1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 193 Children's Literature in the 50s

No. 15 Hufang Road.

"Let's go together this time, really."

Jiang Xian slowly told Zhu Lin, "Comrade Jia Dashan from my dormitory didn't go. You can take his place. We won't use the public funds. I'll pay the money to the institute."

The institute organized a trip to Beidaihe, and Jiang Xian also decided to participate in this Beidaihe field trip.

Because if nothing unexpected happens, this will be the last team-building activity of the Institute of Literature.

A group of writers from all over the world study together for a few months, and will return to their hometowns after the study. If they want to meet again in the future, it may be this year, next year, or maybe they will never meet again.

Zhu Lin pursed her lips and asked first: "Why didn't Comrade Jia Dashan go?"

"He wanted to take advantage of the fact that the dormitory is empty these days and bring his wife and children to the capital to play for a few days." Jiang Xian explained.

Accommodation in the capital has always been a big problem.

Jia Dashan had no place to stay in the capital, so when his family arrived, they could only sleep in an air-raid shelter or a bathhouse.

"I'm not going. You can go and play alone this time."

Zhu Lin put her arms around Jiang Xian's neck in a flattering manner and rubbed his head. "Comrade Jiang, I really don't want the crew to stop working because of me. Besides, I still have to take an exam. Let's find some time next time to have a good time together."

Jiang Xian's ears were tickled by her hair.

He felt helpless. They hadn't even gotten married yet, but Her Majesty the Queen had already learned to make promises for him.

Come to think of it, this is not the first time that His Majesty has done this kind of thing. He is a repeat offender and he is always fed well every time.

"Don't be unhappy, really." Zhu Lin said in a coaxing tone, "I'll make you something delicious."

"."

Jiang Xian is quite good at flirting, so he deliberately kept silent at this moment.

Seeing that he was angry, Zhu Lin became anxious, and quickly walked around from behind him to the front, squatted down, put her arms on his knees, raised her head and blinked her almond eyes.

"Comrade Xiao Jiang~"

"Comrade Xiao Jiang~~~"

"Shall I sing for you?"

"Shall I dance for you?"

"Whatever you want~"

Now Jiang Xian finally felt that it was interesting. He showed a wanton smile, held her little hand, and whispered softly into Zhu Lin's ear.

"I think."

Fifteen minutes later.

Zhu Lin grabbed a piece of toilet paper and wiped her mouth.

Thinking of the scene just now, my body felt hot and my face was so red that blood seemed to be dripping out.

She really didn't know why Jiang Xian had so many weird ideas and quirks.

He actually. He actually

——Let her call him "Brother Royal Brother" for fifteen minutes!
The day before departure, several students from the Institute of Literature and Art took bus No. 18 from Zuojiazhuang into the city, went to Wangfujing, and bought some travel supplies in a very grand manner, including sunglasses, sun hats, and swimsuits.

Swim trunks for boys were easy to buy. The male students each got a pair. Kong Jiesheng didn't want to buy one and gave his reason, "If I buy swimming trunks, I will go swimming. If I go swimming, I may drown."

Zhang Kengkeng couldn't stand it anymore, so he forced him to buy one while scolding him.

The male students’ problems have been solved, but the female students’ problems are very serious.

"Wangfujing is such a big place, but you can't even buy a women's swimsuit here." Tie Ning complained.

Jiang Xian thought for a moment and said, "Why don't I go to the Beijing Film Studio and ask. They should have this kind of clothing and I can lend you two."

He was actually allowed to borrow it, and it was a bubble swimsuit which was quite popular at the moment, with many bubble-like fabric designs on the clothes.

Don’t think that all swimsuits nowadays are conservative. There are also gauze swimsuits that look transparent when worn, which is outrageous.

We took the train to Beidaihe, and a car came to pick us up when we arrived. The guesthouse faced the sea, and was only a few hundred meters away.

“What a beautiful view!”

“The sky is so blue, the water is so green!”

"Yes, yes, the water quality is better than that of the Seine!"

The students at the Institute of Literature became excited when they saw the scene.

This was Jiang Xian’s first time in Beidaihe. He had always thought that Beidaihe was just a river, but he didn’t expect it to be a seaside scenic spot.

Gu Jianzhi, the leader of the Institute of Literature, immediately called a meeting of the students and gave a speech, the gist of which was to ask everyone to rest well, have fun, pay attention to safety, and use this opportunity to get to know each other better.

As he was talking, he gave an example, "Qiao Dianyun could also take a walk with Wang Anyi and have a chat!"

The students burst into laughter. Wang Anyi was the youngest among the students, while Qiao Dianyun was the oldest student in the Institute of Literature, at the age of 49. He did not look like the stereotypical writer, but rather like a good farmer.

The two were at a loss what to do with the sudden commotion.

Jiang Xian coughed twice and kindly helped the two of them out. "Teacher Gu, Comrade Qiao Dianyun and Comrade An Yi chat often."

After dinner, Jiang Xian sat in Comrade Li Qingquan’s room and told him about the current situation of "Beijing Literature and Art".

"I think the current environment is relatively stable. I have mentioned before that the magazine should not be called "Beijing Literature and Art" and should be renamed "Beijing Literature." Li Qingquan said.

"The name 'Beijing Literature' is a better name." Jiang Xian nodded in agreement, "We can raise this matter with the Beijing Writers Association."

The next morning, Jiang Xian was woken up by a group of students, changed into swimming trunks and went to the beach.

Chen Shixu had already been swimming in the sea without knowing when.

Wang Anyi sighed softly, "Chen Shixu is trying to hide from us. What he wrote recently is really disappointing. I'm afraid that Chen Shixu's influence has gone astray, and he will never return."

She didn't mean to look down on Chen Shixu. She had a good relationship with Chen Shixu on weekdays, and she felt it was a pity at this moment.

Chen Shixu is probably one of those writers who soars to fame when he is born but then goes downhill from there. However, he is also open-minded. Compared with other writers who sacrifice everything for literature, he is willing to be a homely man with a wife and children.

After a while, news came from other students that Chen Shixu swam very far and was tripped by the shark-proof net. Fortunately, he was lucky enough to break free and survive.

"You are too careless. This is too dangerous!"

"Are you injured?"

"Look, I asked you to separate yourself from the masses, and now something bad has happened."

Gu Jianzhi soon heard about this and hastened to hold a meeting to urge the students not to swim too far and if they wanted to sacrifice themselves, they should devote themselves to Chinese literature.

Such an episode did not affect everyone's mood for fun. Of course, the writer's fun is not called fun, it's called field trip.

Jiang Xian and a group of older students were lying together basking in the sun.

The beach in Beidaihe is very nice, with fine, smooth and even sand. When the tide goes out, only shells, starfish and pebbles are left.

"After collecting materials for so long, do you have any inspiration now?" Jiang Zilon asked.

A group of male students talked a lot for a long time, but they didn't have any inspiration. Maybe they could write a travelogue. When asked about Jiang Xian, he only said, "The golden sunshine and pure friendship have added some material to the children's literature I have been thinking about recently."

The pure friendship deteriorated on the spot.

Several old comrades are ready to go. We are here to relax, but you are still busy?

Mo Shen couldn't help but smile, "Let's have fun, why are you still writing a travelogue? Who can write a story like Crossing the River?"

Several male comrades burst into laughter.

Jiang Xian also chuckled a few times, didn't explain, and raised his camera to take pictures.

On the shore, several female students were having a blast playing in the sea. Their hair was soaked in the water, and sand was dripping down their bodies. They were only wearing swimsuits with very little fabric.

The gay men's laughter stopped abruptly.

There was silence for a long time. I don't know who coughed first, and then the coughing sounds continued one after another.

Zhang Xuefeng said it well: If you watch it, you will feel embarrassed, but if you don’t watch it, you actually want to watch it. Isn’t this making things difficult?
Fortunately, the embarrassment was quickly resolved.

Jiang Zilong raised his hand and pointed at the embankment, "Isn't that Da Feng?!"

Jiang Xian looked in the direction he pointed, and sure enough, he saw the tall and strong Feng Jicai walking on the embankment with a woman who was much shorter than him and looked like his sister.

Many students at the Wenjiang Institute knew Da Feng, and they all waved and called out to him.

He came over quickly, greeted with joy, and introduced the person next to him. It turned out that she was not his sister, but his wife Gu Tongzhao.

I have to say that his wife Gu Tongzhao and Da Feng really look like a good couple.

"Jiang Xian, I read your book "Rice" and I wanted to write you a letter. How did you write it?" Feng Jicai shrank his body and said with a beaming face, his representative big eyeballs almost popping out.

"Holding the pen and using the brain, what else can be written?" He answered with a smile.

Feng Jicai is also a rising star in the literary world and is highly respected by all the students.

Wang Anyi also wanted to talk to this "Tianjin talent" and have a say.

Seeing Jiang Xian talking and behaving like an old friend who had known each other for many years, he was filled with envy and sighed secretly.

Birds of a feather flock together. Outstanding people always hang out with outstanding people.

At night, taking advantage of this rare leisure time, Jiang Xian picked up a pen and started writing a manuscript in his room in the guesthouse.

This was a long novel with a lot of words, and it would take him a while just to copy it.

The feeling when writing it is completely different from when I wrote "Rice", there is lightness and heaviness, joy and bitterness.

Jiang Xian is an adult, but as he wrote, his eyes became sore and he couldn't help but shed tears for being moved by the friendship of these children.

Jiang Zilong, who lived with him, was so shocked that he exclaimed, "How could this happen? He even wrote himself to tears?"

"It's inevitable to get involved." Jiang Xian chuckled.

Jiang Zilong became interested, "Can I read it?"

Jiang Xian didn't mind and handed him the manuscript.

He didn't write many words, and Jiang Zilon read it all in less than ten minutes. He put down the manuscript, his eyes flashing with emotion, and he sighed.

"If I hadn't seen you write it with my own eyes, I would have really doubted whether this was written by you. How could you write about your childhood so well?"

Jiang Xian explained calmly, "It was because we played together today that I recalled the pure friendship we had when we were little. This trip to Beidaihe was really a great experience for me."

Jiang Zilon focused his attention on the manuscript again, read it again, and still loved it.

“In the 50s, all the novels written about this era were reflective literary novels, and I’m afraid no one would write children’s literature like you do.

Actually, I am about the same age as the protagonist you wrote. I was not very old then either. I had to get up at 5 or 6 in the morning, carrying a dung basket on my back, and go to the street to pick up dog poop. I also pulled weeds, collected firewood, picked wheat ears, and stewed sweet potatoes.

Jiang Zilon, a representative writer of reform literature, kept Jiang Xian from sleeping and kept sharing his childhood stories with him, under the pretext of providing him with writing material.

Life was not very good back then, but when I talk about it now, my face is full of joy and nostalgia.

People will subconsciously forget unpleasant things.

When we talk about childhood, it is always so beautiful that it is hard to describe.

In the following days, the students wandered around Beidaihe in groups of three or five, and their relationships became much closer.

Jiang Xian wrote while going out to play, maintaining a pace of writing 4,000 words every day.

Beidaihe is worry-free, but the literary world's attention to "Rice" continues to grow.

The unique and sophisticated stream-of-consciousness insertion in the novel "Rice" can be described as a storm hitting the shore.

You should know that with the beginning of the 80s, modernist novels gradually emerged in China. One is the "stream of consciousness" novel represented by Wang Meng, and the other is the absurd novel represented by Zong Pu.

The last year of the 70s and the first few years of the 80s were the years when the pace of "stream of consciousness" novels accelerated, with one stream of consciousness literary works after another being published like "cluster grenades."

Jiang Xian's article "Rice" undoubtedly puts him at the forefront among all writers.

The last issue of "Wenyi Bao" published three consecutive literary reviews of "Mi".

It is rare, or even unprecedented, for such a loud voice to discuss the same novel in such an important literary arena. This shows how intense the storm that the novel "Rice" has caused in the literary world is.

Mr. Lei Da, a famous literary critic, also wrote a review article - "The Pleasure of Being Torn - Reading <Mi>"

"Rice" is a book that speculates on the evil of human nature, and it shows the evil side nakedly. I am reminded of what Ryunosuke Akutagawa said: When survival becomes the first need, on the scale of good and evil in human nature, human nature will tend to be evil."

"In his study of Rice, Jiang Xian achieved a combination of realism and modernism, focusing on tracking the changes in the soul without abandoning profound realism, and questioning the oppression and darkness of the old society."

"Although it breaks through physical time and space and presents a subjective stream of consciousness, the content is clear and the thoughts are rational. This article "Rice" can be said to be a model of "Chinese stream of consciousness" or "Eastern stream of consciousness" writing."

On the train back to BJ, the students of the Institute of Literature and Art passed the "Literary Gazette" around to each other, and all of them showed envy for Jiang Xian in their eyes.

This literary review is of extraordinary value because it was written by critic Radar.

Lei Da was praised as the "Radar of Literature" and once opened a column in the Literary Gazette under the name "Radar's View of the Tide", commenting on current creations in a timely manner.

There is a saying in the literary world: If you don’t know the name Lei Da, it means he is still far away from literature; if Lei Da doesn’t know his name at all, it means he still needs to work harder.

A few days after returning, the Institute of Literature and Art went on holiday and the students chose to go home to spend the holiday.

"See you in September!" Kong Jiesheng carried his luggage and said goodbye to Jiang Xian and others.

Jiang Zilong sighed, "What a pity, I haven't seen your novel yet before the holiday."

"It's not like I won't publish it." Jiang Xian smiled.

Jia Dashan was also going back to Zhengding. Jiang Xian sat in the dormitory and reminisced about the past years of their common battle.

The room was deserted, with only occasional voices coming from the open door, followed by footsteps in the corridor, as the No. 18 bus sent the students away one by one.

As soon as he went out, he ran into Wang Anyi, and Jiang Xian asked:
"Is Comrade An Yi going back to Shanghai?"

"This is what I planned. Everyone at the Institute of Literature has left, and it's too lonely to live here."

"It's better not to go back," Jiang Xian advised, "Just stay at the Beijing Art Guesthouse and work hard for a month."

As an editor, he was too lazy to go around collecting manuscripts, so his performance depended entirely on his niece.
(End of this chapter)