Literary Master 1978

December 15, 1982, today is sunny and haze-free, and the People's Hall is crowded with people.

Half an hour before the first Mao Dun Literature Award Ceremony begins, the jury members, award-winning writers, leaders and guests invited to attend are entering the venue one after another.

For this award ceremony, the Literary Association has exhausted all its energy.

Among the many guests present, there are leaders of relevant ministries such as culture, propaganda, and press and publication, leaders of local literary associations, heads of well-known publishing units and literary magazines across the country, and many well-known writers, editors, critics...

After counting, there are hundreds of guests who came to attend the award ceremony, all of whom are well-known figures in the domestic cultural circle.

Among them are Mr. Ba Jin, the Minister of Culture, and the Vice Minister of Propaganda, who are highly respected and hold important positions.

Lin Chaoyang entered the venue among the award-winning writers, greeting people all the way into the auditorium. There were too many acquaintances in such an occasion today, and he spent a long time just greeting people.

"Comrade Chaoyang is really popular!" Wei Wei, who was sitting next to Lin Chaoyang, joked after he sat down.

"You are joking. The main reason is that everyone who came today is from the industry, so there are naturally more acquaintances."

Lin Chaoyang went to the Overseas Chinese Hotel to check in yesterday, where he met several other award-winning writers.

A few years ago, "The Wreath Under the Mountain" held a seminar, and Wei Wei was invited to attend. The two sides knew each other.

Li Guowen, who was sitting on the other side of Lin Chaoyang, was the author of "Spring in Winter". He was very tall, but his face was expressionless and he didn't say a word.

The two chatted for a few words last night, and Lin Chaoyang knew that he was not arrogant, but just not good at talking, especially in an unfamiliar environment.

The other four award-winning writers, Yao Xueying, Zhou Keqin, Gu Hua, and Mo Yingfeng, lined up around the three.

Among the seven, Yao and Wei are both literary masters in their sixties, while Li, Zhou, Mo, and Gu Hua are in their forties and fifties, in their prime.

Only Lin Chaoyang, a young man in his twenties, sat among them, with collagen all over his face, which was particularly eye-catching.

After the conference officially began, the leaders gave speeches as usual, and Mr. Ba Jin, as the leader of the Literary Association and the chairman of the jury, gave a speech.

Then it was time for the awards ceremony. Lin Chaoyang and the other seven sat on the rostrum. Standing on it, the three generations of writers, old, middle-aged and young, gathered together, and the literary masters on the stage were all pleased.

The members of the jury sat in the first row under the rostrum. Zhang Guangnian and Feng Mu sat together, and the two looked at the people on the stage with some sighs.

"Old comrades are shining, middle-aged people are the backbone, and young people are catching up. The development of the literary world is really booming!"

"Yes, what a good situation! This award is really timely, and it has laid a solid hammer for the future development of the literary world."

Listening to Feng Mu's words, Zhang Guangnian nodded slightly.

In the past two years, the name "New Period Literature" has gradually become popular. It corresponds to the "Seventeen Years of Literature" from 1949 to before the buzz buzz buzz, and is the development process of contemporary Chinese literature since 1976.

If we want to trace the buds of the new period literature, it should be said that it started with poetry represented by Misty Poetry. This literary expression form with strong vitality has enlightened a generation of young people's literary aesthetics.

In the long-term cultural repression, it can still be widely spread by word of mouth.

Then there is the rise of short stories and the prosperity of novellas. Under such circumstances, the National Excellent Short Story and Novella Award came into being, which successfully inspired the creative desire of a large number of literary creators and also focused the attention and love of the general public.

According to normal creative rules, the creation cycle of a novel is much longer than that of a medium or short story. It has been six years since the first novel award was finally held in China, which is in line with the current literary development rules.

However, in terms of the overall development of the novel genre, domestic novels are still in a state of depression.

Zhang Guangnian and Feng Mu, as judges, are very clear about this point.

In this period when the novel has just recovered, the winning works of this year's Mao Dun Literature Award have more or less their own problems.

The binary opposition of "Furong Town", the militarization of the peasant uprising in "Li Zicheng" (Part 2), the suspicion that the plot serves the theme in "Xu Mao and His Daughters", and the stream of consciousness and montage techniques in "Spring in Winter" are often confusing and difficult to understand for many people who have read it...

Thinking of "Spring in Winter", Zhang Guangnian can't help but feel sorry for Lin Chaoyang.

Both are stream-of-consciousness works. Whether from the perspective of technique or story, "The Death of Van Gogh" is obviously better than "Spring in Winter", but in the end, it was "Spring in Winter" that won the award.

The main reason for this result is that the style of "The Death of Van Gogh" is too Westernized, or as some comrades say, liberalized.

It does not even tell the story of a Chinese, but the story of a foreign artist.

In contrast, "Spring in Winter" tells the story of Yu Erlong, a senior official and director of a large military power plant, who returns to the guerrilla base after more than 30 years of absence to find the murderer who assassinated his wife.

The novel summarizes the social changes and development of the times in the past forty years by narrating his experiences, sights, associations, memories, etc. during the three days he returned to his hometown. Such a story will undoubtedly be better than "The Death of Van Gogh" in the award process. More advantages.

Zhang Guangnian couldn't help but think of the heated discussion among the fifteen judges on "The Death of Van Gogh" in the final review stage.

The fifteen judges of the Mao Dun Literary Award are all well-known figures in the Chinese literary world. It is impossible for anyone to convince others with their official hat and seniority.

At that time, Zhang Guangnian felt like he was dreaming back to the past. You must know that just a few years ago, there were almost the same group of people like them.

There has been a protracted debate over whether literary creation after the end of Humming should truly expose and reflect the scars and reality of contemporary Chinese society and whether the mainstream literature of the "Seventeen Years" should be restored, forming two groups: the Xichun School and the Pianzuo School. Big camp.

This review meeting can almost be said to be a replica of the big debate a few years ago, with both sides insisting on their own opinions and no one can convince the other.

In the end, the result can only be determined by voting. Unfortunately, the Xichun faction failed to win this time. Among the members of this jury, the Pioneer faction was dominant, and "The Death of Van Gogh" had to be eliminated.

Perhaps in order to comfort their group of Xianchun faction, or out of compensating Lin Chaoyang, the Pianzuo faction brought out "Chess Saint" for discussion again, and they unanimously agreed that the level of "Chess Saint" was worthy of an award.

Zhang Guangnian recalled the scene at that time, and he was still a little angry. The stance and narrative perspective of "The Master of Chess" were obviously partial. How could they not see the thoughts of the partial faction.

But this is Lin Chaoyang's work after all, and the writing is indeed very good. Although it is not as outstanding as "The Death of Van Gogh", it is not inferior to the several winning works that have been determined.

Therefore, in the end, several of the old comrades of the Xichun Sect had no choice but to accept the result, but they couldn't help but curse the shameless behavior of the Pianzuo sect in their hearts.

How is this different from a teacher threatening parents with their children's future?

He~tui, next work!

Memories flashed through his mind. Zhang Guangnian's eyes turned to the stage and involuntarily focused on Lin Chaoyang.

"The Death of Van Gogh" was eliminated, but "Chess" also won the award. Isn't this a recognition of him?

What's more, he is still so young!

Not only Zhang Guangnian, but most of the people present looked at Lin Chaoyang on the stage and felt this way in their hearts.

Although it is held for the first time, in a sense, the Mao Dun Literary Award is already the highest award in the Chinese literary world.

Lin Chaoyang is able to stand on the podium at the age of more than 20 years old, and any kind of praise can be said about him.

Especially when there is a group of middle-aged and elderly writers standing next to him. In this year's atmosphere, these people seem to have become his foil.

"This kid is really lucky to win prizes!" Li Tuo sat in the audience and sighed to Wang Meng next to him.

"It can't be said that it's 'luck' that without the support of outstanding creative talents and works, how can we always win such awards!"

The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was intentional. Wang Meng was just stating the facts, but Li Tuo, who had not written a novel for a long time, felt a little uncomfortable and lost interest in talking.

Although his brother's success made him happy, his own failure was even more difficult for him to accept.

It’s okay, it’s okay, I just put all my energy into the movie.

On the rostrum, the guests responsible for awarding awards include members of the jury, leaders of cultural associations and leaders of ministries and commissions. The winning prizes are still a three-piece set - certificate, bonus, and commemorative booklet.

The difference is that the prize money this time is much richer than the previous prizes for winning the National Outstanding Short Story and Novella Awards, which is a full 3,000 yuan.

The prize money for the Mao Dun Literary Award comes from the 250,000 yuan in manuscript fees donated by Mr. Mao Dun before his death. In order to create a sufficiently authoritative literary awards event, the Literary and Art Association has spent a lot of money. Each winner can receive a 3,000 yuan bonus. .

There are seven winning works in this year’s Mao Dun Literature Award, and the prize amount is as high as 21,000 yuan, which is almost 1/12 of Mr. Mao Dun’s inheritance.

Such a generous reward has also greatly enhanced the reputation of the Mao Dun Literature Award, a new award, to a certain extent.

A thick stack of large dumplings for each person is placed on the tray, which is a bit tacky but full of visual impact.

In this era when the per capita income level has not yet exceeded 60 yuan, a bonus of 3,000 yuan is equivalent to the income of an ordinary working class person without food or water for four or five years. It can be said to be a sky-high bonus.

Even well-known writers with good incomes will take a year or two to earn these royalties.

Now that you have earned an award, how can this not make the writers on the stage happy?

Writers are also human beings, and they also need to eat, drink, and relieve themselves. Everyone was equally happy to receive the bonus.

Everyone was smiling, but Lin Chaoyang's expression was calm. A reporter recorded this scene with a camera.

Lin Chaoyang is not pretending to be reserved, but his income from royalties has always been very high, so it is difficult for him to be excited by this bonus.

After the awards were given, everyone spoke one after another, and then Zhou Yang spoke again, affirming the final result of the award, calling it "a review of the first commemorative novels in the new socialist era, which generally represent today's novels." achievements".

After the conference, more than 600 people from the cultural circles present took a group photo, which took a lot of trouble.

After lunch at the sea, there was a symposium in the afternoon. Lin Chaoyang became one of the focuses of everyone's attention. Both his works and himself were mentioned many times by the judges and guests.

Halfway through the symposium, Wang Meng suddenly asked Mr. Ba Jin, "It is said that there are eight works on the final review list this year. These days, everyone has been discussing which work was eliminated. Can the director explain it to us?"

The reason why Wang Meng suddenly asked the question was that he was bewitched by Li Tuo during the award ceremony in the morning. Li Tuo kept whispering this question in his ear. Wang Meng was also curious, so he asked it while the judges were all at the symposium.

After he asked the question, the originally lively atmosphere of the symposium suddenly became quiet, and everyone's eyes turned to Ba Jin.

Seven works won the awards this year, which is a bit too many, but it is also in line with the style of the literary world.

But the literary world has been privately rumored recently that the final review list is eight, and a total of eight works have been eliminated.

Everyone was curious about who the unlucky person who was eliminated was, and Wang Meng's question was what everyone was thinking.

Seeing everyone's attention, Mr. Ba Jin took a sip of the tea in front of him without panic.

"This question..."