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

Chapter 291 A short story that goes down in history! Do you understand the value of The Old Man and the Sea?

Literature is something that requires a lot of inspiration. It doesn't mean you can write whenever and wherever you want.

Anyone can write.

But can you write it well?

Even if you have inspiration and ideas in your mind, can you use an appropriate form to retell the pictures and inspirations in your mind in the form of words?
These are real problems.

Actual topic-based writing is a great test of a writer's skills. Not to mention now, in ancient times, when writers and poets were drinking and feasting, one of their favorite things to do was to give the guests a topic after eating and drinking, in order to test the writer's literary talent.

As a result, many classic stories have been left behind.

1600 years ago, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, the famous Tengwang Pavilion was finally renovated after several years of construction. The governor at that time, Yan Boyu, invited heroes from all over the world to come to the Tengwang Pavilion to recite poems and compose.

The original intention of the governor Yan Boyu was to let his son-in-law Wu Zizhan show his unique literary talent in this gathering of literati and poets, so that he could rise rapidly in his future official career.

In order to let his son-in-law stand out at this banquet, he had already asked someone to write a preface in advance and give it to his son-in-law Wu Zizhan, pretending that it was his impromptu work.

It was under this well-prepared situation that Governor Yan Boyu looked at the guests in front of him with confidence:
"Does anyone dare to compete with my son in poetry?"

I thought that this well-prepared impromptu poetry competition was a sure win.

Who would have thought that an unknown person named Wang Bo would write a masterpiece here that will be remembered for thousands of years and is known as the best parallel prose in history:

"Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng"!
Look beyond the surface.

"Isn't this Elysee Palace the Pavilion of Prince Teng?" Liu Zhenyun smiled and looked at the Chinese writers behind him, his tone full of indifference, "Gather the best talents from all over the world, bring together the most talented and famous writers in the world, compete with each other in literary talent, and create on the spot."

"However, this trip to the Elysee Palace is different from the banquet at the Tengwang Pavilion more than a thousand years ago..."

"This is such a huge event!"

Propositional creation is common.

Bringing together so many well-known writers to create literary works on the same subject.

this operation
Maybe it's not that common?

You need to know what kind of people are here today.
JK Rowling, the best-selling novelist in the 21st century, is undoubtedly the best-selling queen of the 21st century.

Haruki Murakami, whose reputation is well-known in the world literary world, has never won the Nobel Prize in Literature, but his experience of being a runner-up for the Nobel Prize for twenty years and his outstanding literary talent have earned him a place of his own in the world literary world.

Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio is a famous French writer, Nobel Prize winner, and one of the leading figures in French literature today. He is known as one of the "Three Stars of France" along with Modiano and Perec. He is very influential not only in France, but also in Europe and America.
Writers from Britain, France, and Japan who are quite famous in the country have appeared here one after another.

In the Japanese literary world alone, not only Haruki Murakami was present, but also Higashino Keigo, who is known as the king of mystery, and Yusuke Kishi, who is known as the originator of orthodox horror novels.
It is no exaggeration to say that if there had been a terrorist attack at the Elysee Palace today, all the writers attending the ceremony would have died suddenly.

The development process of the world literary world
I'm afraid it will be more than just a regression of 30 years?
Even though they are members of the Chinese Writers Delegation, such as Tie Ning, Jia Pingwa and Liu Zhenyun, they are considered as literary giants who have influenced a generation of people in China. However, they are not ashamed to come to the Elysee Palace and to be in front of so many famous writers.
But it seems so ordinary?
If you want to talk about the profoundness of thought, the writers who can come to the scene are all top figures in their respective literary fields.
Who can be weaker than you?
You want to talk about your academic achievements.
All the Nobel Prize winners in literature are standing here, so it seems that the halos that were previously surrounding them are no longer surprising?
In terms of fame, the writers of the Chinese writers' delegation are actually
Is there really no value in it?

Writers like Jia Pingwa and Liu Zhenyun have great literary accomplishments, and their main audience is in Asia, or more precisely, in China. Very few readers or even writers in Europe and America know them.
Almost negligible?
Among the Chinese writers delegation, the only writer with some fame in this region of France is Jiang Hai, who was just awarded the Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature by the President.

In addition to Jiang Hai, other writers
Is it true that no one knows him?

But even for Jiang Hai, in such a huge and terrifying lineup, the best result would be to be lost in the crowd.

In this case, how about letting the Chinese writers' delegation compete with a group of European and American literary celebrities in literary talent?
This couldn't help but make everyone feel hesitant.

"I feel like I may not be able to perform well." A young-looking overseas writer said hesitantly, "I am not good at writing modern literature, I prefer classical literature, and I am afraid I am not good at this kind of propositional open-style writing."

Taking over the conversation, an old-school writer was also worried.

"As you know, when I write a book, I always need to be in seclusion and cannot be disturbed by outsiders."

“I feel really pressured to create works with limited subject matter and time.”

In fact, for the vast majority of people present, what they are afraid of is not the act of creation.

Everyone is afraid
It's embarrassing!
To be precise, it is a disgrace to Chinese writers!
If you write a book privately and it is not well written, the worst result is that the book will not sell well and will not have any impact on others.
However, in such an occasion where celebrities gather together, if one makes a mistake,

What if my works are looked down upon by outsiders, who think, “It’s just so-so. Is this the level of Chinese writers?”

Once it really happens.
If it's not pure, then it would be a disgrace to the country abroad?
What are literati most afraid of losing?
It’s not life, but integrity!

Integrity is extremely important for a scholar.

Even though everyone in the country looked down on each other, when they went abroad.
No one wants to be looked down upon by barbarians.

To be precise, I don't want Chinese literature to be looked down upon by foreigners because of my own reasons.

Once someone brings up the idea of ​​backing out, it will spread like wildfire in the group without end.
"Do it all at once, second time tired, third time exhausted."

What our ancestors said is quite reasonable.
Just when everyone was arguing.

"I can not."

“Neither can I.”

At the front of the team, Tie Ning, the chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, who had not spoken a word, looked at the people around him who were caught up in the dispute, and his words were full of anger and resentment for not fighting:

"Look, what is the question given by the question setter this time?"

Everyone looked straight in the direction of the palace lobby.

Two bright and large characters suddenly appeared before my eyes:
【courage】

"What is courage?" Tie Ning looked around, with an aura of majesty without even getting angry. "Courage is the spirit of daring to draw the sword!"

"Even if there is a strong enemy in front of me, I am not afraid"

"Tan Sitong said: I laugh at the sky with my sword in hand, and my loyalty will remain in Kunlun Mountains!"

"Wen Tianxiang said: Everyone has to die since ancient times, but I will leave my loyalty to shine in history!"

"What is courage?"

"That's called courage!"

Having said this, Tie Ning looked around at the people who wanted to give up just now, as if a little disappointed:

"Our ancestors sacrificed their lives and shed their blood, not caring about their own lives. Now, I just want you to write an article."

"You know you can't write well before you even start writing?"

"You guys want to give up before you even start writing?"

The scene suddenly fell into silence.

After hearing what Tie Ning said, those writers who had previously said they wanted to give up decided to give up.

Suddenly, there was no sound.

This time, the creative writing topic about "Courage" was not required to be completed by everyone in class.

Without any preparation, you asked everyone to stand in the lobby of the Elysée Palace and start writing a book directly?
This is writing a book, not writing poetry.

This is obviously unrealistic.
Julie Morgane, daughter of the French President, stood in the center of the palace in a black long dress that highlighted her solemnity and elegance. She explained the specific procedures of the event to the writers present in a gentle and graceful manner.

"Please don't rush to discuss, please listen to me in detail"

First of all, participation in this event is not mandatory but voluntary.

Whether to write or not is entirely up to the writer's own wishes, and the organizer will not force it too much.

Secondly, it does not mean that you are asked to complete the creation about "Courage" in class. After the ceremony, the writer delegations from various countries will go to the famous French palace building, the Palace of Versailles, which is known as the "Forbidden City" of France, and stay in the Palace of Versailles for three days.

During this time, you can visit any location in the Palace of Versailles.

Of course, you can also indulge in creation in the room specially prepared for you by the French government.
"So that's how it is?" Jiang Hai stood there and immediately fell into deep thought.

He began to analyze the implications of Julie Morgana's words.

There are only three days to create, which means that the writer is about to create a work -

Or, it can be a short and concise article of a few thousand words.

Or, it is a short or medium-length novel.

What is the definition of a short story?
This means that the word count of the work should be controlled within 100,000 words.
In the traditional literary world, works with more than 100,000 words can be classified as medium-length or long novels.

In three days, you are asked to write hundreds of thousands or even millions of words of traditional literature?
This is obviously an impossible thing.
"First, due to time constraints, the work must be short." Jiang Hai did not speak, thinking slowly in his mind, "Second, this work must be a literary work that describes courage and praises the virtue of courage."

"Finally, with so many famous artists gathered together, the works to be produced must be strong enough—"

“It must have a very deep meaning.”

While everyone was still arguing.

Jiang Hai's mind suddenly flashed with the name of a writer and a classic book whose reputation was resounding throughout the world literary world in his previous life -

"The Old Man and the Sea"

“Isn’t this a perfect fit?”

When it comes to copying books, what are you copying?
What you are copying is just for fame!
At such exchange gatherings between writers, especially those of traditional literature, the works or texts produced must be able to shock people!

The Old Man and the Sea obviously meets this requirement perfectly.
What kind of story does "The Old Man and the Sea" tell?
It tells the story of:
[An old and frail fisherman was fighting a huge marlin in the Gulf Stream far from the shore amidst the turbulent waves. Although the old man was old and frail and did not have much strength left, he still went forward and fought with the fish with all his might.

Although the old man's final ending is a tragedy, he has Nietzsche's "superman" qualities. He accepts failure calmly and faces death calmly and bravely. Although he fails again and again and returns empty-handed again and again, he insists on such a life for decades and still does not give up hope for future life.

The Old Man and the Sea is not long, with only 28000 words in English and only over to less than words when translated into Chinese.

Writing 40,000 to 50,000 words in three days may be a little too much for a traditional writer.

However, for Jiang Hai
Is that still a problem?
"If you give me a computer, I can type out 100,000 words for you in one day."

Length is not the most important thing.

The most important is "The Old Man and the Sea". As a representative masterpiece throughout Hemingway's life, this work has been translated into dozens of languages. It can definitely be called a classic known in the world literary world and a masterpiece!
As one of the 32 landmark books in American history and one of the 1986 classics that have influenced history, The Old Man and the Sea sold out in less than 48 hours after it went on sale in France in .

580 million copies sold directly!

1986, 48 hours, 580 million copies!

These three numbers, seemingly without any connection, are linked together.
It directly created a miracle in sales that could never be replicated in the era of paper media!
More importantly, Hemingway also relied on The Old Man and the Sea, a short story of more than 20,000 words but less than 30,000 words (in English)——

Won the Pulitzer Prize in the United States in one fell swoop!

He won the Nobel Prize in Literature, which is renowned throughout the European and American literary circles and even the world literary circles!

From this we can see the value of the book "The Old Man and the Sea" -

How big is it!
"If not now, when?" Jiang Hai recalled what Tie Ning, chairman of the China Writers Association, said beside him, and he was eager to try. "First of all, the properties of the work are a perfect match. Looking at the world's literary world, no other work can be more suitable for the word 'courage' than The Old Man and the Sea."

"Secondly, in this occasion where so many famous writers gather, it is fair to publish this book, which is a great short story called The Old Man and the Sea."

That is when Jiang Hai was thinking.

Chen Hanying looked at Jiang Hai, who had a frown on his face and looked thoughtful, and suddenly felt curious.

Pretend to be an expert by not talking?

"what are you thinking?"

Chen Hanying's voice woke Jiang Hai from his thoughts. He turned his head to look at Chen Hanying beside him and spoke directly:

"Nothing, I'm just hungry."

"When does the banquet start?"

Have a banquet?
In such a solemn occasion, it seems that the word "start the banquet" you used is not very proper. It would be more appropriate to use the word "dine"?

"Maybe, it will take a while?" Chen Hanying was about to continue to ask Jiang Hai, "What were you thinking about just now? Don't you have any ideas about this essay contest?"

"If you can show up at this event, then when you return to school, you will be truly famous."

Unexpectedly, he didn't wait for her to finish speaking.

In the center of the palace.

A slightly elegant voice suddenly resounded in everyone's ears:

"It's time to eat. Everyone can go to the side hall to eat."

Hearing this, Jiang Hai did not hesitate at all while everyone was still standing there discussing.

He turned around decisively and went straight to the side hall, where they ate.

Under the surprised gaze of everyone.

Jiang Hai sat down at the dining table in a very rude manner, picked up a piece of steak on the table with chopsticks, and grinned:
"We are all family, so I won't be polite."

The words fell.

The next second, a huge piece of steak was stuffed into Jiang Hai's mouth.
(End of this chapter)