1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 261 Foothold

When Zhang Shouren talked about this incident, his tone was somewhat embarrassed.

In October, they excitedly presented "The Garland under the Mountain" to Feng Mu, but they did not expect to be rejected by Feng Mu.

Now the matter has been settled. Not only did Feng Mu fail to get the literary review, but he also disagreed with October publishing "The Wreath".

This is not Feng Mu's intention to make things difficult for Jiang Xian.

In Jiang Xian's opinion, Feng Mu's reaction was very normal.

Comrade Feng Mu has this kind of personality. Previously, because Jiang Xian wrote a "stream of consciousness" novel, he wrote a letter criticizing him, in which he said:
“It’s good to write widely, but if you keep chasing after niche topics, get stuck in them, and let them affect your writing, then you’re probably going astray.”

Although he was harshly criticized, he was also cared for and protected in every possible way.

Jiang Xian only found out later that the "Selected Short Stories of Jiang Xian 1978-1980" published for him by "Beijing Literature" last year caused a big fuss after its release.

As a person of later generations, he certainly didn’t know that before 1980, only respected senior writers could embed their names in the titles of books and print them on the covers in the format of “××× Novels Collection”, such as “Complete Works of Lu Xun” and “Collected Works of Mao Dun”.
There are also some literary works that have been fully recognized by the market and have a large circulation, such as "History of Entrepreneurship", "Red Flag", "Song of Youth", "Lin Hai Xue Yuan" and "Sunny Day".
But there is no photo of the author's appearance in the book.

That was a specification limitation of this era.

How strict is it?
At present, there is a literary ranking of "Lu, Guo, Mao, Ba, Lao and Cao", but in terms of the standards for publishing collections of essays, even Lao She and Cao Yu are not included.

Looking at the literary world, only a few people such as Lu, Guo, Mao and Ba can enjoy this honor.

As a result, Zhang Dening was so bold and daring that he compiled a collection of Jiang Xian's works with his name embedded in the title.

When you open the cover of the collection, you will find not only Jiang Xian's portrait, but also some daily photos and handwritings, which completely break the old rules of seniority.

Of course, Zhang Dening was not the only editor who did this. In 1980, all publishing houses began to publish collections of works by young and middle-aged authors with their names embedded in the titles.

Liu Xinwu did it too!

In short, after Jiang Xian's collection of works was published, many veteran writers were furious after seeing the book, and believed that it was simply an act of treason.

It was Feng Mu who secretly suppressed the incident. Several dissatisfied veteran writers came to his office to curse him, which made the usually gentle and polite Comrade Feng Mu very embarrassed.

This comrade has such a temperament. He will protect writers like a big tree, but he will also criticize them harshly.

There is no way to say right or wrong, that's just how complex human beings are.

Jiang Xian took the original manuscript of "The Wreath" that had been revised by Feng Mu, and went back to look at a few parts of the novel that Feng Mu thought were very sensitive:

1. Zhao Mengsheng was not born a playboy. When he was a child, he knew how to go to the streets to volunteer. It was the growing environment in the courtyard that gradually made him selfish and detached from the masses.

2. Zhao Mengsheng's mother was a kind-hearted woman at first, but the living environment in the courtyard turned her into a noble lady who always used connections to get things done through the back door.

3. Zhao Mengsheng’s lover Liu Lan was originally a nurse. Her score in the college entrance examination was the third lowest among the 20 people. However, with the help of Zhao’s mother, she was successfully admitted to college.

4. Commander Lei had been imprisoned many times for telling the truth, and even after he was released he still dared to tell the truth.

5. After experiencing the war, Zhao Mengsheng was reborn, but her lover Liu Lan was still detached from the masses, and Jiang Xian even exaggerated her serious Western worship.

For example, in the passage written in the article, after the war broke out, Liu Lan wrote a letter to Zhao Mengsheng, mocking him for not leaving despite receiving the transfer order, asking if he wanted to be a hero? He said that today's college students would rather believe in the bronze statue (the Statue of Liberty) on Bedloe's Island in New York than worship Spartacus.

In Jiang Xian's opinion, the sensitive issues that Feng Mu mentioned do exist.

Otherwise, this manuscript would not be so difficult and hard to publish.

He hurried to confirm with Zhang Shouren, "I understand that Comrade Feng Mu is afraid that something might go wrong after the manuscript is sent out. I want to ask, if I don't revise it, will my article "October" in "Wreath" still be published?"

“It’s absolutely fine to publish it.”

Zhang Shouren patted his chest, saying that Feng Mu's opinion could not influence whether "October" would eventually publish "The Wreath under the Mountain".

"It's a pity that Feng Mu's comment is missing." Zhang Shouren said regretfully.

In the commentary circle, Feng Mu's voice is quite loud.

He is not only a famous literary critic, but also the editor-in-chief of the Literary Gazette, a magazine that the critics pay the most attention to.

When it comes to literary appreciation, his vision is absolutely excellent. Comrade Zhao Shuli and Comrade Li Ji, who died from drinking medicinal wine, were both discovered by Feng Mu.

"One less review is better," Jiang Xian made a decision after a moment's hesitation. "It can't be helped. If I really revise The Wreath as Comrade Feng Mu said, the concept of my novel will be greatly compromised."

Zhang Shouren knew what philosophy he was talking about.

In the introduction, Jiang Xian once pretended to be Zhao Mengsheng and said: "Works describing war lack the true feelings of war, smooth out the extremely sharp contradictions and conflicts, and lose the artistic power to shock the readers' hearts."

If he smoothed out the conflict in the article because of Feng Mu's comment, it would be a waste of time and effort.

"Comrade Jiang Xian, don't give up so quickly. I have another idea."

Zhang Shouren gave him some advice.

"First, make revisions according to Feng Mu's suggestions, give the revised manuscript to him, and try to get him to agree to write a review."

Listening to the words and listening to the tone, as they were all adults, Jiang Xian immediately guessed what Zhang Shouren was thinking.

He wanted Jiang Xian to use the revised manuscript to ask Feng Mu to write a review for him. After that, October would publish the original manuscript of "Wreath" which had not been revised.

These editors are really good.
"Forget it."

He politely declined Zhang Shouren's proposal.

If he follows Zhang Shouren's suggestion, he will certainly get a great deal for free. When the article is published, Feng Mu will definitely not say anything about it.

It's just too much of a dog.

It doesn't fit his style of doing things.

Besides, if you plot against Feng Mu like this, he will definitely feel uncomfortable when he finds out the truth.

Jiang Xian would not do anything that might offend others.

"Lao Zhang, I'll go talk to Comrade Feng Mu and try to negotiate with him. If that doesn't work, then forget it."

"Okay."

Seeing Jiang Xian's decision, Zhang Shouren naturally would not object, but just hoped that Jiang Xian could convince Feng Mu.

"October" was already prepared to publish "The Wreath under the Mountain" as the magazine headline. In Zhang Shouren's idea, if Feng Mu's review could be published at the same time, it would be a perfect match and complement each other.

On this day, under the guidance of Jin Shaoxian, Jiang Xian came to Muxidi.

Feng Mu now also lives in the Muxidi high-ranking cadres building. After the policy was implemented, many veteran cadres and cultural figures moved into this building.

"Comrade Chen Huangmei also lives in this building. He lives on a high floor, and Comrade Feng Mu lives on a low floor," said Jin Shaoxian.

I took the elevator upstairs, knocked on the door three times, and it was quickly opened.

"Comrade Feng Mu!" Jiang Xian greeted.

Feng Mu glanced at the two of them and called out, "Come in." The living room was very spacious, with one wall covered with new bookcases filled with books.

Feng Mu poured them tea, and Jiang Xian went over and took out a copy of "The Complete Works of Lu Xun". Upon closer inspection, it was the Northeast edition of "The Complete Works of Lu Xun" in 1948.

"Young people should read more articles by Lu Xun," said Feng Mu.

Jiang Xian nodded, "I have read all of Mr.'s articles, including many of his translations."

"That's rare!" Feng Mu couldn't help but praise, "Which translation impressed you the most?"

"Artsybashev's 'The Worker Syverev', translated by Lu Xun."

Jiang Xian blurted out, "At the end of the novel, the protagonist ran into the theater and randomly shot innocent people. It left a deep impression on me. To be honest, I had nightmares for several nights because of this."

Artsybashev is a writer of the Russian decadent literary genre, and his works are about personal hedonism.

"Worker Suhuilyov" tells the story of a college student named Suhuilyov, who volunteers to be a worker in order to seek welfare for the workers and devote himself to the revolution. However, he finds out that it is certain workers who betray him, making him despair of the revolution. Therefore, he turns around and kills people indiscriminately to vent his anger.

Feng Mu felt somewhat concerned after hearing this, and asked Jiang Xian if he had carefully read Lu Xun's series of writings on Artsybashev's novel, and urged him to read it more carefully.

Feng Mu was worried that Jiang Xian's thoughts would go astray.

Unfortunately, for Jiang Xian, a time traveler, his thoughts are very different from those of people of this era.

Feng Mu quickly turned the topic to Lu Xun's "Medicine", a novel whose starting point is similar to "Worker Suleymaniye".

Xia Yu worked for the benefit of the people, but was killed by the rulers. The ignorant people like Hua Laoshuan were not only unaware of his actions, but also used steamed buns dipped in his blood as medicine to feed his sick son.

"This kind of painful text can be appreciated in the new era, but it cannot be imitated. You should be careful not to indulge in the excitement of pursuing novel texts such as Artsybashev."

Feng Mu's words obviously had a warning tone.

The atmosphere was awkward, and Jin Shao spoke first: "I heard there's a good restaurant nearby. It's almost time for dinner, why don't we go eat together?"

Jiang Xian ignored Jin Shaoxian and told him about an experience he had in the south.

That was when their writers went to a field hospital for an interview and on the way they met a local girl who was using money to buy eggs. The girl bought a lot of eggs at once and wanted to ask the old man selling the eggs for a lower price.

At first, the old man refused to lower the price and blamed the little girl for buying so many eggs. Later, he learned that they were to be sent to the wounded soldiers in the hospital, so the old man carried all the eggs and went to the hospital with the little girl.

At that moment, all the stall owners stood up, picked up their baskets, and rushed into the hospital with fruits, eggs, and cakes.

Jin Shaoxian and Feng Mu listened quietly to Jiang Xian telling this story.

Feng Mu naturally remembered this incident. As Jiang Xian told the story and recalled what he saw that day, he still couldn't help but be moved.

Jiang Xian's voice was clear, and he summed it up with a line from "The Wreath":

"The revolution was fed by the people with millet; victory was pushed forward by the people with carts!"

"The basis for writing the article "The Wreath" is by no means novelty, but a sincere gratitude to this era, to the people, and to the heroes."

"I think discussing the issue on this basis should be relatively objective. In other words, the starting point of my writing is not wrong, and my article is not wrong either."

Feng Mu didn't expect Jiang Xian to suddenly say such a thing. He frowned and looked at him quietly.

"Do you have the guts to take responsibility for your novel? Do you know the consequences?"

Jiang Xian did not give a direct answer, but said, "Facing social reality, I think this is the greatest mission of a writer."

Quiet.

The living room was silent for a long time.

Jin Shaoxian's head was sweating after hearing this.

He didn't expect Jiang Xian to be so bold and tell Feng Mu all this so directly.

However, Feng Mu was not as angry as he imagined. He looked gentle and elegant as usual, and asked Jiang Xian and him if they wanted to have a simple meal at his home.

After the meal was ready, some wine was taken out and shared with the two of them.

As for Jiang Xian, he acted as if nothing had happened and continued to talk to Feng Mu about Lu Xun and Russian literature naturally.

He had learned a lot of these things from listening to them in the Institute of Literature, and his lectures were to the point, so Feng Mu nodded frequently.

The two of them had a very pleasant conversation, and Jin Shaoxian inexplicably felt that he was so out of place.

After having a meal, Jiang Xian and Jin Shaoxian got up to say goodbye.

After leaving Feng Mu's apartment, Jin Shaoxian hesitated to speak all the way, but finally couldn't help but said to Jiang Xian:

"You shouldn't have told Comrade Feng Mu that."

"I've already said it, so don't think about it anymore." Jiang Xian replied.

He was now relaxed. It would be best if Feng Mu's literary reviews were available, but if not, he wouldn't force it.

The successful publication of the novel "The Garland under the Mountain" is already the best result.

"Oh, you"

Young Master Jin sighed first.

Jiang Xian smiled. He also knew that Jin Shaoxian and other editors of "October" did all this for the novel "Wreath".

"Comrade Young Pioneer, stop sighing. You've been working hard for a long time. You pick a place tonight and I'll host you. Let's have a drink together."

“This is not appropriate.”

Young Master Jin waved his hand and said, "I'll skip this meal for now. I'll treat you when you win an award after this novel is published. I'll treat you and Lao Zhang together."

"Okay, I will definitely treat you to a meal then, not a movie," Jiang Xian said.

Jin Shaoxian didn't understand what he meant, nor did he care. He just said something that suddenly occurred to him:
"It's a pity that your novel is at most a novella, and the word count is not enough. The novel award reserved by Mr. Mao Dun requires novels with more than 13 words to be eligible."

“Has the award been decided?”

"The Writers Association is still discussing it. Now many people are suggesting that it should be named the Mao Dun Literature Prize, named after him."

Jiang Xian nodded, chatted with him for a few more words, and then parted ways.

Before leaving, Jin Shaoxian was still regretting Feng Mu's literary reviews.

Unexpectedly, just a few days later, October received an enthusiastic literary review.

The Most Magnificent and the Most Precious: Reading the Novella 'The Wreath under the Mountain'

(End of this chapter)