Literary Master 1983

Chapter 302 In China, in America

What kind of person is Yu Qie?

A contradictory person.

He is vengeful yet magnanimous; he has a strong sense of local identity but is concerned about the massacres in Colombia; he has many friends but also many enemies.

Gu Hua said he was an unreasonable person.

Yu Guangzhong is a figure who can be seen as both an ordinary writer and, to some extent, as a representative of the authorities' attitude; after all, he is the president of National Taiwan Normal University. Yu Qie's decisive rejection of Yu Guangzhong's invitation changed their perception of him.

They suddenly remembered something quite interesting:

In their three debates, it was inevitable that some wealthy businessmen and politicians on the island would be mentioned. They wanted to explain their "difficulties," but Yu Qie always ignored them. Because Yu Qie's attitude was so obvious, he forced them to shut up on such topics to avoid being seen as putting on a show and getting implicated.

Although Xi Murong's name sounds classical and elegant, she is a genuine Mongolian. The name Xi Murong is a transliteration of her Mongolian name.

Xi Murong also loves her hometown, but when she reminisces about the great Genghis Khan and begins to choke up, talking about how she is also a "child of the plateau," saying, "My maternal grandmother was a descendant of the Golden Family," and "I will write hymns to the grasslands and long poems for Genghis Khan in the future," Yu Qie suddenly asks, "So, how many poems have you written for Sichuan Province?"

He acted like a judge, suddenly picking up the gavel.

As is well known, Xi Murong grew up in Sichuan and held high office. She only flew to Hong Kong after the age of seven and later moved to Taiwan.

She had never seen a grassland before. But she was a grassland poet.

This is only natural; there are countless people writing about rural life, and they've exhausted all the possibilities.

Xi Murong was stunned on the spot, and then said, "I was only six years old when I left Sichuan Province, and I didn't stay there for long. But the grasslands are my people, the blood flowing in my veins."

“I agree with you. We should all write for our own bloodline,” Yu Qie said. “But you’ve also written poems for Japan, you’ve written poems for Belgium, but not for the place that first raised you. How do you explain that?”

Xi Murong blushed and could only change her words, saying, "I will also miss the place where I was born and raised!"

Yu Qie laughed heartily: "I look forward to seeing more of your work."

When the other editors from the mainland saw Yu Qie laugh, they also burst into laughter.

Two laughs!
I still can't say what I truly feel.

Li Ao and Yu Guangzhong exchanged glances and then looked at each other, bewildered. Now they felt even more certain that what the foreign reporter in the World Journal had written was reliable: although Prometheus stole the sacred fire for humankind, ultimately, his power still far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Although he sometimes showed compassion, Prometheus was only willing to use the sacred fire in his own way. This was a stubbornness reserved for the divine.

Born into an aristocratic family, the poet Byron spent his life fighting against kings. As the West was colonizing the East, Byron wrote the dramatic poem "Cain," which was unconventional. He began to question God's mercy towards humanity and all things, and the main villain "Cain" was an awakened slave who refused to be God's slave and was a proud rebel.

So, does that mean Byron was a liberal?

On the contrary, after Byron got married, his wife tried to use the affection of their children to reform his "extreme thinking." Byron immediately displayed the authority of the patriarch, believing that no one could change his mind and that he was the only one who mattered.

To prove himself right, Byron even participated in the actual war and ultimately died there. Thus, the Greeks hailed him as a great man, and the British government, reluctantly, acknowledged this "reactionary" as a poet of the century.

Therefore, Gu Hua wasn't entirely wrong. Yu Guangzhong and Li Ao now realize somewhat belatedly that they had only read Yu Qie's novels on the island and had never actually met him in person.

It's now clear that Yu Qie only wants to create literature in one way: his way. In the long run, it's either a matter of doing whatever he says, or being his enemy. And the latter, after hitting a wall, often has no choice but to return to the former.

This is certainly a violent and dictatorial side of Yu Qie's personality, but these negative factors seem to have provided a guarantee for his literary path.

After all, literature is "the power of thought." As long as you dare to think, think it, dare to do it, and do it, those negative factors will become foresight.

The delegation departed the United States amidst great acclaim, with many prominent Chinese figures seeing them off. The phrase "Great Contact" frequently appeared in news headlines, and these effects gradually became apparent afterward.

The Institute of Literature held its second writers' training course, which is now nearing graduation. Many participants focused their research on Yu Qie's novels, with "2666" being considered by academics as a masterpiece due to its rich writing techniques.

"Once you've studied and understood this book, writing novels will be no problem." Cao Yu, a friend of Ba Jin, described the book as "a drama within a drama."

“You can find its shadow in any technique you can see. Magical realism, the Chinese have also entered this hall of fame,” Wang Meng said.

Blank, blank! There's blank space everywhere here!

In the two years since 85, with the rise of pure literature, everyone has started to engage in literary research. It's like an internal research competition; all you need to do is take Western works, Sinicize them, and claim your own territory to achieve the title of master.

Guan Moye wrote the novella "Red Sorghum" this year, which contains many references and homages. When he was writing the novel, he was oblivious to everything else and only focused on writing. During this time, Yu Hua, Su Tong and others kept writing to him to exchange information and talk about recent international events, but he ignored them all.

Because "Red Sorghum" is Guan Moye's ambitious work, it is an extraordinary novel.

In this novel, the literary sensation "Gaomi Northeast Township" will officially take shape. The novel depicts the family life of several generations, and borrows some techniques from "One Hundred Years of Solitude." After years of research, no one in China can say that they understand magical realism better than him.

What is Yu Qie like himself?

He does understand Spanish, and he knows Márquez, but understanding and being able to use it are two different things.

When mathematician Chen Jingrun was researching mathematics, he taught himself English in order to keep up with the pace of international mathematical research. However, when he made cutting-edge research on Goldbach's Conjecture, his foreign language proficiency was still insufficient to submit his work to international journals.

After finishing the novel, he submitted it to the literary monthly "October." Three days later, the editorial department sent a review report: "Is your novel a tribute to Yu Qie?"

what?
My sister has one! Damn it! I don't have one at all!
I studied Borges and Márquez—how could that have anything to do with Yuqie?
Guan Moye was dumbfounded and stammered in reply: "I haven't read Yu Qie's novels recently. Yu Qie has nothing to do with magical realism. We all know that, fundamentally, he rejects this kind of literature. He says it's Latin American realism."

Afterwards, Guan Moye found a Chinese translation of "2666" to read. After finishing it, he didn't even have time to ponder why Yu Qie wrote such a novel. He burst into tears on the spot: "It seems that I have always lived in Yu Qie's shadow."

……

In 86, the Chinese Language Textbook Editorial Committee was established. In short, the committee set the tone, and local editors selected articles for inclusion in the textbooks according to their own ideas. The more novels selected by the committee, the higher its standards and the better they aligned with the aesthetic sensibilities of editors across the country.

Five of Yu Qie's short stories have been included in primary and secondary school textbooks. Among all modern writers since the May Fourth Movement, his proportion is second only to Lu Xun.

This matter initially sparked controversy. We are not anti-Confucian elites, nor do we blindly believe in authority, but haven't you gone too far?
So many literary giants died in the first twenty years of their lives, without enjoying anything. Don't they deserve to be included in textbooks? If we can't find any modern novelists, why not choose ancient ones? Foreign novelists could also be included.

As a result, Argentina awarded Yuche a literary prize that month. The president personally presented the award.

Although this award isn't prestigious, it's still rare good news for Chinese people today. Rumor has it that "2666" has also been nominated for the Cervantes Prize for Literature by a group of Spanish-language writers; this is the highest award in the Spanish-speaking world.

If successful, this would be a remarkable achievement for Chinese writers, equivalent to a Brazilian athlete winning the Chinese table tennis championship. "Little Heels" and "Falling Leaves Return to Their Roots" have been included in elementary school textbooks, while "The Fiancée's Letter," "Letting Go of the Handcuffs," and "We Two" have been added to middle school textbooks.

Su Yu, the current editor-in-chief of "October," said: "Speaking of child prodigies, we used to have an even more amazing child prodigy writer, Liu Tang. When he was ten years old, he wrote a novel that filled five notebooks and caused a sensation throughout the school; when he was thirteen, his writing was published in "Xinmin Daily"; when he was fifteen, before he had even graduated from junior high school, he was transferred to "Ji Province Literature and Art" as an editor; when he was seventeen, before he had even graduated from high school, he encountered the textbook reform and discovered that the novels in the Chinese textbook were the articles he had written."

"How should we treat him? We must not let the tragedy repeat itself. A writer's back is straight and cannot be bent!"

Su Yu succeeded; she was appointed ahead of schedule as the head of the Chinese language question-setting team for the next national college entrance examination. Rumors circulated that she might be transferred to the education department to continue her work. This was because she strongly advocated for the inclusion of Yu Qie's novels in textbooks, and the result was indeed very popular.

Su Yu was very happy.

When Wang Shimin passed away, the magazine *October* was selecting an editor-in-chief, and Su Yu was chosen. After some consideration, she readily accepted the position. Although being an ordinary editor wasn't so bad, being an editor-in-chief offered a much wider scope for possibilities.

Shicheng, the crew of the TV series "Dream of the Red Chamber".

Thanks to investment from wealthy Southeast Asian businessmen, the Rongguo Mansion Film and Television Base was completed ahead of schedule.

To recreate the antique charm of the Grand View Garden, the production team meticulously recreated the Rongguo Mansion from the novel, with Zhang Li and Chen Xiaoxu filming almost every day. Their daily lives were virtually identical to those of the ancients; they woke up to a world of classical architecture.

However, even here, they still frequently hear news about Yu Qie in the United States.

"What's the difference between you two now and real sisters?" Director Wang Fulin asked.

“You two have been together every day for the past few years. Even if it were Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu, they might not be as close as you two.”

Wang Fulin shook his head. He had already noticed some signs.

Zhang Li's personality is very similar to Xue Baochai's; she's not very talkative and her smiles are reserved. Chen Xiaoxu, on the other hand, used to be a clever girl, but now after filming every day, she's either studying or playing around with Zhang Li.

Deng Jie, who plays Wang Xifeng, said dejectedly, "I used to be Zhang Li's best friend, but I'm not anymore. When did it start? I don't know."

Someone joked, "You could be too, so why can't you..."

Deng Jie laughed and said, "Baochai and Daiyu are two sides of the same coin. As for me, I'll just leave it at that. They are a perfect person who was forcibly divided into two halves. They were born to be together."

Who could have such a person?

Perhaps according to Cao Xueqin's setting, only "celestial beings" would be needed.

Wang Fulin told them two things: one was something they already knew—that filming for "Dream of the Red Chamber" would be completed this year, and that those who wanted to study abroad, film other movies, or change careers could prepare themselves.

CCTV cannot support so many people.

Another thing was to invite Yu Qie to visit the set and make a cameo appearance.

“He can play the emperor, the Jade Emperor, as long as he’s willing,” Wang Fulin promised, waving his hand.

The production team of "Dream of the Red Chamber" currently has several investors, including CCTV, private businessmen, and wealthy overseas businessmen.

The recent "American Chinese Roots-Seeking Craze" has given businessmen hope. They think that this money-losing TV series might actually make some money elsewhere, so they follow up and increase their investment, hoping to burn the TV series into videotapes and distribute it overseas.

The original money in "Dream of the Red Chamber" was supposed to be used up, but now it has to rely on these wealthy merchants to keep it going.

Who is the most recognizable person overseas right now?
Bruce Lee. An action star, he's dead.

John Lone is filming "The Last Emperor".

Fang Shilong, actor.

……

Who else?
Upon closer examination, Yu Qie was indeed a suitable candidate. The goal of selling *Dream of the Red Chamber* to Southeast Asia and the United States was not to appeal to white readers, but rather to Chinese readers interested in their motherland's culture.

The name "Yu" is quite famous among them.

Therefore, Wang Fulin hoped that Zhang Li could invite Yu Qie to play the "non-existent behind-the-scenes emperor". The image of the emperor in the original novel "Dream of the Red Chamber" is very vague, and there is also an emperor above the emperor who is the retired emperor. Some people believe that this role was created by Cao Xueqin to "avoid mentioning the name of the superior" when writing the book.

In the novel, the emperor is depicted as someone who would be beheaded.

Of course, we don't need to consider these things now.

After Wang Fulin left, Chen Xiaoxu and Zhang Li reviewed the events.

In 81, the first batch of treasury bonds were issued in mainland China, and the first stock was listed in 84. This year, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in Shanghai has begun to accept over-the-counter stock transactions.

In order to do business, Yu and Qie often read books on finance and began to pay attention to financial jargon.

Zhang Li said, "Why don't he ask himself, but instead make us ask?"

"Don't be afraid, this is just a technical adjustment!" Chen Xiaoxu said. "Because Yu Qie is a great writer, far superior to those scholars of *Dream of the Red Chamber*..."

Chen Xiaoxu gave a thumbs up! "What if Director Wang comes to speak, and the other person doesn't come? They didn't need to come in the first place!"

It turned out to be the case.

Zhang Li immediately asked, "I remember you looked down on Brother Yu's novels a couple of years ago, how come it's completely the opposite now?"

Chen Xiaoxu swore to God: "I never said those things. Don't go around spreading rumors. Everyone knows that Yu Qie's novels are good."

"Then why didn't you say so before?"

"Because Yu Qie already bullies me, if I say he's powerful, then he'll just keep bullying me endlessly!"

Chen Xiaoxu looked at Zhang Li, then shrank into her arms like an eel, shaking her arm and saying, "Anyway, you absolutely can't say anything about these things! He's petty and will definitely retaliate against me, please, please. I won't tell him about you encouraging me to ride the motorcycle!"

"You're threatening me now?"

The two then started playfully fighting.

(End of this chapter)