1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 576 The Little Prince and Spirit Mountain

"The Little Prince?"

"Children's literature novels?"

Liu Xinwu and Gao Xingjian both reacted quickly.

However, Liu Xinwu remained silent. Gao Xingjian speculated and said, "Then the graduation project you mentioned, Xiao Ma, should be the children's literature novel that Jiang Xian hasn't published yet, the one we talked about before."

"It should be that one," Ma Jian replied in a low voice, glancing at Liu Xinwu's expression as he did so.

Liu Xinwu's face showed no emotion; he simply asked Ma Jian quietly, "Have you read 'The Little Prince'?"

"seen it already."

"So how does it feel?"

"Feel?"

Ma Jian recalled the contents of "The Little Prince" and his expression immediately became calm.

"I feel that it is very profound; other children's literature cannot reach this level."

"Very profound?"

Liu Xinwu frowned. "Tell me more details? What's the story?"

"Um"

Ma Jian pondered for a moment, "It's about a pilot who crashed in the desert and then met a prince from another planet."

"???"

Liu Xinwu and Gao Xingjian exchanged a glance.

desert?

Extraterrestrial planet?
What the hell is this?!
Just listening to Liu Xinwu's explanation is absurd. How can he claim to be profound? And how can he get first place at the Lu Xun Academy of Literature?

Besides, no matter how good a children's literature work is, how good can it be?
Liu Xinwu didn't quite believe Ma Jian's words.

He had his own judgment, feeling that the Lu Xun Academy of Literature might have been influenced by Jiang Xian's status, thus elevating this children's literature work to a level beyond its actual quality. As for Ma Jian, he was a junior in the literary world, so when talking about the writer Jiang Xian, he could only say some good things about Jiang Xian.

After all, this kind of thing is not unheard of in the literary world.

Later, there were even more.

For example, a famous writer from Sichuan Province won the Lu Xun Literary Prize for his collection of poems and was praised by a group of literary masters as "truly a masterpiece!" and "He gleaned the ultimate joy, fairness, and harmony from the small things in life!"

So this poetry collection that won the Lu Xun Literary Prize must be of very high quality.

Upon opening it:
"The Foot Washing Song"

The fitness center is like a golden house, where a beautiful woman washes my feet.

Big shots get to sign contracts and have fun, while the girls earn a considerable income.

Don't be discouraged now that you've bowed your head; I'll just stand here and admire myself.

If I were to be reborn in Hedong in the next life, who knows if I wouldn't wash for you?

Hmm, he's turned washing feet into a poem.

After reading it once, you even worry that you've read a pirated collection of poems. How can such doggerel win the Lu Xun Literary Prize?

So how did people praise it?

The magic of Zhou poetry, the ingenuity of Zhou poetry, and the refined character of Zhou poetry reminiscent of Tang poetry!
"The Foot Washing Song" surpasses Bai Juyi's "The Song of the Pipa"!

"One writes about female singers, the other about foot masseuses. The former's final words are nothing more than 'Who weeps the most in the room? The Jiangzhou Sima's blue robe is soaked with tears,' which is sympathy, pity, and condescension. But Zhou is on equal footing with the foot masseuses, and even thinks that maybe one day I will kneel down and wash your feet!"

This is transcendence—a transcendence of philosophical thought, a transcendence of art, and above all, a transcendence of a higher realm!

It's only because Bai Juyi is already dead that he would have been so shocked to hear these words.

If you were to say that this is a collection of poems, and one poem is mediocre, while the others might be worth reading, then that would be a good point.

Then let's continue flipping through the pages.

Lost Cat Notice

Please inform us immediately if you discover any such cases.
If they return, they will surely express their gratitude.

Two poems on the burial of a cat

The old notice searching for the cat is still there; this journey is not to be taken, and there will be no return.

The sesame oil in the cup dwindles overnight; the cat is gone, and the mouse knows it first.

After writing about my own cat, I'll now write about current news.

Song of the Tsunami

Small clashes between different sectors can unleash a powerful energy.

The earth's core trembled with fear, and the ocean stood as a human.

The Song of the Transvestite

A career in competitive beauty pageants requires a dazzling stage.

Tourists come from all over the world, doubling the local economy.

There's also "The Lisboa Casino".

The residents in front of the door are gone, while nineteen mainland tourists are spending money.

Returning from the cape, he spoke of being placed under investigation, which made even high-ranking officials lose their composure.

If that's already outrageous enough, this guy has something even more outrageous to offer. He even wrote poems about the romance between Weng Yang, and not content with just one, he wrote two:
Today's events are truly gratifying; the spring breeze ripples across the pond.

I would rather be the one to inherit the blessings of nature than to be like Ao Zhi!
The public can hardly see things objectively; the headscarf is just an empty symbol of fear.

The birds sing joyfully in the secluded valley, finding solace in a high branch, never regretting their new home.

The old man and woman, both eighty years old, share the same heart, valuing talent and beauty.

The ivy, though long entwined, has no power to nourish the withered tree.

White hair remains as fresh as autumn dew, green hills still stand as red as the setting sun.

I lament that I didn't marry Su Shi, for our souls have always been connected.

In short, Liu Xinwu believes that if Jiang Xian's writing is even slightly bad, the Lu Xun Academy of Literature will have to flatter him.

How can we not praise them?
If the editor-in-chief of People's Literature is surpassed by other writers, wouldn't this literary world, which is based on seniority, fall into chaos?

Therefore, it is not only necessary to praise it, but to praise it excessively. A group of critics should be invited to study this novel with great care and effort, and they must be able to find something interesting between the lines.

Thinking of this, Liu Xinwu sneered.

“Xiao Ma, you are still young. You should do less of the sycophantic things. As Mr. Ba Jin said, we should tell the truth. We should advocate telling the truth. If we ask you something, just tell us what you think. Don’t try to evade us. That’s not good.”

Ma Jian was stunned when he heard this.

"Playing dumb? You...you mean this novel? No, I meant what I was thinking."

"Ugh."

Liu Xinwu shook his head in anguish, looking at Ma Jian's appearance, feeling sorry for the young people in the literary world today.

If all young writers in the future are like this, what kind of atmosphere will the literary world have?
There are too few people with independent personalities like Ma Yuan! Gao Xingjian also understood the meaning behind Liu Xinwu's words and guessed what Liu Xinwu was thinking, but looking at Ma Jian's reaction, he felt that things were not so simple.

"Little Ma, do you still have that novel?"

"The Little Prince?"

"Correct."

"Yes, I brought it here specifically today."

Ma Jian took out a manuscript from his bag. The words "The Little Prince" were written crookedly on it. Liu Xinwu recognized Jiang Xian's handwriting. He knew that Jiang Xian had beautiful handwriting and was very famous for it. Judging from the handwriting, this manuscript should not be the original, but a copy made by someone else.

This kind of thing is quite common in the literary world at this time. Before a manuscript is published, it is copied and circulated among the circles. Of course, people in this era are generally more civilized and conscientious, and no one would do something like "stealing work".

To put it bluntly, it's because it's not commercialized enough.

In later generations, publishers wouldn't care about this or that; they'd just publish it and make money first.

But that won't work now. If you do that, people will look down on you, and you'll be vilified in the industry.

"Let me see."

Gao Xingjian opened the manuscript and saw the dedication written at the beginning. He was moved by Jiang Xian's dedication of this novel to his daughter.

Then I saw the quote, "All adults were once children, but only a few of them remember it."

"That is nice."

Gao Xingjian couldn't help but praise him, and he immediately recalled a quote from John Lennon, the famous Beatles member:

While we are busy making a living, life has already left us, but I hope you will always remember the child in your heart who always has a happy face!
John Lennon was a British singer, musician, poet, and social activist.

His words and Jiang Xian's words are similar in meaning.

But compared to that, Jiang Xian's words were better:
“All adults were once children, but only a few of them remember that.”

Yes, who wasn't a child once? But unfortunately, only a very small number of people are still children now.

On the other side, Liu Xinwu also caught a glimpse of the sentence written at the end of the dedication. His usually tense expression visibly softened. He shook his head and quietly reminded himself that dedications and such were all external. No matter how fancy a novel was, it still had to focus on the story itself.

"Let me take it back and read it first," Gao Xingjian said. "I'll get it for you tomorrow."

“Okay.” Ma Jian had no objections.

Gao Xingjian took this copy of "The Little Prince" home and quickly finished reading it.

that's nice!

This is so well written!

After finishing the story, he almost forgot it was a novel. He genuinely believed that a planet, designated B612, existed, was discovered by a Turkish astronomer, and that an extremely adorable little person lived on this planet, which was no bigger than a house.

—"The Little Prince".

Gao Xingjian is not young, and he came from that era. He should be serious, but he couldn't help but be moved by this heartwarming story.

After all, the core spirit of this novel is the same as that of the novel he is currently writing, "Soul Mountain".

He began writing "Soul Mountain" in 82, and it took five years to complete, but it is still unfinished.

Because Gao Xingjian planned to write 81 chapters, which also had the meaning of "Journey to the West", the four masters and disciples had to go through 81 tribulations to reach the sacred mountain. Therefore, Gao Xingjian's "Sacred Mountain" also had 81 chapters, and they could only see the "sacred mountain" after going through 81 tribulations.

As for the content, it is roughly about how "I" was misdiagnosed with lung cancer, and accidentally heard on a train about a sacred mountain that could cure cancer, so "I" set off to find it.

Of course, the novel itself is too abstract to be summarized in just a few sentences.

The ending of the story is also quite interesting. "I" searched for the sacred mountain all the way, only to find that the sacred mountain in reality did not exist. The so-called sacred mountain was actually just a stubborn rock used by villagers to pray for children.

In general, the core of the novel is about escaping a "false" life, going into the countryside, into nature, and seeking the "freedom" of "real life".

"The Little Prince," on the other hand, is about escaping the "false" adult life and re-examining the world through the eyes of a child.

Both novels share a similar "escapist" theme at their core, both being far removed from the real world.

In addition, the main characters in "The Little Prince" are simple: "I," the pilot, and the Little Prince.

His novel, "Soul Mountain," features only three characters: "you," "I," and "he."

In short, he was able to glean much of the meaning he wanted to convey in "Soul Mountain" from "The Little Prince".

But in Gao Xingjian's opinion, his novel "Soul Mountain" is in no way comparable to Jiang Xian's "The Little Prince".

No matter how ethereal or Zen-like my own writing may be, it seems it can't compare to a single line from the Little Prince:
"Please draw me a sheep."

Gao Xingjian was truly impressed.

In his view, compared to his own "pilgrimage," Jiang Xian's work represents the highest level of writing skill.

Pilgrimage is not as good as pilgrimage to me.

I am a saint!

This is a true return to simplicity!

The only imperfection is that this guy only copied the words from the manuscript and didn't draw the illustrations from the novel.

So Gao Xingjian is now very curious about what the sick sheep, the ram with horns, and the lamb hidden in the box that "I" drew for the Little Prince look like.

Without the illustrations, he felt like he was reading an incomplete novel. While he was moved by the words, he felt extremely distressed because he couldn't have a complete reading experience.

Seeing that it was still early, Gao Xingjian didn't spend too long reading "The Little Prince." He then took the manuscript to Liu Xinwu's house and found that Ma Jian was still there.

"Old Gao, why are you back again?" Liu Xinwu asked.

"I cough."

Gao Xingjian walked past Liu Xinwu and called out to Ma Jian, "Little Ma, your novel is incomplete. Do you have a version with illustrations?"

"With pictures?"

Ma Jian shook his head. "No, this is all I got."

"Oh, that's such a shame." Gao Xingjian looked as if he had been hit hard, and his expression suddenly turned dejected.

"Image? What's wrong?"

Liu Xinwu was quite curious upon seeing this. Gao Xingjian had clearly gone back, but then he returned and asked about the accompanying picture.

"That's right," Gao Xingjian explained to Liu Xinwu. "Jiang Xian's novel needs to be read in conjunction with the text and illustrations, otherwise you can't read it completely, and there are some parts where you can only guess what it's about."

"What kind of novel is this?"

This was the first time Liu Xinwu had ever heard of such a thing—that a novel couldn't be read without illustrations?
They've used illustrations in their writing before, and most of the illustrations were added by the publisher before publication, serving as icing on the cake. But no one ever considers the illustrations to be a major part of the novel. The most important part of the novel is the original text that everyone submits at the beginning.

"Old Liu."

Gao Xingjian put down the manuscript in his hand. "Old Liu, I feel I have to say something to you."

"What are you saying?" Liu Xinwu looked at him strangely, guessing what he meant but not saying it aloud. "Go ahead and say it."

"cough,"

Gao Xingjian took a deep breath, then said in a rather serious tone:
"Believe me, this novel is really well written!"

"I think he truly deserves his first place."

"Jiang Xian's children's novel not only moved the Lu Xun Academy of Literature, but also moved me!"

(End of this chapter)