It is an indisputable fact that Yu Dan once became famous for his chicken soup interpretation of "The Analects of Confucius". During Yu Dan's peak period, even Meng Man, who would become famous in the future, was called "Le Yu Dan". However, now Yu Dan has become the spokesperson of Chicken Soup for the Soul. When Yu Dan is mentioned, he will be dismissive of Chicken Soup for the Soul, and even laugh at Chicken Soup for the Soul. In a sense, Chicken Soup for the Soul has become a derogatory term and a laughing stock. There was a time when Yu Dan’s Chicken Soup for the Soul was a market favorite. So why did Yu Dan, who once became so popular with Chicken Soup for the Soul, gradually become a laughing stock?

Before talking about this question, we must first understand a question. What is Chicken Soup for the Soul? To put it bluntly, Chicken Soup for the Soul is similar to success studies, which can invigorate people’s will. Strictly speaking, Chicken Soup for the Soul is not the original creation of Yu Dan, but it is Yu Dan who can play with Chicken Soup for the Soul in various ways. People have always blamed Yu Dan's desolation on his ouster at Peking University, academic misconduct, and acting as a celebrity. In fact, most of these "accusations" are groundless and lack factual basis. As a cultural scholar, Yu Dan should talk about her chicken soup for the soul in a matter-of-fact manner, and should not talk about others.

You may wish to take a look at Wang Shuo's views, which may be enlightening. Wang Shuo said that I don’t like 20% of Yu Dan, and I don’t like 80% of them. Why? She was rhetorical and committed a serious problem among intellectuals, aestheticizing the cruel history. Wang Shuo's comments are often taken out of context by self-media authors, not mentioning the 80% that he likes about Yu Dan, but infinitely exaggerating the 20% that he doesn't like about Yu Dan.

In fact, what Wang Shuo emphasized was that Yu Dan aestheticized the cruel history. Yu Dan also has quite a problem in using classical poetry to conduct historical aesthetics. History pays attention to objective truth, and the pursuit of theory must be well-founded, while classical poetry has the idealistic side of literati. Therefore, in Wang Shuo's view, using ancient poetry for historical appreciation is intolerable to him. In other words, Yu Dan’s understanding of history in this way is incomplete.

Compared with Wang Shuo's evaluation of Yu Dan from a literary perspective, Chen Danqing evaluated Yu Dan from the way of expression. He believed that Yu Dan was very similar to the counselor of the Young Pioneers who was very eloquent when he was a child. He was very reasonable and popular with the audience. What Chen Danqing means is very obvious, that is, Yu Dan pays attention to missionary work. There is a problem with preaching. Everyone understands and can explain the basic principles. At the time, it seemed very reasonable, but after a long time, it no longer feels nutritious.

In Chen Danqing’s view, Yu Dan’s way of expression limits her pattern. This is true. Yu Dan once emphasized that the soul needs chicken soup. In a word, Yu Dan likes to use chicken soup for the soul to spread culture. In fact, with the rapid development of society, people's material pursuits tend to be saturated, and their spiritual pursuits are more demanding. The easy-to-understand chicken soup for the soul is gradually abandoned by people. Readers have sharp eyes, and never question their ability to distinguish good from bad. Works that are well-received and well-received will naturally be popular.

Having said that, combined with the evaluations of Wang Shuo and Chen Danqing, we can see why Yu Dan has gradually become a laughing stock. Yu Dan's inappropriate literary entry point and obvious missionary expression are important components of his chicken soup for the soul. Chicken Soup for the Soul is just a product of the old times, suitable for entry-level cultural needs.

The key to the problem is that readers are not static and cannot stay at the entry-level cultural needs forever, but are constantly developing and growing. When readers' spiritual pursuits are higher, Yu Dan's Chicken Soup for the Soul has been abandoned by the times. Therefore, it cannot be said that Yu Dan has no level, but that her chicken soup for the soul does not meet the needs of the times. This also gives us a revelation that cultural communication should be cultivated intensively and keep up with the trend of the times. Readers will not buy into chicken soup-style cultural communication.

Reference materials:

[1] Behind the rise of Yi Zhongtian and Yu Dan · Heilongjiang Daily

[2] Was Yu Dan fired from office by Peking University students? Restoring the scene of the incident · Yangtze Evening News

[3] Exclusive interview with Wang Shuo ·

"Can Fan Listen"

[4] Interview with Chen Danqing's Works in Weifang · Xu Qingfeng Interview

[5] Yu Dan promoted the new book "Having Dreams but Not Realizing Life is Cold", saying that the soul needs "chicken soup". People's Daily Online