A healing writer? No, it's a depressing writer!

Chapter 193: The fog does not dissipate, and the fear of being shrouded in darkness! The main theme is positive energy! (5k)

The release of "October" always caught people off guard and unprepared, even Jiang Hai himself was unaware of it——

The 335th issue of "October·Novel" magazine has quietly appeared in today's book market.

Any novel.

Or any story.

They all have a certain reading threshold.

For example, a children's comic like "Sanmao Wanderings" is naturally aimed at students.

"Xu Sanguan Selling Blood" is a cross-era tragedy with a strong sense of the times. It is natural for it to resonate with older men or men who have stepped out into society and become the backbone of their families.

Since its inception, October magazine has always adhered to one purpose:
“It records the depth of thought of an era and measures the precision of art of an era.”

It is also because most of the novels, plays, and stories included are traditional realistic long stories, and in the eyes of readers who are not well-versed in the world and have little experience, these stories generally lack interest. This has led to the fact that the sales of "October" have not been very good, and the sales of each issue have always remained around 100,000 copies.

Before evaluating a magazine or a novel, you must first understand one thing:

A box office hit does not equal a classic, and a classic does not equal a box office hit.

Although some physical books have good sales, such as Guo Xiaosi's "Tiny Times", which once sold over a million copies a week during the paper media boom,
Can you say that Guo Xiaosi's "Tiny Times" is more classic than Liu Zhenyun's "One Sentence is Worth Ten Thousand Sentences"?
This is obviously not the case.

Although the sales of "Youth Preface" was once three to five times that of "October",
Based on sales alone, can you say that "Preface to Youth" has a greater influence than "October"?
You definitely can't say that.

Although "October" is a magazine, it is not a box office hit.

However, you have to understand that since the establishment of October Novel, its primary purpose has not been sales and profit, otherwise it would not be released to the market at a frequency of once every two months. Most of the novels included in October reflect some characteristics of this era and have certain practical significance.

In other words, "October" is just a carrier of these excellent stories.

There are a total of 19 literary works that have been included in "October" and have won the "Lu Xun Literature Award".

Although it was not a hit, October has a great influence on Chinese literature.

No one can surpass it!

“October is on sale!!!”

The moment the news was released, many readers who came here to read the book arrived as promised.

I don’t know the exact sales of the previous issues of October, but this issue of October includes the following famous works:

That's truly an all-star lineup!

Hometown by Liu Zhenyun

Teacher Tie Ning's "Homecoming"

"Butterfly" by Wang Meng

Teacher Li Cunbao's "Wreaths under the Mountains"

Let’s not talk about the others, but just pick out one of the above four writers at random——

These are all well-known and renowned figures in the contemporary literary world!

It is extremely difficult for ordinary magazines and journals to include a long novel by these renowned writers and teachers.

But "October" brought the four teachers together in one go?
It is conceivable how terrifying the power behind October magazine is.

Major university campuses, government agencies, and literary organizations and groups.

Outside the bookstores and newsstands at their doors, this scene is almost always repeated:
"Please, give me a copy of October."

Although it is true that literary journals like October are not very popular among ordinary people, they are still very popular among some high-level intellectuals, or among young intellectuals who are pursuing a career in literature and want to become a glorious "writer" -

This "October" can almost be said to be a must-read!
"October is published every two months, and it only comes out six times a year." An excited young man took a thick copy of October from the bookstore owner, and then walked home while muttering excitedly, "I have been waiting since last month, and now it is finally over."

Not every issue of "October" can have such a luxurious lineup of writers.

From Mr. Liu Zhenyun to Mr. Tie Ning, everyone among them.
They are all figures that cannot be ignored in the contemporary literary world!
When many readers learned that this issue of "October" brought together so many famous writers, they had been looking forward to it for a long time.

From the beginning of the month, I look forward to it until the end of the month.

However, when they returned to the study, sat at the desk and calmed down, wanting to read quietly for a while.

When they opened the first page of October, what came into their eyes was a completely unfamiliar name:

【Author: Jiang Hai. 】

[Work: The Crucible]

It’s not that Jiang Hai is not famous. After winning the Cao Yu Drama Literature Award for Best Newcomer, Jiang Hai has gained a certain degree of fame in the literary world.

However, if you compare Jiang Hai with Liu Zhenyun and Tie Ning, who are like masters in the contemporary literary world,
Would this be too tender?
Is this qualification not enough?

When I saw Jiang Hai and his work "The Crucible", I was actually ranked before the other four teachers by "October".

Many readers are directly confused:

"Why is Jiang Hai's name ranked before these four teachers?"

"What is the basis for this Jiang Hai?"

Tsinghua University, West Campus.

In the reading room.

Song Shiqing, who is known as the "leading figure in Chinese youth literature", held a copy of October in his hand and thought to himself:

"This Jiang Hai, has he been selected for October?"

Ever since the failure in the last [Asian College Literary League].

For a long time, Song Shiqing locked himself in the room, immersed in his own world, reading a lot of books, and began to make up for his shortcomings in literature.

From domestic literature, see foreign classics.

See world classics from historical books.

Song Shiqing always believed in one thing——

Only by reading thousands of books can you travel thousands of miles!
"Reading makes one wise, reading poetry makes one smart"

After a period of seclusion and deep calm, I finally felt like I had returned home.

Song Shiqing is confident that with his current level, he will be able to write literary works that are more classic and more meaningful than before.

But when he came out of seclusion with great ambition and wanted to do something big, he was surprised to find:

"Jiang Hai, did you win the Cao Award?"

Before Jiang Hai appeared, Song Shiqing was always called by the outside world——

“A leading figure of the Chinese young literary generation!”

But since Jiang Hai appeared, whenever the words "young writer" are mentioned, the first name that comes to mind is Jiang Hai, and then Song Shiqing.
It seems that whenever the word "literature" is involved, Song Shiqing will always be defeated by Jiang Hai?
After learning that Jiang Hai won the Cao Award.

Song Shiqing made up his mind to change his past mistakes and prove himself in the field of literature!

Song Shiqing implemented the four words "unity of knowledge and action" in himself to the fullest extent.

He spent three months traveling from the north to the south, and put all his energy into writing a long book, "The Sorrow of the Times", which is in line with China's rural National Day.

He originally thought that such a long work, which took him all his effort, would be recognized by others.

But who would have thought that when he submitted "The Sorrow of the Times" to the "Shanhua" journal, he was actually met with a response from the "Shanhua" magazine:

Ruthless rejection?

"Dear writer friend, your manuscript does not meet the magazine's acceptance criteria. Thank you for your manuscript."

The masterpiece that I devoted my whole heart and soul to writing was completely rejected by the journal I submitted it to?
This was a big blow to Song Shiqing.

It was at this time that Song Shiqing received the news that Jiang Hai's work "The Crucible" was included in "October":

"It was actually published." Speaking of domestic pure literature magazines, October is one of the top ones in the country. Any writer who has published his work in October is at least a famous writer, if not a well-known one.
Although "Mountain Flowers" is quite famous in China, it is still not as good as "October".

The two magazines are not at the same level at all.

Song Shiqing, even his submission to Shanhua failed to get through, but this Jiang Hai
How could it be possible that a manuscript was published in "October", a magazine whose quality and specifications are several levels higher than "Mountain Flowers"?

When Song Shiqing saw The Crucible published in October, for some reason, for the first time in his life—

Have you ever felt a sense of frustration?

He originally thought that as both were leading figures of China's youth literary world, the gap between him and Jiang Hai was only a hair's breadth.

But who would have thought that just when he regarded Jiang Hai as his opponent.

Jiang Hai actually directly
To raise your name to the same level as literary masters like Liu Zhenyun and Tie Ning?

"Where exactly am I lacking?"

Song Shiqing was a little dissatisfied. Why was Jiang Hai praised as a "leading figure in the young literary world"? In less than three months, he made such rapid progress, first winning the Cao Prize, and then being officially recognized by a national mainstream journal like October.

On the other hand, Song Shiqing, let alone winning an award, might not even get his submission to October accepted.

"Where did I lose?"

"Is the gap between him and me really that big?"

After thinking about it for a long time without any answer, Song Shiqing decisively opened Jiang Hai's novel "The Crucible". He wanted to find the answer from the work.

This is a whole afternoon.
Jiang Hai continues his usual writing style, bringing the gloomy approach to the extreme.

If we say that what Song Shiqing felt when he read No Longer Human was -

It is an incomparable atmosphere of decadence.

Beneath this extremely depressing atmosphere, there is also a hint of death.

So, today in "The Crucible", what Song Shiqing could feel was——

It is a kind of boundless despair!

It was a kind of despair that had no end in sight and had penetrated into the bone marrow, an incomparably deep despair!
"The fog shrouds the sky. No matter how hard everyone tries, there is no way to escape it."

"We fought all the way to the end, not only did we fail to hold on to the bottom line, but we were also completely changed by this dirty world."

Whether at home or abroad, looking at the entire history of literature, it is rare to see a work like The Crucible.

Everyone is evil!

A dark work that leaves people without a ray of hope?

The more he read, the more shocked Song Shiqing was. Such a work——

Is this really a book that can be written by a young man in his early twenties?
The book describes the sufferings of the children in the orphanage in a delicate manner, telling the readers with a sharp and clear writing like a scalpel.
Without any subjective emotions involved.

There is no personal emotion at all.

As if standing outside the story, Jiang Hai's words, in an absolutely rational tone, slowly unfold to the readers a tragic story that is so dark that it is despairing and unbearable.
At the beginning, when reading "The Crucible", Song Shiqing was still able to remain calm.

But the more he read, the uglier his expression became, and the more frightened he became.
An extremely uncomfortable feeling suddenly surged from all parts of the body.

Slowly, Song Shiqing began to feel cold hands and feet, his forehead was covered with sweat, and then gradually sweating profusely.
"Hell is empty, the devil is on earth."

This sentence is the most appropriate to describe the content of the entire book "The Crucible"?
Without exception, none of the decent characters in the book have a good ending.

Or, disappear inexplicably from this world.

Or, they are forcibly silenced by various complicated forces.

But the bad guy in the book
No, these people should not be called bad people, they should be called demons!
But these demons are living better than each other?

It is hard to imagine that without the constraints of morality and law, the despicable nature of human beings
How could it be so bad?

Sexual assault, bullying, abuse, beatings.
In the eyes of these demons, children's lives are not even as important as a stray dog ​​on the roadside?
The seemingly decent director of the welfare home.

The previous second, he was very lovingly giving alms to stray dogs on the roadside.

The next second, without the camera's supervision, he returned to the orphanage and revealed his despicable nature, and began to slaughter frantically.
The despicable nature of human beings is truly vividly portrayed in the book "The Crucible".

Jiang Hai, as an author, certainly dares to continue writing.

But Song Shiqing as a reader.
He doesn't even have the courage to finish reading this book?
"Huh" When Song Shiqing was halfway through reading "The Crucible", his forehead was already covered with sweat. It would not be an exaggeration to describe his current miserable appearance as sweating profusely.

When I saw the only salvation for the children, the male protagonist [Jiang Renhao], fell on the road of speaking for the deaf and mute children.
In an instant, Song Shiqing slammed shut the book "The Crucible" in his hand. He didn't even have the courage to continue reading?

As long as you open this "The Crucible"——

despair.

asphyxia.

Repressed.

All kinds of negative emotions will surge into your mind in an instant.
"It's so uncomfortable." Song Shiqing gasped heavily, with an extremely solemn look in his eyes.

The most terrifying thing about the book "The Crucible" is not the various dark plots in the book, but the sentence in bold black font on the title page:

【This book is adapted from real events. 】

It is hard to imagine that this is already the 21st century, and human society claims to have entered the civilized era.

How could such a horrific disaster actually happen?

If all these plots were made up by the author himself, then perhaps everyone would not feel so uncomfortable?

But if the whole book is based on true events
Then all of this is really unacceptable!
Before opening the book "The Crucible" in his hand, Song Shiqing still couldn't figure out the gap between himself and Jiang Hai.

But after opening the book "The Crucible" in his hand, Song Shiqing suddenly understood that Jiang Hai's title of "the leader of Chinese youth literature" was...

Absolutely well-deserved!
Looking at the country, when it comes to the creation of the "tragedy genre", let alone the young generation, even if you look at the entire group of writers -

Who else but the rivers and seas?
Who can write about rivers and seas?

Regardless of other things, just the book "The Crucible" in his hand made Song Shiqing admit that even if he was given another ten years, he would never be able to write to the level of Jiang Hai.
How tragic is "The Crucible"?
At one point, Song Shiqing was so miserable that he didn't even have the courage to finish reading the book.

I feel very depressed inside.

I really want to share the pain in my heart with others.

Song Shiqing took out his cell phone and sent a message to his teacher, who is also the dean of the Chinese Department of Tsinghua University:
"Teacher, I want to recommend a book to you."

Normally speaking, traditional journals like October, which require a certain literary foundation and a certain reading threshold, are purchased by senior intellectuals who have literary literacy and the ability to appreciate literature.

but!

Jianghai is very popular recently.

After the broadcast of "Sanmao Wanderings", the central media decisively stood up for Jiang Hai and labeled him as "a positive energy author who is good at writing about the characteristics of the times."

Many parents came here one after another.

Just a book called "Sanmao's Wanderings" can make the children at home remember the bitter past and become so sensible.
If he read a few more books written by Jiang Hai, wouldn't he be able to take off immediately?

After learning that Jiang Hai published a pure literature magazine called "The Crucible" in the "October" magazine.

Many parents rushed to nearby bookstores and newsstands to buy the books:
"Boss, give me a copy of October!"

"Don't give me the wrong one. I want the one with Jiang Hai's "The Crucible" serialized."

No matter whether the children can bear it or not.

It doesn’t matter whether the children can understand it or not.

After buying October at the bookstore, parents went home and threw the October magazine containing The Crucible directly onto their children’s desks:
"Son, come here!"

"I'll make an exception today and let you read these extracurricular books that you are not allowed to touch normally."

(End of this chapter)