Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 561: Literary Lecture in a Restaurant
Seeing Fang Minghua's surprised look, Shen Xicheng had to explain.

The government itself does not allocate a penny to non-governmental organizations like the Hong Kong Writers Association, and all funding for literary exchange activities depends entirely on donations from members.

Funding is very limited, land is very expensive in Hong Kong, and venues are very limited, so restaurants are often the best choice for holding academic exchanges.

"Originally, we contacted a conference room at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The conditions were very good and we were going to hold this lecture there. Unfortunately, the university staff suddenly called us the day before yesterday and said that the school had to hold an event and needed to occupy that conference room. We had to temporarily change to this place. Brother Minghua, please forgive me."

Shen Xicheng said finally.

"It doesn't matter, we can talk about it wherever we go." Fang Minghua said with a smile.

Following Shen Xicheng upstairs, passing the second floor where diners were sitting, and going up to the third floor, Fang Minghua took a quick look.

The space is not very big, probably around 200 square meters. The original dining table has been moved away, replaced by rows of folding chairs, all filled with people.

There is a table and chairs in the front, and a blue curtain behind it with the words "Minghua Literary Lecture by Famous Young Mainland Writer" written on it. There is also a blackboard next to it for Fang Minghua to write on during the lecture.

A bit shabby.
At this time, an old man sitting in the front row stood up and walked towards him. It was Liu Yichang, the president of the Writers Association.

"Hello, Mr. Liu." Fang Minghua stepped forward and shook hands.

"Hello, Mr. Minghua, I'm sorry that the environment is a bit simple," said Liu Yichang.

"It doesn't matter. As the ancients said: This is a humble room, but my virtue is fragrant and I can talk and laugh with great scholars. There are no unlearned people coming and going. As long as we can communicate with each other and discuss knowledge, that's enough."

Also coming was Pan Yueming, whom he had met the last time Fang Minghua came to Hong Kong to attend the founding ceremony of the Writers Association. There was also someone he knew - Ni Kuang's sister Yi Shu.

"Minghua, I came here today specifically to invite you to give a lecture," Yi Shu said.

Fang Minghua smiled.

It is not surprising that Yi Shu appears at such a lecture.

She is not a pure romance writer like Qiong Yao. Her superficial subject matter is romance, but her essential theme goes deep into many propositions such as human nature and gender. Her ideological tendency, realistic depth and life philosophy all surpass those of ordinary romance novels. The depth of social issues and human nature touched upon in her novels gives them a serious artistic style.

And I also like writing essays.

After exchanging a few words with the crowd, Fang Minghua walked up to the podium and immediately drew warm applause.

Fang Minghua looked around and saw about a hundred people, basically all young people, many of whom looked like students.

"Hello, fellow literature lovers and classmates." Fang Minghua spoke in standard Mandarin: "Today I will talk about the theory and practice of cultural essay writing, and many of the examples I cite are from this collection of essays I wrote."

Fang Minghua took out the book "Fragments of Civilization" from his briefcase and said, "If any of you don't have it, you can go to the book fair and buy it. It's 10% off and you can also get my autograph."

There was a sudden burst of laughter from the audience and the atmosphere became relaxed.

"Now let's get back to the point." Fang Minghua picked up the chalk, turned around and wrote two words on the blackboard in a very casual manner: "Culture"

“Since this is a cultural essay, I will start with the word culture.”

In fact, what Fang Minghua talked about were the same things he had talked about in the West Auditorium, but the theoretical part was simpler.

After all, not all of the people here are college students, and it is even less likely that they will have as strong a literary atmosphere as Xi'an University. As long as I analyze a few outstanding essays in the collection, and of course I don't forget to talk about various cultural and historical allusions, everyone here listens with great interest.

After nearly two hours of lectures, the next step was to take questions from the audience as usual. A girl stood up and asked, "Wow, are there so many fun places in the mainland?"

"Of course, with 5,000 years of civilization, our ancestors have left us countless historical sites, especially in our Qin Province. In the south, there is Tianhan, which is known as the hometown of the Han people. In the north, there is Yan'an, a revolutionary holy land. In the middle, there are 800 miles of Qinchuan, where there are Qin Shihuang's Terracotta Warriors, Xuanzang's Big and Small Wild Goose Pagodas, and the Huaqing Pool where Yang Guifei bathed, etc. Everyone is welcome to visit."

have to.
Advertise your hometown.

Of course, we can't go off topic. Fang Minghua quickly changed the subject: "I know that everyone likes prose and other literary works very much. Some people even write articles. I hope that people from the mainland will actively submit their works. Recently, our Qin Province Writers Association is planning a brand new literary award - the World Chinese Literature Award. It is open to literary lovers from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, Hong Kong, and even the whole world. The prize money is very generous."

The last sentence made everyone laugh.

Since Zeng Huiyan's report yesterday, some of you here have already known that the mainland is preparing for a world-class literary award, and the planner is Fang Minghua.

Take this opportunity to do more publicity.

Fang Minghua certainly didn't expect these young people to write good works that could enter the competition or even win awards. He just wanted to let more people know about it through them and create an atmosphere.

When the lecture was over, it was almost time for dinner, so Liu Yichang invited Fang Minghua to have a meal at the restaurant. Shen Xicheng and others were there with them. During the meal, Fang Minghua talked about the interview with Zeng Huiyan.

Liu Yichang laughed and said, "Minghua, you don't have to worry too much. Mr. Zhuang is not a stingy person. His original intention of establishing the literature award was to encourage young writers with outstanding achievements in literary creation and literary criticism. This Chinese Literature Award and yours have the same purpose. As for reporters, they like to hype things up, so don't pay attention to them."

Fang Minghua felt relieved.

According to the arrangement, Fang Minghua has a lecture to give, and he can arrange the rest of the time himself. Fang Minghua plans to stay in Hong Kong for a week. In addition to these important matters, he will also meet friends he knows, such as Ni Kuang and others, as well as Ni Kuang's "enemy", Luo Bin, the owner of the Global Times.

The "Snow Swordsman" written by Fang Minghua was originally published and published by Luo Bin in his magazine "Wulin World", and was later adapted into a TV series.

As for the twists and turns in Hong Kong's affairs, Fang Minghua is an outsider spectator - to me, we are all friends, and I don't care about what happens between you.

The reports by TVB and Zeng Huiyan suddenly made Fang Minghua a news figure. He was willing to be involved in literature, but basically declined other aspects.

But today a wealthy man from Taiwan came.

Fang Minghua was lying on the bed and talking on the phone with his wife as he had to give another lecture at the restaurant tomorrow morning.

Song Tangtang was very busy and didn't have time to chat on the phone like other couples. They just briefly explained their respective situations and communicated with each other.

Of course, another key topic is the two babies.

"Minghua, today the kindergarten teacher told my mom that Ruirui had a fight in the kindergarten again. She said that a little boy in the class bullied a little girl, and she immediately went up to defend the girl. As a result, she hit the boy's nose and it bled. The parents also came to the door."

After hearing what his wife said, Fang Minghua felt a headache.

This girl is really not an easy person to deal with.

But fortunately, he has the ancient chivalrous spirit instead of the kind of bullying.

Just at this moment, there was a knock on the door. Fang Minghua had no choice but to say something to his wife, hang up the phone and go to open the door.

There were three people standing outside the door. The leader was a man in his forties, wearing glasses and looking gentle. He looked at Fang Minghua and spoke with a Taiwanese accent.

"Mr. Fang? Hello, I'm Barry Lam from Taiwan."

(End of this chapter)