1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 572 "Show Your Tongue, or Leave It Empty"

The novel "Show Your Tongue, or Empty" was collected by Liu Xinwu.

The author of this article is Ma Jian, also a writer from Shandong. He had previously published some poems and essays in publications such as "Stars", "Beijing Literature" and "Shandong Literature", and had gained some fame, but he never had anything "big" to show for himself.

At this time, Ma Yuan suddenly emerged.

Ma Yuan transformed the mystery of Tibet into an avant-garde novel, and coupled with his own unique "spirit," he captivated countless young literary enthusiasts, making him a true youth idol.

So Ma Jian also longed to visit Tibet. He had a good personal relationship with Liu Xinwu, who encouraged him to go and write about some of the "wonderful sights" of Tibet.

At that time, Nie Zhenning was in charge of Lijiang Publishing House and had just published the "French 20th Century Literature Series". Liu Xinwu took out Yourcenar's "Oriental Wonders" and lent the book to Ma Jian, asking him to write a "Western Wonders" based on it.

So Ma Jian listened to him and made a trip to XZ.

It's worth mentioning here that Renma originally lived in XZ for a long time, but Ma Jian wasn't so lucky; he only went there once.

After returning home, Ma Jian copied the book "Oriental Wonders" that Liu Xinwu had lent him and wrote a novel about XZ.

This is the article titled "Show Your Tongue Coating, or Empty."

The writer Gao Xingjian read it once first.

Many people may not have heard of the name Gao Xingjian. He was actually a Chinese who won the Nobel Prize in Literature earlier than Mo Yan, although he had already acquired French citizenship by then.

After reading it, Gao Xingjian thought it was alright and well-written, so he helped Ma Jian take it to Liu Xinwu and asked him if it could be published in People's Literature.

After reading it, Liu Xinwu felt that it was very much to his liking. First of all, the title of the novel was quite good. "Show your tongue" or "Empty and desolate" would probably make most people pause and be confused when they see the title, which would arouse their curiosity and desire to explore.

So what does this name mean?

Show your tongue coating. In Han Chinese culture, this refers to the four diagnostic methods of traditional Chinese medicine: observation, listening, questioning, and palpation. You can tell the illness by looking at the tongue coating. Ma Jian himself couldn't remember which region of Tibet he was from. When they met, they would stick out their tongues as a sign of friendliness.

In Tibetan culture, bending over and sticking out one's tongue is a gesture of respect and welcome.

Anyway, Liu Xinwu was very excited after reading it, and he was immersed in the standards of "pure literature". Moreover, the novel was written by his friend and recommended to him by Gao Xingjian.

At the time, Gao Xingjian also said that the novel might be somewhat sensitive, but Liu Xinwu felt there was no problem and readily agreed to publish it.

However, he also knew that if the manuscript were sent to Cui Daoyi or Wang Chaoyin, the two stubborn old men, it would definitely be rejected. There were too many novels that couldn't pass their scrutiny.

So Liu Xinwu arranged for Zhou Ming, who was in charge of reportage, poetry, and prose, to be in charge of the final review.

As he expected, the manuscript was approved.

Liu Xinwu's plan succeeded, and he was relieved, only waiting for the article to be published. The article was a great success.

Who would dare to imagine that?

The manuscript, which had already passed the final review, was rejected by Jiang Xian again!
This is procedurally unreasonable, but who can blame them when Jiang Xian is the top leader? As the saying goes in "In the Name of the People," the top leader holds absolute power.

So if Jiang Xian says it won't work because the procedure is unreasonable, then it won't work either.

When Zhu Wei relayed the message to Liu Xinwu, Liu Xinwu was immediately filled with immense anger.

What does it mean? !

You're not going to publish such a good article?!
Are you, Jiang Xian, trying to ruin Chinese literature?!

Are you, Jiang Xian, not allowing other young writers to stand out?!

The more Liu Xinwu thought about it, the angrier he became, which led to his current frantic rush to Jiang Xian's office.

"Old Liu? What's wrong? Is there something you need?" Jiang Xian looked at Liu Xinwu, who had just walked in, like an innocent little white rabbit.

"Editor-in-Chief Jiang."

Liu Xinwu's face was full of anger, but he couldn't show it. He suppressed his emotions and said, "I heard that you banned 'Show Your Tongue, or Empty' because you said it couldn't be posted, is that right?"

"Oh."

Jiang Xian nodded. "Yes, that's right. I just had Zhu Wei take it down. We shouldn't publish this novel in People's Literature. In my opinion, it won't be published."

"Can't send it?"

Liu Xinwu looked unwilling. "What's wrong with this article? I think it's very well written. Didn't the editors write their comments after the third review? They all thought it was pretty good and could be published. Have you read it?"

"."

Wang Yidi and Xu Dexia, standing to the side, stared blankly at the scene before them. After hearing these words, they could roughly guess what Liu Xinwu was talking about. After all, they had seen Jiang Xian just type up a draft when they came over, and Liu Xinwu was probably talking about this.

At that moment, the two sat silently to one side, exchanging a glance.

It seems that Liu Xinwu is quite angry about Jiang Xian's decision to publish this article, otherwise he wouldn't have immediately come to Jiang Xian to demand an explanation.

"This novel cannot be published." Jiang Xian's voice was calm, seemingly oblivious to Liu Xinwu's suppressed anger, and ignoring the probing gazes of Wang Yidi and Xu Dexia beside him.

Liu Xinwu felt a surge of heat rush to his head, and his hands clenched involuntarily. "Can't it be published? Editor-in-Chief Jiang, we need an explanation! This manuscript has passed three rounds of review and should be published according to the rules! Besides our editors, many writers have also read it, including Comrade Gao Xingjian. They all approved of it and thought it was good before submitting it to me. Did you even read the manuscript carefully? If there's a problem, tell me exactly what the problem is!"

His voice involuntarily rose a little, prompting Wang Yidi and Xu Dexia to exchange another meaningful glance.

The air in the office seemed to freeze.

Jiang Xian maintained his almost innocent calm, leaning back slightly in his chair as he looked at Liu Xinwu, who was leaning slightly forward due to his emotional outburst.

“Old Liu,” Jiang Xian finally spoke, his tone both reassuring and undeniably distant, “the work of the editorial department is not simply a matter of ‘passing’ or ‘not passing,’ but requires a holistic view.”

He paused for a moment, seemingly considering his words, but his gaze did not avoid Liu Xinwu's direct eye contact.

"This novel has such a unique perspective. You yourself tell me, are those descriptions of Tibetan customs objective descriptions or scrutiny tinged with curiosity? What is it that leads the reader to imagine behind the 'revealing tongue' and the 'empty' mouth?"

Jiang Xian's voice was calm and measured, "We are *People's Literature*, a national-level publication. You and I bear the responsibility of guiding the healthy development of literary creation. What we need are works that showcase national harmony and reflect the achievements of socialist construction, not this kind of excessive depiction of the primitive, bizarre, or even mysterious and dark aspects of border regions. This doesn't align with our mainstream tone."
You just mentioned Comrade Gao Xingjian. He has his artistic vision, but I think this manuscript is too biased. It skims the surface, picking out some seemingly unusual things and packaging them as a so-called 'spectacle'?

Wang Yidi listened attentively, nodding repeatedly, and his opinion of Jiang Xian changed somewhat.

Although this writer is young, as an editor-in-chief, his thoughts, his way of doing things, and even his current tone of voice are all absolutely qualified and experienced.

"What's wrong with that? How is it considered bizarre?"

On the other hand, Liu Xinwu remained unconvinced, saying, "Ma Yuan has already proven to us that content about Tibet can also create valuable Tibetan resources. Ma Yuan has already achieved success by writing about Tibet, so why can't our People's Literature Publishing House produce another Ma Jian?"

Jiang Xian raised his hand and gently straightened the documents on the table, then continued, "Ma Yuan has lived in XZ for many years, so his work has a solid foundation. But what about this piece? Does it have depth? What positive and uplifting spirit does it convey? What I see more of is a tendency to critique ugliness, which is likely to mislead readers and may even cause unnecessary misunderstandings and controversies."

Jiang Xian's tone grew increasingly serious: "Especially now, we need to be more careful about the direction of the publication. We can't let personal relationships or the so-called 'avant-garde' or 'breakthrough' lead us to ignore basic political awareness and propaganda guidance. This manuscript is too risky."

"Old Liu, I know you put a lot of effort into this manuscript and appreciate the author's attempt, but we can't just look at its artistic value; we also need to consider its social impact. This novel won't be published; my decision is made."

This wasn't because Jiang Xian was being ruthless, but because he had no choice but to be ruthless.

In fact, he had been wary of this novel, this book called "Show Your Tongue, or Empty".

As is well known, in the original historical trajectory, it was Liu Xinwu who succeeded Wang Meng as the editor-in-chief of People's Literature.

Liu Xinwu was dismissed from his position as editor-in-chief of People's Literature in less than a year.

Including in later generations.

Many people may not have heard of Liu Xinwu. What they know most about him is his expertise in Redology and Dream of the Red Chamber during his lectures on "Lecture Room".

His literature is no longer mentioned.

Liu Xinwu was a central figure in literature during the 80s, a literary star. Later writers like Yu Hua and Su Tong are little known in later generations. How did he become marginalized in later generations?

The reason is simple.

In short, Liu Xinwu brought this upon himself, and Jiang Xian wasn't going to play along. He had been keeping a close eye on the novel since he took office, and as soon as it was presented to him, he took swift and decisive action to remove it.

Little did Liu Xinwu know about the story on another timeline.

At this moment, Jiang Xian's words were like ice water poured over his heart.

He realized that Jiang Xian hadn't ignored the novel; rather, he was reading it with a completely different set of standards. In his view, Jiang Xian had a set of standards for "artistic quality" that were entirely different from what he, the several reviewing editors, and even Gao Xingjian understood.

Well, his previous "cleverness" of bypassing Cui Daoyi and Wang Chaoyin to go directly to Zhou Ming for the final trial was no match for Jiang Xian's level.

The implication of "unreasonable procedures" was casually ignored by Jiang Xian.
—He's the editor-in-chief; he has that authority.

Liu Xinwu opened his mouth, wanting to refute Jiang Xian's misinterpretation of the novel's content and the author's motivation, wanting to question whether showing cultural differences and reflecting on suffering was "out of sync" or "risky"? He even wanted to shout, "You're only stifling genuine creation!"
But looking at Jiang Xian's unquestionable expression and listening to the high-sounding reasons flowing from his mouth, Liu Xinwu suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness and indignation.

Did Jiang Xian never touch on sensitive topics back then?

What do you mean?
You got caught in the rain, so you want to tear someone else's umbrella?!
Wang Yidi and Xu Dexia had already kept their eyes down, not daring to make any small movements.

As for Liu Xinwu, he took a deep breath and then exhaled heavily.

"When all that's left of Chinese literature are your children's stories, then you'll have achieved your goal!"

After uttering such a harsh statement, Liu Xinwu stopped arguing, turned around abruptly, and slammed the heavy door to the editor-in-chief's office shut.

In the office, Wang Yidi and Xu Dexia were both dumbfounded.

Such a temper?
Who is younger, Jiang Xian or Liu Xinwu? It seems like Jiang Xian is much more methodical in his actions, while Liu Xinwu is just impulsive.
And what kind of talk was that?

When all that's left of Chinese literature are your children's stories, will you finally get what you want?

Wang Yi thought to himself, "That's so awesome!"

If all Chinese literature consisted of novels of the caliber of "The Little Prince," then its literary strength, if not surpassing French and Russian literature, would at least be enough to rival British and American literature.

What were you thinking?!

(End of this chapter)