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

Chapter 318 Appeals for the Return of Cultural Relics

On his last day in Iowa, Liu Yimin published an article on environmental protection, explaining China's efforts and determination in this area, and calling on the world to learn from China and work together to protect our home.

Nie Hualing asked the delegation members if this was true, and Xu Chi told her that Saihanba, next to Yanjing, used to be a desert, but now it is lush with trees.

"The sandstorms in Yanjing have lessened considerably. Yi Min has a novel about planting trees. It's about to be published in the United States. You can read it when it's published. This novel is very famous in France!" Xu Chi said.

Nie Hualing wanted to ask if Liu Yimin's extensive talk about environmental protection was to promote his book, but after thinking about it, she felt that she was being petty and had swallowed her words.

"Yimin, we plan to invite writers Bo Yang and Wang Anyi to the Iowa International Training Camp next year. Are you interested? If you come, the three of you can come together. I've exchanged letters with Anyi, and she mentioned you in her letter. She greatly admires your talent."

She benefited greatly from their several exchanges.

Zhang Guangnian said with a smile, "Ms. Hua Ling, Yi Min has only been married for half a year. Isn't it a bit cruel to separate this young couple?"

"Haha, I think so too!" Xu Chi said.

Nie Hualing asked in surprise, "Yi Min is already married? I don't know who his wife is?"

“Yi Min’s wife is also an artist, a stage and film actress. She is naturally very beautiful, and more importantly, she has a great temperament and speaks very well. I think the two of them are a perfect match!” Xu Chi said first.

"Congratulations! You can bring your wife to the United States sometime." With that, Nie Hualing stopped inviting Liu Yimin to Iowa.

Zhang Guangnian interrupted partly because Liu Yimin was indeed newly married, and the couple living apart in two countries were prone to relationship problems.

On the other hand, there was a genuine fear that Liu Yimin would stay in the United States after attending the Iowa event.

Liu Yimin said with a smile, "I will definitely visit you in Iowa when I have time!"

Niki from China Book and Periodical Publishing House discussed the possibility of staying in the United States for a period of time with Liu Yimin. China Book and Periodical Publishing House is preparing to transform its business, shifting from selling Chinese books to planning and publishing books on Chinese themes.

They selected authors from among Chinese students studying in the United States, hoping to write about their experiences in America and the sparks that arise from the collision of different cultures between the two countries and publish them in the United States.

They felt that Americans would definitely love this topic.

Niki Noyce even envisioned Liu Yimin staying in the United States for a few months to write a book about his experiences there, selling it while simultaneously embarking on a nationwide speaking tour, thereby boosting sales of all his books.

Liu Yimin refused.

If that's the case, he'll be held hostage by the publisher for almost a year.

Liu Yimin said to Niki, "A true writer should be in his study or on the road of research, not selling like a salesman!"

Niki didn't force the issue; the two were just in a cooperative relationship, and Liu Yimin wasn't a writer who couldn't make a living.

"I wish you a safe arrival in San Francisco tomorrow, and I hope we can meet again!" Nie Hualing said as she stood up, telling them to get some rest before leaving.

"From now on, I'll avoid overseas assignments whenever possible. It's so tiring!" Zhang Guangnian got up and walked towards his room.

Liu Yimin went to Xu Chi's room, counted out two thousand US dollars, and handed them to Xu Chi.

"So many?" Xu Chi said after counting the US dollars in his hand.

Liu Yimin chuckled: "Old Xu, don't you know how much you've translated yourself?"

"I really forgot!" Xu Chi placed the US dollars in his hand under the chandelier and examined them carefully for a long time. "I've really fallen in love with America. A refrigerator and a washing machine a month!"

"If you work a little harder, you can earn enough for a motorcycle!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Xu Chi pointed to his eyes and said, "Forget it, you're not going to make it any easier. Look at my eyes, when we get home I need to ask your sister-in-law to give me some extra nutrition."

"Comrade Xu, this five hundred dollars is for the translation fee of 'The Green Book.' Don't say you don't want it; there are other books waiting for you to translate in the future!" Liu Yimin stuffed another five hundred dollars into Xu Chi's pocket.

“Yimin, actually, with your English level, you shouldn’t have much trouble translating it yourself!” Xu Chi said.

"I mostly use simple sentences; the real translation still depends on you. Literature isn't just about content; the beauty of the sentences is also extremely important."

Xu Chi didn't refuse any longer and accepted the five hundred dollars. Two thousand five hundred dollars would raise his standard of living to a higher level.

Xu Chi comes from a prestigious family and has powerful relatives, but with his salary of just over a hundred yuan, he can hardly be considered wealthy.

The sales of standalone reportage books are far less than those of novels. Besides, writing one piece takes more than half a year. Translating a book also takes more than half a year, and when spread out over each month, it doesn't amount to much money.

Upon arriving in San Francisco, instead of leaving immediately, everyone had two days of free time.

Liu Yimin and Xu Chi went to the mall and bought a lot of things. Liu Yimin earned four thousand US dollars from his submissions. He gave Xu Chi two thousand five hundred dollars and one thousand five hundred dollars. In addition to the more than one thousand dollars he already had and the one thousand dollar prize money from the literary award, Liu Yimin still had nearly four thousand dollars in his hands.

When they arrived at the mall, Liu Yimin counted on his fingers, deciding who to buy gifts for. He bought Zhu Lin a trench coat and a dress.

"Yimin, you bought so much?"

"There are so many people, including Teacher Wan and his wife, my senior sister, my father-in-law and mother-in-law, my father and mother, my elder brother and sister-in-law. We can't show favoritism to any of them, can we?"

Xu Chi bought a shawl for his wife and some things for the children. In the hotel, Liu Yimin was bored in his room that evening when the phone by his bed suddenly rang. He picked it up, and a familiar voice came from the other end.

"Hello, Liu, guess who I am?"

"Li Congren, stop playing tricks!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

"Liu, you've arrived in the US, why haven't you contacted me? I'm not far from San Francisco, and I finally managed to find the hotel's phone number. When are you leaving the US?" Li Congren asked quickly.

"Leaving the United States the day after tomorrow!"

"Oh, see you tomorrow!" Li Congren said excitedly.

The next morning, Li Congren knocked on Liu Yimin's door. As soon as Liu Yimin groggily opened the door, Li Congren's lips were pressed against his forehead.

Suddenly, Liu Yimin was wide awake. Li Congren took Liu Yimin out for a stroll in San Francisco, laughing as he talked about his return to the United States.

"San Francisco mornings are beautiful, and I love feeling the sea breeze here. But this steel city lacks the human touch of China; everyone here acts like a nouveau riche!"

Liu Yimin said with a smile, "Looks like you're a nouveau riche!"

“My father runs a sporting goods company with chain stores all over California. His favorite saying is, ‘I only care about profits, I don’t care about the means!’” Li Congren said.

Goodness, he's a rich kid!
"Wouldn't it be better to help your father manage the company?" Liu Yimin asked.

"This isn't the life I want. Hey Liu, you know what? I've submitted a few more short stories. I think Americans really like these kinds of short stories. Because these short stories have clear ideas, are easy to understand, and are easy for people to accept. For example, after a busy day, you definitely want a short story to relieve your fatigue."

Li Congren said excitedly, then went back to the car and showed him the published work.

After reading it, Liu Yimin praised, "Your short story is more powerful and has a greater impact on people's thinking than my long stories. Since you like it so much, why don't you start a magazine to publish short stories like this?"

"Magazine?"

“Yes, it’s easy to publish a magazine in the US. We’ll start with your father’s chain stores. The main market is elementary and middle schools. Students are simple-minded, have weaker reading skills, and prefer things that are easy to understand,” Liu Yimin said.

Li Congren lay on the beach for a long time, thinking: "This is a good idea, I'm sure I can convince my father."

As the two were returning from the beach, Liu Yimin pointed to a rather artistic building nearby and asked, "What is this place?"

“The Asian Art Museum has many Asian artifacts. Would you like to take a look? I’m afraid you’ll be sad!” Li Congren said.

Let's go take a look!

Li Congren led Liu Yimin inside, where a large collection of artworks from China, Japan, and other Asian countries was housed.

The collection spans from the Neolithic period to the Ming and Qing dynasties. Li Congren explained to him that many of these items were donated by collectors.

"Donated? Hmph, how did these things end up in the hands of these so-called collectors? Li, this is looting of cultural relics. These people plundered them from China in the late Qing Dynasty and before liberation," Liu Yimin said angrily.

When Liu Yimin heard a tour guide explaining to the Americans that establishing an Asian art museum could popularize and promote Eastern culture, he became even more furious.

It's like being a prostitute while pretending to be virtuous; stealing from others and then claiming you're promoting their culture!
Bronze ware, ceramics, scriptures, and Buddhist statues—a dazzling array.

Halfway through, Liu Yimin stopped reading and quickly left the Asian Art Museum.

At noon, after Li Congren escorted Liu Yimin back to his hotel, he patted him on the shoulder and said, "I am ashamed. If one day I obtain Chinese artifacts, I will definitely return them. If the magazine can be published, I will also appeal for their return through the magazine."

The United States cannot develop through plunder.

Back at the hotel, everyone noticed Liu Yimin's grim expression and asked him why. After hearing his explanation, they all looked indignant.

"Comrade Xu, let's work overtime today!" Liu Yimin said.

Xu Chi nodded.

Liu Yimin returned to his room and wrote on a piece of paper, "Civilization cannot rely on plunder; plunderers should apologize for their plunder."

Liu Yimin sternly rebuked the looters, demanding that they return the Chinese cultural relics and apologize to history.

The second article is titled "Chinese 'elderly' people weep in a cold American art museum!"

The article uses personification to tell the story of how the artifact came to America. Heavily armed soldiers stormed the palace, their eyes filled with greed as they looked at the 'old man,' then hung him on their bayonets, tucked him into their belts, and took him back to America.
At the end of the article, the artifact cries out in the voice of a distressing person, expressing its desire to return to China.

The delegation didn't go out in the afternoon; everyone waited for Liu Yimin's article. After it was written, everyone worked together to revise it, and then Xu Chi translated it.

The first piece was written in the evening, and the second piece was written around 10 p.m. Each piece was less than 3,000 words, and Xu Chi didn't finish translating it until 2 a.m. the next day.

Liu Yimin submitted the two articles to The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times respectively, and sent a copy to Li Congren, instructing him to submit them to other newspapers if they did not publish them.

Zhang Guangnian said helplessly, "I booked the plane tickets too early. I should have waited a few days!"

(End of this chapter)