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

Chapter 598 The Old Master Comes to Seek Advice (7 words)

At a time when the name "He Fengshan" was becoming well-known in the Western world, China Book and Periodical Press officially published He Fengshan's autobiography, "Forty Years of Diplomatic Career".

Liu Yimin also recommended the book to the Western publishers he collaborates with, and nearly half of the publishers have expressed their intention to publish the autobiography.

He also suggested to the China Publishing House that Nikki take He Fengshan on a speaking tour in the United States to further enhance the image of He Fengshan and the heroic Chinese people he represents.

To achieve global influence, the impact of a single novel is limited. Articles, speeches, and media reports must be integrated to truly maximize its effect.

He Fengshan, a former diplomat, naturally possessed excellent oratory skills. Without hesitation, Niki, upon receiving Liu Yimin's suggestion, immediately extended an invitation to He Fengshan. He Fengshan's speech would not only sell his autobiography but also Liu Yimin's "God's Visa," making it a sure-fire profit for the China Publishing House.

He Fengshan was originally prepared to decline the invitation from China Book and Periodical Publishing House, but Niki said, "Professor Liu told me that if you don't like being in the public eye, you should think about the conversation you had with him in the study."

"A dialogue?" He Fengshan pondered for a moment, then realized the meaning behind the words. When Liu Yimin first met He Fengshan, he had said it with absolute certainty:
We must strive to make the world understand who the Chinese are, what they are doing, and what they want to achieve!

“Ms. Niki, I accept the invitation from China Book and Periodical Press, but I am getting old and cannot participate in activities as frequently as Professor Liu. I hope you can give me enough rest time.”

“Of course, He, we fully respect your wishes.” Nikki happily got up to go back and arrange the tour.

Before leaving, Niki told He Fengshan that the China Publishing Society had been giving him a lot of publicity in the media recently, and that he must cooperate fully.

"In addition, The Paris Review has sold over 100,000 copies in the past two days. It is said that it sold 400,000 copies in mainland China within a week, and around 50,000 copies on the island." Niki told He Fengshan all the information she knew.

The sales of *People's Literature and Art* magazine continue to climb, and it's estimated that reaching two million copies in June is not a problem. In addition, several mainland newspapers and magazines have reprinted the novel *God's Visa*.

The sales of "Renjian Magazine" on the island may seem low, but in reality, this is already the sales limit for "Renjian Magazine". There are many restrictions on newspapers and magazines on the island, which can be mainly summarized as "limited licenses, limited sheets, and limited printing".

The strict restrictions on the operating licenses of newspapers and magazines are called license restrictions; each issue of a newspaper and magazine has a clear page limit, which is called sheet limit; and printing restrictions are strict restrictions on the amount of paper used by newspapers and magazines.

The magazine "Renjian" only had enough paper to print this much; once the paper ran out, there was no other way to print.

However, several newspapers on the island, including the pseudo-Central Daily News, reprinted the novel "God's Visa" in its entirety in their supplements. Through newspaper reprints, the article essentially covered the entire island.

The people on the island have a special affection for the novel "God's Visa." Their first thought upon reading it is not how powerful He Fengshan is, but rather that their ancestors were once wealthy.

Holy crap, we did so many amazing things back when we were in mainland China!

Unfortunately, the islanders don't know much about this history, so they began searching for the European diplomats who served as ambassadors to Europe to find out the truth of the matter.

Suddenly, countless former colleagues of He Fengshan appeared on the island, frantically promoting the matter and openly or secretly mentioning their own contributions at the time.

Members of the island's writers' delegation published reviews of "God's Visa" in newspapers, drawing parallels from the true story to highlight the significant contributions of Chinese literature in disseminating Chinese culture and shaping China's international image.

In addition, Li Ao and Pai Hsien-yung introduced the progress of China's reform and opening up, the development of Shanghai and Shenzhen in the newspaper, and increased the island's residents' understanding of the mainland.

Pai Hsien-yung and Li Ao's articles were edited and revised for a long time before they were allowed to be published in the newspaper. Even so, the newspaper's sales soared.

Everyone is eager to know about news from the mainland. Since veterans were allowed to return to their hometowns to find their relatives, veterans who returned to the island from the mainland have brought back a lot of news from the mainland.

Besides news about changes in their hometowns and economic comparisons between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, the most frequent topic was the mainland's ongoing reform and opening-up policy. These veterans acted like investigators, delving into the mainland to observe its reform and opening-up process.

Unfortunately, most of these veterans do not have a channel to speak out, and the news only circulates within military dependents' villages, veterans' sanatoriums, or veterans' homecoming groups.

To truly understand the achievements of China's reform and opening up, one must read the articles by Pai Hsien-yung and Li Ao.

The island's China Times has set up a "Mainland Column" on its second page, which mainly publishes articles written by the island's writers' delegation after their return from the mainland.

After returning to the island, Li Ao and his companions were constantly interviewed by the media and visited by friends in the literary world. Of course, there were also some criticisms.

However, in an era when pro-unification voices dominate, these people's voices cannot make much of a splash.

During his busy interview schedule, Li Ao did not forget Liu Yimin's instructions and went to the Machangting execution ground to deliver flowers and offerings.

Mu Qing put down the People's Literature magazine, glanced at the Xinhua News Agency report, and felt that it was still not ready.

"Comrade Yimin hasn't arrived yet?" Mu Qing looked at his secretary who was making tea.

The secretary glanced at her watch: "I'll be there shortly, according to the agreed time."

No sooner had the secretary finished speaking than Liu Yimin appeared in the doorway. Although the door to Mu Qing's office was open, Liu Yimin still knocked twice: "Mr. Mu!"

"Yimin, please sit down, please sit down!" Mu Qing said warmly.

When did you get back?

"I came back yesterday afternoon. Your novel is well-written; it reflects the Chinese people's spirit of helping others and benefiting the world. This is a report written by a Xinhua News Agency reporter, but I don't think it's well-written."

"We'd like a reporter to conduct an in-depth interview with Mr. He Fengshan, and we hope you can help us make the arrangements," Mu Qing said.

Liu Yimin said doubtfully, "If you want an interview, can't our Xinhua News Agency reporters contact him directly? Mr. He shouldn't refuse."

"Mr. Ho Fung-shan has a busy schedule, and even when he does give interviews, he only answers questions briefly. We want an in-depth interview. With your connection, Mr. Ho Fung-shan will surely agree. We also want to take this opportunity to do some international communication."

Let's get Xinhua News Agency branches around the world mobilized to report on this. By the way, do you have any ideas? Could you suggest some reporting angles for us to consider?

Liu Yimin suggested that Xinhua News Agency should not only report on He Fengshan's affairs, but should conduct interviews from multiple perspectives.

"For example, searching for the Japanese who survived thanks to He Fengshan; interviewing the current Japanese people about their views on what He Fengshan did; and analyzing why Western countries did not come to their aid at the time."

We must not only stand on the high ground of public opinion, but also take a jab at the West.

However, when reporting in different countries, it's essential to incorporate the unique characteristics of each country and use language easily understood by local readers, such as focusing on humanity, compassion, and painful choices. Western readers, influenced by Western media propaganda, don't appreciate the propaganda language we use. Therefore, reports provided to foreign readers must be tailored accordingly,” Liu Yimin said with a smile.

Mu Qing said, "We plan to set up a special team to report on He Fengshan's deeds, integrate resources, and coordinate planning."

Liu Yimin agreed to write a letter of introduction for the Xinhua News Agency reporter: "Mr. He should be willing to do me a favor."

“In addition, I heard that the island is preparing to invite He Fengshan to the island, and we are also preparing to extend an invitation at the same time,” Mu Qing said.

“Great! I’ll have to invite Mr. He Fengshan to ‘Youth Night Talk’ for a chat then. We’re really lacking this kind of content.”

Liu Yimin immediately wrote a letter to He Fengshan in Mu Qing's office, intending to give it to the Xinhua News Agency reporter upon his arrival in the United States. Mu Qing planned to send two reporters familiar with international news and one familiar with domestic news to the United States to conduct the interview together with the Xinhua News Agency's U.S. branch reporter.

"Yimin, I heard from the comrades in the company that you came to see me a couple of days ago. Was it to discuss a joint training program?" Mu Qing asked curiously.

After the joint training program was proposed, Liu Yimin was busy with other things, and there was no real progress.

"There's this matter, and there's another one." Liu Yimin opened the leather bag next to the sofa and took out the paper co-authored by Zhu's father and the other two professors:

"Please take a look at this paper. It discusses the past, present, and future development of our country's automobile industry. The automobile industry is a major industry for a country, and the development of modern transportation is inseparable from automobiles."

I think this paper is very insightful and will be very useful for the development of our country's automobile companies and the establishment of joint ventures. The internal reference is compiled by Xinhua News Agency, and I recommend this paper to you.

After listening, Mu Qing curiously took the paper from Liu Yimin: "Was this written by a professor from Beijing Institute of Technology?"

"To be honest, this is my father-in-law's thesis. But I absolutely did not have any intention of using connections. I believe it is indeed an excellent thesis. My father-in-law and two other professors personally visited automobile manufacturing bases in Northeast China, Beijing, and Wuhan, and also visited joint venture factories. They gained an in-depth understanding of the current automobile industry structure, combined with the international development of the automobile industry, and put forward effective suggestions."

After listening to Liu Yimin's explanation, Mu Qing said seriously, "Okay, let me take a look. A professor from Beijing Institute of Technology is definitely qualified. In fact, the country is currently lacking this kind of research article that combines theory with practice."

Mu Qing put on his glasses and began reading the paper intently. Liu Yimin noticed several foreign newspapers on Mu Qing's desk and began reading them with great interest.

[The Noah's Ark of the East: Chinese Diplomats in 1938.]

【God's Visa—China's Schindler's Ark】

Schindler's Ark, which is the well-known film "Schindler's List," was written by an Australian author in 1982 and later adapted into a film.

It tells the story of German businessman Oskar Schindler saving thousands of Jews during World War II by bribing German officers.

International media coverage was also plentiful, but mostly focused on He Fengshan's rescue. Some other media outlets offered sarcastic remarks, suggesting that there was currently no concrete evidence and that the story might have been fabricated by a Chinese author, with an American bookseller hiring a Chinese person to help with the publicity.

Liu Yimin was so angry he laughed when he saw it. He knew he had to give instructions later. After the Xinhua News Agency reporter arrived in the United States, he was to assist He Fengshan in providing more evidence and, incidentally, to criticize these sarcastic media outlets and label them as "sympathetic to the Nazis."

Your squid daddy will take care of you!
After reading the reports about He Fengshan, Liu Yimin turned his attention to the reports about "Green Book." Currently, "Green Book" has grossed over $30 million worldwide, with a single-day increase of over $5 million in North America.

Film box office analysts kept raising their expectations, and investors, seeing the film market performing so well, immediately increased their publicity budget for "Green Book" after discussion.

After the funding arrived, various promotional posters were erected around major cinemas, and film critics' reviews and interview clips appeared in newspapers, magazines, and on television.

The main cast and crew of the film collectively laid flowers at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Square to express their heartfelt wish for racial equality.

"Frank has a knack for movie promotion!" Liu Yimin couldn't help but laugh.

Liu Yimin's laughter interrupted Mu Qing. He put down his paper and said, "Although I am not a science or engineering major and have no work experience in the automotive industry, I have personally visited car companies during my interviews and know a little about them."

Personally, I think Professor Zhu and the other professors wrote very well, but I still need to have experts in the relevant field review the article again. Yimin, you know that articles published in internal reference materials need to be handled with utmost care; they relate to the decisions of our leaders!

"I see."

Mu Qing believed that this article could be published in an internal reference book that high-ranking officials could read, but it was not qualified for the highest-level internal reference book.

Xinhua News Agency publishes internal reports at several different levels, each with clearly defined reading guidelines for its respective level.

Mu Qing thought it was acceptable, but didn't rule it out completely, leaving room for maneuver. "Yimin, your father-in-law is quite something. He's not young anymore, but he's still so dedicated to academic research."

"My father-in-law usually likes to write, but... well... so I suggested he write more academic papers. Our country is currently developing its industry, and science and engineering professors have a place to use their talents. Training talent for industry and providing guidance to enterprises is much better than writing novels."

Upon hearing Liu Yimin cough, Mu Qing knew that what his father-in-law had written was definitely unreadable.

"Mr. Mu, what did you gain from this inspection trip?" Liu Yimin put the newspaper in his hand aside.

Mu Qing glanced at the contents of the newspaper: "With 'Green Book' doing so well at the box office, you're going to make a lot of money this time. This time, the main purpose of going deep into the grassroots is to find some typical examples, including not only positive examples but also negative examples."

We should find positive examples to promote successful experiences and negative examples to analyze and solve problems. Since the reform and opening up, both in rural and urban areas, many problems have been exposed behind successes. These articles will be published one after another, so please read them carefully.

Mu Qing showed Liu Yimin the photos she had taken. Mu Qing had visited impoverished rural areas, as well as rural areas that had developed through village and town enterprises, and had visited both state-owned and private factories.

At 10 a.m., Mu Qing brought up the issue of joint training. The consensus from Xinhua News Agency was that since this was the first step, they should not rush into it but instead conduct small-scale experiments and expand the training scale once the results were satisfactory.

"I have a suggestion: students in the Xinhua News Agency's joint training program should attend classes normally in their first and second years, and then select a group of students to join the joint training program in their third year for additional practical and theoretical training."

This small-scale joint training program can meet Xinhua News Agency's talent needs while also reducing its financial burden. What do you think?
If it proves effective, Yenching University will allocate a special enrollment quota to Xinhua News Agency during its college entrance examination admissions process!

Mu Qing considered Liu Yimin's opinion. Xinhua News Agency's first proposal for joint training was experimental. If they were asked to come up with a large sum of money, they would be in a real bind.

"However, Xinhua News Agency still needs to talk to the Chinese Department of Yenching University and Yenching University itself, since they are students of Yenching University, not students of our Institute of Literature and Art," Liu Yimin said.

"Alright, we'll send someone to Yanda University to discuss this in person!"

At noon, Mu Qing took Liu Yimin to his home for another meal. After the meal, he didn't stay long and went straight back to the courtyard house.

Xi Mei told Liu Yimin that Cui Daoyi, an editor at People's Literature and Art, had waited at home all morning but left when no one showed up.

"Senior Brother Cui, what does he want with me?" Liu Yimin asked curiously.

Xi Mei explained, "I asked, and Editor Cui said it was nothing, just that this issue of People's Literature and Art sold well, and he wanted to come over to tell you the good news and chat. He has to go out of town to solicit articles this afternoon, so he has to leave first."

"Row!"

After calculating the time, Liu Yimin realized that he and Cui Daoyi hadn't seen each other for a long time.

Zhu Lin was sitting under the ginkgo tree playing with beanbags with two little ones: "Teacher Liu, have you eaten yet?"

"We've eaten, Grandma Mu was so hospitable!" Liu Yimin smiled at the two little ones: "Come on, throw the beanbag to Daddy."

The two little ones are too weak to throw the beanbags more than a meter, but that doesn't affect their fun at all.

After playing until 12:40, Liu Yimin told them to go and rest: "Mom needs to take a nap, otherwise she won't have the energy to go to work in the afternoon."

"Dad, I want to play some more," Liu Yu said, pouting.

"No, you don't want to. Look at you, all sweaty. Let's play when it's cooler at night."

After wiping Liu Yu and Liu Lin's sweat with a wet towel, Liu Yimin asked Xi Mei to take them to rest.

In the afternoon, Liu Yimin drove to Yenching University to give a lecture to the teachers being trained at the Institute of Literature. In the office, the group of trainees were discussing what kind of international spirit He Fengshan embodied.

Upon seeing Liu Yimin enter, everyone immediately held their breath and fell silent.

"Let's continue the discussion," Liu Yimin said, sitting down to signal everyone to continue.

"Professor Liu, I never expected that you could even interview such a person. Now, all the students and teachers at Yenching University admire Mr. He Fengshan."

"That's what discovery is all about—being good at finding topics that can be written about," Liu Yimin said.

Yan Zhen poured Liu Yimin a cup of hot tea and sat down next to him to talk about his views on He Fengshan. He believed that the heroism shown by He Fengshan was a concentrated expression of contemporary humanitarianism and the Chinese traditional cultural ideas of "benevolence and love for others, universal love and non-aggression".

Liu Yimin listened to their discussion for half an hour, and the focus of the discussion gradually shifted from He Fengshan to the writing of the article "God's Visa".

"Alright, everyone, stop discussing. I'm here today to give a lecture, not to listen to your flattery," Liu Yimin waved his hand, interrupting the discussion.

Everyone immediately turned on their pens and opened their notebooks, all looking at Liu Yimin, ready to take notes at any moment.

"Let's talk about the issue of student cultivation in Chinese literature teaching, and how to cultivate students' critical spirit while teaching them rational thinking ability."

Literature students enjoy expressing themselves, but their eagerness to do so often leads to erroneous descriptions, which not only fail to promote social progress but also make them a laughingstock. A critical spirit is essential, as are comprehensive, rational, and systematic analytical abilities.

Developing a critical spirit is easy, but cultivating the ability to think comprehensively, rationally, and systematically is extremely difficult.

They talked until 4 p.m., during which time they received a call from the Beijing Film Studio. However, the caller was not Wang Yang, but Chen Huaikai, the father of Director Chen.

"Director Chen, is there something you need?" Liu Yimin asked curiously.

“I don’t have anything to say. It’s just that my son has a classmate named Zhang Yimou, and he’s come to Yanjing to meet you. He’s a very nice young man, but I have to ask you first if you’d like to meet him. If you don’t want to meet him, I’ll find a reason to help you decline.”

Fearing that Liu Yimin might really disappear, Chen Huaikai mentioned Zhang Yimou's film "One and Eight," as well as the internationally acclaimed film "Old Well," in which he also starred.

"This young man wants to make a complete career change to become a director, and he would like to ask you a few questions."

“Okay, he can come to my house to find me when he gets to Yanjing,” Liu Yimin said.

"He's already in Yanjing. How about I have him come directly to your courtyard house tonight?"

"Okay!"

In the evening, Liu Yimin returned to the courtyard house. Not long after dinner, Zhang Yimou appeared at the entrance of the alley, peeking out with a piece of paper in his hand with the house number written on it.

The gate wasn't closed, but Zhang Yimou was too embarrassed to just walk in, so he knocked on the gate.

Hearing the noise, Ximei immediately put down her chopsticks and went out into the yard. She looked at Zhang Yimou, who was wearing a blue and white striped T-shirt, and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Zhang Yimou sized up Ximei and, seeing that she didn't resemble Zhu Lin, guessed that she was the nanny Chen Huaikai had mentioned: "Hello, comrade, is this Professor Liu's house?"

"Yes, this is Professor Liu's home."

“I’m here to see Professor Liu. My name is Zhang Yimou, and I have an appointment with Professor Liu.”

"What do you do? Are you Professor Liu's student?"

“I’d like to, but no, I’m a student at the Beijing Film Academy and now work at the Guangxi Film Studio,” Zhang Yimou explained with a smile.

"Oh, they're making a movie." Xi Mei didn't speak, but led Zhang Yimou into the courtyard: "Professor Liu, this director said he had an appointment with you."

When Zhang Yimou heard Xi Mei address him as "director," he blushed and said, "Not yet."

After graduating from Beijing Film Academy, Zhang Yimou's first job was as a cinematographer at the Guangxi Film Studio. This year, he decided to transition into directing.

"Professor Liu, hello. My name is Zhang Yimou. Director Chen should have already told you." Zhang Yimou stood upright with his lower body slightly bent.

“I know, sit down. Have you eaten?” Liu Yimin asked with a smile.

Seeing Liu Yimin's politeness, Zhang Yimou breathed a sigh of relief: "I've already eaten, please don't stand on ceremony. These are your twins, right?"

Zhu Lin said with a smile, "Comrade Zhang, please sit down. Don't worry about those two."

"Director Zhu, I brought them some toys that are unique to Guangxi Province." Zhang Yimou squatted down, took the things out of his bag and waved them in front of the two little ones, and taught them how to play with them.

"Director Zhu, I've seen your plays, and they were excellent. I need to learn from you. Your transition to theater directing was incredibly successful. Now you're not only one of the best actresses in China, but also one of the most outstanding female directors."

Zhang Yimou's praise increased Zhu Lin's appreciation for him; this young comrade Zhang really has a sweet tongue.

After finishing his work, Zhang Yimou sat down and looked at Liu Yimin: "Professor Liu, I should have visited you a long time ago. When we were in school, we always read your novels. After we started working, we got busy, but we never stopped reading your novels. I read 'God's Visa' as soon as it was published. It's really well written."

"You're too kind. Your starring role in 'Old Well' was also quite good. I heard from Lao Chen that you're planning to transition into becoming a real director?" Liu Yimin said.

Zhang Yimou scratched his head shyly: "Old Well is far inferior to your film from last year. I studied cinematography, not directing. But a cinematographer who doesn't want to be a director is not a good cinematographer."

The fact that "Old Well" didn't win an award is a regret for Zhang Yimou and also for director Wu Tianming. When they made this film, the entire crew, from top to bottom, was very confident.

However, last year was also a breakout year for films adapted from Liu Yimin's novels. The release of films such as "Huo Yuanjia", "Hachiko", "Nanyang Chizi" and "Brotherhood of Blades" in China, as well as "Deng Jiaxian" which was not released last year, directly pushed "Old Well" out of the spotlight.

Zhang Yimou originally hoped to become famous with "Old Well," but unexpectedly, not only did Cheng Yaojin, Qin Shubao, and Yuchi Jingde emerge as unexpected talents, which became a regret in Zhang Yimou's heart.

"Hachi: A Dog's Tale" won the Hong Kong Film Award, and "The Redemption of a Slave" and "Green Book" successively won the Academy Award and the Palme d'Or. Zhang Yimou realized that Liu Yimin must have mastered some kind of secret to the success of the film scripts, so he hurriedly came to ask for advice.

"What? You also want to win an international award?" Liu Yimin asked with a smile.

Zhang Yimou immediately said, "Professor Liu, of course I want to! After failing at the Hong Kong Film Awards, I don't think I can hope for the Tokyo International Film Festival either. Forget about my acting dream, I just want to make movies and become an international director."

"Look at you, young comrade, how old are you, why are you in such a hurry?"

P.S.: Today's chapter is 7 words. My sleep schedule has been messed up lately, I need to go to bed earlier to adjust.

(End of this chapter)