Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 180: Eye-catching
After New Year’s Day, all the major universities in Yenching entered the examination season.

In order to prepare for the exam, Tao Yushu has been studying hard since he got home. He often studies until ten or eleven o'clock in the evening. Then he has breakfast at six o'clock the next morning and goes to school in high spirits.

Compared to her, who was born with the genes of a top student and the attributes of a good student, Lin Chaoyang is much more insignificant.

However, no matter how lazy he was, he still had to get nervous during the period approaching the end of the semester.

After all, he is now a correspondence student in the Library Department of Yan University. It would be ok for him to skip classes and slack off, but it would be unacceptable if he failed the exams again.

During this period, students at Yanda University were busy preparing for their final exams, and the hustle and bustle on campus died down.

There are more people in the library than usual, but these extra students are all from Xi'an. The workload of Lin Chaoyang and his colleagues in the lending library remains the same and has not increased much.

That day, when he was studying his textbook, Master Xie from the message room came to the library and said there was a phone call for him.

Lin Chaoyang received a call from Li Shuguang and listened to him for a while on the phone, with a pensive look on his face.

"I really haven't considered the question of pen names before. If your publisher thinks that the pen name 'Xu Lingjun' is a good one, then use Xu Lingjun."

Having obtained Lin Chaoyang's permission, Li Shuguang was very happy and talked on the phone about the strong response that the manuscript of "The Death of Van Gogh" had caused in Renwen Publishing House.

Li Shuguang talked incessantly on the phone for several minutes until he was finally driven away by a colleague who was anxious to use the phone.

Lin Chaoyang hung up the phone with a smile on his face. In fact, what Li Shuguang said on the phone had already been revealed to him by Zhu Changsheng two days ago.

In fact, "The Death of Van Gogh" is Lin Chaoyang's second novel. It took him several months to write this novel and he is very confident in its quality.

However, the feedback from the editors of Renwen Press was somewhat beyond his expectations. After all, the editors of Renwen Press are some of the most knowledgeable editors in the Chinese literary industry.

The fact that it received unanimous praise from this group of people is enough to show the excellence of "The Death of Van Gogh".

In the late 1983s and early s, Van Gogh was not as famous in China as he is today. It was not until that he became truly known to the Chinese public.

Because in this year, Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House introduced a representative work of the famous American biographer Irving Stone - "Lust for Life".

"Lust for Life" is a biographical work written by Irving Stone for Van Gogh, and it is also his most classic representative work as a biographer.

In the spring of 1927, when Irving Stone was a college student in Paris, he came across Van Gogh's paintings by chance, nearly thirty years after Van Gogh's death.

At this time, Van Gogh had already become famous, and his paintings were loved by many collectors, but his artistic achievements had not been recognized by the mainstream. Irving Stone was moved by the great vitality presented in Van Gogh's paintings and was deeply shocked by his paintings.

So he came up with the idea of ​​writing a biography of Van Gogh, but after his work was completed, it was rejected by almost all publishing houses.

At that time, Van Gogh was still an unknown painter, and no publishing house would write a biography for an unknown painter. Publishing houses need to make money, and how could readers pay for the biography of such an unknown painter?

It was not until 1934 that the British Durham Green Publishing House agreed to publish the work, but only 5000 copies were printed.

After the publication of "Lust for Life", it quickly caused a response among readers, sales increased day by day, and the publisher had to reprint it several times.

In the years that followed, "Lust for Life" was introduced and published by publishers in many countries, translated into 80 languages, and sold over 2000 million copies.

In 1983, "Lust for Life" was translated into Chinese and introduced to China, becoming the bedside reading material for countless young literary people at that time. It touched countless readers and influenced many people.

The quality of "Lust for Life" itself is certainly outstanding, but the most fundamental reason why this work has been loved by countless readers around the world and has had an important impact is Van Gogh himself.

A painter of extraordinary talent and genius, who was poor and unknown during his lifetime, but became famous after his death.

His natural talent, his miserable experiences, and his lack of comprehension by the world are the fundamental reasons why his work resonates so strongly with readers.

If a Chinese writer wrote a novel like this with a foreigner as the protagonist in later times, it would be more or less difficult to adapt to the local environment.

However, the fact that "Lust for Life" was widely popular in China after its introduction shows that what is truly important about an excellent literary work is that it can resonate with readers.

Coincidentally, "The Death of Van Gogh" is also such a work.

Moreover, at this time, it has almost become a social consensus that foreign monks can chant sutras. One of the most obvious examples is -

Many works of contemporary foreign writers have been widely popular in China after being introduced, but the works of many contemporary domestic writers are not well received by readers.

This is of course related to the lack of literary talent and stagnation in literary development over the past decade, but a reality that must be faced is that many people have begun to develop a habit of worshipping foreign things.

This is certainly not an individual's personal problem, but a sudden collective shift in the entire social atmosphere.

This shift in social atmosphere and public opinion cannot be commented on from a simple perspective, but it has indeed had a profound impact on the cultural world.

The story of "The Death of Van Gogh" is based on the life of Van Gogh, the great Western painter. To some extent, this work may be more likely to be sought after by many readers at this stage.

After answering the phone, Lin Chaoyang returned to the library and saw Li Tuo standing there.

"Why are you here?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

"Looking for you."

"What's up?" "Yes." Li Tuo pulled Lin Chaoyang aside and said, "Are you interested in joining our Yanjing Literary Association?"

Lin Chaoyang asked in surprise: "Why did you suddenly want me to join your association?"

After the National Excellent Short Story Award Ceremony at the beginning of the year, Zhang Guangnian, the head of the Writers Association, specially invited Lin Chaoyang to join the Writers Association, but he declined.

When a seminar was held for "The Wreath under the Mountain" in the middle of the year, Zhang Guangnian brought up the old matter again and even painted a big promise for Lin Chaoyang, saying that as long as he joined the Writers Association, he would find a way to make him an editorial board member of "People's Literature".

But Lin Chaoyang still rejected Zhang Guangnian's proposal. The reason for his refusal was actually very simple. He just didn't want to waste time and energy.

It was common knowledge that the Writers Association was going to hold a meeting. If he really attended, it would be okay if he didn't go once or twice, but if he did it too many times, some people would definitely have objections.

The Writers Association is not a paradise. On the contrary, it has more factions and disputes than many other units.

Lin Chaoyang doesn't seek an official position or make friends with wise men, so why should he join in the fun?
Moreover, once you join the Writers Association, it is very easy to be burdened by social relationships and have to participate in activities such as symposiums and seminars.

He is unwilling to participate in seminars on his own works, let alone those of others?
He wouldn't mind if it was to go sightseeing or something like that, but so far no one has made him such an invitation.

"The leader of the association heard that you and I have a good relationship. The leader just took office this year and wanted to strengthen the power of our association."

During the Buzz Buzz Buzz period, the National Federation of Literary and Art Circles stopped working, and literary and art associations in various places also stopped working one after another, and did not resume until 78.

The Yenching Writers Association held its first congress this year, formulated the association’s charter, and elected the first board of directors and leader. This time, the leader is the poet Honghuang.

Although the Yenching Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the National Federation of Literary and Art Circles are in a superior-subordinate relationship, they still handle matters such as inviting members to join their respective organizations.

Lin Chaoyang shook his head and said, "Zhang Guangnian approached me twice before and asked me to join the National Federation of Literary and Art Circles, but I refused."

Hearing this, Li Tuo understood what Lin Chaoyang meant, "Okay, then my mission is accomplished."

Li Tuo understood Lin Chaoyang's character. He came here only to deal with the arrangement of his leader. He had no choice but to do so. With Lin Chaoyang's reply, he could go back and report back.

Then the two chatted about creative work. Hearing that Lin Chaoyang's new novel would be published in Contemporary, Li Tuo joked, "You are very efficient. In less than a year, you have another novel."

"Hey, have you heard about it?" Li Tuo asked Lin Chaoyang again.

"What did you hear?"

"Director Xie was criticized recently for "Legend of Tianyun Mountain"..."

"Legend of Tianyun Mountain" is a movie that Xie Jin has been tinkering with since last year. The movie is adapted from Lu Yanzhou's novel of the same name. Long before filming, the script was criticized for involving anti-Y issues.

Xie Jin completed the film under tremendous pressure, and a few days ago he took the film to attend a film seminar organized by "Film Review" and "Popular Film".

At the meeting, two films were screened, one was "Legend of Tianyun Mountain" directed by Xie Jin, and the other was "The Sun and Man" directed by Peng Ning. This film also has another name "Bitter Love".

After the screening, the two films received some praise, but more criticism, and the directors of the two films and the studios behind them were under a lot of pressure.

According to the normal trajectory, the fates of the last two works are very different.

The criticism of "The Sun and the Man" in the literary and art circles intensified, and eventually the film had to be shelved, becoming a film that people of this era knew about but had not seen. However, "Legend of Tianyun Mountain" successfully passed the censorship after being criticized.

Li Tuo didn’t know what the future of “Legend of Tianyun Mountain” and Xie Jin would be. He only knew that Xie Jin had been severely criticized recently.

As someone who grew up in the Buzz Buzz era, it is inevitable to worry that this wave of criticism will affect Xie Jin's filming. After all, it has been confirmed that Lin Chaoyang's "The Shepherd" will be shot by Xie Jin.

Lin Chaoyang was naturally grateful for Li Tuo's worry and concern.

"Director Xie is also the pillar of our country's film industry. If he is criticized, the world will really change." Lin Chaoyang said easily.

Li Tuo thought about it and realized that this was true. If Xie Jin was really criticized, then it would not just be Xie Jin's problem that would be a concern. The cultural community would probably face a situation where everyone was in danger.

"You're still open-minded!"

After talking about this, Li Tuo said in a nostalgic tone: "I haven't eaten your cooking for a long time!"

"If you want to eat, just come to my place. But let's make it clear in advance that you should prepare the food yourself. We are short of meat and grain coupons at home right now."

After hearing what Lin Chaoyang said, Li Tuo asked about the reason, and then he learned that Lin Chaoyang's parents came to Yanjing, and then he mentioned buying a house for his parents in Yanjing.

Li Tuo was shocked and said, "If I had your creative efficiency, I wouldn't have to live in a tube building this year!"

Lin Chaoyang earned enough money to buy two houses in less than three years of writing, including an overseas Chinese apartment and a courtyard house in Xicheng District. Even though houses are not valuable these days, ordinary people's wages are still low!
Compared with the average housing area of ​​four or five square meters per capita in Yanjing, Lin Chaoyang's family's housing conditions can be considered luxurious, which makes Li Tuo jealous. He is full of admiration for Lin Chaoyang's vigorous creative energy and superb efficiency.

After seeing Li Tuo off, it was almost time to get off work.

Lin Chaoyang rode his bicycle back to the Overseas Chinese Apartment. As soon as he entered the door, he found that there was a familiar guest at home.

(End of this chapter)