1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 574 Autograph Session

"Old Nie is really something."

Jiang Xian remained calm after being spotted by the crowd, and greeted those around him with a smile.

He doesn't appear in public often, but he's made quite a few appearances. For example, his previous "Long Live Understanding" report was held in Beijing so many times, attracting so many viewers. It was very popular with the people and was later broadcast on television.

Furthermore, many of his published works include a photo of Jiang Xian in the author's biography.

Of course, writers aren't as eye-catching as movie stars. Even if you're a writer like Yu Hua, a "celebrity" writer in later generations, who often appears on videos, if you throw him into a crowd, people might still not recognize him and would just think he looks familiar.

Jiang Xian was the same.

They are unlikely to be recognized.

Unfortunately, Nie Weiping's gesture at that moment gave those around him the idea that this person had a certain identity.

For example, it's like when Jay Chou suddenly points to the audience at a concert, and everyone realizes that Eason Chan is actually sitting in the audience watching.

With that in mind, I examined it more carefully.

Oh my god, isn't that Jiang Xian?

“Comrade Jiang Xian, I really like your novels. I’ve read every single one of them,” a young man said excitedly as he approached.

"Hello Hello."

Jiang Xian shook hands with him in a friendly manner, saying, "Thank you for appreciating my work; it is my honor."

No sooner had they finished speaking than another young man came up to them, "Comrade Jiang Xian, could you please sign your name for me?!"

Before Jiang Xian could respond, someone else shouted:

"Comrade Jiang Xuan, when will you publish a new work? I've been waiting for so long!"

"Comrade Jiang Xian, I have a novel, could you give me some pointers?"

"Comrade Jiang Xian."

The scene was a little chaotic for a while.

On stage, Nie Weiping realized why he was so agitated. The current situation made it inconvenient for him and Jiang Xian to recognize each other.

The organizers of the game were also taken aback, completely unprepared for this unexpected turn of events.

Faced with this situation, Jiang Niannian became a little nervous and cautiously huddled in Zhu Lin's arms.

Amid the commotion, Jiang Xian pressed his hands down, signaling everyone to quiet down. This action was effective; the crowd quickly quieted down, eager to hear what Jiang Xian had to say.

"Quiet down! Keep quiet!"

"Let me say a few words."

"I just happened to be here today, and I didn't expect to run into the Go match between Nie Weiping 9-dan and Ma Xiaochun 9-dan. I, Jiang, am nothing compared to them. They are heroes who have brought glory to our nation. I shouldn't steal the spotlight. Today, they should receive more attention."

His words were sincere and humble, which deeply moved the audience.

Look how humble Jiang Xian is!
They were even afraid of stealing the spotlight from others!

The organizers were also quick-witted; taking advantage of the moment when Jiang Xian suppressed the commotion, they quickly invited him onto the stage.

"Long time no see, Lao Nie!" Jiang Xian warmly shook hands with Nie Weiping.

Nie Weiping grinned and said, "I've always wanted to visit you, but I was afraid of bothering you."

"Don't talk about disturbing me. Your arrival is an honor to my humble abode."

The audience below the stage was getting quite excited.

Nie Weiping and Jiang Xian are both figures closely associated with "The Heavenly Game".

Jiang Xian is the author of "The Heavenly Game".

Nie Weiping also became greatly associated with "The Game of Go" because of a China-Japan Go tournament.

In a sense, it's not wrong to say that "The Heavenly Game" is actually about Nie Weiping.

The host was clever; he knew that the main characters today were the two Go players, but now that Jiang Xian had appeared, he had to ride on Jiang Xian's popularity. He quickly handed the microphone to Jiang Xian and said, "I knew you were a Go enthusiast too. Please comment on today's game."

"To call it commentary is a bit of an overstatement. With my level of expertise, I am certainly not qualified to comment on two top-level chess players. If I were to say it, I would only make myself a laughing stock."

Jiang Xian didn't pretend to be a big shot; he said what he meant. "I watched almost the entire game today. The two top players were playing a very exciting and intense match, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it from below."

Of course, if you ask whether either player made any mistakes today, the answer is definitely yes.

But to play a game of chess without making a single mistake is extremely difficult.

To this day, it seems that no Go player, whether ancient or Japanese, has been able to play a game that is flawless.

Therefore, I think that the outcome of Go is determined by who makes the fewest mistakes, not by who doesn't make any mistakes.

In life, who can avoid making mistakes? Who can avoid taking the wrong path?
What matters is: can they admit their mistakes? Can they correct them?

I've heard that many professional Go players review and analyze their games after each match, which helps them identify many mistakes.

This habit is also very useful in our lives. For example, writers do the same when they finish writing a novel. After finishing each novel, they review its strengths and weaknesses and reflect on themselves. Only in this way can they refine their writing skills to a higher level. Life is even more so. By reflecting more, we can cultivate a more perfect self.

"well said!"

After he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted.

Jiang Xian's words were very popular.

Instead of offering unsolicited advice on Go, which he was not good at, he shared the lessons he had learned from the game, shifting his focus to the cultural field, which he was more familiar with.

These words completely ignited the enthusiasm of the audience watching the game today.

The organizers in Haidian were quite shrewd. Having finally caught Jiang Xian, they couldn't let the opportunity slip by. After the game of chess ended, they pulled Jiang Xian aside to discuss whether he could participate in the "Cultural Night" in Haidian these few days, attend a book signing event, shake hands with readers, say a few words, and perhaps even sign his name.

Jiang Xian didn't want to agree, after all, he had agreed to spend the next few days with his family.

Staff in Haidian tried to dissuade him, saying it wouldn't take much time and he'd only be making an appearance.

After thinking it over, Jiang Xian realized that he rarely participated in these kinds of book signing events. Since it wouldn't take long and it would contribute to cultural promotion, even if it didn't make him money, it was still very meaningful, so he simply agreed.

We cannot distance ourselves from the masses.

Even Andy Lau, a superstar, still has to connect with the locals when he comes to the mainland. But these days, writers are like big stars; when Jiang Xian arrived at the book signing, the whole place went wild.

The crowd rushed to both sides of the entrance, jostling for a spot and making way for a path in the middle. Soon after, applause erupted like a storm. Jiang Xian walked through the middle, clapping his hands and smiling broadly as he entered.

To be honest, it's hard for anyone not to enjoy this scene.

He really did live in a good era.

Later writers could never have such prestige.

To Jiang Xian's surprise, Feng Jicai was also at the event.

This guy is quite the popular writer these days, but unfortunately his family is in Tianjin, so he can't get involved in many things in Beijing. However, he can't stand being alone, so he often leaves Tianjin and comes to Beijing for a stroll.

"Old Jiang, Old Jiang, I heard you've recently written a novel, a children's novel?" After greeting Jiang Xian, Feng Jicai began to inquire about this matter.

"He's got pretty good information."

Jiang Xian glanced at him. "Where did you hear that from?"

In fact, Da Feng's status is not low at this time; he was a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference a few years ago.

However, he and Jiang Xian were too familiar with each other, and their statuses were not far apart, so they always spoke quite casually.

“I went out to dinner the other day, and a friend from the Lu Xun Academy of Literature was at the table. He was talking about this year’s graduation projects and gave us a sneak peek at the rankings. Your new novel won first place, even though it hasn’t been published yet.”

"What's wrong? Do you want to take a look?"

"Of course I'll take a look, but..."

Feng Jicai changed his tune and chuckled, "It just so happens that I ran into you today. Otherwise, I was planning to go to your house in a couple of days to talk to you. There's something you absolutely have to promise me."

"What's going on?"

"You should commission me to write this article."

"A date with you?"

Jiang Xian glanced at him. "Tianjin Literature?"

"ber."

Feng Jicai slapped his forehead, “Chinese Writers”.

"Chinese Writers" is a publication founded by the China Writers Association two years ago, with Feng Mu as the editor-in-chief. It started as a bimonthly publication, then became a monthly publication, then a semi-monthly publication, and finally changed to the ten-day publication that is known to later generations, which means it is published every 10 days.

This experience shows that although the publication was insignificant at the time, it became very large in later generations.

Indeed, this is the case. In later generations, "Chinese Writers" became the largest literary platform in the literary world, occupying a pivotal position among Chinese literary journals.

Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that Feng Mu, who has always been conservative, proposed the following editorial policy in the inaugural issue of *Chinese Writers*:
"Let a hundred flowers bloom, quality first, integrity as the guiding principle, and innovation as the key."

The emphasis is on "letting a hundred flowers bloom".

Emphasis is placed on "innovation".

This shows that Feng Mu is also trying to change and reflect on his old ideas about literature.

"Chinese Writers magazine wants to commission this article from me?"

“Yes.” Seeing Jiang Xian hesitate, Feng Jicai quickly added, “Don’t think that just because our publication has only been running for two years and has no foundation, you look down on us. In the past two years, the Writers Association has attached great importance to us. They’ve given us Wang Meng’s new short stories, Yao Xueyin’s new novel, and Lu Wenfu’s new novella. The Writers Association’s goal is to develop our publication into a major journal, to treat it as the soul of the association, and to raise its standards very high.”

“Da Feng, you’ve misunderstood me. I don’t look down on you. I know how much the Writers’ Association values ​​this publication.”

Jiang Xian said, "However, my new work is a children's novel, so it may not be suitable for publication in your magazine."

"Children's literature novels?"

Feng Jicai scratched his head, then looked at Jiang Xian with some disbelief, "You?"

"Yes."

Jiang Xian nodded. "Children's Literature magazine contacted me about this manuscript before, but I haven't agreed yet. So it's not impossible to give it to your Chinese Writers magazine. However, this is a children's literature novel, and I'm afraid it might not quite fit the style of your publication."

"That's true."

After thinking it over, Feng Jicai said, "It's not that it's suitable for our publication. We definitely want your work. It's just that I'm afraid it will delay your novel. Our publication is mainly for adults, and children read it less."

"Do you still want it?" Jiang Xian said, "If you want it, I'll definitely give it to you."

Jiang Xian wasn't joking. Over the years, Feng Jicai had been writing articles for him and submitting manuscripts to him. Whenever Jiang Xian asked Feng Jicai for a manuscript, Feng Jicai had never hesitated. Now that Feng Jicai was asking him for a manuscript, given their friendship over the years, he had no reason not to ask him.

"Forget it."

Feng Jicai shook his head, "Maybe later, let's make an appointment another time."

After the two finished speaking, Jiang Xian greeted the other writers present. Indeed, quite a few writers had come today, all of whom were very famous in the current literary world.

Take Liu Heng, for example. He started as an editor at "Beijing Literature" and continued to publish his works. In recent years, he has finally written a piece.

Then there's Wang Anyi. Since returning to China from the United States, Wang Anyi's writing seems to have entered a period of explosive growth. She even wrote a travelogue about her experience studying in Iowa, called "Mother and Daughter's Wanderings in America".

Jiang Xian heard that the book was selling very well, and later he picked it up and read it himself. He found that Wang Anyi wrote a lot about her experiences in the United States, such as being questioned by customs at the airport because of her surname when she first arrived in the United States. In the end, Jiang Xian helped her out with his "fluent English". Wang Anyi reflected that she was very immature at that time, but this could not be attributed to age, because Jiang Xian, who was the same age as her, had a completely different way of doing things.

Another very interesting point is that this book, "Mother and Daughter's Travels in America," was co-authored by Wang Anyi and her mother, Ru Zhijuan. Therefore, after reading Wang Anyi's account of him, Jiang Xian can also read his mother Ru Zhijuan's account of him.

Ru Zhijuan recorded Jiang Xian's shining moments very clearly, which obviously left a deep impression on her. Among them was Jiang Xian's dinner at a restaurant in San Francisco with Hou Beiren, Ms. Chen Ruoxi, and other literary figures from that province. During the meal, in response to the sarcasm of several young people from that province at the next table who advocated "worker-peasant-soldier literature," Jiang Xian calmly uttered a resounding statement:
"An artist must first have a homeland, and second, have the world."

In short, after reading the book, Jiang Xian felt that Ru Zhijuan and her daughter Wang Anyi should pay him a copyright fee. They wrote too much about what he did in the United States. Not to brag, but the book sold very well, and they probably took a lot of advantage of him.

Of course, Ru Zhijuan and Wang Anyi had informed him beforehand about this matter, so there was no situation where they wrote it without his permission.

Besides Wang Anyi, there's Shi Tiesheng, and Mo Yan.
In short, Jiang Xuan was quite pleased to see so many familiar authors gathered together for a book signing.

As for Liu Heng and Wang Anyi, seeing Jiang Xian's popularity among readers, they also felt a mix of emotions.

This guy is truly an unshakeable figure in the literary world!
He became famous before we did.

We're famous now, but he's still famous!

Moreover, the meaning of this "fire" is that he remains at the top of the literary world in terms of popularity.

(End of this chapter)