1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 137 Jiang Xian's Famous Deeds

When the watch hand was about to point to ten, the award ceremony began and the judges came on stage one by one.

As the chairman of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Mr. Mao Dun sat in the center of the rostrum and delivered the opening speech at the award ceremony.

He first stood up and bowed, and warm applause immediately broke out in the conference hall.

When the applause died down, the words of Mr. Mao Dun finally rang in the ears of every comrade.

"Comrades, first of all, I congratulate you:

Under the leadership of the Party, you have made great achievements in creation. You have written a lot of works, and they are very good works!"

Hua Hua Hua.

Jiang Xian sat in his seat and applauded enthusiastically along with the writers.

After a brief opening speech, Mao Dun continued:

"I have nothing new to offer you, comrades. I can only talk about some old ideas. In order to avoid being empty and dull, I plan to cite a few works to talk about my impressions, and also connect them to some problems in creation."

The writers in the audience gasped.

Would you like to cite a few works of Mao Dun and talk about your impressions?

What an honor!

All the writers are looking forward to Mr. Mao Dun talking about their works.

"Let me first talk about a few works that impressed me particularly in this selection."

Mao Dun first briefly talked about Fang Zhi's "The Traitor" and Jiang Zilon's "The Record of Director Qiao's Taking Office".

He paused and said, “Let me talk about ‘Fuxi Fuxi’ again.

This is a good piece of writing that is worth talking about, so before I start, I’ll take a sip of water.”

Mao Dun looked apologetic.

He picked up the teacup and took a sip of water. Everyone waited for him to finish the drink and looked at Jiang Xian's seat with envy.

From today on, this man will probably have one more famous deed - Mao Dun gave him water to drink.

"Fuxi Fuxi is a very short novel. It is short because it uses tens of thousands of words to edit a story that spans forty years.

I want to praise Jiang Xian!

The story weaving, plot arrangement and character design of "Fuxi Fuxi" are very ingenious. The subject matter of this novel is different from that of ordinary people, and it is not written in a general way.

Obviously, he worked hard, broke the taboos, and was ingenious. He wrote the key points vividly and vividly, and mentioned the things that needed to be written briefly and explained in just a few words, using every word as if it were gold.

I saw the edge of his pen, I saw him expressing dissatisfaction and anger, I saw his self-reflection and criticism of the ugly side of society."

After talking about "Fuxi Fuxi", Mao Dun discussed the problem of character description in novels such as "Animal Fierceness", and then talked about the problem of implicitness in novels. This time he talked about "Brown Lychees".

In the end, he concluded:
"Our new forces are making greater ideological and emotional investments in literature. I believe that among them, among these people, there will surely be a future Lu Xun!"

Hua Hua Hua.

Applause resounded throughout the venue.

Many people who knew Jiang Xian had a vague feeling.

The person Mao Dun referred to at the end must be referring to him.

Who else but him is the new force?
Next, Ba Jin and Zhou Yang gave speeches, and then the award ceremony began. First, the awards were presented for novellas. The selected writers went on stage together to receive their awards, lined up in a row, and the leaders of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles presented the awards to the writers.

Sha Ting took the award certificate for "Ferocious Animals" and handed it to Jiang Xian. He shook hands with him and said in a thick Sichuan accent:
"Comrade Jiang Xian, congratulations!"

"Thank you, Mr. Sha!"

Yan Wenjing walked at the end, holding the award certificate for "Brown Lychees". He looked around the writers lined up in a row, and then walked around again before he saw Jiang Xian.

"You kid, I forgot that you won two awards. I'm still looking for someone who doesn't have an award certificate." Yan Wenjing grabbed his shoulders kindly.

Sha Ting couldn't help laughing, "That's right, kid, you got two awards. The other comrades must be jealous." "Thanks to the readers and teachers for their kindness, there's nothing I can do about it." Jiang Xian took the certificate with a pure face and stood on the stage with one certificate in each hand.

After the novella award ceremony was over and several writers gave their acceptance speeches, the short story award ceremony began.

Accompanied by applause from the audience, the selected outstanding short story writers came on stage and lined up as before.

There were several familiar faces among them, and the brutal man who had just held a certificate in one hand was now standing in the center.

Many people in the audience were so shocked that they were speechless.

Three awards?
The National Novel Selection Activity is currently the largest literary work selection activity in China. It is extremely difficult to be selected once, and it can be regarded as leaving a name in the Chinese literary world and the history of Chinese literature.

Many of the winners even shed tears when they learned that they were selected.

As a result, Jiang Xian alone has three works selected?
Many of their writers can’t even publish so many works in a year!

“It’s so depressing!”

When it comes to literature, the most frustrating thing for a writer is that your lifelong efforts are just the starting point of other people's talents.

Mao Dun presented Jiang Xian with the first prize certificate.

The old man raised his trembling hand, and Jiang Xian hurriedly handed it over, clenching his hands tightly.

"Congratulations, Comrade Jiang Xian!"

"Thank you, thank you Mr. Mao!"

After receiving the awards, all the award presenters and authors took a group photo.

Jiang Xian was left behind to give a brief acceptance speech.

Thousands of eyes in the conference hall were focused on him at the same time.

Jiang Xian held the microphone and said sincerely and solemnly:

“I came at a good time!

I am an educated youth who returned to the city. As soon as I pulled my feet out of the muddy fields, I fell in love with literature.

In 1978, on an ordinary day in September, I received a letter in the message room of the Medical College. When I opened it, my heart couldn’t help but get excited.

It was sent by the editorial department of "Beijing Literature and Art". My short story "The Chess King" was initially selected for selection, and they asked me to go to the editorial department of "Beijing Literature and Art" as soon as possible to revise it.

I was ecstatic, a bit like Fan Jin who passed the imperial examination.

As a literature lover, I know that "Beijing Literature and Art" is a nationally renowned literary journal.

That was the starting point of my literature. At that time, I was a seedling sprouting from the cracks of the rocks.

I never thought that my manuscripts would be published in "People's Literature" and "Harvest" successively, and I would receive so much love and attention from teachers.

How lucky am I?

I can listen to the teachings of editors of major magazines in person and experience the baptism of literature again and again.

I would also like to thank all my predecessors for their hard work and dedication.

I am moved and impressed by the sincerity and selflessness of every senior!

Lu Xun said: Literature and art are the flames of the national spirit, and they are also the lights that guide the future of the national spirit.

We are back in the generations to stay in the country.

Comrades, create!
This is a great era.

This great era is calling for great writers and artists!"

The applause was thunderous like a tide.

(End of this chapter)