Restart life

Chapter 171, Chapter 0168: [Master Chen Bids Farewell to the Literary World]

I'll just chat casually in Shanghai today. I went to Qiandao Lake and there are a series of activities planned.

Even casual conversations should have a theme.

The theme at this time is "Literary World and Market," that is, young writers have entered the market, but have they entered the literary world?
Nado spoke first: "I don't think we've really entered the literary world yet. I've worked as an editor at *Mengya* magazine, published online novels, and published a series of short stories and novellas. But my readers are mostly young people, and students the majority. I think I have a good market, but how many people in the Writers' Association know my pen name? Mr. Yu Hua, do you know my pen name?"

Yu Hua said, "I know your real name, and I also know that your father is the editor-in-chief of 'Mengya' magazine."

“But you don’t know my pen name, do you?” Nado pressed.

Yu Hua laughed heartily.

Nado said, "See? This proves that I only entered the market, not the literary world."

Cai Jun said, "I also belong to the group of people who dreamed of entering the literary world, but couldn't find the way in, and eventually had to turn to the market. I have to say, the market is much easier to enter than the literary world."

Mr. Cheng, who had been taking photos, put down his digital camera and said, "Why do you all insist on entering the literary world? The literary world is inherently superficial. You can publish your own works and have your own loyal readers. Why bother with those empty and superficial things?"

"I want to prove myself and gain recognition from mainstream writers," Jiang Feng said.

Shi Ling said, "Xiao Fan and Jiang Feng are in the most awkward situation right now. They are both post-80s writers, but they write pure literary works. They lack both market demand and real entry into the literary world."

Ye Shengtao's grandson, Ye Zhaoyan, laughed and said, "Actually, they're all pretty much the same. This time, attending the forum, I heard people calling each other 'senior' everywhere. But who is whose senior? We, who are in our forties or fifties, have to appease the younger generation by commenting on their works, and we also have to appease the older generation by showing that we still care about the works of older writers. You want the seniors to see your works, and the seniors also want you to see their works."

Zhang Yueran said, "Of course we are looking at the works of our seniors, but our seniors certainly don't look at our works."

“That’s not necessarily true,” Ge Fei said. “The older generation of writers will definitely pay attention to the younger generation. Wei Hui, who is a bit older than you, writes with her body, and Jia Pingwa has secretly read her books.”

Zhang Xinying smiled and said to Zhang Yueran, "Jia Pingwa must have also secretly read your work, but he just won't admit it for now. Writers like them are bound to put on airs."

Ge Fei said, "Alright, let's not talk about this."

"Hahaha."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Chen Guiliang kept texting; it was too boring here, so he could only chat with Bian Guanyue and Tao Xue to pass the time.

Cao Wenxuan suddenly said, "I have read Chen Guiliang's 'Those Things of the Ming Dynasty' carefully. He published three volumes, and I have finished reading all three. I am waiting for him to publish the fourth volume."

Upon hearing his name called, Chen Guiliang put down his phone and, noticing everyone watching him, said, "I just wrote whatever came to mind."

Cao Wenxuan asked, "Why don't you join the Beijing Writers Association?"

"I filled out the application form, but it was lost when the company moved," Chen Guiliang said.

Cao Wenxuan said, "Then I'll have someone send you another one."

Upon hearing this, many of the young writers present looked at Chen Guiliang with envy.

At that time, not just anyone could join the Writers' Association.

Chen Guiliang smiled but didn't say anything.

Su Tongdao: "Why don't you give your opinion too? On the literary scene and the market."

Chen Guiliang said, "The literary world, like the music and film worlds, is just a circle that has authority due to certain factors. I don't think it's necessary to force your way in. Writers in the literary world are busy writing about the lives of ordinary people. Young writers are busy writing for the market. The two sides have nothing in common."

"You even know about grassroots writing?" Tie Yi asked with a smile.

Chen Guiliang said, "This is the most mainstream thing in the literary world right now. Everyone should know that, right?"

However, at least half of the young writers present did not focus on writing about the lives of those living at the bottom of society.

Some people haven't even heard of it.

Immediately, some young writers quietly asked their friends, "What is grassroots writing?"

"I don't know," my friend shook his head.

Scar literature is a thing of the past.

Young adult literature has never been mainstream.

Writing about the grassroots and focusing on disadvantaged groups is what constitutes mainstream literature today.

It had been brewing since 1994, until it exploded last year, with traditional writers flocking to it.

Yu Hua is like this, and so is Fang Fang.

The reason for this is that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening, social divisions are becoming more severe, and the urban underclass and farmers need someone to speak up for them.

Some writers become increasingly disillusioned with reality the more they focus on the lives of ordinary people, and this becomes a fixed mindset for the rest of their lives.

They got stuck in it and couldn't get out, gradually developing a writing path dependency.

When times have completely changed, they still resort to the old ways, making up stories without finding any real tragic prototypes, instead of looking for the truly vulnerable new generation.

This trend of thought has permeated from the literary world to various fields.

The grassroots writing movement, which started as advocating for the people, quickly aligned itself with neoliberalism under the instigation of certain groups!
To the point that it's difficult to distinguish friend from foe, and impossible to tell whether someone is a human or a ghost.

Some writers even became ghosts, yet they still felt good about themselves, believing they were good people.

Ge Fei asked, "What are your thoughts on writing from the grassroots?"

“Speaking out for the underprivileged is certainly a good thing,” Chen Guiliang said. “But whatever becomes mainstream will inevitably become a tool for some people to gain fame and fortune. Especially writing about the underprivileged, this kind of thing can bring writers both fame and fortune. They can make a lot of money from their writing while advocating for the people. To be honest, some of these works are disgusting to read.”

"Why do grassroots writings feel disgusting to read?" Wang Meng asked.

Chen Guiliang said, "Writers have been out of touch with the grassroots for too long. They may have been from the grassroots in the past, but that was a decade or two ago. They go to the urban-rural fringe and visit the rural areas in the suburbs, and they think they know the lives of the grassroots. Some even shut themselves away and create their own stories, shooting the arrow first and then drawing the target, making up a bunch of nonsense. They seem to be giving voice to the grassroots, but in fact, the characters they write about are all soulless tools."

"This kind of literary work can only move the literary world and certain readers; the real people at the bottom of society will find it completely unrelatable!"

The middle-aged and elderly writers all laughed when they heard this.

Each of those smiles carried a different meaning. Tie Yi quickly changed the subject: "I think writers born in the 80s still need to accumulate experience. Your works as a whole seem immature, and the content is somewhat repetitive."

Xiao Fan said, "I think Jiang Feng's novels are the most mature among his peers. His accuracy of language, structure, writing skills, and literary ambition are even comparable to many famous writers."

Now that Chen Guiliang had stopped using his phone, he decided to speak freely: "I've also read Jiang Feng's novels. He's like Dugu Qiubai in his youth. He has amazing potential, but he focuses too much on techniques. He'll only truly become awesome when he stops using techniques."

Chen Guiliang had actually read Jiang Feng's novels in his past life.

In order to cater to the market, this person later abandoned pure literary writing and complex narrative techniques, and wrote a commercial novel that even he himself looked down upon.

However, that commercial novel was actually his peak.

Hearing Chen Guiliang's evaluation of himself, Jiang Feng was particularly surprised: "You think you shouldn't have used those writing techniques?"

“You’re showing off your skills, there’s really no need for that,” Chen Guiliang laughed. “Of course, this is just my personal opinion, everyone has their own thoughts. At least your level of sophistication is much higher than mine. After I wrote ‘Those Things of the Ming Dynasty,’ many people said that my writing was like that of an elementary school student.”

Song Jingru asked, "Your 'Journey to the Seas' is very well written, so why do you write 'Those Things of the Ming Dynasty' in such a simplistic way?"

"It's all for making money," Chen Guiliang said. "We write in a simpler way so that even elementary school students can understand it. Adding historical knowledge will attract parents to buy it for their children."

"Hahaha!"

The audience burst into laughter.

Xiao Fan asked curiously, "You really have no interest in literature?"

Chen Guiliang said, "I'm a very ordinary person, and I really don't have any literary ambitions. I wrote 'Those Things of the Ming Dynasty' purely because I was afraid that venture capital firms wouldn't come, and I wanted to use the royalties to keep the company afloat for a while longer."

“I don’t believe it. You were quite harsh in your criticism of ‘Wolf Totem’ a few months ago,” Xiao Fan said.

Chen Guiliang said, "It has nothing to do with literature. If you don't like something, just curse it a few times. Don't you want to curse?"

Xiao Fan said, "I haven't even read that book. It was only after I saw how harshly you guys were criticizing it that I went to Xinhua Bookstore."

"How are you feeling?" Chen Guiliang asked.

“I haven’t even finished the first chapter. Reading this kind of book is a waste of time,” Xiao Fan said.

Just then, Hu Weishi arrived with two staff members, carrying a large stack of photocopied documents for distribution.

It was a complete list of works by the authors present, along with excerpts of their representative works.

I couldn't find any interesting passages in Chen Guiliang's "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty," so I just photocopied the first page.

As they watched, they chatted and each shared their favorite authors.

It's all about Márquez and Kafka.

Only Li Haiyang weakly said, "I like Jin Hezai..."

"And you, Chen Guiliang, which one do you like?"

Chen Guiliang thought for a moment and said, "Lu Xun, I guess."

The morning's activities came to an end in the blink of an eye, and after lunch, everyone was headed to Qiandao Lake.

Chen Guiliang naturally wasn't going; he was stopped by Zhang Xinping, a reporter from the Shanghai Youth Daily, before he even left the venue.

We need to conduct an exclusive interview.

During the New Concept Writing Competition, Zhang Xinping took good care of Chen Guiliang during her interview, and Chen Guiliang naturally wanted to reciprocate.

They went directly to a small lobby in the hotel.

Other young writers, upon seeing the interview with Chen Guiliang in the Shanghai Youth Daily, all showed a hint of envy in their eyes.

"Sigh, there's no comparison. Let's go."

"He's a super-rich guy. Damn, why didn't I think of starting Renren.com?"

"Are you cut out to run a company?"

"..."

The interview with Shanghai Youth Daily lasted half an hour, mainly asking about studies, writing, and company matters, and finally escalating to a discussion about Chinese youth.

When the topic turned to starting the company, Zhang Xinping asked, "Back then, you had to teach, write, and run two companies. How did you have so much time?"

“It’s exhausting, even more exhausting than my senior year of high school,” Chen Guiliang said. “So, after I finish writing ‘Those Things of the Ming Dynasty,’ I probably won’t write any more books.”

"Completely give up your identity as a writer?" Zhang Xinping asked.

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "I'm not really a writer to begin with."

In fact, he had already decided that this would be the last time he participated in a writer's event, and he had repaid the favors he owed to "Mengya" magazine.

He's just too bored. He'd rather spend that free time drinking tea and chatting with his friends.

He's too lazy to join the Writers' Association, otherwise he would definitely participate in some sycophantic activities.

There is a business event at the end of the month, and Chen Guiliang will also be coming to Shanghai for this year's ChinaJoy exhibition.

This exhibition covers a wide range of topics, including games, animation, music, hardware and software, electronic toys, and more. It also brings together some of China's earliest cosplayers.

Many bosses of major domestic companies will be present in person, and you might even run into Ding Lei and Lei Jun.

Foreign giants like Sega and EA also send teams to promote their games.

Chen Guiliang will be leading a group of people to promote "Three Kingdoms Kill" and "Happy Farm", and is currently making various cosplay props.

Xu Fengyin volunteered; she wanted to play Zhen Ji…

(End of this chapter)