Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 144: Lai Zi's Summer

The storm caused by "The World's Number One Restaurant" in the Yanjing drama and literary circles is still continuing, but Lin Chaoyang has already retired.

The money earned from writing drama scripts is really too little, it's not as exciting as writing movie scripts!

He sent the script of "The Shepherd" to Xie Jin before the one-month deadline, fulfilling the agreement between the two parties.

Lin Chaoyang was at work that day when Tao Yushu suddenly ran to the Yanda Library.

She didn't have classes this afternoon, so she came over to tell Lin Chaoyang a good news.

Her review article on "Parental Love" was published again in "Wenyi Bao".

Including this time, this is the second time that her article has been published in "Wenyi Bao", the top magazine in the domestic literary and art circles.

For Tao Yushu, who is still in school, such achievements are enough to make him proud.

"Very good. Is this the first article published this year?" Lin Chaoyang asked with a smile after reading the article.

Tao Yushu was as happy as a chick pecking at rice. In the second half of last year, when Lin Chaoyang was heavily criticized by the literary world for his article "The Inevitable Rise and Fall of Scar Literature", she was like a chicken with its blood pumped up, and published several articles in a row.

However, since then, perhaps because I have lost that ambition, very few of the articles I submitted were accepted.

The publication of this article in the Literary Gazette undoubtedly greatly encouraged Tao Yushu's creative confidence.

After being happy, Tao Yushu said, "I've seen quite a few reviews of Parental Love recently, and the response from the literary community is very good."

It has been nearly four months since the publication of "Parents' Love". Both readers' sentiment and critics' opinions have accumulated to a very high level. Readers' evaluations and critics' comments have been pouring in in the past two months.

The novel was published in the first issue of "Harvest" this year, and a review article was published in the second issue at the end of March. The article was titled "<Parental Love>: On the Chinese View of Love."

"…With its delicate characterization, moving storyline and keen capture of the changes of the times, Parents' Love unfolds for us a picture of marriage and family spanning decades.

What is particularly noteworthy is that the novel, through its vivid depiction of the love life of the protagonists Jiang Defu and An Jie, profoundly reveals the Chinese view of love, which is a concept completely different from the Western view of love.

It includes the interweaving of love and responsibility, the integration of individual emotions and family ethics, and also the persistence and evolution of love in the changing times.

In traditional Chinese culture, love is often closely linked to responsibility, a concept vividly reflected in "Parents' Love". The love between Jiang Defu and An Jie is not just a romantic private emotion, but is deeply rooted in the responsibility to family and society.

As a soldier, Jiang Defu's love includes loyalty to the country and protection of his family; as an intellectual woman, An Jie's love implies understanding of her partner and teaching of her children.

In a relationship between two people, mutual respect, mutual support, and sharing of hardships constitute the foundation of a stable family. This view of love emphasizes that love is not only an emotional bond between two people, but also the fulfillment of a commitment to family and society, reflecting the Chinese people's unique understanding of the depth and breadth of love.

……

"Parents' Love" provides us with a Chinese view of love that is full of depth and warmth, and also reminds us that true love not only includes passion and romance, but also requires responsibility and dedication, and requires seeking individual emotional satisfaction within the broad framework of family ethics.

In modern society, although the concept of individualism is becoming increasingly prominent, this novel reminds us that love should still be rooted in deep concern for family and society, which is an important source for love to last and give meaning to life.

This novel is not only a touching love story, but also a cultural mirror that provides insight into the values ​​deep in the Chinese people's hearts. It has important reference value for understanding the Chinese people's view of love and its development in modern society."

In addition to this review in "Harvest", many well-known literary magazines such as "Zhejiang Literature and Art", "Gansu Literature and Art", "Literary Review" and "Contemporary" have also recently published review articles on "Parental Love".

Some of them are the voices of the literary and critical circles, and some of them come from the deep feelings of ordinary literature lovers.

There is no doubt that "Parents' Love" has achieved great success in both professional reputation and reader evaluation since its publication, and has also helped to further expand Lin Chaoyang's fame.

The article was published again in the Literary Gazette. Tao Yushu's confidence increased greatly. He planned to write a review of Lin Chaoyang's new novel next, aiming at the top literary publications such as Harvest, Literary Gazette and Literary Review.

Lin Chaoyang had long been accustomed to Tao Yushu's active pursuit of progress. He jokingly asked, "Do you want me to teach you some of my experience in writing novels?"

Tao Yushu immediately expressed his dissatisfaction: "I have read the novel several times and know it by heart. You, the author, may not think as much as I do."

Lin Chaoyang joked, "As expected of a review writer, you dare to make such a boast in front of an author like me."

The new novel they were talking about was naturally the work that Lin Chaoyang had previously submitted to Contemporary Magazine - Lai Zi's Summer.

The prototype of the novel comes from a movie that Lin Chaoyang watched later, "Kikujiro's Summer". The story of the movie takes place in the summer and tells the story of a little boy named Masao who lost his father at a young age. He misses his mother who lives far away and embarks on a journey alone to see her.

A kind neighbor discovered Masao's plan and arranged for her husband, Kikujiro, to accompany Masao. Kikujiro was a lazy man who seemed rude but kind-hearted.

Masao begins his journey to find his mother. Along the way, he and Kikujiro experience various difficulties. At the same time, they also receive a lot of kindness and help from strangers, which brings them laughter and touches.

Masao found his mother, only to discover that she had formed a new family. Facing this reality, Masao was filled with pain and disappointment. In order to comfort Masao, Kikujiro did not hesitate to play the role of "fake mother" and "fake father" to alleviate Masao's sadness.

At the end of the journey, Masao learned to accept reality and face setbacks in life under Kikujiro's unique way of caring, and he and Kikujiro also established a deep friendship.

Although he did not return to his mother, Masao spent an unforgettable and loving summer with Kikujiro.

"Kikujiro's Summer" was released in 1999 and is one of the representative works of director Takeshi Kitano. It won many international film awards including the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in the year of its release.

In addition to the awards it won, the film was loved by countless audiences around the world for its warm and bright style after its release, becoming a rare masterpiece in the world film scene of the 20th century.

When Lin Chaoyang adapted the novel, the social and historical background had to be localized, but the overall story framework remained unchanged.

However, the protagonist Lai Zi (Kikujiro)'s identity has changed. He has become a middle-aged man who was imprisoned for speculation.

Because of his past history of speculation, Lai Zi was fired from the factory and was unpopular at home and among his neighbors.

In addition to being Xiaojun's (Zhengnan) neighbor, his wife was also Xiaojun's distant cousin. When his wife found out that Xiaojun wanted to travel hundreds of miles to find his mother, she arranged for Lai Zi to escort him.

In addition to worrying about Xiaojun, another reason was that he didn't want to see Lai Zi staying at home doing nothing every day.

The identity of the other protagonist, Xiaojun (Zhengnan), is because his family was hit by the buzz. His father committed suicide unjustly. His mother had distanced herself from his father during his lifetime and remarried after his death. Xiaojun has been dependent on his grandmother ever since.

"Lai Zi's Summer" was published in the second issue of "Contemporary" this year, which is the April issue, and it has been almost a month since then.

When the novel was published, it enjoyed the headline treatment of "Contemporary" and was published in one issue. The editorial department gave Lin Chaoyang enough face.

Of course, there is a reason why the editorial department loves "Lai Zi's Summer" so much.

As an important branch of modernist literature, stream-of-consciousness novels have distinct characteristics and artistic creation techniques.

Its creation focuses on showing the characters' ever-changing thinking activities, allowing readers to directly access the characters' deepest emotions, memories, and desires, thereby having a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the characters.

In terms of narrative techniques, it breaks the logical order of traditional linear narrative and uses association, inner monologue, jumping thinking and other techniques to create a non-linear dynamic narrative structure, which often brings readers a refreshing reading experience.

Because of this creative technique, stream of consciousness literature has an appeal that surpasses general genres in terms of exploring the complexity of human psychology, enhancing literary realism, and triggering resonance among readers.

But at the same time, its advantages also have two sides.

Because of the abandonment of clear story lines and logic, many stream-of-consciousness literatures have plot jumps and confusing timelines, which pose a challenge to understanding for many ordinary readers.

Moreover, breaking the conventions in narrative techniques can easily lead to a problem. By abandoning the traditional plot drive and dramatic conflict, many stream-of-consciousness literary works are relatively unattractive.

Therefore, for stream-of-consciousness literary works, readers need to have a certain level of reading patience and literary literacy in order to follow the author's thought process and enter the world of the novel.

Since the concept of stream-of-consciousness literature was introduced to China, no writer has been able to create eye-catching works in this important branch of modern literature.

This is certainly due to factors of the times and politics, but we have to admit that the domestic literary community does not have a deep enough understanding of stream of consciousness. Writers have long been immersed in the creative soil of classicism, realism, and revolutionary romanticism, and lack the courage to break out of it.

The emergence of "Lai Zi's Summer" can be said to have broken the embarrassing situation of stream-of-consciousness literature in China.

This novel has the distinct advantages of stream-of-consciousness literature, while retaining a strong story-telling quality and readability.

The editors of Contemporary Magazine were struck by the unique style of this novel when they first reviewed it, so they made an exception and gave it such a high treatment.

After the novel was published, it lived up to the editors' expectations. The novel was published in April, just in time for Lin Chaoyang to win two awards at the National Excellent Short Story Awards, becoming a hot topic among the domestic literary circles and readers.

"Lai Zi's Summer" is Lin Chaoyang's first novel, so it naturally attracted a lot of attention.

(End of this chapter)