Reborn Bao Guowei, I really didn’t want to be a great writer!

Chapter 307 Hemingway wants to learn from me?

"This..." Smedley was also speechless.

Countless images emerged in her mind.

Before coming to China, Smedley had prepared herself for the tragedy from various reports and materials, and had done a lot of psychological preparation.

But after arriving in China, she was still shocked by the horrific sight of the victims and social conditions at that time.

From then on, an idea arose in Smedley's mind.

Use your voice and writing to speak out for the people and progressives in this vast land, and call on people of insight from all over the world to support them.

This is also one of the reasons why she made a special trip to interview Bao Guowei.

Smedley felt a pang of sadness in her heart. During the two years she had been in the Shanghai Stock Exchange, she had also seen the powerlessness of many progressive people. It was undoubtedly painful to see this once glorious nation now struggling in the quagmire.

But she didn't want to see the man in front of her depressed, because it was his works that brought strength to countless people.

So, Smedley said seriously.

"You are wrong, Mr. Bao. Your works can save this country. The power of words is infinite. Words can kill people, but they can also save people."

"Of course." Smedley hesitated for a moment, because she remembered the persecution the man opposite her had suffered in Shanghai.

Whether it is "The Answer" or "The Old Man and the Sea", which one is not a strong response to persecution?
So she chose her words carefully.

"Perhaps you should be a little more diplomatic and put your own protection first."

As early as just now, the two of them had changed their communication to English, so Smedley expressed these sentences very fluently.

Bao Guowei shook his head and said.

“It’s not like I’ve lost hope.”

As a latecomer to history, Bao Guowei knew very well how subsequent history would develop and knew that this nation would eventually rise.

But what's the use?
"I know there will be dawn, I tell them there will be dawn, but I can't let them see the dawn right away, this is my pain."

"I can't let them see the dawn"

Smedley was stunned for a moment, somewhat shocked by this sentence. She was stunned for a long time before she quickly wrote down this sentence in her notebook with a pen.

And drew a circle on it.

"You've done well enough. What you may not know is that your work has been highly praised internationally." Smedley spread out her hands and said with effort.

“For example, Mr. Sholokhov, a Soviet writer, you should know him. He is an outstanding young man in Soviet literature. His work, And Quiet Flows the Don, has had a great influence in the Soviet Union.

After reading your work "To Live", he publicly supported you in Pravda, promoted your work in the Soviet Union, and said that "To Live" provided a lot of inspiration for the next "Quiet Flows the Don".

Bao Guowei was still a little surprised by the news. It took twelve years from the publication of "Quiet Flows the Don" in 1928 to the completion of all four parts in 1940.

It took Sholokhov twelve years to create this masterpiece, and he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1965.

What I didn’t expect was that in the course of history, my own work actually inadvertently influenced the creation of this work.

He said politely: "Thank you for the news, Miss Smedley. This news is very encouraging and important to me."

To be honest, after returning from Zhang Xueliang, although Bao Guowei received the other party's promise of protection for his safety, it was obvious that the other party did not listen at all when it came to the defense work in the Northeast.

This made Bao Guowei feel extremely lost.

Maybe I am completely different from other time travelers?
Just like the later American movie "The Butterfly Effect", the protagonist keeps trying to go back and change his destiny, but events always return to his original trajectory in another way.

But perhaps, this is the real history?
The tide of history has never changed because of one or two people.

Times create heroes, not heroes create times.

This may be the essence of history.

"Of course, it's my honor. What you may not know is that it's not just Mr. Sholokhov who has expressed his love for you. There are also countless Western writers who have expressed their love for Mr. Bao who is far away in the East. The influence of your works is unprecedented, so I hope you can continue to create."

Smedley said with a smile, and then suddenly mentioned it as if she had thought of something.

"There is another very interesting thing that appeared in the American news, which Mr. Bao may not know."

"Celebrities?" Bao Guowei raised his eyebrows. To be honest, he was not being cocky, he still cared a lot about the reactions of these celebrities.

After all, they were all characters that appeared in history books and textbooks. To be able to get their support was, in a sense, a kind of affirmation of oneself. But this person almost made Bao Guowei fall under the chair.

"It's quite interesting to say the least. I happened to see in a local American newspaper that a young American writer named Hemingway said that because of your book To Live, he must write a magical realist work that is comparable to To Live."

"Who?"

"Hemingway."

Thump~
There was a sound of tables and chairs colliding violently.

Smedley looked across with some surprise. Just as she was about to help Bao Guowei up, she found that he had already stood up by himself.

He said in surprise.

"What's the matter? Does Mr. Bao know Mr. Hemingway?"

Bao Guowei was shouting in his heart.

More than just knowing each other! Even my own work was based on his reference!

He was sweating! A muscle on his face twitched.

On the contrary, it is Tian Gang that is in the right position. Does Hemingway want to learn from me?

When Bao Guowei thought about the fact that his own work, The Old Man and the Sea, was based on his work written 20 years later, his face turned red with embarrassment.

Fortunately, my work basically only refers to the framework of the other party's original work, and 80% of the content is my own.

Otherwise, Bao Guowei would really not have the face to go to the United States.

"No, no." Bao Guowei said with an awkward smile on his face. "It's just that I have a foreign friend in the concession, also named Hemingway, and I was a little surprised for a while."

"In the Western world, there are many people with the same name," Smedley said, covering her mouth with her hand and laughing.

"Can you tell me about this Hemingway?"

Bao Guowei became curious. Hemingway, who was born in 1899, was only 31 years old at the time, in the prime of his life.

According to Bao Guowei, after graduating from high school, Hemingway's work experience in a newspaper allowed him to start his writing career.

Smedley thought for a moment and said.

"I don't know much about him. I just know that he is a man with rich experience. He once participated in the World War and witnessed the cruelty of war. He even rescued a wounded soldier in the war and was awarded a medal of bravery. Now he seems to be living a pastoral life in the American countryside and he often creates."

"As for his works."

Smedley smiled and shook her head. Hemingway was now beginning to emerge in the American literary world.

"The Sun Also Rises" is known as one of the representative works of the "Lost Generation".

But the American literary world was flourishing in that era, and works emerged in large numbers.

Hemingway is not really on the list at the moment.

So Smedley didn't pay much attention.

However, after seeing it by chance, I thought this person's experience was very interesting, so I contacted Bao Guowei and talked about it. I didn't expect Bao Guowei to be so interested.

Bao Guowei said nothing more.

Hemingway really became famous after 1940, when his book For Whom the Bell Is Called won the Pulitzer Prize. From then on, he became unstoppable.

The two chatted about everything and gradually became familiar with each other.

During the conversation, Smedley deeply felt the personal charm of the young man in front of her.

And in his later memoirs, he gave this evaluation of Bao Guowei.

"To grasp the main contradiction, both fists and brains are indispensable to achieve one's goals. Mr. Bao's words have benefited me a lot and left a deep impression on me. I think people who can follow such theorems will surely achieve extremely brilliant achievements in the future. Everything that happened later also proved my guess at that time. It is worth mentioning that I heard similar words in the Soviet area a few years later."

“Bao Guowei’s theories and knowledge are admirable. During the conversation, I learned about his creative process, and these stories shocked me.

He made me feel the wisdom and charm of an oriental scholar, and I learned a lot of knowledge from him during our conversations, which was rarely seen in newspapers or any book I had read.

Of course, everything that happened later was really regrettable, but it was a pity that I didn’t have the opportunity to go back and remind him.”

(End of this chapter)