1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 522 "Bei? What Bei?"

"Oh, there's also a discussion on the creative process."

Li Jingfeng suddenly became interested, wondering if Jiang Xian had written about his affair with the girl with the character "Bei".

"Has he finished writing it?"

"Can I take a look?"

"Nope."

He Qizhi tidied up the manuscript that Li Jingfeng had given him. "I was just about to urge him on. He's such a busy man, with so many things to do, and each one is a big deal. We're in a rush to publish, so we have to keep urging him to finish the manuscript."

"Are you urging me to finish the manuscript?"

Li Jingfeng rolled his eyes. "Then you still don't understand Jiang Xian."

"what happened?"

"He's the kind of person who never needs to be urged to submit his manuscripts."

Li Jingfeng looked like he knew Jiang Xian inside and out. "As long as he agrees to write, just wait and see. He sent you the manuscript a long time ago, much faster than you can imagine."

"Is it?"

He Qizhi was skeptical. Those writers were all lazy, and typing was incredibly difficult for them. What writer didn't need to be urged to submit their work? If no one was pushing them to write, they could just let the sheep graze all day.

"Who are you sending this manuscript to?"

"Old Wang."

"Which Old Wang?"

"Deputy Editor-in-Chief Wang personally edited Jiang Xian's novel."

"Wang Zhaoqian edited it himself?!" Li Jingfeng was taken aback.

He also knew Wang Zhaoqian, whom He Qizhi mentioned, because Wang had previously worked at their People's Literature Publishing House, serving as an editor, deputy director of the editorial department, and editor-in-chief, before going to "Contemporary" as deputy editor-in-chief.

"more than."

He Qizhi revealed, "After all, Lao Wang has retired from the front line of editing. This time, he personally selected two editors, Zhang Zhong'e and Long Shihui, to handle Jiang Xian's novel."

"Such a big battle?"

Li Jingfeng was startled.

These two are no ordinary people; they're not just some nobody.

Zhang Zhong'e used to be an editor of "October" and was transferred to "Contemporary" a few years ago.

Over the years, the novels he personally edited include Cong Weixi's first novella, *The Tenth Bullet Hole*; Li You's reportage, *Infatuation*; Zhang Xianliang's first novella, *Love Talk in the Earthen Prison*; Liu Shaotang's novella, *The Willow Family*; Liu Xinwu's novellas, *Ruyi* and *The Overpass*; the novel *The Bell and Drum Tower*; Liu Baiyu's novel *The Second Sun*; Zhang Jie's novel *Heavy Wings*; Tie Ning's first novel, *The Rose Gate*; Chen Rong's novella, *The Secret of Prince Village*; Zhu Chunyu's novella, *Green Shade in the Desert*; Ke Yunlu's *New Star*, *Night and Day*, and *Decline and Glory*; and Jiao Zuyao's novel *The Trekker*.
This series of famous articles were all edited and polished by this person and published in the journal.

As for Long Shihui, he was also an editor at the People's Literature Publishing House.

You all know "Tracks in the Snowy Forest", right?
"Why are you blushing?"

“Refreshed!”

"Why is it yellow again?"

"Wax for cold protection!"

"Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy" was adapted from this novel, both in the earlier model opera and in the later film directed by Tsui Hark.

It was the mid-1950s when Long Shihui discovered Qu Bo's novel "Tracks in the Snowy Forest" among a large number of submissions.

He could tell at a glance that the novel had inherent flaws: it had problems with its language structure, lacked literary merit, and was just a collection of materials. However, the subject matter was excellent, and the author had a solid foundation in life experiences.

In short, the author has a lot of ideas, but the writing is terrible.

So he invited the author to the capital to discuss and revise the manuscript with Qu Bo, patiently explaining to the author how to structure the article and how to cut and omit parts.

The original manuscript did not contain any descriptions of love. Long Shihui said that a long novel consisting entirely of men fighting would not attract readers, so he suggested that she could write a female character.

However, transforming an editor's ideas into the author's words is no easy task, so Long Shihui simply took matters into his own hands and rewrote the novel almost entirely, pouring his heart and soul into it.

The character Bai Ru, the little white dove, was added by him in the novel, and the plot of "Shao Jianbo's Snowy Night and Affectionate Heart" was also written by him.

After the publication of "Tracks in the Snowy Forest", Qu Bo became famous overnight, but few people know the contributions made by editor Long Shihui behind the scenes. He transformed a pile of materials into a complete novel. It is no exaggeration to say that Long Shihui helped Qu Bo write half a book.

Besides "Tracks in the Snowy Forest," Long Shihui also wrote the novels "Song of Youth" by Yang Mo, "The Heroic Song of Qingjiang" by Ma Shitu, and "The General's Song" by Mo Yingfeng.
Not only does it include works that have won the Mao Dun Literature Prize, but it also has best-selling books like "Song of Youth" that have swept across the country, and several of its works have been adapted into movies and TV series.

In short, both Zhang Zhong'e and Long Shihui were among the most treasured editors of "Contemporary" magazine.

Not to mention Contemporary, these two are renowned editors throughout Beijing and even the whole of China.

Later, both of them were selected by well-meaning people to be included in the so-called "Four Great Editors" of Beijing.

Two of the "Four Great Editors" simultaneously "assist" one author.

The sheer scale of this event demonstrates just how much importance Contemporary magazine places on it.

Of course, when Li Jingfeng thought that the author was Jiang Xian, he felt that everything made sense.

Yes, it's true that you sent four renowned editors.

But the other party is a winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, first place winner of the Lu Xun Literature Prize, multiple winners of the National Excellent Short and Medium-Length Novels Award, winner of the China Golden Rooster Award, winner of the first October Literature Prize, and first place winner in the People's Literature magazine's "My Favorite Work" selection.
Aside from these honors, the other party is also a member of the China Writers Association, vice chairman of the Beijing Writers Association, the first curator of the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature, and the current editor-in-chief of the national first-class literary journal "People's Literature".
Leaving aside his identity, just consider the terrifying popularity of Jiang Xian's works among readers, the huge discussions each article sparks in literary and critical circles, and his terrifying track record of initiating and leading multiple literary trends such as "Root-Seeking Literature," "Avant-garde Literature," and "Stream of Consciousness."

Who can say for sure whether it was Contemporary magazine or Jiang Xian who suffered a loss by having two editors, Zhang Zhong'e and Long Shihui, jointly edit his novel?

Li Jingfeng was a little surprised that He Qizhi was so selfless. He was the one who braved the heavy snow to get Jiang Xian's manuscript, but then he handed over the editorship to someone else.

Now that I think about it, if he were He Qizhi, he probably wouldn't have taken on the role of editor in charge of this novel.

To put it nicely, this is knowing when to advance and when to retreat, and understanding the bigger picture.

To put it bluntly, people need to have self-awareness!

"Are you free right now?" Li Jingfeng asked He Qizhi.

"Yes, what's wrong?"

“I happen to have some free time right now, so let’s go find Jiang Xian and see if he’s finished writing his creative essay. I reckon he’s already finished it. Knowing him as I do, he’s probably too busy to send it to you.”

"How could that be? It's only been a few days!" He Qizhi was somewhat reluctant to go, but he couldn't resist Li Jingfeng's urging and agreed.

"Jingfeng, do you think we shouldn't go empty-handed? We should bring Jiang Xian something with us?"

After thinking it over, Li Jingfeng realized that given his relationship with Jiang Xian, there was no need to stand on ceremony. However, with He Qizhi involved, things were different.

"That's true."

"So what do you suggest we bring?"

"."

Li Jingfeng looked helpless. "You've come to the right person with this question." "Jingfeng, will this even work?"

On the way, He Qizhi looked at the stack of manuscripts in the handlebar basket of his bicycle and felt a little hesitant.

Although sending a goose feather from afar is a small gift but carries great meaning, I'm only bringing some manuscript paper from the People's Literature Publishing House.

That's too light.

Their humanities publishing house isn't even a thousand miles away!
Moreover, "Contemporary" is located in the same building as the People's Literature Publishing House. Isn't it the same if we take some of their "Contemporary" manuscript paper?

“You don’t understand, Jiang Xian just likes this kind of thing.” Li Jingfeng said with complete certainty.

They soon arrived at Tuanjiehu, but unfortunately, Jiang Xian wasn't home; his mother, Rao Yuemei, was there taking care of her granddaughter.

Rao Yuemei knew Li Jingfeng, and he introduced He Qizhi to her.

"The editor of *Contemporary*?"

Rao Yuemei slapped her forehead and said, "I know, I know. I heard Jiang Xian say that he had a manuscript to submit to Contemporary. I'll get it for you."

"You have a manuscript?"

He Qizhi was still a little skeptical. "Is it meant for us? There must be some mistake. We want a piece on the creative process."

“Yes, it’s about creative work, there’s no mistake.” Rao Yuemei said with certainty.

He Qizhi had no choice but to sit down with Li Jingfeng, and the two of them drank some tea together. Rao Yuemei quickly brought over the manuscript.

"It's actually finished!"

He Qizhi glanced at it and his face was full of surprise. "Jiang Xian's writing speed is really better than most writers."

"He does write very quickly."

Li Jingfeng recalled for a moment and said, "What does it mean to be quick-witted? This word is probably the most suitable to describe him."

"Let me see."

He Qizhi focused his gaze on the manuscript, and Li Jingfeng followed his gaze:

"I used to think that there were many important things ahead, and that I could see them as long as I kept running around."

"After walking through it all, I realized that the important things all happened behind me and are already in the past, and the future is just a blank page."

"There is nothing to regret about the past, nor was there any coincidence. Everything had to be experienced. I don't believe that a person can have more than two choices."

"."

"Culture is terrifying. It's like food: if you don't eat it, you die; if you do, you're shaped by it."

"I suspect that its core has been encoded into the genetic code and no longer needs to be acquired through education."

"I feel like I'm swimming in the ocean, with endless waves. When will I be able to reach the other shore and have the clear and innocent mind of a primitive man who has just come down from the tree?"

"Regarding this novel, I personally believe that, like some of my previous novels, it is a testament to an era of ignorance."

"To live on, to live in self-deception and self-indulgence, is probably the fate of a writer, and there's no use in understanding it."

"."

He Qizhi and Li Jingfeng quickly got into it.

Both of them are editors and have read countless articles about creative writing, as well as numerous articles by authors sharing their writing journeys.

But I've never seen anyone write their creative reflections like this before.

Such brilliant language, such insightful writing.

elegant!
So elegant!
As he watched, He Qizhi even felt a little regretful.

This is just a discussion about the creative process!
Jiang Xian's words, he felt, could all be considered brilliant and beautifully written even if used in a novel.

This article is even of higher quality than many short stories.

But this is just a discussion about the creative process.

He Qizhi couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

What a waste!
Such a waste!

But after the initial pain, her feelings quickly turned into admiration for Jiang Xian.

What author could be so talented as to squander their talent like this?!
Looking across all of China, Jiang Xian is probably the only one like him.

This piece of writing conveys only one feeling to Ho Chi-chih.

While other avant-garde writers were still transforming, distorting, exaggerating, absurdizing, profound, and playing with philosophy.
Ren Jiangxian has already transcended.

As He Qizhi looked around, his gaze drifted to Li Jingfeng's face, and he found that the other man's expression was just as interesting as his own, as if he had seen a masterpiece, and he kept smacking his lips.

"That's beautifully written."

“It can be placed at the beginning of a novel as an introduction; the effect will be excellent!” Li Jingfeng said with great enthusiasm.

"Professor Jiang really saved our Contemporary Journal a lot of trouble," He Qizhi exclaimed.

In order to obtain this article, "The Playboy," the magazine "Contemporary" not only promised a heavyweight editorial team, but also offered a special January issue that went beyond basic conditions such as full publication and a top headline position.

As a bimonthly publication, "Contemporary" clearly cannot fill the entire issue with just one article on "The Playboy". In order to ensure the quality of the publication, it is necessary to have several other articles that are attractive enough, such as commentary articles on "The Playboy".

Jiang Xian's essay on his creative process truly relieved their immediate crisis. At least He Qizhi was certain that, apart from the novel "The Playboy," this essay would be a major highlight of this January issue.

"Is a new novel about to be released?" Rao Yuemei asked the two of them.

"Jiang Xian didn't tell you?" Li Jingfeng asked.

“He didn’t say anything, and he didn’t tell us either. He’s been doing his writing all by himself from the very beginning, and he rarely shares his thoughts with us.”

"Ah."

Li Jingfeng understands this, since many people are like this and are not willing to let their family members get involved in their careers.

"It's ready to be released; it's exceptionally well-written." Li Jingfeng dragged out the last three words.

He Qizhi, fearing that Rao Yuemei wouldn't understand how good the phrase "exceptionally good" was, quickly added:
"Fresh and unconventional, it satirizes all those lofty and respectable things—the sublime, rational, social, life, morality, history, and politics—it's absolutely a masterpiece, and I think it will make those so-called gentlemen feel uneasy."

"What?"

Rao Yuemei's expression immediately turned sour. After all, she had lived through that era and had an instinctive fear of these sensitive words.

Li Jingfeng noticed this and quickly changed the subject, "Aunt Mei, did Jiang Xian know a girl named Bei before?"

"Bei? What Bei?" Zhu Lin asked, frowning, just as she arrived home.

(End of this chapter)