1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 260 Not Published
After Zhang Shouren said this, even Jiang Xian was stunned for a long time.

He had to admire the famous editor of October, who was indeed courageous and wise.

He actually said that he would take all the responsibility.

Jiang Xian had hardly ever heard anyone say such things in later generations.

Having said that, the profession of editor is indeed worthy of respect.

It is difficult for them to become as famous as the author and get a share of the profits after the work becomes a hit, but the effort they put into editing and publishing the work is almost as much as that of the author himself.

"Teacher Zhang, what are you talking about?" Jiang Xian held the microphone and said softly, "I am very grateful that you are willing to help me publish this work."

It was very difficult to publish "The Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain".

Although Jiang Xian has achieved some success in the literary world, whether his works can be published at this time has nothing to do with his status as a writer.

Not to mention Jiang Xian, even writers of the level of Wang Meng and Ding Ling still have a lot of unpublished manuscripts piled up in their drawers.

"The Garland under the Mountain" is an even more sensitive subject.

It is easy to write about a good person and good deeds, but it is much more difficult to criticize current social ills.

Rumor has it that Li Cunbao shut himself in and wrote for a month, finishing three articles in one go: "Wreaths under the Mountains", "Sunset Falls into the Green Tent" and a reportage called "Dream of Gold and Silver".

He excitedly showed the three manuscripts to the people from Jie Xjun Literature and Art Society.

They asked for the other two copies, but not "The Garland under the Mountain".

The reason is, what kind of shit is this? What do you write about our army? You are too bold. Such a novel will never be published.

The Jie Xjun Literature and Art Society, as an important base of military literature, did not dare to publish it, which shows how much courage it took for October and Zhang Shouren to publish The Wreath under the Mountain.

But from Jiang Xian's perspective.

This time, October really made the right bet.

In another time and space, after the publication of "The Garland under the Mountain", no big incident occurred, but it was welcomed with overwhelming praise.

Of course, "October" was lucky this time, as they have made many mistakes and encountered accidents.

Like the film literary script "Love" mentioned before.

There was also Jia Pingwa's later work "Wasteland".

The ups and downs of the novel "Wasted City" are rarely seen in contemporary Chinese literature.

The first edition of the full text was published in "October", which caused a sensation at first and was later banned directly. The publishing house was punished and the leaders of "October" magazine were disciplined and transferred from their posts.

No. 2, North Beach Street.

Jin Shaoxian, the editor of October magazine's commentary section, knocked on the door of Feng Mu's office, secretary of the Party Group of the China Writers Association.

Feng Mu is not usually at the Literary Gazette. He has an office in the China Writers Association, which is just a room in a simple building without air conditioning or heating.

"Comrade Young Pioneer." Feng Mu called out the other person's name, his brows still furrowed as usual.

"How did you find me?"

"Comrade Feng Mu, I'm here to give you a manuscript."

Young Master Jin got straight to the point and took out a stack of manuscripts from his bag and handed them over. "This is a rare good manuscript. You must take a look at it."

Feng Mu usually has a lot of work to do, but Jin Shaoxian tried his best to persuade him, and he was also a member of the editorial board of "October", so he had to take the manuscript from him and asked.

"Whose manuscript is this?"

"Comrade Jiang Xian's." said Jin Shaoxian.

Feng Mu raised his head and glanced at him, then looked down at the manuscript:
"Flower wreaths under the mountains, river strings"

Feng Mu immediately became interested. "So it seems that your October magazine got the chance to publish this guy's novel?"

"Comrade Zhang Shouren made an appointment with him. Our editorial department has read it and all agree that it is a good manuscript that deserves to be on the headlines. We are ready to launch this masterpiece." Jin Shaoxian said excitedly, "I came here this time to ask Comrade Feng Mu to help Comrade Jiang Xian write a literary review after reading it."

Feng Mu, the editor-in-chief of Literary Gazette, is a famous literary critic. He has written many collections of literary criticism, such as Flowers and Grass, Collected Works of Cultivation, and Selected Literary Criticisms of Feng Mu.
"What's the novel about?"

"It's a military novel."

"Military theme?" Feng Mu was surprised. He had never heard that Jiang Xian would write about this kind of theme.

Jin Shaoxian noticed his surprise and commented: "It's not surprising, Comrade Jiang Xian's creative themes are mostly sensitive and large-scale.

He particularly likes to write about the inner conflicts of characters, but this time, he wrote about the inner conflicts in the theme of military novels. "

"Inner conflict?"

The more Feng Mu listened, the more interested he became in the novel.

"Let me take a look first."

He agreed to the task and quickly started reading the manuscript, and was attracted by its content.

"I met Zhao Mengsheng in his office at the headquarters of the Third Battalion of a certain infantry regiment in the Ailao Mountains.

After the greetings, we sat down and there was an unbearable silence.

Zhao Mengsheng is the instructor of the third battalion. He was born into a revolutionary family. His father is an old leader with outstanding military achievements, and his mother is an old soldier of the "March 8th" type. Two years ago, he was awarded the first-class merit in the south.

For more than two years, he has been fighting silently on the border without any envy of the colorful life in big cities.

In addition, he also mobilized his lover Liu Lan, who was a military doctor, to leave the big city and come to this frontier outpost to serve. "

The novel begins with a chapter called "Introduction", which is narrated in the creator's voice.

"I" was obviously a writer, traveling to the South for an interview.

As for Zhao Mengsheng.
With this short introduction, the image of a general's son has already taken shape in Feng Mu's mind.

But then, Jiang Xian changed the subject.

"Before I met him, an officer from the Military Culture Department briefly introduced the above situation and said to me: It is difficult for you to interview Zhao Mengsheng! His personality is quite unfathomable. Although his deeds are good, they have never been reported in newspapers because he has repeatedly refused interviews with reporters!

Weird temper? Creative people want to see people with personality!
Seeing that I was determined to go for the interview, the cultural department official called the regiment political department where Zhao Mengsheng was and advised me: Comrade, forget it, don't go, it's a waste of time. The comrades in the regiment political department said that Zhao Mengsheng had just received a remittance slip of 1,200 yuan three days ago, and the remittance slip was sent from your Shandong Yimeng Mountain area. Zhao Mengsheng couldn't sleep for two nights because of the remittance slip, and he was very upset!

Why would a remittance slip cause such trouble to the son of a general? There must be something behind it! So, I took the bus without hesitation. "

In Feng Mu's opinion, Jiang Xian is definitely a person who is very good at writing introductions.

The book creates suspense right from the start, and the story of the character of Zhao Mengsheng is shrouded in mystery, which makes readers want to continue reading.

This rhythm was maintained afterwards.

Zhao Mengsheng wanted to tell me about his war experience, but before he did, he made three requests:
1. Don't use fancy words to dress up this simple story.

2. Please record the story without embellishment.

3. In this story, both Zhao Mengsheng and his mother played extremely disgraceful roles. Please do not glorify anyone.

If requirements 1 and 2 are easy to understand, requirement 3 is obviously the most confusing one for readers and Feng Mu.

How could anyone expect the writer to go easy on him?

What's more, isn't this Zhao Mengsheng a war hero?
"The following is Zhao Mengsheng's story."

The “Introduction” ends abruptly, and the first chapter of the novel begins. “I remember it very clearly, it was in 1978.

I left the Propaganda Department of the Army Political Department and went to the Ninth Company as an instructor.

My original position was the photography officer of the Propaganda Department, which was a job that was both beautiful and comfortable. I was just a "second-rate guy". In addition, I did not get along well with several comrades in the Propaganda Department, so they were reluctant to see me take up a position in the company.

When the regiment sent me to the ninth company to take up my post, I only had a small suitcase with me, which contained a pack of Great China cigarettes and a "YASHIKA" camera.

That imported camera was bought for me by my mother from a remittance store when I went home for vacation in August. After I handed over the official camera, I could play with this "YASHIKA" when I wanted."

As the last sentence of the "Introduction" says, the "I" in the novel is replaced by Zhao Mengsheng.

Feng Mu listened to Zhao Mengsheng telling the story slowly as if he was listening to a story.

He flipped through the pages one by one, and his brows furrowed more and more as he read.

The so-called combat hero Zhao Mengsheng, at the beginning of his own story, appears to be quite despicable and unsightly.

Among the protagonists of the novel, Zhao Mengsheng belongs to the most special category.

He is a protagonist with a negative character.

And it is different from the ordinary flip-style character setting.

The common flipping type is that the character is good from the beginning, but just pretends to be a bad guy.

Have you watched the TV series "The Lotus Lantern"? Jiao Junen played Erlang Shen, who was considered a bad guy at first, but it was revealed at the end that he was actually a good uncle who cared deeply for the family.

The same feeling applies to Erlang Shen in "Black Myth", whose image is completely reversed at the last moment.

However, Zhao Mengsheng is a growing type of villain.

In the beginning he was really bad and selfish to the point that Feng Mu looked down on him. However, after experiencing battle after battle, Zhao Mengsheng's personality was sublimated.

After reading the novel, Feng Mu was greatly shocked. He sat at the table in a daze for a long time. Finally, he couldn't help but share it with Guang Weiran.

"Look at it."

Guang Weiran was also deeply shocked.

He and Feng Mu quickly reached a consensus.

Although the novel "The Garland under the Mountain" has not yet been published, it is absolutely no exaggeration to call it a masterpiece of current military literature.

"This kid's trip to the south was not in vain." Guang Weiran sighed.

Feng Mu nodded.

He was deeply impressed by the character Liang Sanxi in the novel.

I remember that when the Writers Association was interviewing in the south, they saw all kinds of suicide notes, many of which were stained with blood.

During an interview, Feng Mu learned about a company cadre whose family lived in a poor mountainous area and owed a lot of debts.

Before going to the battlefield, he wrote a letter to his wife, in which he asked her that if he died in battle, she and his mother should live well and not cause trouble to the country and the organization, and if there were any debts, she should use her pension to pay them off.

At that time, a large group of writers, including Feng Mu himself, were deeply shocked.

Feng Mu didn't expect that Jiang Xian also remembered this incident, and remembered it so clearly that he directly wrote the character of Liang Sanxi through artistic integration.

On June 6, the literary world was shocked by the publication of "Life" in "Capital Literature".

In the past, Chinese novels had a clear tendency towards stereotyping.

To put it simply, there are good guys and bad guys.

Gao Jialin in "Life" reveals the complexity and changeability of his thoughts, which is exactly what a real person is like.

Just when the names of "Traffic" and "Life" were resounding throughout the literary and art circles, "The Chess King" was completed.

Ge You finally returned to the capital, and the first thing he did was to visit Jiang Xian.

"Brother Jiang, I have lost weight."

"Look at your small body." Jiang Xian poured him some tiger bone wine, "Take a couple of sips."

Soon, the reporter from Popular Movies followed Xie Jin to Jiang Xian's door.

Nowadays, movies are usually preheated through "Popular Movies" several months in advance before they are released.

The reporter not only talked with Jiang Xian about the novel "The Chess King", but also asked about the prototype of Wang Yisheng.

As Jiang Xian's debut work, "The Chess King" has received relatively little attention after he released a series of best-selling novels like a machine gun.

Regarding the prototype of the novel, Jiang Xian only mentioned it briefly a few times in previous creative talks.

He said at the time that Wang Yisheng was a mixture of the images of several chess players, and Zang Guozhu was one of the prototypes.

"Who else?"

".Besides Comrade Zang Guozhu, there is a man called He Liansheng."

Jiang Xian recalled, "This man grew up in Beijing and was known to be invincible in Beijing. The chess community gave him the nickname 'Drunken Knight'.

First, he can drink a lot. He can drink a bottle and a half of Erguotou in one meal while eating mutton hotpot.

Also, he was good at using strange moves when playing chess, and his moves were crooked and zigzag, like a drunken boxer.

Later, he went to the countryside in Yunnan. I heard from my friends that he didn’t have enough food to eat every day. He would look for food as soon as he got off work. He hadn’t touched a chess piece for five years and said: “If I can’t even have enough food, how can I play chess?”

The reporter's eyes lit up when he heard this.

This trip is considered a profit!

Xie Jin was also surprised, he had never heard Jiang Xian say these things.

During the filming of "The Chess King", Xie Jin met almost all the chess masters from all over the country.

I feel deeply that the luck of chess was cut off this time by buzzing.

Hu Ronghua was previously a nationally famous chess champion who won ten consecutive titles. He was a unique figure in the chess world and was nicknamed "Commander Hu".

Because he is younger than many chess players, it is inappropriate to call him older or younger, so it is better to just call him commander.

Such a number one figure is no longer at his peak. In the past few years, his undefeated record in national competitions has been broken one after another.

The decline of chess really began with him.

The number one chess player in the past was too old to play anymore, and the number one chess player in later generations was too old to play anymore.

"When will "The Chess King" be released?" Jiang Xian and Xie Jin asked.

"It's not decided yet, but it must be this year." Xie Jin gave him a deadline.

Two of his films released in one year?
Jiang Xian thought it was a bit exaggerated.

When I got home, I received a call from October.

Zhang Shouren told him that October gave "The Wreath" to Comrade Feng Mu.

After reading it, Feng Mu said, "This is a good article, but I'm worried that it's too sharp. I need to revise it a little and remove the sharp parts before publishing it."

(End of this chapter)