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

Chapter 410 Beauty in the Left Hand, Scripture in the Right: Neither Betraying Buddha Nor Betraying You

Liu Yimin's words made Zhu Lin and He Jiping laugh. After chatting for a while, the two continued rehearsing.

Liu Yimin saw Zhu Lin's boundless passion for her work from behind. From the moment she decided to switch careers to become a director, Zhu Lin first learned from Ouyang Shanzun, Lan Tianye, and Su Min, then became an assistant director, and now she has finally become a director, truly a dream come true.

When I got home that night, I talked to Liu Yimin about the script. Apart from the children and Liu Yimin, all my hard work was put into this script.

He Jiping was very cooperative, revising the script as Zhu Lin asked, and of course, he would argue his case for parts that he felt didn't need to be changed.

He Jiping had just graduated from the Central Academy of Drama at this time, and he had discussed the idea of ​​the play script with the Beijing People's Art Theatre a long time ago.

At that time, He Jiping, an ungraduated student, came to the Beijing People's Art Theatre and said she wanted to write a script for them. Yu Shizhi, Su Min, Xia Chun and other vice presidents and directors were not arrogant. They even met with her personally and listened to her ideas.

He Jiping told a story about mooncakes. He grew up at his maternal grandmother's house while his father lived in Hong Kong. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, his grandmother would divide the mooncakes into several portions. The family would eat them, and the portions for relatives in Hong Kong would be kept until they dried out and cracked, but she would never throw them away.

It wasn't until she visited relatives in Hong Kong in 77 that she brought a bag of broken mooncakes, dried and hard as stone.

After hearing this, the group of people were all moved to tears. They felt that she was a talented person, and after graduation, they directly asked the Ministry of Culture for a special spot for He Jiping. It can be said that He Jiping was a child raised by the Beijing People's Art Theatre, and the entire theatre doted on her.

On stage, Zhu Lin constantly corrected the actors' movements and tone of voice. Back when she was directing "Green Book," Zhu Lin served as the assistant director and led the rehearsals. Many actors would also "instruct" her on how to rehearse, making a mess of the stage.

The stage is much quieter now; apart from necessary discussions, the previous situation is basically no longer happening.

Liu Yimin was intently watching the rehearsal when Lan Tianye and Su Min walked in from the door and sat down next to Liu Yimin to talk about the play "Beloved".

Lan Tianye spoke first: "Stream of consciousness is rather mysterious, but when you write it like this, it doesn't seem so mysterious anymore. I compared the whole thing with Lao Su's, and if it's arranged like this, basically no audience will have trouble understanding it."

Starting with a dream sequence that returns to the brutal reality of racial discrimination in the past, this technique is also found in traditional dramas such as *The Romance of the Western Chamber*, and it's easy for audiences to understand.

Liu Yimin begins with the dream of Chong'er's mother, Seth, which presents the historical background of the past. After waking up from the dream, she sees Chong'er wading through the water. What follows is a realistic style of narration based on time, which is no different from plays such as "The Best Restaurant Under Heaven".

“This dream is like a carrying pole, setting up two stories,” Su Min said with a smile.

Liu Yimin asked, "Is there anything that needs to be changed?"

"Isn't this dialogue a bit too Chinese?" Lan Tianye asked.

"Only in this way can the audience better understand. If the translation is too stylized, the audience will find it difficult to watch. Wasn't the play 'The Visit' specifically adapted to Chinese tastes?"

Su Min said, "That's too much, and ours is too little. We want to find a middle ground so that everyone can immediately tell that it's a play adapted from a foreign story."

After listening to Su Min's words, Liu Yimin smiled. He discussed it with Lan Tianye and Su Min, and then added a little bit to it.

"Just by listening to that, I can tell it was the Americans who did this dirty work." Lan Tianye nodded in satisfaction.

After revising the script, Lan Tianye and Su Min looked towards the stage to watch Zhu Lin's rehearsal.

"Xiao Zhu took a few months off, but he hasn't gotten rusty at all. In just half a month, he's already made some progress," Lan Tianye praised.

Liu Yimin pulled Lan Tianye aside and said, "We still need a lot of guidance from you two teachers!"

"Of course, of course, we will do our best," Su Min assured.

During rehearsal breaks, Lan Tianye and Su Min did not directly instruct the actors, but instead discussed their views with Zhu Lin and provided guidance to her.

After listening to Lan Tianye and Su Min's opinions, Zhu Lin suddenly realized and couldn't help but say, "A teacher is indeed a teacher."

"Haha, you're still young, you have time to learn. If you don't understand anything, just come to the two of us, or you can go to the Mountain Lord."

After rehearsals resumed, Liu Yimin followed Lan Tianye and Su Min to Cao Yu's office to discuss the script "Beloved".

After reading the script, Cao Yu said, "The rehearsals might yield unexpected results. Rest assured, the theater will support you with funding. With 'The Darling,' you two won't need to think about 'The Stage' anymore!"

Lan Tianye and Su Min smiled awkwardly: "This production may not be worse than 'The Stage,' but more people will laugh at 'The Stage' than at 'Beloved.'"

The two men excitedly took the script and left the office, ready to begin assembling the stage play production team for "Beloved".

Cao Yu looked at Liu Yimin and asked with a smile, "These people from Europe haven't left yet?"

"Not yet. The Writers Association invited them to investigate the market, and they also want to earn more foreign exchange through books."

“Last time I visited the Ministry of Culture, the comrades there said that the foreign exchange you generated alone was almost equivalent to that of a small business,” Cao Yu said happily.

Liu Yimin hurriedly said, "It's still far from enough. Last year, it didn't even amount to $100,000."

"Isn't that enough? You're oversimplifying the difficulty of earning foreign exchange through exports. Some provinces don't even have 100,000 in exports per year from a single industry, or they don't even have any exports at all."

Cao Yu curled his lip, almost laughing out loud at his speechlessness. Ten thousand dollars and he's still not satisfied?

"That's what the teacher said."

Cao Yu inquired about the progress of the adaptation of "The Stage," and Liu Yimin told him that it would take some time. He then took out a paper from his bag and handed it to Cao Yu, asking him to take a look.

"Is this your graduate thesis?"

"Yes, please take a look."

Cao Yu scoffed and said, "No matter what you write in your thesis, does Yenching University think it won't pass you?"

"We still have to take it seriously, we can't give them any leverage!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Cao Yu glanced at Liu Yimin without saying anything, and then lowered his head to read Liu Yimin's paper, "Exploring the Path of Protection and Development of Traditional Culture in the New Era".

The article starts by discussing how traditional literary works can be disseminated in the modern literary market and how to enhance people's interest in traditional culture. It argues that the better traditional culture develops, the less influence Western culture will have on China.

“By popularizing traditional literature, we can reduce the difficulty of reading and understanding, and disseminate it through modern means such as film, television, and radio.” Cao Yu was clearly much more interested when he saw this, and read it aloud in front of Liu Yimin.

Cao Yu put down his paper and said to Liu Yimin, "Interesting, interesting. Popular novels are being popularized again to suit modern tastes. Very good. It's either the West prevailing over the East or the East prevailing over the West. Our culture advances while Western culture retreats. Conversely, when we retreat, the West advances."

"Professor, I also want to include this paper as one of the research achievements of the Institute of Literature. Our Institute of Literature has just been established and has received so much funding, so we need to produce some results."

"You seem to know what the ministry wants. You're like someone who throws a handful of rice and expects to gather a bunch of chickens, or throws a stone and expects to make a splash. I'm your advisor, and I have no objection to treating this graduation thesis as a research project of the Institute of Literature."

"Got it!"

After get off work in the afternoon, Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin left the Beijing People's Art Theatre. When they got home, Zhu Lin kept pounding her shoulders with her fists, and Liu Yimin gently massaged them.
"It's a shame you don't get cupping done on your back. I'll buy some cups and do it for you in a while!"

“Okay, Teacher Liu, I’ll teach you how to do cupping, and I can do it for you too!” Zhu Lin turned her sore neck, her smile tinged with exhaustion.

"You two, come and eat quickly! Look who's here!" Yang Xiuyun called out.

Mr. and Mrs. Zhu came out of the kitchen and greeted Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin.

Mr. Zhu said, "Your mother has learned a new dish and insisted on coming over to make it for you two. It will be ready soon, so please wait."

"The hospital is closing so early today?" Zhu Lin asked.

Zhu's mother said, "I switched shifts with my colleague!"

As night fell, the last vestiges of blue sky in the west disappeared. The incandescent lights in the courtyard shone brightly and warmly, casting shadows that made the ginkgo trees sway their branches, while a calico cat chased after flying insects and fireflies.

The family sat in the courtyard eating. Zhu's mother and father each held a little one. Zhu's mother patted little Liu Lin's bottom and hummed a nursery rhyme: "Pull the big saw, pull the big saw, Grandma's house is putting on a big show. We're welcoming our daughter, inviting our son-in-law, and our little grandson is going too."

While eating, Yang Xiuyun talked to Zhu's parents about the changes in their two little ones. Every tiny change was described by Yang Xiuyun as a sign that the children were smart and growing up. Her exaggerated descriptions did not make Zhu's parents feel that it was an exaggeration, but instead made them extremely happy.

Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin exchanged a smile and gently nudged each other's shoulders.
That evening, Liu Yimin suggested, "Mom and Dad, why don't you stay here? There are plenty of houses in this yard."

Yang Xiuyun said, "It's good that they can keep me company. I can't understand what the two young people are saying."

The two exchanged a glance: "Never mind, it's not that far anyway, we can just come more often."

Late at night, the two rode their bicycles away from the courtyard house.

Watching their retreating figures, Yang Xiuyun sighed, "Those two in-laws are so kind."

Liu Yimin knew what the elderly couple was thinking when they didn't want to live here. They were simply afraid that their daughter would lose face if she stayed at her son-in-law's house.

After feeding the two little ones until they fell asleep, Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin returned to their bedroom.

Zhu Lin lay face down on the bed, and Liu Yimin massaged her shoulders. After a short while, a shy look appeared on Zhu Lin's face: "Teacher Liu, please massage properly... Oops, where are you going?"

Inside the room, happy sounds filled the air until the two of them leaned weakly against the bed. Liu Yimin then picked up the "Meditation Mantra" that was placed on the bedside table.

"Teacher Liu, why are you reading Buddhist scriptures?"

Liu Yimin smiled slightly. "Is this a sutra? This is a master's saying: 'A beauty in the left hand, a sutra in the right, I will neither betray the Buddha nor the beloved.'"

"There are still many valuable points in Taoist and Buddhist scriptures, which may come in handy when writing books in the future."

Zhu Lin patted Liu Yimin's left hand, picked up the Shakespeare book from beside his pillow and started reading. Around 11 o'clock, the two yawned, lay down, and fell asleep in each other's arms.

After a five-day stay in Yanjing, the European publishers' delegation left. Before leaving, the representative of the Danish publisher met with Liu Yimin and signed the final publishing contract with him.

"If I had known this would happen, why would I have been so forceful back then!" Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Rutte from Denmark said, "I'm sorry, Liu, I've been in contact with headquarters for the past few days, or as you would say in Chinese, I've talked myself hoarse, but I've finally decided to give up my previous insistence and become friends with you."

After stamping the document, Liu Yimin looked at Lü Te and said with a half-smile, "Just sign it, no need to go through all that trouble." This foreign devil was trying to do Liu Yimin a favor!

With a flushed face, Lü Te left the courtyard with the contract in hand. Liu Yimin, Zhang Guangnian, and others personally saw them off as they boarded the plane.

"I hope to hear good news about the publication soon." Liu Yimin shook hands with each of them to say goodbye.

Marcel Dani put his arm around Liu Yimin's shoulder and said, "I look forward to your return to romantic Paris. I'll be waiting for you at a café on the banks of the Seine."

Liu Yimin suppressed a laugh and said, "Until we meet again, my friend."

Zhang Guangnian said, "I look forward to the continued expansion of literary exchanges and publishing between China and Europe."

In short, I really want to make money off you guys!
After the plane took off, Liu Yimin and Zhang Guangnian returned to the city by car. Zhang Guangnian happily told him that the Writers Association had facilitated the signing of more than a dozen foreign publishing contracts.

"This is a good thing for the authors, and it's also a good thing for the country. Among the works for which contracts were signed are 'Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain' and 'Middle Age'," Zhang Guangnian said.

"Comrade Zhang, you deserve great credit for making it possible for them to publish!"

Zhang Guangnian said modestly, "They can only act as a go-between; the fact that it was published is thanks to their excellent writing."

The Ministry of Culture announced that the country has officially approved its accession to UNESCO, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will officially join UNESCO next month.

Upon hearing the news, Liu Yimin immediately rushed to the Institute of Literature. Yan Zhen and the others had already returned from their holiday, and in the vast Chinese Department, only a few of them were working.

"What book are you reading?" Liu Yimin asked.

Yan Zhen immediately stood up and said, "Tolstoy's 'War and Peace'."

"Don't look at it yet, let me see Professor Wu's research group's data."

Yan Zhen immediately had someone find the materials and send them to the office next to the Institute of Literature and Art.

After reviewing the materials, Liu Yimin went to Wu Zuxiang's home and told him about the upcoming membership in UNESCO.

"The document is here, take a look." Wu Zuxiang handed the compiled materials to Liu Yimin—"On the Necessity and Major Classification of the Recognition of Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage."

"Professors from the Department of Cultural Relics and Archaeology at Yenching University provided considerable assistance. Their information is quite detailed and can provide guidance to relevant units when they apply for applications."

The article then categorizes the tangible and intangible cultural heritage that can be applied for in China, and further divides them according to different cultural regions, geographical regions, dynasties, and festivals—with the Forbidden City and the Great Wall listed first.

Liu Yimin then held a meeting with several professors to further refine the content.

After the meeting, no one left but sat directly in the office of the Institute of Literature and Art. Nowadays, the department offices have installed fans, and the Institute of Literature and Art has extra funds to install a few more, so it's not that hot.

Liu Yimin took a pen and walked over to the professors, adding the words "pickled vegetables" to their names.

"Pickle?"

Everyone was a bit confused after seeing it. What kind of cultural heritage is this "kimchi"?
Liu Yimin linked kimchi with a long-standing food culture, giving kimchi a cultural veneer, leaving everyone stunned.

“If we apply, others can’t apply. As far as I know, Koreans eat kimchi every day. They don’t have much history. I’m afraid they might apply in the future! We must keep the things we’ve passed down in our own hands. Protecting cultural heritage is the original intention of our research. We will not let go of any possibility of theft.”

South Korea's application to produce kimchi was ultimately revoked by the United Nations, but China's will not, because the chain of evidence is simply too late to be complete.

After hearing this, everyone was impressed but didn't understand. They agreed to put "kimchi" in the document. Liu Yimin, fearing that it might not be taken seriously, added an explanation below and highlighted it in red.

The next day, after the data was compiled, Liu Yimin delivered it directly to Xia Yan. Xia Yan looked at the data and asked about the "kimchi" matter.

Liu Yimin gave another explanation, and Xia Yan smiled and said, "After you join, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture will set up a special office for heritage protection and application. This document is the basis of their work, and you will inevitably be asked to be an advisor."

After Xia Yan finished speaking, he made a phone call to the current leader of the Cultural Relics Bureau and asked him to come to the office.

Sun Yiqing, who had dealt with Liu Yimin last time, has already stepped down, and now it is Lu Jimin, who just took office in April.

"Hello, Comrade Yimin!"

"Hello, Director Lü."

"Old Lu, take a look. These are research documents from the Institute of Literature. Yi Min is right here. If you have any questions, just ask him to explain them to you."

After reading it, Lü Jimin said, "The research of the Institute of Cultural Relics is ahead of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. We don't have many of the materials there yet, which are of great reference and guidance to our work."

"We've received so much funding, so naturally we have to produce results," Liu Yimin said with a smile.

"Comrade Liu Yimin, you must serve as our cultural relics bureau's advisor from now on. After the last return of cultural relics, Europe also returned several pieces, all thanks to you."

"It's all thanks to our comrades."

After chatting for a while, Lü Jimin asked a lot of questions, mainly about festivals and kimchi. Liu Yimin explained that in the East Asian cultural sphere, everyone celebrates many festivals, and the only concern is that someone might take over the celebrations.

"This Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated in South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, but it's been a long time since then, and the child no longer looks like the father. A child may not resemble his father, but the blood relationship cannot be denied!"

After Liu Yimin finished speaking, Xia Yan and Lü Jimin both burst out laughing.

"Comrade Yimin, you're quite witty!" Lü Jimin said.

Lu Jimin told Xia Yan about the Cultural Heritage Protection Office that the Cultural Relics Bureau was preparing to establish. Staff were already being selected, and the staff would gradually be in place after the establishment committee approved the plan.

"Alright, the war for the protection of culture and cultural relics has begun. Comrades, we must be on our toes and not let our descendants curse us!" Xia Yan slammed his fist on the table, full of heroic spirit.

Lu Jimin stood up and said, "Comrade Liu Yimin, please do more of your advisory work for us when the time comes."

"No problem. If you have any projects that you can't handle, you can hand them over to our institute, but the funding has to be in place."

"Hahaha, okay, okay."

Think tanks are funded by grants and by selling their services—doing work for relevant departments that they cannot or do themselves.

It's not cost-effective to add staff to a single research project, so this part can be outsourced to think tanks.

After Lü Jimin left, Xia Yan praised, "You did a great job on the first achievement. Keep up the good work!"

"Okay, you go ahead and do your work, I'm off."

When Liu Yimin returned to the courtyard, Shen Yun was playing with the two little ones in the yard. When she saw Liu Yimin return, Shen Yun smiled and asked him where he had been.

“I’ve gone to see your grandfather,” Liu Yimin said.

"Really?"

"Really, I just finished reporting to your grandfather. What are you doing?"

"I'm teaching the two of them arithmetic."

Liu Yimin looked at the two little ones and burst out laughing, "Teach them! If you can teach them, I'll treat you to a big meal at Old Moscow."

“Yimin, Shen Yun is a very knowledgeable girl,” Yang Xiuyun said.

Shen Yun told Yang Xiuyun about school, which helped alleviate her loneliness.

In the evening, Shen Yun left the courtyard house without eating. Her parents, fearing something might happen, told her she had to be home before sunset.

"This is a gift for you." Liu Yimin stuffed the item into Shen Yun's bag and gave her a push on her bicycle.

After dinner, the family sat in the side room watching TV. The news was reporting on the women's volleyball team's preparations for the Olympics, and coach Yuan Weimin was being interviewed, expressing his confidence in winning the championship.

"I wonder if Coach Yuan and his team can win this time!" Zhu Lin looked at Liu Yimin.

Liu Yimin said, "We will definitely win!"

"Really?"

"Really? How about we make a bet?"

“I won’t gamble; I always lose.” Zhu Lin shook his head decisively.

Liu Yimin chuckled and continued to tempt, "The reward for winning is huge."

"If we lose, we'll lose badly." Zhu Lin recalled how he lost his "first time" in this way.

The 23rd Olympic Games will officially begin in Los Angeles on July 28 and will officially end in mid-August.

"When the two little ones are older, I'll take you to watch the game live," Liu Yimin said, holding Zhu Lin's hand.

"Okay!" Zhu Lin nestled on Liu Yimin's shoulder.

In mid-to-late July, Liu Yimin received a call from Yuan Weimin, who had managed to get him tickets to the Olympics so that he could go and watch the women's volleyball matches live.

"The tickets are for the first and last matches of the women's volleyball tournament. I believe we will definitely meet on the final court!" Yuan Weimin said with unwavering confidence.

Upon hearing Yuan Weimin's words, Zhu Lin said, "Teacher Liu, you go ahead. We'll take care of things at home. Maybe we'll even see you on TV."

The two little ones can't fly yet, so even if they had tickets, they couldn't go.

P.S.: I'll make up for the missing parts gradually.
(End of this chapter)