Writer 1979: Writing for the People

After a busy morning, seeing that it was already past noon, Lu Meng, the head of the novel group in the editorial department of "Yanhe", twisted his sore neck and called out to Lu Yao's workstation.

"Time to eat, Lu Yao!"

He and Lu Yao were dining buddies; they always ate together.

But today, after he called out, he received no response. When he turned around, the other person was still sitting at their workstation with their head down!

"Road Shake".

He called out again, but still received no response, which piqued Lu Meng's curiosity.

Whose manuscript is this guy reading?

You're actually so engrossed in watching it?

It's worth noting that although Lu Yao is young, she has been working as an editor for several years and has a very keen eye, having discovered many excellent works over the years.

But there aren't many people who can get him to this level of dedication.

Other colleagues who also noticed this scene followed Lu Meng over and surrounded Lu Yao.

Someone noticed the sender's name on the envelope: Xu Lu?

Ok?

Everyone looked at each other, confused. Who was this guy?

How come I've never heard of this before?

It was at this moment that Lu Yao, unable to contain his excitement, shouted.

"Well written! Well written!"

This piqued everyone's curiosity, and no one was in a hurry to eat anymore.

For Lu Yao to give this kind of evaluation, just how well is this article written?

As for Lu Yao, before she could say anything more, she heard her team leader Lu Meng ask a question.

"Lu Yao, are you looking at Xu Lu's work? Who is he? I've never heard of him before?"

"It's his. I don't know who he is, but he really doesn't seem like a newcomer. Or rather, it's almost impossible for a newcomer to write an article of this quality."

His two articles are exceptionally well-written, with a truly unique style!

Lu Yao praised it highly, and the others nodded. Then they picked up the manuscript paper on the table and began to exchange and read it.

As for Lu Yao, he's still savoring those two articles.

He didn't know who this Xu Lu was, but in his view, these two articles were of great breakthrough significance to the current literary scene.

Although his voice carries little weight, from the perspective of an editor and a creator, the current Chinese literary scene is too fixated on "narratives of suffering."

The emergence of "scar literature" has its historical significance, but when it becomes extreme, when everything is tied to suffering, Lu Yao doesn't think it's a good thing.

Both "Receiving the Precepts" and "My Distant Qingping Bay" prove one thing: the more "bitter" an article is, the better it is not necessarily.

  

Literature should return to its essence, rather than becoming a tool for something else.

Therefore, in his view, these two articles should be published in their journal, Yanhe, so that other creators can also realize this and set a new trend!

But clearly, not everyone thinks the same way he does.

When they finished reading "The Novice" or "My Distant Qingping Bay", their expressions changed.

It wasn't joy, it wasn't excitement, but doubt and disdain!

How could an article like this possibly make Lu Yao so excited?

What's so good about this article? It doesn't criticize any reality, it has no educational value whatsoever, it's just a waste of paper.

"Lu Yao, you've misjudged this time, haven't you? What's so outstanding about these two articles? With this level of quality, let alone our 'Yanhe' magazine, even local publications probably wouldn't accept them."

The speaker was Wang Yu, a veteran of the Yanhe Magazine, who had been working here as a theoretical commentary editor since 1956.

This will be the head of the comment section, so his words carry a lot of weight.

In the past, Lu Yao has had disagreements with others regarding their work, but he usually respects their opinions.

He is a junior, and there are many things he needs to learn and improve upon.

But today, after hearing Wang Yu's evaluation of "Receiving the Precepts" and "My Distant Qingping Bay", Lu Yao no longer remained silent, but stood up to argue his point.

"Team Leader Wang, I disagree with your opinion. These two articles, whether in terms of plot, writing style, or the ideas they express, are like a spring breeze for the literary world today. Their groundbreaking nature deserves serious consideration from everyone."

"The fact that someone is willing to submit such a good article to us shows their trust in our journal, *Yanhe*. How could we possibly turn it away?"

"What breakthrough significance? I don't see it."

How could such a meaningless article be published in our magazine?

"Does an article have to be a 'suffering narrative'?"

Go and look through the articles submitted to our "Yanhe" magazine over the past six months. What kind of stuff are they writing?

It's either injustice or suffering; it's either accusation or wounds!

Is that literature? That's just playing the victim!

"Take another look at these two articles, whether it's 'Receiving the Precepts' or 'My Distant Qingping Bay,' they both break through the limitations of narratives that focus on suffering."

Just how rare are articles like this in today's Chinese literary scene?

I don't understand why you look down on articles like this.

Is it wrong for some people to wake up before dawn?

Lu Yao became more and more agitated as he spoke, and finally let out an angry shout, expressing his strong dissatisfaction.

He had long been disgusted by the current trend of "playing the victim." He himself didn't have the ability to write good articles to turn the situation around, but that didn't mean he didn't even have the courage to raise the banner.

He was acutely aware that if Yanhe missed these two articles today, they would regret it forever.

Seeing that Lu Yao dared to challenge him, Wang Yu's chest heaved with anger. He pointed at the other man, his face full of rage, but for a moment he was speechless because of Lu Yao's words.

After stammering for a long time, he could only manage to say, "This kind of article just won't do..."

Lu Yao snorted coldly and didn't say anything more, but she was clearly still sticking to her point of view.

Lu Meng, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up.

"Stop arguing. These two articles are indeed quite special. I'll discuss it with the editor-in-chief later!"

Lu Meng understood why Lu Yao, who was usually calm and collected, was so excited this time; these two articles did indeed have their own unique merits.

However, as an editor of Yanhe, he also understood that if these two articles were published, the magazine would inevitably become the center of controversy.

Whether or not such a risk can be taken is not something that Lu Yao or he can decide on their own; they still need to discuss it with the editor-in-chief...

So for now, all he could do was appease the two of them.