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

Chapter 387: A Lot of Awards

The study of Huang Yongyu was filled with smoke, but he seemed oblivious, still smoking his pipe and flipping through magazines.

Liu Yimin stood silently by, looking at the paintings and calligraphy hanging in the room, as well as some sculptures and wood carvings.

Huang Yongyu flipped through the Paris Review magazine and said helplessly, "When I was young, I didn't like mathematics or physics, nor did I like English. I could only understand the illustrations; I didn't understand anything else."

“Yongyu, you only need to know that Yimin’s ‘Beloved’ is on it,” Qian Zhongshu said with a smile.

When Huang Yongyu talked about Liu Yimin's play "The First Restaurant Under Heaven," he said when he heard that the play was being rehearsed: "I have to go and see. Cao Xueqin's plays in his later years were not good, but he had a student like you, which can be considered as fulfilling his regrets in his later years. I also hope that Cao Xueqin can write a better script."

I've read the novel *The Best Restaurant Under Heaven*, and it reminded me of Mr. Lao She. Everyone praises your article as being similar to Lao She's *Teahouse*, and in my opinion, that's no exaggeration. My favorite part is still that couplet.

Huang Yongyu, caught up in the conversation, learned that the Beijing People's Art Theatre was going to carve the couplet and hang it in front of the stage during performances. He excitedly said, "How about hanging my calligraphy up there?"

"Professor Huang, your calligraphy is so distinctive. If it's hung up there, the audience will easily focus all their attention on the couplets and won't be able to concentrate on watching the play at all."

Huang Yongyu looked at Liu Yimin and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Even if the audience spends the whole night thinking about it, they might still not figure out what it's about!" Liu Yimin laughed.

Huang Yongyu's calligraphy is too casual, making it easy for people to not understand. The characters engraved on couplets are more suitable for regular script and running script, so that they can be clearly seen when standing next to the couplet.

Upon hearing this, Qian Zhongshu burst into laughter and said to Huang Yongyu, "Yongyu, I always said you should practice regular script or running script more."

Huang Yongyu laughed and picked up his brush, saying, "Then I'll write one for Yimin and keep it for myself."

Seeing that Qian Zhongshu next to him was also itching to write, and given the atmosphere had already reached this point, Liu Yimin simply asked Qian Zhongshu to write a couplet for the People's Art Theatre.

After the ink dried, Liu Yimin packed up the two calligraphy pieces and bid farewell to the Huang family with Qian Zhongshu.

After they left, Huang Yongyu sat in his study, looking at the cover of The Paris Review, and said, "This American painting is nothing special!"

Downstairs at the apartment building, Liu Yimin said, "Goodbye, Professor Qian!"

"Be careful on the road!" Qian Zhongshu said with a smile as he turned and went back to his apartment.

Liu Yimin went to the Beijing People's Art Theatre and gave them the couplet written by Qian Zhongshu, asking them to carve it according to Qian Zhongshu's calligraphy.

Qian Zhongshu's calligraphy is characterized by its strong strokes and clear, easy-to-understand characters.

After the props team finished piecing together the large characters, they said, "These are the master's characters! They're so beautiful. Comrade Yimin, if you had come a little later, we would have finished carving them."

Liu Yimin had lunch at the Beijing People's Art Theatre and didn't plan to go back to the courtyard house in the afternoon. After meeting with Niki, Zhang Guangnian went straight to the Beijing People's Art Theatre.

"Yimin, I've been looking for you for ages! I went to the courtyard to wait for you after lunch, but I've been waiting for two hours!" Zhang Guangnian said, his beard bristling and eyes wide.

Liu Yimin laughed and said, "Why didn't you make a phone call first?"

"I called you but you didn't answer. I thought you were taking a nap at noon, but it turns out you weren't home at all. I couldn't wait any longer, so I decided to try my luck at the Beijing People's Art Theatre. I didn't expect you to actually be here."

After Zhang Guangnian finished speaking, he pulled Liu Yimin back to the courtyard to look at the manuscript of "Beloved". Liu Yimin laughed and said, "Old Zhang, slow down, the road is slippery, don't fall!"

"Hey, if you had shown it to me earlier, things wouldn't be like this now. The foreigners all know, and I didn't even know!" Zhang Guangnian complained.

The two returned to the courtyard house, and Liu Yimin went to the study and took out the manuscript he had kept hidden away, handing it to Zhang Guangnian.

The old comrade didn't bother to sit down and stood there watching. Liu Yimin moved a chair behind Zhang Guangnian and gently pressed it down on him.

I went to the kitchen and made some ginger soup for Zhang Guangnian to warm him up, lest the old man catch a cold.

Sample copies of The Paris Review began circulating in small circles among the literary elite. After receiving a sample copy, Zhu Guangqian went to the homes of other professors in the Chinese Department and invited them to read it together.

After reading "Beloved," the professors of the Chinese Department at Yenching University did not praise it first, but instead launched into a tirade of insults, their criticisms so deeply hidden.

Wu Zuxiang originally wanted to scold Liu Yimin and Zhu Guangqian for "colluding with each other," but after glancing at Zhu Guangqian, he swallowed the words back.

Zhu Guangqian snorted coldly: "I'm showing this to you to save face, don't be ungrateful. This is like a cannonball being fired in the West, and the shockwave has reached the East!"

"This is considered the first magical realism novel written by a Chinese author, a major event in the literary world. Professor Zhu, did Professor Yang read it before they left?" Yan Jiayan asked.

"Old Yang has seen it."

Yan Jiayan then said, "That's not a pity. Professor Yang has studied magical realism for so long, he should also read the magical realism works written by our country's writers."

Wang Yao asked, "Professor Zhu, where is the Chinese manuscript? Where is the manuscript that Yimin showed you?"

“I returned it. It hadn’t been published yet. If the manuscript had been lost and picked up by someone else, wouldn’t that be my fault?” Zhu Guangqian said.

The group exchanged glances, none of them spoke, but their actions were synchronized; they rode their bicycles parked outside toward Nanluoguxiang.

Yan Jiayan had ridden halfway when the northwest wind stung his face, and he couldn't help but say, "That kid Yimin, he's never been to the Overseas Chinese Apartment, not even now."

Zhang Guangnian had just finished reading the Chinese manuscript and hadn't even exchanged a few words with Liu Yimin when the commotion at the front door caught their attention.

Liu Yimin opened the door and was startled to see a group of old professors who looked menacing but were shivering from the cold.

Wang Yao said, "Professor Liu, the Chinese Department lost a book. We came here to search for it and see if it's with you!"

"What book?" Liu Yimin asked, puzzled.

Yan Jiayan laughed and said, "Never mind what kind of book it is, let us go in and search it."

Wu Zuxiang urged, "Everyone, I'm freezing to death, so stop keeping me in suspense. Yimin, we've come to see 'Beloved'."

"Hahaha!" Several professors laughed loudly at the door.

"You scared me! Quick, quick! Professors, why didn't you take the bus?"

"How are we supposed to squeeze onto the bus? It's so crowded with people buying New Year's goods. There's a joke about this: someone carried a large cabbage onto the bus, and when he got off, the cabbage stalks were covered in teeth marks. The man said, 'Why did you bite my cabbage?' The people around him said, 'It's because you poked us in the mouth with the cabbage stalks!'"

Zhang Guangnian walked out of the study with a smile: "Professors, you're still as witty as ever!"

"Hey, Secretary Zhang!" Yan Jiayan said.

"Come in quickly, everyone. It's very warm in the study. The Japanese air conditioner works great!" Zhang Guangnian said.

Liu Yimin had three manuscripts in total. Several professors took one and started reading it, so Liu Yimin could only make several bowls of ginger soup to warm everyone up.

After watching the article, Zhang Guangnian, who was standing next to him, told everyone about the significance of this novel to the literary world, and then said, "People from China Book and Periodical Publishing House flew directly to China for this novel, which shows how influential it was in the United States."

Unfortunately, the professors were busy reading novels and none of them paid him any attention.

Seeing that he was bored, Liu Yimin pulled Zhang Guangnian aside to talk about his writing ideas, all of which originated from his last trip to the United States.

"Yes, professors, you don't know that back then, American newspapers arrogantly claimed that we Chinese couldn't write magical realism. But look at us now, we have! There are so many things Americans said we couldn't do, and we've thrashed them all right. Those Americans, they never learn their lesson!"

Yan Jiayan said, "It is indeed a commendable piece of writing!"

Not content with just reading it, several professors wanted to each copy a copy to take home and analyze it carefully, and ideally, write several more papers.

Liu Yimin handed over two copies of the manuscript to them, telling them to pass them around and read them themselves. He wanted to keep the other original draft for his own collection.

As sunset approached, the professor from Yenching University and Zhang Guangnian left the courtyard. They weren't invited to stay for dinner because they were going to Cao Yu's house that evening.

Before leaving, Zhang Guangnian told Liu Yimin about Niqi's attitude at the Writers' Association that day: "Signing 20% ​​should not be a problem."

In the winter alleys of Yanjing, a few crows fly by from time to time, their cries mournful.

Liu Yimin drove Zhu Lin to Muxidi, where Niqi was already there, learning to make dumplings with Li Yuru. When she saw Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin's belly, she congratulated the two of them.

"Yimin, please sit down. You've finally arrived, please sit down!" Li Yuru said with a sigh of relief.

Wan Fang came out of the bathroom and said to Liu Yimin, "Junior brother, you're not being honest. You didn't tell me about such an important novel."

"Oh dear, I thought the teacher had already told you," Liu Yimin said. Wan Fang rolled her eyes at Liu Yimin and said to Zhu Lin, "Linlin, look at him, he's trying to deny everything."

Wan Fang and Zhu Lin cooked several dishes in the kitchen. By the time Cao Yu returned, the dishes were almost done, and the dumplings were already in the pot.

With the Chinese New Year approaching, the Dramatists Association and the Yanjing Federation of Literary and Art Circles had many matters to attend to, and Cao Yu needed to review many of them.

During the meal, Niki took the initiative to say, "Liu, we agree to increase the royalties for 'Beloved' to 15% for the paperback and 20% for the hardcover. We also want to publish 'The Birth of a Nation,' but the royalties for 'The Birth of a Nation' cannot be the same as those for 'Beloved,' only 14% and 16%."

At the dinner table, everyone's eyes turned to Liu Yimin, who smiled slightly and said, "Ms. Niki, it's a pleasure to cooperate with you!"

Nikki smiled with relief and then said, "It's a pleasure working with you!"

“Okay, I hope you can continue to cooperate in the future, and I also hope that China Publishing House will make more contributions to Sino-US exchanges,” Cao Yu said.

During the meeting, Cao Yu kept asking Nicky about the American newspapers' reaction to "Beloved," afraid of missing anything. He also inquired about whether there were any plays in the American theater scene worth learning from.

“A play? No! I heard that Mr. Miller came to your Beijing People’s Art Theatre last year. Did you have a falling out?” Nikki asked.

Liu Yimin looked up and asked, "How did you know?"

“After ‘Beloved’ was published, Miller gave an interview to the media, in which he called you a ‘nationalist’ and was very sarcastic!”

"That old bastard!" Liu Yimin said with a laugh.

Nikki then changed the subject: "However, he also acknowledged that you are an excellent writer and playwright. He said he witnessed the creation process of 'Beloved' firsthand and expressed his admiration for your literary talent."

Liu Yimin and Cao Yu exchanged a smile. Niki pressed for details about what had happened, and Liu Yimin simply said, "We discussed whether national heroes should be celebrated. Mr. Miller got a little agitated, perhaps because the Yutai people haven't produced many heroes, which hurt his sensitive and fragile self-esteem."

Upon hearing Liu Yimin's last sentence, Niki thought the assessment was quite reasonable.

The following day, Niki took the contract to the courtyard house and signed the publishing rights for "Beloved" and "The Birth of a Warrior" with Liu Yimin.

Niki plans to translate the book title "The Birth of a Nation" as "How Was China's Atomic Bomb Made?"

After thinking about it carefully, Zhu Lin recalled the Soviet book "How the Steel Was Tempered".

“Ms. Niki, isn’t this a bit too much like a popular science article? I’m just writing a novel. Remember, it’s just a novel. Please don’t draw any conclusions,” Liu Yimin said.

Nikki thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go back to America and let American translators come up with a name!"

Let's call it "The Rumble of the East"!

Nikki silently nodded in agreement and returned to the Yanjing Hotel to send the news of the drafted contract back to the United States.

Niki herself did not leave Yanjing, but wanted to experience the Chinese New Year there. She would occasionally go to the courtyard to ask Liu Yimin questions, and her camera was constantly recording.

When I met Liu Yimin last time, I told him that China Publishing House was planning a special issue on China, and the photos she was taking were important first-hand materials.

Foreigners used to face strict restrictions on taking photos in China, but those restrictions no longer apply.

“Liu, we’re planning to contact a Chinese student studying abroad and have him write a book, followed by a speaking tour in the United States. What do you think?” Nikki asked.

Niki also invited Liu Yimin and others to join the publishing house on a tour of the United States to promote "Beloved" after its release, but he declined.

The reason given was that Zhu Lin was pregnant and she couldn't leave at the moment. Nikki could only express her regret, feeling that if Liu Yimin were to tour the United States, the book's sales would definitely soar even higher.

“Ms. Nikki, I hope you can select an international student who is capable of this job and can view China from the right perspective,” Liu Yimin said.

Nikki laughed and said, "Of course, it's a real shame you can't go on a speaking tour in the United States."

“Ms. Niki, there are always things to do at every stage. I hope the China Book and Periodical Publishing House will have a great year. If you’re not leaving on Chinese New Year’s Day, my wife would like to invite you to spend the holiday with us. It’s actually a bit boring for just the two of us,” Liu Yimin said.

Nikki raised her camera: "I think a lot of Americans would like to see a side of your life."

"Then you'd better take some good pictures for us."

Nikki also told Liu Yimin that soon, the United States would send him a royalty payment of $35,000, which was the royalties generated from the publication of individual books such as "Triumph at Midnight" and "Green Book" in the United States.

Soon it was New Year's Eve. Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin were making dumplings in the kitchen, and Niki would occasionally take photos of them or ask them to pose.

“God, you’re a work of art. Liu, you have a wife who looks like an angel. Zhu, you have a handsome husband.”

Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin smiled at each other, their eyes filled with tenderness under the dim light.

“I must put this photo in the book and submit it to Time magazine!” Nikki muttered to herself.

That night, Niki stayed in the courtyard house, but the guest room had no air conditioning, so she was quite cold.

In the early morning, just like in his hometown of Ruxian, Liu Yimin piled cypress trees in the yard and set them on fire. Amidst the flames and crackling sounds, Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin took a photo in front of the fire.

“Your custom is similar to our Western Christmas tree, except you use it to light it,” Nikki said.

Niki named this photograph with flames "Hope," as the flames embody the Chinese people's yearning for a better life.

She began to struggle with which photo to put in the book. The photo in the kitchen was cozy, but this one clearly had more symbolic meaning.

Just as I was struggling with this decision, firecrackers exploded in my ears, and the whole alley became lively.

"Teacher Liu, 1984 has truly arrived!" Zhu Lin grasped Liu Yimin's hand and looked at the firecrackers exploding in the sky.

"Yes, time flies, it's already 1984."

In the alley, someone had placed a radio on the roof and started playing "Young Friends, Let's Meet Again." In the pre-dawn mist, everyone's longing for a better life was palpable.

While eating dumplings, Liu Yimin laughed and said, "In my hometown, at this time of year, groups of children would go to their neighbors' houses asking for candy and melon seeds. This is somewhat similar to your Halloween custom."

However, this custom disappeared once every household became wealthy enough to have no shortage of sugar.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Liu Yimin received a telegram from Ba Jin in Shanghai, who asked Liu Yimin to read the manuscript.

Niki was transiting through Shanghai to visit Ba Jin, so Liu Yimin made a handwritten copy and had Niki take it to Shanghai.

Many high-ranking figures in the literary world had heard about this manuscript directly or indirectly, but many of them, not knowing Liu Yimin, had tried every means to find it but failed. They didn't know who Ba Jin had heard about it from in Shanghai.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin visited Zhu's parents for a family reunion. The two brought peach cakes, chicken cakes, ginseng and osmanthus wine, and also gave the original manuscript of "Beloved" as a gift to Zhu's father.

The beginning of 1984 was a season of harvest. In addition to the upcoming publication of "Beloved" in the United States, Liu Yimin was awarded literary prizes by "People's Literature and Art", "Harvest", and "Drama Monthly", all of which were first prizes.

"Born Out of Nowhere" won the first prize in the magazine "Harvest" and was nominated and submitted to the Lu Xun Literary Prize Judging Committee.

"The Legendary Shopkeeper" won the first prize of "People's Literature and Art" and was nominated for the Lu Xun Literature Prize Judging Committee.

The script for "The Birth of a Nation" won first prize in the "Script Monthly" magazine.

People's Literature Publishing House and Commercial Press awarded Liu Yimin a publishing award. His book ranked first in sales among the two publishing houses last year, and also first in the country.

The General Political Department also awarded "The Motherland Will Not Forget" a military-themed song creation award.

Seeing the award announcements one after another, Liu Yimin said helplessly, "I never realized there were so many awards in the literary world!"

Liu Zhenyun, who came to offer New Year's greetings, said irritably, "Don't give me that. It's the New Year, and you're just trying to upset me!"

Because the Spring Festival holiday was too short, Liu Zhenyun did not go home.

"Don't you have leave to visit your family?" Liu Yimin asked curiously.

Liu Zhenyun said sweetly, "Jianmei just started working, so she can't visit her family. I'll stay with her in Yanjing."

P.S.: Thank you so much to the generous donor 20240930121224488 for the nearly 20,000 coins! I've successfully become the gatekeeper of the bestseller list.

(End of this chapter)