Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 492 Shocked to Numbness

On the evening of November 11th, Yanjing, Yanda Langrun Lake Apartment.

"Hello!"

"You are Xiao Li and Xiao Tang, right?"

"Yes, you are Brother Yucheng, right?"

"Yes, come in, come in. Why are you still carrying things? Don't be so polite."

Tonight, Tao's father wanted to invite two of his favorite students to dinner. When Tao Yucheng saw the two carrying things, he said something and shouted into the house:
"Dad, Xiao Li and Xiao Tang are here!"

A few seconds later, Tao's father came out of the house, "Are you here? Sit down first, you can eat later."

After sitting down, Xiao Li and Xiao Tang felt a little awkward. They are first-year graduate students this year and it is their first time to dine at the Tao family.

Xiao Li is a student at YNU, while Xiao Tang was admitted to YNU from Shandong.

Father Tao was in a kind manner and chatted with the two of them about daily life. Tao Yucheng occasionally interjected a few words, and the atmosphere gradually became relaxed.

Tao Yucheng noticed that Xiao Tang's eyes were fixed on the family portrait on the wall, and said with a smile: "If you want to see it, look closer."

Xiao Tang looked embarrassed and did not move.

Tao Yucheng joked, "It's okay. I know what you want to see even if you don't tell me. There are few students in Yanda University who are not curious about my brother-in-law.

You guys didn’t catch up with the good times. In the past few years, my dad and other professors taught undergraduates, and Chaoyang has been working in the library, so he can read whenever he wants. "

Xiao Tang was filled with envy when he heard this. He envied that undergraduate students at Yanda University could enjoy the teachings of great professors like Professor Tao, and he also envied that Yanda students could see Lin Chaoyang every day.

He stood up and walked to the family portrait and looked at it carefully.

There are 11 people in the Tao family photo, 3 of whom are adult males. He knows Tao's father and Tao Yucheng, and the remaining man is self-explanatory.

He took a look and sat back down. Tao Yucheng said, "Xiao Tang looks like a literary youth."

Xiao Tang said a little embarrassedly: "I just read some books randomly, it can't be called a hobby."

"The meal is ready, let's eat."

Tao's mother's voice came from the kitchen, and several people got up to eat.

After dinner, it was exactly seven o'clock. Tao Yucheng turned on the TV to CCTV. Tao's father chatted with two students while watching the news.

"…Xinhua News Agency reported: In the past two days, more than 100 Taiwanese compatriots who obtained new travel permits to the mainland from the Hong Kong China Travel Service have traveled to various places to visit relatives via Guangzhou by sea, land and air."

When the news was broadcasting about cross-strait news, Tao's father asked: "Little Li's family is from Fujian, right? Do you have any relatives in Taiwan?"

"Yes, my grandfather's youngest brother went to Wan Island that year."

“Now we have a chance to reunite.”

"Yeah, it's a pity that my grandfather didn't see this day."

Father Tao sighed softly, "The dust of history is like a mountain when it falls on every ordinary person. You are studying history, so you must understand this truth."

The two students looked solemn and nodded in agreement.

"… Xinhua News Agency reported: On November 11, at the 2 Renaudot Literature Prize held in Paris, France, the jury awarded the prize to Chinese writer Xu Lingjun and his novel The Truman Show.

The Prix Renaudot was founded in 1926 in memory of Théophrastus Renaudot, the founder of the first newspaper in France. It is an important literary award in the French literary world and is awarded at the same time and place as the Prix Goncourt.

The Truman Show is the first foreign literary work to win the award..."

The news report is not long, only about 200 words, which is one level higher than breaking news and belongs to the news category.

Tao Yucheng was surprised, "Dad, Chaoyang won a prize?"

His question did not get a response from Tao's father, and Tao's father did not react at this moment.

The son-in-law won another award?

I haven't heard of the Renaudot Prize, but if it's on the "Xinwen Broadcast", it must be of good quality.

"Mom! Zhao Li! Chaoyang won the award!"

After being surprised, Tao Yucheng started yelling, as if he wanted to shout with a loud speaker.

"What award?"

The two female comrades were busy in the kitchen and did not hear the news broadcast on TV.

"A French award, some literary award..."

Tao Yucheng couldn't remember the name of the award for a moment, so Xiao Tang said, "The Renaudot Prize, it's said to be an important literary award in France."

"Is it very famous? Which one is more important, the Nobel Prize in Literature or not?" Zhao Li asked.

This question touched upon Tao Yucheng's blind spot in knowledge. He first looked at his father, feeling that his major did not seem to be suitable, and then he looked at Xiao Tang.

“I have never heard of the Prix Renaudot, but the news says that this award is given at the same time and place as the Prix Goncourt.

I know that the Prix Goncourt is one of the most important literary awards in France and Europe. In terms of fame, the Nobel Prize in Literature is definitely more prestigious, but the Prix Goncourt is also very impressive.

The Renaudot Prize is comparable to the Goncourt Prize, and its importance is self-evident. "

Xiao Tang's half-understood popular science gave the Tao family some confidence. Zhao Li said, "So this is a pretty impressive prize!"

Tao Yucheng said cheerfully: "Aren't you talking nonsense? It's not a big deal to be on the Xinwen Lianbo award. People say that Chaoyang is the first foreigner to win this award. It's a record!"

His tone was full of pride. Winning an award abroad these days means bringing glory to the country.

Tao's mother was delighted, but she complained: "Yushu is really something. She didn't even tell the family about such a big thing!"

"Mom, Chaoyang just won the award the day before yesterday. It's so troublesome to make a long distance call now. Besides, Chaoyang just won the award, so he must have a lot of things to do." Tao Yucheng said.

Father Tao finally spoke at this time, "Winning the award is a happy thing, so don't complain. I will write a letter to Yushu tonight to congratulate Chaoyang on winning the award."

The Tao family was happily talking about Lin Chaoyang winning the award. Xiao Li and Xiao Tang were not very involved, but they were also very happy.

There are few contemporary college students who have not read Lin Chaoyang’s novels, and many of them have been his loyal fans for many years.

At around eight o'clock, Xiao Li and Xiao Tang walked out of Langrun Lake Apartment and headed towards the student dormitory. Along the way, they talked about the significance of Lin Chaoyang's award to Chinese literature.

After returning to the dormitory, Xiao Tang immediately spread the news that Lin Chaoyang had won the French Renaudot Literature Prize.

In less than half an hour, the entire dormitory building knew about it, and then the other dormitories spread.

Throughout the entire night, news about "Lin Chaoyang" and the "French Renaudot Literature Award" continued to ferment in the student dormitories of Yanjing University.

In fact, the influence of "News Broadcast" is so huge not only on the Yanjing University campus. Anyone who has the habit of watching the news at night will receive this news.

After being transferred to the Ministry of Culture, Wang Meng still lived in the Gaozhi Building of the Hubaoqiao Cultural Association.

He has always had the habit of watching the "News Broadcast", and he watched it particularly carefully tonight.

Lin Chaoyang learned about the award when the embassy contacted the Writers Association.

He has also been following Lin Chaoyang's trip to France to receive the award.

When he finished watching the news report, a smile appeared on his face.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, there have been Chinese writers who have won literary awards overseas.

For example, in 1951, Ding Ling's "The Sun Shines on the Sanggan River" and Zhou Libo's "The Storm" won the Stalin Literature Prize that year.

For example, this year, Kusa Sakura also won the Soviet Union's highest literary award, the Gorky Prize.

These awards are certainly of great importance, but the problem is that they all come from socialist countries. In terms of international influence, they can only cover a small number of socialist countries in the world.

What makes the Renaudot Prize different is that it is one of the most important literary awards in France.

France is not only an economic, military and cultural power, but also a world-recognized literary power with considerable international influence in the Western world.

It can be said that Lin Chaoyang's recognition of the Renaudot Literature Prize is beneficial to the dissemination and spread of Chinese literature in the world.

The news broadcast on TV had ended, and Wang Meng was thinking that the Writers Association should send a congratulatory letter.

The news that Lin Chaoyang won the French Renaudot Literature Prize was broadcast on the "News Broadcast" and immediately caused a huge response in the Yenching cultural circle.

The next morning, the People's Daily published an article by Xinhua News Agency reporter Nie Ruxin, which detailed the entire process of Lin Chaoyang winning the award and attracted the attention of people across the country.

Since the reform and opening up, the Chinese people have highly respected Western European and American countries.

The Renaudot Prize is not as famous as the Nobel Prize in Literature, but it doesn’t matter, there are media reporters who will defend Lin Chaoyang.

Various popular science articles about the Renaudot Prize and French literary awards quickly emerged within two or three days.

Among these articles, the Renaudot Literature Prize has become the first prize after the Nobel Prize. With this award, Lin Chaoyang's future on the road to the Nobel Prize is promising.

Of course, there is some exaggeration in this.

But readers don’t care about this. They only know that Lin Chaoyang won a very prestigious literary award in Europe and has a high chance of winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in the future.

With the overwhelming news coverage in the media, the popularity of Lin Chaoyang winning the Renaudot Literature Prize has been growing stronger and stronger.

On November 11, the Literary Gazette published the Chinese Writers Association's congratulatory message to Lin Chaoyang for winning the Renaudot Prize:

We are pleased to hear that Comrade Xu Lingjun has won the 1987 Renaudot Literature Prize. We would like to express our warmest congratulations!

During his many years of literary creation, Comrade Xu Lingjun had sincere feelings for the motherland, maintained close ties with the general public, devoted himself to artistic innovation, and achieved outstanding achievements.

……

The congratulatory message from the Writers Association was full of flowers and gave Lin Chaoyang the highest praise and affirmation, which also made his colleagues in the literary world envious.

It is not uncommon for the Writers Association to send a congratulatory message in the literary world.

When many writers win literary awards, the local literary association in their hometown often sends congratulatory messages.

However, the congratulatory message from the National Federation of Literary and Art Circles is rare, and it was published in the country's top literary and artistic mouthpiece, the Literary Gazette.

Especially since the evaluation in this congratulatory message is so high, it is simply impossible for ordinary writers to enjoy this if they have not won world-renowned awards and achievements.

But think about it, the news of Lin Chaoyang winning the award had just appeared in the "Xinwen Broadcast" and "People's Daily", so it doesn't seem like a big deal for the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles to issue a high-level congratulatory message.

The 8th was Sunday, and the west courtyard of Xiaoliubukou Hutong became bustling again, and the level of bustle was far greater than usual.

Lin Chaoyang won an award overseas. Li Tuo, the socialite, was the most excited. He contacted people for several days and called everyone around him. He planned to hold a big party in Xiaoliubukou Hutong to congratulate Lin Chaoyang!
Today, at least thirty writers came to Xiaoliubukou Hutong, almost all the famous writers in Yanjing.

Li Tuo definitely couldn't afford to treat so many people at a party alone, so everyone brought their own food today.

Eating, drinking and chatting, the atmosphere was relaxed and warm.

Because there are so many people, it is naturally impossible for everyone to squeeze together.

Liu Zhenyun, Chen Jiangong, Zhong Acheng and a few others sat together and chatted.

"It should be much harder to win an award in France than in China, right?" asked Chen Jiangong.

“You are talking nonsense. There are so many writers in our country, but how many of them have won foreign literary awards?
If you want to win awards abroad, your work must be published abroad, right? This alone can stop many people!"

As Zhong Acheng talked about this, he admired Lin Chaoyang even more for being able to win the award in France.

"Oh! When can I win an award? I don't ask for too much, and I don't want an award from abroad. The Mao Dun Literature Award will be enough."

Chen Jiangong's words drew the ridicule of Zhang Chengzhi, who was standing beside him. "I think you have no hope in this life!"

Chen Jiangong was immediately dissatisfied, and the two had a verbal battle.

Liu Zhenyun said, "Listen!" "Listen to what?" Chen Jiangong was stunned.

"The people over there are talking about Chaoyang's Big Times."

Chen Jiangong listened attentively, then asked, "What's wrong? What's the problem?"

"Nothing much. I just feel that since the news of Chaoyang's winning the award spread back to China, the reputation of Big Times has improved!"

Listening to Liu Zhenyun's words, several people looked strange. They could hear the sarcasm in Liu Zhenyun's words.

Lin Chaoyang's new work "Big Times" was released on November 1st. As in the past, it immediately became a popular book that readers rushed to buy and read.

It has been on sale for a month now, but the word of mouth is not very optimistic.

This reputation is mainly reflected in the literary and critical circles. After reading "Big Times", many writers and critics generally believe that Lin Chaoyang's new work is not up to standard.

On the contrary, the readers' recognition of this novel was unexpectedly high. The most direct manifestation of this was that the sales volume of "Big Times" exceeded 60 copies in the first month.

But readers’ recognition doesn’t actually help much for the novel’s reputation, because it is difficult for them to gain control of the media discourse.

Since the publication of "Big Times", major literary magazines and literary review magazines have published a number of review articles, but the reviews have not been high.

Some writers mentioned "Big Times" during conversations and also believed that its content was a bit vulgar and not worthy of being published in a high-class society.

But this situation has undergone a strange reversal in recent days. Whenever someone around them discusses "Big Times", the evaluation is obviously much higher than in previous days.

The reasons behind this do not need to be stated explicitly; everyone understands them.

Even the literary world is not immune to snobbery.

"The tone of Big Times determines that it can't look as high-brow as Crossing the Guandong or The Death of Van Gogh.

But the core of this novel is actually very thoughtful and philosophical, but unfortunately many people care more about the form." Chen Jiangong said.

Liu Zhenyun said with a playful expression: "In the eyes of many critics, it is neither realistic nor modern, and it is a loser in both respects."

His words made Zhang Chengzhi nod in approval, "Perhaps the biggest problem with Big Times is that it does not conform to the reading habits and aesthetic tastes of some elite readers."

"It doesn't matter. Look now, our reputation has improved after winning the award!" Liu Zhenyun said jokingly.

Several people laughed.

As they were talking, shouts suddenly came from outside the yard.

Yu Hua didn't hear clearly at first, but someone next to him had already started moving.

When they walked out of the house, they saw Wang Shuo, who had just finished using the toilet, standing at the door of the inner courtyard with his pants held up, shouting, "Chaoyang is back! Chaoyang is back!"

Everyone immediately swarmed out of the yard and rushed into the east yard like a herd of galloping horses.

Lin Chaoyang had just entered the yard carrying his luggage when he was startled by the sudden noise.

He had just been blocked by reporters at the airport for over an hour and finally regained his freedom.

"Chaoyang! You're back!"

Li Tuo ran in the front, like Li Kui seeing Song Jiang, and hugged Lin Chaoyang. The group of people following him also came up and surrounded Lin Chaoyang.

"Alright, alright!"

Lin Chaoyang pushed Li Tuo away in disdain, but Li Tuo didn't care at all and said solemnly: "Chaoyang, you have brought honor to our Chinese writers! You have brought glory to our country!"

Under his leadership, everyone looked at Lin Chaoyang eagerly.

It is said that intellectuals look down on each other, but this is only half true.

When one party's position is too high, there will be no such thing as literary envy, admiration and respect.

The Renaudot Prize does not have the influence of the Nobel Prize in Literature, but it is already a height that most domestic writers today cannot reach.

Therefore, when everyone saw Lin Chaoyang, who had just returned with honors, they were extremely excited and kept congratulating him.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Lin Chaoyang bowed to express his gratitude to everyone.

Li Tuo asked again: "Why did you come back just now?"

"I participated in some activities in Paris." Lin Chaoyang replied, and then said: "It's very cold, don't stand in the yard, let's go inside and talk."

Everyone swarmed into the main room. If the house wasn't so big, there wouldn't be enough space for so many people.

After putting away his luggage, Lin Chaoyang started chatting with everyone. Everyone was curious about his experience in France.

"Board and lodging are arranged by the publisher..."

"I received the award at the Restaurant de Touron in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, where the Goncourt Prize was also being presented on the same day..."

"Are you a writer you know? Umberto Eco was there on the day of the award ceremony, and later I ran into Duras at a party..."

When Lin Chaoyang talked about his experience in Paris, dozens of people in the room were silent, listening quietly and fascinatedly.

As writers, most of the people present have a certain complex about France or Paris.

Hugo, Dumas père, Dumas fils, Balzac, Flaubert, Gide... countless French literary masters are like stars shining in the sky.

Any young person who is interested in literature cannot have failed to read the works of these people.

It is precisely because of the existence of these literary masters that France and Paris have a unique influence among Chinese writers.

The literary masters have long passed away, and Lin Chaoyang certainly has no chance to meet them. When people asked him which writers he had met in France, he could only pick out a few of the more famous contemporary ones that he had met.

Even so, it was enough to amaze everyone.

"Chaoyang is really going this time!"

Zheng Wanlong's tone was full of envy, and he wished he could take his place.

Li Tuo said, "Look at what you said. What do you mean by Chaoyang? Chaoyang is now the winner of the Renaudot Prize. He will be called an internationally renowned writer in the future, no worse than Duras and others."

"That's right, you are helping others to become more powerful, but destroying your own reputation!"

Everyone condemned Zheng Wanlong, and he quickly bowed his head and admitted his mistake.

"Mistakes!"

After a few words of quarrel, everyone continued to ask Lin Chaoyang. When they heard that he had been interviewed by "Paris Review" in Paris, Li Tuo, Zhang Chengzhi and others were surprised.

Most people present didn't react. Seeing them so surprised, everyone was very puzzled.

In that era, domestic information was not well developed and the speed of introducing foreign literary works was calculated in years.

Although a lot of things have been relaxed in recent years, it is still relatively closed.

It is even more impossible to introduce literary journals due to timeliness and policy reasons.

Except for some people who are at the forefront of literary research or who know foreign languages ​​and have access to foreign journals, the vast majority of writers have no access to foreign literary magazines.

Many people have little or no knowledge of the vast majority of foreign literary magazines.

Zhang Chengzhi then gave everyone a brief introduction to the status of The Paris Review in Europe and America, and concluded:
“If I simply use a domestic publication as an analogy, it’s probably at the level of Harvest, but it’s Harvest with readers all over Europe and America.”

After hearing his analogy, everyone understood it all at once.

Zhang Chengzhi added: "Their interview column is very famous, and the writers they interviewed are writers of the level of Hemingway, Henry Miller, Marquez, and Huxley."

"Oh~"

Everyone was shocked and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

No, buddy, you just went abroad and won an award, why is your status suddenly raised to such a high level?

Everyone only felt that there was a auspicious cloud rising under Lin Chaoyang's feet, floating in the air, with light shining from behind.

Facing the exaggerated looks from everyone, Lin Chaoyang quickly shook his head and said, "It's not that exaggerated. They also interviewed writers who are not that famous. Besides, I was able to be interviewed because of the publisher's help."

Hearing him say this, Chen Jiangong curiously asked about the background of the publishing house.

When Lin Chaoyang introduced Gallimard Publishing House, no one knew much about it. But when he mentioned "Seven Star Library", everyone exclaimed again.

In 1931, a young independent publisher, Jacques Schiffrin, founded the "Seven Stars" Publishing House in Paris and launched the "Seven Stars Library" series.

The name is taken from the "Society of Seven Elysees", a group of seven 7th-century French humanist poets represented by Pierre de Ronsard.

After its publication, Qixing Library introduced works by famous writers such as Baudelaire, Racine, and Stendhal, which received widespread acclaim in the literary world.

But in 1933, due to financial difficulties of the Seven Stars Publishing House, Gallimard Publishing House, at the suggestion of French writer Gide, incorporated the Seven Stars Library and continued to launch the series of books in accordance with Schiffrin's principles.

To date, the Qixing Library has a history of more than 50 years and has published nearly a thousand books, covering the works of about 200 important writers in the world.

The editorial department of Qixing Library is extremely strict in selecting the writers to be included, which means that every writer whose works are included can be regarded as a national literary hero.

For example, when Duanmu Song from France received a call from the editor of the Seven Stars Library, saying that his work would be included in the library, he was ecstatic and exclaimed: Being selected for the Seven Stars Library is comparable to a Nobel Prize in Literature.

Another example is Céline, who wrote "Long Day's Journey into Night". He was rebellious and suffered ideological persecution throughout his life, but he never bowed his head. He was known as the loneliest writer in French literature.

However, during his lifetime, he repeatedly wrote letters asking the editorial department to include his works in the series, but was rejected every time. It was not until after his death that his works were included in the Seven Stars Library.

Among the nearly one thousand literary works included in the Qixing Library, there are also Chinese works, namely "Water Margin", "Laozi", "Zhuangzi", "Liezi", "Dream of Red Mansions" and "Jin Ping Mei".

After a series of shocks, everyone has begun to feel a little numb.

So when they heard that Wang Meng specially represented the Writers Association to go to the Capital Airport to welcome Lin Chaoyang back home with honors, they showed no emotion at all.

"If you have anything else to say, please say it all now." Chen Jiangong asked Lin Chaoyang.

"That's all. We've already gotten off the plane and are heading back home. What else could possibly happen?"

In fact, there was something Lin Chaoyang didn’t say. He met a writer named Milan Kundera at a party held by Gallimard Publishing House.

Unfortunately, Milan Kundera was not very famous in China at that time. His works had been introduced into China more than ten years ago, but they were all in the name of "internal reference" and few people knew about them.

Everyone gathered around Lin Chaoyang and listened to the excitement for half a day. They felt surprise, joy, shock... all kinds of emotions, and it could be said that the trip was worthwhile.

Everyone was planning to leave, but Li Tuo suddenly remembered something.

"Chaoyang, where is your certificate?"

"There's no certificate. It's just a verbal announcement." Lin Chaoyang said.

The Goncourt Prize comes with a prize of 50 francs, but when Lin Chaoyang went to receive the award, he received no prize money, certificate, or trophy. He had to take care of his own food and lodging, unless the publishing house took care of it.

When everyone thought of this, they immediately felt much more relaxed.

A group of people came in a crowd and left in a crowd.

The originally noisy house became quiet in an instant.

After spending a week abroad and experiencing a long-distance flight, and then interviewing and chatting after getting off the plane, Lin Chaoyang can finally lie in bed and have a good sleep now that everyone has left.

He slept for more than ten hours and woke up naturally at around four o'clock the next morning.

I got up and tidied myself up. It was not yet five o'clock and it was still dark outside.

He waited until half past five and ran to the street, where the breakfast shop had just opened.

"A bowl of fried liver and two pork and green onion buns."

When I was about to settle the bill after the meal, I felt my pocket and found that I didn’t have any food coupons.

(End of this chapter)