Literary Master 1983

Chapter 435 Verbal Battle
In early September, the article was typed and published.

On the day the article was published, a huge uproar immediately broke out within the magazine "Contemporary". Zhu Shengchang, Zhou Changyi, and others, who had just returned from northern Shaanxi, were utterly shocked when they saw the commentary in "Literary Gazette".

"How could he say that about us?"

Zhu Shengchang pointed to the words: "The Ordinary World took many years to complete and reflects the local customs and culture of Shaanxi Province. It should be a major event for the local area! Lu Yao, the author of this book, is an established writer. In order to write this book, he lived in the coal mine and worked as a coal miner. He wrote day and night, pouring his heart and soul into it."

"The novel went through many twists and turns and was never well-received. Finally, a magazine from Beijing took notice and sent a new editor to review it. However, the expert from Beijing caused him the deepest hurt!"

The document states that after receiving the manuscript, the new editor Zhou Changyi independently decided to reject it within a few hours, then happily went home, completely disregarding Lu Yao's life or death. The *Contemporary* magazine knew that Zhou Changyi's actions were against regulations, yet they let it slide, covering it up from top to bottom.

"He's talking complete nonsense!" Zhu Shengchang said. "We've punished you! We 'reminded' you so you wouldn't do it again! Heaven knows what amazing articles our magazine published that led to us being held accountable by higher-ups. We're all united and refuse to admit our mistakes. A 'reminder' is our most severe criticism! He doesn't know that!"

Zhu Shengchang then asked Zhou Changyi, "Did you really reject the manuscript directly back then, without even writing a rejection letter?"

Zhou Changyi said, "I didn't write it! But you can't blame me, because Lu Yao knew his novel was boring and demanded that the whole thing be published at once, with a big label on the cover. He was afraid that readers wouldn't be able to finish reading his article in one go! But even I can't read it, so why would readers?"

"You really can't keep reading?"

“I can’t read it! It’s so boring!” Zhou Changyi said. “His handwriting is also bad, it’s torture for me.”

The prevailing practice at the time was that if a writer realized their manuscript wasn't being accepted, they would deliberately make an outrageously high demand in order to save face, which would then "naturally" lead the magazine to say they couldn't meet it.

Therefore, it wasn't a rejection, but rather because "one's own standards were too high," leaving room for both parties to save face. It can be considered a kind of "retreating to advance."

The problem is that, in Yu Qie's opinion, Lu Yao's move was not a strategic retreat, but rather an honest offer of a solution based on his understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of his novel.

Zhu Shengchang said, "Yu Qie's article uses the Spring and Autumn Annals style, deliberately presenting the 'customs' in the literary world in a half-truthful way, so that people in society, those who sympathize with Lu Yao, can criticize us. It's simply not the demeanor of a literary master!"

Zhou Changyi's mind was quite sharp: he thought to himself that among the great writers throughout history, there were very few who were broad-minded; they were all narrow-minded.

Otherwise, where would the saying "scholars despise each other" come from?
Even the dead are compared to each other to determine who is superior, let alone those from the same era.

Therefore, Zhou Changyi did not respond.

Since he didn't respond, Zhu Shengchang assumed that Zhou Changyi was terrified and was immediately enraged: Even if you, Yu Qie, have caught us red-handed, you don't have to be so aggressive!
Even if Zhou Changyi is a complete idiot, he's still one of our people! Why are you never going to stop?

“We even organized a seminar, all for Lu Yao's sake, which was basically a show for Yu Qie. He didn't give us any face at all. I think he looks down on our *Contemporary* magazine! He's using us to establish his authority!”

"That Lu Yao is so inconsiderate! We invited him to dinner at Xi'an Film Studio, and he made a scene! He didn't have pants to wear when he was a kid, what does that have to do with me? How can you blame me for that?"

"Lu Yao has eight brothers. He's lucky he didn't starve to death! He should be trying to escape this fate. I already look down on him for squandering his money on cigarettes! How did he become a source of pride in poverty?"

Zhu Shengchang grew increasingly angry as he spoke, and finally, a string in his heart snapped. He angrily wrote a critique of Yu Qie's article, which was also published in the "Literary Gazette".

Yu Qie's achievements in novel writing are virtually flawless, at least in China. However, as a literary critic, Zhu Shengchang believes he is still worthy of comparison.

He then launched an attack on Yu Qie's views on "military literature":
“Some people are all-rounders! They know everything! They know how to write novels, how to appreciate novels, and now, they know how to guide people in writing novels! Military novels from the three or four decades after the founding of the People's Republic of China are just fleeting clouds to them, a wave to be eliminated. They call them the ‘previous waves.’ As the name suggests, each wave is higher than the last. The military literature that followed under their guidance was better, and the earlier ones were naturally not as good!”

"He's always criticizing this and that, saying there's something wrong with this today and something wrong with that tomorrow! And he insists on prescribing medicine, and nobody is allowed to prescribe any medicine; everyone has to do what he says!"

Before the article was published, there was actually a debate within the editorial staff of Contemporary magazine: should it be published at this time?
First, Yu Qie is vying for the Nobel Prize, and for the sake of the bigger picture, Wang Meng and Cheng Huangmei, among others, absolutely cannot tolerate him being belittled. Even without Yu Qie's retaliation, Wang Meng would be utterly unable to bear it.

Second, he chose the tricky genre of "military literature" to establish himself. Although we don't know how Yu Qie's judgment is, the novels he writes are good, which is not easy to argue against!

Zhu Shengchang said: "First, if Yu Qie doesn't win the Nobel Prize, the public will be disappointed in him! He's had it too easy, really too easy!"

"Yu Qie said that Lu Yao understood the people of Shaanxi, which is why he wrote 'Ordinary World'! I can say that I also understand the Chinese people! If Yu Qie doesn't win the Nobel Prize, the Chinese people will blame him and scold him! That's all he deserves!"

"Secondly, his ability to write good novels doesn't mean he's a good mentor. He said that military novels should be written by soldiers to make them more professional; professional writers should innovate and broaden their scope! Anyone can say nice things, but I think it's nonsense! It's not practical!"

The editorial staff of "Contemporary" looked at each other in bewilderment, but ultimately published it anyway.

Ultimately, it's because he looks down on Lu Yao. Lu Yao is practically destitute, even needing to rely on his fellow farmers to borrow money! The reason he apologized earlier was entirely out of respect for Yu Qie—Yu Qie's influence can protect a limited number of people he favors, and his vindictiveness is understandable.

But you can't just step up for anyone, even those you have no connection with. You might as well be the emperor!
Two days later, on Friday, the article was published. Before the impact of Yu Qie's article had even subsided, criticism from *Contemporary* magazine arrived.

In some areas, subscriptions to the "Literary Gazette" are long-term, and it is common for several issues to be picked up together at once.

As a result, many public institutions in the arts and culture sector brought over the latest issues of the "Literary Gazette" and discovered a startling and strange phenomenon:
In the previous issue, Yu Qie criticized Contemporary.

In the next issue, Contemporary magazine directly addressed Yu Qie.

This is going to be a war!

It's reminiscent of the infighting and confrontations during the Republican era. Due to the influence of that time, such mutual rebuttals have been rare in China for a long time, and these two articles have piqued the interest of many!

In Beijing, at a joint training program between Yenching University and the Faculty of Arts, Yu Hua brought two issues of the *Literary Gazette* for Guan Moye to read. They were both now in the training program and shared a bunk bed. Yu Hua was often away from the dormitory, visiting her lover. Guan Moye, being more reserved, lived alone in Beijing and rarely left his dormitory.

"Yu Qie spoke out for Lu Yao, but Contemporary magazine said Yu Qie was talking nonsense," Yu Hua said succinctly.

Guan Moye quickly read through the two reviews and then said, "I need to read 'Ordinary World' before I can make a review."

“I watched it, but I couldn’t bear to watch it, to be honest,” Yu Hua said.

"I can keep watching."

Guan Moye actually read the novel thoroughly. He spent a day and a half reading it on and off, and after finishing, he said, "This novel is not bad. The editorial department of *Contemporary* magazine has a problem with its judgment and should apologize."

Yu Hua immediately said, "I trust your judgment; whatever you say, I'll say. But what about the article about Teacher Yu in *Contemporary*? Isn't there a problem with it?"

“I don’t understand military novels,” said Guan Moye, a veteran. “In essence, I don’t understand military novels, so I won’t talk nonsense.”

"How about we write an article to support Teacher Yu?" Yu Hua said.

"What business is it of yours if the two of them are fighting? Several of my articles were published in 'Contemporary,' and you published some of them too. Why did you offend them?"

“You’ve got it exactly backwards!” Yu Hua said. “Contemporary magazine may not be able to do anything to me, but Teacher Yu really did promote me—if he hadn’t given me the opportunity, I might not be much better than Lu Yao.”

Guan Moye remained silent. He was different; his mentor was Xu Huaizhong, the author of "Anecdotes of the Western Front" and "Ruan's Lilac." Xu Huaizhong held a military rank, not just a simple novelist.

Thanks to this connection, Guan Moye was recommended to the Hangzhou Conference and the subsequent first Literature Academy training class. He never used any of Yu Qie's resources.

Seeing that Guan Moye remained silent, Yu Hua continued, "I am speaking out for the common rights of writers."

Guan Moye still hadn't made up his mind.

Yu Hua said, "You should keep quiet. When Yu Qie looks back on you in the end, he will definitely look down on you."

Upon hearing this, Guan Moye immediately said, "I'll also write an article to say a few words!"

"Look!" Yu Hua exclaimed excitedly, "I told you long ago that you and Su Tong are essentially the same kind of people. You are both stubborn and hope to gain the approval of a key figure—and that person is Yu Qie!"

"Shut up!" Guan Moye, of course, wouldn't admit it. However, the two of them still wrote an article in response and sent it to the "Literary Gazette".

In Shanghai, Wang Anyi, back in his literary research office, also organized a group of female writers, including Qu Tiening and Deng Xiaohua. These female writers were all very talented, and their families were also quite wealthy.

For example, avant-garde writer Deng Xiaohua has an older brother who is a professor at Jiangcheng University. The main research achievement of this brother is "how Deng Xiaohua's novels represent the new force in the literary world". The more he wrote, the more Deng Xiaohua was promoted.

Therefore, Deng Xiaohua's brother, a professor at Jiangcheng University, would naturally cheer for Yu Qie.

In the capital city, on Dongxinglong Street, stood an old-style wooden building—the headquarters of the October magazine, the birthplace of Yu Qie. The entire editorial staff of October magazine naturally mobilized, hastily writing several articles defending Yu Qie.

"Ordinary World is indeed a good novel, but how exactly should military literature be written, and is Yu Qie's explanation correct? We don't really know either," Chen Dongjie said.

"Make the professionals more professional, and make the writing of professional writers more universal." Zhang Shouren repeatedly read Yu Qie's words and indeed couldn't quite understand them. However, Zhang Shouren still felt that the articles should be published first.

“Let’s publish it here in the October issue! We’ll see how it goes first. If there’s not enough time, we’ll publish a supplement!” Zhang Shouren said.

"In addition, we should pay attention to whether there are any new military novels, especially those that fit Yu Qie's definition."

Yu Qie's response came much earlier than the above responses.

"How the Manuscript Was Rejected" was published on Wednesday, and Zhu Shengchang and others' criticisms were published on Friday. By Monday of the following week, Yu Qie's new article had also arrived. He wrote two articles in a row: "The 'Insider' of 'Contemporary' Literature" on the "hidden rules" existing in the literary world, and "Let the Bullets Fly for a While" on the matter of military literature.

Needless to say, the following article, "The 'Insider' of 'Contemporary' Literature," reveals the rules of the literary world in recent years: the contemporary literary scene is, in reality, a winner-takes-all circle. Writers and magazines compete for the rarest resources—national publications and top-tier writers.

The more the public’s enthusiasm for literature fades, the more literature collapses like a dead star, becoming an impenetrable block of steel!
Wang Meng read the commentary in the Wenyi Bao (Literary Gazette) as soon as she arrived at the printing press in Beijing. She then called Yu Qie and said, "Your article will probably have a significant impact. It's fortunate that it wasn't published in People's Literature!"

"What, is that too hurtful?"

“Yes!” Wang Meng sighed. His eyes fell on the *Literary Gazette*, which contained numerous “implicit rules”:
Regarding the popularity of "experimental literature," Yu Qie wrote, "The Chinese people today have been 'starved' for too many years and are thirsty for new ideas, concepts, forms, and techniques. Some stream-of-consciousness novels don't even use punctuation marks, yet they flood the reader with their content, deliberately trying to embarrass them! However, the reader enjoys it immensely because it fits their imagination of 'new literature.'"

"This is certainly abnormal, and it has pushed some pretentious writers to a position they don't deserve. Some simple writers have unfortunately fallen from grace, a speck of dust from the times has landed on their heads."

Wang Meng broke out in a cold sweat after reading this: because he was a leading figure in the "stream of consciousness" genre, and although he had stopped writing novels in recent years, Yu Qie's words subtly pointed the finger at him.

"You think I'm wrong too?" Wang Meng said.

“I don’t know,” Yu said. “But I believe that we are all senior figures with experience, and we should bear some responsibility for the current situation.”

(End of this chapter)