The literary era since 1979

After all the speeches were over, those who had the right to vote began to pick up the voting forms on the table and either ticked or circled their answers.

One by one, they put the forms into the ballot box in front of the podium and then left the conference hall one after another.

Yang Xiao, Yao Haijun and others did not have the right to vote, so they were the first to walk out of the conference center and waited quietly for Fang Yan at the door.

After a while, he, Asimov, Heinlein, and the editor of "Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine" came out.

Along the way, Fangyan had already made an appointment with them to stay in Paris for a few more days and have a good chat about many matters related to the publication of "The Three-Body Problem" in "Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine", such as the royalties, and the fact that "Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine" hopes to sign all the trilogies at once.

Of course, there is no need for me to personally handle this kind of negotiation. I can just call Mike, my agent, to negotiate when I get back to the hotel.

While waiting, I also gave the English translation of the first part of "The Three-Body Problem" to Asimov and others for circulation.

Everyone was chatting happily, but they didn't expect that a large number of magazine editors and media reporters who wanted to get close to Asimov and his friends had already gathered at the door.

Dialect was also surrounded by reporters, but because all the questions were asked in French, they really couldn't understand a single punctuation mark.

Unfortunately, Europe does not have its own Qin Shihuang or Han Gaozu. The closest one is Napoleon of France.

Fortunately, translator Li appeared in time and resolved the language barrier immediately, allowing me to answer the reporter's questions.

"Science fiction can bring people endless imagination. Just as Einstein once said, imagination is more important than knowledge, because knowledge is limited to what is known, while imagination embraces the entire universe and can create a world that does not exist in our real society."

After a pause, he said in a serious tone, "Science fiction is exactly such a literary genre!"

“Science fiction is a literature of possibilities. It illuminates thousands of paths in the future, so that humans will not get lost in the dark forest!”

“Fang, will you focus on writing more science fiction novels in the future?”

A female reporter who claimed to be from Agence France-Presse asked.

"No, science fiction is just one of the areas I create."

Fangyan said seriously: "Try not to write science fiction professionally, but write it as an amateur. When your life becomes a bit difficult because of writing science fiction professionally, it will extinguish your passion for science fiction creation. Therefore, it is best to write science fiction literature as a hobby."

Hearing this, Liu Cixin, who was standing on the edge of the crowd, couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. This problem had also been bothering him for a long time.

Should he continue to stay at the Niangziguan Power Plant and write science fiction novels part-time, or should he completely break away and become a full-time writer?
Now, Teacher Fang has solved my doubts!

Start writing as an amateur, and when it develops to a certain level and can support your own life, then turn it into a professional one. After all, science fiction creation requires that one should not limit one's thoughts to the small world of life, but should look further ahead.

After the questions were answered one by one, the reporter from Le Monde suddenly mentioned that the dialect version of Farewell My Concubine was shortlisted for the "Paris Ritz Hemingway Award", which was established in 1975 to commemorate the American writer Hemingway's residence at the Ritz Hotel in Paris after the war.

Founded by Hemingway's wife, the award is presented personally by the French Minister of Culture and Communications every year to select the best work.

“It’s really my pleasure.”

After asking Fangyan, I found out that another work shortlisted for the "Paris Ritz Hemingway Award" was actually Marguerite Duras's "The Lover".

All of a sudden, the possibility of winning the award is less than 10%. This has nothing to do with who is better between "Farewell My Concubine" and "The Lover". Just like in the TGA Game of the Year, you can obviously choose one from "Black Myth: Wukong" and "Final Fantasy".

But it was awarded to Sony's "Astro Robot". After all, Marguerite Duras is a genuine French actress.

But I don't have much objection. This semi-autobiographical novel about Duras being the lover of a Chinese young man is indeed worthy of winning the award!
Seeing him finish the interview and squeeze out of the crowd, Yang Xiao, Yao Haijun and others ran forward and excitedly went to meet him. "Teacher Fang!"

"Thank you for your hard work today. How about this? I will treat you to a French meal."

The dialect allowed them to put aside all their concerns and worries and enjoy a hearty meal.

Everyone agreed. They had done what they were supposed to do. There was no point in doing anything else. They could only do their best and leave the rest to fate.

By the next day, the voting results would be announced at the conference.

Including Fang Yan, Yang Xiao and others, all the delegations that applied to host the World Science Fiction Convention arrived at the scene early.

People in the entire conference hall were chattering and talking, and it was not until the members of the organizing committee walked onto the podium that things gradually quieted down.

The chairman of this organizing committee stood up and gave a conventional opening speech. Then, in the expectation of everyone, he opened the envelope containing the final list, glanced from left to right, and then from right to left, and read out with a serious face:

“Before I announce the voting results, I would like to thank the countries or regions that have registered to host this convention, as well as the candidate cities in these candidate countries, on behalf of the World Science Fiction Association Organizing Committee and the entire World Science Fiction Convention.”

“Thank you for your outstanding work and speeches, and for your contribution to world science fiction literature.”

“Because we can only designate two cities, but the achievements of others are also worthy of our recognition and affirmation.”

"Now, I'd like to announce the results of the vote: 1987 World Science Fiction Convention, San Marino, Italy!"

For a moment, the Italian representatives in the audience could no longer suppress their excitement and joy and could not help but scream a few times.

Some were happy, some were sad, and in the delegations of other candidate countries, everyone looked nervous and fidgeted.

Liu Cixin was so anxious that he bit his nails, and Yao Haijun crossed his arms over his chest and shook his legs wildly to release the pressure and panic in his hearts.

Fangyan frowned slightly, and then he saw the chairman of the organizing committee deliberately creating suspense, and said with a long tail tone:

"The site for the 1988 World Science Fiction Convention is..."

"Huaxia Rongcheng!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Liu Cixin, Yao Haijun, Ye Yonglie and others jumped up from their seats.

Seeing the people around him applauding warmly, Yang Xiao's eyes filled with joy. His brain was buzzing with excitement and he went blank for a moment.

"Ow!"

"We made it!"

"Teacher Fang, we succeeded!"

Liu Cixin and others were so excited that they gave Fang Yan a tight hug one by one, otherwise they would have found it difficult to express the joy in their hearts.

A delegation of only six people represented China for the first time in an event hosted by the World Science Fiction Association and defeated countries such as Poland, Japan, and France. They successfully won the right to host the 6 World Science Fiction Convention for Chengdu, China, and Chinese science fiction literature.

If nothing unexpected happens, this moment will mark the beginning of the rise and prosperity of Chinese science fiction literature and its integration with the international community!
This moment is enough to be recorded in the history of Chinese science fiction literature, or even the history of Chinese literature! (End of this chapter)