grace of emperors and generals.Therefore, once there is no hope of being on the list, many people will lose the meaning of precious life.There are even those with poor heads, like the old prison librarian who finally committed suicide in Li - since he couldn't get on the emperor's list, he simply got on the beam under the house.

Today, we can easily see through the most fatal mistake in the life of those who are struggling to be on the list - handing over the burden of self-evaluation and the standard of self-realization to others, completely ignoring that they are the true masters and creators of their lives. Regarding this point, Huang Jianxin also interpreted it in the film "Please, Praise Me" directed by him: his son's name is Yang Hongqi, and he has never received a certificate in his forties, while his father has been a The model worker has won a few walls of awards.The father's only wish during his lifetime was that his son could also get one.Since he has not won a certificate of merit, his son also feels that he is worthless.For this reason, he went to a local newspaper and tirelessly told reporters how he rescued a female college student who was almost raped, hoping to be praised.However, people did not believe him, and even regarded him as a mental patient.But his peaceful life was completely broken, and the certificate became the protagonist of his life. It should be said that there is nothing wrong with wanting to be praised, to get a certificate, to be named on the honor roll or gold list.However, if a person completely entrusts the judgment of the meaning of his life to others, it also means the fall of the subject consciousness.Over time, people's so-called "selfless dedication" or "positive progress" are just synonymous with "self-emptying" and "self-exile", and the originally strong people become weak.Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to understand that a young man who has worked hard will deny himself because he "failed" and "not praised".In fact, his presence or absence on the list doesn't really add or subtract an iota of intelligence from him.What's more, like the German officer in the movie "Iron Cross", the reason why he went to the front to kill enemies and comrades-in-arms was just to get a medal on his chest one day. Example and its power have been sung since ancient times.However, role models have different evaluation criteria in different eras.For example, in order to maintain the "chase politics" in the patriarchal society, the ancients set some chaste or widowed women as role models.However, in today's open heart, we know that this is just a way of praise to punish a person, to "close the coffin" of a living person, and make him a "servant of symbols" far away from his real life.Obviously, this kind of behavior of sacrificing personal real happiness in pursuit of moral order is no longer respected by people today.In an open society, where the country is a community of interests, people are most concerned about whether the contract spirit of fairness and equality has been effectively implemented, rather than competing for who should pay more, and accusing others of being immoral. The progressive significance of youth leaders also lies in this.The reason why these people have achieved success is not because they started their business thinking that they would one day be elected as a "youth leader" to call on others, but because they pursue self-actualization. The biggest difference between "youth leaders" and role models is that the former is open and opposed to authority, while the latter is closed, and as a moral benchmark, it is also exclusive.Therefore, when some commentators criticize the lack of authority in the selection of "Youth Leaders", I think that the lack of authority is precisely the most cherished aspect of "Youth Leaders".If we share the value of the Republic of Ideas, that everyone can and is able to think freely, then such authority should not be rare.Because, anyone has a "leader" and can use his independent judgment and unrestrained enthusiasm to make himself or others act as a hero or "leader" of the moment, in order to realize his own life, or to enrich his own life. Life.It is on this basis that the sudden emergence of "Young Leaders" in China today reminds people of the "Ascension of Man" and the ensuing cultural prosperity during the European Renaissance.China will therefore usher in an era of openness in which "leaders emerge in large numbers". Zhang Liangying, as a newcomer in the entertainment circle, why was she able to join the ranks of "Youth Leaders" and be invited by such a significant forum?Those who are in favor, if some commentators pointed out: "Jane Zhang was selected by Bobo Asia Forum based on the opinions of various judges. Jane Zhang is a hero of 'popular music' who emerged from 'Super Girl'. Regardless of her background, growth, or fame , or her own conditions and level, are the best interpretations of 'popular music'." Today, we live in a "global village" (McLaw's Chinese). To paraphrase the words in the poet Welter's letters, we spread "changing the face of the earth".However, when "mass + media" endows some young talents with the title of "leader", so that "under the spotlight, leaders emerge in large numbers", both the leaders on the stage and the audience in the audience should have a heart. normal heart.The most important point of this judgment is that neither the public nor the media, like Sima Zhao, have not really given up the power in their hands, and the "business leaders" and "entertainment leaders" have not been given up because of "embracing the leader". Click Execution or Compulsion.It's like journalists being "crowned (uncrowned) kings" by people, but the vast majority of them still have to live a mediocre, hasty and powerless life in daily life. From this aspect, the author prefers to regard the "Youth Leaders" as a group of models dressed in bright clothes or ancient values ​​of the times.In other words, people use their own methods to elect a few "young leaders". On the one hand, this is an open society's reward for young talents, and it is a realization of self-motivation in a rational society; , which also adds a little bright color to our ordinary life.Although these talented scholars and beauties are called "leading the spirit of the times" to some extent, this does not mean that they can control the entire society as they wish, and let the society go hand in hand with their whistles. As mentioned above, from the point of view of the contract, no matter what kind of "leader" titles these young people have won, the society has not redeemed them with any coercive power, so that they can force the spectators in the audience or from a distance to change into the allocated clothes. Go to the catwalk and sing a chorus. If some media pointed out that the emergence of young leaders is actually a symbolic event of the opening up of Chinese society. "They (referring to Li Yanhong, etc.) did not belong to any interest group at the beginning of their struggle, and did not entrust their future to a certain 'parent'. They did not have family assets to inherit, nor did they have the care and support of a certain organization, but they also Therefore, they have a wider world... Their legends are the legends of this era, and they are inevitable in the era of openness. What they have in common is the era they live in: more openness, more hope.” ("Creating Young Leaders in an Open Era", The Beijing News, April 21, 2006) Since the 1980s, China has made unprecedented progress.The root cause is that China has transformed from a poor and weak closed society to an open society where everyone has their own aspirations. Because of openness, the Chinese are continuously receiving historical rewards. If the ideological emancipation since the end of the 1970s and 1980s started the "leaders descending to the earth", then China's economic and cultural growth since the reform and opening up also provided a good opportunity for "leaders descending to the earth".Therefore, we have seen that many children from ordinary families can achieve extraordinary achievements through their own efforts, and are sought after by some media or groups as "business leaders" or "entertainment leaders". What "Leaders Descend to Earth" and "Leaders to Earth" show us together is a moving picture of a society and a country moving from closed to open.The political barrier between leaders and mortals has been completely broken, and there is no distinction between superior and inferior. Communication is essentially two-way communication.For the disintegration of old concepts and rituals, it is obviously not enough to simply "leaders descend to earth".If we review the past with an open mind, we have to admit that the worship of "wise leaders" and self-exile once led to an overall social disaster in Chinese history.However, the prevention and treatment of "all-encompassing leaders" and the healing of related memory scars cannot be solved by abandoning the word "leader".On the contrary, we should get to the bottom of the "leader" and witness the return of the "leader" to the ordinary through "leaders descending to earth" and "leaders ascending to earth". In today's China, the world has changed with time.It is precisely because of the above reasons that in this transitional period of gradual opening up, we should abandon our old knowledge or differences about political negotiations or ideology, and encourage more "young leaders" to come out and show their faces.Facts have proved that instead of suffering from the emergence of many "young leaders", this society has benefited from their vitality.Just as "opinion leaders" represent "opinion brokers" in the public space, "youth leaders" from all walks of life also appear in the public eye as brokers of the values ​​of the times and life progress, but they do not implement any compulsory persuasion .As for whether the "buying and selling" will be successful and whether the value will be guided, it depends entirely on their own judgment. After all, the era of forced buying and selling in "people's business" has passed.What's more, what we should criticize now is not too many "leaders", but too few "leaders". Only when everyone is alive and well can the country have hope.