Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 154 won three literary awards.

Icicles hung from the eaves of the houses along Yanjing Road, and every now and then some fell to the ground and broke into pieces because they were too heavy. The smell of coal stoves permeated the streets and alleys, and in some places by the roadside, there were piles of coal ash from burnt coal briquettes.

Liu Yimin carried his things into People's Literature and Art. The street-facing gate of People's Literature and Art was decorated with a couplet in black characters on a red background. The calligraphy was strong and vigorous, and Liu Yimin could only understand the horizontal inscription "People's Literature and Art for the People".

The large posters pasted on both sides of the doorway were clearly recent. Liu Yimin glanced at them and then went upstairs.

Cui Daoyi was smoking in the hallway when he saw Liu Yimin and hurriedly came over to take the things from his hands.

"Yimin, you're back so early?" Cui Daoyi asked.

Liu Yimin replied, "School starts in a couple of days, so I have to come back as soon as possible."

Cui Daoyi led Liu Yimin to the editing room and specially found a seat by the window, knowing that he couldn't stand the smell of gas and smoke inside, so he thoughtfully opened the window.

I poured tea into the teacup and handed it to him to warm his hands.

“I know you want to ask about prose, right?” Cui Daoyi said.

"Yes, if we really can't send it, we don't want to put you in a difficult position."

Cui Daoyi stopped talking:

“I know that Zhou Yanru and Zhang Shouren both came to you. They not only came to you, but also to me. They only stopped after getting a free meal from me and trying to find out my and the editorial department’s attitude. I told them not to think about it anymore. We can have the meal, but after that, we should go home and not mention the matter of finding a bargain again.”

Liu Yimin listened attentively to Cui Daoyi's passionate speech, as if he could see Cui Daoyi's righteous and stern demeanor when he rejected the two editors on the spot.

"Yimin, I'm informing you now. Your essay will be published in the April issue of our People's Literature and Art!" Cui Daoyi announced his victory.

Liu Yimin raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did you win the argument?"

"We won the argument. Comrade Li Ji led me through it, arguing with everyone one by one. The editorial board even held several meetings. Comrade Zhang Guangnian was also called out by Comrade Li Ji to speak at the Capital Hospital. After reading it, Old Zhang agreed with the publication. He said, 'What's there to be afraid of in terms of foreign affairs? Foreign affairs aren't that fragile. Would a problem arise because of a realistic essay? Comrades who say such things are still too naive in international politics.'"

How is Old Zhang's health?

“He’s in excellent health. His colon cancer surgery went extremely smoothly. He should have been discharged long ago, but he didn’t want to get too involved in the literary world’s disputes. The hospital is his strategist’s retreat,” Cui Daoyi said in a low voice.

Now that it was confirmed that the manuscript could be published, Liu Yimin felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. Otherwise, he would have really intended to take the manuscript back from People's Literature and Art magazine today.

"Such a good essay, it would be a pity for our editorial department if we didn't publish it. Every time we miss a good manuscript, the editors involved wish they could slap their thighs in frustration, but I don't want to slap my thighs."

Cui Daoyi's words were full of praise for the essays in "Travels in France".

The other editors also chimed in, agreeing: "Most essays are too bland, but yours is brilliant. It's not just the trip to France that adds color to the essay; the language is sharp yet humorous."

"Your response to the French journalist's malicious question about the self-defense counterattack by comparing Germany and France was brilliant. However, although the newspapers also reported on it, they didn't cover it in detail. I believe that once it's published, it will definitely be well received."

The manuscript fee for the 18,000-word essay totaled 126 yuan. After receiving the fee from the finance office, Cui Daoyi said, "Yimin, try to write more essays so that we can publish a collection of seven essays. It's not possible to publish them yet."

“Take your time. It’s just an essay, not a novel,” Liu Yimin replied.

In the future, I will gradually gather and summarize my life experiences, and eventually publish one or more collections of essays, just like Xu Chi or Ba Jin.

After finishing up with the matter at People's Literature and Art, Liu Yimin was about to leave when Cui Daoyi chased after him and said, "Yimin, there's one more thing I forgot to congratulate you on!"

Liu Yimin asked with a beaming smile, "Senior brother, what's the good news? Has the courtyard house matter been settled?"

Cui Daoyi pulled him to the other end of the corridor and said, "This joyous occasion is even bigger than the courtyard house! You're going to win an award! You're going to win an award!"

Cui Daoyi repeated it several times, as excited as if he were about to win an award!
Seeing that Liu Yimin was calm, he asked in bewilderment, "You knew all along?"

"There are speculations, and Comrade Li Ji has also mentioned it, but nothing has been confirmed!"

Cui Daoyi nodded and said with a smile, "That's true. Even if there are few winners, there will always be one for you. And even if there is only one, I think it can only be you."

“Senior brother, you can’t say that. There are countless heroes in the world, and many new talents have emerged this year alone,” Liu Yimin said.

"Scholars often look down on each other, but I dare say that about you!"

"Are there fewer award winners this year?" Liu Yimin asked.

"If there are too many winning works, the authority of the awards will be weakened. Taking advantage of the opportunity of renaming the short story and novella awards to the 'Lu Xun Literature Prize,' we have reduced the number of winning works and improved their quality."

"I can't say that, otherwise the people who didn't get the award will start criticizing me!"

"Don't worry about it. This time, according to inside information, you won three awards!" Cui Daoyi patted Liu Yimin on the chest, telling him that he had a very fruitful time.

"Weren't there two awards? Where did this other award come from?"

Last time, Li Ji told him it was for short stories and novellas, which are currently the only two national-level literary awards. As for the Cao Yu Script Award, the judging process won't begin for several years.

"A new poetry prize for young and middle-aged poets was added at the last minute. Poetry Journal submitted your poems 'Ideal' and 'Motherland, My Dear Motherland' to the poetry prize committee. In the end, they selected 'Ideal,' which was published more recently."

The winning entries must first be submitted to the judging committee by the respective magazines, and then the judges will conduct a preliminary selection and a final review of the submitted poems.

"So that's it!"

"Winning three awards in a row! Good news keeps coming. You've won all three of the country's national-level literary awards. The novella 'Wolf Smoke Over Beiping' and the short story 'Romance on Lushan Mountain'—if there were no limit to the number of awards an individual author could win, no one else could survive."

Cui Daoyi was visibly excited. As Liu Yimin's editor, he was naturally proud of Liu Yimin's award.

"Some people say you've won too many awards, leaving no chance for other comrades! Comrade Li Ji said, 'If you have the ability, let your work speak for itself; if you don't, don't complain so much!'"

"Please thank Comrade Li for me!"

Li Ji went to a meeting at the Writers' Association today; he wasn't at the editorial office of *People's Literature*. At the beginning of the year, the Writers' Association has a lot of work waiting for him to assign, the most important being the judging and awarding of literary prizes.

"No need to thank me, just come to my office for a cup of tea!" Li Ji's voice came from the other end of the corridor. Following Li Ji into the office, Li Ji took off his hat and scarf and hung them on the coat rack, rubbed his ears and said, "Please sit down, please sit down. There's been so much work at the Writers' Association since the beginning of the year. Old Cui has already told you about the essays, right?"

"Senior brother, he already told me!"

"Have a cup of tea to warm yourself up. The literary prize will be awarded in April, and I'll personally present it to you then, how about that?"

It was clear that Li Ji was in high spirits today, and Liu Yimin expressed his gratitude and thanked the Writers Association.

"We don't need to exchange pleasantries; our work speaks for itself, not some favor from anyone. Pick up your pen boldly and write boldly; we old folks are here for you!"

Upon arriving in Yanjing, Zhu Lin hadn't yet come to see Liu Yimin, but Wang Zengqi arrived first. Wang Zengqi found Liu Yimin and mentioned that he knew someone who wanted to sell a courtyard house, and asked him to take a look.

Upon arrival, Wang Zengqi was furious. It turned out that the homeowner had deceived him; the three-courtyard house housed a dozen or so families.

The person selling the house told Liu Yimin, "This is my house, but it hasn't been cleared out yet. After you sell it, just kick them out."

"Old Li, how could you do this? Didn't you say this is your house?"

"It's my house! I didn't say anything wrong, it's just been occupied by someone else!" Old Li's nonchalant attitude infuriated Wang Zengqi to the point that he almost hit him.

Finally, Wang Zengqi pulled Liu Yimin away from the courtyard and apologized to him outside. Liu Yimin quickly grabbed his arm and said, "I am already very touched that you thought of me. It was him who was dishonest, not you."

“Yimin, if you consider me a comrade, call me Lao Wang. All this ‘you’ stuff sounds awkward!” Wang Zengqi said sternly.

"Alright, Comrade Lao Wang!"

Upon hearing Liu Yimin's call, Wang Zengqi immediately became much more enthusiastic. He pulled Liu Yimin to go to a restaurant for drinks. Wang Zengqi was a heavy drinker and liked to drink at different places. Even at nearly seventy years old, he could still drink more than half a bottle of Moutai by himself and still not be satisfied.

"Newly brewed wine with green ants, a small red clay stove, the evening sky threatens snow, a fellow citizen, shall we drink a cup together?" Wang Zengqi took out the wine he carried with him from his satchel.

"Let's have a drink together today!"

“I’m not old. I should say I’m having a drink with Lao Wang. I misspoke. You have a drink first!” Wang Zengqi poured Liu Yimin a glass of wine without further ado.

After a few rounds of drinks, Wang Zengqi took out a manuscript from his bag and handed it to him, saying slightly drunk, "I like to write novels in my spare time, and I like to share them with everyone after I finish writing them. Take a look."

Wang Zengqi now works in a Peking Opera troupe, mainly writing scripts, including "The Battle of Wits". Although he is from Gaoyou, his works are in the "Peking Opera" style.

I enjoy writing novels, but I rarely submit them publicly because I'm criticized for not resembling a novel.

“The comrades in the troupe have all read it and said it can’t be published at all. They say what I wrote doesn’t resemble a novel. Some comrades even said that as a screenwriter, I’m neglecting my duties, not writing scripts but only writing novels. Can you take a look at it for me?” Wang Zengqi said with a hint of distress.

This manuscript has already been read by many people in the troupe, some without even reading it carefully. After all, Wang Zengqi often brings them novel manuscripts to read, which sometimes feels like torture to them.

Liu Yimin took it and stared intently at the two characters on it: "Receiving the Precepts".

Oh, this is it? That's not surprising; its publication was indeed fraught with difficulties. It's as daring as Liu Yimin's essays, telling the story of a young monk and a rural girl named Xiaoyingzi who break through societal boundaries to fall in love.

In some ways, he wrote more boldly. In an era that emphasized sexual repression, he boldly wrote about "sex," and the male protagonist was even a monk.

The phrase "receiving the precepts" has a double meaning. The young monk's love for Xiao Yingzi is breaking the precepts, but it is written as receiving the precepts, which shows his indifference to and resistance to worldly rules.

The reason it was published later was because Li Qingquan of Yenching Literature and Art magazine contacted Wang Zengqi after hearing others' complaints. Finally, in October 1980, "Receiving the Precepts" was published, which unexpectedly made Wang Zengqi famous in the literary world.

"That's very bold!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

"You wrote the romance novel 'Romance on Lushan Mountain,' so I want you to take a look!"

“Comrade Lao Wang, mine isn’t as bold as yours. What were you thinking?” Liu Yimin asked.

Wang Zengqi probably felt a little awkward discussing this kind of novel with a younger person, and said somewhat embarrassedly:

"After last year's literary and art congress, I felt refreshed and knew I had a lot of stories to write. Suddenly, I thought of the countryside and love. I found this feeling beautiful, and even if it's just to satisfy my personal emotions, I want to write it down. If it can't be published, I'll just keep it to myself!"

Reading Wang Zengqi's other novels, one finds that they all touch upon the topic of sex to varying degrees, and in a rather bold manner. Through his novels, he expresses his resistance to the repression of sex.

"The emotions are well-written, beautifully written. I think you can submit it for a try," Liu Yimin encouraged.

"Really? The comrades from the Peking Opera troupe all said not to submit it. Who would want to publish a novel like this? Whoever publishes it is just tarnishing the reputation of the magazine they work for. Some of them said some really nasty things!" Wang Zengqi said with a somber expression.

After finishing their drinks, Liu Yimin took Wang Zengqi home first, and then returned to the school.

Upon arriving at the school's reception office, I picked up the phone: "Hello comrade, please connect me to Yenching Literature and Art Magazine. I'm looking for Zhou Yanru."

The line was busy the whole time; I dialed three times before finally getting through.

"Editor Zhou, this is Liu Yimin!"

“Yi Min? What made you decide to publish your essay in our ‘Yanjing Literature’? Don’t move, I’m going to Yenching University to pick up the manuscript right now!” Zhou Yanru practically shouted.

Liu Yimin quickly said, "Editor Zhou, Editor Zhou, no, no, my 'People's Literature' is confirmed to be published!"

"Oh!" Liu Yimin's words poured cold water on Zhou Yanru, but she still asked, "Do you have other manuscripts? Are you planning to submit them to our 'Yanjing Literature'?"

"It's not mine either!"

After being doused with two buckets of cold water, Zhou Yanru was already ice-cold all over, but out of respect for Liu Yimin and her editorial ethics, she continued to ask, "Whose is that?"

"I met with Comrade Wang Zengqi today, and he showed me the manuscript. I think it's very well written. Editor Zhou, you can take a look. He personally doesn't have confidence in this novel and probably won't submit it for publication, but it's a real pity that it's been overlooked."

I'm just using this opportunity to repay the favor of the "Yanjing Literature and Art" symposium.

(End of this chapter)