1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 544 Final Words

A short essay was written quickly.

Actually, Jiang Xian sometimes feels quite helpless.

On this side, they're filming "Stories from the Editorial Department," which tells the story of harmonious coexistence and loving relationships with others.

On the other hand, because of these ridiculous things, he had to personally get involved and engage in a war of words with others from afar.

"Well, I guess I'm trying to emulate Mr. Lu Xun."

There's a saying that goes, "A truly charming and likable man is not the kind who is always well-behaved, polite, and never shows his emotions, but rather a man of flesh and blood, with clear likes and dislikes, who dares to love and also dares to scold."

This kind of man, no matter what age he is, you can feel his passion, his vigorous vitality and his strength.

For example, Lu Xun.

He's not weak at all; even when he curses, it's with a powerful and resounding tone.

Mr. Lu Xun is a recognized literary giant, ranking first among Lu Xun, Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Ba Jin, Lao She, and Cao Yu. However, Mr. Lu Xun is also recognized as the number one "critic" of the Republic of China. He has criticized at least 80 to 100 people, and he did so with great skill and distinctive style.

Liang Qiushi, a highly educated returnee from a wealthy family with a profound knowledge of both Chinese and Western learning, was criticized by Mr. Lu Xun for eight long years. At first, it was academic criticism, but later it turned into personal attacks.

How harsh were the insults? It is said that Mr. Liang Qiushi would get so angry that he would smash his cup every time. Over time, Mr. Liang Qiushi eventually ran out of cups to use.

Then there's the great writer Lin Yutang, who was initially a good friend of Lu Xun. Lu Xun said that Lin Yutang was one of the four best writers in China, and Lin Yutang also said that Lu Xun was the most profound thinker in China.

As a result, the two literary giants became enemies due to a small misunderstanding.

Lu Xun felt that Lin Yutang was always satirizing him, while Lin Yutang thought Lu Xun was a lunatic.

According to statistics, the two dated for a total of 11 years, during which Lu Xun criticized Lin Yutang 127 times, basically going against him every month and responding to every single one of his remarks.

Let me mention this again.

Everyone knows Lu Xun's famous saying: "From afar it looks like a dog, up close it looks like a Japanese dog, but upon closer inspection, it turns out to be Mr. Guo Moruo!"

That's a rumor. They did indeed exchange insults for many years. At their most hateful, Lu Xun called Guo Moruo a "rogue and a talented man," while Guo Moruo called Lu Xun a "feudal remnant."

But even when Lu Xun was cursing someone, this sentence wasn't this vulgar.

Moreover, in his reply to Xu Maoyong and on the question of the anti-Japanese united front, Lu Xun said: "Guo Moruo and I have also exchanged words, but our fighting direction is the same, and we will never hold personal grudges day and night."

Guo Moruo was deeply moved and ashamed after reading it. Amidst the cicadas chirping in the summer, he wrote down his apology to Lu Xun: "I am younger than Mr. Lu Xun, and we are strangers from afar. It was really wrong of me to make presumptuous assumptions about you. After reading it, I realized that you are truly a magnanimous person. We finally have a glimmer of hope for solving our problem!"

What's most interesting is that Mr. Lu Xun and Guo Moruo worked together on Chinese cultural undertakings and even argued with each other for so many years, yet they never met in their entire lives.

After Lu Xun's death, Guo Moruo, who was in Japan at the time, wrote a eulogy overnight, lamenting with grief: "Lu Xun's death is an immeasurable loss to China!"

He then rushed to the memorial service in Japan, personally wrote a eulogy that read "Regretfully we never met," and wept with remorse: "We haven't even met yet." Later, after returning to China, he wrote three poems in memory of Lu Xun.

In short, Jiang Xian cannot stand being wronged, let alone be labeled; he has never been a good-tempered person.

Even literary giants are not immune to verbal battles. He doesn't consider himself a saint, and he'll just curse at people like Liu directly.

He wrote until late at night. When he opened the study door, Zhu Lin was just coming out of Jiang Niannian's room.

"Asleep?" Jiang Xian asked.

Zhu Lin hugged herself and nodded. "She fell asleep very quickly after I told her the story you made up. Your story is really good; I think it could be a complete novel."

"Hehe." Jiang Xian didn't know how to explain to Zhu Lin that the "story" she mentioned was indeed a novel, a novel that occupies an important position and has a great influence in the world literary scene.

Jiang Xian used this novel, which can be described as a "masterpiece", as a bedtime story to tell his daughter.

That's him.

They can play so lavishly and fight such rich battles so easily.

"I really think you can write this story and publish it." Zhu Lin's beautiful eyes kept moving over Jiang Xian.

Although Jiang Xian told her it was a "fairy tale," Zhu Lin felt that the story was definitely not as simple as a "fairy tale." The first time Jiang Xian told it to her, she, an adult, was completely absorbed in the story.

This reminded Zhu Lin of Jiang Xian's previously published novel, "The Grass House".

Behind the innocent and pure fairy tales lie profound spiritual values ​​that even adults can accept.

Good fairy tales may all have this quality: they appear to be written for children, but are actually written for adults.

The same applies to "The Grass House," Zheng Yuanjie's "Pipilu" and "The Magic Cube Building," as well as the world-renowned "Grimm's Fairy Tales."

I found it very interesting when I was a child, but I only understood its darkness when I grew up.

"We'll see. I'm not in a rush to publish my novel right now." Jiang Xian put his arm around his wife's waist. Experienced men know how irresistible a woman's waist is, but this is a fetish that young men probably wouldn't understand.

Zhu Lin's eyes were glazed over, and she gently pushed her hands against his chest.

"That's true, you're not short of royalties now."

Since the publication of Jiang Xian's "Literary Rising Stars Series" by Writers Publishing House, Jiang Xian has received a considerable amount of royalties every month. Even without publishing any works, his royalties surpass those of almost all novelists, and even novelists can hardly match him.

Of course, Zhu Lin also knew that Jiang Xian had a business in the United States. She hadn't asked him about it in detail before, and she wasn't quite sure what Jiang Xian was doing there.

It was during her last trip to Europe that Zhu Lin indirectly came into contact with "today's" industry.

Bertolucci arranged hotel rooms for the "Last Emperor" crew that weren't particularly luxurious, given the crew's tight budget; they were just staying in ordinary rooms.

As a result, Zhu Lin had just checked into the hotel and hadn't even had time to unpack her luggage when she was told that her room had been upgraded to a "presidential suite".

Zhu Lin was still a little confused, wondering why she was receiving such special treatment. After asking around with Zunlong and the others, she discovered that their rooms hadn't been upgraded, which made her even more confused.

Although she didn't understand, Zhu Lin immediately contacted director Bertolucci, expressing that although she was the female lead in the film, she did not need such special treatment and did not want to receive any privileges that other actors received.

Bertolucci said, "Huh?"

I don’t know!

Bertolucci said he knew nothing about it and was completely kept in the dark.

Zhu Lin and he were both dumbfounded.

The two then inquired with Thomas, the producer of the film crew, who said he knew absolutely nothing about it.

Finally, they went to the hotel front desk. The hotel staff checked and said that the bill was paid by "Today," so they advanced some money and told Ms. Zhu Lin that she could spend freely within the hotel. All three were familiar with "Today," Thomas and Bertolucci because "Today" was a major investor in their film "The Last Emperor."

Zhu Lin was even more familiar with it, knowing that it was something her lover had made in the United States, and quickly realized that it was a "special surprise" from her lover.

After inquiring about the price of the hotel's "presidential suite," Zhu Lin was shocked and quickly asked the hotel if she could cancel the room, as she didn't need such an expensive room.

The hotel in the “bourgeois society” tells Zhu Lin, very realistically and inhumanely, that the hotel room is reserved and that if she cancels, an expensive deposit will be deducted.

Helpless, Zhu Lin had no choice but to reluctantly accept this "surprise" arranged by her lover in advance.

During the period that followed, she received a rose every day, snacks and tea were regularly delivered to her room, and the hotel provided a private car to pick her up wherever she wanted to go.
For a fleeting moment, Zhu Lin almost succumbed to the sweet words and flattery of the "capitalist class."

What shocked her the most was the influence of "Today" in Europe. She saw the magazine on the shelves of supermarkets, hotels, and restaurants.

This is so scary.

Because Today was founded in the United States, it has gained such a great influence in Europe.

Only now did Zhu Lin vaguely realize that, under Jiang Xian's invisible control, a hugely influential and popular publication had been slowly created on the other side of the ocean.

And she knew that "Today's" business was not limited to magazines, but also had a presence in the film and television industry.

While watching pay TV in her hotel room, Zhu Lin noticed a very prominent "Today" sign in the credits of several recently released movies.

—A simple line drawing of a small sun with a smiley face, followed by the word "Today" written in one stroke.

Zhu Lin then realized that her husband was usually very low-key, even excessively so.

Such a "great achievement" was just a "commonplace" little thing in his words.

If it were someone else, they probably wouldn't be able to resist showing it off at family gatherings or similar occasions, hoping to garner envious glances from others.

Where is Jiang Xian?
Forget boasting, he'd rather not say a word!

It was precisely because of his low profile that Zhu Lin never paid any attention to it, thinking that her husband was just making some small moves in the United States. It wasn't until she actually got involved that she realized that everything was not as simple as she thought, and was even more exaggerated than she imagined.

When he returned to China and questioned Jiang Xian, the guy simply said that he didn't think it was a great achievement, so he didn't think there was anything to say.

Zhu Lin was completely stunned.

A media company spanning Europe and America is not considered a great achievement by you.

However, Jiang Xian's words left her speechless.

He felt that his commercial achievements were not comparable to his current literary accomplishments.

Yes, commercially it has indeed spanned Europe and America. The magazine "Today" and film and television investments have appeared in both Europe and America, and these are things that can be seen occasionally in daily life.

But media companies that can do this are nothing special in the economically developed and capital-driven West.

Such companies, while not countless in the West, are certainly commonplace.

Nothing unusual.

Aside from the subsidiaries of conglomerates and families, there are a large number of small businesses, almost all of them.

The industry has been completely divided up, and it's almost reached saturation.

But what about their literary achievements?

It's no exaggeration to say that Jiang Xian's fame in Europe and America is definitely in the third tier among foreign writers.

The first three tiers are not low.

The first tier probably includes renowned literary figures like Tolstoy and Gorky.

The second tier consists of newly emerging bestselling novelists like Stephen King.

Jiang Xian ranked his fame in Europe and America in the third tier, a name that had just emerged and was only recently becoming known to readers.

The most outrageous thing is that even now, most people outside the industry don't know that the writer String and Jiang Xuan are different accounts of the same person.

If the outside world knew, String, who wrote "The Moon and Sixpence" and "Letter from an Unknown Woman," would be the same writer as Jiang Xian, who wrote novels such as "The Hunger Games" and "Drifting."

Jiang Xian couldn't even imagine how terrifying the combined fame of the two "accounts" would become.

This doesn't even include his achievements in China.

It's important to know that "today" has absolutely no influence in the country these days.

He is already the editor-in-chief of the royal publication "People's Literature" and a super popular writer who can be regarded as a "treasure" and "master" in the domestic literary world.

This explanation left Zhu Lin speechless.

There's nothing we can do; Jiang Xian is just too capable.

"I think I can write a book someday."

"

Zhu Lin lay in Jiang Xian's arms, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling: "I've already thought of a name, it will be called 'The Jiang Xian I Know'."

"."

Jiang Xian thought this was not a good omen. Wasn't writing such things all about remembering one's deceased husband? Like Yang Jiang's "We Three," which was about remembering Qian Zhongshu, Wang Xiaobo's wife Li Yinhe also wrote something similar, talking about the little things in daily life with Wang Xiaobo before his death.

The next day, just as Jiang Xian was about to submit his "little essay," Liu Shaotang came knocking again. His purpose was simple: Jiang Xian still owed their magazine, *China*, a final issue article.

This matter had been scheduled for a long time, and the manuscript for the publication had been completed for several days, but there was still no news about Jiang Xian's final article. Liu Shaotang had no choice but to come and inquire in person.

Jiang Xian couldn't say that he had been busy with "Stories from the Editorial Department" and hadn't had any clue how to write the final article.

At this moment, facing Liu Shaotang's anxious gaze, and thinking that "China" magazine and his "Wanzhu" magazine were actually experiencing the same thing recently, it all boiled down to the same thing.

He slapped his forehead, quickly recalling a line from his "short essay":

"Here comes the pen!"

(End of this chapter)