A widower's entertainment

Chapter 321 [Foreign Bosses] (Please Subscribe)
Lin Youcheng was unaware that Jiang Wen had designs on his book "The Reader" again, and even if he did, he wouldn't care, because Jiang Wen wasn't the only one who wanted to undermine it.

Even Chen Aige is currently filming "Atonement" and still thinking about "The Reader".

Since the movie "Atonement" has already started filming in Suzhou in the south, Chen Aige has asked Lin Youcheng if he wants to join the crew.

Lin Youcheng is not a director, after all, and he doesn't need to be on set all the time. Just like when he was filming "The Message," he can visit the set at any time.

Although Lin Youcheng wasn't in Suzhou, Chen Aige would still occasionally call and communicate with the screenwriter, Lin Youcheng, to discuss adjustments to the script and dialogue. Naturally, Lin Youcheng wouldn't leave out any changes, and he would also mention Lin Youcheng's latest novel, "The Reader."

"Youcheng, your 'The Reader' is so well written. This story is also very suitable for film adaptation. In my opinion, foreign film festivals love stories like yours."

Chen Aige believes that if such a profound story as "The Reader" were made into a movie, it would definitely appeal to foreign filmmakers, as the story contains both lust and humanity.

"You're not making 'Atonement' right now, so go ahead and focus all your energy on making the movie 'Atonement'."

"I know that. If you have time, come visit the film set."

Chen Aige briefly discussed the filming situation with Lin Youcheng before hanging up. He was indeed busy filming "Atonement," and although he was well aware that "The Reader" was quite impactful, "Atonement" was just as compelling.

Just as Lin Youcheng hung up the phone, Zhang Wei arrived at the courtyard house to find him.

"Youcheng, Marquez is coming to the capital. Shall we go see him together?"

Lin Youcheng was somewhat surprised, not expecting Zhang Wei to come and tell him that Márquez had come to Beijing.

In 1990, Gabriel García Márquez's visit to China was undoubtedly a major event in the cultural sphere. This internationally renowned writer, who won the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature for "One Hundred Years of Solitude," was incredibly famous. In particular, "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is considered a pinnacle of Latin American literature, telling stories of family, history, and time cycles, and using magical realism to shock the world. Similarly, its influence on the domestic literary scene is enormous, and Chinese magical realism literature has been greatly influenced by Márquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude."

However, Lin Youcheng also knew something else: Markus's literary exchange in Beijing was actually quite unpleasant.

It's worth noting that this was all thanks to Marquez's influence; after repeated invitations from the Chinese literary community, Marquez finally agreed to give a lecture in China. However, afterward, with nothing better to do, Marquez wandered the streets of Nanjing. Passing by some bookstores, out of professional instinct, he went in to check out the Chinese book market. What he saw there was astonishing: shortly after entering the bookstore, he saw his own copy of *One Hundred Years of Solitude* prominently displayed for sale. The problem was that Marquez was still negotiating the copyright with a publisher and hadn't yet officially authorized any Chinese publisher to publish his book.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Márquez concluded that he had been infringed upon by unscrupulous merchants through piracy. This realization instantly ruined his sightseeing mood, and he immediately returned to his hotel. Afterwards, he quickly began investigating the Chinese pirated book market and discovered that his works were repeatedly being infringed upon and sold pirated copies. Not only *One Hundred Years of Solitude*, but even excellent works like *Love in the Time of Cholera* were being sold without authorization by numerous bookstores in China. These actions drastically changed Márquez's perception of China, leaving him both angry and deeply disappointed.

However, although Márquez was the original author of these works and possessed absolute copyright, he felt powerless in the face of rampant small vendors and piracy in China. Therefore, when Márquez was invited to Beijing to attend a cultural discussion, he directly and sarcastically remarked to the many cultural and publishing professionals present, "You are all pirates here."

In fact, in front of many Chinese scholars, Márquez said: "I will not authorize the publication of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' in China for 150 years after my death."

Qian Xuesen, who was writing "Fortress Besieged" and was accompanying him at the time, was extremely embarrassed. His face changed color. You have to know that Qian Xuesen is definitely a leading figure in the literary world. He couldn't save face and could only stand there awkwardly.

This caused quite a stir. Crucially, Márquez wasn't just talking; he kept his word and didn't allow the official publication of *One Hundred Years of Solitude* in China for many years afterward. Chinese readers who wanted to read it had to secretly buy pirated copies, which were not only of poor quality but also frequently mistranslated. It wasn't until 2011 that Márquez finally agreed to authorize an official translation—more than twenty years later.

Unfortunately, at that time, copyright awareness was weak in China, piracy was rampant, and laws were lax in both regulation and enforcement. Intellectual property rights were well-established in the West, but in China, they were just beginning, or rather, they hadn't even begun. Piracy wasn't limited to books; it included music, movies, and everything else.

Lin Youcheng waved his hand and said, "There will definitely be a lot of people going to the capital, so I won't join in the fun."

Clearly, Lin Youcheng knew what awkward situation was about to unfold. Even Qian Xuesen was helpless and understood why Márquez was angry. However, Qian Xuesen also knew that the situation in the domestic publishing industry at that time could not be changed overnight. Caught in the middle, he could only watch this awkward situation unfold.

Zhang Wei was very surprised to hear Lin Youcheng's words, not expecting Lin Youcheng to react this way.

This was such a huge surprise to him!
You have to understand, that's Gabriel García Márquez, the Nobel laureate in literature and author of "One Hundred Years of Solitude"!
It can be said that Gabriel García Márquez is a shining literary superstar on the international literary scene today, not only because he has won awards, but also because his "One Hundred Years of Solitude" created a dreamlike world, integrating the real Latin American continent into a wonderful and mysterious story.

That story tells of the lives of seven generations of a family, a series of recurring cycles of death and rebirth, ultimately leading to ruin. Some launched 32 armed uprisings, none of which succeeded; some became merchants, only to experience endless desolation after their initial prosperity; others became leaders of uprisings and strikes, but their efforts were ultimately fruitless, and they were pushed into the ocean by a train loaded with three thousand corpses. Finally, in the last generation, a newborn infant was devoured by ants, whose bodies were dragged into a burrow.

A hurricane swept in, utterly wiping out Macondo, leaving all its prosperity in ruins. Like a dream, everything vanished, a true Hundred Years of Solitude!

Zhang Wei was completely baffled and asked, "Youcheng, why aren't you going? That's Marquez!"

Lin Youcheng smiled. He naturally knew Márquez's status in the literary world, and he was also aware of the influence of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" in the domestic literary circles. But he knew what would happen at this symposium: Márquez would throw a tantrum, then leave and never come back to China.

He didn't want to witness this awkward scene, and he himself didn't particularly want to meet the Nobel laureate in literature.

“I won’t go, but you can tell Mo Yan that he seems to really like ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’.”

Zhang Wei certainly knew that Mo Yan liked the novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude." It should be said that many domestic authors have been influenced by "One Hundred Years of Solitude." Even he himself felt shocked when he first read "One Hundred Years of Solitude," followed by regret. He realized that novels could be written in this way. However, upon closer reflection, it seemed that Lin Youcheng was not influenced by these things. Moreover, Lin Youcheng's novels also shocked and impressed him, constantly opening new doors for him to learn that novels could be written in that way.

"I didn't expect you to be so calm."

Zhang Wei was surprised by Lin Youcheng's calm attitude, but he couldn't very well drag Lin Youcheng to the symposium. He simply said, "However, I think the Writers' Association might invite you over as well."

"Don't worry, the Writers' Association won't miss me."

Since Lin Youcheng refused, Zhang Wei didn't say anything more, but instead brought up a seminar on the novel "The Reader".

Clearly, neither People's Literature magazine nor the Writers' Association could afford to hold a seminar on this novel, which is in no way inferior to Atonement. After all, there were rumors that Atonement could win the Mao Dun Literature Prize, and now the influence of The Reader is no less, which naturally makes the literary giant Lin Youcheng even more important.

Zhang Wei glanced at Lin Youcheng in front of him, thinking that Lin Youcheng hadn't thought about meeting Márquez, perhaps because he hadn't been particularly influenced by "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and hadn't thought about communicating with this international literary master.

In terms of influence in domestic literature, Lin Youcheng's works are probably in no way inferior to those of Gabriel García Márquez.

There's no way around it; Lin Youcheng's creative passion has always been incredibly strong. Leaving aside his recent works like "Atonement" and "The Reader," just his earlier works like "The Devotion of Suspect X," "Strange Tales of the Human World," "The Message," and "The Time Traveler's Wife" have had a very powerful impact.

Lin Youcheng would naturally attend the symposium on "The Reader" that Zhang Wei mentioned, but he would also like to hear the opinions of other literary workers. This was something Lin Youcheng had no choice but to attend, since he was the author himself and was based in Beijing.

Lin Youcheng agreed to the symposium on "The Reader's" works. Watching Zhang Wei's departing figure, he thought about the symposium that Márquez was going to hold in Beijing, which he was sure would be very interesting.

He was naturally aware of the situation regarding piracy in China. Even Qian Xuesen couldn't say anything about it, and it was difficult for him to make any progress in this area. Things would only gradually improve once the domestic economy truly developed and people began to pay attention to copyright.

Thinking about this, Lin Youcheng shook his head and smiled, then wondered if he should go and take a look. But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he quickly dismissed it.

He knew very well that the scene would be very awkward.

Indeed, just as Lin Youcheng had thought—

Awkward, extremely awkward!
Before long, Marquez's words spread throughout Beijing's literary circles, creating a rather awkward and embarrassing situation.

The remarks made by Márquez at the symposium embarrassed all the scholars, leaving them speechless. They all knew that Márquez was telling the truth. It's no wonder that Márquez was furious; everything was pirated. Even those attending the symposium had read pirated versions of his novels. Piracy was rampant.

Zhang Wei was also present and witnessed this historic embarrassment firsthand.

“You’re lucky you didn’t go. You had no idea how awkward the scene was. Márquez even said that he would not authorize the domestic publication of One Hundred Years of Solitude for 150 years after his death.”

"That was a pretty harsh remark, and even Old Qian didn't say a word."

"You didn't see it, but the ambassador who was accompanying them tried to say something to ease the awkward atmosphere, but Marquez retorted without hesitation."

Lin Youcheng raised an eyebrow when he heard Zhang Wei's words. He hadn't seen it, but he knew how ugly the matter had become. Later, the incident was even published in the newspapers of Márquez's country.

Not only Zhang Wei, but also Yu Hua, Mo Yan and others attended the symposium, but none of them expected to witness such an embarrassing spectacle.

There's no way around it; even the international literary master Gabriel García Márquez has said such harsh words. This is a disgrace to the entire literary circle, and it ended in a bitter falling out. How could this be a good thing?

Yu Hua, who was also present, heard Zhang Wei's words and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. That's the current situation in the domestic publishing industry. Even Mr. Qian is helpless."

Zhang Wei nodded and said, "Previously, Qian Lao and Márquez communicated very well, but now this matter has become quite tense. Márquez also doesn't understand the situation in our country, which is something we need to correct."

Yu Hua nodded as well.

Lin Youcheng knew that Zhang Wei was telling the truth, but he was also aware that it would take a long time to correct this.

Zhang Wei didn't dwell on the topic, since things had already gotten quite tense. He turned to Lin Youcheng and said, "By the way, I heard from Mr. Qian that he talked about your works with Marquez, saying that your works are very popular overseas now."

Lin Youcheng raised an eyebrow. His works are also published overseas, but most of them are in Japan. His most well-known and popular work is probably "The Devotion of Suspect X," after all, the film adaptation of this novel won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

"Your novel, 'The Time Traveler's Wife,' is very popular."

Zhang Wei's eyes lit up with excitement when he mentioned this, saying, "They said that overseas readers were very surprised that this romantic love novel full of science fiction imagination was written by a writer from our side. It seems that your novel has quite a bit of influence overseas now."

In fact, when Lin Youcheng's "The Time Traveler's Wife" was published in the magazine "People's Literature", it had a great influence and generated a lot of discussion. In addition to some controversial voices, some literary critics believed that "The Time Traveler's Wife" was like Gabriel García Márquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera", which is also a love story that spans a century and truly breaks through the barriers of time and space.

Lin Youcheng was somewhat surprised to hear Zhang Wei's words, but then he thought about it. Previously, Times Publishing Company had published his novel "The Time Traveler's Wife" and even said that his novel could win the Hugo Award. Now it seems that the novel is really popular overseas after being translated and published!

Even Márquez knew about it; otherwise, he wouldn't have mentioned his novel to Qian Zhongshu.

However, in Lin Youcheng's view, "The Time Traveler's Wife" was originally quite popular in another time and space around the world, especially in some overseas countries. It is still 1990 now, and the appearance of such an imaginative science fiction romance novel as "The Time Traveler's Wife" at this time will definitely capture countless overseas readers.

Especially in countries with more developed economies like the United States, science fiction movies are very popular, such as "Terminator," "Star Wars," and Oscar-nominated films like "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and "Back to the Future." Keep in mind that these movies were released in the United States a few years ago.

This may explain why overseas readers were so shocked that a writer from a relatively underdeveloped Eastern country could produce a novel like "The Time Traveler's Wife," a work full of science fiction imagination and romance. Shouldn't this be a story written by an American author?

This is something that not only surprised overseas readers, but also shocked and intrigued the author, Lin Youcheng, himself.

This will naturally make Lin Youcheng's "The Time Traveler's Wife" even more popular and generate more discussion.

Time Publishing is a world-renowned publishing company. The novel "The Time Traveler's Wife" is quite moving in itself, and with its origins in the mysterious East, the hype surrounding it was far more intense than in China.

Of course, Lin Youcheng didn't know exactly how popular his novel was, but he figured that since Marquez was so angry about piracy in China, the overseas publishing situation should be much better. If it was truly popular, then it would mean that the novel would bring him equally popular royalties.

Well, at this moment, Lin Youcheng and Márquez shared the same thoughts.

Yu Hua was quite surprised to hear Zhang Wei's words and asked, "Really? Is Cheng's 'The Time Traveler's Wife' really popular abroad?"

Zhang Wei nodded firmly and said, "I think it definitely is, otherwise Márquez wouldn't have specifically mentioned this work to Qian Lao."

Yu Hua said with a smile, "It seems that foreign readers share the same thoughts as me. I was also very shocked when I first read You Cheng's novel. I never knew novels could be written like this! The whole story also deeply moved me."

Zhang Wei nodded, agreeing, and said, "I was very moved when I watched it."

Lin Youcheng smiled when he heard Zhang Wei and Yu Hua's words and said, "You two shouldn't say that. But if it's really popular overseas, that would be something to be happy about."

"Of course, even Gabriel García Márquez knows about your novel and mentioned it specifically, so it's bound to be very popular."

Zhang Wei said with a determined look, "Back then, the people at the publishing company said your novel could win the Hugo Award, and I think it might actually be true. Youcheng, your novels should let them know how wonderful they are."

In Zhang Wei's view, Lin Youcheng's literary works, not only "The Time Traveler's Wife", but also "Strange Tales of the Human World", "The Devotion of Suspect X", and the recently published "The Reader" and "Atonement", should be popular overseas, so that more overseas readers can know how amazing Lin Youcheng's works are.

Hearing Zhang Wei's words, Lin Youcheng smiled. Novels like "Atonement" and "The Reader" were already very popular overseas.

If that's really the case, he might become a big shot abroad.

(End of this chapter)