1990: Starting from Baojia Street

They only read one-third of the manuscript, but did not ask Su Tong about the rest of the content. They just said that they must read the rest of the manuscript next time when they have time.

“This story is really interesting.”

Yu Hua mentioned it again as interesting, but what he meant by interesting was actually not the same as what ordinary people understand as interesting.

"Bodhisattva Man" is a tragic story. Although the tragedy is revealed at the end, the tone of the first third can already be seen to be depressing and sad.

What Yu Hua said is interesting. He just said that this story is written in a very special way, different from the general perspective.

In general, this is a story about two dead people guarding several living people, but because they are dead, they cannot do so.

Although the setting is quite fantastic, this is a realistic novel, and a traditional realism at that, without any real magical realism.

In fact, many times, if you replace the two dead people with living people, the story will still stand.

In reality, this is also the case for many people’s lives.

However, this setting exaggerates some characteristics of the interactions between family members, which can make the audience feel more deeply.

After they chatted about "Bodhisattva Man" for a while, Su Tong asked Zhou Yan curiously, "Do you have any new works recently? I haven't seen your novels for a long time."

Zhou Yan shook his head, "No, I've been busy with the movie recently."

Yu Hua smiled and said, "Who said no? Don't you have a novel to be published in the United States?"

He was talking about Shutter Island.

Zhou Yan has already handed over the manuscript of "Shutter Island" to Zhang Youan. The proofreading and translation have been done for a while, and it is estimated that there will be results in one or two months.

The reason why Zhou Yan did not mention this book was naturally because "Shutter Island" was a popular novel that was written to make money. There was no need to talk about it with Su Tong and the others.

After hearing what Yu Hua said, Su Tong asked curiously, "Is it a new work? Why is it published in the United States first?"

"The novel is called "Shutter Island". The script came first, then the novel," Zhou Yan explained.

"Are we going to shoot a movie?" Su Tong asked.

Zhou Yan nodded, "Yes, we will shoot it. The film company hopes that the novel can be sold before the movie is released."

"I see. So you don't plan to publish the novel in the country?"

"Send it abroad first. If the sales are good, then sell it domestically."

"This method is quite interesting." Su Tong asked Yu Hua and Shi Tiesheng again, "Have you read the manuscript?"

"He refused to show it to me." Yu Hua was slightly resentful. "I showed him the manuscript of 'Xu Sanguan Selling Blood' before and I didn't hesitate at all."

Zhou Yan rolled his eyes and said, "What do you mean I won't show it to you? I've already sent out the manuscript. I'll show it to you when it comes back."

Yu Hua didn't buy Zhou Yan's explanation at all. "You can't write a novel in one day. You have plenty of time to show it to us, but you didn't tell us before and didn't show it to us."

“I didn’t write it well before.”

"Yes, it was not finished before, and it was sent out as soon as it was finished." Yu Hua teased.

Zhou Yan had no choice but to promise, "I'll show you the manuscript next week."

"You must remember what you said."

When Su Tong saw Yu Hua and Zhou Yan bickering, she secretly felt that they had a very good relationship.

He knew Yu Hua. He was very relaxed in front of people he knew, but he would be a little reserved when meeting people he didn't know well.

"By the way, your movie is about to be released," Su Tong said.

Zhou Yan nodded, "I was just about to say this. There will be a premiere on the 20th. If you have time, Mr. Su, you can go and have fun. It will be at the Yanjing Concert Hall."

"Number 20." Su Tong thought for a moment, "It should be no problem."

He is actually similar to Zhou Yan and the others. Activities such as the change of leadership after the Congress have nothing to do with him, and he has plenty of time on the 20th.

"We'll all go then." Yu Hua said.

"Is Tie Sheng going too?"

Shi Tiesheng nodded and said with a smile, "I'll go join in the fun too."

Su Tong raised his eyebrows in surprise. He didn't expect that Shi Tiesheng would be willing to participate in such an event. There must be a lot of people at the premiere. Shi Tiesheng has difficulty walking and has never been willing to go to such a crowded place.

Shi Tiesheng's articles are very powerful, but in life he is not much different from ordinary disabled people. Both of them are reluctant to trouble others and are unwilling to be noticed by many people.

It seems that Shi Tiesheng is now much more relaxed than before, and he has a really good relationship with Zhou Yan.

In the past, Shi Tiesheng would actually go to Ditan Park to sit and would not walk too far, but I heard that now he often goes to Zhou Yan’s studio to listen to music.

Of course, Yu Hua played a key role in the middle, and it was often he who took the initiative to push Shi Tiesheng over.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "I'll arrange seats for you guys to be together then."

"When Young Master Han arrives, ask him if he wants to go. Also ask Sister Wang and the others. It will be more lively with more people." Yu Hua said.

"Would it be inappropriate for a large group of us to go to this movie premiere?"

Zhou Yan waved his hand and said, "No, the Yanjing Concert Hall is very big and can accommodate a lot of people. It may not be full. If you can go, you can also help to make the place more attractive for me."

"If you say so, I must go."

……

When the tea leaves were changed for the second time, Li from the front desk brought a middle-aged man to the office.

The man was wearing a black cotton jacket and his hair was combed to one side, covering half of his forehead, but it could be seen that his hairline had begun to slip.

Maybe the reason he combed his hair like this was to cover up the fact that his hairline was losing.

He has a bit of buck teeth, and his eyes are smiling even when he's not talking.

"Chairman Han, you are finally here." Yu Hua said with a smile.

The person who came was Han Shaogong.

Yu Hua called him Chairman Han, and it was not an empty title, for he was indeed the Chairman of the Hainan Provincial Writers Association.

Seeing Yu Hua and the others, Han Shaogong smiled brightly. "When I got to the door, I saw the sign of the electronics factory and thought I had come to the wrong place. I found the guard and asked him, and then I knew I had come to the right place."

Although the electronics factory has moved away, the signboard is still there, and Zhou Yan did not change it immediately. "This was the electronics factory before, but now it has moved away, and the back is our studio." Zhou Yan explained.

Han Shaogong looked at Zhou Yan and walked over with a smile, "Zhou Yan, I've heard of your great name for a long time. Today I finally get to see you in person."

"Chairman Han, you are joking. I am not famous at all. You are a true senior. Your works have extraordinary significance to the literary world. And your translation of The Unbearable Lightness of Being also made me know Milan Kundera."

Speaking of Han Shaogong, many people may think of "root-seeking literature" first, because the slogan "roots-seeking" was proposed by him.

His article "The Roots of Literature" is also regarded as a manifesto of the literary roots-seeking movement.

In addition to root-seeking literature, some people may also think of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being". The Chinese people first got to know Milan Kundera through this novel translated by Han Shaogong and Han Gang.

When this translation came out, it was very popular in China and made Milan Kundera quickly famous in China.

If it weren't for this translation, Milan Kundera might not be so famous in China.

Many people may think that even if Han Shaogong and others did not translate it, there would be other people who would translate it later. But if you miss this era, the situation might be very different.

If a writer like Milan Kundera had appeared in China in the late 1990s or even after 2000, he would probably not be so famous.

In fact, in terms of literary aesthetics, Han Shaogong and Yu Hua are very different.

Han Shaogong likes Milan Kundera very much, otherwise he would not have translated Kundera's works. Even Han Shaogong's novels have been influenced by Milan Kundera.

But Yu Hua doesn't appreciate Milan Kundera very much.

It is understandable that Yu Hua doesn't like Milan Kundera, because Milan Kundera's novels lack stories, which is unacceptable to Yu Hua.

A novel without a story is at best a game of words.

Just like a bun without filling, it can only be called a steamed bun.

Yu Hua is known as a representative of the avant-garde, and the characteristic of avant-garde writing is that it focuses on how to write rather than what to write.

This was Yu Hua's characteristic in his early years, but later he "woke up" and started to pay attention to what to write, which led to the creation of "To Live".

Zhou Yan doesn't dislike Milan Kundera, but he is not a fan of Kundera like Han Shaogong.

However, the three of them do have one thing in common in their literary aesthetics, which is that they all like Shi Tiesheng.

Not to mention Zhou Yan and Yu Hua, Han Shaogong has publicly said that even if there was only one work, "I and the Altar of Earth", in 1991, this year could still be considered a bumper year.

When Han Shaogong met Zhou Yan for the first time, his impression of Zhou Yan mostly came from "Tree Hole". He personally approved of the novel and thought it was really commendable that a young man in his twenties could write "Tree Hole".

So today when Yu Hua and the others invited him to Zhou Yan's studio, he came without much hesitation.

Now that they have met, Han Shaogong's first reaction is that he is too young and too handsome.

Speaking of which, "Tree Hole" has been released for many years, and after so many years, Zhou Yan is still so young.

"Let's stop flattering each other. Today is a good day. It's not easy for us to get together in Yanjing. You've been chatting for quite a while, right?"

"I drank several pots of tea and peed several times," said Yu Hua.

Zhou Yan was already accustomed to Yu Hua's speaking style. He smiled and invited Han Shaogong to sit on the sofa, then went to make tea for Han Shaogong.

When the tea was in his hand, Han Shaogong smiled and said, "I have been in Hai N for a long time, and I can't stand coming to Yanjing all of a sudden. At present, Hai N can only wear a coat at most. During the day, short-sleeved shirts are everywhere."

"What you said, I'm thinking of spending the winter in the sea."

"Sure, you're welcome to come over anytime."

"You are the chairman of the Writers Association. You are not in the hotel leading the team. Is it okay for you to run away?"

Han Shaogong laughed and said, "There are not many people from our Hain Writers Association. Apart from me, there are only Lu Shuyuan and Jiang Zidan. There is no team to lead."

"Why don't you bring them along?"

"I did ask, but they politely declined."

Zhou Yan and the others were not surprised. After all, they had never met before, and many people were unwilling to attend such private gatherings.

A few people talked about some things about the Writers' Congress, and then talked about Han Shaogong's new work "Maqiao Dictionary" published this year.

This novel was first published in "Novel World" and then released as a single volume in September this year.

After the novel was released, it aroused discussions from all walks of life.

Because of the novel's unique form and rebellious structure, it caused a sensation in the literary world. Some people said that this work was a bold and adventurous work.

However, since there is a lot of discussion, there must be criticism.

For example, some time ago, scholar Zhang Yiwu commented that this so-called adventurous work actually runs the risk of being discovered by readers to be a imitation.

Zhang Yiwu believes that the "Maqiao Dictionary" is not an exploratory work at all, but an application and imitation of Pavic's "Dictionary of the Khazars". In any case, its local uniqueness in form is not shown.

In addition to Zhang Yiwu, Wang Gan, deputy editor of Zhongshan, also put forward similar views.

So when talking about "Maqiao Dictionary", Han Shaogong frowned. Obviously, he had been affected by these criticisms.

In this regard, no one present advised him to look at it more positively or to be magnanimous.

They have all encountered this kind of thing to a greater or lesser extent: if someone's novel is published and no one criticizes it, it proves that the writer himself is not famous enough.

But when writers really encounter this kind of criticism, it is difficult to ignore it.

If Zhou Yan remembered correctly, Han Shaogong did not hold back this time. He directly sued Zhang Yiwu and others in court, and eventually won the case.

However, after this incident, many people thought that Han Shaogong was too narrow-minded and could not accept any criticism. He could only listen to good words. Once someone criticized him, he would sue them in court.

In fact, these people got one thing wrong. It's not that Han Shaogong can't withstand criticism. After all, so many people scold him, and he is only superior to Zhang Yiwu and a few others.

The reason why Han Shaogong won the case was because Zhang Yiwu and others' criticism had crossed the line. Scholars' criticism of writers should be regulated and limited.

If they want to directly assert that Han Shaogong plagiarized, they must provide evidence. Otherwise, anyone can accuse others of plagiarism in the future, since it costs nothing to spread rumors.

In fact, Yu Hua also experienced a similar thing later. Zhou Yan remembered that after the publication of "Brothers", there was a lot of criticism in the literary world, and "Brothers" was regarded as a bad work that compromised the public.

A group of critics attacked him, including Zhang Yiwu, and writers such as Can Xue and Li Er also came out to criticize him.

Yu Hua did not take those people to court, but stood up and confronted those who scolded him. (End of this chapter)