1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 524 Cooperation Zheng Xiaolong

After Li Jingfeng explained it this way, Zhu Lin and Rao Yuemei both understood what kind of person Lin Bei was.

"But what does this have to do with what you just asked?" Rao Yuemei asked, somewhat puzzled.

Zhu Lin had a rough idea of ​​what was going on, but she didn't say anything and just stared at Li Jingfeng quietly.

"Harmful."

Li Jingfeng scratched his head. "I was just thinking, this girl Lin Bei in the show has such a bad image, and Yu Beibei from 'Ferocious Animals' isn't exactly a great girl either, yet both of their names have the character 'Bei' in them, which isn't a very common character. So I was just pondering..."

What are you thinking about?

"Sigh, I was wondering if Old Jiang had some grudge against a girl whose name contained the character 'Bei' in her name, or if they had some kind of entanglement, and he still holds a grudge against her. Otherwise, why would he always give her such a name?"

After stammering for a while, Li Jingfeng finally voiced his speculation.

After hearing his guess, He Qizhi could barely contain his laughter and looked at him with a very strange expression.

"Jingfeng, you really have a knack for making connections."

On the other side, Zhu Lin rolled her eyes slightly, not particularly surprised, as if she had already guessed this outcome.

Rao Yuemei, however, seemed flustered. "No way, how could that be? Don't let Jiang Xian's seemingly unreliable behavior fool you; he's always been an honest and upright child."

Rao Yuemei's words made He Qizhi and Li Jingfeng sense something was off.

He Qizhi, in particular, hadn't taken Li Jingfeng's words seriously at first, but after Rao Yuemei's blatant attempt to cover it up, he started to doubt the veracity of Li Jingfeng's claims.

Rao Yuemei wasn't sure if she was explaining to Li Jingfeng and He Qizhi, or busy explaining to Zhu Lin, she just kept saying:
"Oh dear, back then everyone was busy with political movements, going up to the mountains and down to the countryside. Young people were simple-minded, their minds were full of serving the country, they didn't have time to think about these romantic feelings."

"mom."

Zhu Lin interrupted Rao Yuemei, then looked at Li Jingfeng with a helpless expression.

"you think too much."

"Yes, yes, I think I'm overthinking it."

Li Jingfeng quickly tried to cover it up, "Comrade Zhu Lin, I was just guessing and wanted to ask about it as a little anecdote. I shouldn't have said anything, please don't take it to heart."

"I might need to ask Lao Jiang about other things, but this matter is probably not what you guessed."

Zhu Lin said calmly, "When he wrote 'Ferocious Animals,' I was surprised that he could write such a novel. Did he really have such a shameful experience in the past, just like in the novel? But didn't he write it in the novel?"

"Did you write it?"

Li Jingfeng asked in surprise, "What did you write?"

"You only remember the plot, but you forgot about the interlude at the end?"

As Zhu Lin spoke, she took out a copy of "Jiang Xian's Collected Works" published by Writers Publishing House for Jiang Xian from the bookshelf.

This is one of the books in the "Rising Stars in Literature Series" published by Writers Publishing House for Jiang Xian.

The above includes several short and medium-length novels by Jiang Xian, such as "The Chess King" and "Ferocious Animals".

After the series of books was published, the Writers Publishing House sent Jiang Xian a set.

The publication of this collection of essays broke two records:

First, no living writer had ever published a collection of their works before;
Secondly, at Jiang Xian's request, the Writers Publishing House implemented a royalty payment system for this series of books, whereas previously the author had only received a fixed fee.

"Look here."

Zhu Lin turned to a page in "Ferocious Animals," and Li Jingfeng, He Qizhi, and Rao Yuemei all looked at the words she was pointing to:

"Now my mind is as clear as the bright moon, and I realize that I'm fabricating again."

At the outset, I vowed to tell this story honestly and reveal the truth.

I always thought I was describing things truthfully, based on fragments of memory, even discarding some unreliable impressions, no matter how much they contributed to the coherence of the plot and the turning points of events.

But I still fell into the inertia of weaving and rational deduction.

I intentionally or unintentionally ignored some details, while exaggerating and embellishing other reasons.

Like a woman with obsessive-compulsive disorder who can't help but polish everything to a shine, I made a fundamental mistake when I relied on the novel as a form to try to tell the truth: the stronger my desire to tell the truth, the more I was disturbed by words.

I sadly discovered that, technically, I was unable to recreate the reality.

Every word I use carries a meaning beyond the specific feelings I want to express. Even the most accurate adjective retains its meaning for other things when used by me, like a hat that, even if custom-made to fit your head, will always leave a tiny gap.

These gaps, accumulated over time, created a vast space, separating me from the facts themselves, forming my own little world. I have never seen anything as fond of self-expression and as prone to lying as words!

Another betrayer of me was my memory. Like a sycophant or a female slave, it was adept at flattery. When I tried to achieve the first dramatic effect, it imprisoned the honest and simple truth in the dark, offering me a beautiful and alluring substitute.

When have I ever uttered a single honest word?
"

In short, Jiang Xian admits that the story in this novel actually happened to other people. "I" never knew Milan, Yu Beibei, or the other girls; I simply pieced together and grafted the experiences of other people onto "my" life.

Li Jingfeng read a few lines and suddenly remembered.

How could he forget such a brilliant design in "Ferocious Animals"!
The reason why "Animal Ferocity" caused a sensation in the literary world at the time was not only because the novel was unrelated to the sublimity of literature, the mainstream ideology, or any editorial, but also because of the author's frank admission of the story's fictional nature.

Jiang Xian has broken new ground in narrative conventions in this novel.

This is absolutely a feat in the literary world!

Just think, Jiang Xian was a newcomer at the time, having only published his second novel, yet he did such a big thing with the courage of a warrior cutting off his own arm.

This is certainly a remarkable feat!
Many critics, when reading "Ferocious Animals," couldn't help but sigh, "Jiang Xian is too honest."

Why do you say that?

His essay, "The Ferocity of Animals," could have become a classic.

However, because of this passage, he truthfully explained and interspersed his writing motivation and mindset, which confused the reader about the author and the "I" in the text.

While reading, the novel's intellectual depth and coherence are significantly diminished.

While this writing style is very realistic, its excessive realism actually greatly damages the novel's artistic conception and makes it seem unreal.

However, in Li Jingfeng's view, this way of writing is not without its merits. This mistake in artistic conception can actually prove that Jiang Xian is a thoughtful person.

He was willing to frankly explain his state of mind while writing and to insert his own memories in order to clarify that he was the protagonist "I" in the text. However, he did not want to become the bad and extremely "bad" "I" in the text, so as not to leave a bad impression on the readers and cause them to be unable to accept or misunderstand the author. This was a contradiction in the author's mind.

Li Jingfeng believes that Jiang Xian must have struggled while writing it, but it was precisely because of his contradictory and conflicted considerations that the novel "Ferocious Animals" was not perfect, which ironically made him and the novel leave a very deep impression on readers.

What are you guys talking about?

As the group was talking, the person in question opened the door, wearing a scarf, and shook the snowflakes off his clothes.

Zhu Lin glanced at him.

"Talking about you."

"What did you say about me?"

"Tell me about the karmic entanglements you've incurred."

"???"

Jiang Xian looked at the others in the room, puzzled. The others didn't dare say a word, giving Jiang Xian a helpless look. Li Jingfeng was even more ashamed and dared not look at Jiang Xian.

My loose tongue today has really gotten Jiang Xian into trouble.

"Tell me yourself, who is Lin Bei? And who is Yu Beibei?"

"???"

Jiang Xian was stunned when he heard this.

Why are you asking me that?

You should ask Wang Shuo!
"Oh, I see."

Li Jingfeng, taking responsibility for the mess he had made, explained the whole story to Jiang Xian.

Jiang Xian was at a loss for words, both amused and exasperated.

“When writing a novel, naming the characters is also a way to shape their image. The character “Bei” is quite useful and most suitable for a girl like Lin Bei. I’m just used to using it.”

"Is there still such a thing?"

"That's right. Novels have limited length, so you can't just pick any name. Usually, the name also contains the character's image."

Jiang Xian said in a serious tone, "Think about it, Lin Bei, she is a girl like a butterfly, and the word Bei is pronounced crisp and beautiful, so it is very suitable to be used in a girl's name. It gives people a fresh and refined feeling."

"Seems to be"

"That's true. Think about it. If I changed the name to something else, like Black Bean, Xiuhua, Snow Lotus, or Xiuhong, those names would be fine too, but they just don't sound right for the character."

"correct."

Thinking of something, Li Jingfeng quickly said, "There's really a reason for naming things, like the Zhao Yaoshun you wrote."

"Yep."

He Qizhi's eyes lit up as well. "'Yao' and 'Shun' are the most sanctified emperors in ancient China, symbolizing unquestionable authority and noble virtues. Giving such names to such a character will leave a very deep impression."

"So, whoever uses their real name when choosing a name, don't just throw labels at me like that," Jiang Xian said, looking wronged.

"Yes Yes."

Li Jingfeng smiled, and He Qizhi talked with Jiang Xian about their creative work for a while before the two said goodbye.

That night, Jiang Xian lay naked in bed with Zhu Lin in his arms, and brought up the matter from earlier that day again.

"I was just trying to scare you." Zhu Lin blinked her beautiful almond-shaped eyes, a sly smile playing on her lips.

She knew it perfectly well.

Having known each other for so many years, she, as Jiang Xian's bedmate, could see how much care Jiang Xian had put into her, in every little detail.

Even if such a girl had actually appeared in Jiang Xian's life, Zhu Lin wouldn't say anything to complain.

Those are all things of the past.

Besides, Jiang Xian wasn't reminiscing about her in a novel; he always treated this girl like a Japanese person.

What could she possibly be jealous of?
After chatting about it for a while, the couple did it again, and during the break, they vaguely mentioned "The Last Emperor".

Filming for our scenes is almost finished.

There are still some shots left to be reshot next spring, and some more to be reshot in Europe. Of course, post-production will also be done in Europe, at Bertolucci's headquarters.

This means that Zhu Lin will soon have to travel abroad with the film crew to Europe.

"Are you going?"

"I?"

Jiang Xian shook his head, "I'm not going. I just took over People's Literature and I can't leave yet. There's too much to do."

"Director Zheng, the person has arrived."

"Okay, I'll go over immediately."

Zheng Xiaolong graduated from university five years ago.

He served in the army and after his discharge, he was assigned to the rural department of the Beijing People's Broadcasting Station as a reporter. Later, he took the college entrance examination and was admitted to the Chinese Department of Peking University Branch.

After graduating from university, I returned to work at my radio station.

To his surprise, in just four years, their radio station had undergone a complete transformation.

The Beijing People's Broadcasting Station was transformed into the Beijing Broadcasting and Television Bureau, which added a television station and a television arts center.

At the time, the station director asked Zheng Xiaolong about his preferred job. After some hesitation, Zheng Xiaolong finally chose the Television Arts Center, which was not highly regarded by many.

This choice certainly requires some courage.

After all, the Television Art Center was completely a makeshift operation at that time.

What exactly is a TV series? People working in the domestic TV series industry are still learning in a somewhat confused state. There are no successful precedents to learn from, and they are exploring entirely by feeling.

Therefore, Zheng Xiaolong's choice is definitely different from most people's.

Because of this, in just six months, Zheng Xiaolong was promoted to director of the editorial department at the Television Art Center, where there was little competitive pressure, and was in charge of scriptwriting.

"Xiaolong".

"Teacher Jiang!"

As Zheng Xiaolong emerged from the art center, he craned his neck to look around, and soon spotted Jiang Xian sitting in a chair drinking tea.

He was also filled with excitement.

Back then, he even submitted articles to "Film Creation," a magazine published by the Beijing Film Studio and edited them for a long time at the studio.

Jiang Xian gave him a lot of guidance back then.

Therefore, Jiang Xian was his idol and mentor, and now that he had the opportunity to meet him, he was naturally filled with excitement.

Jiang Xian looked at Zheng Xiaolong and felt a pang of sadness.

It's hard to imagine that the same director could not only make "Empresses in the Palace" but also "The Legend of the Tibetan Sea".
Could it really be that there's something wrong with our brother?

After a few moments of reminiscing, Zheng Xiaolong finally asked:

"Teacher Jiang, is there something you need from me?"

Jiang Xian smiled and said, "Well, it's nothing really."

"Just tell me directly, don't be shy," Zheng Xiaolong said with exceptional enthusiasm.

Seeing this, Jiang Xian stopped hiding it:

"The reason I came here this time is actually to ask you to collaborate on a TV series."

(End of this chapter)