Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 568 Chapter 567 You guys want to fight for this thing too? !
Fang Minghua went to the office next door and picked up the landline phone.

"I am Fang Minghua, who are you?"

"Mr. Fang, it's been a few years. How are you? I'm Jin Dongxu." A man's voice came from the other side. His tone was very polite, but his Mandarin was indeed very awkward.

But Fang Minghua heard it clearly, but he was stunned.

"Jin Dongxu? Do we know each other?"

"Mr. Fang is indeed a man who forgets things easily. We participated in the Iowa International Writing Program together in 86."

Oops
Fang Minghua suddenly remembered.

It turned out to be this young man.

He is the second son of Kim Chang-ho, the president of Hankook Ilbo.

At that time, when he was participating in an international writing program in Iowa, the Weekly Shonen Magazine under Kodansha in Japan was serializing the space science fiction "Our Journey is the Sea of ​​Stars" written by Fang Minghua. Jin Dongxu felt very unhappy when he found out.

I specifically found Fang Minghua and asked him to introduce the copyright of this book and serialize it in Korean in South Korea!

What the hell!

Do you want to fight for this thing too?

Of course Fang Minghua was happy to do so.

After returning to China, after discussions, Kim's Weekly Korea, a subsidiary of the Hankuk Ilbo, also began serializing the novel.

Of course, the plot that was modified by the Japanese was changed back, and the Three Kingdoms bosses beat up Oda Nobunaga.
From then on, Fang Minghua never contacted this young man again. I wonder why he suddenly called me today?
Of course, you should be polite on the phone: "Excuse me, Mr. Jin, what are you doing calling me today?"

"Mr. Fang, your call for papers for the World Chinese Literature Award was published in Japan, why not in Korea?!"

Jin Dongxu's tone was slightly questioning.

What the hell!

You guys want to fight for this thing too?!
Japan at least has famous writers such as Kawabata Yasunari, Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Oe Kenzaburo, and the now popular Haruki Murakami. What the hell do you Koreans have?!
Posting a call for papers? Is it a waste of my money?
Fang Minghua was about to refuse, but Jin Dongxu said, "Mr. Fang, please publish the call for papers in our Korea Daily. In addition, please publish it in Chosun Ilbo and JoongAng Ilbo! I will pay for all the expenses myself."

What the hell!

What a loud tone!
However, I like it.

Why not advertise for free?
Even though you don't have much literature in Korea, it would be nice to expand the influence of this award.

Fang Minghua immediately agreed and said considerately that he would fax the Korean version of the call for papers to the other party immediately to avoid the trouble of finding a translator.

"Yanqian! Yanqian!" Fang Minghua shouted immediately after hanging up the phone.

When Zhang Yanqian came over, Fang Minghua gave her a few simple instructions: "Go to the external courtyard right away and find a student who knows Korean! The students are on holiday? Then hire a teacher!"

A few days later, a call for papers for the World Chinese Literature Award appeared in several major newspapers in South Korea.

Of course this is just a small episode.

The essay collection work is proceeding in an orderly manner. In addition to handling the work of the review committee office, Fang Minghua's more important job is to serve as a member of the novel group's reading class and read submissions from all over the country.

Yu Hua's "Crying in the Rain"

Rice by Su Tong

Liu Zhenyun's "Hometown Yellow Flowers"

Chi Zijian's "Boundless Future"

Wang Anyi's Utopian Poems

Picking Red Water Chestnuts by Ye Zhaoyan

Most of them are new writers who emerged in the 1980s. After entering the 1990s, their creations also reached a climax and many excellent works were produced. Of course, there are also works by older writers.
The second part of Liu Sifen's historical novel "White Gate Willow".

Ye Xin's "Debt of Sin".
Oops
He even sent me the work that will win the next Mao Dun Literature Prize?
Liu Sifen's "White Gate Willow" (Part 1 and 2) won the fourth Mao Dun Literature Prize together with Chen Zhongshi's "White Deer Plain"!
Fang Minghua immediately picked up the book and read it carefully.

"White Gate Willow" is a novel written by the writer Liu Sifen. It consists of 3 volumes, namely: "Sunset Grass", "Autumn Dew Dangerous City" and "Cockcrowing in the Wind and Rain". It mainly describes a thrilling history of the Ming Dynasty in the stormy times.

This time, I am submitting the second part, "Autumn Dew Dangerous City".

The novel mainly describes the sudden demise of Ming Chongzhen, when Li Zicheng led his troops to attack Beijing. This caused shock and extreme chaos in Jiangnan. In order to support the new emperor, the Donglin Group headed by Shi Kefa and the political forces headed by Ma Shiying competed for the half of Jiangnan. The contradictions within the regime became increasingly acute, and the struggles between the various factions were thrilling, and even a civil war crisis broke out, until the Qing army marched south in one fell swoop.

The work describes the fate and character changes of a series of famous figures such as Huang Zongxi, Chen Zhenhui, Shi Kefa, and Dong Xiaoyuan with colorful brushwork, presents a long historical scroll with vast scenes and numerous characters at multiple levels and angles, and has strong historical penetration and artistic appeal.

This book will definitely pass the initial review of the reading class. Whether it can eventually win the first Chinese Literature Award is probably still a big question mark.

Of course, that's up to the judges.

Fang Minghua was reading a book seriously in his study at home. There was a pile of books on his desk, all of which were submissions from various places.

He doesn't like going to the Writers Association very much. The office is small and a bit noisy, so he prefers to find a quiet place to read.

"White Gate Willow" is a very long book. The second part "Autumn Dew Dangerous City" alone is nearly 400,000 words, so it takes a certain amount of time to read.

You can't just not read it carefully and write a random comment just because you know he is going to win the Mao Dun Prize, right?
Each book has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Fang Minghua looked for a while and felt a little sleepy, so he decided to go downstairs to take a look at the flowers and plants in the yard.

His wife went to the United States, and his two children were at his mother-in-law's house. He was the only one left at home with a loyal German Shepherd and a lazy cat.

The courtyard is very quiet in summer.

Just at this moment, the phone in the living room rang. Fang Minghua walked into the living room and picked up the receiver.

It’s Zhang Yanqian calling.

"Chairman Fang, works have been sent in from Hong Kong and Taiwan!" The girl's voice on the microphone was very excited. "And there are quite a few of them."

"is it?"

"Yes, Chairman Fang, please come and have a look when you have time."

"Okay, I'll come over."

Fang Minghua hung up the phone, changed into a T-shirt and trousers, drove out of the house and headed straight for the Writers Association.

Ever since the selection work started, Zhang Yanqian and others have been worried about one issue.

Let’s not think about overseas works for now. What if Hong Kong and Taiwan don’t submit their works?
The first World Chinese Literature Award has become a closed-door carnival for mainland writers. What's the point in it while people from Hong Kong and Taiwan are just watching from the sidelines?
There was indeed no movement from Hong Kong and Taiwan some time before the submission, which made Zhang Yanqian and others a little anxious.

However, Fang Minghua was able to keep his composure and told them with a smile not to worry.

There are not many serious literary writers in Hong Kong, except Liu Yichang who is already a judge, the remaining ones are only Xixi, Li Bihua and others.

But there are still some in Taiwan.

Look, here it comes.

Fang Minghua drove to the Writers Association compound and entered the judges' office. Several girls were very excited.

Li Hongying has already placed the incoming works neatly on Fang Minghua's desk.

Hong Kong Joint Publishing Company sent Xixi's "Mourning the Breast"

Xinxing Publishing House sent me Li Bihua’s novella “Dumplings”!
Taiwan's Hongfan Bookstore (Publishing House) also sent Qi Jun's "The Oranges Are Red"!
Jiuge Publishing House sent me Luo Fu’s collection of poems “Moonlight House”!
shit
They are all fine products.

(End of this chapter)