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

Chapter 588 Hong Kong Film Awards

Seeing Liu Yimin's wary look, Pai Hsien-yung secretly shook his head, wondering if his "homosexual" identity had been revealed.

Wait a minute, I haven't made it public yet!
Pai Hsien-yung did not press the matter further, but said with considerable regret, "Mr. Liu, then we'll have another chance to talk late into the night."

When it was Chi Pang-yuan's turn to go on stage, she hesitated. As she walked onto the stage, she put her manuscript into her pocket in full view of everyone.
"Actually, I wrote the speech a long time ago, and I was still hesitant before going on stage. Now I've decided not to give the speech according to my prepared speech. Why? From yesterday to today, the discussions have made me think a lot."

Therefore, I don't want to simply read from the textbook anymore. Since I won't be discussing literary thought anymore, I'll talk about my experiences instead.

Chi Pang-yuan's manuscript was about the development of "island literature," which she had already written long ago.

Liu Yimin had never seen it before, but he could guess what was written on it. Hearing that she wasn't going to talk about it anymore, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"My identity is special. I am a student who fled from Northeast China, and at the same time, I am the kind of 'official's daughter' that everyone often criticizes in history textbooks."

Chi Pang-yuan's experiences at the exchange meeting were rather general; now she is giving a more detailed account, using her father's and her own experiences to paint a picture of a chaotic world. Officials, with their wives and children, fled from one city to another. But on the other hand, as the daughter of an official, her life was still relatively secure amidst the chaos.

"Ms. Chi Pang-yuan, your story is very touching, but I think you should look at that era more deeply."

From your perspective, even amidst the chaos of war, there were small moments of happiness in life—you could go to university, you could fall in love. But in reality, that era was far more complex. Countless ordinary people lay dead in the wilderness, the bombing of Huayuankou ravaged the Yellow River, and people in the flood-prone areas were displaced. You fled by train and car, but they fled on foot, carrying luggage and children.

"I think you should delve deeper into that period of history," a student from an unknown department suddenly said, standing up.

Chi Pang-yuan looked at the student: "Which department are you in?"

"Spanish Languages ​​Department!"

“You’re absolutely right, classmate. When I first arrived, your Professor Liu expressed a similar view. He gave me a lesson about the rationing system in mainland China when he talked about it in Wangfujing, pointing out the limitations of my perspective. But I still want to talk about it from my perspective. I think one day, everyone will be able to read my autobiography.”

Among Chi Pang-yuan's stories, the one that touched the students the most was her hazy first love. When they heard that Zhang Dafei had sacrificed himself in the air battle, the students below, especially the girls, were gently wiping away their tears.

At 5:30 p.m., all four speakers finished their presentations, and the motorcade took them back to the Yanjing Hotel.

After dinner, Liu Yimin apologized to Chen Yingzhen, saying he had to go home that night and would talk to her in detail the next day.

"Yan Zhen, if any of the delegates would like to go to the Beijing People's Art Theatre to see a play, you and Comrade Wang Zengqi can accompany them," Liu Yimin said.

"it is good."

There were no exchange activities scheduled for the second day. In the morning, we visited the Old Summer Palace and the Summer Palace. In the afternoon, we went to the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature, and then to Liu Yimin's courtyard house, where we planned to hold a family banquet.

Back at the Overseas Chinese Apartment, the two little ones were crying their hearts out, but they stopped crying when they saw Liu Yimin.

"father!"

Liu Yimin kissed the two little ones who were nestled in his arms: "Alright, stop crying, who upset you?"

"Who dares to mess with them? They fight over things. I bought a toy, and they both wanted it. When I passed by today, they only had one left," Zhu Lin said angrily.

Liu Yimin patted the two on the head: "Hahaha, once bitten, twice shy. In the future, don't buy things that aren't in pairs. Haven't you heard that twins are like that?"

"I'm still closer to you. You won't cry anymore when you come back," Zhu Lin said sourly.

Liu Yimin laughed and said, "Don't mention it. It's just that I wasn't home yesterday, so the two little ones didn't see you. If they hadn't seen you for a day, they would have torn the house apart."

Zhu Lin's anger turned to laughter after hearing Liu Yimin's words: "You two should sit back on the sofa. Your father is too tired. Let him rest."

Xi Mei turned around and asked, "Professor Liu, have you eaten? Would you like me to make you something else?"

"It's alright, I've already eaten. Ximei, thank you for your hard work with Xiangdong tomorrow. First, tidy up the yard, and then buy more ingredients. The chef from Fengzeyuan will come over to help tomorrow."

“Okay, Professor Liu, I’ve got it. My chef and I have already checked the ingredients. Xiang Dong tidied up the yard today, and I’ll clean up the house tomorrow morning. We’ll go grocery shopping together at noon, and I guarantee there won’t be any problems.”

"Okay, with your words, I feel relieved."

While he was watching TV, Zhu Lin turned around and went back to the study to hand him a letter: "This is Frank's letter, it was delivered this afternoon."

After opening and reading the letter, Liu Yimin said, "Great news!"

"What is it?" Zhu Lin asked.

"Frank said he's going to Cannes the day after tomorrow to attend the Cannes Film Festival. He's very confident of winning an award. If he does, Green Book's box office performance worldwide will definitely be outstanding," Liu Yimin said happily.

Zhu Lin has a great understanding of the world film industry and naturally knows about Cannes: "I hope we can really win the Palme d'Or. Mr. Liu, when 'Hachi: A Dog' was filmed, it should have premiered at the film festival before being released to the public, otherwise it would definitely have won several major awards."

Most international film festivals around the world require films to have been screened before their premiere; once a film has been publicly screened, it is ineligible for selection.

"It's alright, there's plenty of time, no rush," Liu Yimin said nonchalantly. Liu Yimin didn't continue writing; after showering, he and Liu Yimin went straight to bed to discuss business. Because they had things to do the next day, they didn't discuss business for very long.

The following day, Liu Yimin and representatives of mainland writers led the island's writers on a tour of the Old Summer Palace. Li Ao, looking at the ruins, angrily said, "Cixi, is this the garden you built?"

Liu Yimin patted Li Ao on the shoulder and said, "The Qing Dynasty's silver is not so easy to take. Once you take the Qing Dynasty's silver, it will eventually become part of the Qing Dynasty!"

"Hahaha, Professor Liu, that's really something to be scolded!" Li Ao laughed loudly.

Chen Yingzhen said sadly, "If the garden hadn't been built, and if the naval battle had been won, would the fate of the island have been different?"

"Unfortunately, history has no 'what ifs.' The Qing Dynasty's weapons were inadequate, and its systemic problems were even greater. Even if they had defeated the Japanese, there were still Western countries. They were all eyeing them covetously, ready to devour them at any moment," Liu Yimin said.

After bowing three times in front of the Old Summer Palace, the group visited the Summer Palace next door. They first strolled around the palaces surrounding the Summer Palace, and then went on a boat trip together.

Li Ao excitedly picked up the wooden paddle, and Pai Hsien-yung asked, "Can you paddle?"

"Don't worry, I'm surprisingly fast at rowing!"

"is it?"

"Of course!"

When Liu Yimin and his group's boat was almost in the middle of the lake, Li Ao and his companions were still circling around. Bai Xianyong asked, "Mr. Li Ao, can you row? Aren't you a fast rower?"

"I spin fast, I don't run fast!"

"."

After a while, the enthusiastic people on the shore boarded the boat and helped them row to the middle of the lake.

The tour lasted four hours in the morning, and the group was exhausted and sweating profusely. These people usually spend most of their time in universities or studies, and they can't handle even a little bit of exercise.

They were told to return to the Yanjing Hotel to rest at noon, and the Modern Literature Museum would be visited at 3 PM. Li Ao looked at the museum, which was converted from a temple, with great interest, but he was more interested in visiting the nearby Fayuan Temple.

"I heard that Tan Sitong once visited Fayuan Temple. I am actually writing a long historical novel, which is set against the backdrop of Fayuan Temple and tells the story of that period in the late Qing Dynasty," Li Ao said proudly.

Liu Yimin asked with a smile, "Really?"

Li Ao's novel "BJ Fayuan Temple" is quite famous. What is most often praised by later generations is that he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. In fact, the threshold for nomination for the Nobel Prize in Literature is very low. As long as you are an associate professor at a university, you can be nominated.

Those writers who always hype themselves up by nominating for the Nobel Prize in Literature are actually far from winning the Nobel Prize in Literature.

"I'll take a look when I have time, Lao Li. Your writing has a great vision!" Liu Yimin praised without reservation.

Li Ao said, "Of course, I am from the mainland, I am from Yanjing. We grew up under the protection of the capital, and our vision is on the whole picture of autumn leaves and crabapple blossoms."

When Liu Yimin heard Li Ao mention the "Autumn Leaves and Begonia Painting," he patted Li Ao on the shoulder, a look of regret on his face.

After visiting the literature museum, Chi Pang-yuan said, "There are so many writers on the mainland, this literature museum should be built to be bigger."

"It's not quite enough, but the country is developing everywhere and needs money everywhere. In a few years, when we have more money, a modern literary museum will surely rise from the ground," explained Kong Luosun, the curator of the literary museum.

Li Ao said, "When I grow up someday, I hope I will have a place there too."

Amid laughter, everyone left the literature museum. They were all very interested in having dinner in the courtyard that evening.

Upon arriving at the courtyard house and seeing Zhu Lin, everyone kept praising her beauty.

"A true Chinese beauty, Professor Liu, you are truly blessed. Of course, a talented man deserves a beautiful woman," Li Ao said humorously.

Qi Bangyuan hugged Liu Yu and Liu Lin and praised their good looks: "Look at Liu Yu's eyebrows and eyes, they are exactly the same as Ms. Zhu Lin's."

Seeing so many people, Liu Yu and Liu Lin were too frightened to cause any more trouble. Once everyone had entered the courtyard, the two quickly ran to Zhu Lin's side and tightly grasped her hands.

"It smells so good!" Chen Yingzhen has completely fallen in love with mainland Chinese food these past two days.

Looking at the courtyard house, Lan Bozhou exclaimed, "It's so beautiful, it aligns with the philosophical aesthetics of us Chinese."

"Everyone is used to Western banquets, so please forgive any shortcomings," Liu Yimin said.

"No, no, it's a great pleasure to enjoy delicious food and discuss literature in a courtyard house under the ginkgo tree. Regular conversations are too formal; it's only good to be more casual like this."

The phone rang in the study, and Huang Zumo's excited voice came through: "Yimin, I've been looking for you everywhere. I'm in Hong Kong now. 'Hachiko' won an award, the Hong Kong Film Award!"

(End of this chapter)