Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 228: The land is divided into north and south, and the culture is divided into two sides, but what about the human heart?

Zhang Chao was surprised and asked, "Isn't it known that Ni Kuang cheated border guards in 1957 by carving a radish seal and fled to Hong Kong?"

Ma Jiahui sneered, and then said: "This is the first fantasy story he wrote. It can be seen that he has great potential in writing fantasy novels."

Zhang Chao asked: "Is there some hidden story behind this?"

Ma Jiahui realized at this moment that he had spoken too quickly and seemed to have said too much. He couldn't help but hesitate for a while before saying, "I don't know whether I should say these or not, and whether I can say them."

"You have to say it even if you shouldn't. If you can't say it now, then when can you say it?" An old and firm voice suddenly came from the door of the tea room.

The two were startled and looked quickly towards the source of the voice. They saw Pan Yaoming supporting an old man with white hair and an elegant temperament standing at the door.

Zhang Chao didn't know who the old man was, but out of politeness, he also stood up with Ma Jiahui. Ma Jiahui was a little excited and asked repeatedly: "Teacher Liu, why are you here?"

Then he introduced Zhang Chao: "This old gentleman is Mr. Liu Yichang, the founder of modern Hong Kong literature and the president and editor-in-chief of Hong Kong Literature magazine."

Now it was Zhang Chao's turn to be surprised. Liu Yichang had been engaged in editing literary newspapers and periodicals and writing serious literature throughout his life. He not only held a very high status in the Hong Kong literary world, but was also an indispensable figure in any literary history compiled on the mainland that involved Hong Kong literature.

But he was born in 1918 and is now nearly 90 years old. He has long lived a reclusive life. How could he appear here at night?
Pan Yaoming helped Liu Yichang sit on the small sofa in the tea room. Zhang Chao quickly washed a cup and poured tea for them.

Liu Yichang waved his hand and said, "I'm too old to drink tea at night." He then asked, "Are you the Zhang Chao they were talking about?"

Zhang Chao nodded shyly and said, "Good evening, old sir. I am Zhang Chao." This was the oldest senior writer he had met since his rebirth, and he was more than ten years older than Wang Meng.

Liu Yichang laughed and said, "He's still a young man, and he doesn't look like a tyrant! How can he be as scary as Xiao Zhong said?"

Pan Yaoming said: "Zhang Chao is now the most active young writer in the Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong. He likes to do things, so it is normal for him to have some criticism."

Then he explained, "I went to Mr. Liu's house tonight and talked to him about recent events. Mr. Liu heard that you were talking to Jiahui and insisted on coming to see you. I suggested that he come tomorrow, but he couldn't be stopped."

Liu Yichang smiled generously and said, "I am almost 90 years old. I don't know if I can open my eyes tomorrow morning. So I have to do and say what I want to do as soon as possible while I am still alive, and not wait until tomorrow."

Zhang Chao couldn't help but admire him when he heard this. The old man was so happy that he had reached the state of being able to see through life and death.

Liu Yichang asked: "Did you just talk about Ni Kuang?"

Zhang Chao said: "Yes. Mr. Ma just said that Ni Kuang came to Hong Kong for another reason."

Liu Yichang paused and sighed leisurely: "For the mainland, he is a good comrade."

Now it was Zhang Chao's turn to be puzzled. He asked, "Comrade? Hasn't his position always been very disgusted with the mainland?"

Liu Yichang said: "The position should not be judged by what he said, but by what he did and what the final result was. Besides, he said so many excessive things, why can his book be officially published in the mainland?
The royalties that Xiao Ni earned in Hong Kong in the past thirty years are not as much as what he has earned in the past ten years in mainland China. So you young people should not be so emotional when looking at things. "

Zhang Chao said sincerely, "I'd like to hear the details."

Liu Yichang went on to say: "If we talk about disgust, then the Little Chas - Cha Liangyong and Jin Yong - also showed disgust. Look at the editorials in Ming Pao in the 60s. They even said that making trousers is worse than making an atomic bomb.

He even served as a national policy adviser in Taiwan in the 70s, but this did not prevent him from becoming the first Hong Konger to be received individually by the highest level of the mainland in the 80s and becoming a member of the Basic Law Drafting Committee.

His martial arts novels were soon officially published in mainland China. Until today, he has been traveling between the mainland and Hong Kong. On the one hand, he has a great influence, and on the other hand, he has said many "offensive words", but does anyone in the mainland care? "

Zhang Chao: “…” He had no idea what to say and could only take a sip of tea in silence.

Liu Yichang continued: "In fact, the division of Hong Kong's literary world is not only due to the 'North-South dispute', but also due to the ideological dispute between you and the other side of the strait. The influence of the latter may be greater than the former."

Zhang Chao asked, "'Dispute over concepts'?"

Liu Yichang nodded and said, "Take Ni Kuang for example. Since the 50s, the Hong Kong media has been full of cultural elites from across the strait scolding you. Then when Mr. Ni Kuang came, he showed off his status and scolded you more harshly and specifically than anyone else. Then everyone went to watch him scold you, and no one paid attention to the intellectuals from across the strait scolding you. The right to scold you was transferred to intellectuals from your background like Ni Kuang - who is taking advantage and who is losing out here? "

Zhang Chao was a little confused for a moment after hearing this.

Liu Yichang laughed and said, "So don't think that scolding is a big deal. There is a saying that goes 'a little scolding can help a lot', so what about scolding a lot? In fact, scolding a lot can help a lot if it is done well and done correctly.

At that time, apart from a few left-leaning activists, who in Hong Kong would listen to you if you directly said you supported the mainland? If no one would listen to you, what was the point of your grandiose speech? The most important thing was to make people willing to listen to you, and what you said was not that important.

Zhang Chao suddenly realized: "Then Mr. Jin Yong is also..."

Liu Yichang said: "Of course. From the 50s to the 70s, Hong Kong has always been a battleground for the mainland and Taiwan. Especially in the cultural field where the British don't care much, the struggle between the two sides is even more intense.

Generally speaking, from the 50s to the 70s, the culture of Hong Kong was gradually dominated by Taiwan, especially the cultural elites from Shanghai, who almost "dominated the world". At that time, the most popular songs were Mandarin songs, and the most popular movies were Mandarin movies. Cantonese movies and Cantonese songs were considered inferior.

At that time, when a guy was in love and asked a girl to go to the movies, he would always watch a Mandarin movie or a Huangmei Opera movie. No one watched a Cantonese movie.

I clearly remember that in the 1950s, you could still see many Cantonese films in Hong Kong cinemas. But later, there were more and more Mandarin films. This situation reached its peak in 1972, when not a single Cantonese film was produced throughout the year. Hong Kong's traditional Cantonese films were completely destroyed."

Zhang Chao asked: "This history is too old, I don't understand it at all. The Hong Kong movies I watched when I was a child were mostly made after the 80s - what happened after that?"

Liu Yichang said: "But things were different after the 70s. Cultural elites who took the 'mass line' rose up, especially in the field of popular culture. They completely overturned the cultural elites with Taiwanese backgrounds with the novels of Jin Yong and Ni Kuang and the Cantonese songs and films of Xu Guanjie.

These excellent cultural products not only largely eliminated the divisions and conflicts among ordinary citizens on this land, but also rebuilt a cultural identity consensus with a broad public opinion base. In the end, even cultural figures with Taiwanese backgrounds had to follow this trend.

When the Sino-British negotiations were completed, the situation in Taiwan also changed significantly. First, they admitted defeat and stopped subsidizing cultural figures and film and television companies with Taiwanese backgrounds in Hong Kong from the government budget. So after the late 80s, Hong Kong's cultural landscape completely turned to the mainland.

Of course, what I have described here is just a rough outline. The actual situation is much more complicated, and I can't finish it even if I talk about it for three days and three nights. In many cases, it is not a confrontation, and everyone will cooperate to make money, so it is often difficult to tell the difference between you and me.

But generally speaking, we have to admit that the cultural people with mainland backgrounds are more promising. They succeeded in their careers despite the lack of resources and the unfavorable start. The cultural people with Taiwanese backgrounds had a lot of resources and subsidies, and they were high and mighty, but in the end they repeated their fate. "

Zhang Chao didn't know whether to sigh or ask questions. After a long silence, he said to Liu Yichang: "So in fact, the awakening of local consciousness among Hong Kong writers and cultural figures is also due to these external factors."

Liu Yichang nodded and said, "Of course, and this is inevitable. No region with such a developed economy, such a high level of education among citizens, and such developed cultural activities will always be influenced by foreign culture. The second and third generations of cultural people it produces will definitely focus on the uniqueness of local culture.

This will definitely give rise to the awakening of local consciousness. Starting from Xi Xi's "My City", this is a trend that cannot be reversed.

But once local consciousness awakens, you have no way to control its direction. Some people focus on its integration, some focus on its independence, and some focus on its transcendence - in fact, there is nothing wrong with all of them.

I tell you this because I hope you will notice the complexity of the problem. Don't treat all those who oppose you as enemies. They are also the fruits of the seedlings you planted that year, some are sour and some are sweet. Even if you crush all the sour fruits now, will all the fruits you will bear in the future be sweet? "

Zhang Chao seemed to be thinking about something. He was silent for a while and then asked, "What good suggestions do you have, old man?"

Liu Yichang did not answer Zhang Chao's question, but stood up and said, "Each generation has its own affairs. I am almost 90 years old, and I have completed the tasks that history has entrusted to my generation. I can only tell you the stories I have experienced. As for what you choose to do and how you choose to do it, that is your business."

Pan Yaoming and Ma Jiahui also stood up at this moment, supporting Liu Yichang on the left and right. Liu Yichang walked to the door and turned around and said, "You may wonder why an old man like me is telling you this.

When I was 24, I went to Chongqing to work as an editor for two anti-Japanese war newspapers, the National Public Newspaper and the Saodang Newspaper. At that time, there were only seven major newspapers. When I was 30, I came to Hong Kong and worked as an editor for the Hong Kong Times and Sing Tao Evening News. In 1985, I worked as an editor for Hong Kong Literature. I experienced the hardships of the Anti-Japanese War and the confusion of the civil war...

South, North, Mainland, Taiwan... I finally became a Hong Konger. Literature saved me. I wish literature was just literature - but too many people think literature can't just be literature.

I used to watch Zhang Ailing bring her manuscripts to the editor of West Wind, my neighbor, to submit them time and again; Lao She’s Four Generations Under One Roof was first serialized and published in the supplement of Saodang Newspaper, which I edited; I helped Yao Xueying plan and publish his first collection of works; Sun Fuyuan’s study of Lu Xun was also published in the supplement of Sing Tao Evening News, which I edited in chief…

Finally, I still hope that literature is literature, and the grievances of the previous generation will not become a burden for the next generation. The land is divided into the north and the south, and the culture is divided into the two sides, but what about the human heart? It depends on your generation. "

After all, he left without looking back.

(It was hard to write tonight, so that's all.)
(End of this chapter)