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

Chapter 600: Approval of the 1987 Chinese Language Textbook
Upon hearing Yan Jiayan's words, Liu Yimin smiled and said, "Buying a good fan is no worse than an air conditioner. I've seen several fans on the market that have strong airflow and are durable. They're enough for everyday use at home without being tiring."

"I think yours is pretty good."

"Then when you have a holiday, you can move back home!" Liu Yimin joked.

Yan Jiayan was almost completely dried off, so he let go of the clothes, put them down, and sat back on the sofa: "Don't provoke me, kid. I'll move to the family compound during the holiday, and I'll give them to you when I go back to work."

"Hahaha." Liu Yimin laughed and pushed the tea next to Yan Jiayan: "Try it, this is dandelion tea that I brought from home. It clears heat and detoxifies, and it's perfect to drink at this time."

Yan Jiayan took a bite: "You've boiled too much dandelion root, haven't you? Where did you get so much? It's too bitter."

"Here's some sugar; I was afraid you wouldn't like it too sweet." Liu Yimin took a jar of sugar from under the table and placed it on the table.
“There’s a lot of this stuff back home. My parents dug up a lot of it, dried it, and brought it to me. I still prefer fresh dandelion tea, but when I was little, there was no sugar, so I couldn’t drink it. You can take some with you later; it’s good for your health.”

"Okay, then I'll take some back with me," Yan Jiayan said cheerfully.

After a while, Yan Jiayan asked Liu Yimin about the journalism and literature majors under the Chinese Department.

"Many schools are now starting to make journalism a separate major, no longer part of the Chinese literature department. The Higher Education Major Setting Committee has suggested that we follow other schools and make journalism a separate department. You have expertise in both journalism and literature, and I'd like to hear your opinion!"

Liu Yimin laughed and said, "No wonder you came to my office. So that's what it's about. Making a major independent is no small matter. It involves funding and the development of the department. The administrative and full-time teachers of the journalism department, the department leaders, etc., are essentially adding another team."

"Yes, although it's still the same number of people, the school's funding will undoubtedly increase significantly. In addition, after the journalism department becomes independent, the strength of our Chinese department will also be weakened."

Yenching University's Chinese Department was built upon literature, journalism, and classical literature majors. Losing the journalism major is equivalent to losing one-third of its faculty.

"More importantly, back then, our journalism department at Yenching University was merged into Renmin University, and we didn't have many journalism teachers of our own, nor did we have enough to establish a separate department," Yan Jiayan said with distress.

Liu Yimin suggested, "Since we can't separate them, let's not separate them for now. But let's separate the basic courses for journalism and literature majors. Journalism students don't need to learn too much literary knowledge. For them, writing style doesn't need to be beautiful and lyrical, but rather straightforward, easy to understand."

Teaching two majors together in the first two years does not meet the requirements of the program; good journalism talent does not necessarily need to be trained as writers or literary critics.

"Hmm, you know what, that actually is a good idea. We can keep them in the Chinese Literature Department, train them separately, and provide targeted instruction. Then, when the time is right, we can separate the Journalism major." Yan Jiayan was very interested in this suggestion.

This way, teachers and students don't have to be separated, which is a great solution for the Chinese department.

"If you are interested, we can hold a meeting of the Chinese Department to solicit everyone's opinions. Once we reach a consensus, we can report it to the school office and the president."

"Then it's settled. I'll go back and draft a proposal as preparation." Yan Jiayan immediately stood up, without any hesitation.

"Please sit down, there's something else I'd like to tell you."

Yan Jiayan sat down curiously: "What is it?"

"As you know, we have research projects from Xinhua News Agency."

“I know that. You have trained a lot of teachers and students through this project.”

"After the last project concluded, Comrade Mu Qing from Xinhua News Agency was very satisfied with the research results. However, even the best research theories need to be implemented by people, and journalists and editors in the news field are an important part of this."

"so what?"

"Listen to me, so Xinhua News Agency wants Yenching University to directly train students for them."

Yan Jiayan frowned: "Train them directly? That won't do. We're training students for the country, to meet societal needs according to the country's plan. Which unit a student wants to go to depends not only on the unit's opinion but also on the student's own wishes. It's not like before where they could be assigned wherever they wanted."

"It's a joint training program, not necessarily sending them. It's about selecting a group of students to receive theoretical and practical education."

"Joint training program, selecting a portion of students?"

“Yes, my suggestion is for both sides to conduct a trial collaboration. First and second year students receive basic education, and in their third year, students interested in pursuing a career in journalism can be selected through examinations and trained by the Institute of Literature,” Liu Yimin explained.

After listening, Yan Jiayan understood the key point: "Xinhua News Agency should also be contributing funds, right? What about these funds?"

“Professor Yan, this funding should naturally go to the training institution,” Liu Yimin said.

Yan Jiayan was immediately displeased upon hearing this: "Our Chinese Department students are trained by your Institute of Literature, so of course our Chinese Department should receive a portion of the training funds."

"Professor Yan, you're being too polite. What do you mean by 'you all'? We are the ones who say it," Liu Yimin said with a pained expression.

"Stop pretending. Even brothers need to keep clear accounts. The department doesn't want much either, let's split it 50/50."

"Impossible." Liu Yimin refused directly: "Professor Yan, why make such a distinction? The professors in the Institute of Literature are all professors in our Chinese Department. In the end, the training funds will still go to the professors in the Chinese Department."

“That’s different. Most of the teachers and professors aren’t from your Institute of Literature. If I don’t take a single penny, people will say I’m a land-selling director!” Yan Jiayan refused to back down.

Liu Yimin said, "The exact amount hasn't been discussed yet, and the cooperation hasn't been signed, but they're already thinking about money. It's laughable."

"Isn't it easy to negotiate? Xinhua News Agency is interested. As long as we agree, it's settled. I don't need that much, just give the Chinese Department a portion. Consider it Xinhua's 'merit fee'," Yan Jiayan said with a smile.

"Two or eight, that's the most. In addition, the Chinese Department is responsible for arranging classrooms for lectures."

"I'll think about it." Yan Jiayan got up, humming "The Battle of Wits," and walked out of the office.

For the Chinese Literature Department, this is a business with no upfront costs. The Institute of Literature is different; the Institute of Literature has to use the funding to pay for teachers' teaching hours and other teaching materials.

At noon, Liu Yimin drove back to the courtyard house. It was too hot, and the two little ones didn't want to stay inside, so Ximei put two large basins filled with water in the yard, and the two of them played there, completely absorbed in their play.

"Daddy, Daddy!" The two little ones happily splashed water with their hands.

"You like playing in the water so much? When you have a holiday, I'll take you to Beidaihe." Liu Yimin took Liu Yu out of the basin and dried her off with a towel.

After Zhu Lin returned, Liu Yimin asked if the Beijing People's Art Theatre had any opinions on the script.

"Teacher Wan has been reviewing it these past two days, but hasn't given any feedback yet," Zhu Lin said.

"Professor Liu, Sister Lin, please wash your hands quickly, the food is ready." Xi Mei brought the food into the room, ready to eat.

"it is good!"

After washing their hands, the two of them took the two little ones' hands and walked into the house. It was too hot in the summer, so Ximei mainly cooked cold dishes and refreshing foods. She also made her own sour plum soup.

As Zhu Lin ate, he couldn't help but praise Xi Mei's cooking skills.

After a while, seeing that everyone was happy, Ximei told them some good news: she was going to marry Liang Xiangdong.

"When?" Zhu Lin asked excitedly.

Ximei said, "We're planning to get married on the 13th of next month. We've been dating for so long, and our families are urging us to get married."

"That's great news! You two have known each other for quite some time now, you know each other well, it's time you got married. You'll have to invite us to the wedding banquet!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

"Professor Liu, you definitely have to go. We would also like to ask you to be our witness at the wedding."

"Me? It's not appropriate for me to be the officiant, is it?" Liu Yimin said.

“Why wouldn’t it be suitable? Professor Liu, you are a great writer and a great professor, of course it’s suitable.” Xi Mei looked at Liu Yimin nervously, afraid that Liu Yimin would not agree. “Alright, then I’ll make a fool of myself.”

Zhu Lin asked them how their wedding preparations were going and whether they had enough money. Xi Mei told Liu Yimin that after they got married, they wouldn't live with their families but would rent a place to live.

To make commuting easier, I rented a place not far away, just behind a traditional courtyard house.

Zhu Lin said, "We have our own yard right next door. How come you rented someone else's without anyone noticing? It's so nice to have your own yard."

“Sister Lin, that won’t do. Your yard is big, we can just rent one room. We’d feel bad if we gave you too little, and you definitely wouldn’t want too much. The house isn’t far away, so it’s convenient to come and go.” Xi Mei said with a smile.

Zhu Lin nodded: "Xi Mei, you've thought of quite a lot. What's the trouble or not? The yard's just sitting empty anyway."

Since he had no classes in the afternoon, Liu Yimin didn't go to school. Instead, he sat in his study working on this year's final exam questions.

During the call, Tang Dacheng told Liu Yimin that Marquez was ill recently and the timing of his visit to China was still uncertain, but it was estimated to be around September.

“Mr. Marquez has been ill on and off. The date was almost set, but then he fell ill again,” Tang Dacheng said helplessly.

"Okay, let me know when you have a confirmed time!"

After hanging up the phone, Liu Yimin saw that the test questions were almost finished, so he went out into the yard to play with the two little ones and teach them "A-bo-ci-de" and "one, two, three".

When Zhu Lin returned, the two of them were still counting on their fingers.

After dinner, Liu Yimin took them for a walk in the alley for a while.

At the Ministry of Education, Liu Yimin sat with the members of the primary and secondary school Chinese language textbook group he had met before, carefully reading the textbooks published in newspapers from various regions.

Ye Shengtao was not in good health recently, and he only met with everyone once on the first day before leaving in a hurry.

Yuan Weizi was in charge of the overall review of the teaching materials. Each committee member read the assigned teaching materials and then added their personal comments.

Yuan Weizi summarized his personal opinions, discussed the more controversial points, and finally reached a consensus on whether to approve or reject the application, or to submit revision suggestions to the publisher.

"Comrades, this is the first batch of Chinese language textbooks revised by publishers across the country according to the unified teaching syllabus since our textbook review committee was established last year. Everyone must review them carefully," Yuan Weizi said.

After this large-scale review, if there are no major changes, it will basically just be minor revisions.

Liu Yimin flipped through the fifth-grade textbooks. The People's Education Press version of the textbooks is relatively simple compared to the textbooks published by various local publishers, while the Jiangsu Education Press version requires a larger vocabulary.

At this point, apart from the selection of articles that were slightly beyond the syllabus or too simple, the textbooks were generally without major problems.

Liu Yimin asked the teacher representatives from Jinling High School: "Your textbooks in Jiangsu Province are quite difficult. Do students find them challenging to learn?"

"Professor Liu, the newly revised textbooks are of a reasonable difficulty level. Our Jiangsu Province is relatively wealthy, and the teaching level is higher than that of inland provinces, so the textbooks are suitable for students in our province."

“Since the Southern Song Dynasty, students in the Jiangnan region have consistently outperformed those in the North. I think the People’s Education Press textbook is rather moderate and suitable for most provinces,” another committee member said.

"The difficulty level in Chinese won't make a big difference. The main focus of the exam is still on frequently tested vocabulary. By the time they get to the first year of junior high, even students who didn't know these words should already know them. It's not too far beyond the curriculum."

Seeing that everyone was saying this, Liu Yimin lowered his head and began to write his opinion: "The selection of articles conforms to the teaching syllabus, the proportion of different articles is appropriate, and the range of new words is slightly beyond the syllabus, but it does not affect the use."

The review process was very fast; by the end of the first day, one-third of the textbooks had been reviewed. Only one publisher's textbook was rejected because one of the classical poems was too advanced and they were asked to replace it.

As they left the Ministry of Education that evening, Yuan Weizi took Liu Yimin's hand and said, "Comrade Yimin, what do you think of the article you wrote about cross-strait relations that our People's Education Press revised?"

Yuan Weizi was referring to the report she wrote in Singapore, titled "When Will the Veterans on the Island See Their Parents Again? Sons Long for Their Mothers, Mothers Long for Their Sons, Their Graves Are Separated by the World!" The textbook renamed it "The Longing for Hometown," and the article was included in the second-year junior high school Chinese textbook.

"When the editor asked for my opinion last time, I already said that the revisions were fine," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Yuan Weizi said, "That's good, that's good! Yimin, when you have time, you can condense the novel 'God's Visa' into a short article, which can then be included in textbooks."

"Okay, I'll revise it when I have time."

Yuan Weizi patted Liu Yimin on the shoulder: "See you tomorrow. The review will only take a few days. Come visit the editorial department of the People's Education Press when you have time."

The textbook review process took three days in total. Once approved, the textbook review committee notified the relevant publishing house that the textbook could be printed and indicated "Approved by the Ministry of Education in 1987" on the textbook.

Beijing People's Art Theatre, Cao Yu's office.

"Teacher Wan." Liu Yimin gently knocked on the door of Cao Yu's office.

"Yimin, sit down. I've been reading your script for a while, and the director has also read it. There are a few things I'd like to discuss with you," Cao Yu said with a smile, gesturing for Liu Yimin to sit down.

"Is there anything that needs to be changed?"

"Yes, but not much. The directors just wanted more environmental descriptions to highlight the tension of the situation," Cao Yu summarized the directors' opinions.

Liu Yimin leaned back on the sofa and said, "Sure, the directors can add these themselves when filming."

"I also think we could add a scene where He Fengshan returns to China to participate in the War of Resistance against Japan, and celebrate the victory of the War of Resistance against Japan at the end. After all, this is a domestic drama, for our own audience, and the ending can increase the audience's sense of immersion."

If the entire film consists of foreign scenes, viewers will feel a sense of emptiness afterward. This is different from a so-called open ending. Everyone knows the ending is about the victory in the War of Resistance against Japan, but if it's not explicitly stated, it feels like something's missing.

Liu Yimin followed Cao Yu's advice and gave the Beijing People's Art Theatre the materials he had interviewed about He Fengshan, so that they could use them as a reference.

After Cao Yu finished speaking, he called Xia Chun and Zhu Lin in and formally handed the script to them: "You two should rehearse it well and not let the academy down."

"Thank you, Mr. Wan (Teacher Jiabao)," Xia Chun and Zhu Lin said in unison.

"Don't be shy, you two should line up properly, and we'll see the results later."

Just as Xia Chun and Zhu Lin were about to leave, Liu Yimin handed them the materials: "Two great directors, these are my interview materials from the United States, which should be useful to you."

"Yimin, please stop joking. Just call me Director Xia. Thank you for the information."

Zhu Lin rolled her eyes at Liu Yimin, then turned and walked out of the office with Xia Chun.

"God's Visa" is about to be published in China, and Li Ao has also sent over his preface.

In the preface, Li Ao first praised He Fengshan's act of saving lives, and then condemned the shamelessness of the German Nazis and Japan.

Finally, the discussion focused on the relationship between the individual and the times, arguing that since the Opium War, numerous heroes have emerged in China, and the Chinese people have not lost their fighting spirit. However, why is it always so difficult to achieve victory?

He attributed the cause to the nation's and people's historical backwardness, outdated system, and corruption at all levels, arguing that individual heroes alone could not achieve victory. He believed that national success required collective progress.

Liu Yimin felt there were no problems and sent it to the publisher. The publishing speed on the island was faster than on the mainland. The article had just been published in "Renjian Magazine". The publisher was negotiating with Liu Yimin while preparing for publication.

After the contract was finalized, the other party was just waiting for Li Ao's preface; the main text had already been printed almost completely. Once the preface arrived, it was essentially just a matter of final binding, either perfect or thread binding.

(End of this chapter)