A widower's entertainment

Chapter 260 [Students] (Subscription Request)
1988 9 Month 21 Day.

In Beijing, Lu Xun Academy of Literature opens.

After a strict and orderly enrollment process, more than 40 students entered the preparatory class.

Although they both came to Beijing from other places and just became classmates in the graduate creative writing class, Yu Hua and Mo Yan had known each other for a long time and had a good relationship.

Last year, Mo Yang published a novella called "Joy" in "People's Literature". It was about a mother from a poor family. Because it described in great detail the scene of fleas crawling on the mother's body, it was severely criticized by the outside world.

When most of his fellow writers remained silent, Yu Hua wrote an article entitled "Who is our common mother" to defend Mo Yan, claiming that when Mo Yan sang about his mother's complete decline in "Joy", he was actually singing about his mother's complete glory. He did not directly sing about his mother's past glory because he did not want to show off his mother in his singing. The mother he sang about was a real mother, a mother who could not be tamed by time and hardship, a mother whose mountains and rivers had been shattered.

Obviously, since Yu Hua defended Mo Tiao so openly, he naturally had a good relationship with Mo Tiao.

Now that the two of them live in the same dormitory, their relationship will naturally be further strengthened, and they will talk about literature and some people in the literary world.

"If you really want to meet him, I'll take you to meet him some other day. Lin Youcheng lives in Xinghua Microphone in Beijing."

Hearing Yu Hua's words, Mo Yan smiled and said, "That's not necessary. He will give us lessons later, so we will see him then."

"I heard he has six children?"

Yu Hua nodded and said, "Yes, I admire him very much. It is not easy to take care of six children and write at the same time."

Just as Mo Yan and Yu Hua were chatting, it was almost time for class.

The two of them naturally walked towards the classroom while talking.

Although this is the first creative graduate class, it is obvious that Lu Xun Academy of Literature and Yenching Normal University attach great importance to students' courses. Many courses have been offered in the first academic year, such as "Creative Aesthetics", "Literary Culture Topics", "Western Literary Theory Topics", "Folklore", "English", "Special Topic Research on Marxist-Leninist Literary Theory", "Introduction to Literary Appreciation", and of course the indispensable "Writing" and "Creative Practice and Research" courses.

The course that Lin Jinglan and Tong Qingbing invited Lin Youcheng to teach was "Creative Practice and Research". It did not have to be as professional as "Creative Aesthetics" and "Special Topics in Western Literary Theory". Naturally, the content of the course "Creative Practice and Research" would be more free.

Actually, Lin Jinglan originally planned to let Lin Youcheng be the creative mentor, because at the beginning Lu Xun Academy of Literature planned to adopt the traditional "master-apprentice" method in the course "Creative Practice and Research" and invited many literati and scholars. However, it is obvious that Lin Youcheng expressed different opinions on this "master-apprentice" method, thinking that it was too old-fashioned and not in line with the freedom of literary creation.

Therefore, Lin Jinglan also respected Lin Youcheng's opinion and did not let Lin Youcheng be a traditional mentor. However, he also told the students that Lin Youcheng welcomed all students to his home for literary exchanges.

This naturally made many students very happy, and they thought that they must visit Lin Youcheng's home if they had the chance in the future.

You should know that many people now have their own mentors, and will go to their mentors’ homes for tutoring later.

Since he had agreed to teach students at Lu Xun Academy of Literature, although Lin Youcheng knew that he had freedom in writing, he also made some preparations. After all, he was going to teach those talented writers.

When he stepped into the classroom, he was immediately greeted with warm applause.

Obviously, everyone was looking at Lin Youcheng with excitement.

Listening to the warm applause in the classroom, Lin Youcheng couldn't help but smile. He knew many of the people here, and even if he didn't know them, he knew them.

Looking at those still very young faces, Lin Youcheng couldn't help but sigh inwardly that he, a middle-aged widower, was really getting old.

In addition to writers like Yu Hua with whom he had dealt before, Lin Youcheng also met a stranger who looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him in Yanyuan.

Xie Shuhua sat in the classroom, looking at Lin Youcheng excitedly. It was obvious that she realized that Lin Youcheng still remembered her. When she was still studying at Yenching University, Lin Youcheng came to Yanyuan to give lectures, and she went to listen every time. She also expressed her love for Lin Youcheng's works in private to his face.

Now that she had also embarked on the path of literature, and knowing that there was a graduate class jointly established by Lu Xun Academy of Literature and Yenching Normal University, she naturally signed up for this graduate class. As for knowing that Lin Youcheng would also give lectures to them, that was a matter for later.

Obviously, Xie Shuhua was very excited to listen to Lin Youcheng's lecture, because she has always liked the novels written by Lin Youcheng and the love stories written by Lin Youcheng. It can be said that she has read every novel several times. Of course, novels like "The Sound of the Wind" and "Tengu" also shocked and moved her deeply.

It has to be said that Xie Shuhua's decision to embark on the path of literary creation was influenced by the writer Lin Youcheng.

Of course, these are all Xie Shuhua’s stories.

Lin Youcheng's eyes just passed by her. Lin Youcheng didn't know the influence he had on Xie Shuhua. He looked at the young people below and said with a smile: "You don't have to call me Teacher Lin. You can just call me Youcheng or Brother Lin. I will teach you, that is, I will discuss some writing matters with you."

"Before, the Faculty of Arts wanted me to be a creative mentor, the kind where I learn from my teacher and have an apprenticeship. I refused because I think literary creation is all about communication."

"However, if you have any questions, you can come to Xinghua Hutong to find me and we can discuss it together."

Obviously, Lin Youcheng's words were very approachable, making other young writers feel that Lin Youcheng really came to have a literary exchange with them.

"If someone doesn't want to come to class, that's fine."

Naturally, Yu Hua and others were very surprised when these words were spoken. They did not expect Lin Youcheng to say this directly.

However, Yu Hua did not know that most of the students in this graduate class did not go to the classroom for classes during the day. The classroom was basically empty, but at night the classroom was filled with students watching TV and playing chess.

It is obvious that these young writers did not really attend the classes honestly.

Lin Youcheng didn't care about the surprise of Yu Hua and others. He just smiled and said, "You may know more about literary creation than I do. The general cognition is linear and modular. That is, the replacement of literary trends such as scars, reflection, reform, root-seeking, modernism, avant-garde, new realism, and new history constitutes a clear clue and logical existence."

"But what I want to say is that literary creation has always been free, and no genre can constrain your creation."

In fact, Yu Hua was deeply touched by what Lin Youcheng said. Now he is wandering in the scenes of classical novels. Not long ago, he published the novella "Classical Love", which tells a story about a talented man and a beautiful woman.

Now, Yu Hua is planning to write a martial arts story, and has even decided on a name for the novel: Blood Plum Blossoms. Yu Hua doesn't think that the genre of writing should be fixed.

Obviously, Lin Youcheng's words were also agreed by other young writers, because they also needed creative freedom.

"Only in the process of free creation can a writer form his own style..."

……

Obviously, Lin Youcheng's lectures are all about sharing and communication. Since it is communication, there will naturally be some discussion about literary works.

"Teacher Lin, which writer and which work do you personally like more?"

Lin Youcheng smiled and said, "There are many. This may be the reason why I have no restrictions on style. For example, I read Yu Hua's article "A Kind of Reality", which I really appreciated. Although it is a bit scary, I really appreciate that Yu Hua laid the groundwork for the lighthearted cruelty when he wrote that before the four-year-old boy Pipi threw his younger cousin to death, he heard the cousin's 'cry of fulfillment'. It was quite exciting!"

Yu Hua did not expect that Lin Youcheng would actually appreciate his article "A Kind of Reality", but that article "scared" a group of editors. At that time, the editors were also surprised that he actually wrote about the cruel revenge between relatives in a family with a smile, especially his narrative style was like that of a bloodthirsty killer.

"I also really appreciate Liu Zhenyun's article "A Pile of Feathers", which uses calm humor to truly depict the lives of ordinary people. In the mediocre life, there are humble pleasures and a hidden social crisis, forming a combination of comedy and tragedy, which is very exciting."

……

It was obvious that Liu Zhenyun and others were quite surprised by Lin Youcheng's words.

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Lin Youcheng did not mention those well-known writers, nor did he mention those works from abroad, but instead mentioned the works of the students who were sitting in the classroom and listening to the lecture, which was really beyond their expectations.

However, it is obvious that Lin Youcheng's sharing also made Yu Hua and others feel the difference of this senior writer Lin Youcheng.

A class will soon be over.

Lin Youcheng finished the class and was about to leave, but Xie Shuhua chased him out and asked with a smile: "Teacher Lin, do you still remember me?"

Lin Youcheng smiled and nodded, and said, "You have graduated from Yenching University?"

"I graduated a long time ago, and I've started writing now."

Lin Youcheng was not surprised to hear what Xie Shuhua said. Since he was a student of the Department of Literature at Yenching University, he would definitely engage in literature-related work after graduation. Not to mention that Xie Shuhua is still taking classes at Lu Xun Academy of Literature, so he will definitely continue his literary creation.

Xie Shuhua looked at Lin Youcheng and asked, "Do you know where I was assigned to work after graduation?"

Lin Youcheng shook his head, not knowing why Xie Shuhua talked to him about work assignments.

"After I graduated, I was assigned to work in Tianjin as an editor at Novel Monthly."

Lin Youcheng was stunned. He didn't expect Xie Shuhua to be the editor of "Novel Monthly", which was the magazine where his first novel "Under the Hawthorn Tree" was published.

Of course, the later work "The Devotion of Suspect X" was also published in "Novel Monthly".

Seeing Lin Youcheng's surprised expression, Xie Shuhua couldn't help but laugh and said, "I'm originally from Tianjin. I was very happy to be an editor at Novel Monthly after graduation, but now I have the opportunity to come to Lu Xun Academy of Literature to take classes, and I'm even happier."

Especially being able to listen to Lin Youcheng’s lectures here was a surprise that Xie Shuhua had never expected.

Lin Youcheng smiled and nodded, saying, "If you return to Tianjin Novel Monthly, please say hello to Deputy Editor-in-Chief Dong for me."

"He is no longer the deputy editor-in-chief, but the editor-in-chief of Novel Monthly!"

Lin Youchegong was a little surprised when he heard Xie Shuhua, but after the surprise he felt it was natural. He knew before that Dong Zhao had been promoted to deputy editor-in-chief, so it was not surprising that he was the editor-in-chief now. After all, it had been five years since Dong Zhao was responsible for his article "The Love Under the Hawthorn Tree".

Xie Shuhua smiled and said, "Novel Monthly has always had your stories. From time to time, they discuss your work "Under the Hawthorn Tree" and your later work "The Devotion of Suspect X". They all say that it was Editor-in-Chief Dong who discovered you, a great writer."

"Yes, it was Editor-in-Chief Dong and Novel Monthly that gave me the opportunity to publish my works."

More importantly, when he first arrived, it was only because of the royalties from "Novel Monthly" that he was able to survive with those little kids.

Xie Shuhua smiled and said, "Novel Monthly has always been looking forward to publishing your novel."

Hearing Xie Shuhua's words, Lin Youcheng couldn't help but find it a little funny. As expected, now that he has become an editor, he still has to ask for manuscripts for his magazine. He said, "I will definitely submit it to Novel Monthly again if I have the chance. I just hope that you, the editor, won't reject it."

"how come!"

Xie Shuhua said quickly: "I have always liked your works, Teacher Lin. I really like your latest novel, "The Untouchable Lover". I have read it several times. The love described in it is so touching."

Xie Shuhua truly spoke these words. She really liked the love story of Lin Yin and Zhou Xian in "Unforgettable Lovers". Even though they had never actually met, the exchange of letters, knowing each other in different time and space, and then falling in love with each other, also moved Xie Shuhua deeply.

Lin Youcheng could sense Xie Shuhua's sincere gaze, and knew that he really liked the novel he wrote. He smiled and said, "I am also looking forward to the novels you will publish later."

Xie Shuhua nodded seriously and said, "I will write it seriously and write a touching love novel seriously."

Lin Youcheng smiled and did not ask why it had to be a romance novel. He just expressed his anticipation and did not chat any more with the student Xie Shuhua. He just left.

Looking at Lin Youcheng's leaving back, Xie Shuhua's eyes flickered, and she thought to herself that she must write a touching love story like Lin Yin and Zhou Xian's that breaks through the distance of time and space.

(End of this chapter)