1980 My literary era

As a senior reporter of the Yanjing Youth Daily, Li Xiangyang has a certain say in the newspaper. Otherwise, he would not have been able to publish an article to support Lin Weimin amidst the initial criticism.

Of course, after the first article was published, the whole thing was out of his hands as a journalist.

Li Xiangyang's earliest impression of Lin Weimin was "The Death of Yura". This short story had a unique style and was unforgettable when it was published.

The so-called "avant-garde novel" published in the first issue of "Contemporary" directed by Lin Weimin in 1983, he felt that "The Death of Yura" might be more suitable for this title.

After that, there were several spy novels, which tended to be in a genre style, but were of high quality. Li Xiangyang once thought that Lin Weimin was going to never return on this road, but he didn't expect that Lin Weimin turned around and took out "Farewell My Concubine". 》.

In Li Xiangyang's opinion, this novel should be regarded as a turning point in Lin Weimin's writing career.

It is different from the previous spy novels such as "Insidious" and "Cliff", and it is also different from the general scar novels on the market.

"Farewell My Concubine" perfectly integrates artistry and readability, exuding an intimate yet profound flavor.

He does not think it is an epic work, but it may be a classic that is difficult to replace in the contemporary literary world and will continue to be passed down.

Compared with the stunning performance of "Farewell My Concubine", Lin Weimin's novel "If You Have Something to Say" published in "Zhongshan" is mediocre both in terms of performance and evaluation.

But this novel is Li Xiangyang's favorite among Lin Weimin's many works.

"Speak Well If You Have Something" talks about something very simple, that is, communication.

In today's Chinese literary world, there is no shortage of writers who are willing to write heavy epics and writers who pursue profound thoughts. What is lacking is writers like Lin Weimin who are full of desire to explore the subtleties of life.

Those noble and beautiful things are certainly worthy of praise, but aren't the ordinary lives of ordinary people worth it?

Li Xiangyang believes that what many writers of this era lack is Lin Weimin's practicality and closeness to ordinary people.

In 1983, "The Horse Trapper" was published. At 300,000 words, it was a rare tome among Lin Weimin's works. Li Xiangyang's first feeling after reading it was that Lin Weimin had entered a mature stage of creation.

When many young writers first start their creative journey, it often takes them several years or even more than ten years to find their own path. After going through this process, they gradually mature.

However, Lin Weimin was different.

"Latent" and "Cliff" were published one after another. He has completed the transformation from youth to maturity on the road of literary creation at an astonishing speed.

After "The Wind" and "Farewell My Concubine", he already had a tendency to take a leisurely stroll.

"Speak Well", he is trying to find new styles and breakthroughs.

"Horse Trapper" is a good feedback for his attempt. In Li Xiangyang's view, the birth and publication of "Horse Trapper" is a sign of Lin Weimin's creative maturity, and also distinguishes him from other young and middle-aged writers in China. Important milestone.

Why do you say that?

Because many creators first draw their creations from the people, things, and objects around them, their past experiences, and the past experiences of the people around them.

But this is not the case with "Horse Trapper". From the subject matter to the content, this novel has nothing to do with Lin Weimin's life and working environment. However, Lin Weimin is able to make up for this shortcoming in cognition and experience through writing and use With a length of 300,000 words, it creates a magnificent, ups and downs friendship story for readers.

How powerful is this kind of creative ability? How excellent is this kind of writing?

Not to mention that Lin Weimin's authorial thinking embodied in "The Horse Trapper" has far surpassed the comments and accusations of many young writers that are full of subjective consciousness in their works.

Compared with those immature creators, Lin Weimin's writing style is calm and restrained, but without losing wisdom and warmth.

When seeing the middle and later parts of "The Horse Trapper", Li Xiangyang once thought that Lin Weimin might choose to give Bayin a causal loop ending, or a warm and harmonious ending.

But Lin Weimin's choice was beyond his expectation, and Li Xiangyang believed that it was also beyond most people's expectations.

The ending is that Aleph of Battle seems to accept Bayin, but this happy ending is ironic.

The character Bayin suddenly broke away from the traditional evaluation of good or bad people and became three-dimensional and vivid. As the absolute protagonist of the novel, people love and hate him at the same time.

Li Xiangyang only had one feeling after reading the novel: the character Bayin was brought to life.

Unlike Cheng Dieyi, who is born with an amazing personality of "you can't live without being crazy", Bayin's selfish but conscientious image is the majority in life.

Lin Weimin's Bayin does not make readers hate him blindly, nor does he love him passionately.

"Ba Yin makes people love and hate him at the same time." Li Xiangyang feels that this should be an unforgettable character in readers' reading lives.

The pen tip stopped after writing "Horse Trapper". Li Xiangyang took a sip of tea and unknowingly the tea was completely cold.

Li Xiangyang got up and changed himself a cup of hot tea. After sitting at the desk for a long time, his cervical spine was a little sore. He came to the window of the office, where Lin Weimin sat for the interview in the morning.

Looking out the window, Li Xiangyang couldn't help but fall into memories.

"What about "The Chase"? In your eyes as the author, what kind of work is "The Chase"?"

"Brother Xiangyang, let me ask you first, what kind of work do you think "Chasing the Murderer" is?" Lin Weimin did not face Li Xiangyang's question directly, but asked rhetorically.

Li Xiangyang pondered for a moment and said: "From a traditional novel creation point of view, I think "Chasing the Murderer" is a virtuosic work that focuses on narrative techniques but ignores the connotation and depth of the story."

"But what?" Lin Weimin's expression was calm and his tone was determined.

Li Xiangyang chuckled, "But I feel that the traditional view of novel creation is constantly being subverted. From Tang legends to Ming and Qing novels, to vernacular novels, including those foreign masterpieces, when have we accepted new things? Is it all an impact on the original concept?”

Lin Weimin's smile was a little proud, and it was obvious that Li Xiangyang's words had reached his heart.

Li Xiangyang took this opportunity to continue: "I heard that the reason why you wrote "Chasing the Murderer" was to promote avant-garde novels. Is this true?"

Lin Weimin nodded slightly, "You can say that."

"Doesn't it feel a little too utilitarian?"

"Utilitarianism? In order to promote avant-garde novels, I wrote an avant-garde novel. Is this called utilitarianism?"

Li Xiangyang also discovered the loopholes in his words. Lin Weimin said: "Back then, the debate between vernacular and ancient Chinese was based on the chatter between students and gentlemen? Practice is the only criterion for testing truth. This has been said for several years. , everyone should be familiar with it. The fake tricks on your lips are the real tricks on your hands."

Lin Weimin changed his sitting position and continued: "It is a long process for any kind of literary type to be accepted and well-known by the public. Pioneer novels are not a unique skill. I just hope to bring a little bit to the readers. A fresh reading experience. When this type of novel has not yet been widely accepted, high-quality works are the best way to promote it."

Li Xiangyang nodded and agreed.

"You have really worked hard to promote avant-garde novels! So let's go back to the original question. What kind of work do you think "Chasing the Murderer" is?"

Li Xiangyang is worthy of being a reporter, and he didn't forget his question even after going around for a long time.

Lin Weimin thought for a moment and said: "If you insist on talking about it, this novel should be regarded as a kind of brain game!"

"Brain games?" It was the first time Li Xiangyang heard this new term.

"Are you referring to game forms such as Huarong Tao and Sudoku?"

"Absolutely. In my personal rough understanding, literature should never be just about suffering and hatred, let alone spring and snow. It is for lower-level people, it is for educating and entertaining, and it is also for entertaining the public.

The most terrifying thing is to hold literature up on a high altar and not allow it to be blasphemed. That would not only separate us from the masses of the people, but also, to put it more tackily, would cut off the path for those of us who make a living by climbing the grid. "

Li Xiangyang felt that this interview was becoming more and more interesting, and he asked: "So, in a sense, "Chasing the Murderer" is a game between you and the readers."

Lin Weimin's mouth curved slightly, "I spend more brain cells than readers. I can say responsibly that there may be many good works in scar novels and reform novels, but my type of novels are not There will be so many great products!”

"Why?" Li Xiangyang asked.

Lin Weimin's face once again showed that confident self-satisfaction, "Because this matter requires IQ!"

Li Xiangyang thought about many answers in his mind, but he didn't expect it to be this one. He couldn't help but laugh, "Wei Min, if you say that, you are going to offend a lot of people!"

Lin Weimin also laughed, "Have I offended not many people?"

After the two of them laughed, Li Xiangyang said seriously: "Indeed, I spent a lot of brain cells just reading the novel "Chasing the Murderer", and finally I finally figured out the whole story after reading it back twice. Not to mention how much effort you, the author, have to expend in conceiving.”

“I am not targeting scar novels or reform novels, but in our inherent view of creation, experiencing this matter, or experience, is regarded as unusually important.

This method of creation is indeed very effective. Even people with little writing experience can still create good works as long as their writing and creative ideas pass the test.

But if we, as self-proclaimed professional writers, blindly adhere to this prejudice, it will be an excuse for our stubbornness. "

Li Xiangyang felt that he could not dwell on this issue for too long, as Lin Weimin showed signs of firing.

"Let's talk about "The Murderer" here. How about we talk about "The Lover"?"

"I read your previous review articles, and they are quite good and there are quite a lot of them. Are we going to talk about "Lover" today?"

"It's not easy to interview you as the author, so I have to talk about it. When we talk about "Lover", we have to mention the original intention of this novel. Jiang Zilong said that you promised to write this novel to the deceased Comrade Guo Yudao. of."

Lin Weimin shook his head, "That's not quite accurate. The idea for the novel has actually been in my mind for a long time. Later, Lao Guo came to Yanjing to see a doctor. Before he left, he regretted that he had never written a novel in his life, so he came up with the idea of ​​​​"Lover" Guo Yudao'."

Lin Weimin did not flatter himself and truthfully described the situation at the time.

"During that time, I went to Shaanxi to compile a manuscript. Cheng Zhongshi, did you know? His "Mr. Blue Robe" was published in the first issue of this year's "Contemporary" two months ago."

Li Xiangyang said: "I have seen this person's works and they are very good."

“Perhaps those of us who make a living through writing have this tendency to some extent, hoping that we can leave history in the name of writing.

I remember that at that time, I went to Cheng Zhongshi’s house to compile a manuscript with him. When we got excited about the conversation, my brother took my hand and said: I hope, I hope, I hope, I hope I can make myself a cushion. Head of Bricks. It makes people feel the same! "

Lin Weimin's expression was a bit sighing, and Li Xiangyang also had a look of sadness on his face.

Then they talked about some works, and Li Xiangyang finally brought the topic to the controversy caused by "Lover".

"Do you have any thoughts or anything you want to say about the turmoil in the past few months?"

Lin Weimin shook his head again, "When we met on CCTV that time, you insisted on telling me, and I said let the bullets fly for a while."

"What now?"

"Now, let the bullets keep flying."

After Lin Weimin said this, Li Xiangyang's expression was meaningful.

This sounds grand, but if you touch it carefully, it seems that it is not that simple!