Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 115 The Young Man from the East
The next morning, Liu Yimin woke up early in bed, got dressed, opened the gauze window, and looked at the misty streets of Paris, feeling that he hadn't gone very far.

After taking another hot shower, my body finally started to feel lighter.

Liu Yimin went down the corridor, where Li Xiaolin was already waiting. Looking at Liu Yimin, she asked, "Yimin, how did you sleep?"

"You fell asleep as soon as your head hit the bed, Xiaolin, what about you?" Liu Yimin asked, looking at Ba Jin's room.

"Just like you, the plane was bumpy the whole way, and I felt like my body was about to fall apart. I wonder how my dad is? The reason he didn't want to come out was because the journey was too tiring."

Just then, Ba Jin opened the door: "You two got up so early? I thought I was early enough!"

After waking up, Ba Jin sat by the window, gazing at Paris in the early morning, savoring the long-lost familiar atmosphere.

"Professor Ba, what are your thoughts on revisiting this place?" Liu Yimin and Li Xiaolin each walked to one side of Ba Jin, ready to support him at any time.

Ba Jin's actions were somewhat slow, but overall, he was able to manage the delegation's itinerary.

“When I was looking at the streets of Paris just now, for a moment I felt that Paris was no different from Chang'an Avenue or the alleyways of Shanghai. You were right yesterday, our culture has been deeply ingrained in our bones, and we can’t change it even if we want to. No matter where we go, we always feel that there is a pair of eyes watching us with deep affection. No matter where we go, we can never get rid of our motherland.”

Li Xiaolin helped Ba Jin up and said with a smile, "Dad, your first morning in Paris turned into a patriotic speech!"

As the three were talking, the others also came out of the room and walked downstairs together.

Embassy staff stopped them on the first floor, saying that French journalists had already surrounded them outside. Major media outlets had already received news of Ba Jin's return to Paris and had reported on it early on.

Moreover, it reignited the interest in Ba Jin's literature. The media competed to comment on Ba Jin's earlier works in newspapers, allowing Parisian readers to rediscover him.

As for the others, they are all minor characters.

"Comrade Ba Jin, would you like to meet with the reporters? We can also go through the back door, have breakfast, and then head to the venue." Gu Zhijun's expression showed a hint of nervousness.

Anything can happen in front of the embassy; every move is highly sensitive, especially with so many cameras and reporters watching. A slight mishandling could lead to a major news story.

"We're already in Paris, how can we hide? Slipping out the back door isn't a good idea, and meeting up with our French journalist friends would be nice, but now's not the time to answer questions."

After finishing his speech, Ba Jin left the guesthouse under the protection of embassy staff. French reporters who had been waiting outside swarmed him, but fortunately, the embassy staff were experienced in handling such situations and opened a passage for the delegation to enter the adjacent embassy.

Reporters kept taking pictures, and the members of the delegation responded with smiles.

"Fellow French journalists, we will answer your questions at the press conference," Gu Zhijun said loudly.

Upon entering the embassy's restaurant, Ambassador Han, who had not appeared yesterday, came in and shook hands with Ba Jin tightly, saying, "Comrade Ba Jin, you've worked hard. Comrades of the delegation, you've worked hard too!"

"Ambassador, it must be really hard work for you to do diplomatic work abroad."

Ambassador Han carries a military air about him; most of the previous generations of ambassadors of the People's Republic of China were former military officers. Ambassador Han, with his guerrilla background, also possesses a free-spirited quality.

"This must be my fellow townsman, right?" Ambassador Han asked with a smile, pointing at Liu Yimin.

Luo Sun, who was standing in front of him, moved a step to the left, allowing Liu Yimin to step forward and extend his hand, saying, "Hello, Ambassador, I am Liu Yimin."

"Great! When fellow villagers meet, tears well up in their eyes. It's a pity this is a formal occasion, otherwise we two fellow villagers would really be moved to tears. We are both from the same hometown, we are the most fellow villagers among fellow villagers. I really like your poem. Keep it up and strive to create even more inspiring poems."

Ambassador Han held Liu Yimin's hand tightly, looking directly into Liu Yimin's eyes, as if trying to see through Liu Yimin's inner world.

“Yes!” Liu Yimin said.

Upon hearing the word "中" (zhong), Ambassador Han paused for a moment, then laughed along with those around him, patting Liu Yimin on the shoulder and saying repeatedly, "Yes, 中, 中, 中, we Henan people have to say 中."

The moment they spoke in their native accent, the two felt much closer.

"Today, we have prepared millet porridge, eggs, and bread for our delegation members. Since we are in Paris, let's have a combination of Chinese and Western food."

Ambassador Han invited everyone to sit down for a meal, during which he discussed the current situation in France, mainly focusing on the economy and culture, with little mention of politics.

The first stop was the University of Paris, where Ba Jin studied. Many cultural figures gathered to welcome the delegation. As the car came to a smooth stop in front of the crowd, the delegation members got out one by one to greet the welcoming crowd.

In fact, the school they have arrived at is Paris Dauphiné University. During the May 1968 uprising, students occupied the University of Paris, and afterwards, the University of Paris was directly split into 1 to 13 universities.

It can be said that the University of Paris is the stronghold of Italian students.

After visiting Paris Dauphin University, the delegation of writers from China and France stopped at the Faculty of Arts. They entered the Faculty's lecture hall, where they would have a literary exchange.

Upon entering the lecture hall, Liu Yimin noticed several interesting Chinese slogans—"Can male and female students in China communicate?"—as well as some other political slogans.

The May storm was triggered by male students demanding free access to female dormitories and the abolition of gender segregation. At that time, French universities implemented a system of separating male and female students into classes, with clear boundaries between genders.

A French minister came to the University of Paris to cut the ribbon for a swimming pool. When students questioned him about why he didn't talk about students' sexuality, the minister casually replied, "You can jump into the water to cool off."

Unexpectedly, a single sentence mobilized students throughout Paris and France, who took to the streets.

While de Gaulle and other government officials were still basking in the glory of having created a great era, a storm nearly brought de Gaulle down from his throne.

The school did not arrange for students to participate in the discussion, which may be due to this reason.

Inside the lecture hall, French writers included Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, Anne Elnor (08 Nobel Laureate in Literature), Georges Perec (2022 Nobel Laureate in Literature), Modiano, and the 2014 Nobel Laureate in Literature.

After delivering their welcoming remarks, the French began discussing the current state of the French literary scene. They noted a strange phenomenon: literary criticism was becoming more important than literary creation, even to the point of replacing it as the dominant form of writing. Ba Jin and the members of the Chinese delegation found this unbelievable.

“Literary criticism is inherently dependent on literary creation. If literary criticism is on equal footing with literary creation, wouldn’t that be putting the cart before the horse?” Ba Jin asked.

“In the eyes of critics, literary creation comes from inspiration and wisdom, and so does literary criticism. Since they are both products of inspiration and wisdom, why can’t they be on equal footing? The French literary scene today advocates interpreting the meaning of literature through various new forms and structures, and is skeptical of subjectivity and truth.” Xu Chi and Gao Jingjing listened to the French writer’s speech, filled with curiosity about this new form.

Liu Yimin understood; it was actually French avant-garde literature. Avant-garde literature advocates subverting traditional literature, using various forms of innovation and linguistic innovation to showcase its "newness."

Xu Chi and Gao later became writers in the avant-garde literary movement, and Liu Yimin felt that this trip to France had a profound impact on them.

In the 1980s, avant-garde writers also gained a foothold in the Chinese literary scene, deeply influenced by French avant-garde literature. They pursued various novel forms of expression and structures to deconstruct mainstream literature, attempting to reconstruct a subjectivity based on their own standards.

However, this often results in a poor imitation, deliberately challenging traditional literary writing styles, much like a rebellious child who will go west when told to go east. While the unconventional language and form may initially seem refreshing, this intense sensory stimulation will eventually be abandoned by readers.

Yu Hua is a representative figure of avant-garde writers. However, this guy is rather cunning. Sensing that the avant-garde movement was doomed, he quickly changed his writing style and wrote realist literary works such as "Chronicle of a Blood Merchant" and "To Live," beginning a return to traditional literature.

Ba Jin and Li Xiaolin were also pondering this form. After the Frenchman finished speaking, Ba Jin said, "The development of literature requires all kinds of exploration, otherwise it will only be a stagnant pool."

After the presentation, the domestic representatives began to share their views. When it was Liu Yimin's turn, Ba Jin smiled and looked at him, signaling him not to be nervous.

The French writers present also carefully observed the young man. Among the Chinese and French delegations, Liu Yimin was the youngest. Excluding Liu Yimin, the youngest was already over thirty years old.

"Professor Ba, fellow French colleagues. I personally believe that the emergence of avant-garde literature is of exploratory significance for the development of literature; innovation is the foundation of progress. However, on the other hand, I think that novelty in form should not overshadow novelty in content. I believe that content is more important than form. Pursuing form while neglecting content is undoubtedly putting the cart before the horse."

Marxist philosophy states that content determines form!

After Liu Yimin finished speaking, the French writer looked at him and smiled. Georges Perec said, "Young man, you are still a writer who believes in subjectivity. I think that formal novelty is the key to creating more powerful and meaningful works. Some emotions are difficult to express, and I want to use forms that are difficult to express to express those difficult emotions."

Georges Perec was a renowned avant-garde writer known for his arbitrarily interwoven plots and unique narrative style. His works are even difficult to translate into Chinese due to their numerous instances of missing words, palindromes, and even, reportedly, personally set textual codes.

Who the hell can translate this?

"Mr. Ba Jin, who is this young gentleman?" a Frenchman asked.

When Liu Yimin came in, everyone thought he was just an attendant, but they didn't expect him to be a writer participating in the exchange.

“Yi Min Liu is a young talent emerging in the Chinese literary world. He is very popular among young people in China. I have read his poems,” said Anne Hernault, a Frenchwoman, with a smile. She had read the delegation’s materials and knew that a young man was participating.

Perek's lips curled into a smile: "Oh? Young man, do you know about magical realism? Do you think magical realism is a kind of avant-garde movement?"

"Magical realism is a branch of realism, only employing magical writing techniques. It is a formal innovation, but its content still adheres to realism; it is a combination of form and content. This shows that realism still has a tenacious vitality. It is influenced by various literary techniques, but magical realism is essentially realism."

The fact that you gentlemen link avant-garde literature with magical realism indicates that avant-garde literature hasn't completely escaped realism, but it's also striving to break free from its influence, finding itself in a somewhat contradictory position. However, if it truly achieved a complete break from realism, then avant-garde literature would have no fertile ground to thrive.

"Why?" Perek asked again.

"Because no one can truly escape reality!"

A low chuckle broke out in the room. Apart from Ba Jin and Li Xiaolin, the rest of the delegation really didn't know anything about magical realism and were completely clueless.

Ba Jin was able to read internal documents and kept a close eye on the world literary scene, so he was aware of this literary form that originated in the Americas.

Perec glanced at his other French colleagues, shrugged, and exclaimed, "C'est une surprise!"

The translator didn't understand what he meant, so Ba Jin smiled and said, "Perek said that Yimin is a pleasant surprise for this delegation."

Perek asked, "Young man, do you have any works that I would like to read?"

Liu Yimin glanced at Ba Jin, who nodded. Liu Yimin then took out his book from his briefcase and handed one to Perec. The other French representatives looked at Liu Yimin, and he then gave his book out again.

"It's in Chinese, but unfortunately there's no French version!"

Liu Yimin said, "Mr. Perek, this is a great opportunity to learn Chinese."

Everyone laughed at Liu Yimin's words. Perek said he would learn from Ba Jin, become proficient in multiple languages, and become a language master.

Ba Jin looked at Liu Yimin and nodded approvingly.

The Frenchman then inquired about Chinese "scar literature" and the state of literature during that decade. Ba Jin didn't dwell on the "scar literature," but instead spoke of how intellectuals should shoulder the responsibilities of their time, reflect on themselves and the era, and elevate literary writing beyond personal suffering.

The first meeting was quite formal, but the rest of the time in Paris was more casual. We visited various places together and discussed literature as we went.

"Mr. Ba Jin, where would you most like to go next?" the Frenchman asked.

"I hope to visit the Hotel Dinard in the Latin Quarter and see the place where Romain Rolland and Mr. Hemingway once lived."

"Okay, we'll arrange it!"

As I stepped out of the lecture hall, a large number of students and reporters had gathered outside.

In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, Perec said, "Mr. Ba Jin was humorous and witty, and had extremely high literary cultivation. It is a blessing for the Chinese and French literary circles to communicate with such a person."

Also, that young man from the East left a deep impression on me.

(End of this chapter)