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

Chapter 472 Xinhua News Agency's Cooperative Projects
Inside the meeting room, everyone was arguing about the funding, while Dai Jianye and others in the back were dumbfounded. Was this the same gentle and refined professor they knew?
However, the thought that my research grant was part of these funds made me worry about the project team I was working for.

The Institute of Literature and Art uses a combination of fixed and flexible funding, and everyone is vying for the flexible portion.

Xia Yan looked at Liu Yimin with a smile, wanting to see how he would divide the money.

Liu Yimin simply asked Yan Zhen to record the newly added projects, and then discuss the necessity of approving them, eliminating unnecessary projects directly.

Based on these projects, Liu Yimin only made a general funding suggestion first, and then applied for funding separately in the form of a document.

After Liu Yimin finished speaking, Xia Yan turned his head and whispered, "After the meeting, contact Xinhua News Agency. They have a research project that they can't do themselves, so they probably need your help. The funding is quite substantial and can generate revenue for the institute."

"Understood, I'll contact them as soon as I get off the plane," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

When the meeting touched on film and animation, Xia Yan offered many targeted opinions, expressing his deep concern about the lack of significant progress made by Chinese films on the international stage.

"Comrades, let's talk more about practical and systemic issues, and not always about local problems. Every time we talk about it, we say we lack money. In fact, in recent years, we have already invested a lot of funds, including policies such as awards for high-quality films and subsidies for film production funding from the Ministry."

I think it's more of a problem of mindset. You all think the root of the problem is a lack of money. But I don't think so. It's more of a problem of mindset. Everyone likes to wait and rely on others. When problems arise, they just wave their hands and say it's due to policy restrictions, rules and regulations, or too little money.”

Xia Yan berated Wang Yang, Liu Peiran, Yan Dingxian, and the others so badly they couldn't even lift their heads. Yan Dingxian even felt that he had been too proactive this time and that he might as well not have come at all.

"Comrades, have you ever considered that the problem lies with yourselves!" Xia Yan slammed his fist on the table in anger.

After Xia Yan finished speaking, Liu Yimin tried to ease the tension and then shared his own opinion.

"Actually, what Mr. Shen said makes sense. Film studios want to transform, but often they don't know how to transform, or they lack talent. For example, Beijing Film Studio wanted to make 'Fearless,' but it didn't have any excellent directors in this field, so it had to ask for outside help. Our directors are very familiar with making military-themed films, so they have a path dependency in their filming methods."

Train more new talent, and train the right kind of new talent.

Wang Yang looked up and said, "Mr. Shen, our film studio is currently training people, and I believe that the situation will be very different in a short time."

Liu Peiran quickly echoed, while Xia Yan's expression had already returned to normal.

"When 'Fearless' is made, it'll prove heroes and great men. Let's go abroad and see how it compares to theirs," Xia Yan said in a deep voice.

Wang Yang took the opportunity to discuss the issue of the film studio's worker wage system, hoping to give the studio more flexibility in arranging worker wages.

“Currently, the wages of our film studio workers, including actors, are not high, or even very low. With rising prices, it is difficult to support a family. We should introduce a reward mechanism. If the director makes a good film and the crew performs well, and they make money, we should share a portion with everyone to increase their enthusiasm.”

Xia Yan lowered her eyes and considered for a moment: "You guys should compile a report on this and submit it."

Talking about animation from the perspective of film, the problem with animation is much bigger. Film studios can make money to support their families, but it's very difficult for animation studios to do so.

Yan Dingxian said, "As Comrade Liu Yimin said, animation is a profitable industry abroad, but in our country, film studios have become dependent on others. We should prohibit the dumping of foreign animation, but the quality of domestic animation must catch up."

“Long production cycles and high costs are challenges in animation,” Dai Tielang said.

"Comrade Dingxian, Comrade Tielang, tell me, if your animations weren't purchased by the state and were sold directly to television stations, taking 'Black Cat Detective' as an example, could you make money?" Xia Yan asked.

Dai Tielang glanced at Yan Dingxian and said, "It's difficult. Our TV station offers a very low purchase price, but the production cost is very high. The reason why it's cheaper abroad is because the costs have already been recovered overseas. Dumping it in China is what Director Liu talked about before: making money from animation derivatives."

Xia Yan glanced at Liu Yimin and asked him if he had any suggestions.

Liu Yimin said, "Relying solely on government subsidies won't get us far. How much money does the ministry have?"

Nowadays, animation is mainly shown on television; no movie theater will show popular animated films.

In adults' minds, cartoons should be free.

"For some very popular animated series, such as Black Cat Detective, we can produce comic books or derivative products, such as dolls. As for the piracy issue, our department should make suggestions to increase the crackdown on piracy, which is becoming increasingly rampant."

Piracy satisfies the wallets of many, but it can also drive legitimate content creators out of business. In the future, no one will be willing to write content, because creation will only benefit piracy.

Other animated films, such as "Havoc in Heaven," don't really need to be made into comic books, since they already exist on the market.

"Yimin, please continue!" Xia Yan said.

"We can learn from the development of animation abroad. Of course, national conditions are different, so we can only offer some reference value. Shanghai Animation Film Studio should increase the proportion of original animated films and not just rely on what our ancestors passed down."

I even have a more radical suggestion: some people at the Shanghai Animation Film Studio should complete the national animation production tasks, while others who want to do bigger things should make their own animated films, with most of the profits going to the production team.

Liu Yimin's suggestion is equivalent to a self-employed individual affiliated with the Shanghai Animation Film Studio.

Besides that, there's the option of making money overseas. We should encourage animation directors to focus less on international awards and more on international markets.

"Before, I won awards abroad for a long time; now, I'm making money abroad and I'm very successful. Don't think that money is too vulgar, but without money, there is no future development. But we can't be short-sighted because of money; we must have a long-term perspective."

In the West, some animated films can generate revenue for ten or even several decades. They rely on long-term commitment and have many ways to make money, which is something we should learn from.

Liu Yimin's words greatly inspired Yan Dingxian and the others, and Dai Tielang was also somewhat tempted by the idea of ​​being responsible for one's own profits and losses.

Liu Yimin offered one approach, but how to proceed depends on policy. The only certainty is that the Shanghai Animation Film Studio cannot continue operating solely on subsidies.

After the meeting, Liu Yimin had a private chat with Xia Yan. Liu Yimin privately suggested to him that not only should foreign animated films be prevented from being dumped, but it should also be stipulated that all TV stations should set a consistent ratio for the broadcast of domestic animated films.

Xia Yan said, "Comrade Zhongshu also told me about the piracy issue you mentioned. He said there are too many pirated books now, which is harmful to both authors and publishers. Local governments are trying to develop their economies, and local protectionism is gradually rising. Some of these companies are sources of tax revenue; would they really punish themselves?"

"I understand, but at least we can't let piracy get too rampant."

“You’re right about one thing: we can’t let piracy kill off legitimate products. Write down your ideas carefully, and I’ll put them in the internal reference materials so that leaders at all levels can see them.”

The Ministry of Culture increased the Institute's overall budget by 50,000 yuan, bringing the annual expenditure to 250,000 yuan. 50,000 yuan remained unspent from last year's budget, while the 30,000 yuan foreign exchange quota was fully utilized. In total, the budget for 1986 was 300,000 yuan, and this year's foreign exchange quota increased to 50,000 yuan. Based on the information provided by Xia Yan, Liu Yimin quickly contacted the president of Xinhua News Agency after the meeting. The current president of Xinhua News Agency was Mu Qing, a veteran revolutionary who had worked in journalism since joining the revolution, dedicating his entire life to the news front from Yan'an to Beijing.

It can be said that my country's journalism was deeply influenced by him; the report on county official Jiao Yulu was written by him, titled "A Model County Official—Jiao Yulu".

Mu Qing was delighted to see Liu Yimin visit him in person. He pulled him into his office and chatted with him about Liu Yimin's reportage, "Chinese Girl," believing that this piece of reportage was worth studying for journalists.

The two talked for about half an hour, and Liu Yimin couldn't help but ask, "Comrade Director, does Xinhua News Agency have any research to conduct?"

"Oh, so that's why you came here!" Mu Qingcai realized and then asked Liu Yimin who told him this.

Liu Yimin smiled and said, "That's what Old Shen said."

Mu Qing laughed loudly: "Hahaha, that's right. Now that we're reforming and opening up, our reporters are going abroad. We've been thinking about how to do a good job of reporting abroad, how to properly promote our reform and opening up to the international community, and how to let the international community know more about us."

"Actually, your use of the word 'propaganda' is a bit problematic. The international community is already wary of such things, and this kind of 'propaganda' sounds too forced. I've spent quite a bit of time traveling abroad, and the clashes in the international news field are very intense. Journalists from capitalist countries are sharp-tongued and aggressive, and they're not afraid of throwing mud or engaging in mudslinging battles."

We can't just focus on propaganda; if we only think about that, we might never truly connect with the people of other countries. True propaganda is like a gentle spring breeze and a subtle, gradual influence.

After listening, Mu Qing slapped his thigh and said, "What you said makes sense. Other universities' journalism programs also wanted this project. Comrade Yimin, I think you're good. You have a fresh mind, not an old one. It'll be your Institute of Literature and Art."

"Don't you know the budget?" Liu Yimin asked tactfully.

Mu Qing said, "Fifty thousand yuan for research funding, what do you think?"

"That's a bit too little, to be honest. Research in this area requires a lot of foreign materials, such as newspapers, journals, and even academic papers, which costs a lot of foreign exchange," Liu Yimin said with difficulty.

"Comrade Yimin, this is the budget we have set. As for foreign exchange, Xinhua News Agency can provide a certain amount of foreign exchange."

"Comrade President, the funding needs to be increased by at least another ten thousand. I believe that apart from the Institute of Literature and Art, no other university in China is qualified to undertake such a project. You know what we study: cultural invasion and external communication. You can give it to us; it's like using a curved knife to cut vegetables—perfect!"

Mu Qing got up awkwardly and paced around the window, while Liu Yimin remained silent.

"I need to discuss it with the company."

Liu Yimin sat in Mu Qing's office, waiting for him to call a meeting. Liu Yimin heard a heated argument in the meeting room; a considerable number of people felt that it didn't need to be handed over to the Institute of Literature and Art, and that Xinhua News Agency could handle it itself.

Half an hour later, Mu Qing came out and said, "Comrade Yimin, the budget is 60,000 yuan, but the work was done beautifully."

"Comrade President, if you do it yourselves, you might earn more than 60,000. Professional matters should be left to professionals."

"Yes, yes, Comrade Yimin, the comrades from the Xinhua News Agency's UK branch told me last time that you are very knowledgeable in this area, otherwise I would not have stood up against the majority opinion."

As Liu Yimin walked out of the Xinhua News Agency building, he was very satisfied with the cooperation that had just been agreed upon. He believed that the Institute of Literature and Art Research could not always rely on funding from higher authorities; providing consulting services to relevant departments to earn funding was the only sustainable way forward.

On December 28th, after the Institute of Literature and Art's year-end meeting concluded, Liu Yimin gave the three people from Shanghai several tickets to the Forbidden City and other attractions, as well as tickets to plays at the Beijing People's Art Theatre, telling them to have a good time in Yenching.

"Director Yan, Director Dai, and Xia Dao, if you need anything, you can come to the school or my home to find me. If we want to develop the animation industry, we must unite as one." Liu Yimin shook hands with the three men in turn.

“Okay, we understand, Comrade Yimin, thank you for your trouble,” Yan Dingxian said.

"Don't worry, the Institute of Literature and Art will provide subsidies."

During their trip, they stayed at the Yenching University guesthouse.

Liu Yimin left the guesthouse and went straight home. Zhu Lin returned from filming in Shanghai; if it weren't for the extended filming time there, he should have been home long ago.

Liu Yimin had something to do today, so Ximei picked up Zhu Lin on her motorcycle.

Back home, Zhu Lin was sitting on the sofa, holding the two little ones and eating. When she saw Yi Min, Zhu Lin raised her eyebrows at him.

Liu Yimin sat down on the sofa with a smile, and Yang Xiuyun said, "I made Linlin's favorite dish. Our in-laws will be coming over in a little while."

Zhu's father arrived shortly after, and Zhu's mother arrived half an hour later. The family then enjoyed a lively meal together.

On December 31, Yan Dingxian called Liu Yimin and said he wanted to meet Zheng Yuanjie to see if they could discover some good animation material through fairy tales.

Liu Yimin led the three directly to the courtyard house where the editorial office was located. Zheng Yuanjie had bought a two-courtyard house next door, which was convenient for working nearby.

When Zheng Yuanjie saw Liu Yimin, he happily handed him the copy of "King of Fairy Tales" to be released the next day.

Yan Dingxian said to Zheng Yuanjie, "Comrade Zheng Yuanjie, you are remarkable. You single-handedly support a magazine."

"Director Yan, you flatter me. I used to think I was pretty good, but now, the truly capable people are standing next to you. Yimin is much faster than me. If he wanted to, he could run a monthly magazine all by himself. I'm a little worse than him; I can only run a bi-monthly magazine." Zheng Yuanjie said hurriedly, handing them the latest issue of "King of Fairy Tales" to look at.

Liu Yimin walked towards the study: "Old Zheng, you're too modest. I think you're already capable of running a monthly magazine."

While Yan Dingxian and the others were reading, Zheng Yuanjie asked Liu Yimin about the sales of his comic book version of "Huo Yuanjia".

"The comic book sold over a million copies in a month," Liu Yimin said.

Zheng Yuanjie was first shocked, then frowned: "Sold out so quickly? This is a bit beyond my expectations."

“This is a comic book, it’s normal,” Liu Yimin said.

After thinking for a moment, Zheng Yuanjie said, "Yimin, what do you think about publishing a comic book version of 'King of Fairy Tales'?"

(End of this chapter)