Literary Master 1983

Chapter 299 Prometheus and God
Humans cannot fly directly to the fifth floor; they must climb one floor at a time. However, from the perspective of the media and the public, what they see directly is "we flew directly to the fifth floor because of this group of writers."

One floor, two floors, three floors… Over the decades, countless people have made efforts, like a marathon with no end in sight. This honor was ultimately achieved among a dozen or so writers. Guided by the media, readers naturally assumed that this was a great achievement attained by the writers in isolation.

Therefore, they received unimaginable praise.

Do you remember the journalist Hua?

He was of German descent, a believer in God and a follower of Confucius. The Chinese journalist was the chief reporter for the World Journal, a graduate of Columbia University, which is known as the "Harvard of journalism."

Previously, the Chinese journalist had acted like a novice, but after experiencing the "three meetings with the writers," he displayed the intuition of an elite journalist.

He described the actions of Yu Qie and others as "Prometheus stealing the sacred fire."

This is a well-known myth in the Western world: Prometheus stole fire for humankind, angering Zeus, the king of the gods, who chained him to a cliff, where he was perpetually pecked at and eaten, as punishment for his transgression, for allowing humankind to possess power they should not have. Furthermore, the image of Prometheus being pecked at and nailed to the cliff resembles the Christian figure of Jesus, who in the Bible suffered for humanity, thus saving mankind from misfortune.

Afterwards, people often used "Prometheus" to describe those great figures who made outstanding achievements in history: Marie Curie, Faraday, Einstein, Lincoln, Higgs... mostly scientists or politicians. Their research findings were considered "the sacred flame," "the sacred flame of legislation," "the God particle," etc.

These metaphors imbue great figures with a divine aura, but we still know that they were real people who actually existed.

This is what makes the media, as the fourth estate, so interesting: they bestow upon writers a godlike status, making them seem perfect and almost flawless for a time.

However, no one is perfect. Li Ao is a scoundrel who has cheated on his wife multiple times and "Sinicized" a lot of foreign studies, and these are glorified as the image of a "madman" who is not afraid of the powerful and wealthy; Yu Guangzhong flatters the upper class and wavers in his pursuit of officialdom, and this is glorified as an act of "enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens". Among mainland writers, Zhang Xianliang, who has the least prestige, is even more noble than "Xu Lingjun" in his works. Everyone thinks he is a great person, not to mention Yu Qie and others.

Yu Qie has already become the "Prometheus" of the Chinese world!

A Chinese journalist described Yu Qie in the World Journal: "Nature has always had fire, but without Prometheus stealing the sacred fire, it would be as if there were no fire on earth. The gods are unwilling to give us this power. They have their own ways of maintaining contact. I have seen relevant information showing that powerful figures on the island have always had access to information from the mainland. They know about their relatives' situations, and they can even send plainclothes officers to Hong Kong to buy the complete set of 'Lurking'—a spy novel describing how to defeat them—and criticize it mercilessly. By that logic, those who read the book should be condemned to death! Yet, they read it with great relish."

"A day in heaven is a year on earth. When the gods are too busy to attend to it, that passing time becomes an insurmountable eternity for humanity. A full six hundred thousand unfortunate souls were taken to the island, never to see their homeland again."

"Until the young Prometheus decided to betray the gods, steal the sacred fire that would never be extinguished for humankind, and resolved to endure the torment of having his body devoured by eagles. Fortunately, this time even the eagles were unwilling to harm the young god. They transformed into singing white doves, lifting Prometheus up."

The Chinese journalist left behind a poem written by the 19th-century British poet Byron:
"Giant! Behold, in your immortal eyes!"
The suffering of humankind
These are all the sad realities!

They should not be despised or ignored by the gods;
But what reward do you get for your compassion?
Is it a silent pain, gathering in the heart?
Is it facing rocks, hungry eagles, and shackles?

Is the pain caused by pride?

Fortunately, this time you've won medals and accolades! The world sings your praises!

This is just a bad poem!

A German adapted a line of English poetry.

Byron was an English nobleman who later fought for the liberation of the Greek people and died as a result. Greece held a state funeral for him, making him one of the most respected foreigners among the Greeks.

Considering that Yu Qie is currently becoming the Zorro of the East in Latin America because of writing "2666", the Chinese reporter's description is actually quite apt; he put some thought into it!

Yu Qie was greatly surprised when he saw the Chinese reporter's article—he had truly underestimated the heroes of the world.

I never knew you had this trick up your sleeve!
This article is well written.

The descriptions of "Prometheus" or "God" are inappropriate. Because after these "great men" accomplished their great deeds, they soon encountered misfortune, either being persecuted, going insane, or being misunderstood by the world.

Lincoln was assassinated, Einstein's head was dissected, and Marie Curie had an affair with a student after her husband's death, which led to widespread criticism and nearly caused her mental breakdown... They rarely had good outcomes.

Yu Qie is experiencing a rapid rise in popularity following his firing of shots on the Laoshan Heights. After accomplishing this feat, he quickly became one of the greatest writers in the Chinese-speaking world. Only those who can achieve what ordinary people cannot can be considered great.

Great writers are considered "literary giants".

Indeed, some people began to use the term "literary giant" to describe him. When the Chinese designer I.M. Pei talked about Yu Qie, perhaps to curry favor with mainland China (he had taken design orders from mainland China), he used the term "literary giant" to describe Yu Qie. When designing the Bank of China building in Hong Kong, I.M. Pei incorporated elements of the Kowloon Walled City into it. Later, because of the negative connotation, he changed it to bamboo slips, the writing material for Chinese characters before the Western Han Dynasty.

Thus, this building was designed with a sharp, three-dimensional geometric shape, slightly different from later versions.

When discussing why he designed it this way, I.M. Pei said, "I watched that great debate between writers. Nuclear literature didn't move me. What moved me were those two family letters from two thousand years ago. I realized that as a Chinese person, I should do something now."

"After I explained the source of the idea, my client (the client) was also a fan of Mr. Yu's books. They were even happier than I was and readily agreed."

Wang An, one of the wealthiest people in the United States, said: "At the urging of my children, I hope to move some of my computer production lines to mainland China. I did not do so when the Los Angeles Olympics were held."

The reporter asked him, "Why have you changed your mind now?"

Wang An said, "Never in my life have I felt so strongly that the Chinese people are about to join the world, and that we Chinese people all over the world should be as close as one family."

An Wang was an American computer tycoon, whose wealth at its peak ranked fifth in the United States. His company went bankrupt in the late 1980s due to reckless expansion. What defeated him was Apple, founded by Steve Jobs, and its personal computer business.

Historically, due to excessively high production costs, he had considered investing in mainland China and even thought about developing personal computers. However, he ultimately abandoned the idea because he was worried about the unstable situation and the company's rapid bankruptcy.

Now that he's moved the production line to mainland China, where light bulbs are currently cheaper to produce manually than by machine, Wang An's company might survive even longer. It's possible that Apple wouldn't exist.

Yu Qie knew that even if he never wrote another word, decades later, as long as he persevered to the end, he would undoubtedly become a great writer.

Yu Qie corresponded with Márquez, discussing how he was somewhat overwhelmed by his newfound fame.

He didn't know whether people talked about him because they genuinely liked him or just wanted to use him as a figurehead to understand China—like people saying, "I love pandas, and you're not a true hero until you've climbed the Great Wall."

Márquez said: "I doubt that many people read One Hundred Years of Solitude, yet I have no opportunity to go to their bedside to check on their reading."

"In short, great writers need great stories. You already have a story; the legend is halfway complete. Now you need an even bigger story. The stronger your enemies, the more pronounced your predicaments, the more extraordinary your story will be, and thus, the greater you will become."

“Gabo, I don’t quite understand what you’re saying,” Yuqie said.

Márquez recounted an incident involving him: after writing "Chronicle of a Death Foretold," he was wanted by the Chilean military government, and Carmen told him that there was already a bounty on his head, and he was being targeted by assassins.

Considering the mysterious death of his friend Neruda a few years earlier, Márquez was naturally terrified. He fled to Mexico for refuge, keeping a very low profile. Even under these circumstances, the publisher continued to promote the "lone hero" press release about Márquez, detailing his various experiences in his youth, even including how he won over his wife with his domineering presence when she came after him for having an affair.

"What really happened? That person and I were playing Russian roulette, and we were aiming revolvers at our own heads. When it was my turn, I was almost trembling with fear..."

Damn! The version I heard wasn't like that.

The version I heard was, "You're a fucking tough guy!"

Márquez laughed and said, "I've just been appropriately romanticized."

Fueled by the publisher's massive "Warrior Márquez" propaganda, after winning the Nobel Prize, Colombia built a memorial for Márquez. When Márquez visited the memorial, the guide excitedly recounted "the life story of the great Márquez," but the image of "him" on the monument was so imposing that Márquez found it comical.

Márquez is not him, and Márquez is also him.

This moment seemed remarkably similar to Yu Qie's previous quest to understand the meaning of the "yellow rose." When he made that international call to Colombia on behalf of Chinese writers, the person who answered was Márquez's languid brother, who, in his view, couldn't comprehend what was so legendary about his brother.

On the contrary, any phone call from someone in the far East is more legendary than Márquez himself.

"Your great motherland is getting better and better, while Colombia seems to be continuing to fall. The capital's airport stinks because of the torrential rain. God knows, this is an international airport in a capital city. I envy you so much for being in such a country," Márquez sighed.

Yu Qie could only continue to comfort him and promise Márquez that he would go to Colombia again.

Because Yu Qie's novel "2666" won a small award in Colombia, Yu Qie, like Chinese writers ten years later, has prematurely entered award-winning mode.

There are a lot of literary awards in Latin America, which are completely unknown to Chinese people. However, Yu Qie is already in the United States, so he only needs to pass by and collect them.

This is an honor belonging to all Chinese writers, and of course, he will not leave out any of them.

"I will come, I will arrive on time."

Márquez then recounted an incident: when Colombia convicted drug lord Pablo Escobar, they used a collateral method. Because Escobar had long since laundered his identity, his current official status was that of a businessman, and he had many underlings doing dirty work for him, finding evidence of direct criminal activity against him was virtually impossible.

The Colombian government began to change its approach, using the principle that "the crimes committed by your vassals are your crimes," and focused on getting people arrested and imprisoned first, followed by severe torture.

This method was a bit underhanded, but it worked. Later, Pablo couldn't stand it anymore and took the initiative to contact the government to get off the hook.

In short, it was Pablo's underlings who did this. As their leader, Pablo couldn't possibly have been unaware. Even if he truly knew nothing, he indirectly benefited from their contributions. Therefore, he is guilty.

Thus, Márquez was inspired by this: people always said that a horrific case like the "three thousand people" had never happened in Colombia, thus negating the factual nature of Márquez's novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude".

So, with United Fruit Company already in a mess, they have endless debts to settle! If other tragedies no less severe than the "massacre of three thousand people" are found in Colombia, it will indirectly demonstrate the madness of the military government's rule back then.

Yu Qie also thought that Márquez's new idea was good.

In the original timeline, Márquez never found any evidence in his lifetime, nor did Colombia, but they adopted the figure of "three thousand people" and included it in their textbooks. Furthermore, as more and more bodies from massacres were unearthed in Colombia, people stopped doubting that Márquez was making things up and began to believe in the plausibility of the number he wrote down.

Therefore, in the final volume of "2666", Yu Qie wrote the prophecy that "Márquez finally found out the truth".

This novel tells the story of several young literary enthusiasts who embark on a journey to find Márquez, encountering various bizarre events along the way, including a massacre that takes place in a Bogota restaurant.

The plot of the original novel *2666* is similar, except that the book was left unfinished due to the author's unexpected death. Thus, the young people were unable to find "Gabriel García Márquez".

Yu Qie made up for this regret. In his ending, the literary youth finds Márquez, and at the same time, Márquez finally finds the truth he has been searching for all his life.

I hope this novel will inspire Márquez… Yu Qie thought.

(End of this chapter)