The literary era since 1979

Two days later, all the invited authors and guests arrived in Yanjing. Director Lü Yue and screenwriter Liu Yiwei immediately gathered everyone in a conference room at the Beijing Film Studio, which would later become the filming location for "The Poetic Era".

"The first half of the film discusses the two questions we raised: 'What is poetry?'"

Lu Yue looked around and succinctly explained the scene: "Then, during a break at the writers' conference, Chen Xiao, played by Zhu Lin, bumps into his college sweetheart, Zhao Zixuan, played by Wang Zhiwen, at the hotel. They are now both parents. Upon seeing each other, they hesitate to rekindle their old feelings, but eventually, unable to resist, they stroll around and reminisce..."

Tie Ning was filled with curiosity, "What happened next? What became of them?"

Liu Yiwei said, "Their story ended abruptly amidst their indecisiveness. As for their fate, we'll leave that to everyone here."

Fang Yan said with great interest, "Is this the third question you've given us?"

"Professor Fang, you guessed absolutely right."

Lü Yue said that the final outcome for the two is completely open-ended, and the answer is left to the writers to imagine and conceive.

Each writer had to answer this question in front of the camera at the end: What happened to them afterward?
"You can talk about anything?"

Wang Shuo revealed a playful smile.

Lü Le said, "That's right, please feel free to let your imagination run wild and have no scruples."

Wang Shuo pressed further, "Even rekindling old feelings and ending up in bed is acceptable?"

Seeing Lü Le nod without hesitation, some people immediately speculated that it was an extramarital affair, or at the very least, an emotional affair.

Tie Ning, Wang Anyi, and the others glanced at Fang Yan, as if they were in the shoes of the female protagonist, insisting that there could be no ambiguous relationship between the two.

In short, there are all sorts of speculations, some of which suggest that the characters Shen Shijun and Gu Manzhen in "Half a Lifetime Romance" will reunite and be filled with intense love.

Some speculate that the two regret not being together, and while reminiscing about the past, they imagine what their future would be like if they got married.

Of course, there were also some rather bizarre comments. For example, Zheng Yuanjie suddenly remarked, "Maybe they're just watching cartoons."

"Yanzi, you haven't said a word since just now, why don't you say something?"

Tie Ning asked curiously, "Do you support their claim of extramarital affairs, or do you support our insistence on family responsibilities?"

Looking left and right, he wondered, "Why can't the two be combined?"

These words caused an uproar in the room. Fidelity and infidelity, extramarital affairs and family responsibility are two completely opposite sides. How can they be combined?
"Well..."

Fang Yan said, "The two people, each with their own families, did rekindle their old flame. During the literary gathering, they took walks and danced together, and their feelings gradually warmed up. They also regretted why they couldn't be together back then. But when faced with the choice between belated love and family responsibilities, the woman chose the latter, and the man chose to let go, clumsily resisting what he didn't know was whether it was his unrealistic longing for the past or for each other."

"hiss!"

Wang Shuo got goosebumps all over. This story sounded even more exciting than "going straight to the main course".

"Their perfect four-day romance resulted in a lifetime of mutual longing."

Fang Yan recounted his heavily modified version of "The Bridges of Madison County" in detail.

Everyone was deeply immersed in this exciting and ambiguous yet not vulgar story, especially women like Tie Ning and Wang Anyi.

Zhu Lin, who had been silent all along, let out a soft exclamation, "This seems to be very similar to 'In the Mood for Love'."

"It's somewhat similar, but not entirely. 'In the Mood for Love' didn't bravely take the first step," Fang Yan said. "But this story boldly took the first step, yet very responsibly and rationally pulled back its foot from the abyss."

Zhu Lin felt there was something implied, and stared intently at his profile, while she heard Lü Le clapping and cheering beside her.

"Professor Fang, the ending you came up with is absolutely brilliant!"

"Yeah yeah."

Liu Yiwei's eyes burned with eagerness, impatiently wanting him to comment on the script he had conceived and created.

"Making a film entirely led by the writer was a groundbreaking achievement in film history, both then and now." Fang Yan thought for a long time and concluded that apart from this advantage, the entire film was unremarkable and had nothing to praise.

Lü Le and Liu Yiwei exchanged a glance, greatly encouraged.

After chatting for a while, the filming officially began. Four cameras were set up in the southeast, northwest and southwest directions, capturing all the writers present, including Fang Yan, Wang Shuo, Tie Ning, and Shi Tiesheng, in the frame, just like a documentary.

"Shall we start talking now?"

Zhong Acheng, one of the screenwriters of the film and the host of this writers' gathering, glanced around.

With a "click," the clapperboard snapped shut, and Lü Yue and the rest of the crew stared intently at Yu Hua, Tie Ning, and the others as they talked.

Because many people had discussed the topic of "what is poetry" at Yifangxuan when they climbed Fragrant Hills earlier, I was already prepared and had some ideas. For example, Zhong Acheng started the discussion by talking about how poetry came about when China attacked Confucius, then about the entry of Christian civilization into China, and how poetry declined in modern times. Yu Hua still insisted on his previous view that discussing this issue was "a kind of sour expression of literati".

Of course, there were also people who didn't participate in the climb of Fragrant Hills who offered their opinions for the first time.

In response to Wang Shuo's earlier statement that "there is no poetry in this era," Shi Tiesheng firmly disagreed, saying: "Wherever there are people, there is poetry. As long as you believe your life is poetic, you are poetic. Poetry is everywhere, and it can be created. Poetry is clean and pure, and the poetry of every era is the same. The most important thing is that you still have expectations for poetry."

“I agree with half of Wang Shuo’s view. I also feel that poetry is gradually fading away in this era.”

Jiang Zilong stated bluntly that this was entirely due to the prevailing trend, the decline of literature, and the marketization of the times.

"Yes, the current literary environment is completely different from what it used to be."

"If literature is like this, what about poetry, which depends on literature for its survival?"

"That vibrant and flourishing state of life is probably gone forever; poetry is fading away, and literature is declining."

"........."

The first half of "The Poetic Age" is filled with writers rambling on about what poetry is, but as they talk, the topic veers off course, and they begin to reminisce about the golden age of literature in the 80s. They express a sense of nostalgia for that "romantic poetry" that is both helpless and idealistic, and their words are tinged with sadness, as if the golden age of Chinese literature has passed.

Just as everyone was feeling sentimental, a pretty girl would occasionally appear and disappear from the room, either carrying a thermos to refill water or replacing an ashtray on the table.

If I hadn't known beforehand that "Zhu Lin" was the female lead in the film, I would have thought she was just a staff member of the local literary and art federation.

At this moment, she gazed at Fang Yan, who was drinking tea with his head down. She hadn't uttered a word since filming began, as if she were a minor actor in a movie.

On the contrary, Wang Shuo, Yu Hua, Tie Ning and others who kept talking became the main characters who took center stage in the movie!

It wasn't until a pessimistic and extremely negative comment suddenly emerged from the crowd, "Literature might already be dead," that Fang Yan spoke up:
"How can literature die!"

Suddenly, all eyes turned to Fang Yan; those who were the main characters just moments before had instantly become supporting characters to Peichen's dialect! (End of Chapter)