Rebirth 2004: A lone figure in the literary world

Chapter 317 Dispute
Zhang Chao looked at his "dearest daughter" Ivanka standing beside him, and his "closest friend" Hillary on the stage, and couldn't help but follow everyone in applauding the man on the stage.

The passionate speech ended and most of the guests had arrived, so they took their seats and waited for the auction to begin.

Zhang Chao returned to his seat and found that his two classmates, Junot Diaz and Joshua Felice, were already sitting there. Junot Diaz was obviously older, about 40 years old, with a bald head, a long face, a well-groomed beard, and a warm smile.

Joshua Ferris is much younger, looking even less than 30 years old, with a curious and relaxed expression on his face and wearing a pair of rimmed glasses. He is a typical American white nerd.

Both of them expressed their friendliness to Zhang Chao and Susan. The four of them introduced themselves to each other and exchanged pleasantries, but Diaz was more reserved, while Phyllis showed a somewhat exaggerated smile and said enthusiastically: "Knowing that I can sit at the same table with you, I am really looking forward to tonight.

You know, we are ‘alumni’!”

Zhang Chao was puzzled and asked hesitantly, "You went to study abroad in Yenching? Which one, Yenching University or Yenching Normal University?"

The embarrassment on Phyllis's face flashed away, and she immediately said, "University of Iowa. I am a graduate of the University of Iowa."

Zhang Chao suddenly realized, but the "International Writing Program (IWP)" can only be regarded as a short-term training course organized by the University of Iowa. It was a bit awkward for Phyllis to say that the two were alumni, but the other party was at least well-intentioned, so there was no need to deny it.

After the four of them sat down, Phyllis said with some envy: "Do you know Ivanka? I see you two were chatting very lively?" As she spoke, she looked at Ivanka's smooth and jade-like white back sitting in the first row with burning eyes.

Zhang Chao shrugged and said, "We just met and talked about novels for a while."

Phyllis reluctantly pulled her eyes away from Ivanka and asked curiously, "Let's discuss your novel? Which one, Gone Girl or The Great Doctor?"

Zhang Chao did not answer directly, but asked: "Have you seen it too?"

Philip said frankly, "I've seen Gone Girl, it's really a wonderful American story. The subject matter of The Great Doctor is a bit heavy, I've bought it, but I haven't made up my mind to finish it."

At this time, the bald Diaz interrupted and said, "On the contrary, I like your book "The Great Doctor", which describes the suffering and perseverance of a nation."

Zhang Chao blushed a little after hearing what they said. He had never read a word of their works, but he didn't know how to pretend to know and politely said "Your works are also great". It would be embarrassing if the other party wanted to discuss the details.

Fortunately, the two of them didn't care about this. After all, not everyone's novel can be translated so quickly.

However, Zhang Chao cleverly changed his expression: "I saw some American readers recommend your works on Weibo. Maybe you will see the Chinese translation published soon."

Now both Diaz and Phyllis were happy. After all, if their works could be published in China, they could increase their income a lot.

Being a writer is not an easy profession to make a living in the United States. Even a Pulitzer Prize-winning work may not necessarily sell well. There are cases where the sales volume was only dozens of copies before winning the prize, but only increased to a few hundred copies after winning the prize (one poetry collection sold 51 copies before winning the prize, and more than 400 copies after winning the prize).

History, non-fiction, and poetry are particularly hard hit. To some extent, the dilemma faced by Chinese and American authors is similar.

So Diaz and Phyllis each have their own careers, one is a university writing teacher, and the other has her own column in the Boston Daily.

As we were chatting, the auction on the stage had already begun. This charity auction aims to raise funds for the "Immune Deficiency Patient Care Fund" in the United States. The auction items are mainly paintings and sculptures by some emerging artists, as well as designer signed jewelry from Ivanka's newly established jewelry brand.

The item being displayed on the stage is a painting made up of many irregular blocks of color randomly pieced together. The colors are glaring and bold, and it is impossible to tell what the painting is about.

The auctioneer on the stage said: "The name of this painting is "Early Morning in Downtown", and it is a new work by Sarah Fox.

She was inspired to create this masterpiece by the reflection of the city's neon lights in the water on the streets of downtown New York in the early morning hours.

This painting is between abstract and figurative, full of her personal style. Since last year, Sarah has been noticed by the New York art world. Art critics and gallery managers believe that her paintings represent a new artistic concept...

The starting price of this painting is $4000, and each bid increment shall be no less than $200..."

Susan introduced to Zhang Chao softly: "The first lot is always an appetizer, and the final hammer price is usually not more than ten thousand. Are you interested in bidding?"

Zhang Chao shook his head and said self-deprecatingly: "I can't even understand it, why should I bring it back? Hang it at the door to ward off evil spirits, or hang it above the bed to prevent pregnancy?"

I couldn't think of a suitable translation for the last sentence, so I said it directly in Chinese. Therefore, only Susan understood it, which made her laugh.

Sure enough, after several bids, the hammer price of "Downtown Morning" was $8800. It was bought by a local New York politician.

Phyllis asked the people around her with a hint of sarcasm and self-mockery: "8800 US dollars... my royalties for Then We Came to the End were not that high.

It took me two full years to finish this novel. What about this painting? Give my five-year-old niece enough paint and half an hour and she can do a lot worse to the canvas.”

Phyllis's words made Diaz beside her smile bitterly, and even Susan felt the same way.

However, Zhang Chao consoled him, "8800 US dollars? I don't know how much of it will go to the painter. The gallery, the agent, and the art dealers who run the business... Every new work you see here has a very expensive process before it can be auctioned.

So the $8800 is just a bookkeeping figure. At least our novel royalties have already landed in our pockets.”

Hearing this, Dias turned around and glanced at Zhang Chao, and asked, "You seem to be very familiar with this mode of operation..."

Zhang Chao laughed and said, “I was approached by someone who was willing to pay me about $3 to take a photo of a specific painting at an event… but I didn’t attend that event.”

Diaz: “…” I shouldn’t have asked you.

Phyllis sighed, "I almost forgot that you are different from us... In fact, you should be able to sit in the first two rows..." But he quickly came to his senses and said, "Speaking of which, "Gone Girl" did give me some inspiration."

Zhang Chao asked curiously: "Oh?"

Phyllis said, "I noticed that you chose special professions for the two protagonists - writers. Is it because this is also your profession?"

Zhang Chao nodded and said, "There is probably no other American profession that I am more comfortable writing about than being a writer."

Phyllis became a little excited and said, "My latest research is about career - I think 'career' is the core of novels in a broad sense.

Think about it - it was his job that made Santiago not give up the marlin even in despair; it was his job that made Alice walk into Bleak House; it was his job that sent Humbert to the house on Lawn Street...

Occupation is often the first source of a character's sense of substance and action, driving the character to make one choice or another. Fitzgerald was good at assigning occupations to the characters in his novels.

——Zhang, you too.”

Faced with such blatant flattery, Zhang Chao was in a dilemma as to whether to respond or not. He could only modestly say, "You are talking about masters, but I am not one of them."

Phyllis said: "In this regard, you are not inferior. In "Gone Girl", those meticulous actions and cruel psychological games would probably be a bit out of place if they happened to other professions.

But writers are different. We are a group of people who are good at forbearance, good at planning, and dare to realize our imaginations. That's why Amy led Nick step by step into the abyss she created... And "The Great Doctor", although I haven't finished reading it, but you chose three doctors as the protagonists, I'm afraid you want to cure more than just human physical illnesses, right?"

Zhang Chao originally thought that he was just saying something, but he didn't expect it to be so "reasonable and well-founded". He couldn't just brush it off, so he answered seriously: "I have always believed that the core of a character is 'identity'. In reality, we also act according to our identities. Under different identities, our personalities, words and deeds will be very different, and even contradictory - this is also one of the sources of the complexity of the characters.

The elements that make up an identity include family, career, and society. So career is indeed one of the starting points for conceiving a character.

——Thank you for your recognition and research on my novel! "

Phyllis asked happily, "That's great. But I still have a lot of questions. I wonder if I can interview you? Oh, it won't take too much time, just one hour will do!"

Zhang Chao: "..." There is really no such thing as free flattery. It is said that Mr. Liu Zhenyun is particularly good at this... but he often uses it to insult others.

Zhang Chao, who was always short-sighted, could only say helplessly: "I will be returning to China in two days. If you want to come, please come as soon as possible."

Phyllis said happily, "I'll email you tonight to confirm the time!" As a writer for the Boston Daily's literary column, being able to interview a popular writer like Zhang Chao would certainly help consolidate her position. Moreover, Zhang Chao was connected to at least two large American publishing houses. If she could get one of them to notice her...

As Phyllis thought about it, her smile grew brighter, and Diaz, who sat next to her, was stunned and regretful. If only she had Phyllis's eloquence, she could invite Zhang Chao to give a lecture at New York University, where she taught. It was said that Zhang Chao was "addicted" to giving lectures.

While a few people were chatting, several collections were auctioned off on the stage. Most of them were paintings. The most expensive one was an abstract sculpture, which looked like a slug being tied up with a tortoise shell by a Japanese rope art master, and then being hit in the center by Tyson wearing steel gloves.

But this thing was sold at a high price of 3 US dollars.

Next up is the auction of designer signed jewelry from Ivanka’s jewelry brand—the designer is actually Ivanka herself. This brand was just established this year, and this auction seems to be held specifically to promote the brand.

The starting price of the jewelry was obviously higher than the previous artworks. The starting price of the first sapphire necklace exceeded 5 US dollars, and each bid was no less than 3000 US dollars.

Susan asked Zhang Chao, "You said you don't understand art, but you're not interested in jewelry either?"

Zhang Chao curled his lips and said disdainfully, "If you want to buy it, why don't you just go to a jewelry store? Wouldn't it be a rip-off if you buy it at an auction?"

Everyone at the table was about to laugh when a young woman's voice came from behind: "You are so mean."

Zhang Chao turned around and found a white woman with chestnut hair. Her high cheekbones and thin lips showed a sharp personality. Seeing that Zhang Chao noticed her, she raised her chin and introduced herself: "Dana Schutz, specializing in painting what you call 'incomprehensible paintings'.

The fourth painting on the stage just now is my work, but I'm afraid you didn't notice it."

Zhang Chao smiled and said, "I really know very little about modern painting art, and I can't understand the logic behind the combination of those color blocks. But I think since someone is willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy your paintings, they do have value."

Dana Schutz was obviously not satisfied with this answer and continued to ask: "You seem to think it is unfair for painters to have such income? Since you don't understand modern painting art, it is really arrogant to draw such a conclusion!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chao leaned back in his chair, revealing Joshua Phyllis who had just expressed this opinion - he didn't say this, so there was no need to take the blame for others.

Joshua Phillis was immediately embarrassed and could only explain: "I'm talking about the first painting, "Early Morning in Downtown"..."

At this time, a young woman next to Dana Schutz showed her face and said calmly to Phyllis: "I am Sarah Fox. "Morning in Downtown" is my work.

I just heard you say that your niece draws better than me, is that right? "

Phyllis now wished she could sew her mouth shut with thread. There was nothing more embarrassing than being caught talking behind someone's back.

However, the two female painters were obviously not interested in a minor character like Joshua Phyllis. After teasing him for a few words, they set their sights on Zhang Chao. Dana Schutz said provocatively, "Are all novelists so jealous?" Behind her deep eye sockets, her sharp eyes were fixed on Zhang Chao.

Zhang Chao sighed inwardly, and had no choice but to accept the challenge, so he replied: "Maybe it is a little different from you painters."

Dana Schutz and Sarah Fox were silent, their eyes fixed on Zhang Chao, wanting to hear what he had to say.

Zhang Chao said: "If we novelists want to earn $1, according to the US royalties, we need 2000 to 3000 readers to pay for our works.

However, there are at least dozens of times more readers than buyers who have seen the introduction of the work from different channels and even read the first dozens or hundreds of pages of the novel in bookstores. Only in this way can there be 2000 to 3000 readers who are willing to pay for the purchase.

And the paintings of modern painters seem to only need to conquer certain specific people, right?"

As soon as the words were spoken, Dana Schutz and Sarah Fox's faces turned red, but they could not refute and could only repeat two sentences:
“How ignorant!”

“How rude!”

Zhang Chao ignored the two young female painters and turned to continue watching the auction on the stage. If there is any art form that is more "unreliable" and more dependent on professional art critics than avant-garde novels, it must be modern painting art.

It’s not that they are not good at painting, but that this art form has largely deviated from the appreciation of the masses and has lost the possibility of circulation in the mass market, thus becoming a toy for the self-entertainment of the elite.

But those painters who are regarded as the source of modern painting art - whether it is Van Gogh or Katsushika Hokusai, whether they did not sell a single painting during their lifetime or became rich by painting, the starting point of their creation was to serve the public, hoping that their paintings could be favored by ordinary citizens who came to the gallery and bought to hang on the wall at home.

Those parts of their paintings that inspired modern painters were not their original intention, nor were they even the focus of their creations.

Most creators of modern painting or plastic arts no longer consider whether their works can be accepted and liked by the public, but instead focus on educating or even stimulating the public.

At least Zhang Chao did not want to go that far in literature and art, and would certainly stay away from such an attitude of expression.

By this time, Zhang Chao was already tired of tonight's activities. Anyway, his desire to see a hot man had been satisfied. He had no interest in the auction items, so he whispered to Susan: "When is the best time to leave this kind of activity?"

Susan said, "Usually, after the dinner starts, if you don't want to socialize with others, you can find a chance to go to the bathroom and then leave. This is more natural and won't attract other people's attention."

Zhang Chao nodded to show that he understood, and then waited for another half an hour until the auction finally ended. A total of over 100 million US dollars was raised for charity, most of which came from Ivanka's jewelry.

A representative from the "Immune Deficiency Care Foundation" came up to express his gratitude and spoke for a few minutes.

Soon the lights in the venue came on, and only then did Zhang Chao realize that the originally empty space behind him was now filled with various Western-style buffets, and many waiters in dresses were waiting with plates in their hands.

Zhang Chao thought it was finally over, so he stood up and applauded enthusiastically with everyone else, then wanted to go to the bathroom.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I turned around, I was stopped by a familiar voice: "Are you going back? Don't you want to talk to everyone?"

Zhang Chao turned around and saw Ivanka, the tall, blond, blue-eyed beauty...

(End of this chapter)