Literary Master 1983

Chapter 434 Let the World Experience Literature
The most unfortunate was *Huacheng* magazine, located in a remote area; it was much harder for them to get manuscripts than for anyone else. They often invited writers to Guangzhou, to stay at the White Swan Hotel, the most luxurious hotel at the time. Not for a few days, but for two or three months, to stay there and write novels.

Zhu Shengchang said, "In fact, authors are also opportunistic. Even though Flower City magazine works so hard, they still give more and receive less. No matter how much they give to the writers, most of the manuscripts the writers give them are second-rate manuscripts by the writers themselves. If there are good manuscripts, the writers still want to stay in Beijing and Shanghai, and staying at the White Swan Hotel is useless."

“No matter what kind of personality or character a writer has, they all try their best to get into magazines in Beijing and Shanghai. Because they also need to find a good home for their works. Sometimes they don’t even consider the royalties, but strive to find publications with more influence and more say.”

Indeed, thinking about it again, Lu Yao was eventually forced to publish his novels in city-level publications, which is simply a tragedy.

In 1988, the biggest event and the greatest tragedy in Shaanxi's literary world both befell the same person. Yu Qie has a responsibility to salvage it.

After the meeting, Zhu Shengchang, deputy editor-in-chief of Contemporary, said, "I have an announcement to make!"

Everyone's attention was drawn to him, but he looked at Yu Qie and said, "Our magazine, Contemporary, is going to hold a seminar and invite some top writers to go to northern Shaanxi. Lu Yao will make the arrangements; he is the representative of Shaanxi writers."

The others weren't stupid; they quickly guessed that it was related to Yu Qie's remarks from a few days ago and offered their congratulations.

Yu Qie also felt that Contemporary magazine had done a pretty good job: it was respectful.

Lu Yao's pathological habit of smoking brand-name cigarettes and drinking Nestlé coffee is probably not only due to physical addiction, but also to psychological factors: he desperately craves recognition, and these external "high-end items" make him feel like a great writer.

So, before everyone went to Dengzhou, the editorial department of *Contemporary* magazine organized a week-long trip to northern Shaanxi, inviting some of the more well-known young writers. Among them were Lu Yao, Zhou Changyi, Zhu Shengchang, and others, as well as Wang Anyi, an acquaintance of Yu Qie from a few years ago.

Wang Anyi is from Shanghai and comes from an artistic family. She was close friends with Qu Tiening a few years ago and is now a member of the Shanghai Writers Association's creative studio.

She had already learned in advance that this publicly funded business trip was related to Yu Qie. Zhu Shengchang from the magazine "Contemporary" approached her and said, "Professor Wang, you and Professor Yu are acquainted. After this trip to northern Shaanxi, we hope you can use your influence in the arts and literature circles to put in a good word for us."

Wang Anyi laughed: "Professor Yu has always been public-spirited and righteous. Back then, because of a sugar pill incident, he actually started the 'Spring Rain Operation,' which swept the whole country! What heinous things did you do to provoke him to target you!"

Zhu Shengchang could only manage a wry smile in response to such complaints.

Northern Shaanxi is a very harsh place, with economic conditions vastly different from those of major southern cities! Wang Anyi was already mentally prepared, but when she actually arrived in northern Shaanxi, she was still stunned by the poverty and isolation of the area:

This place suffers from severe soil erosion; there is no water on the plateau, very little vegetation, and various wild animals roam here.

For generations, farmers toiled in the fields, their food, vegetables, and other necessities largely produced and manufactured by themselves. When the writers stayed at a farmer's home and learned they were from Shanghai, the farmer slaughtered his chickens and ducks to entertain them, moving everyone to tears.

He really cried; Wang Anyi's eyes were swollen from crying.

They then pooled together 500 yuan and exchanged it for five "100-yuan" bills. The farmer, however, didn't recognize a 100-yuan note and didn't know what the gift was.

When told that it was five hundred yuan, the farmer repeatedly refused, saying in fear and unease, "We rely entirely on selling eggs for our money. An egg is worth at most ten cents, sometimes even five cents. We've never seen more than ten yuan!"

Yes!

Wang Anyi calculated: This farmer's chickens lay one egg every day, and even if they sold them all, he would only earn a few yuan a month.

This is the extent of poverty in the area, and it was precisely because of this environment that Lu Yao decided to write "Ordinary World"—a novel that reflects the struggle of several generations of farmers in northern Shaanxi against the land.

Overwhelmed with shock, Wang Anyi said to Lu Yao after meeting him, "Why don't you move out? This place in northern Shaanxi is truly desolate; it's unimaginable how people can live there! People should migrate out of the Loess Plateau! This place should be transformed into a place like Yellowstone National Park in the United States!"

Lu Yao was stunned, then laughed and said, "How can this be? We have a deep affection for this land."

He took out his notebook, on which was written a sentence: "Whenever I walk among the mountains and valleys, in the boundless desolation, and see a peach or apricot tree in full bloom, I burst into tears, as if my heart is about to break!"
This is exactly what Yu Qie said to him on the phone that day!

That evening, Wang Anyi contacted Yu Qie through the town's phone: "Professor Yu, Lu Yao is suffering too much. I can't imagine anyone suffering like this in my life!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Qie felt a lump in his throat: he came from Wanxian, a place that was nothing compared to Beijing and Shanghai.

But he has a deep affection for his hometown and has donated a lot of money to date. His novel, "Returning to One's Roots," is a direct account of the immigrants from Wanxian...

He understood Lu Yao's feelings: this place may be dilapidated, but it is, after all, the place where I was born and raised.

When Lu Yao died, he was still poor and destitute, and not many people in the literary world mourned him. However, Lu Yao won the respect of the people of northern Shaanxi. Thousands of people came to see him off, and farmers threw themselves on his coffin and wept. This is an honor that is worth more than gold!

Yu Qie asked Wang Anyi, "I'm planning to write an article to vehemently criticize the editorial department of *Contemporary* magazine. They should publicly apologize for their mistakes! You've already seen what's going on in northern Shaanxi. Do you support me?"

In fact, Zhu Shengchang and the others were right next to him, sweating profusely with anxiety!

So you're saying you have to criticize someone to the point of death or even break them down?
The two editors of Contemporary magazine tried to gesture for Wang Anyi to persuade them, but Wang Anyi ignored them and said, "If they can't handle this properly, I will never submit articles to Contemporary magazine again! I'll stand with you through thick and thin!"

"Great!" Yu Qie laughed out loud.

Yu Qie immediately wrote an article detailing the whole story of why Lu Yao's manuscript was rejected by "Contemporary". Although Zhou Changyi was from the same hometown as him and was a new editor, he indirectly caused Lu Yao to suffer a severe heart attack due to anger, and should at least be transferred from the editing position for two or three years as punishment.

It is September 3rd now, and most of the magazines to be published this month have been typeset. Only People's Literature is delayed for some reason, so there is still space available.

But People's Literature is too big, and things might get out of hand, which Yu Qie didn't want.

He ran to ask Wang Meng what to do, and Wang Meng was also looking for him.

"I came here to ask you for help, but you've come to ask me for help instead. What can I do to help you?"

"It's nothing!" Wang Meng said. "I hope you win an award! The Nobel Prize!"

Wang Meng, as the head of the Ministry of Culture, was naturally well aware of the "retreat of literary trends," and had been extremely troubled by it these past few days. Although there had been occasional excellent works published in the literary world in the past two years, it was difficult to find a novel that could sweep the country and become the subject of nationwide discussion as it had a few years ago!

Literature is failing!
Yu Qie said, "It's no use coming to me, it's no use coming to the Emperor of Heaven! The fact that readers are willing to read pure literature is a strange phenomenon! It's a bad byproduct of our economic and cultural development! Have you forgotten that I'm also an economist?"

Wang Meng grasped Yu Qie's hand and said, "I know, I know! How wonderful these past ten years have been! I don't want this era to fly away; I want to hold onto it!" "You can't hold onto it."

“I can’t keep him, but someone else can!” Wang Meng looked at Yu Qie’s face. “You have that ability!”

It turns out that in 88, Wang Meng was also facing a change of leadership. He had already considered retiring, but what saddened him was that during his term, literature reached its peak, and then, just like the A-share market, it was bullish for a very short time before plummeting and getting worse day by day.

Do you remember that paper on Goldbach's Conjecture? It directly led countless people down the path of amateur scientists.

Wang Meng mentioned the report written by Xu Chi.

And there's Nie Weiping, who's currently in Hangzhou participating in the "Ing Cup"! Every game he plays could be broadcast live across the country, becoming the talk of the town.

And the math Olympiad craze sparked by James Watson and Qian Xuesen! Only something that can fundamentally boost national self-confidence can prompt the public to rekindle their love for literature.

If Yu Qie could win the Nobel Prize, it would be like turning back time and giving literature another dose of adrenaline!
Holy crap! Let the world experience literature!
Yu Qie was stunned: For a time, he thought Wang Meng was like Yue Buqun, like a vice GOAT! But now, Wang Meng gave him the feeling of wanting to activate "Infinite Tsukuyomi" and turn back time to the era when literature was still most favored.

Yu Shi frankly said, "This is the first time I've made it onto the five-man roster this year. It's not something that happens overnight! I'm only ranked fourth or fifth on the betting company's leaderboard."

"What about next year? You should be able to get it next year!" Wang Meng pressed.

"You can get a loan for this?"

“Only this way will work!” Wang Meng said. “As long as you can win the Nobel Prize in Literature, everything will be alright.”

Yes, no.

Even if it wins an award, it will only extinguish the last bit of enthusiasm in the public. Hong Kong films, video game arcades, massage parlors—once this era arrives, novels can't stop it.

After saying this, Wang Meng immediately snatched Yu Qie's manuscript, glanced at it briefly, and said, "Oh, so you're speaking up for Lu Yao. The Contemporary magazine's actions were indeed very unethical, especially the fact that no one was punished and they were let off lightly! I think that's too arrogant!"

“I think so too,” Yu Qie said. “This matter is actually related to the exceptional status of Contemporary magazine. They are located in Beijing, so they are not afraid of not having writers submitting their work.”

"Yes! But publishing this article in People's Literature is too alarming. I'll find you another one, how about the Literary Gazette? It's published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so things are under control, and the people who pay attention are mainly writers in the literary world. It won't become known all over the country, otherwise it would also be a harm to Lu Yao."

"That couldn't be more perfect!"

The article, titled "How My Manuscript Was Rejected," is short and basically lists the events, while also subtly expressing admiration for Lu Yao's simple and unadorned writing style. In the article, Yu Qie calls "Ordinary World" the biggest surprise of the past two years.

That's an exaggeration! You should know that although Yu Qie rarely writes critical articles, he is still a well-known "literary critic".

Shaanxi Province, Xi'an Film Studio.

The seminar organized by the magazine "Contemporary" has come to its final stop. Naturally, everyone enjoyed a hearty meal before bidding each other farewell.

At the dinner table, someone, perhaps drunk or something, suddenly sighed: "Many so-called seniors these days, after a lifetime of ups and downs, still can't let go of fame and fortune in their old age."

Lu Yao, Wang Anyi, and others are here. They are all young writers and know the hardships faced by young writers.

The literary landscape is shrinking, while the number of writers is increasing. Sometimes, the reason why later writers fail to become famous is not because they did anything wrong, but simply because they were born a few years later.

One step behind leads to another. To publish articles, one must move from county-level publications to city, provincial, and even capital cities, attend advanced training courses, and enjoy the abundant resources of the capital, where one can receive stipends for full-time writing. This seemingly insurmountable step was the first step for many just a few years ago.

"If they were all seniors like Yu Qie, that would be fine! He can go abroad and compete with anyone, he's not afraid of anyone! Let's think about it, are the seniors above us these kinds of people? What gives them the right to suppress us?"

There was silence at the dinner table for a moment.

Only Lu Yao smiled honestly and said, "I encountered this problem a few years ago. I wanted a place where I could write full-time and look up information. I couldn't afford reference books. I took the train to the capital, found the Institute of Literature, and asked them if they could give me a spot, but they said no."

"Why not?" Wang Anyi said.

"This is a research institute, not a writers' association. You need at least a university degree and a recommendation from your work unit to do research here."

Wang Anyi was a little nervous: A few years ago, it was the same year that Yu Qie was in the Institute of Literature. At that time, the members of the advanced training class came from all over the country, and they were all recommended. A dentist named "Yu Hua" would have had to struggle for at least another five years if Yu Qie hadn't thrown him in.

It's a pity you didn't know Yu Qie back then!

Wang Anyi sighed inwardly!

She asked, "So where did you end up writing your novels?"

“Home,” Lu Yao said, “the old Shaanxi hometown you saw before. I borrowed a lot of money from my brothers to buy newspapers and magazines like the Daily and Guangming Daily for nearly ten years. Before I even wrote a single word, I was already bankrupt from debt! If I were at the Institute of Literature, I could have saved that money.”

When Wang Anyi heard Lu Yao calmly recounting her bitter experiences, she felt an urge to cry. She said, "You have such a good temper, you can withstand any hardship, no wonder you were able to write 'Ordinary World'."

Just as Lu Yao was about to speak, the atmosphere at the dinner table suddenly changed. One of the writers present couldn't stand it anymore and, referring to the earlier incident of "Old Deng hogging resources," pointed at Lu Yao and the other young writers, Wang Anyi, and said, "Don't talk big like that. You'll end up like that too; it's the natural order of things!"

After listening, Wang Anyi disagreed but remained silent. However, Lu Yao suddenly stood up, his face showing displeasure: "I disagree! People are different!"

But that friend persisted: "No one can escape!"

Lu Yao suddenly rushed forward and shouted, "I never wore pants when I was a kid, how can this be the same? I'll prove it to you!"

The gathering ended unhappily, and Yu Qie's article was published in the "Literary Gazette," where many people saw what had happened.

(End of this chapter)