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

Chapter 376 Supporting the Women's Volleyball Team
Upon returning to the Yanjing Cultural Bureau, Yu Hua did not go to the dormitory prepared for him by Yanjing Literature and Art for revising manuscripts, but went directly into the editorial department of Yanjing Literature and Art.

“Editor Zhou,” Yu Hua called out, slightly reserved.

Zhou Yanru looked up from the mountain of manuscripts and adjusted her loose glasses: "Comrade Yu Hua, didn't you go out? You're done so quickly?"

"Comrade Yimin is so hospitable. He treated me to a meal at Fengzeyuan Restaurant. It was the first time I'd ever tasted the braised sea cucumber with scallions at Fengzeyuan." Yu Hua wiped his mouth, still savoring the meal.

Zhang Dening, who was sitting in front, turned around and glanced at Yu Hua: "I haven't been to Fengzeyuan yet, Comrade Yu Hua. It seems that Yimin approves of you a lot!"

Yu Hua boasted, "Comrade Yimin said that my level is only one step away from becoming a famous writer, and that my writing is very powerful. I also know that Comrade Yimin was just praising me on purpose, and I will definitely work hard to become a well-known writer in the future."

Upon hearing Yu Hua's words, Zhang Dening smiled slightly, turned her head, and said no more.

Zhou Yanru frowned slightly but still encouraged him, "Learn from Comrade Yimin properly, revise the manuscript carefully, and come to me if you have any questions."

Yu Hua nodded and turned to go back to revise the manuscript, but Zhou Yanru stopped him again and asked with a smile what they had talked about during the meal.

Yu Hua spilled the beans, telling the whole story in detail.

Hearing that everyone was discussing literature, Zhou Yanru nodded in satisfaction: "Shi Tiesheng's works are gradually gaining influence in Yanjing. As for Liu Zhenyun, that kid's level is average, but in writing, being fast doesn't necessarily mean you'll go far in the end. It's beneficial for you young people to communicate more."

You weren't talking about *People's Literature and Art*, were you?

"People's Literature and Art? They didn't even mention it!" Yu Hua quickly shook his head vigorously.

Zhou Yanru coughed lightly: "I didn't mean anything by it. Go and revise the manuscript. You'll get a two-yuan subsidy a day, so don't worry about the money."

After Yu Hua left, Zhang Dening turned around and laughed, "Editor Zhou, you're being too cautious!"

Zhou Yanru said with a bitter expression, "I didn't want this either, but our 'Yanjing Literature and Art' magazine has been getting worse every year lately. We finally discovered a new talent, but it's like we planted the tree and the other person is enjoying the shade."

“That’s true. These days, the literary magazines in Yanjing are all quite formidable. October and Contemporary are full of energy, and People’s Literature is making frequent moves. Yi Min and Jiang Zilong have both become members of the editorial board of People’s Literature. Our Yanjing Literature should make a concerted effort to discover some new talents,” Zhang Dening analyzed.

Zhou Yanru nodded in agreement, but then she thought again, how easy is it to discover new talent? Even if you do find them, they'll run away as soon as other magazines ask for their work. Thinking of this, she began to envy People's Literature and Art.

Liu Yimin rode his motorcycle back to the Overseas Chinese Apartment. Before entering, he patted his clothes to remove the dust.

Zhu Lin was sitting on the sofa watching TV when Liu Yimin approached and saw that she had fallen asleep, covered with a thin blanket.

The heating has come on, and it's perfectly fine to wear just pajamas indoors.

Liu Yimin returned to the room, brought a thin blanket to cover Zhu Lin, and turned off the TV.

As soon as the TV stopped, Zhu Lin woke up, rubbing her eyes sleepily and stubbornly insisting that she hadn't fallen asleep at all.

Liu Yimin pinched her cheek and said, "Look, she's so stubborn she could dig her own grave."

"Oh dear, Teacher Liu, I'm not a pig." Zhu Lin reacted quickly, sitting up straight immediately: "Teacher Liu, how was your meal?"

"What else can we do? Let's just have dinner. Shi Lan misses you a lot." Liu Yimin sat down next to Zhu Lin with a smile, and the two whispered to each other.

After a while, Liu Yimin took out the local specialties that Yu Hua had brought, including Shaoxing wine, sea salt green tea, and Xitang Eight Treasures Cake.

"Comrade Yu Hua is quite interesting, bringing so many things with him. Teacher Liu, what novel does he write?" Zhu Lin asked curiously.

Liu Yimin recalled that Yu Hua's novel was called "Stars," and it told the story of a child playing the violin.

Based on my recollection, I gave Zhu Lin a brief explanation.

"This Eight Treasures Cake tastes a bit like Chinese medicine, but it's not bad. It's sweet but not cloying, and it has a very southern flavor. Teacher Liu, please try some." Zhu Lin picked up a piece of Eight Treasures Cake and put it into Liu Yimin's mouth.

After tasting it, Liu Yimin nodded: "This Yu Hua really put his heart into it."

"Teacher Liu, every performance of 'The Birth of a Warrior' was packed, and several actors were so hoarse that they almost lost their voices. More than ten local drama troupes, including the Zhan You Drama Troupe, the General Political Department Drama Troupe, the Shanghai People's Art Theatre, and the Tianjin People's Art Theatre, bought the script from the People's Art Theatre. The actors' and directors' bonuses were paid out from this portion of the profits."

After Zhu Lin finished speaking, Liu Yimin did a mental calculation: of the script fees from more than a dozen theater troupes, Liu Yimin could get about five thousand yuan from the Beijing People's Art Theatre.

"It's a contribution to the actors, and the thirty yuan bonus will help them have a good New Year. How's the rehearsal for 'The Legendary Shopkeeper' going?" Liu Yimin asked.

Zhu Lin chuckled: "When Director Su and the others were rehearsing, I sneaked in for a peek, and they were doing alright. Director Su took the actors to Fengzeyuan Restaurant, and because there were so many people, they made a huge mess of the kitchen, but we also learned a lot from the kitchen."

As evening approached, Liu Yimin checked the time and got up to go to the kitchen to cook.

"Zhu Lin, what would you like to eat tonight?" Liu Yimin asked.

Zhu Lin followed Liu Yimin into the kitchen, opened the cupboard, and said, "I don't have much of an appetite tonight, so I'll just cook some millet porridge myself."

The following day, Yenching University office.

In the morning, Liu Yimin and Zhu Guangqian, along with several graduate students, were compiling a textbook, mainly focusing on the newly added "Comparative Literature" section. Zhu Guangqian and Liu Yimin didn't actually need much material for the Comparative Literature section.

Through long-term data accumulation, Liu Yimin and Zhu Guangqian gained a thorough understanding of foreign literature. In addition, their participation in the "Sino-US Comparative Literature Forum" further deepened their understanding of comparative literature.

In writing this section, Liu Yimin adhered to the principles of "taking Chinese literature as the main focus" and "learning for my own use," comparing Chinese literature with foreign literature from the perspective of Chinese literature.

In the methodology section at the end of the comparative literature research section, several research methods are discussed, opposing the "Western-centric" approach to comparative literature research.

"Yimin, we've contributed our own ideas to comparative literature research," Zhu Guangqian said cheerfully.

Liu Yimin laughed and said, "This is how it should be studied."

The textbook states that if universities agree to use it, it means they will implicitly accept the correctness of the textbook's content in their teaching.

In undergraduate teaching, the curriculum will definitely follow the textbook. However, this is not necessarily the case at the graduate level. Graduate studies are greatly influenced by the research ideas of the supervisor.

Zhu Guangqian glanced at the contents, stretched, and said, "The work of compiling the textbooks is finally over!"

Several graduate students smiled with relief upon hearing Zhu Guangqian's words.

Liu Yimin clapped his hands to quiet the office: "Our work is now finished. You can start working on your graduate theses. Thank you all for your hard work over the past six months. The November subsidies will be distributed to you shortly. Please organize your materials into categories, label them, and file them."

Upon hearing this, the graduate students displayed varying expressions. Those nearing graduation were naturally happy, as they were under considerable pressure due to their dissertations.

The graduate students, free from the pressure of writing papers, felt a little reluctant to leave. They could learn a lot here, and the monthly stipend was quite substantial. Professor Liu would also occasionally find an excuse to give everyone extra subsidies.

If Professor Liu wanted, he would love to stay in this office forever.

"If anything happens next, Professor Liu and I will let everyone know," Zhu Guangqian said.

"Professor Zhu, Professor Liu, just let us know and we'll be back whenever the research group needs us."

After distributing the subsidies to everyone, Liu Yimin began to organize the financial accounts for compiling the textbooks. The project was coming to an end, and the expenditure details also needed to be prepared.

In the afternoon, several graduate students had already left, leaving only Liu Yimin and Zhu Guangqian in the office.

Zhu Guangqian rocked his chair a few times and said, "How about we sit in this office from now on? This old man gets bored by himself."

“Professor Zhu, this office will be returned to the department once the project is completely completed. Besides, you already have your own office, isn’t that good enough?” Liu Yimin asked.

Zhu Guangqian was a first-class professor in the Chinese Department of Yenching University, and as a member of the academic committee, he had a separate office.

“How boring, how boring. What are you writing?” Zhu Guangqian looked at Liu Yimin. Liu Yimin continued writing: “I’m writing a current affairs commentary.”

"What commentary?" Zhu Guangqian carried a stool over to Liu Yimin's side.

"About the women's volleyball team!"

"Oh, it's about the women's volleyball team!" Zhu Guangqian became even more interested, wanting to see what Liu Yimin had written, whether it was criticizing or encouraging the women's volleyball team.

On November 17, 1983, the entire Chinese women's volleyball team, domestic fans, and the public who had high expectations suffered a heavy blow.

The two-time champion women's volleyball team suffered a crushing 0-3 defeat to Japan in the Asian Championships, failing to score a single point in the three matches.

This was unacceptable to the women's volleyball team members and the Chinese public, and fans across Asia were also astonished that the Chinese women's volleyball team, which had defeated Japan twice in a row, was now being utterly thrashed.

Lang Ping and the women's volleyball team members were moved to tears during the award ceremony, and coach Yuan Weimin choked up several times.

Before the women's volleyball team members even returned to China, a barrage of criticisms poured in, with letters flooding their residence, accusing Yuan Weimin of misjudging players and so on.

"Oh dear, how could we have lost!" Zhu Guangqian said dejectedly.

"After last year's victory, the women's volleyball team underwent a major overhaul. The coach who led Japan to three consecutive championships returned to the helm and changed the tactics. In competitive sports, strength alone is not enough; you also need to study your opponents in a targeted manner."

"We cannot condemn the entire women's volleyball team based on one defeat; we should give them ample time to make changes," Liu Yimin said earnestly.

Zhu Guangqian agreed with Liu Yimin's view: "It seems that your article is in support of the women's volleyball team!"

"Professor Zhu, this is not something I can fake to death."

It would be understandable if Liu Yimin didn't speak out if he didn't have much interaction with the women's volleyball team, but that's not the case now, as Liu Yimin is, to some extent, tied to the women's volleyball team.

He raised enough money to build a stadium for the women's volleyball team through his reportage "Chinese Girl". Now that the women's volleyball team has lost, many people are secretly saying that hardship leads to success, and that they have become complacent and unable to achieve good results.

"Hurry up and write it down, then let me see it," Zhu Guangqian encouraged.

Liu Yimin chuckled and pushed the lecture notes next to Zhu Guangqian: "Professor Zhu, I have a class later, could you help me with that?"

“No problem, let me see where you left off.” Zhu Guangqian readily agreed.

Liu Yimin carefully considered how to write this commentary. Amidst the overwhelming accusations, rational analysis was the most useless way to guide public opinion, because what people needed was emotion.

Moreover, the power of rational analysis by an individual is too small to be of any use.

What Liu Yimin needs to do is use highly infectious words to awaken everyone's support for the women's volleyball team.

If women's volleyball were like the four major football tournaments of later generations—the opening match, the crucial match, the do-or-die match, and the train station match—Liu Yimin really wouldn't have been able to write this article.

But the women's volleyball team lived up to expectations; they lost the Asian Championship in 83, but won the Olympic world championship in 84.

We fight hard on the field, and we know the pain of losing. What we want is not for you to win every time, but simply for your attitude.

Liu Yimin quickly wrote down: "Only by losing thoroughly this time can we win decisively next time!"

At the beginning of the article, Liu Yimin did not start with the loss in the Asian Championships, but instead began with the earnest exhortations from leaders at all levels in the 1960s for the three major ball sports to break out of Asia.

Then he wrote down the wins and losses of each match that led volleyball out of Asia and onto the world stage.

[Sixth place in the 1956 World Championships; Ninth place in the 1962 World Championships; Fourteenth place in the 1974 World Championships;]
In 1976, a new generation of women's volleyball team was formed; in 1978, they finished 6th in the World Championships.

The history of the Chinese women's volleyball team began to be rewritten in 1981 when they defeated Japan to win the World Cup. We shouted "Learn from the women's volleyball team, revitalize China" in Tiananmen Square. In 1982, the Chinese women's volleyball team won the World Championship again.

Until November 17, 1983, a somber day, the women's volleyball team suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Japan. All the past praise vanished, and criticism piled up like snowflakes across Mount Fuji.

The women's volleyball team's sweat was wasted; the bamboo splinters embedded deep in their palms had not yet been completely removed, and the pain had not yet healed...

A single failure may be obvious in a short period of time, but if you extend the timeline, readers will see the problem from a more macro perspective and discover that the women's volleyball team has been making progress.

The World Championships were a failure, but the second-place finish was still better than the previous teens.

Liu Yimin also extended his support for the women's volleyball team to their spirit, saying that his support was not just about winning or losing, but more about supporting their fighting spirit.

Our country wasn't born with an invincible team. We started with a weak team, and only through patient encouragement and support did we develop a winning team.

Losing completely is not terrible. As long as we accumulate experience and adjust our tactics, we can win decisively in next year's Olympic Games!

Chinese women's volleyball team! The indomitable roses! Let's walk together to the Olympic stage and march towards victory!

When Zhu Guangqian returned from class, he pushed open the office door and said with dissatisfaction, "These students really can't tell who is a first-level professor and who is an associate professor. I taught them, and they looked listless, as if they were the ones who were wronged."

"Haha, Professor Zhu, don't take it personally with a student. When I was in school, I loved listening to your aesthetics lectures; they were a real treat to listen to," Liu Yimin said with a grin.

Zhu Guangqian smiled with satisfaction, stroking his beard and saying, "Don't say that, the other professors' classes also have their merits!"

“You have more merits,” Liu Yimin said.

Liu Yimin's words pleased Zhu Guangqian greatly, and he took Liu Yimin's manuscript to read.

My chest heaved constantly while watching, clearly indicating a significant emotional fluctuation.

"It's very persuasive. Even an old man would feel ashamed of his own dissatisfaction and failures after reading it. Luckily, you've embarked on the right path. If you had done something else, I don't even want to imagine what kind of trouble you would have gotten into with your highly inflammatory articles."

After Zhu Guangqian finished reading it, Liu Yimin folded the manuscript, intending to hand it over to the China Youth Daily when he picked up Zhu Lin from get off work later.

After learning that Liu Yimin and Zhu Guangqian had completed the textbook, Yan Jiayan decided that the three of them would go to the ministry together the day after tomorrow morning to submit the draft of the textbook for review.

"You give me the manuscript, and I'll make a trip to the Yenching University Press to print a sample first."

After Yan Jiayan finished speaking, he grabbed the textbook manuscript and rushed towards Yenching University Press.

Liu Yimin said goodbye to Zhu Guangqian, rode his motorcycle to the China Youth Daily to hand over the manuscript to Yu Jiajia, and gave her a few more instructions.

After listening, a glint of surprise appeared in Yu Jiajia's eyes. Only after Liu Yimin left did Yu Jiajia remember that the editor-in-chief wanted to meet Liu Yimin.

She patted her forehead, realizing she'd have to wait until next time. It wasn't that she didn't want to, she'd simply forgotten.

Before Yu Jiajia had finished reading Liu Yimin's article, a reporter next to her whispered, "Comrade Yu Jiajia, what do you think of my interview?"

Yu Jiajia picked up her teacup, took a sip, leaned back in her chair, and started reading, occasionally offering a few pointers.

After the other party left, Yu Jiajia felt that the scene of drinking tea and asking for advice seemed familiar, and suddenly remembered that she was already the chief reporter of China Youth Daily.

When Liu Yimin arrived at the Beijing People's Art Theatre, he chatted with Cao Yu for a few minutes. Cao Yu assured him, "Great job, I'll save you a ticket."

Seeing that Liu Yimin was about to leave, Cao Yu quickly reminded him, "It'll be December soon!"

"Teacher Wan, I understand. I will present the third script with both hands when the time comes."

Cao Yu pretended to be serious and said, "Oh dear, I was just lamenting how fast time flies. Don't overthink it. If your master's wife hears this, she'll think I'm pressuring you, and I'll have to listen to her nagging again late at night."

(End of this chapter)