1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 231: The Tip of the Iceberg of Public Opinion

"What a success!"

Jiang Xian's spirits lifted.

He was still very nervous before the synthesis. So far, it was his first time to synthesize a literary style such as a drama.

Drama belongs to the category of literature.

It not only belongs to the category of literature, but also to the highest form of literature - drama.

Among the three major literary identity categories of the Nobel Prize in Literature - playwright, novelist, and poet, the final winners are most likely playwrights.

It can be said that drama accounts for half of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Even in the second half of Mo Yan's life, he was transforming from a novelist to a playwright.

Jiang Xian is quite interested in dialogue drama. He has tried film scripts and TV drama scripts, but he has never made any achievements in the field of drama.

He sat in a chair and briefly watched the synthesized drama.

This is a play he has seen.

It is very famous and of great value, and can be regarded as one of the representatives in the field of Chinese drama.

After digesting the content, he went to the kitchen to get a basin of water to wash his face, dressed neatly, and rode his bicycle away from No. 15 Hufang Road towards Wangfujing.

It is the season for storing vegetables for the winter in the capital, and the chilly air is mixed with the smell of cabbage.

Ba Jin paid for the ceremony out of his own pocket and performed it for the delegation members in Cuihua Building.

There were two tables set up, the older people sat at one table, while Jiang Xian and the younger ones, Li Xiaolin, Wan Fang, Wu Qing, and Chen Xiru, sat at the children's table.

Jiang Xian was sitting next to Chen Xiru. They chatted for a while and he noticed that Chen Xiru had changed into the leather shoes he bought in Japan.

"Mr. Chen, how about the leather shoes?"

"It's good, but the leather is a little hard."

"Just wear more clothes."

Men's leather shoes need to be tamed, just like men's big pants. They need to be tamed from tight to loose to be comfortable.

As the two were chatting, Ba Lao stood up, tremblingly holding a glass of wine, and slowly walked towards Chen Xiru, "Comrade Xiru, you have worked the hardest in the entire group. Thank you."

Chen Xiru stood up flattered, "Mr. Ba, I'm not tired."

"Old Chen, don't be modest." Jiang Xian also raised a glass of wine to him, "We all see your efforts."

Each activity requires high-intensity mental work for translators. Cultural accomplishment, knowledge reserves, political quality, reaction speed, and expression ability are all indispensable. It is a comprehensive test of energy, physical strength, mental strength, and psychological endurance from multiple angles.

Needless to say, it is hard, tiring and difficult.

Chen Xiru was overwhelmed with emotions and he tilted his head back and drank the entire glass of wine.

Ba Jin patted Jiang Xian's shoulder again.

"Jiang Xian, Comrade Xiru has made a lot of efforts, and your contribution is also not small. Several crises were resolved thanks to your cleverness. This time your work can be published in Japan again, which is a good thing. You have to lead Chinese literature to the world."

Jiang Xian was even more flattered than Chen Xiru just now, "Mr. Ba, you are too kind.

My achievements are insignificant. In Tokyo, I read a lot of works by Lu Xun, Lao She, and you, as well as Shen Congwen's "Border Town". You and they are the ones who are truly leading Chinese literature to the world. "

"Mr. Shen Congwen's "Border Town"?" Ba Jin was surprised. Of course he knew Shen Congwen. They were close friends and had lived together in Qingdao.

As they were talking, Jiang Xian noticed that Ba Jin was not wearing a formal suit today. Instead, he was wearing a washed-out blue cloth Zhongshan suit, and a pair of black loafers with white soles. They were quite worn out, with a row of holes on the front, and the tips of his toes could be vaguely seen.

"Mr. Ba, is there anything else on BJ's side?" he asked.

"The Italian writers' delegation is coming, but I don't want to see them. I've been feeling unwell lately, always catching colds and coughing, my trachea isn't working, and I have a lot of things to do."

Ba Jin briefly explained and then asked, "Jiang Xian, are you willing to join the Chinese PEN Center?"

"Chinese Writers' Center?" Jiang Xian didn't know what he meant.

Chen Xiru is also a member of the PEN Club. He introduced to Jiang Xian that the PEN Club was established in April this year. Its president is Ba Jin. He was accepted as a member of the PEN Club at the Yugoslavia International PEN Congress in May. The club's main function is to organize Chinese writers to participate in international literary exchange activities.

"Okay." Jiang Xian agreed immediately.

Since Ba Lao, the president of the writers' club, had personally invited him, there was certainly no reason for him to refuse.

After the dinner, Jiang Xian asked Li Xiaolin about the time when Ba Lao would leave Beijing.

"We will return to Shanghai tomorrow afternoon."

"Then I'll see you off tomorrow morning."

"Okay, the same old place."

The next morning, Jiang Xian rode his bicycle and went to Dazhalan first, took a walk around, and then went to the Heping Hotel in Jinyu Hutong.

I knocked on the door three times and it was Li Xiaolin who opened it.

Ba Jin was very happy to see him. After a few pleasantries, Jiang Xian took out the pair of Nei Liansheng cloth shoes he had just bought.

"This is a gift for you. I see your shoes are torn."

Ba Lao laughed, "I think this pair of shoes is comfortable to wear and can be worn for a while, so I didn't throw it away. I only wear it inside, not outside, otherwise it will have a bad effect."

"I know you are frugal, but you are old, and if your shoes are more comfortable, your legs and feet will be more comfortable. I am still waiting for Captain Ba Jin to take me to visit more countries." Jiang Xian said with a pure face.

After repeated persuasion, Ba Jin had no choice but to accept it. After trying it, he found it to be quite suitable.

"How much did you buy it for? I'll give you the money."

This time, no matter what Jiang Xian said, Ba Jin insisted on giving him the money, so he had no choice but to accept it.

"Jiang Xian, do you have the second volume of my recent work?"

"No."

"Then I'll give it to you."

Ba Jin brought him a copy of "The Second Collection of Ba Jin's Recent Works" and wrote on the title page "To Comrade Jiang Xian. - Ba Jin"

Jiang Xian took it and took a look. It was a 1980 edition published by Sichuan People's Publishing House. It came with Ba Jin's signature, which was very meaningful. He liked it very much.

"What other books do you want? Any book will do. I will send it to you." Ba Jin asked with a smile.

Jiang Xian thought for a moment and said, "I want a copy of 'Home'. I read this book when I was a child."

Ba Lao said, "Okay, I'll send it to you when I get back to Shanghai."

After saying goodbye and leaving Jinyu Hutong, Jiang Xian went directly to the set of "The Sancha Lane Robbery".

The TV series was filmed very quickly. After all, there are only 3 episodes in total, with a total of 105 minutes. At this moment, they are already reshooting the last few shots.

Fang Shu grabbed Li Xuejian's arm in panic, "The Public Security Bureau went to the clothing company to check the phone lines!"

Li Xuejian's expression moved slightly, but he quickly calmed down and said with a fake smile, "Why are you panicking? With just those two phone lines, what can he accuse you of?"

"it is good!"

"pass!"

There was a burst of applause in the studio.

Wang Fulin led the applause. He was very satisfied, not only with Jiang Xian's script, but also with Li Xuejian's performance.

The candidate Jiang Xian recommended to him is great!

This young man Li Xuejian is really talented in acting. He can play any role well, especially his grasp of the character details is so precise.

Wang Fulin called him over and pointed at Jiang Xian, "Let me introduce you, this is the screenwriter comrade."

Li Xuejian extended his hand, "Hello, screenwriter."

"Well, hello." Jiang Xian shook hands with him. "Do you smoke?"

"Smoke a little."

Li Xuejian said shyly.

Jiang Xian knew that he was a heavy smoker, so he handed him a cigarette and looked him up and down.

Li Xuejian has a bald head. His hair had not grown back after he played the role of "a big girl". In order to play the sinister character of Xia Dongsheng, he shaved his head again.

He can play good guys, but he can also play bad guys. He has played many roles, including Feng Jingyao, Zhang Zuolin, and Song Jiang. After playing Song Jiang, he did not dare to return to his hometown in Shandong because his fellow villagers told him, "You have led all the heroes into the ditch. If you dare to come back, we will beat you to death."

While Jiang Xian was looking at Li Xuejian, Li Xuejian was also looking at him. He was also a literary youth and was very fond of Jiang Xian's novels. Now he finally met the writer himself and was as excited as meeting his idol.

"You brought the character of Xia Dongsheng to life." Jiang Xianwei praised.

Li Xuejian perked up and said with a smile: "The role of Xia Dongsheng and I are quite suitable. I was born in winter, and my parents named me Xuejian, which means snow in a snowy day and Jian for experience."

Good guy.

Jiang Xianxin thought to himself, isn't this a coincidence? When he was a child, he had a wife with the same name.

He even blamed her for not liking her, and directly chose to let her jump into the furnace to forge swords in the sword tomb. He and his good sister Long Kui were shameless and stayed together forever.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Li Xuejian, Jiang Xian also listened to some gossip he told.

Tian Zhuangzhuang, who was studying at Beijing Film Academy, was Li Xuejian's cousin. After saying goodbye to Wang Fulin, Jiang Xian took Zhu Lin and left. The TV series was short of a few night scenes, and she had nothing to do during the day.

“We have received our wages.”

Zhu Lin shared with him with a happy face: "The crew paid 144 to Beijing Film Studio, and Beijing Film Studio deducted a little bit, so the reward I got was 100 yuan."

"Not bad, more than a hundred. Are you the one who earns the most in the entire crew?"

"About the same. Comrade Li Youbin and Comrade Li Xuejian only have 60 or 70 yuan each."

"Tsk, tsk."

One month's salary is the total remuneration for "The Sancha Lane Robbery".

Li Xuejian's product is so useful, it only costs sixty or seventy yuan a month, which really puts the young handsome guys to shame.

However, Li Xuejian probably never dreamed that one day he would be publicly criticized for his high pay.

The couple went back to Zhongguancun.

Zhu Lin said she hadn't been home for a long time and wanted to go back and take the gifts that Jiang Xian bought from Japan.

When he came to the house again at this moment, Jiang Xian's mood had changed a lot. He carried the things and went in with Zhu Lin, opening the curtain.

"Dad, Mom!"

"came back?"

Doctor Liu was busy cooking at the moment, and when he looked up and saw the two of them, his face was filled with joy.

"Xiao Jiang, I heard from Linlin on the phone that you went to Japan?"

"Mom, I just got back."

Jiang Xian smiled.

Zhu Lin took his arm and praised him, "Mom, Jiang Xian went to visit Japan and bought you gifts when he came back."

"Really?" Dr. Liu looked surprised. She had a good son-in-law who still thought about them after going to Japan.

"Where is Zhu Hong?" Jiang Xian asked.

"I'm washing my hair. As soon as I heard you two were back from school, I had to wash my hair."

As they were talking, Zhu Hong pushed open the inner door, with a towel wrapped around her hair, and greeted them shyly.

"Brother-in-law, sister."

Zhu Lin took out a hat and said with a smile: "You still have a premonition? You knew it was the hat and washed your hair in advance. Take it, it's a gift from your brother-in-law."

"Thank you, brother-in-law!" Zhu Hong was very happy.

After "The Chase" became popular, Mayumi's hat became very popular in China, but this movie is not very famous in Japan. Jiang Xian bought a very high-end one of the same style.

"Don't lose it." Zhu Lin warned.

Doctor Liu was also very happy to receive Jiang Xian's gift. She felt so happy in her heart that her son-in-law was so generous.

After a while, Professor Zhu also came back from school.

He smiled as he was reeling in the fishing rod, but he looked a little unhappy.

"Dad, what's wrong with you again?" Zhu Lin, the daughter, immediately found something strange.

After questioning for a long time, Professor Zhu stammered and said that he had a big fight with someone in the morning.

It turned out that Professor Zhu heard some gossip that several lecturers were discussing Jiang Xian's "Copper Coin Street". They believed that what the authors wrote was their spiritual sustenance, and Li Lande was Jiang Xian's ideal, venting the difficulties of reality in the novel.

"What's the point of having good writing skills? How can an artist become a true great artist if he loses his sense of social responsibility? He would be ashamed of himself and his country."

Professor Zhu couldn't stand what he heard, so he went to argue on Jiang Xian's behalf. The dispute between the intellectuals and the dispute over ideas inevitably became more intense, and an argument ensued.

"Dad, there's no need for you to get angry about this." Jiang Xian advised.

Professor Zhu still looked unhappy and said angrily:

"What Mr. Lu Xun said is absolutely right. I have always assumed the worst of the Chinese, but I never expected them to be so despicable and cruel!"

Jiang Xian comforted Professor Zhu with a few words, realizing that the old man regarded him as a family member and had a caring heart for him.

In fact, what these teachers said is just the tip of the iceberg of current public opinion.

Since the publication of "Copper Coin Street" in "Harvest" in October, it has attracted considerable attention and received a lot of praise.

There were many words of praise, but the criticisms were equally intense, and the two sides were at a stalemate.

This is inevitable.

Even the original work, "The Moon and Sixpence", is still controversial in later generations with open minds. Some people who like the work directly disparage Maugham as a "third-rate writer" and say that the novel is nothing more than a popular novel marketed by others.

There are also boxing.
This is still the case in later generations, let alone the period forty years ago when thoughts were not yet fully open.

Before "Bronze Coin Street" was published, Li Qingquan reminded Guo Jiangxian more than once that the content of the novel was sensitive and would cause great controversy after publication.

As an outstanding editor, Li Qingquan can accurately predict the impact of a work after it is published.

The result was just as he expected. The novel received both praise and sensation.

It just so happened that Jiang Xian was visiting Japan, so he was unable to experience the domestic public opinion environment in a timely and personal manner.

On the way home, Jiang Xian went to a newspaper stand on the roadside.

"What do you want?" asked the salesperson.

"Do you have the Literary Gazette? I want the November issue."

"Have."

The salesperson handed over a portion while cracking some melon seeds.

As an important stronghold in the literary and art criticism circle, reading the Literary Gazette can give you a sense of the current public opinion trends in the literary and art circles.

"Anything else?"

Jiang Xian also selected several other journals and various media outlets.

Back at No. 15 Hufang Road, he took a sip of water, picked up the Literary Gazette and took a look at it.

In November, there was a lot of discussion in the Literary Gazette about "Glass Moon Shining on Copper Coin Street".

He first noticed a literary review by Huang Qiuyun
——《Not Everyone Has Really Lived-Reading "Glass Moon Shining on Copper Coin Street"》

The opening sentence is:
"Jiang Xian is a master storyteller. The impact and shock this novel brought to me is beyond words."

The article was also highly praised later, and the novel "Copper Coin Street" was analyzed with a very high artistic perspective.

"This novel has never been divorced from life. Art is not what Leland pursues, but life is. Otherwise, he would not have burned his work in a fire."

Huang Qiuyun is an "alternative" among critics. He used to work for the Literary Gazette and was one of the three leaders of the newspaper.

At that time, there was a popular saying that among the three leaders of the editorial department of Literary Gazette, someone represented "left", someone represented "center", and Huang Qiuyun represented "right".

After reading Huang Qiuyun's literary review, Jiang Xian noticed another literary review by Chen Shixu.

"Sacrificing Myself and Dedicating Myself Completely to Literature - Reading 'Tongqian Street'"

"To be honest, I read this article earlier than most of my readers."

Chen Shixu described in detail the whole process of reading Jiang Xian's novel at the Institute of Literature, and also shared some memories of his contact with Jiang Xian while studying at the Institute of Literature.

"After reading this novel, I was deeply touched. It was like I was thinking about what kind of life I want? Is it a comfortable life or chasing my dreams? Although Li Lande's image is extreme, his persistent pursuit of self-worth gave me the courage to reflect on myself."

In addition to them, in other publications, literary critics such as Yan Gang and Ke Ling, who were familiar to Jiang Xian, also wrote articles to evaluate "Bronze Coin Street" from different perspectives and expressed their appreciation.

Of course, while he received praise, he also received equally strong criticism, some of it could even be said to be the fiercest that Jiang Xian had ever encountered.

An old poet and playwright, "Old Left King", who always spoke harshly and was badly regarded in the circle, once made Cao Yu, who was in his seventies, so angry that he said, "I am furious! I really want to run up and smash a hole in the screen with my head!"

He is also the leader of the current literary world, with a high position and power, and his interpersonal relationships are terrible. He lost his harmony with his old superior Zhou Yang, and his relationship with Guang Weiran became strained. He became enemies with Feng Mu and never had any contact with him again. He said that Ba Jin was just a fellow traveler of the party, and he did not agree with Wang Meng's summary of the three "no"s of literature.
The literary world today is far from peaceful and harmonious, otherwise Jia Dashan would not have sighed at the end of the literary lecture: It's too noisy here, I will never come again.

"Old Left King" pointed out in his comment that the editorial board members of "Harvest" were not prudent and whether the article "Tongqian Street" could be published remained to be discussed.

In his literature review he wrote:
"The eight-character ancestral motto of the Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang's family is: country is more important than family, morality comes before art.

If an artist loses his sense of social responsibility, how can he have a big picture and become a real master? He will be ashamed of himself and even more so of his country.

Jiang Xian roughly read it through. He almost clearly discussed literary works from a political standpoint, which was the same as Zhou Yang's habit. After all, he was his old superior.

In fact, "Copper Coin Street" does not reveal the kind of thought that he criticizes. Only when he does not understand the connotation of "Copper Coin Street" at all can he make such superficial thinking.

Jiang Xian felt that Huang Qiuyun's analysis of this novel was quite accurate:

Success does not equal results.

This is what this novel wants to express.

Success is always linked to ideals. Too many people want a result, but what Li Lande wants is that state, life itself, and the results are just derivatives of it.

(End of this chapter)