Literary Master 1983

Chapter 316 Just Waiting
Who is Larry Bird?

An athlete.

Who is Yu Qie?

The best writer of this generation in China.

Those who use their minds are more capable than those who use their hands.

Americans are Yu the haters, damn it, they've exposed themselves, they're Yu the haters.

Hemingway, yes; athlete, no.

Mu Qing said, "These Americans are so strange. Why would they describe you as a basketball player? You're a writer, and they're basketball players. They're completely unrelated!"

"Yu Qie, why don't you explain why?"

Good grief, this is a white athlete. If they described me as a black athlete, you'd be furious.

A junior colleague answered for Yu Qie: "The Americans are saying that Teacher Yu is like a great basketball player, always winning."

Mu Qing countered, "Is victory really that important?"

“It’s very important.” Yu Qie turned around and said, “We’re having a lavish meal and staying in a hotel here because we’ve succeeded. Their basketball team has won for six years in a row, and the whole city is proud of the sport.”

“What if you don’t succeed?” Mu Qing said. “Yu Qie, our documentary is for children in China, and also for leaders. You are our role model, and everyone will learn from you. No one in the world can be successful forever; setbacks are part of the education…”

Yu Qie smiled and said, "You're right. But if anyone asks me, I'll say I'll succeed, and I'll keep doing it."

"This...isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Mu Qing wondered if this was too high-profile.

Yu Qie advised him not to rush to express his views, but to observe his experience in the United States before writing his press release.

Mu Qing agreed, but he still didn't think being high-profile was a good thing.

What changed Mu Qing's mind was a Chinese photographer named Liu Xiangcheng. This man took the initiative to tell the film crew, "Here in America, writers, athletes, lawyers... everyone can be a winner."

"Americans describe Yu Che as a basketball player, which is not to belittle him, but rather a sign of great respect! Because Yu Che is always winning, he is a hero."

However, the film crew initially did not take Liu Xiangcheng seriously, nor did they think his words made sense.

This is where the cultural gap begins to emerge: athletes can indeed be heroes, but how can they be compared to writers?
Liu Changchun was the fastest runner in the Republic of China, the king of the 100-meter dash, very impressive, but how can he be compared to Lu Xun?
The United States has fallen into chaos and moral decay; they are doomed.

Chinese photographer Liu Xiangcheng stated unequivocally: "That's how it is in America!"

The film crew expressed their confusion and refused to listen.

Then they realized that Liu Xiangcheng seemed to be stealing their "business." After learning that Yu Qie allowed people to follow and film him, he actually followed Yu Qie as well.

Yu Qie naturally objected, so Liu Xiangcheng applied to the newspaper for $200,000 as copyright fees for filming Yu Qie.

Two hundred thousand US dollars is a huge sum! Yu Qie couldn't hold back any longer. He allowed Liu Xiangcheng to film, but only in public. Liu Xiangcheng was not allowed to come to private events.

Liu Xiangcheng was so anxious that he scratched his head and looked on with envy at the CCTV production crew: "You guys really have a treasure trove, but you don't know how to unlock it. His time is very precious, and you've wasted it!"

"Who are you to say such things? Are you here to teach me how to do things?" a junior comrade couldn't hold back any longer.

“I am the chief photographer for Time magazine,” Liu Xiangcheng said.

Damn it, so what if you're from Time magazine? You're just the world's number one magazine!

so what?

This is... oh, this is America.

Thus, the first argument broke out among the film crew of "East Wind Prevails Over West Wind".

Some people believe that this fake foreigner with perfect Mandarin should be warned that China has its own rules, and these are none of your business!

Some people believe that Liu Xiangcheng must have some skills and should learn from the advanced experience of Americans.

This debate continued for several days until the latest issue of Time magazine came out, featuring a cover photo of Yu Qie and Márquez shaking hands. The photo was utterly enigmatic: the man in the hospital bed was vigorous and strong, while the healthy one was kneeling on the ground, hollowed out. In the distance, there were faint images of corpses and police lights. They seemed like comrades-in-arms, brothers, and even international relations, while also hinting at something more:

Because Gabriel García Márquez is a figure in the Nobel Prize hall of fame, Yu Qie will also be included.

In the composition of the photograph, the remaining elements occupy a dominant position.

How can a single photograph contain so much information? This is already a form of artistic creation.

Subsequently, The New York Times reported on Liu Xiangcheng, a Chinese photographer, because he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Photography and believed his chances were very high. If he wins, the award ceremony will be held on the same day as the Cervantes Award ceremony in Spain.

They will all happen in April of next year.

What is the Pulitzer Prize?

Surprisingly, this award is more recognized in the United States than Yu Qie's "Book Critics Circle Award." This is because the latter can be fabricated, while the former requires genuine talent and is only awarded to news photos taken during significant social events.

Mu Qing took the photo to Yu Qie and asked him what was so special about it.
Yu Qie, this successor of the proletariat, actually talked about religion here.

He said, "The most wonderful thing about this photo is that it uses a Christian composition: an angel in the air and a mortal lying half-reclined on the ground, their fingers touching as if they were about to hold hands. It comes from Michelangelo's 'The Creation of Adam' in the Middle Ages, which depicts the process of God creating mankind, Adam."

Mu Qing felt his mind was a complete mess. He wasn't an intellectual like Xu Chi, who was knowledgeable about both Chinese and foreign cultures; Mu Qing came from the liberated area and was a veteran.

He wanted to resign at that moment; there was nothing here that he could understand.

But some members of the film crew could understand it; there were some second-generation overseas students among them.

China sent its first students to the United States in 1979, and now there are nearly 10,000 Chinese students studying abroad.

They are arguably the people who understand Yu Qiecheng the most.

Yu Qie said, "There's an Argentinian bishop named Bergoglio who commented on me before. He's very influential in South America and helped me a lot. Of course, he's not really reported on in our country."

"What does this have to do with religion?" Mu Qing asked.

"Because this composition comes from Christianity. The intertwined fingers of God and Adam symbolize God passing on life and wisdom to mankind. In this, I am God. Márquez was a Colombian, and this is what he really wanted to express."

Yuche said, "Because without me, Colombians would know nothing."

A shock erupted in the room, silently.

“In this world, I am God.”

Yu Qie said these words aloud without arrogance or smugness, but rather with a very rational analysis, which represented the deepest level of pride.

This is also why Liu Xiangcheng wanted to follow Yu Qie 24/7; he was waiting for just one sentence. It's practically a literary bible.

Unfortunately, Liu Xiangcheng probably won't hear those words.

Yu Qie then analyzed, "The yellow blanket on the hospital bed looks like the Shroud of Turin. Jesus was buried in this when he was crucified and before his resurrection; it's a sacred relic. Doesn't this blanket look like it?"

"So this Chinese photographer actually thought of a lot at that moment, and he took this photo instinctively in a fraction of a second. Isn't that amazing?"

Do you really think that the chief photographer of Time magazine, who photographed almost everyone in China during the 1980s and 1990s, was an unknown person?
How can this be?

Yu Qie also liked Liu Xiangcheng very much.

Were those pretentious photos of Hemingway taken with Meitu Xiu Xiu (a photo editing app)?

Even the best wine needs good marketing!
This incident deeply affected Mu Qing. As a veteran of the news agency, he began to realize his shortcomings in business: his press releases had almost no impact on the Western world.

If you can't even appreciate the brilliance of others, how can you possibly surpass them?

Yu Qie was a man of great learning, with an incredible breadth of knowledge. Is this why Yu Qie was popular in the West?

The documentary is sure to spark a lot of discussion after it airs!
The "East Wind Prevails Over West Wind" team held a small meeting. After discussion, they decided to create a documentary with their own subjective intentions, just like the Americans.

They've achieved yet another first. This is unusual.

Documentaries should lean towards the facts, rather than telling a story like Westerners do, and this production team has decided to do just that.

As for those hundreds of hours of video footage, they were made without any subjective opinions; let future generations judge them.

You can also use this information to talk about your perspective on Yuqie.

What is the theme?
The editor, who had been influenced by the United States, felt that the phrase "I am God" was deafening, and his mind was filled with Yu Qie's voice.

But since this was a documentary aimed at the domestic audience, they ultimately decided to portray Yu Qie as a "hero".

To be honest, this is quite common, but it's already a groundbreaking step.

Subsequently, Yu Qie discovered that the film crew was more interested in his experiences in Colombia and even hoped that Yu Qie could play himself and act out what happened back then.

Moreover, the production team frequently asked American writers questions like "What do you think of Yu Qie?" and after receiving a satisfactory answer, they would include that segment in the documentary.

They began to shoot in a targeted manner.

Yu Qie said, "You guys are a bit face-blind. I saw an American writer who was questioned three times, and he said the same thing each time."

"Was he praising Chinese writers?" Mu Qing said.

“Of course, how could he not praise me? I’m right here,” Yu said.

"That's enough. Give us more; Chinese audiences love to watch it."

Photographer Liu Xiangcheng, who brought his own food, was also beside Yu Qie. He had exchanged some words with the CCTV production crew. Liu Xiangcheng suddenly realized: "You're imitating me. You want to create something original, but that's okay. Chinese people should have learned this long ago. This is a major reform and opening-up plan for journalism. Chinese journalism needs to connect with the world! Those textbooks are outdated!"

Many members of the film crew felt that this Chinese photographer from Time magazine still had feelings for his motherland.

Someone wanted to tell him what Yu Qie had said: "In here, I am God."

How excited this Chinese man would be if he knew this? What stories could he create with his camera?
Unfortunately, he'll never know!

In the end, no one told Liu Xiangcheng Yu Qie this sentence.

In October, mainland China celebrates National Day, a time of universal joy.

That year, the capital city saw its first flowerbed in a square. A huge flowerbed was designed and arranged in Tiananmen Square, reflecting the characteristics of the country's economic and social development at that time, for citizens to enjoy. This activity continued for decades.

In 1986, the flowerbed landscape was named "Tianan Liri" (meaning "Peaceful and Bright Sunshine"). The landscape used 10 pots of flowers, and a large flowerbed with a diameter of 60 meters and a height of 3 meters, featuring large pine and cypress trees, was built in the center of the square.

Six enormous flowerbeds radiate outwards from the center, along with various roses, precious ornamental fish, and fruit-bearing plants... Together they create a magnificent gift.

"This is so beautiful!" Yu Qie saw this scene in the newspaper.

He couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat.

China is now increasingly resembling what it was like when Yu Qie was a child, those vibrant days of the 1990s. At least that's how it is in major cities like Beijing.

The old grain coupons and the three major items have been replaced by going into business and markets.

The CCTV crew was still nearby; they captured this scene. Mu Qing said, "A man doesn't easily shed tears. Are you homesick?"

Yu Qie nodded: "I came in April, and six months have passed now."

Actually, many years have passed.

When Yu Qie was a graduate student in his previous life, he saw the grand flowerbeds for National Day in the capital and even laid flowers there. In the Great Hall of the People, in the History Museum, at the portrait of Sun Yat-sen on the Monument to the People's Heroes... in many places, citizens have laid flowers, and he has also laid flowers for the great man.

Soon, another piece of news moved Yu Qie even more.

To celebrate Yu Qie's achievements in Western literature and the legendary escape from death of the "President of the New Reality Society," students at Yenching University laid out a long line of yellow flowers stretching for dozens of meters along Weiming Lake.

These flowers are called "La rosa amarilla" in China. In the opening of the Chinese translation of "One Hundred Years of Solitude," Yu Qie explains this phrase as "lucky and warding off evil."

Now, these flowers are also dedicated to him.

Does this constitute his personal story?
I was filled with emotion.

Afterwards, Yu Qie flew to the United States to participate in the National Day celebrations held at the embassy. This was a grand event for patriotic Chinese people around the world, and it was there that Yu Qie finally met Gong Xue.

Gong Xue has hardly changed from before. She had a tough time when she first arrived in the United States. Her Chinese cousin, who was a senior executive there, pursued her, which made Gong Xue very embarrassed. She called the embassy for help.

Then she was assigned to a place near Boston University, where she stayed for two weeks, and there she was confessed to by a Chinese man.

Gong Xue felt wronged: "I didn't say a word, I didn't even look at him. I don't know why anyone would like me? My English isn't good either."

Because you're beautiful!

A down-on-her-luck Chinese actress, kind-hearted, has no relatives or friends in the United States, is destitute and has almost no means of survival... This is precisely her greatest strength.

"So, what exactly have you been doing in the United States? How many months have you been doing this?" Yu Qie asked Gong Xue.

Gong Xue looked at Yu Qie and said:
"Yu Qie, there's nothing else, I'm just waiting."

(End of this chapter)