"Versailles Literature": ridicule or show off
【Hot Spot Observation】
Recently, "Versailles Literature" has become popular on the Internet, and "Versailles Literature" works continue to emerge, and are also on hot searches. Discussions on this topic on platforms such as Weibo, Douyin, Zhihu, and Baidu are all very hot. Previously, "Fan Xue" confined to the circle broke out, the "Versailles Study Group" received attention, the evolution of the concept of "Versailles Literature" was sorted out, and some celebrities' "Versailles" remarks were also unearthed. For a time, a network cultural phenomenon worth thinking about has formed.
1. What is the meaning of "Versailles Literature"
It was pointed out that the concept of "Versailles Literature" was inspired by the Japanese manga "The Rose of Versailles" which tells the life of the nobles in the Palace of Versailles in France.
Versailles is a small town in France, more than ten kilometers away from Paris.
The French King Louis XIV built the magnificent Palace of Versailles there, making it synonymous with luxury.
According to netizens’ conclusions, “Versailles Literature” is “a spirit of performing high-level life”, but it does not describe or show the high-end of life positively and straightforwardly. Instead, it uses understatement and words to say something casually. The topic or deliberately reveals a certain detail to show one's superior sense of superiority.
Therefore, some people have proposed that "Versailles literature" is "using the lowest-key words to show off the most high-profile glory"; others have summarized the content of "Versailles literature" as casually artificial, pretending to be troublesome to show off, and blame for rejection and welcome. .
Others have summarized the three major elements of "Versailles Literature", namely, first suppress and then promote, public and derogatory praise, self-questioning and self-answering, and flexible use of the third-person perspective.
The author believes that the "Versailles literature" popular on the Internet should be divided into two categories.
One is to show off.
The content expressed by this kind of "Versailles literature" may be true or false, but no matter what, the creator's self-flaunting mentality is true. This can be called the flaunting "Versailles literature".
The other is to make fun of it.
This kind of "Versailles literature" just borrows this popular online sentence pattern to complete a certain rhetoric, not for showing off, but just to create a scene and enhance the expression of thoughts or emotions. This may be called formalized "Versailles literature" "Or "Versailles Literature" as a style.
The difference between the two is similar to the real street hawking and the stage "selling cloth head", the latter is more appreciative.
2. Psychology and rhetoric in "Versailles Literature"
Distinguishing the two kinds of "Versailles literature" helps us to discover its cultural and psychological basis more clearly.
The "Versailles Literature" as a tool for showing off is rooted in the psychology of showing off deep in human nature.
The heart of showing off has existed since ancient times.
"Historical Records · The Benji of Xiang Yu" records: "When King Xiang saw that the palaces of the Qin Dynasty were burnt and broken, and he wanted to return to the east, he said: "The rich and the rich will not return to their hometown, like the clothes and embroidery at night, who knows!" The desire to show off not only shows the heart of showing off, but also shows that the community of acquaintances is a better object to show off.
This may also provide evidence for the fact that "Versailles Literature" is more present in the circle of friends.
There is also a joke among the people that someone is poor and can't eat meat. When they go out, they smear their mouth with fleshy skin and make people think that they have eaten meat.
If Xiang Yu is still "showing off his strength", those who wipe his mouth will be "swollen face to fill up fat", and use the shallow oily light on his mouth to imply that there is a lot of oil in his abdomen. This detail is very true of "Versailles literature". It also shows that "Versailles Literature" has a profound psychological foundation.
The "Versailles Literature" as a style is actually a rhetoric.
Through the use of various techniques, such as reversing, flipping, contrasting, and dislocating, it creates a strong scene effect and brings people a feeling beyond language.
Netizens said that Li Bai's "I don't know the moon when I was young, called a white jade plate" was the ancient "Versailles", which of course is a joke.
But this kind of rhetorical technique has been in existence since ancient times.
"Shi Shuo Xin Yu" records Xie An's story.
During the Battle of Feishui, Xie Anzheng played chess with others.
After a while the battle report arrived, Xie An finished reading, did not speak, and continued to play chess.
Players ask how the game is going?
Xie An calmly replied: "The younger generation is a big thief." In front of the good news, Xie An's bearing revealed the true aristocratic temperament.
If we think about the scene effect of the phrase "children break thieves", we can taste that it exactly embodies the rhetorical essence of "Versailles literature".
Most of the current cultural hot spots are inseparable from the network communication environment.
"Versailles Literature" has become a cultural phenomenon and is inseparable from the communication characteristics of the Internet.
At present, the Internet has become the main channel of information dissemination, especially the rise of the mobile Internet, so that people are always immersed in the network context.
The network not only spreads hot spots, but also creates hot spots.
The online platform not only determines how we "look", but also determines what we "see"; it not only determines what we "say", but also determines our "how to say".
In other words, the Internet not only encourages people to express their mental state, but also helps people complete the rhetoric of expression.
At the same time, the Internet's strong contextualization and strong interactivity amplify the characteristics of emotions that are easy to influence each other and make it more convenient to spread.
"Versailles Literature" has the characteristics of condensed semantics, fixed form, and vivid scenes. It also reflects the psychology of society, which is in line with the needs of network communication.
3. Enthusiasm about "Fan Xue" may affect the choices of youth
The "Versailles Literature" and its popularity should be analyzed dialectically and viewed rationally.
As a show off, "Versailles Literature" shows off in the name of "showing life", revealing an unhealthy mentality.
As Adler said in "Inferiority and Transcendence", "the more a person feels inferior, the stronger the requirement for seeking superiority." Superiority and inferiority are two sides of the same coin, and inferiority is the twin of anxiety.
Even the Xiang Yu-style show-off of strength mentioned above, behind it is a lack of self-confidence mentality. The fleshy "show off" is a variation of Ah Q's spirit.
Deliberately creating a "high-level life" to fill the empty heart reflects the "overcompensation" psychology after the gap between self-cognition and social recognition.
Such "Versailles literature" is essentially a performance in the network environment, exposing hypocritical attitudes to life and distorted values.
If you just use "Versailles literature" as a rhetoric, play "stalking" word games, ridicule yourself, and relax your mind, as long as you don't cause attacks or harm to others, it's nothing to blame.
Living in a fast-paced contemporary society really needs a decompression valve. This kind of "Versailles literature" is like harmless "self-blacking" or "Tucao", which has the effect of relieving fatigue and alleviating anxiety.
However, this does not mean that "Versailles literature" deserves encouragement.
Language is the outer shell of thought. Rhetoric looks like an external form, but in fact it has a subtle influence on aesthetic taste, thought, words and deeds.
The excessive dissemination of "Versailles Literature" may give birth to and encourage a cynical mentality, and damage the correct attitude towards life and self.
As of June 2020, the number of Chinese Internet users has reached 940 million, with a considerable number of young Internet users.
The quality of network culture is directly related to the quality of social civilization.
At present, "Fan Xue" is expressed in a variety of literary works.
Some literary works do not represent the daily life of ordinary people, but are keen to sell rich and luxurious imaginations, substitute false assumptions for a rich life, discount beautiful ideals into materialized and materialized content, and take the "success" in the eyes of others. "Define self-worth and meaning in life, and lose yourself in pretentiousness.
Especially for young netizens, if they are keen on "Fanxue" and indulge in the psychological pleasure brought by rhetorical carnival, they are likely to affect the choices of youth, give up down-to-earth struggle and miss the most beautiful scenery in life.
Internet buzzwords catch on quickly and dissipate quickly. Perhaps within a few days, "Versailles Literature" will be replaced by new "stems" created by netizens, just like many popular "stems".
However, the prompts given by the popularity of "Versailles Literature" should not be easily forgotten. This is that the psychological state of netizens needs more attention and guidance, and self-expression also needs more effective guidance.
Online literature and art are incumbent on this.
In the Internet environment, pan-literature has become an important means for netizens to express themselves and communicate with each other in social networks.
In the tide of social networking, the various "stalks" that go up and down vividly illustrate this point.
The Internet literature and art often become the prototype and source of "stems."
At present, in the face of the ever-expanding Internet space and the more and more extensive network life covering people and fields, it is necessary to produce more creative online art works with more segmented users to nourish the hearts of netizens and enhance their spiritual power. Improve their aesthetic quality, and guide them to focus on discovering and promoting the beauty of life, human nature, and ideals hidden in the virtual world and the real world.
(Author: Hu Yifeng, "study Chinese literary criticism discourse system of a new era", "Chinese literary criticism," deputy editor, editorial director, Department of paper-based China Federation of literary criticism Center 2019 publicity and ideological Young Talents project milestones)