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Social Conflicts Reflected in the Yu Dan Phenomenon Social conflicts reflected in the Yu Dan phenomenon Lee Kyu-il Professor, Department of Chinese Language, Yongdong University n November 17, 2012, Kunqu Opera (昆曲) was performed at the Peking University Centennial Hall. After the performance attended by thousands ended in great success, O the organizer of the concert introduced guests of honor to the audience and invited Yu Dan (于丹), an associate professor at Beijing Normal University, onto the stage. As Professor Yu greeted the audience on the microphone, roars of anger came from the audience: “Get off the stage!” and “Yu Dan shouldn’t represent us!” Surprised by the forceful reaction and finding himself at a loss, Yu Dan, got off the stage. The next day, the event was on everyone’s lips through the media and social network sites. ○● Yu Dan, an overnight sensation like Psy Yu Dan has become a celebrity scholar overnight through CCTV’s Lecture Room (百家講壇) program. Lecture Room is a television show where literature scholars provide lectures on the Chinese classics for beginners. 122 POSRI Chindia Quarterly�Spring 2013 :: Culture She became a superstar after giving lectures on the Analects of Confucius for seven days during the National Day holiday in October 2006. The whole country was fascinated by Yu’s lectures, which began to air on several programs. Thus emerged the “Yu Dan phenomenon.” Transcripts of her lectures, which were published in book form, have become a bestseller. Yu Dan’s Insights into the Analects (�語心得) has sold 6 million copies in one year since publication, and translated and published in 30 countries. She has released a series of books on Zhuangzi, Kunqu Opera, and the meaning of life, all of which became bestsellers. Her latest work is Relive the Most Beautiful Ancient Poems (于丹-重溫最美古詩詞), which describes the aesthetics and vitality of Chinese classic poetry. Just ten days after its publication on May 19, 2012, the book appeared on the nationwide top 10 bestseller list, released every week by Beijing OpenBook (北京開卷信息技術有 限公司), where it has remained ever since. Since 2006, Yu Dan’s books have almost never been absent from the bestseller list─at times, just her new book replacing her older book. ○● Too ordinary to be a bestseller Her latest book is categorized into eight sections by subject: Spring Wind (春風), Autumn (秋思), Moon (明月), Setting Sun (斜陽), Country (田園), Excursion (登臨), War (劍嘯), and Entertainment (詩酒). Each section introduces poets and their poetry, accompanied by classic paintings matched with the poetry. Since each page contains relatively little text, even common readers who are not familiar with Chinese poetry can easily enjoy the book. Those who are familiar will notice at once that the aforesaid subjects are the most frequent themes in Chinese poetry, which is telling of Yu Dan’s approach to the public. Yu Dan explains the most general and common stories in the easiest and simplest possible way. This was also the case in her first success, Yu Dan’s Insights into the Analects. In one section of Yu Dan’s Insights, she unpacks several stories and anecdotes from different times and 123 Spring 2013�POSRI Chindia Quarterly places in order to explain a phrase found in the Analects of Confucius; she then concludes that everything depends on the mind. This may be an exaggeration, but it is difficult to tell whether she recounts the stories to teach the Analects of Confucius, or she teaches the Analects of Confucius to recount the stories. Relive the Most Beautiful Ancient Poems is no exception. Introducing Chinese poetry, which is so famous as to appear in school textbooks, she remarks on the beauty of the spring days and the loneliness of the autumn days sang by the poets in an accessible way. She rarely delivers difficult, technical information or knowledge. She only focuses on lyricism and sensibility. ○● Mixed reviews of Yu Dan The book has received mixed reviews. Some praise the book highly for calling attention to the values of traditional culture, while others criticize it as merely a product manufactured by the author’s fame. The book ranked first by a huge margin on the “Regrettable Books of 2012,” selected by the Chinese portal Sohu at the end of the year. In reaction to the news, Chinese netizens commented: “It has no substance” or “The book was a mistake”. The emergence of Yu Dan almost turned into a new cultural phenomenon, receiving mixed reviews. Nobody doubts that she has become an icon of Chinese traditional culture, the biggest contributor to the national studies fever, and a missionary for the values of the humanities. The media aired footage of an old man, deeply moved by her lecture, who, holding her hand, exclaims that Confucius had returned. At the same time, she has been criticized for many reasons: she did not major in Chinese literature; she has insufficient knowledge of the Analects of Confucius and neglects the academic aspects; she has distorted Confucian thoughts. As a professor of film and TV studies, she knew how to use the media and cater to the public’s taste in the critics’ opinion. The trends in the Yu Dan phenomenon 124 POSRI Chindia Quarterly�Spring 2013 :: Culture are clearly shown in the response to Relive the Most Beautiful Ancient Poems. As a bestseller, the public support for the book has been verified. At the same time, it has been demonstrated how many people dislike her work. The Yu Dan phenomenon, which started as a positive phenomenon, has since developed into a complicated one. ○● Will Yu Dan collapse? The humiliation she faced at the Peking University Centennial Hall and the top ranking on the “Regrettable Books of 2012” perhaps foretell the fall of Yu Dan. Of course, such incidents are not just directed against Yu Dan. Rather, they express young Chinese intellectuals’ antipathy towards Chinese society, which has created the Yu Dan phenomenon. The message that Yu Dan has preached in her lectures and book is one about mental attitude: happiness and pleasure come from the mind. The right mental attitude can turn difficult circumstances into a driving force for success, and mental attitude is also what allows someone to be content in poverty and take pleasure even in hardship. This message goes hand in hand with the growth-centered policies of Chinese society. The Chinese government, which stood idly by the growing economic polarization and failed to slow the accelerating growth, may have hailed the emergence of Yu Dan. For even the poor living in shanty towns can see their house as a paradise, depending on their mind. Then happiness becomes irrelevant to government corruption, economic inequality, political freedom, and equality of opportunity, and unhappiness, an individual matter. However, the greatness of Confucian thought lies in democracy, whereby the rulers are criticized and the people are embraced. It bespeaks the very social responsibility and justice which Yu Dan has tried to evade. Perhaps this is the source of public discontent towards Yu Dan. The future of the Yu Dan phenomenon remains to be seen. 125 Spring 2013�POSRI Chindia Quarterly.
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