The literary era since 1979

"In other words, you are not sure whether you have been nominated for the Nobel Prize?"

Gong Xing placed the cut fruits on the desk.

"That's not necessarily the case."

Fangyan shifted his gaze from the computer screen to her. "With the connections at Random House, I should be able to find out."

Gong Xing asked, "Is that Jason Epstein?"

Fangyan nodded. Epstein had previously discussed with him how to handle the nomination for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Usually, a Nobel Committee is organized by 3 to 5 members of the Swedish Academy. They select 15 to 20 people from the approximately 5 recommendation applications received each year. After repeated discussions, the list is then shortened to about people.

Afterwards, the Nobel Committee will send the shortlisted works of the five finalists to the members of the Swedish Academy, asking them to use the three-month long summer vacation to appreciate the works of these five people. In September, they will then close the door and conduct the final discussion and vote.

Of course, he is indeed one of the five nominees for this year's Nobel Prize in Literature!
"So, doesn't that mean you have a one in five chance of being selected?"

Gong Xing's eyes suddenly lit up.

“It looks like a one-fifth chance, but in fact there is no chance of winning.”

Fangyan repeated what he had said to Wang Meng, saying that even the youngest winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, the 42-year-old Joseph Rudyard Kipling, was known as the "British Balzac" and the first British winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

"Even if I don't win the prize, it's great to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature!"

Gong Xing comforted him in a low voice, saying that there were not many writers in the domestic literary world who had received this honor.

"So far, only three people have been mentioned: Lin Yutang, Shen Congwen and Lu Xun."

Fang Yan said: "Of course Mr. Lu Xun refused to accept the Nobel Prize in Literature. He felt that if he won the prize, it would encourage the vanity of the Chinese people at that time, and make them think that they could really be compared with the great writers of other countries. This would have a very bad impact. However, this is a different time. With the foundation of our current Chinese literature, it is actually not inferior to the literature level of other countries. Mr. Lu Xun's attitude towards the Nobel Prize is worth learning."

"No wonder you're not that interested in Nobel Prize news."

Gong Xing suddenly realized, "What are you going to do next?"

"Of course, I'll write a few more novels and keep the old man company."

Fangyan winked playfully and clicked the mouse.

Immediately afterwards, the printer next to it made a "crunching" sound and spit out sheets of manuscript paper.

"what is this?"

Gong Xing picked it up and took a closer look. On it was written "Proposal on the Establishment of Shanghai International Class A Film Festival".

"It's what I showed you before. Please take a look at it. If there's nothing wrong with it, just sign your name on it."

Fangyan picked up a piece of red pomelo from the fruit plate.

"it is good."

Gong Xing knew that her man was paving the way for her, and when the Shanghai International Film Festival was established, she would have a share of the credit.

Whether being a member of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Shanghai Film Studio, or even the Shanghai film industry, it is a rare honor!

When she thought of this, her eyes sparkled and she rushed into his arms suddenly, being bolder than her usual self.

………………

Three days later, the results of the Nobel Prizes came out one after another, including the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The result was as expected, the winner was Camilo José Cela, a 73-year-old Spanish writer and poet.

The comments given are rich and concise descriptions with strong emotions, and unparalleled imagination of human weaknesses!

Those who had high expectations for Fang Yan were greatly disappointed for a moment, such as Yu Hua, Wang Shuo, Zhong Acheng and others in the editorial department.

Shi Tiesheng carefully looked at Fang Yan's face and said kindly:
"Ya Zi, you are still young and have a long golden period for creation. You will definitely have a chance to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in the future."

"Yes, Mr. Fang."

Wang Shuo added that among the new generation in the entire Chinese literary world, only Fang Yan was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. In addition, he also won a series of heavyweight literary awards such as the Kawabata Yasunari Literature Award, the Grinzane Carver Literature Award, and the Mao Dun Literature Award. He is undoubtedly the undisputed number one in the literary world. I am afraid that there will be no second person who can match him in the entire literary world. There is absolutely no one who can surpass him.

"That's not what I care about."

Fangyan waved his hand and said, "I am thinking about what kind of work I should write next. After all, popular literature cannot win the Nobel Prize."

"That's true."

Shi Tiesheng knew very well that Fangyan had been too focused on popular literature and film scripts in recent years and had slacked off on serious literature.

Zhong Acheng asked curiously, "Teacher Fang wants to hear our suggestions?"

Fangyan nodded, wanting to know the current creative direction of everyone present, or the novels they were writing. After all, for writers, inspiration is sometimes triggered by a book title, and sometimes it may be a detail, an intuition, or even a sentence that can trigger the desire to write.

"Let me start with some ideas."

Wang Shuo said bluntly that he is currently writing a work exploring the relationship between father and son, titled "I Am Your Father". It tells the story of the various entanglements between a single father, Ma Linsheng, and his adolescent son. He wants to write about the helplessness, powerlessness, sadness and ridiculous state of this middle-aged man who lives a miserable life. It can be regarded as a "neo-realism" type of novel.

"In previous literary works, the traditional image of a father is usually tall, tough, and noble."

Shi Tiesheng smiled and said, "You actually did the opposite."

“It’s also a challenge to patriarchy.”

Fang Yan touched his chin and looked at Zhong Acheng.

Zhong Acheng smiled bitterly and said that he was like the dregs of a boiled-down medicine. He had no creative inspiration for the time being and could not come up with any ideas.

Seeing this, Yu Hua stepped forward and said, "I am currently conceiving a novel called "Cry and Drizzle."

I thought Fangyan would write "To Live", but I didn't expect it to be a work about the pain of youth.

It tells the story of a young boy named Sun Guanglin, who is unloved by his father and mother, and tries many times to gain the warmth of family and friendship, but is isolated, beaten, and humiliated time and time again. He finally escapes from the suffocating environment and welcomes his own new life.

"I'm afraid this isn't suitable for Yanzi."

Shi Tiesheng frowned, "Of course, my book "I and the Altar of Earth" doesn't seem to be of any help to you."

“That may not be the case. I and the Altar of Earth is not only a reflection on love, family, and life, but also an exploration of fate, life and death.”

Fang Yan pondered for a moment, "Maybe I can choose a theme from these two to create, fate, life and death, life and death, fate..."

………………

After chatting for a long time, I still got nothing and had no clue.

Fang Yan didn't plan to discuss the matter further, but instead became concerned about the marriage of Shi Tiesheng and Chen Ximi.

"Now that you're cured, when are you and Ximi going to get married?"

"The elders of our two families just met not long ago, and the date is set for an auspicious day in December." Shi Tiesheng said with a smile: "I will send you invitations when the time comes. You all must come, especially Yanzi, who is so busy."

"Needless to say, Xiaoxiang and I must be present at your wedding!"

Fangyan then asked about the wedding house.

Shi Tiesheng said that the salary and bonuses he received in recent years were extremely generous, and with the extra money from the script royalties for "The Intouchables", it was more than enough to buy a courtyard house in Yanjing. Shi's father has already commissioned a broker to help find a house in the city.

"What else are you looking for?"

Fangyan raised his hand and said that he had two courtyard houses on Lama Temple Street, both not far from the company, so he might as well give one to him.

"How can this be done!"

Shi Tiesheng shook his head and refused.

"Just think of it as my wedding gift to you two."

Fangyan doesn't care. Even if a courtyard house these days is not as cheap as it was in the early 80s, it still only costs a few tens of thousands of yuan.

"no!"

Shi Tiesheng still refused to accept it. Fang Yan had helped him so much. Even the cost of the kidney transplant in the United States was paid by him out of his own pocket. Although he claimed that the money was from a charity fund, he might never be able to repay these debts of favor in his lifetime.

"According to the housing allocation system for employees of state-owned units, you will be allocated a house when you get married. Tiesheng, as the deputy editor-in-chief..."

Fangyan advised in a kind way.

"Yanzi, don't say anything. If you give it to me, neither of us will agree."

Without waiting for Shi Tiesheng to speak, Chen Ximi refused firmly.

"How about this, I sell the house to you, that should be okay, right?"

Fangyan planned to half-sell and half-give away a courtyard house to Shi Tiesheng at the internal employee price.

Shi Tiesheng and Chen Ximi looked at each other, and their originally serious expressions gradually relaxed, and they were obviously somewhat moved.

"I'll take you to see the two houses in the next two days. Tell me which one you like, and then go to the Housing Management Office to complete the transfer procedures." Fang Yan cast his eyes on the other people present, "Don't be idle either. When the time comes, lend a hand and help Tie Sheng to prepare the wedding house."

Yu Hua, Wang Shuo and others readily agreed, as if they had been looking forward to doing this for a long time.

"Also, we have to arrange a place for Ximi when we welcome the bride."

Fangyan took the initiative to suggest that the venue be an old house in Nanluoguxiang, and Yang Xia guaranteed a 100% welcome.

Shi Tiesheng and Chen Ximi were deeply moved. They didn't expect that he would be so thoughtful.

"I'm ashamed to say that if I hadn't had to go back to Hong Kong, I would have definitely stayed to help."

Fangyan sighed.

"Don't say that. You've helped enough."

Shi Tiesheng's eyes were full of gratitude.

Fang Yan patted him on the shoulder, and noticed from the corner of his eye that Zhong Acheng opened his mouth and seemed to be hesitant to speak, so he cast an inquiring look at him.

Yu Hua said: "Teacher Fang, we have something else to ask you."

Fangyan was very curious, and after asking, he found out that there was a young director named Lui Lok who wanted to make a movie to pay tribute to literature.

The story in the movie takes place at a writers' meeting. A waitress who attended the meeting accidentally met an old classmate who came to the hotel to do business. The encounter made them immersed in the memories of the beautiful feelings of their college days. When their old feelings rekindled, the waitress left without saying goodbye. What will happen to them in the future has become a topic of discussion among the writers attending the meeting...

"Lü Le and his team want to find a group of young and middle-aged writers they like to guest star in this movie and attend this writers' conference."

Zhong Acheng told everything.

"Who have you invited to the party?"

The dialect is interesting.

"Me, Tie Ning, Wang Anyi, Jiang Zilong, Tie Sheng, Yu Hua, A Cheng..." Wang Shuo listed them all. In addition to those mentioned above, he also invited Chi Li, Lu Yao and others. Of course, whether they come or not is entirely up to their own wishes.

"I don't really like to hang out with people, but it would be a shame to miss out on such a gathering of gods."

Yu Hua smiled and said, "Besides, we also agree with the director's original intention of making the film."

"What's the original intention?"

Dialect looks left and right.

"He loves literature just like the rest of us. Seeing that many literary magazines are not selling well and that the sales of literary books are far less than those of random books, he plans to make a film with literature as the theme. Look, the title is also very stylish, called "The Poetic Age"."

Wang Shuo grinned.

"A poetic age? The movie talks about 'poetry', but they only find novelists, not a single poet?"

There was a hint of doubt in the dialect tone.

"If we had discussed this with a poet, it would have been rejected a long time ago. Even the script wouldn't have been approved."

Wang Shuo gave a dry laugh.

"Besides, what does this plot have to do with the poetic era?"

Fangyan frowned, "When you reach middle age, you have a family and a career, and your children can go out to play, is there still poetry in life?"

Zhong Acheng explained that Lui Lok meant to invite a group of professional writers to create the atmosphere of the writers' meeting. Before filming, each person was given a piece of paper with three questions on it. The first two were: Is there still poetry in this era? What is your opinion on the current situation, including movies and television?

In response to the first two questions, the writers expressed their opinions in the conference room, while two cameras were filming at the same time, just like a documentary.

“Can this be called a movie?”

Chen Ximi was shocked.

Zhong Acheng said stubbornly that this was a pioneering film, more experimental than entertaining, and its main purpose was to promote literature.

"Teacher Fang, what do you think?" Wang Shuo looked at her eagerly, his eyes full of anticipation.

Yu Hua, Zhong Acheng and many others all hope that Fang Yan can participate in writers' clubs and make cameo appearances in movies.

After all, with this year's Nobel Prize in Literature nomination, Mr. Fang is now the undisputed leader in the literary world!
How can a movie like this, a gathering of gods like this, be possible without the presence of a heavyweight like Fangyan!
Fangyan rolled his eyes and said, "Let me think about it. When will this film start shooting?"

Zhong Acheng replied: "It has not been decided yet. We are still looking for film studios to raise funds."

"That's no hurry."

Fangyan plans to wait until the end of the year, when he returns to Renwen Press to be the editor-in-chief of People's Literature, before seriously considering a cameo in a movie. (End of this chapter)