Firmament 寄余欢

Every year when summer comes and schools' final week ends, Internet fight begins. I cannot remember how many times I have experienced such a thing so far, but I am convinced that it happens as regularly as animals migrate.

But this time I don't quite understand. A month ago, lots of discussions were still centered by China's modern history, the ideological rupture between the envision of a communist China in Mao's era and the picture of a modern China in the post-socialist era, as well as the proper way to interpret the faith of the two characters and their fates after the founding of the new China. Although few conclusions were reached and such discussions further flamed a public fight resulting in an author's quit from the fandom, feuds burst during that period were still valuable in their attempts to think deeply and critically as much as possible, and at the very least, this wave of discussions evidenced the importance of the two characters in their fans' hearts, the respect that the fans showed for the characters, as well as the width and depth of the world of Lou and Cheng.

Then, how about the fight this time? While countless posts tagged "Telling Something to Lou Cheng" and/or "Lou Cheng" have appeared since yesterday morning, I have not yet fully grasped the situation. Why did it happen and why has it been intensified to such an extent? It seems many issues and parties have involved and intertwined there.

However, although there are indeed some fictions in which Mr. Ming Cheng is abused, humiliated, and disrespected, such a fate is more or less inevitable as well to Mr. Ming Lou in some works, no matter in which period(s) those works set their background. I can fully understand a part of such plots is created based on the artistic expression of some historical periods, but it necessitates care about the suspicious intention of a small part of authors involved in this kind of creation. Nevertheless, I am still willing to believe it is just a small part of immature authors since when it comes to history, everything is taken seriously by most of the authors and readers I've seen.

Despite continuous grumbles of outsiders, violent and pornographic scenes, as well as exaggerated plots, still attract readers for satisfying some of their particular needs, which is why tags, warnings, and classification are important. Can a fandom be diverse in themes, means of expression, and ways to portray characters, or it can only be restricted within certain stereotypes? I would rather choose the former if it can be reasonably regulated.

At the beginning of the fight, I assumed naively that it would probably lead to some rational probs, but when I woke up in the morning the next day, I knew that I was wrong. I still cannot get the point among thousands of meaningless invectives. To be honest, I don't want to see that his fans are like that. The rudeness of the act will cast a shadow on him, and that is what I really don't want to see. 

God bless the beloved characters and actors. They are all superb.