Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 687: Yu Hua, the Proud One

The second World Chinese Literature Awards ceremony was held at the Xijing People's Grand Theater on March 1995, 3.

At the party, the five best works of the Chinese Literature Award were announced, and as Fang Minghua expected: the Best Novel Award was won by Yu Hua's "To Live", and the Best Novella Award was won by Wang Xiaobo's "The Golden Age".

The best short story award went to Su Tong's "The Age of Tattoos," and the best essay award went to Taiwanese writer Pai Hsien-yung's "The Sixth Hand."

It is worth mentioning that Bai Xianyong’s father is the famous Bai Chongxi.

The poetry collection award was actually given to the poetry collection "Gazing at the Blue Sky" by the famous Japanese poet Shuntaro Tanikawa!
Shuntaro Tanikawa is a famous contemporary Japanese poet, playwright and translator. At the age of 1952 (), he published his first poetry collection, Two Billion Light Years of Loneliness, and was called the cosmic poet of the Showa period for this collection of poems.

The name of Shuntaro Tanikawa is not unfamiliar to the Chinese poetry world. After the 1980s, his poems were published in dozens of Chinese magazines such as Foreign Literature, Poetry Magazine, Huacheng, Dajia, and Mangyuan. His poetry albums and research papers on Shuntaro Tanikawa have all been published, which has an important influence on contemporary Chinese poets.

Fang Minghua applauded and congratulated the sixty-year-old poet who came on stage to receive the award, and at the same time couldn't help but sigh:

Poetry in China is really in decline.

After the ceremony, Fang Minghua privately invited some writers to his home, and Song Tangtang and the nanny personally prepared a table of delicious food for everyone.

Yu Hua, Su Tong, Mo Yan, Wang Anyi and Liu Zhenyun, all writers whose works were shortlisted, came to Xijing to attend the award ceremony. Of course, there were also Chen Zhongshi, Lu Yao, Jia Pingwa and Bai Miao.

When it comes to entertaining guests, it has nothing to do with literary achievement but only with the closeness of the relationship.

In addition to Qin Sheng, Chen Zhongshi and a few others, Yu Hua and Fang Minghua have been in contact with each other since the early 1980s. These young literature lovers at the time have now become the backbone of the Chinese literary world.

At the dinner table, Yu Hua, who won the Best Novel Award, became the focus of everyone's attention, and people kept toasting him in the name of congratulations.

Yu Hua has indeed been very successful in the past two years.

After his first novel, Shouting in the Rain, was shortlisted for the first Chinese Literature Award, his next novel, To Live, directly won the Best Novel Award at the second Chinese Literature Award.

Yu Hua could drink quite well, but he couldn't withstand the attacks from these people. He soon became drunk and his tongue could hardly stretch out when he spoke.

"Don't congratulate me, don't you? Didn't Su Tong win the award too?" Yu Hua held a wine glass in one hand and pointed at Su Tong who was sitting next to him with the other.

"His novel, Wives and Concubines, was also made into a movie by Zhang Yimou, wasn't it? You should congratulate him."

Su Tong immediately refuted:

"Yu Hua, although my novel was made into a movie by Zhang Yimou, it was just a novella and it didn't sell as well as your To Live. Hey, tell us the truth, the royalties Shengshi Books gave you must be several hundred thousand, right?"

Yu Hua just chuckled and didn't answer.

How much royalties he got is a personal secret, probably only Yu Hua himself and the financial department of Shengshi Books know. But what everyone knows is that Yu Hua bought a 120-square-meter house in Fangzhuang, Fengtai, Yanjing, where the rich live last year!

He bought a house in Yanjing, married a beautiful wife and had a child. For a time, Yu Hua could be said to have achieved success in both love and career.

"No, we can't just let Guang Minghua treat us. We also have to treat Yu Hua and Su Tong, the two of you who won awards this year!" Liu Zhenyun said half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"No problem!" Yu Hua agreed immediately: "Minghua, please arrange a place for us to eat."

Apart from anything else, of course I have to treat you to a meal since I won a prize of 100,000 yuan.

So Fang Minghua and others drank for two consecutive days, and at night they went to the Roman Karaoke Hall in Yaowang Cave in Lianhu to sing.

In the 1990s, dance halls were still in the ascendant, but karaoke halls began to rise. This kind of room with private rooms where people can order songs at will is very suitable for gatherings with friends. Of course, the price is not cheap.

Su Tong, Liu Zhenyun and Wang Anyi all sing quite well, especially Wang Anyi, who speaks with a Wu dialect accent and sings some female singers' songs in a soft and pleasant voice, which sounds quite nice.

Yu Hua's singing was awful. She had a duck-like voice and liked to sing fast songs. She ended up singing Liu Hong's "Platform".

"My heart is waiting, waiting forever
My heart is waiting, forever waiting

Ghosts cry and wolves howl.

This reminded Fang Minghua of the summer of 87 when Yu Hua sang that song in the dormitory of the Luyuan workshop.

It's still like this, and there has been no improvement after all these years.

Yu Hua was singing on the stage, while the rest of the people were sitting on the sofa drinking beer and chatting.

"Sister An Yi, I remember that when you went to Nanjing to attend a seminar on realistic works in the winter of the year before last, you said you were writing a novel. How is it going?" Fang Minghua asked with concern.

"The first draft has been completed and I am revising it now." Wang Anyi said truthfully.

"Sister An Yi, when you finish writing, please let me read it." Fang Minghua said.

"Okay, you can take a look at it then and give me some suggestions."

"Sister An Yi, what novel are you writing?" Su Tong, who was sitting next to her, asked curiously.

"The book is called 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow', but it doesn't mean that Bai Juyi wrote about the story of Emperor Minghuang of Tang and Yang Guifei." Wang Anyi explained with a smile: "I just used this name. It is mainly about the emotional story of a beautiful girl named Wang Qiyao in Shanghai in the 40s, from her middle school student to her old age, which lasted for nearly years."

"I came across a piece of news by chance a few years ago. It was about a girl on the cover of 'Meili' brand cigarettes being harassed by a young man, who then killed her out of guilt. I got the inspiration to write this," Wang Anyi explained.

"Hey, Sister An Yi, I am also writing a long story based on a group of people from Henan Province who came to Haiyan to sell blood."

I don’t know when, Yu Hua interrupted while listening to the singing.

"Xu Sanguan Selling Blood"? !

"Yu Hua, have you finished writing?" Fang Minghua asked, looking up.

"It will be finished soon and I will send it to you after I return to Yanjing." Yu Hua said.

Fang Minghua nodded after hearing this.

"To Live" and "Xu Sanguan Selling Blood" can be said to be Yu Hua's masterpieces.

When Su Tong heard that both of them had new novels, he became jealous.

Even though he is now very famous in the literary world and writes novel after novel, he has never written a long novel so far!
No, go back and write one quickly.

Fang Minghua noticed that Mo Yan was sitting aside without saying anything, so he smiled and asked, "Mo Yan, what did you write?"

"I have just finished a novel and sent it to Shengshi Books. It's called "Big Breasts and Wide Hips,"" Mo Yan said slowly.

(End of this chapter)