Literary Master 1978

"Hey, Dening, how do you like Lin Chaoyang's novel?"

The next morning, Zhou Yanru asked Zhang Dening.

"It's over."

"Have you finished reading? What do you think?"

Zhang Dening's expression was slightly weird, "It's pretty good."

"What does your expression mean?"

"It's nothing, it's really good, but..." Zhang Dening hesitated, not knowing how to evaluate it.

"You're pretty good at it. Bring me the manuscript and I'll read it myself."

Zhang Dening handed the manuscript to Zhou Yanru.

Another day passed, and Zhou Yanru finally finished reading the manuscript. She was still immersed in the shock of the last scene of the novel. After a while, she said: "This time... Chaoyang's style has changed a lot!"

"Yes, it's unexpected. It's completely different from the style of his previous two works." Zhang Dening sighed.

"What do you think?" Zhou Yanru asked her.

Zhang Dening thought thoughtfully and asked, "Do you know about the previous rumor?"

Zhou Yanru nodded, knowing that she was talking about the rumors of discord between Lin Chaoyang and Yan Film Studio. It was said that it was because of a Sino-Japanese co-production of a movie. Lin Chaoyang couldn't understand some of the content of the movie and had an unpleasant experience with the crew.

"That movie is said to be about Go, and Chaoyang's novel is also about Go. The intention is self-evident.

This time he abandoned the stream of consciousness writing method and completely returned to the narrative structure of traditional Chinese novels, which is determined by the story.

The master Jiang Nansheng played chess with the Japanese three times, and the structure was progressive. The first time was for survival, the second time was to prove himself, and the third time was for national dignity and righteousness.

This linear structure seems old-fashioned, but he handles it with ease, is extremely solid, and is very emotional, allowing the protagonist Jiang Nansheng to complete the transformation from a chess lunatic who has no interest in worldly affairs to a generation of chess masters.

In terms of structure and plot alone, this novel is extremely brilliant.

Especially the plot at the end of the novel where the Japanese chess report comes to Shanghai to work for the army, and Jiang Nansheng challenges nine Japanese Go masters. It really makes people feel emotional and excited.

but……"

Zhang Dening hesitated and said: "This plot is somewhat inaccurate. Not only has such a thing never happened in history, but it is also unrealistic even today. I guess some people will sneer at it."

Go originated in China and has a long history. However, in the past century, the decline of Go in China is an indisputable fact. On the contrary, in neighboring Japan, Go has a strong culture and a steady stream of masters are produced.

China and Japan have been competing in Go for decades, with China losing more and winning less. The vast majority of Chinese people are aware of the fact that China's Go skills are now inferior to others.

Zhou Yanru asked Zhang Dening what she thought of this novel. This was the reason why her face looked weird. The novel is a good novel, but it contains a little too much fantasy. I'm afraid it will inevitably suffer some criticism after it is published.

"Didn't Wu Qingyuan defeat the invincible player in Japan back then and become known as the Showa Chess Master? When Chaoyang wrote about the character Jiang Nansheng, he probably drew on his experience, right?"

"I don't know. I'll ask him later."

"I heard that Chaoyang's chess skills are also very good." Zhou Yanru asked.

"It is said to be."

"Since he is not a layman of Go, he wrote this intentionally."

Listening to Zhou Yanru's words, Zhang Dening's heart moved. She thought of Lin Chaoyang's sudden change of style and his previous conflict with Yan Film Factory.

"How did you feel after reading his novel?" Zhou Yanru asked her.

Zhang Dening thought for a while, "The reading felt very smooth, and the emotions were progressive. In the end, seeing Jiang Nansheng beating nine Japanese Go masters by himself was so exciting. In the end, he fell under the gun of the Japanese. It was even more heart-wrenching. Ping. I am moved by his way of defending the country, and I feel sorry for the demise of a generation of chess masters, but more importantly, I hate the Japanese.”

Zhou Yanru nodded slightly and said, "I think this is his purpose."

She added: "Chaoyang's first two novels both contain strong elements of stream-of-consciousness literature, and the literary world speaks highly of him. These two novels can also be called classics.

But what we have to admit is that both "The Summer of Raiko" and "The Death of Van Gogh" have certain reading thresholds and have inherent shortcomings in dissemination.

This time the novel Chaoyang focused on the story. I believe he has the ability to balance the story and literature of the novel, but it is obvious that he did not do so.

Instead, they chose to popularize the story. The disadvantages of doing so will naturally lead to a greatly weakened literary quality of the novel, but at the same time it also greatly increases the readability of the novel and expands its audience..."

When Zhou Yanru said this, Zhang Dening took over her words, "So his purpose is to let more people see this novel!"

"That's right!" Zhou Yanru said firmly.

"But in this case, the evaluation of this novel in the literary world may not be too high!" Zhang Dening showed a bit of worry on his face.

"I think Chaoyang should have already made this preparation." Zhou Yanru said.

Zhang Dening thought about it carefully and had to admit that what Zhou Yanru said made sense.

With Lin Chaoyang's maturity in creation and in-depth study of literary theory, it was impossible for him to think of these things, but he did it anyway.

While she was meditating, Zhou Yanru asked: "Do you think there is anything that needs to be revised in the manuscript?"

Zhang Dening shook his head.

"Then I'll show it to Lao Li."

Without the constraints of the manuscript, Lin Chaoyang lived a relaxed and comfortable life these days.

On Monday morning, a special donation ceremony was held in the conference room of Yanda Library. The donor was Mr. Rao Yutai, who had been dead for 13 years. The old man suffered persecution during the humiliation period and finally committed suicide after being humiliated and unjustly accused.

Many years later, according to the old man’s last wish, his family donated his savings of more than 10,000 yuan and his collection of books to Yanda.

During his lifetime, the old man left a collection of 1,162 kinds of books, totaling 1,480 volumes, all of which were donated to the Yanda Library.

The donation ceremony was attended by the old man’s daughter and sister. Listening to them read out the old man’s last wish, the library colleagues present felt sad and full of respect and admiration for their predecessors.

Just after the donation ceremony, which had a sad and somber atmosphere, the museum asked Lin Chaoyang and several other young and strong young men to rearrange the conference room.

"The donation ceremony has just been held, what is going on?"

"The conference room is quite busy today!"

Several colleagues finished their work while complaining and left the conference room. Lin Chaoyang returned to the library to continue fishing. He was engrossed in reading a novel when Du Rong ran up quickly from downstairs.

"Chaoyang, the curator wants you to go to the conference room!" Du Rong said breathlessly.

"What else is there to do?"

"have no idea."

"The museum really uses us young people as livestock, and they have to do everything for us."

Despite complaining, Lin Chaoyang came to the conference room.

At this time, there were twenty or thirty students sitting in the conference room, including familiar faces such as Chen Jiangong, Liu Zhida, and Huang Ziping, all students from the Chinese Department.

The curator Xie Daoyuan was sitting in the seat on the south side. He waved to Lin Chaoyang and walked over.

Xie Daoyuan pulled Lin Chaoyang and introduced to the students present: "This is Xu Lingjun, the author of the novel "The Death of Van Gogh" and an excellent administrator of our Yanda Library. His real name is Lin Chaoyang."

Listening to Xie Daoyuan's introduction, the students below burst into applause, and many looked at Lin Chaoyang with a bit of admiration.

"Director..." Before Lin Chaoyang had time to ask Xie Daoyuan what was going on, he heard him say on his own initiative: "Today, a delegation from the Chinese University of Hong Kong came to our Yanda to visit. Students from the Chinese Department were responsible for accompanying them. Just now there was The students at Chinese University talked about You’s novel and were surprised to hear that you are an employee of Yanda University.”

Lin Chaoyang was a little surprised when he heard this. Nowadays, there are not many people-to-people exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. He did not expect that students at the Chinese University of Hong Kong still knew about him.

"Come on, come on, sit next to me and chat casually with your classmates."

Xie Daoyuan pulled Lin Chaoyang to sit down, and the students looked at him with curious eyes.

"Everyone can speak freely if they want to communicate." Xie Daoyuan said.

Most of the people sitting in the conference room were students, with only a few middle-aged and elderly people, presumably the leading scholars and teachers of the delegation.

After Xie Daoyuan said this, Lin Chaoyang said with a smile: "I didn't expect that some of my classmates in Xiangjiang also know me."

At this time, an old man in his seventies sitting among the students said: "Xiangjiang has a copy of "Suye Literature", which has become extremely popular in the past two years and is very popular among students. There was an article published some time ago, which was highly praised. "The Death of Van Gogh" written by you, Mr. Lin, has aroused the interest of many students."

It turns out that Li Hanxiang had brought him a copy of "Suye Literature" before, and this magazine had such great influence.

"It is a pity that Mr. Lin's novel has not been published in Xiangjiang. We have only heard of it for a long time and have not yet read it."

Xie Daoyuan smiled and interjected: "I don't think so. Your school happens to be donating books to our Yanda University during this visit. We also want to give you a gift in return. How about using Comrade Chaoyang's novels as a gift in return?"

The old man clapped his hands and said: "This is a good idea!"

The students also clapped happily. The people visiting the Chinese University of Hong Kong this time were all students from the School of Liberal Arts. "Suye Literature" is a publication co-founded by Xixi and several other writers and poets who are now popular in Hong Kong. It has great influence among college students.

"Suye Literature" praised "The Death of Van Gogh", which made these students full of interest in Lin Chaoyang and his novels. Naturally, everyone was happy to hear that Yanda was going to give them Lin Chaoyang's novels in return.

"It would be great if it could be published in Xiangjiang!" someone among the students suddenly shouted.

The old man joked: "The publishing houses in Xiangjiang are greedy for money and only publish articles that can make money."

The students burst into laughter.

After a few jokes, the distance between the two parties became closer, and the topic became more in-depth. One student asked Lin Chaoyang: "Mr. Lin, the so-called scar literature and reflective literature have become popular in the mainland literary world in recent years. I heard that you have also written about this type of literature." Works, what do you think of works in this style?”

“In the past period, we have gone through some detours, and many people have suffered injustice and suffering. This is the fundamental reason for the emergence of scar literature or reflective literature.

This type of works has become very popular in recent years. In addition to the excellence of some works themselves, the more important reason is that the content and emotions of the works resonate with readers.

But emotional resonance is not sustainable. What people of this generation can empathize with may not necessarily be felt by the next generation.

The popularity law of literary works is the same as that of all arts. Most works can only be circulated for a while, and only a few that can be passed down can become classics. "

"Mr. Lin, I have only read the article about the novel "The Death of Van Gogh", but what I am very interested in about this novel is why you, as a Chinese writer, chose to write the story of a foreign painter?"

"The inspiration for writing this novel came from a meal with a friend. At that time, we talked about the pursuit of avant-garde art by young people.

In my opinion, many people in China today focus not on "art" but on "avant-garde" in their pursuit of so-called avant-garde art, which is inevitably suspected of sensationalism.

In writing "The Death of Van Gogh", I created two characters who are willing to devote themselves to art, one is the historical Van Gogh, and the other is the fictional Aaron. It can be regarded as a helpless response to reality."

Listening to Lin Chaoyang's answer, the students became more interested in the novel "The Death of Van Gogh".

The exchange lasted for nearly half an hour, and at the end a donation ceremony was held. The students donated 2,000 books to the Yanda Library on behalf of Hong Kong Chinese University.

After the ceremony, a colleague from the library walked into the meeting room holding a pile of books.

Xie Daoyuan smiled and said, "Our return gift has arrived!"