1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 241 Literary Critic

Not long ago, Zhang Dening's wife was allocated a house and moved into a courtyard.

Jiang Xian rode his Forever 1981 bicycle to Qianmen Street. In , the streets and alleys were still a kingdom of bicycles.

He turned left and right, looked up, and arrived at the place.

He leaned his bicycle against the alley wall, walked sideways through the dark gate corridor that was lined with bicycles, dodged the coal cakes stuck on the wall, lowered his head and quickly rushed through the yellow smoke coming out of the short chimney, stepping over the big ice lumps formed by the smoke oil.

After walking around the icicles around the public pool in the backyard, we finally found Zhang Dening in the last house.

Today is Sunday. Zhang Dening is wearing a pair of rubber gloves and squatting in front of a washbasin, scrubbing dirty clothes.

There was no laundry detergent, but instead we used Dengta soap produced by the Beijing No. 1 Daily Chemical Factory. This soap was available in every household in Beijing. It was like a brick and had to be cut with a knife before use.

"Teacher Dening!"

Jiang Xian greeted him in a very familiar way. Zhang Dening saw him and responded eagerly: "Teacher Jiang Xian!"

She was delighted, realizing that Jiang Xian was here to give her a literary review, and smiled, "You have a really good nose. You're in for a treat today. We just made a pot of delicious food at home."

Zhang Dening led Jiang Xian into the house. It was not very big, about 30 square meters. A large casserole of cabbage was boiling on a honeycomb coal stove.

“Have you finished your literary review?”

Zhang Dening poured him a cup of hot water, and the two sat down at the table. Jiang Xian put a few pages of manuscripts in his bag on the table and said, "I have never written a literary review. Can you help me take a look? I don't really understand it, and I don't know if what I wrote is good enough."

This was indeed Jiang Xian's first time writing a literary review. He could only rely on some impressions of the article from his previous life and his own understanding to piece together this review, incorporating some of his own thoughts and insights. He was quite nervous.

Zhang Dening smiled and consoled him, "It's okay. Even if it can't be published in the Literary Gazette, is it still a problem to publish it in our Beijing Literature? If others don't praise us, can't we praise ourselves?"

"You take a look first." Jiang Xian said.

"After having enough food and drink, why talk about car accidents?" Zhang Dening read softly as he looked at the first line of the first page of the manuscript.

This is exactly the summary of Shi Tiesheng's novel. "Half an Hour for Lunch" is set against the background of several men and women eating and chatting in a sewing workshop, and depicts several vivid little people's imaginations after a car accident.

"Comrade Tiesheng doesn't know you wrote a review for him yet. If he knew about this, he would be very happy."

Zhang Dening sighed unconsciously, "This is your first time writing a literary review, and you wrote it for him."

Her eyes couldn't help but look down.

"'If you were hit by a car, can you imagine what the consequences would be?' My wife suddenly asked me this question one night not long ago. This was a discussion sparked by an article titled "Half an Hour for Lunch" in Beijing Literature.

To be honest, I read this novel earlier than most people, and it really is a great lunchtime read.

Shi Tiesheng’s description of characters is very sophisticated, and every look and gesture is very vivid.

Some people say that this article is cold. I think it depicts a very realistic picture. People's emotions may be uneven, and they fluctuate.

The half-hour of laughter and relaxation during lunch as mentioned in the article is common in our daily life, and a mess on the ground may be the true appearance of life.

But as long as there is a flag in your heart, chicken feathers can also be turned into painting patterns.

There is a sentence in this novel: The happiest people are those who have a talent - to enjoy themselves.

My understanding is: spontaneously and actively accept, take on, and transform things into happiness. There are two aspects to this: one is to find joy in suffering, and the other is the Ah Q spirit. The same point of view has two sides of the view.
"

Jiang Xian had nothing to do, so he looked around the room. There were many manuscripts scattered around Zhang Dening's house, and he also relied on a honeycomb coal stove for heating.

A curved chimney connects the honeycomb coal stove with the outside, sending the smoke produced by the combustion to the outside. The light blue smoke floats outside the house, giving people a warm feeling.

Seeing that Zhang Dening was engrossed in reading, Jiang Xian picked up the book on the table. It was Turgenev's "Hunter's Sketches".

The coal stove emits a hissing sound with a small flame. It is used to stir-fry dishes over a rapid fire and stew soup over a slow fire. The meals cooked on the coal stove seem to have the taste of the long and slow passage of time, which are mellow and long-lasting.

Jiang Xian's comment was not long. Zhang Dening read it very carefully, and his eyes became brighter and brighter as he read on.

She raised her eyes from the manuscript and glanced at Jiang Xian who was sitting opposite her, her eyes full of admiration.

She put the manuscript back on the table, and the movement attracted Jiang Xian's attention.

Jiang Xian put down the book and looked at her expectantly.

Of course he had expectations, because this was a literary review he wrote carefully for a writer he liked. He had worked hard on it, so naturally he would not feel indifferent about it. He must have hoped that it would be recognized by others.

"finish watching?"

"I've finished reading it." Zhang Dening nodded slightly.

"how do you feel?"

"Pretty good!"

Zhang Dening admired it with all his eyes, thought for a moment, and made a simple summary: "Unique insights, thorough analysis, and thought-provoking!"

She continued to add some compliments, which could be summed up in one word: good.

Jiang Xian gained a lot of emotional value and waved his hands in surprise, "You are flattering me. I still have self-awareness. My writing is not that good."

"really good!"

Zhang Dening tried hard to prove that she didn't say it was good just to give Jiang Xian face, but that the review was really well written.

Although she is the editor of the novel group of "Beijing Literature", she also has her own set of insights in literary criticism, as she often writes some literary reviews herself.

"Jiang Xian, the most valuable thing about a literary review is that it provides a novel interpretation and can dig out deep meanings that even the original author has never stated. I guarantee that your literary review has truly achieved this."

Zhang Dening's tone became more and more excited as he spoke. "Once this review article is published, I'm afraid no one will believe that this is your first time writing a literary review."

Jiang Xian smiled faintly, without saying anything more modest, and said contentedly: "Since you, Dening, think it's well written, then I'm relieved. Please help me publish this review article in "Beijing Literature"."

Zhang Dening slapped his thigh and said, "We won't publish such a good article. Of course, we will give it to the Literary Gazette!"

There is no need to be so self-righteous now. Articles praising your own works will definitely be more convincing if published in other literary magazines.

Zhang Dening calculated the time and stood up in a hurry, "Let's go!"

"Why go?"

"Let's hand it directly to the editorial department of the Literary Gazette."

"So anxious?"

“Submit early, publish early.”

Zhang Dening was extremely anxious because Shi Tiesheng was an unknown name, and the subject of the manuscript was sensitive, so there were very few reviews in the literary world.

Publishing Jiang Xian's article as early as possible can also help boost the sales of the January issue before "Half an Hour for Lunch" is published.

"Today is Sunday. Are the comrades from the Literary Gazette going to work?"

"Of course they have people there."

Zhang Dening didn't care about the cabbage boiling on the honeycomb coal stove. He asked the neighbors to help watch it and pushed the cart with Jiang Xian. Jiang Xian could have not gone, but since he decided to support Shi Tiesheng, he just did it to the end. He also had selfish motives because Shi Tiesheng was his favorite writer.

The capital city was still wrapped in a cold wave in January, and there was a light snowfall from the sky.

The editorial office of Literary Gazette was originally located in "Lishi Hutong" in Dongsi, formerly known as "Lushi Hutong". During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was a market for selling donkeys and mules.

Before the Buzz Buzz Buzz period, it was the Indonesian Embassy in China. After the Buzz Buzz Buzz period, it was given to the Cultural Policy Research Office. Comrade Feng Mu, as the editor-in-chief of the Literary Gazette, squeezed out two rooms from the Policy Research Office as the temporary office of the Literary Gazette.

At the end of the year before last, like the editorial office of People's Literature, Literary Gazette moved to a place that Jiang Xian was very familiar with - No. 2 Shatan North Street.

This courtyard is very large, and many subordinate units of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles are crowded into that courtyard for work.

After putting down their bicycles, Jiang Xian and Zhang Dening quickly found the editorial office of Literary Gazette.

The editorial department of Literary Gazette was in deep trouble, and was the site of the most intense debate on "anti-spiritual WR". After the incident, all the leaders of Literary Gazette were punished.

Out of the instinct to protect himself, Jiang Xian felt somewhat resistant to this place, so this was his first time coming here.

The Literature and Art Newspaper in the courtyard has two office locations, one of which is a separate simple small building with a ladder to the second floor hanging on an outer wall.

In the wooden house, the ladder made a creaking sound when Jiang Xian and Zhang Dening stepped on it.

Although the office conditions were shabby, since the resumption of publication of Literary Gazette, many young and middle-aged editorial talents have become the backbone of the China Writers Association and the propaganda department. As a result, sayings such as "Being transferred to Literary Gazette is like a carp jumping over the dragon gate" and "Once you enter the dragon gate, your value will increase a hundredfold" have been circulating among the people.

Just as he was about to go in, a male comrade called out to Zhang Dening.

He is chubby, wears glasses, and is about thirty years old.

"Comrade Bao Liming!" Zhang Dening called out his name and introduced him to Jiang Xian as the editor of the Literary Gazette.

Bao Liming adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, looked at Jiang Xian with surprise, and recognized him immediately.

"Comrade Jiang Xian!"

"Hello, you didn't take a break today?" Jiang Xian greeted him in a familiar manner.

"No, no, we have a lot of manuscripts and a lot of work to do, so there is no time to rest on weekends."

Bao Liming led the two people into the office. Several desks were piled with manuscripts. He wanted to shout and introduce Jiang Xian to everyone, but was stopped by Jiang Xian.

"Don't disturb everyone's work."

Bao Limin nodded, "I understand, I understand."

Zhang Dening handed Jiang Xian's commentary to Bao Liming. He was surprised as he had never heard of Jiang Xian writing commentary articles.

"This is a rare piece of literary criticism. I have read it and it is definitely worthy of being published in your Literary Gazette."

"Which novel are you reviewing?"

"An article titled 'Half an Hour for Lunch' published in the January issue of our People's Literature."

Bao Liming knew the novel, and he was a little confused by what Zhang Dening said.

Like most top literary magazines, Literary Gazette has its own persistence and will never publish unqualified manuscripts just because it is familiar with the author or the author is famous.

However, since Zhang Dening handed over the manuscript with such confidence, it must not be because of Jiang Xian's fame.

Bao Liming had read "Half an Hour for Lunch" before, and he carefully read the review "Talking about Car Accidents After a Full Meal - Reading "Half an Hour for Lunch"".

"How is it?" Zhang Dening asked him.

"Sure!" Bao Limin was surprised. "I want to read the novel again. It's a very unique insight.

There is vision and depth! "

Bao Liming thinks that the literary review written by Jiang Xian is of quite high standard and he admires his analytical ability very much. This review not only deeply analyzes the car accident plot and several characters in the workshop in "Half an Hour for Lunch", but also cleverly reveals the social significance and cultural metaphors of this novel.

After reading it, Bao Liming had a more comprehensive understanding of Shi Tiesheng's work.

Literary criticism is also an important part of literature and can be considered a special form of literary creation.

"I'll show it to Comrade Yan Gang."

"Comrade Yan Gang?" Jiang Xian couldn't help but smile when he heard the name.

Many of his published novels have been reviewed by Yan Gang, but he hasn't met Yan Gang in person for a long time. The last time they met was after the National Congress of Writers and Artists. Yan Gang and Feng Mu jointly recommended him to the China Writers Association.

I followed Bao Liming to another office location of the Literary Gazette, also in the courtyard of No. 2 Shatan North Street, which is the building of the Red Flag magazine.

Going up to the 5th floor, the Theory Department, Criticism Department, and Art Department of Literary Gazette occupied two standard offices and one large office on this floor.

There were many desks in the large office. The three walked to one of the desks. Bao Liming tapped on the table and immediately picked out Yan Gang from a pile of manuscripts.

"Comrade Yan Gang, please take a look at this review." He handed the manuscript to Yan Gang.

Yan Gang held the manuscript, glanced at it, then raised his head and caught a glimpse of Jiang Xian who was walking behind Bao Liming.

"Comrade Jiang Xian?" He was a little surprised and asked with a smile, "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to hand over a literary review to your Literary Gazette."

Yan Gang was stunned for a moment, looked down, and quickly reacted.

“Is this the manuscript you wrote?”

Jiang Xian nodded slightly.

Yan Gang became interested, sat down, spent some time, and after reading it carefully, he was surprised.

This literary review is incisive and written at a very high level.

"It's well written." Yan Gang put down the manuscript in his hand and looked at Jiang Xian with admiration.

Zhang Dening said with a smile, "Comrade Yan Gang, this is the first time that Jiang Xian has formally written a literary review article!"

"the first time?"

This time Yan Gang was really surprised.

You know, among contemporary writers, there are not many who can write both literary criticism and literary novels well, and there are even fewer young writers. This is a strange phenomenon, but it is also natural.

There is a lack of young writers in the literary world, and naturally there is an even greater shortage of talent among critics, with almost no young critics emerging.

Now that Jiang Xian handed him such a literary review, Yan Gang was both happy and surprised.

Jiang Xian's comment is not just flattery or empty talk, but contains real insights and opinions.

The article was so well written and the literary criticism was so sophisticated. Yan Gang suddenly thought of Mr. Mao Dun.

Although he did not dare to say that Jiang Xian had the talent of Mr. Mao Dun, he vaguely saw a rising hope in the literary world.

(End of this chapter)