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

Chapter 589 Jiao Huang's Regret

After "Hachi: A Dog's Tale" failed to receive an Oscar nomination, Huang Zumo set his sights on the Hong Kong Film Awards, but he didn't dare to have too high hopes. This year's Hong Kong Film Awards are highly competitive, with many films from mainland China submitted, such as "Brotherhood of Blades" and Zhang Yimou's "Old Well." In addition, Hong Kong films performed very well at the global box office last year.

Hearing Huang Zumo's excited voice, Liu Yimin said with a smile, "I knew it. It's impossible for such a good movie not to win a few awards. Congratulations, Lao Huang."

"Yimin, I have to thank you. Otherwise, how could I have stood on the stage of the Hong Kong Film Awards?" Huang Zumo said excitedly, gripping the microphone tightly with both hands. His hearty laughter filled the room.

The Hong Kong Film Awards were established in 1982, and due to their short history, they are not very prestigious. Furthermore, their nomination and voting systems are not yet fully developed, making them incomparable to established awards. However, for domestic directors, awards from outside mainland China, regardless of their actual prestige, carry significantly increased prestige when won in mainland China.

If you win an international award, you'll have to brag about it even more.

"Director Huang, when are you coming back?"

Huang Zumo laughed and said, "I'll go back the day after tomorrow. Lao Jiao and I will take a stroll around Hong Kong. He almost won Best Actor this time, but unfortunately he lost to a Hong Kong actor."

Hearing this, Jiao Huang, who was sitting on the sofa, smiled indifferently at Huang Zumo. But when Huang Zumo turned his face away, the smile on Jiao Huang's face immediately froze. He put the cigarette between his left and right hands to his mouth and took a deep drag of it with a melancholy look.

Liu Yimin asked Huang Zumo to tell Jiao Huang, "Old Huang, just say what I said: Old Jiao will definitely win an international award in the future."

“Okay, next I’d like to participate in the Tokyo International Film Festival in Japan, what do you think?” Huang Zumo asked.

"Great! When will it be held?"

"Late September, I guess!" Huang Zumo said.

What sets the Tokyo International Film Festival apart from other film festivals is that films that have already been publicly screened are also eligible to participate.

Huang Zumo wanted to talk to Liu Yimin about the movie "The Pilgrimage of One Man," but when he heard the phone ringing, he couldn't help but ask. When he heard that the island's writers' delegation was in the courtyard, he immediately said, "Yimin, you go ahead and do your thing. I'll tell you when I get back to Yanjing."

Huang Zumo plans to postpone the domestic release of his film until it's finished, instead opting to participate in international film festivals to try his luck. Huang Zumo's horizons have broadened; he's no longer fixated on domestic awards like the Hundred Flowers Awards and the Golden Rooster Awards.

After Liu Yimin hung up the phone, Bai Xianyong, who had slipped into the study to look around, congratulated him, saying, "Mr. Liu, congratulations! I saw the movie 'Hachiko' when I went to Singapore!"

"Hahaha, let alone the Hong Kong Film Awards, it would be no problem to win the American Academy Awards. It's a pity that it ran into another film by Professor Liu. It's like the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple, and the two sides are fighting each other." Li Ao picked up two books and gently tapped them together as an analogy: "When two families fight, there will naturally be winners and losers."

Chen Yingzhen said, "It's still a bit different. 'Hachi: A Dog' didn't even get a nomination!"

"Personally, I have no regrets, but it is a real pity for the country's film industry. Winning an international award can boost the confidence of domestic directors and provide them with guidance on creative direction."

After Liu Yimin finished speaking, he introduced the study to everyone. In addition to his own books, there were also signed sample books sent by other authors.

"Professor Liu, these books are incomplete, aren't they?" Lan Bozhou asked.

“Yes, some of my books are here, and some are in the Overseas Chinese Apartments. I live here during the summer and autumn. The winters in Yenching are just too cold, so I live in an apartment not far from Yenching University,” Liu Yimin explained.

Then Liu Yimin introduced some books by mainland writers to them: "These are by Shi Tiesheng. There's a person in a wheelchair at the back of the classroom today, that's him, a writer whose soul stands upright, but whose body cannot walk upright. These are by Lu Yao, a writer from the Loess Plateau. I like his book 'Ordinary World' the most, but this is only the first volume. The second volume has not been published, and the third volume should not have been written yet."

A group of people crowded into Liu Yimin's study; some were reading, while others wanted to check readers' letters. Qi Bangyuan sat under the ginkgo tree, playing with the two little ones and chatting with Zhu Lin from time to time.

Once the food was ready, Liu Yimin led everyone out of the study: "Eat and drink well today, consider it a welcome dinner at home. If you want to drink, we can sing and drink together."

"How can we not drink at such a joyous occasion?" Wang Zengqi laughed loudly, and then went to his study to get some wine.

Li Ao waved his hand and said, "Professor Liu, Mr. Wang, I'm sorry, I've never smoked or drunk alcohol in my life."

"Old Li? You don't drink?" Liu Yimin asked in surprise.

Qi Bangyuan joked, "Do you know what Hu Yinmeng said about him? He doesn't smoke, doesn't drink, has no entertainment activities, and is like a precise machine all his life."

When Chi Pang-yuan mentioned Hu Yin-meng, Li Ao's face darkened, but he immediately laughed: "I don't have many hobbies, I just like to curse people. Cursing people is my entertainment. I don't even eat chocolate with alcohol."

"Li Ao, Li Ao!" Qi Bangyuan shook her head helplessly. She brought up Hu Yinmeng just to annoy Li Ao, since he had criticized her openly and subtly these past two days.

Unfortunately, Li Ao's speech was as slippery as an eel, leaving Qi Bangyuan at a loss for words.

Li Ao didn't drink, so the others didn't mention alcohol again. Xi Mei and the chefs from Fengzeyuan started serving dishes, and the aroma of food filled the courtyard.

As the last rays of sunlight faded on the horizon, the lights in the courtyard came on, and at Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin's urging, the sounds of chopsticks and plates clattering together rose and fell.

During the meal, Li Ao reminisced about his family's courtyard house: "In Beijing, courtyard houses were inhabited by both ordinary people and high-ranking officials. Ordinary people's houses didn't have so many rules, but those of high-ranking officials were like this one, with red-lacquered pillars and five ridges and six beasts on them, all with specific rules."

In the evenings, when it gets warm, the alleyways are filled with elderly people and children sitting at their doorways, fanning themselves and chatting. But people of a certain status are different; they don't go out, but stay in their courtyards, eating watermelon and chatting.

Upon hearing Li Ao's words, Wang Zengqi also recounted his childhood in Gaoyou. Wang Zengqi's tone was calm, lacking the dramatic inflections of Li Ao, but his calm tone carried a deep longing for his childhood.

The two little ones snuggled into Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin's arms, eating while listening to the adults talk or watching the flying insects constantly flitting around under the incandescent light bulb on the eaves.

"It's delicious. I didn't expect the chefs at Fengzeyuan to be so good at making Northeastern cuisine," Qi Bangyuan said, her eyes reddening.

"Braised cabbage with glass noodles and sweet and sour pork are easy to make," the chef at Fengzeyuan said with a smile.

Chi Pang-yuan shook her head: "It's not easy to make. I haven't had an authentic one in all my decades on the island."

After dinner, Li Ao suggested singing a song: "Back then, my father's favorite song was 'On the Songhua River,' and he would cry every time he sang it. Sister Qi, I am also half a Northeasterner, and you were also born in the Northeast. Apart from Yimin, all the mainland representatives here have come from that time, and I believe everyone knows the song."

“Okay!” Qi Bangyuan said happily.

Li Ao stood up and started by clapping his hands to the beat, and the others immediately followed suit. Li Ao swung his arms dramatically, truly acting like a conductor.

My home is on the Songhua River in Northeast China.

There are forest coal mines there

And the soybeans and sorghum that fill the mountains and fields
My home is on the Songhua River in Northeast China.
My compatriots are there.

And those aging parents.

After singing "On the Songhua River," they sang "The Great Wall Ballad":
The Great Wall stretches for thousands of miles
Beyond the Great Wall lies my hometown.

[Sorghum fat and soybeans fragrant]

Li Ao, Qi Bangyuan, Wang Zengqi, and others embraced and wept at the end of the song. Liu Yimin and Zhu Lin joined together to sing a cheerful song for everyone, while Chen Yingzhen sang "Tomorrow Will Be Better," a song that was recently popular on the island.

Around 10:30, the family dinner officially came to an end. Liu Yimin took them to the Yanjing Hotel before returning home.

Tomorrow we'll be going to Tsinghua University for an exchange program. Tsinghua will send a delegation of literature professors, led by Qian Zhongshu, to receive us. "Professor Liu, Chen Yingzhen's island accent is so interesting," Zhu Lin said with a smile, nestled in Liu Yimin's arms.

Liu Yimin gently stroked Zhu Lin's smooth, soft shoulder with his left hand: "Hahaha, don't laugh in front of Chen Yingzhen."

"Of course not, I can tell too. Editor-in-Chief Chen is a good person with a firm stance. It's just that his tone and style don't quite match, hahaha." Zhu Lin couldn't help but laugh a few more times.

After laughing for a while, Liu Yimin reached out and turned off the light, muttering, "The wiring in the house needs to be changed in a while, the switches need to be replaced, and the wires need to be replaced too. There are more electrical appliances in the house, and we can't keep using these old wires."

"Okay, I'll find a construction team another day," Zhu Lin replied and crawled into bed.

After the family banquet, the family moved directly to the courtyard house, and the renovation of the wiring also began simultaneously.

The exchange meeting at Tsinghua University was held in an open academic lecture hall. Liu Yimin did not go up to participate in the exchange, but sat below to watch.

The issues discussed by Tsinghua University and the delegation on the island were more academic, mainly focusing on Western literature and realist literature.

With Qian Zhongshu at Tsinghua University, the university consistently held the upper hand in the heated debates, and Qi Bangyuan was repeatedly convinced by Qian Zhongshu's viewpoints.

Chi Pang-yuan has admired Qian Zhongshu since she was a teenager. She believes that Qian Zhongshu was a kind and generous person who was extremely strict with his writing.

“Professor Qian, last night I read Professor Liu’s ‘God’s Visa.’ Do you think modern Chinese literature should focus on domestic society and the fate of ordinary people, or on the fate of international Chinese or even international humanity?” Qi Bangyuan asked.

Qian Zhongshu said, "Of course, the focus should be on the fate of Chinese people themselves, while also paying attention to the interaction between Chinese people and the world. I have also read 'God's Visa,' which is about the interaction between Chinese people and the world. It tells the story of what a Chinese person did in a global humanitarian disaster from this unique perspective."

“I agree with your point of view. After World War II, the Japanese were crying and lamenting their fate, and the Japanese were writing endlessly about the sound of the atomic bomb explosion. We should write about it too. I finished reading this novel last night and was very shocked. We Chinese have suffered a century of hardship, and we should also write about it in detail. I will write about it too.” Chi Pang-yuan was referring to her autobiography, which she is preparing to write.

"Haha, Yimin will have many more great novels to come." Qian Zhongshu glanced at Liu Yimin below the stage.

Li Ao smiled and looked at Qian Zhongshu: "Master Qian, I also have a novel with a historical background that I am writing. When it is finished, I would like to ask you or Sister Qi to help me translate it into English."

The audience burst into laughter, and the exchange gradually turned into a book fan meet-and-greet. Tsinghua University professor Feng Zhi raised the issues of techniques and emotional expression in translating Chinese literature into English, arguing that the complex background of Chinese culture makes many things impossible to translate directly. To translate well, one must put in considerable effort.

“For example, our Tao Te Ching, ‘The Tao that can be told is’ is not easy to translate. Idioms like ‘wanting more after getting what you want’ and ‘those who play with fire will get burned’ are also very difficult to convey in a vivid way without losing the original charm of the Chinese language.”

"Those who play with fire will get burned," which in the West is sometimes even translated as "fires of hell." We must be careful to avoid ambiguity in translated texts; first, the meaning must be accurately conveyed, then the emotion, and finally, English should serve as a carrier of culture.

After the exchange concluded at 11:00 AM, Qian Zhongshu led the island's writers on a tour of Tsinghua University. During the tour, Li Ao recounted the history of Tsinghua University and its relationship with the Boxer Indemnity.

"Americans always say they helped us build Tsinghua, but in reality, it's our own money. We built our own building with our own money, and the Americans still want to take a favor. Damn it!" Li Ao cursed, stroking the wall of the Tsinghua University building.

Feng Zhi said, "Yes, if it weren't for Minister Liang Cheng of the Chinese Embassy in the United States discovering it, the Westerners would not have retreated."

"They made a fortune from this favor, cultivating many pro-American students studying abroad," Li Ao said.

Liu Yimin laughed and said, "Old Li, isn't this the time when you were advocating Westernization?"

“There’s nothing I can do about it; that’s how I was raised. Now I understand, and I accept all the criticism you gave me in Singapore back then.” Li Ao chuckled.

In the afternoon, the delegation from the island gave a speech at Tsinghua University. Apart from Li Ao, the rest of the delegation consisted of young people such as Lan Bozhou. They told the Tsinghua students about the current situation of young people on the island and their concerns about the future.

Lan Bozhou believes that although the pro-unification faction currently constitutes the majority on the island, there will be no peace of mind until unification is achieved.

"However, compared to the Korean Peninsula, we are lucky."

Lan Bozhou compared it to the Korean Peninsula, saying that with the presence of US troops there, the possibility of the two sides coming together again has greatly decreased.

Liu Yimin, sitting in the audience, said to Chen Yingzhen, "This young man from your magazine is quite good."

“It’s precisely because we share the same ideas that the magazine hired him. Mr. Liu, are you busy tonight?” Chen Yingzhen asked.

Liu Yimin said, "It's alright, we'll talk tonight."

"it is good!"

After dinner, the island's writers went to the Beijing People's Art Theatre to watch a play. Today's play was "Deng Jiaxian," and they wanted to see what kind of person could help the mainland build an atomic bomb.

After the play ended, a group of people looked at each other with shock and doubt. Ouyang Shanzun said, "This is all based on true events. When it was written, Deng Xiaoping was still alive. Professor Yang Zhenning, a friend of Deng Xiaoping, only said 'true' after reading it."

"A great cause, a great person!" Chen Yingzhen couldn't help but exclaim.

“Yes, great people need to make great sacrifices to achieve great things,” Liu Yimin said.

On the way back, the island's writers were all silent, unsure how to express an indescribable emotion.

After everyone went inside to sleep, Chen Yingzhen opened the door and, seeing that no one was paying attention, knocked on Liu Yimin's door.

Chen Yingzhen grasped Liu Yimin's hand and shared her thoughts with him. Many of the artists on the island today came from the mainland; regardless of their political views, everyone's dream is unification.

"Editor-in-Chief Chen, if you can unite this force, it will be of great benefit to the development of both sides of the Taiwan Strait!" Liu Yimin encouraged.

Chen Yingzhen was very happy to hear Liu Yimin's words, but she also knew that there would be great difficulties: "Currently, the control of speech on the island is still very strict, and I am their main target of attention. When I came here, someone warned me. Of course, I don't know who it was. It could also be some non-governmental organizations."

"The control measures cannot continue indefinitely. I estimate that new developments will emerge soon. The policy of allowing veterans to return to the mainland is a sign of this loosening."

FG mainland knows it's impossible now, so the foundation of the so-called control is gone, and the reporting ban will be lifted soon.

After listening to Liu Yimin's reasons, Chen Yingzhen nodded and said, "Mr. Liu, I'll call you Yimin, it's more friendly."

"it is good."

"You also call me Lao Chen, and your analysis makes sense. If that's the case, then the day when we establish a relevant organization won't be far off. Also, Yimin, your cross-strait traditional cultural exchange activities are great; I hope they can continue. After these few days of observation and travel, I see that many people's thinking has changed again."

Although the mainland is currently poor, its demonstrated confidence and development potential are unmatched by any other region, including the island.

"I will consider your suggestion. Holding it long-term is not difficult. Old Chen, I am actually very worried. What Lan Bozhou said today is very true. I hope that your literary alliance can develop more teachers, professors and other educators. These people can achieve the purpose of publicity through teaching. In addition, there are various industries, a multi-industry and multi-level alliance. This is a long-term battle. Old Chen, are you prepared?"

Chen Yingzhen raised his chest and said, "I've been prepared for this for decades, and I've been doing this for decades."

Chen Yingzhen then brought up the cross-strait literary exchange forum, citing the Iowa International Writing Program as an example.

"When I learned that the CIA was behind it, I was both surprised and not surprised. Even if the propaganda behind such activities is not explicit, the underlying viewpoints can still influence a large number of people through observation and action."

(End of this chapter)