1979: My fiancée is a goddess

Chapter 191 "Chinese Literature" is here, are you going to earn foreign exchange?

Nine o'clock the next morning.

On Baiwanzhuang Street in Xicheng District, there are endless locust trees standing on both sides of the street in summer.

The tall tree trunks surround the sky above the street, forming a huge dome, like a green palace of life.

In the clear blue sky, a scorching sun hangs in the sky, spreading the golden sunlight wantonly.

It carried the scorching temperature through the tiny, oval, overlapping emerald green leaves of the locust tree, leaving countless golden flakes on the dark asphalt road.

In the space formed by countless leaves, pedestrians pass by in an endless stream. A faint coolness is brewing in it, which is particularly comfortable.

"Wow~"

Intermittent wind blew in from the distant river, and the white and light pink locust flowers spread a faint fragrance. The flower buds rotated from the branches and fell on the stalls on the street.

"Snapped!"

A pair of slender hands slapped the locust flowers that were about to fall into the bowl. A young woman in a long floral dress smiled on her pretty face and looked down at her open palms, which contained several locust flowers with green stalks.

Zhang Li couldn't help but laugh and joked: "Haha! There are so many locust flowers. Today I can eat locust flower jelly."

"Haha... that's true. Here's five cents for you, girl."

In front of the woman was a small stall selling ice jelly. The stall was very small and was converted from a tricycle. To be more precise, the stall was placed on the tricycle.

Crystal clear ice jelly is placed in a plastic bucket, and various ingredients, such as dried fruits, roses, raisins, etc., are placed on the stall.

The old lady was standing behind the tricycle preparing ice jelly. When she heard her words, she responded with a smile.

It is indeed the season when locust flowers are in full bloom. They taste sweet and can be used to make ice jelly or fried rice.

"Is it so expensive?"

Zhang Li raised his eyebrows, a little surprised.

If converted, this price is equivalent to five yuan per bowl in later generations.

But when she thought about the recent increase in pork prices, it was not surprising.

After paying the bill neatly, Zhang Li suggested to the old lady before leaving that she could go to the ice factory to buy some ice cubes. After all, ice jelly would be more refreshing and taste better when chilled.

While drinking the sweet ice jelly, Zhang Li went to a nearby newsstand and bought a few recent newspapers before walking into the building behind the stand.

On the white plaques on both sides of the gate were several large characters written in a flamboyant style:

Chinese Literature Magazine is affiliated to China Foreign Languages ​​Publishing Administration.

The so-called China Foreign Languages ​​Publishing Administration is also known as the Foreign Languages ​​Bureau.

It was first established in September 1963 and was initially an upgrade of the Foreign Languages ​​Press, which was reorganized from the International News Bureau.

The Foreign Languages ​​​​Bureau has five magazines and one foreign language publishing house under its jurisdiction.

This is the framework for book and periodical publicity built by the State Administration of Foreign Languages ​​​​and it is an important bridge for communication between China and the world.

The Chinese Literature magazine is one of them, and Zhang Li works here.

In the early days of the People's Republic of China, in order to meet the needs of the country's foreign exchanges and cultural construction, the state incorporated translation into the national literary and artistic system and provided leadership and control.

During the same period, the state began to transform the publishing industry into a public-private partnership.

The establishment of translation and publishing institutions and the integration of the translation and publishing sectors are mainly reflected in three aspects:

First, the ideological transformation of the translation community under the influence of the intellectuals' ideological transformation movement. On this basis, the National Translation Conference was held to formulate national translation policies and guidelines and to decide to promote the translation cause in an organized and planned manner.
Second, a national foreign translation agency represented by the Foreign Languages ​​Publishers was established to unify the management of translation work;

The third is personnel regulation and transformation of the translator’s identity.

Chinese Literature came into being in 1951. It is the only English publication open to the public and the only publication published openly and continuously distributed internationally during the Seventeen Years period.

It has translated a large number of classical literature and modern and contemporary literary works, making outstanding contributions to cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.

By 1966, the Chinese Literature magazine had translated and published 1000 works in 40 foreign languages, marking the first peak in the translation of Chinese culture abroad.

It was the main channel for foreigners to understand Chinese literature at that time and in this era.

This has also led to a large number of writers and their works going abroad and to the world through this magazine.

……

"Comrade Zhang Li, why are you here so late?"

The young security guard standing guard at the gate room couldn't help but feel hot on his dark face when he saw Zhang Li coming in, and he mustered up the courage to speak.

"Yes, Comrade Su Xi."

Zhang Li turned his head, smoothed his bangs subconsciously and said with a smile.

"Editor-in-Chief Ye is here. Go in quickly and don't get caught."

Su Xi waved at her and said anxiously.

After returning from military service, he was assigned to stand guard at a magazine company, where he fell in love with editor Zhang Li, who was the same age as him. However, he felt inferior and shy, so he never said it out loud.

"Thank you."

Zhang Li's heart skipped a beat when he heard that, and he left quickly, leaving behind only a faint word of thanks.

"Chinese Literature" magazine is special compared to other magazines. It's okay to be a little casual at ordinary times, but it's more serious when it comes to work.

After all, they are one of the few magazines that publish externally, so they cannot afford to be careless.

This can also be considered a kind of diplomacy, and there is no trivial matter in diplomacy.

I hurried back to the office with the newspaper in my hand, but luckily I didn't run into Editor-in-Chief Ye Junjian.

This old man is so strict.

Zhang Li returned to her seat and looked through the recent news, especially the Literary Gazette. She had been busy with work recently and had missed some news.

Looking through them one by one, when Zhang Li saw the Literary Gazette on the 10th, his heart skipped a beat just by seeing the title.

A well-deserved master of children's literature, the future has come.

Zhang Li was very curious, what had happened during this period of time?

Even the masters of children’s literature showed up.

Zhang Li felt a little regretful that he had just eaten this melon now, as it had already been three days.

When it comes to children's literature, a name comes to her mind, that is Cheng Kaiyan.

This is also the only children's literature writer she knows.

They met during Children's Day when the Children's Literature Magazine and Chaoyang Youth Service Team went to the Children's Welfare Institute.

I remember that young man was very interesting. He waited until everyone left and then ran back to donate a few hundred dollars.

It was this episode that made Zhang Li admire Cheng Kaiyan very much.

After returning from the welfare home, Zhang Li immediately read several of his representative works from beginning to end, without missing a single one.

Her favorite is her debut work "Submarine at Night", in which one can clearly see her talent and arrogance.

"Cheng Kaiyan's children's literature works are pretty good. I didn't expect that there would be another master of children's literature..."

A flash of thought passed through her mind, and Zhang Li took a sip of water and continued reading. Soon she saw Cheng Kaiyan's name in the article, and her heart skipped a beat.

The name that suddenly popped into her eyes almost made her spit out a mouthful of water, which she managed to hold back with great difficulty.

"Oh my god...it's really him!"

Is it really him? He has become a master of children's literature?

And because of a groundbreaking paper, "Three Major Themes in Children's Literature"...

Just as she was shocked, there was darkness behind her, and a young woman came over and patted her on the shoulder, "Xiao Zhang, you are finally here. The editor-in-chief is looking for you. Have you submitted the list for this issue?"

Zhang Li saw that it was his colleague Xiao Xu, and quickly opened the drawer. A list with the titles of books appeared in front of him, "Not yet, isn't it urgent?"

The so-called list is a list of translated books used as candidates for publication.

Since "Chinese Literature" is the only magazine that publishes domestic literary works abroad, it involves external influence. From the beginning, it was determined to be a selected publication and rarely accepted submissions.

Basically, it selected some literary and artistic works that had a great impact on society, were highly artistic, and won awards from major national and local publications at the time, and then translated them into foreign languages ​​for publication. It was initially published annually, then changed to semi-annual, quarterly, bimonthly, and finally changed to monthly in 1959.

But even for a monthly magazine, it is not easy to publish works. It takes at least several months or even years to translate and proofread the works before publication.

Therefore, due to various reasons, "Chinese Literature" has very strict control over the quality of published works.

To take a more recent example, the English version of A Dream of Red Mansions, translated by Yang Xianyi and his English wife Dai Naidie over a period of 1978 years, was published in and published by the Foreign Languages ​​Press in the same year.

Going back further, there are works such as "Spring Silkworms", "Autumn Harvest" and "Late Winter" by Mr. Mao Dun, which were translated into English by editor-in-chief Ye Junjian and published in "Chinese Literature".

"I'm urging you to hurry up and submit it to the editor-in-chief."

Xiao Xu shook his head, gave a suggestion and then left.

Zhang Li sat alone at her desk, lost in thought, her eyes fixed on the newspaper on the desk and the list in her hand.

Then, an idea came to my mind.

"How about recommending his children's literature?"

……

After struggling for a few minutes, Zhang Li filled in the list of Cheng Kaiyan's two children's literature works, and then took the list to the editor-in-chief's office to find the editor-in-chief.

"Dong dong dong..."

"Please come in."

An old voice came from the office, and Zhang Li pushed open the door and walked in.

In front of me is a man in his sixties sitting in the office, handling official business. He is the editor-in-chief Ye Junjian, a writer and translator.

"Xiao Zhang is here, where is the list you recommended?"

Seeing Zhang Li coming in, Chief Editor Ye Junjian raised his eyes and waved.

"Please take a look, Editor-in-Chief, do you know Cheng Kaiyan?"

Zhang Li walked up, handed over the list, and then asked.

"Cheng Kaiyan? Of course I've heard of him. He has caused quite a stir in the past few days. He is a master of children's literature..."

Ye Junjian smiled and nodded. At the end of the sentence, he suddenly realized something and looked at her in surprise and said, "Do you want to recommend him?"

"Ah."

"Hiss...yeah, why didn't I think of that? This young man is really amazing, especially when it comes to children's literature."

Ye Junjian adjusted his glasses and said excitedly.

You should know that this young man has caused quite a stir both in the academic and literary circles.

Many experts and scholars have bluntly stated that it is not a problem for children's literature to catch up and surpass Britain and the United States.

The fact that he said such things shows the importance of his works and research.

In addition, "Chinese Literature" also often publishes children's literature, such as "The Storm", "Little Red Guards", "Golden Bamboo" and other children's literature works.

"I think it's good too, and it can even be finalized. Both of his works don't have many words, and we can find someone to translate them quickly." Ye Junjian said thoughtfully.

"Then leave it to me. I'll go talk to him in person later."

Zhang Li nodded happily and accepted the task.

"Well, thank you for your hard work. I will assign the tasks at the meeting in two days."

……

Time passed quickly, and after lunch, Zhang Li took his briefcase and drove to Cheng Kaiyan's home.

As early as the last time they went to the welfare home together, she learned from the editorial department of "Children's Literature" that Cheng Kaiyan's home was in Xiaowei Hutong.

I thought it would take a long time to search, but after arriving at Xiaowei Hutong, I asked someone at the entrance of the alley and quickly found the location. Maybe it was because this young man was too famous in the alley.

Passing through the rather dilapidated first courtyard, Zhang Li walked into the hanging flower gate and arrived at the second courtyard. Finally, he saw a figure enjoying the cool air under the tree opposite. There was a kitten lying on the ground nearby, sweeping the leaves with its tail out of boredom.

"Is Cheng Kaiyan here?"

Cheng Kaiyan heard a strange voice behind her, took away the book covering her face and looked back, "Who is it?"

"I'm Zhang Li. We met last month. Have you forgotten? At the Children's Welfare Institute."

"Zhang Li?"

A figure quickly flashed through Cheng Kaiyan's mind, "It's you, Comrade Zhang, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Let's get to know each other again. My name is Zhang Li, and I'm the editor of Chinese Literature magazine. I'm here mainly to reprint your work."

Zhang Li smiled faintly and stretched out his hand generously.

"I see."

Although I don’t know what kind of magazine “Chinese Literature” is, I will definitely get paid if I reprint it.

Cheng Kaiyan stretched out his hand and shook it, then took Zhang Li into the house to discuss business.

……

"Have a cup of tea."

"Thank you."

Zhang Li finished her introduction and took a sip of water.

Cheng Kaiyan finally understood the origin of the so-called "Chinese Literature". It turned out that it was a magazine with the word "国" in its name, specializing in publishing and distributing domestic literary works abroad.

Published abroad?
Doesn't that mean we can earn foreign exchange?
Cheng Kaiyan swallowed his non-existent saliva in disgrace. He had thought about contributing his works to foreign countries to earn foreign currency like what was written in some novels, but he didn't expect that this moment would come so soon.

In fact, it is not so easy to earn foreign exchange in this era, and submitting articles to foreign countries is not as simple as just finding a foreign friend for help. The process is very long, often taking half a year.

Moreover, Cheng Kaiyan didn't have any familiar foreign friends. Even if she had submitted her manuscripts, the review, reply, publication and sending of manuscript fees would be quite troublesome.

But if there are official channels, it will be different.

Cheng Kaiyan was thinking this in his heart, but Zhang Li’s words the next second made him give up.

"First of all, there is no payment for this reprint, only a symbolic fee."

Zhang Li looked a little embarrassed, but still said it directly.

Ah! No royalties?!
What can I reprint without paying?
When Cheng Kaiyan heard this, she was speechless.

"We are affiliated with the State Administration of Foreign Languages ​​and Literature, you understand, right?"

Why don’t you say you are a college student?

Of course, this could not be said out loud, Cheng Kaiyan asked unwillingly: "Just a symbolic amount, how much do you want to give?"

"ten bucks."

Zhang Li raised her hands and made a cross. She knew Cheng Kaiyan was very reluctant, so she smiled and explained:
“You don’t have to feel that it’s too little. Having your work published overseas is the dream of many authors. In addition, although we don’t pay for reprinting, if there are foreign publishers who want to publish your work, we can help in the middle without interfering or taking a cut. This is the main benefit.

In May this year, the Foreign Languages ​​​​Press and the Indiana University Press of the United States jointly published "The Best Chinese Short Stories 1978-1979".

"That's okay..."

Cheng Kaiyan sighed. Without a stable channel, it was not so easy to make foreign exchange.

"Then sign your name? Your work is short and relatively easy to translate. It may be published abroad in a few months. I will send you a copy then."

The two reached an agreement and he finally signed it.

"I hope some foreigners will be able to appreciate my children's literature and give me some foreign currency! That would be great."

Cheng Kaiyan clasped his hands together and muttered.

"Haha, I wish you good luck, Comrade Cheng Kaiyan!"

This greedy look made Zhang Li laugh out loud.

(End of this chapter)