Literary Master 1983

Chapter 319 Let Oracle Bone Script Fly in America

In order to achieve the "literary quality" of the novel and to construct a post-apocalyptic world setting, Yu Qie taught himself a lot of ancient characters.

He studied not only oracle bone script, but also other writing systems around the world, looking for commonalities among them.

Then he discovered that this setting was indeed very much in line with the story's background.

The evolution of writing from pictographs to phonetic-semantic characters was to improve communication efficiency. However, if the end of the world were to come and human communication were no longer as frequent as it is today, writing might revert to pictographs, because this makes it easy to "interpret the meaning from the characters."

Inside the foxholes on the Laoshan battlefield, Yu Qie saw that some soldiers, having not spoken a word for months, had developed their own unique writing system, communicating through dots, circles, and straight lines of varying lengths.

The language used was quite complex, but sufficient to support operational communication.

If the world were to end, it wouldn't be surprising to see "oracle bone script" used in the nuclear wasteland.

In addition, writing this novel would put him at odds with some language promotion scholars—a potential controversy he would face.

Esperanto is currently the most popular language in China.

Esperanto was very popular in the 1980s, with approximately 400,000 people worldwide learning it, including at least 20,000 in China. A discipline called "Esperanto Studies" was even established. Historically, figures like Lu Xun and Hu Shi were involved in this language. The years following the reform and opening up saw a "second spring" for Esperanto; the government vigorously promoted it, allocating limited funds for "Esperanto Exhibitions" and developing it as a uniquely Chinese language. Figures like Ba Jin and Bing Xin founded the Esperanto Association, and all of them were skilled Esperanto speakers.

The leadership believes that learning Esperanto can help Chinese people quickly access modern culture.

At this point, if you speak Esperanto and are young, you are likely to be quickly promoted by the organization.

However, while Chinese people are learning Esperanto, the rest of the world is not. The final result is predictable.

……

This is the situation in China. Yu Qie is quite interesting. While China is vigorously promoting Esperanto, he writes in his novel that Americans will communicate using oracle bone script in the future world.

In the future, will American readers learn oracle bone script, and Chinese readers learn a variant of Latin, Esperanto?

I wonder what people in China think of me?

Yu Qie couldn't help but laugh: Anyway, he knew that this wave of Esperanto was going to fail, so he might as well try this unthinkable path.

Although Metro is a fantasy novel, it still needs to maintain logical rigor.

He faxed Qian Zhongshu from Boston University, asking for his insights on "oracle bone script". After learning what had happened, Qian Zhongshu was very excited and willing to help.

However, Qian Zhongshu was not a particularly skilled expert in oracle bone script. After the two corresponded several times, Qian Zhongshu resigned and recommended a researcher named Hu Houxuan to help Yu Qie.

It was already November, and the year was coming to an end.

Across China, from north to south, the colors of autumn and winter have already begun to appear. The leaves have all fallen, and the wind blows with a bleak chill.

"Hatch!"

"It's time to put on some more clothes; it's going to snow in Shanghai soon."

On the campus of Aurora University in Shanghai, Hu Houxuan had just finished lecturing and was walking out of the teaching building.

He bought a copy of the magazine "Fiction Monthly," which contained the full text of "Fallen Leaves Return to Their Roots." The novel had already been serialized once, but the overwhelming demand from readers prompted "Fiction Monthly" to publish it again.

Hu Houxuan returned to her office, made some tea, and lay down. After reading the novel for several hours, she sighed, "Yu Qie is still better at writing domestic novels. He is fundamentally a Chinese writer. Those foreign works are too obscure and too foreign. A book has dozens of characters, all with foreign names. I can't understand them!"

Hu Houxuan is a professor of ancient history at Aurora University, specializing in Old Chinese. He has participated in the excavation of Shang Dynasty tombs more than ten times.

Two major achievements of social sciences in the new China were the "Collection of Oracle Bone Inscriptions" edited by Hu Houxuan and the "Historical Atlas of China".

These past few years have been the peak of Hu Houxuan's academic achievements; it's the time when he's producing results. Since the 1930s, Hu Houxuan has dedicated his entire life to this work.

However, Hu Houxuan has recently run into trouble; he is short of money.

He doesn't lack ten thousand or a hundred thousand yuan, but several million, enough to buy twenty houses in Shanghai.

Why are we so short of money?

It turned out that after Hu Houxuan compiled the "Collection of Oracle Bone Inscriptions", he began to worry: the organization believed that the matter could be completed and was no longer willing to provide so much funding, but Hu Houxuan had a wish to hold the "World Congress of Oracle Bone Inscriptions" and he wanted to go further.

Not only should Chinese people know about oracle bone script, but everyone else in the world should know about it too.

Among dozens of small, developed Western countries, there is a group of sinologists who study Chinese culture, but they know very little about oracle bone script and often belittle it. Yet oracle bone script is so powerful; it is "a truly complex logical language," a great achievement of our Chinese ancestors.

But money, money, money—even heroes can be stumped!
Hu Houxuan had approached his superiors about the matter several times, and the superiors always agreed but never provided the funds. Hu Houxuan knew his request was unreasonable, so he could only wait.

The leader said, "The excavation of oracle bones has reached its limit. How can it still have an impact? China still has many things to solve, and we are still a poor country."

Empress Hu said, "Aren't oracle bone inscriptions important? Aren't our ancestors important?"

The leader said, "Of course it's important! But no money is no money. You said it's important that Chinese children don't get polio, right? Why couldn't many people get the pills in the past? It was because they didn't have money."

"Didn't the government allocate funds for sugar pills to people in every region?"

"That's...that's..." the leader said. "Hu Houxuan, you're such a fool. Go and find out what happened before you speak."

Since 1984, how much longer do we have to wait?
Hu Houxuan is 75 years old this year. According to his health indicators, he is still healthy, but at this age, even a minor cold can knock him down at any time. He has met with Ba Jin, a leading figure in Shanghai's literary scene. Ba Jin used to be very healthy and chatted with people in a lively manner. In the past two years, Ba Jin's health has deteriorated, and he is rarely seen getting out of his wheelchair anymore.

No. 76 Wukang Road was a mecca for literary youth of the last era. Ba Jin never refused a visit; no matter when you went to see him, he was always treated as a guest. He was the president of the Chinese PEN Center and one of the few remaining writers with global influence.

But upon closer reflection, Ba Jin's expression did change. He was no longer as cheerful as before. Li Xiaolin of *Harvest* magazine would sometimes apologize to others on Ba Jin's behalf: "...that illness still affected my father; he was unwilling to accept it..."

Of course I'm not willing to accept this.

After China's reform and opening up, it once again entered an era of flourishing creativity, but the older generation of writers faded into obscurity. Now it's the era of writers like Yu Qie; readers across China would rather follow Yu Qie's life in distant America, his gossip and daily routines, than read the fragmented writings of the older generation. Many veteran writers feel a sense of loss; they could say something like, "I haven't retired, it's just that the public no longer reads my novels."

The onset of winter in the Shanghai stock market made Hu Houxuan feel a greater sense of crisis:

I wonder if he will be able to see the snow this year?
Aurora University is a beautiful place when it snows. Every year we see it, it's one less year we'll see it.

The snow in the capital is also very beautiful. When he was young, Hu Houxuan studied at Yenching University and worked as a researcher in the capital. He had seen Yu Dafu with his own eyes and knew what the snow in the north looked like.

It was truly magnificent; the whole world was just one color.

Weiming Lake, Boya Pagoda, the Forbidden City, the vast Beihai Park... all were covered in white.

Only a patch of red, that is himself; he is the flame in this blank space.

I wonder if I'll ever be able to see it again?
In the evening, a phone call came in. The Hu family didn't have a landline; their dormitory building was the staff dormitory for Aurora University, and there was a dedicated operator, a young woman in her twenties.

She spoke languidly as usual: "This is the staff dormitory of Aurora University, may I ask...?"

"Yes."

"Hu Houxuan, oh no, Teacher Hu? He's here. I saw him with a novel, and he just greeted me."

All that could be heard was the girl's wide-eyed surprise after receiving the call:

"Teacher Hu, Teacher Hu, someone is looking for you..."

An urgent telegram arrived from the Academy, addressed to the current Vice President, Qian Zhongshu. Hu Houxuan came downstairs to answer the phone, only to hear the voice on the other end say, "Hu Houxuan, I have a very important matter to ask you. After much thought, I've decided that you're the most suitable person..."

Yu Qie's new novel needs Hu Houxuan's help; it turns out he actually wants to use oracle bone script.

The key point is that this is a novel that is going to be published in the United States. It is a trilogy, and the bookseller's marketing and promotion budget alone is astronomical.

God help me!
Qian Zhongshu's last words were: "Houxuan, it's been many years since we last spoke. Do you still remember me? I'm so happy to get in touch with you again today."

Empress Hu burst into tears upon hearing this.

There's a story behind this.

Hu Houxuan and Qian Zhongshu knew each other; they were a small circle in the field of ancient Chinese literature, exchanging information with each other. Qian Zhongshu studied pre-Qin script, but because of the special nature of ancient script—it was passed down and evolved from generation to generation—they would often touch upon each other's research findings.

Within this circle, Hu Houxuan was the most popular figure because he studied "the origin of all Chinese characters (at the time)". Everyone's research had to be verified by him, and his results were original materials.

These people also have a good relationship.

When the news of the "ice-melting journey" came out, Hu Houxuan was taken aback: Qian Zhongshu had scolded the old man who used traditional characters for the sake of simplified characters, and had also argued with the Taiwanese literati to the point of a big fight. This made Hu Houxuan feel as if she had a memory of Qian Zhongshu when he was young.

Qian Zhongshu's fate has now been changed.

Following the "Ice-Melting Journey," his literary status was elevated to a new level, making him an undisputed literary giant. Anyone who dared to doubt Qian Zhongshu's literary standing would immediately find countless supporters defending him.

This is a moment in Qian Zhongshu's life.

Qian Zhongshu returned to China because he was worried about his daughter's health. However, his daughter was not diagnosed with any illness, only needing more rest, while Qian Zhongshu was diagnosed with kidney disease. One of his kidneys had atrophied, and at the age of over seventy, his right kidney was removed.

Qian Zhongshu's health naturally deteriorated, and he began to spend more time resting in bed.

After several days of intense phone calls with Yu Qie, he suffered a severe attack of pain and was sent to the hospital again. Qian Zhongshu realized that he was not a superhuman, but a septuagenarian man missing a kidney, living life as it comes.

Not everyone is like Yu Qie, who never stops.

Health is the foundation of everything! No wonder Yu Qie works out every day.

"Don't tell Yu Qie!" Qian Zhongshu instructed Hu Houxuan. "I only lost a kidney, but his novel is related to how Chinese characters are recognized in the Western world."

"The moon is a silent celestial body, but he is someone who can make people homesick when they see the moon... You must cooperate well with him!"

So, Hu Houxuan immediately put aside his teaching duties and stopped asking his superiors for money to hold the "Oracle Conference." Instead, he flew directly to Boston to see Yu Qie. In less than three days, he appeared before Yu Qie.

Holy crap, why is Empress Hu so enthusiastic?
Yu Qie was quite shocked; he knew nothing of Qian Zhongshu and Hu Houxuan's story. In Yu Qie's view, Hu Houxuan was a 75-year-old professor who should have been enjoying his retirement. Yu Qie was overjoyed to have Hu Houxuan invited.

Because Hu Houxuan was so enthusiastic, Yu Qie personally picked her up at the Boston airport. The 75-year-old Hu Houxuan bowed to Yu Qie upon seeing him.

No, the camera's filming!
Yu Qie was terrified: "Old Hu, you're going to make me feel terrible!"

Hu Houxuan replied, “We believe that those who are accomplished are our teachers. You have surpassed others by far in writing novels. We are collaborating on academic research. However, you are superior to me in your field.”

Why is Empress Hu so humble?

Yu Qie couldn't understand it, and neither could the CCTV production crew, so they could only record it all.

A member of the film crew said, "Professor Hu is, after all, a professor at Aurora University. Professor Yu is a master's student who hasn't been studying for more than half a year. Although he's from Yenching University, this... can't be that serious."

As the head of the production team, Mu Qing could only stroke his chin and speculate: "Perhaps some historical anecdotes have been hidden. Let me tell you a story."

The young man said, "Didn't he see it?"

"I didn't see it," Mu Qing said sadly.

"What a pity, what a pity."

"It's a pity, but not tragic. Sometimes, they have too many stories to tell about the truth of history. That's the significance of our documentary filmmaking."

(End of this chapter)