Literary Master 1983

Chapter 173: No Chinese allowed

In Bangkok, Thailand, everyone in the delegation benefited from Yu Qie's influence. For a while, they were all busy appearing in local Thai media and newspapers, and of course they were paid for it.

Not to mention Yu Qie himself, who has appeared in Chinese newspapers and magazines for several consecutive days.

At this time, the single volume of the novel "A Way Out" had been released and was snapped up by readers everywhere. The market was full of readers asking "Where can I find "A Way Out"?", but the bookshelves were always empty. The salespersons told the readers, "There is no "A Way Out" here. You can only look for another way."

Some readers who were so anxious that they had no other choice even thought of going to the mainland to buy "A Way Out" and take a trip to trace their roots in the mainland. Then they found out that the mainland version of "A Way Out" would not be released until early next month because the "New Reality Trilogy" written by Yu Qie is popular in the mainland.

But they accidentally brought Yu Che's recently released "The Grandmaster" and "Together with You" back to Southeast Asia, which was another feast of novels.

Moreover, people prefer novels with strong storylines.

Whether it is the current "A Way Out", the past "Letter from the Fiancée", or even the older "A Moment of Romance", these are all novels that people can't put down.

Yu Qie’s one-day trip to Kowloon Walled City was mentioned repeatedly, and it seemed that everyone was inevitably asked what happened that day.

What was the weather like that day?

Were there strange waves on Victoria Harbour that day? Did they produce an extraordinary golden light?
Ji Xianlin, the head of the delegation, said in an interview with the Thai public: "There was nothing special that day. Yu Qie said he wanted to visit Kowloon Walled City. I had never heard of this place before. After I heard about it, I never thought I could write a novel about it... Then he went there and came back. Not long after, he wrote the novel."

Deputy head of the delegation Zhao Puchu described Yu Qie as having "suddenly realized".

He used a story that is well known in Thailand to describe the situation that day: "When Gautama Buddha was about to die, he came to a Bodhi tree and sat in meditation for seven days and seven nights without sleep. The moment he realized the truth was just a moment, and in his mind, he had already passed through the entire universe."

"And we only saw it for a moment, because we didn't realize it."

"Of course, Yu Qie can't compare with such great wisdom. I mean, this kind of situation is common in creation... Wang Bo's writing of "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng" has been debated for a long time. Some people say that Wang Bo prepared the article for several years and just submitted it. Others say that Wang Bo wrote it at that time. Who knows?"

Yu Qie himself was also asked this question.

His answer: "I didn't expect this novel to have such a big impact."

He was indeed very surprised. Because of this novel, Ma Shi Tu, who was far away in Chengdu, called Yu Qie just to emphasize the nobleness of his deeds.

"Yu Qie, I am very pleased that you have accomplished something in the conversation we had in the room. This morning I specially spoke to Qian Zhongshu and his wife. To be honest, they envy me."

Yu Qie said, "Mr. Ma, this is actually not the novel I put the most effort into."

Ma Shi Tu said: "I know, but do you still remember that red flag?"

"The side of Zhazidong?"

"Yes, it's that red flag. The underground party members at that time learned that New China had been liberated, but they didn't know what the red flag looked like, so they embroidered this red flag overnight. Although it was not the most perfect, it was the first flag raised in this dark space." Yu Qi understood.

"A Way Out" is the banner of the revival of Nanyang Chinese literature.

At this time, a creative debate on "Southeast Asian Chinese Literature" had already begun in the literary world of Southeast Asia. Historically, this debate had lasted for more than ten years, but there was no result, and no one was willing to give in.

Two schools of thought emerged: the "weaning theory" and the "milk-feeding theory".

Now, because of Yu Qie's identity as a mainlander, many people feel that local Chinese people cannot write novels without relying on the mainland, which means they have to rely on mainland China.

The University of Singapore recently established a research group on the subject of "History of the Chinese in Southeast Asia". A professor of the Chinese Department declared:
"No matter how you 'wean' literature from its motherland, it's just a formality. As a Chinese, writing novels is inseparable from the mainland - this is the case with us, and Mr. Yu has also proved that such novels are popular."

"Considering the ongoing restrictions on Chinese language in some places, we must not cater to the creation and lose the Chinese characteristics. Such literature is local literature and no longer has anything to do with the Chinese. This is tantamount to self-castration."

The situation in Southeast Asia also spread to Hong Kong.

Martial arts novelist Wen Ruian wrote in the Hong Kong-based Oriental Daily: "Today I read Yu Qie's novel The Way Out, and only then did I realize that the spirit of chivalry is not in the martial arts world, but in the writings of young people!"

Wen Ruian is one of the four great martial arts writers, a Malay. When he and his friends settled in Taiwan, he was imprisoned for self-reflection after being found to have secretly collected poems by mainland leaders, Ba Lao, Cao Yu and others.

After being released from prison, he returned to Malaysia, but because of the previous incident, he could not stay for long and had to frequently travel between Malaysia and Hong Kong. Therefore, in his novels, the protagonists always encounter strange betrayals, and are not tolerated by the world from the beginning and are hunted down everywhere.

He had a good relationship with Cha Liangyong, and it was because of Cha Liangyong's appreciation that his novels were published in Ming Pao.

In September, Wen Ruian went back to his hometown in Malaysia to visit his relatives. During this visit, he found that all the young people in the family were talking about the novel "A Way Out". Even the old men and women asked someone to read the novel "A Way Out" to them and listened to the story in bits and pieces.

He has a little nephew who took the initiative to read the novel "A Way Out". As he read, he said: "In the future, I will go to a Chinese school, speak Chinese, and learn martial arts. If someone bullies me, I will fight back."

He was very surprised: Has the Malay government's control over Chinese education disappeared?

Such a big thing, why haven’t I heard about it?
As a result, Wen Ruian's father told him that speaking Chinese was still not allowed in class today. If a student accidentally said a Chinese word, he would be fined 20 cents per word. For children who only had a few cents of pocket money a week, this was a punishment that they could not afford.

Wen Ruian was worried. Wouldn't this lead to the extinction of my race?

The key point is that the Chinese are more advanced in both culture and economy, which creates a natural inequality.

Don’t speak Chinese!

How dare you bully me like this?

(End of this chapter)