Literary Master 1983

Chapter 369 nothing, everything
Gu Hua was eventually found at a restaurant in Iowa.

He worked for a Mexican boss, standing for up to fourteen hours a day, and was often ordered to wash dishes in the kitchen. His hands, once those of a writer, are now peeling and white from being soaked in cheap detergent.

Gu Hua had several knife wounds, all inflicted by other immigrants during his escape. He had saved two hundred dollars when he defected, but now he had no money, not even a loaf of bread or a drop of water.

He was working as a slave laborer for Mexicans.

When Nie Hua saw Gu Hua's appearance, she could hardly believe her eyes and immediately burst into tears. Paul comforted her while questioning the Mexican boss:

"Do you know he's a Chinese writer? Have you seen his hands? Have you ever discussed philosophy with him? Those hands are for writing!"

The Mexican boss said, "I never realized he was a writer. I took him in, so of course he has to work for me!"

Nie Hualing angrily said, "Why are you torturing a writer like this? I'm going to sue you! You're inhumane!"

The owner laughed instead: "No Chinese restaurant in Iowa wants this guy. Since you know him, you obviously didn't help him out... and now you're criticizing me. Women are so unreasonable!"

Nie Hualing trembled as she said, "You are devils! Gu Hua's crimes don't deserve this!"

She hated Yu Qie again: "Yu Qie is a devil! Just because Gu Hua didn't listen to him, he doesn't give people a way to live... Ultimately, it's Yu Qie who made Gu Hua end up like this! It's all Yu Qie's fault!"

余？
Surprisingly, the Mexican boss knew Yu Qie. "Is that the Yu I know? That tough guy from China!"

The boss looked at him with admiration, then said with disdain, "I used to feel a little sorry, but now I don't feel it at all. I believe he's destined to suffer because he rejected that kind of person, and he deserves to be unfortunate!"

Paul said nothing more and silently led Gu Hua away. He reported the restaurant to the IRS for tax evasion. The IRS has a lot of power, and in order to punish the Mexican, it quickly listed a series of charges... The Mexican restaurant was shut down.

Gu Hua was temporarily placed in a community hospital while awaiting repatriation to China.

This incident further convinced Paul that he needed to repair their relationship with Yuche.

"Our apology letter should be published publicly, and with Yu Qie's consent. What do you think?"

Nie Hualing was frightened and did not deny it again.

Yu Qie's fans are now spread among Spanish-speaking immigrants, especially those from the lower classes with a strong sense of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry).

These people have all lost their way, prostrating themselves before the idol of that distant East. They have committed sins, and they defend themselves with Yuqie's words; they have done good deeds, and they think they are like Yuqie.

These people may not even have read Yu Qie's novels, but they have heard Yu Qie's stories many times.

What's frightening is that there are more and more people like this.

Thinking about this, Paul actually felt a bit of admiration for Yu Qie. He said to Nie Hualing, "I know how difficult it is for a foreign writer to enter someone's heart. Yu Qie did it... He deserved to receive the Cervantes Prize; he is indeed the kind of great writer who transcends the international stage."
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Yu Qie won two more Spanish language awards:
Romulo Gallegos International Novel Prize, Prince of Asturias Prize.

The former was a major prize in Venezuela. It was originally awarded every five years, but in 87 it was suddenly announced that it would be awarded every two years, and Yu Qie won it.

The prize money is a whopping $100,000, even more generous than Cervantes's!

How can a literary prize in a small country prove its authority?

One approach is to award prizes to authoritative writers, and the other is to significantly increase the prize money. This would attract those writers to speak well of them.

This award has achieved all of that.

The first winner was Vargas Llosa, the second was Márquez... all old friends of Yuche.

The third winner was Carlos Fuentes, a leading figure in Latin American literature, who was also the Mexican writer who lost to Yuche in this year's Cervantes Prize selection.

Carlos Fuentes, through Márquez, congratulated Yuche on his joining the literary throne of this small country.

Yu Qie himself did not go to Venezuela. He entrusted former Colombian President Betancur to accept the award on his behalf, and then wrote an article entitled "Heroic Venezuela" and sent it to the organizing committee as an apology for his absence.

Shao Qi wanted to reprint Yu Qie's article in its entirety, but Yu Qie advised her against it.

“Although Venezuela is not large, they also have a heart for literature!” Shao Qi read aloud the article written by Yu Qie. “Heroic Venezuela, you are a place that even the devil does not want to stay! Heroic Venezuela… Teacher Yu, your writing is sincere and heartfelt.”

Why are you unwilling to repost this?

Yu Qie laughed and said, "I can't say that my articles were useless, but I can't say they have any value either. Just show them to the Venezuelans, don't promote them domestically. They're all just sycophantic articles."

"Oh!" Shao Qi understood.

Suddenly, Chad from the Paris Pictorial said, "Mr. Neruda was in China at the time, and he also wrote many poems of praise. I'd like to know if he was..."

Yu Qie was not angry. Instead, he calmly said, "China has never given Neruda a single penny. Let alone $100,000, we can't even come up with $1,000. In the 1950s, Chile hardly received any benefits from China. He came three times: once during the War of Resistance Against Japan, once during the Liberation War, and once during the Korean War. He never knew if we could win, but he always spoke up for us."

"Think about it, wasn't Neruda a noble person? Yet he was poisoned by his own government!"

Cha was shocked: "I was really surprised by the secrets of the literary world. I never knew about them before."

Another Prince of Asturias Award brought Yuche back to Spain.

The Prince of Asturias is not a real "prince," but rather a title of heir to the throne. The Spanish refer to the crown prince as the "Prince of Asturias."

The current crown prince is Carlos's son, and since it was originally an internal award of the royal foundation, it was naturally chosen based on Carlos's preferences.

The reporter was curious as to why Yu Qie had just received the Cervantes award and was now being given a new one... Giving awards too frequently can turn them into worthless awards.

The awards ceremony was held in Oviedo, northern Spain, where a journalist from the center-left newspaper El País challenged the King:

"How much of Yuche's award has to do with his personal relationship with the King? We know the King admires him, and some people have even seen Yuche escorting Princess Christina back to the palace."

Carlos readily admitted it! At the awards ceremony, he pointed to Yu Che from afar and said, "I won't say that I'm giving you this award just to see you again; I'll say that you deserve this award!"

"However, our selection criteria are artists with international influence! And Mr. Yu is such a person!"

Yu Qie not only received $50,000, but also a bronze medal. He became the first Asian to achieve this honor, a title that was originally held by Japan's Haruki Murakami, but now it belonged to Yu Qie in the 1980s.

"I've given many acceptance speeches lately, but each time it feels like I'm just starting out..."

He spoke about the writer Neruda and mentioned a private conversation he had with Deputy Prime Minister Guerra about "historical truth".

He also mentioned the Wanxian massacre of September 5th:

“I believe that some history has indeed been hidden, and writers should have their own conscience. We strive to use the past to warn the present, but if we don’t even know the past, what meaning does the future have?”

After winning the award, Carlos rummaged through his palace and found more than ninety fragments of oracle bone inscriptions, which he returned to Yuqie.

This action was broadcast on national television.

To demonstrate his close relationship with Yu Qie, Carlos, like a pampered wife, publicly complained that Yu Qie was making a mountain out of a molehill:
"To be honest, I don't understand what the use of these fragments is. They've been lying there for hundreds of years, and now I'm suddenly being told that they're from turtle bones that are thousands of years old... I mean, is it really worth it?"

"Of course it's worth it!"

Yu Qie turned his head and looked at the Spanish man, saying, "Saladin spent ten years and mobilized tens of thousands of troops to fight the Leper King for Jerusalem. After losing, he recruited troops again until he finally recaptured Jerusalem."

"Is this the end of everything? No, Saladin's actions triggered the Third Crusade, mobilizing the entire European continent, including Spain! It turns out that the battle between Saladin and the Leper King was just a small episode in the two-hundred-year-long Crusades! This is actually a long-term confrontation between two civilizations."

When Saladin conquered Jerusalem, facing the desolate city already destroyed in the yellow sand, he exclaimed, "Nothing, everything," Jerusalem is worthless, Jerusalem is supreme glory.

Carlos lost his composure, which reminded him of the time many years ago when Franco had designated him as his successor.

Suddenly, his life took a different turn. He separated from his brother, separated from his father, and Franco kept his distance. Everyone was kind to him, but no one could get into his heart.

He became all alone and asked himself if it was all worth it.
It's definitely worth it.

Being a king could mean becoming worthless, but it could also bring unparalleled glory.

Carlos's son, Alfonso, was sitting next to him. Alfonso had also been designated as the heir to the throne early on. He was a few years younger than Yuche and much taller, standing at a full 1.97 meters.

Under Carlos's guidance, Alfonso deliberately befriended Yuche, and the two got along well.

At this moment, Alfonso asked in shock:

"Mr. Yu, did Saladin really say that?"

Did Saladin say that?

He might have had the motivation to say that the Arabic text *Saladin* states that Saladin believed "the Holy City is nothing but stone and dust, but faith makes it heavier than mountains." And the phrase "nothing, everything," a line from the film *Kingdom of Heaven*, summarizes human conflict in one sentence: it may seem worthless, but it is worth everything.

Yuqie replied, "Saladin didn't say that, but I did."

This discussion brought Yu Qie's "Oracle Bone Fragment Collection" project into the spotlight, captivating many Spaniards. Young people often use this phrase when discussing things that are difficult yet require perseverance.

Marquez was still vacationing in Barcelona. After watching the program, he couldn't help but remark:

"Yu Qie is a born writer, not only at his desk, but also on the podium!"

"He was so healthy and strong... How wonderful it would have been if I had worked with him as a war correspondent when I was young, fighting against fascism together!"

“You know what? When I was young, I was a fighting maniac. I was ambitious and I wrote editorials about everything. I was just like him back then!”

Lately, Márquez has been frequently forgetting things. When Chad, the editor of Paris Pictorial, interviewed him, he brought a recorder, but Márquez suddenly forgot when he had his first conversation with Yuche, which made the interview quite awkward.

This happened more than once, eventually alarming Carmen.

Carmen accompanied Márquez to the hospital for a checkup. Upon learning that it was Márquez who had come, the hospital assembled a temporary neurology team. After careful consideration, they unanimously concluded that Márquez had Alzheimer's disease.

Patients may experience perceptual disturbances and memory loss that can last for decades until they completely lose their function.

The Chinese vividly refer to this as Alzheimer's disease.

Gabriel García Márquez had a family history of Alzheimer's disease, so his risk was already higher than average. Furthermore, highly educated individuals seem to be more prone to Alzheimer's, perhaps due to excessive mental exertion.

After leaving the house, Márquez comforted Carmen.

“It’s okay, I’ll die before I lose all my memory. In fact, I also have cancer, and it’s progressing even faster.”

Carmen wanted to cry but had no tears.

She sensed that the once-powerful Latin American Storm Empire was at risk of collapsing. In its early stages, this kingdom was mainly supported by Márquez, who controlled more than 40% of it. Later, Vargas Llosa and others joined, making it a force to be reckoned with.

When Yuche came in, he quickly showed potential no less than that of Marquez. Whether on or off the field, he was a true young mare.

He transformed the literary empire, moving beyond standard magical realism, yet he neither frequented brothels nor wrote about scatological or obscene content, winning the hearts of the masses.

However, Márquez was about to end his literary career.

Vargas Llosa is now preoccupied with running for president, and his literary creativity has diminished.

Yu Qie was not interested in the Latin American literary kingdom that everyone else had; it was just a transition for him. From beginning to end, he only accepted his own personal kingdom.

Upon learning of Márquez's illness, his wife burst into tears, and his two sons immediately cut short their holidays, both wanting to spend some quality time with him.

"We should let Yu Qie know about this!"

Márquez was speechless: "I'm just sick, not dying. I have at least twenty years left to live. Maybe even longer."

That's right!
However, if a Nobel laureate starts to speak incoherently and his memory becomes disordered... the Márquez we know is dead, and there is only a body with the same name.

(End of this chapter)