Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 357: Magnificent Work
Faced with the sudden arrival of the novel manuscript, not only the editors were surprised, but even Li Shifei, the commissioner, was at a loss.

Is this the manuscript he asked for? A work like One Hundred Years of Solitude?
Li Shifei really wanted to call Lin Chaoyang and ask him, "We agreed to write it in three to five years, but you finished it in less than a year. Are you trying to fool me on purpose?"
But when he looked at the thickness of the manuscript, he silently retracted the idea.

Which writer would write a manuscript worth hundreds of thousands of dollars just to get by?
With such a thick stack of 500-grid manuscript paper, according to Li Shifei's experience, the novel would have to be at least 600,000 words.

Not to mention anything else, the number of words alone is something that not every ordinary writer can write.

Li Shifei still remembers that he wrote to Lin Chaoyang at the beginning of the year. Lin Chaoyang said that he would go to his hometown to collect information and materials. Later, he wrote again. He should have started writing this novel in May or June.

What kind of level is it to write a 600,000-word masterpiece in less than nine months?
Li Shifei is an editor and also a writer, and he is well aware of the difficulty involved.

Apart from anything else, even copying a novel of 600,000 words at a rate of 10,000 words a day would still take two or three months, not to mention that Lin Chaoyang constructed such a grand narrative work from scratch.

As soon as Li Shifei received the manuscript of the novel, he recalled his correspondence with Lin Chaoyang over the past year. Apart from revealing some plot and character ideas to him, the other party never emphasized the progress of the creation.

He had previously preconceived that such a work would take three to five years to complete, but after receiving the manuscript he realized that he had underestimated Lin Chaoyang.

Not only did we underestimate his creative ability, but we also underestimated his creative efficiency.

There are probably very few people in today's Chinese literary world who can match such efficient creation.

Lin Chaoyang sent the manuscript without any prior notice, which really gave him a huge surprise.

After the initial surprise, Li Shifei directly "claimed" the manuscript as his own and used his power as editor-in-chief to let people have a sneak peek.

He just wanted to see what the quality of Lin Chaoyang's "One Hundred Years of Solitude"-style work would be like after he spent nine months writing it.

Recalling this, Li Shifei showed a wry smile on his face. What a big surprise!
But Lin Chaoyang's surprises for him were far from over.

When he was first commissioned to write the novel, Li Shifei held the idea of ​​"aiming for the best and getting the middle", but after he read the entire novel, Li Shifei's idea was completely changed.

This is not about "aiming high and getting average", but rather the real meaning of "aiming high and getting the best".

Chaoyang, ah, Chaoyang, you really gave me a huge surprise.

Li Shifei's eyes involuntarily fell on the manuscript. On the first page were written three big words - "Crossing the Guandong".

The term "Chuang Guandong" is not unfamiliar to Chinese people.

In a broad sense, throughout history, anyone who left Shanhaiguan to seek a living can be said to have "crossed the Guandong Pass."

In a narrow sense, it refers to the history from the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, when people from the interior of the country went to Guandong to make a living due to disasters such as drought, famine, and war.

The "Crossing the Guandong" in the novel "Crossing the Guandong" refers to Crossing the Guandong in a narrow sense.

The novel tells the story of the protagonist Zhu Kaishan and his family who came to the Baishan Heishui area from their hometown in Shandong due to war and famine in the late Qing Dynasty.

They earned their first pot of gold by panning for gold and picking ginseng, and then dealt with bandits, government officials, peers, and feudal bosses. They escaped death time and time again and finally had their own farm.

However, the local tycoons and wealthy families regarded them as "outsiders". After a difficult struggle, the Zhu family and the local people became brothers in life and death.

In order to seek development, Zhu Kaishan led his family to Harbin, but he was excluded and oppressed by the "Rehe Gang" businessmen. After paying a price in the struggle, both sides realized that only by working together can they prosper for generations.

Later, in order to follow the trend of the times to become an industrial power, Zhu Kaishan took the lead in opening a coal mine. In order to safeguard national interests and state sovereignty, he fought against the Japanese colonists and killed Japanese officers.

Finally, amid the gunfire of the "September 18th Incident", Zhu Kaishan and his family embarked on a new journey of adventure.

The novel has a grand perspective and a time span of an astonishing thirty years, describing a magnificent epic of thirty years of social changes between the Baishan and Heishui regions of Northeast China. Such creative depth and breadth are extremely rare in today's Chinese literary world.

The work also has ups and downs and twists and turns in its story design. It stands to reason that for a large work like this, there are inevitably some straightforward things in the novel.

But after reading the novel, Li Shifei felt that every part was wonderful and attractive, and there was no sense of redundancy from beginning to end.

The characterization in the novel is even more unique. Zhu Kaishan, Wen'er's mother, Zhu Chuanwen, Zhu Chuanwu, Zhu Chuanjie, Xian'er, and Na Wen, all of the famous characters, are vividly portrayed.

Even the characters that are only mentioned briefly, such as Old Bat and Tianwaitian, have distinct personalities and are unforgettable.

After reading the novel, Li Shifei can say with certainty that no one in the Chinese literary world can write characters better than Lin Chaoyang.

Li Shifei recalled the specific plot of the novel. If he wanted to summarize it, it could probably be described in three words - big, new, and strange.

Big - the subject matter is grand, the story content is rich, and the ideological connotation is profound;
New - the creative conception is full of new ideas. At least in Li Shifei's impression, there has never been a work in the Chinese literary world that tells the history of ethnic migration that is almost sealed in history books in such a detailed and rich way.

Qi means legendary and peculiar. Gold diggers, opera troupes, gangs, bandits, vagrants, the ups and downs of business, ethnic struggles, national hatred and family feuds, such rich elements and content can be contained in a novel, and people read it with relish. This writing skill alone makes him, an editor with 30 years of experience, admire it very much.

The subject matter, idea, story, characters, and connotation, every link in the literary work is outstanding.

The combination of folk customs outside the Great Wall and the vast white mountains and black waters depicts not only a colorful, desolate and tragic historical picture, but also the Chinese nation's tenacious vitality, tenacious endurance, and indomitable national spirit to fight against hardships and tribulations.

Thinking of this, Li Shifei couldn't help but feel sincere admiration for Lin Chaoyang. It was hard for him to imagine that such a work full of historical background and epic style was written by Lin Chaoyang within nine months.

It is truly a magnificent masterpiece!

With a sigh in his heart, Li Shifei put pen to paper.

"This is a solid, rich novel that is both readable and historically profound, and a good work that has both cognitive and aesthetic value.

1. This work reflects a relatively realistic view of history. It can be said that it depicts the historical environment and political trends from the late Qing Dynasty to the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in a highly vivid and realistic manner.

2. This work reflects the appearance of rural and urban areas in Northeast China from the late Qing Dynasty to before the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War through the complex entanglements between two generations of the Zhu family. It is also accurate and profound.

There was a period in the past when we used a simple viewpoint of class struggle to command everything, but facts have proven that this was not in line with historical facts.

"Crossing Guandong" shows the author's calmness and courage in this regard, and as a literary work, it is fresh, profound and accurate..." Li Shifei almost never stopped writing a review opinion of more than a thousand words. In his more than 30 years of editing career, he could only write such a long review opinion a few times.

After finishing writing this review, he still felt a little unsatisfied.

The review opinion is written from the perspective of the editor. In order to reflect professionalism, it must not contain too much personal feelings and subjective emotions.

After putting down his pen, Li Shifei thought for a while, then turned to another page of manuscript paper and picked up his pen.

This time, he wants to express his love for the novel "Crossing the Guandong".

As he wrote, he forgot about time and even forgot his wife's instructions. When he stopped writing, the sky was already turning white.

Li Shifei thought to himself, "Oh no!" and thought about sneaking back to bed and pretending to sleep for a while, but he didn't expect that he had been sitting for too long that night and his legs were numb.

The friction between the chair and the floor made a sharp whine, and his old waist, which had been in disrepair for a long time, also went into strike due to the sudden movement.

"Ouch!"

His wife, who was a light sleeper, was awakened by his noise. When she got up, she saw him staggering and leaning against the desk.

Seeing her get up, Li Shifei immediately showed a flattering smile on his face.

"Alas! I didn't mean to wake you up, but my old waist is useless."

He held his waist and exaggerated the three points of pain to seven points, which really put out the complaints and nagging that his wife was about to say.

He Xian helped him back to bed and rubbed his waist. Finally, she couldn't help but say, "Look, why are you making such a fuss during the Chinese New Year? This time, you don't have to go out to pay New Year's greetings. Just stay at home and wait for others to pay you New Year's greetings!"

Li Shifei smiled and said, "This is also good. It saves us from the red tape and worries."

"Okay, stop talking about these useless things. You haven't slept all night, so go get some sleep. Someone will definitely come to wish you a happy new year soon."

He Xian felt sorry for her husband and pressed Li Shifei to make him sleep.

Sure enough, before eight o'clock, guests came to our house to pay New Year's greetings.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, it is a courtesy for people to come and pay New Year's greetings. Even if Li Shifei sprained his waist, he still had to say a few auspicious words to them.

Lin Xianzhi from the editorial department was the one who was transferred from the countryside to Huacheng by Li Shifei. Therefore, over the years, Lin Xianzhi has always regarded Li Shifei as a teacher and a father, and was the first to come and wish him a happy new year.

Seeing that he had twisted his waist, Lin Xianzhi couldn't help but ask a few words of concern, and Li Shifei then started talking about "Crossing the Guandong".

"Is this novel really as good as you say?"

Lin Xianzhi found it somewhat unbelievable to hear Li Shifei's extremely high evaluation of "Crossing the Guandong". As far as he could remember, the editor-in-chief had never spoken such effusive words of praise for any other novel.

Li Shifei said with emotion: "Maybe it's because I commissioned this manuscript myself, and I have witnessed the process of this novel from scratch, so there may be some personal emotions mixed in it."

Then he said: "But I still insist that this is a masterpiece of magical realism that shows the author's maturity.

Its grand scale is rare among literary works after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and its rigorous structure is not inferior to such famous works as "Midnight" and "Remembrance of Things Past".

There is real power and exquisite characterization at every turn.

To be honest, I couldn't stop crying after reading the novel last night.

Life is so rich and so complex that no great work can exhaust its richness and complexity.

But "Crossing the Guandong" is groundbreaking and successful in its contribution to revealing the richness and complexity of life.

Having said so much, the greatest success of this novel lies in the profoundness of its thoughts. It is a masterpiece that explores the essence of life.

Of course, I dare not say that it is flawless. Any literary work has its advantages and disadvantages, but I can be sure of one thing.

"Crossing the Guandong" may have some weaknesses, but it is definitely not a failure. For this reason alone, it is better than 99% of the works we have seen.

By the end of reading it, I actually had a hard time telling what style it was.

Magical realism? Critical realism? Realism?

I can't care about so much. I just know that it is a good work, an excellent work, and an excellent work that will hopefully go down in history.

Majestic and charming.

In the future, when Lin Chaoyang aspires to be called a 'master', this work will serve as a pillar of support."

Li Shifei leaned against the head of the bed, talking incessantly, his praises almost sounding like eulogies.

If someone else recommended a work to Lin Xianzhi in this way, he would certainly sneer at it. No matter how good a literary work is, it is written by people. There are many famous works that do not live up to their reputation. How good can a work written by a contemporary writer be?
But now he is facing Li Shifei, the mentor who brought him into the literary world. Even if Lin Xianzhi does not believe in his own aesthetics, he will not doubt his judgment.

What's more, there is the gem "The Boat Crossing" in front of us.

Lin Xianzhi stroked the manuscript in his hand, his eyes falling on the title of the book on the first page.

The three words "Chuang Guandong" seemed to have a kind of magic that firmly imprisoned his mind.

"Xianzhi!" Li Shifei suddenly grabbed Lin Xianzhi's wrist tightly. He looked serious and said to Lin Xianzhi word by word:
"You are witnessing the historical process of contemporary Chinese literature!"

Lin Xianzhi was shocked when he heard this.

(End of this chapter)