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

Chapter 348 "Appearing Out of Nowhere" (Revised; those who have already subscribed do not need to subscribe again)
People who frequently attend meetings in Zhonghai and Nanhai know that the scenery there is picturesque, but to see the beautiful views, one must go through layers of checks.

At 1:20, Liu Yimin put on his clothes, took his manuscript, and rode his motorcycle to Zhonghai. Nanluoguxiang was very close to here, and it only took him a dozen minutes.

The entrance to Zhonghai is right next to the Forbidden City, originally designed for the convenience of the imperial family. The red walls and yellow tiles at the entrance create a solemn and dignified atmosphere, further enhanced by the stone lions that adorn the gate.

In the 1970s and 80s, the buildings and gardens of Zhonghai were not considered particularly mysterious. Before liberation, it was a park, and around 1980, it was gradually opened to the public on specific days, but not everyone could buy or be allocated a place there.

Tickets are delivered directly to specific organizations for internal distribution. Today is Sunday, an open day for tourists. Visitors must follow certain rules, including not entering the building, and the visit is generally limited to three hours.

"Hello comrade, visitors cannot pass through here." The guard at the gate acted as if to stop idlers, his badge gleaming.

"Hello comrade, I'm here to see Mr. Yun. I've arranged a time with his secretary. My name is Liu Yimin. This is my identification; you can call to verify it." Liu Yimin handed his Yenching University work ID to the guard.

The guard immediately turned and went inside to make a phone call to verify, while several people nearby kept an eye on Liu Yimin, fearing that he might do something unusual.

Only upon closer inspection can one see that the red paint on the door is somewhat faded and peeling.

A few minutes later, the guard came over, saluted, and said, "Comrade Liu Yimin, the commander has agreed to see you. I will have someone take you there. Motorcycles are also allowed in. Please undergo an inspection."

After the inspection was completed, the threshold was removed, and Liu Yimin rode his motorcycle directly inside.

Inside the guard post, the guard on duty spoke into the phone: "Duty room report: A motorcycle with license plate 京A69999 has entered Zhonghai."

Entering through the gate, behind the screen wall is not a building, but the South China Sea, with willows swaying and dancing in the wind along the embankment.

Besides trees, there are also rocks shaped like artificial mountains on both sides of the road. Visitors line up to see the scenery, and there is a rope next to them to keep everyone in line.

A motorcycle drove by, and a group of people turned their attention to Liu Yimin. Why was someone riding a motorcycle in?

"Comrade Yimin, there are many buildings here, and the leader's office is still ahead." The two finally stopped at an office that looked like a palace.

The leader's bodyguard secretary was already waiting at the door. Upon seeing Liu Yimin, he directed his motorcycle to stop beside him.

Motorcycles look impressive in public, but in places where four-wheeled vehicles are everywhere, they seem rather shabby.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, the leader has been talking about you." The guard secretary said with a smile.

Liu Yimin, accompanied by his bodyguard secretary, met the leader who was on the phone.

When the old leader saw Liu Yimin, he waved to him, signaling him to wait a moment.

The secretary said in a low voice, "Comrade Yimin, please sit on the sofa first."

The secretary quietly slipped out, and after a while came back in carrying two cups of tea, which she placed on the sofa.

The red phone rang, and Liu Yimin instinctively covered his ears. Fortunately, the call ended quickly; the old leader only said things like "Agreed," "Let's do it this way," and "Hmm."

"Yimin, I haven't heard from you for a while. I thought it was because I didn't give you enough information and you couldn't write it down!" The old leader got up from behind his desk and sat down on the sofa.

Liu Yimin laughed and said, "I've been organizing my thoughts lately. It's an epic about serving the country, and I can't write it in a petty way."

"You have an idea now?"

"Yes, but there are still many details that need to be improved."

"Once Yanda University is on holiday, I'll have someone take you to the base. Tell me the general outline of the story first!" the old commander asked curiously.

So Liu Yimin briefly recounted the story: "I intend to focus on the difficulties in the construction and research and development of the base, and to showcase the spirit of our soldiers and scientists in fighting against nature, against the earth, and against the American imperialists."

"What is the title of this novel?" The old commander nodded in agreement after hearing the question, and then asked for the name.

"I plan to name it 'Emerging from the Sky'."

"The Birth of a Giant?" The old commander repeated it, then said with great excitement, "What a great name! The Americans didn't believe it, the Soviets didn't believe it, and even many Chinese didn't believe it, but the mushroom cloud that exploded in the sky spoke for us. For the whole world, our atomic bomb was indeed born out of nowhere."

"Yes, that's the meaning. It also subtly echoes the old man's poem 'Nian Nu Jiao: Kunlun'."

Upon hearing this, the old leader became even more excited, tapping the sofa to keep time as he recited the poem.

"Appearing out of nowhere, the mighty Kunlun Mountains have witnessed all the beauty of spring. Three million jade dragons soared into the sky, stirring up the heavens with chilling cold. Summer melted away, rivers overflowed, and people became fish and turtles. Who has ever judged its merits and demerits throughout the ages?"

Liu Yimin also clapped along and recited aloud. 【Now I say to Kunlun: I don't want this height, I don't want this much snow. If only I could draw a heavenly sword and cut you into three pieces! One piece for Europe, one for America, and one back to the East. A peaceful world, where the whole globe shares the same warmth and coolness.】

The sound of the two reciting their poems carried out from inside the room. By the end, both of them had flushed faces and were full of energy.

"The old man's poems are always so grand and magnificent, and they are always full of revolutionary optimism!"

The movie "The Birth of a Nation" tells the story of General Feng Shi, who, after returning from the Korean War, receives a new order to build a nuclear base in the desert.

At the same time, Lu Guangda, a scientist who had returned from the United States, also received a notification. Faced with the prospect of being separated from his family and having to work in the desert thousands of miles away under an assumed name, he did not hesitate at all.

Soldiers and scientists built a base with their own hands and detonated my country's first atomic bomb.

"Sure, if you need anything, just let me know. Oh, by the way, I heard you have a really amazing novel. Show it to me so I can have a look!"

Liu Yimin smiled and took out "Beloved," and the old leader slowly read it beside him.

"Yimin, why don't you have your secretary take you out for a walk? I want to take a look too." The old chief started looking around.

The secretary led Liu Yimin on a tour of the South China Sea, introducing each building in front of him.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, Yingtai Island is in the middle of the lake. Emperor Guangxu was imprisoned here, and many leaders worked and lived here. I'll take you on a tour; the main buildings are all here."

Please note that Yingtai Island is surrounded by water on all sides, but there is a stone bridge connecting it to the north.

The two then visited Fengzeyuan Garden and Juxiang Bookstore, where the elderly man had once lived. They lingered for a while on the Centipede Bridge between Zhonghai and Nanhai, and only headed back when it was almost time.

As the sun sets, sunlight spills onto half of the red walls, giving the building an antique feel, while the lake ripples with blue waves.

When the two had walked halfway, the old commander came out and was standing on the embankment smoking and chatting.

"Commander," Liu Yimin called out.

"Haha, you write very well, really very well. You write well about our country, and you don't write badly about the United States either."

The old leader continued in an appreciative tone: "When China first opened its doors, it had to go out into the world, whether it was literature or anything else, to establish our national status and let the world know us."

“Our older generation of writers are all excellent, but we lack some young people who have an influence on the world stage. Yimin, as a professor at Yenching University, you are not only a writer, but you also bear the important responsibility of educating and nurturing students!”

"The West has the Nobel Prize in Literature. I think when will our writers be able to win one too? They say it's for the whole world, so Chinese writers can't be absent."

Of course, I also hope that one day, China will have its own award, and scientists and writers from all over the world will come to China to participate, all wanting to win this award.

After finishing his sentence, the old leader returned the manuscript to Liu Yimin: "Comrade Yimin, you won the O. Henry Award last time. I hope you will win an even bigger and more famous award next time. No matter what, the pen must never forget that it is the pen of the Chinese people."

The three people were looking at the scenery on the bridge. The old leader could tell the plots of some of Liu Yimin's works in detail.

"I enjoy reading, and since your book is so famous, I'll definitely read it. Do you know what movie is playing in the auditorium today?"

"what movie?"

"Your 'Triumph at Midnight,' in which the soldier's dying wish deeply moved many comrades."

The old leader and Liu Yimin walked across the stone bridge to Yingtai Island, enjoying the scenery by the lake. The old leader asked Liu Yimin to talk about issues related to cultural communication.

“I think we should actively explain our policies to foreign countries in English, because there are differences between Chinese and English. If we don’t explain them, foreign countries will misinterpret them. There are many Chinese idioms whose meanings are only understood by ourselves. For example, ‘得陇望蜀’ (to desire more after gaining something) means that others will not understand it at all. Or ‘韬光养晦’ (to conceal one’s abilities and bide one’s time) means that some people translate it as slowly developing oneself and then attacking others in the future. If you say it like that, wouldn’t everyone be afraid of us?”

"Domestically, it means maintaining the dominance of our own culture. During the Qing Dynasty, foreign holidays began to enter China, such as Christmas, which is now being celebrated again in some places. The Westernization of thought is really too serious."

However, it's impossible to completely eradicate it. As long as we have exchanges, foreign cultures will have the opportunity to infiltrate. We can only try our best to prevent their influence from becoming too severe.

It wasn't until evening that Liu Yimin and the old leader got up to leave. As they walked out of Yingtai, the old leader said, "If you weren't riding a motorcycle, I could give you a ride. But if you are riding a motorcycle, you'll have to go out by yourself."

"You don't live here?" Liu Yimin asked, his expression shifting slightly.

"I used to live there, but I moved away. It was in Ji'an, next to Jingshan Park. My colleagues asked me to come back, and I thought it was a good place, so I've been living there ever since."

(End of this chapter)