Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 570 Leisurely National Day

It was a month later that Fang Minghua received the novel.

It has been translated into Chinese as "The Fragrance of Strange Mountains", a very poetic name of ancient China.

Li Li also sent a letter along with the letter, which mainly introduced the author Robert Olen Butler, which can give a better understanding of the writing background of this novel.

Fang Minghua read it carefully.

It feels like a novel of the same type as "A Native of Yenching in New York", but in terms of the depth of content alone, it is much more profound than the latter.

Most American Vietnam War literature is Americans' reflection on the war, but this novel is an outlier in that it describes the story of the Vietnamese.

The film reflects the cultural differences between Vietnam and the United States, as well as reflections on the Vietnam War and the pain of human separation, through the struggle of individuals in the conflict and confrontation between the two cultures.

Fang Minghua thought it was very well written.

But think about it, the people in this country described by the author are quite hateful.

After experiencing so much suffering in war, they actually turned their guns on the people who had once selflessly helped them, and ended up being abused again.

So there is a saying that goes: There must be something hateful about a pitiful person.

Forget it, let literature be literature.

This is the first work received from the United States since the call for papers was issued.

The subject matter is novel and the writing angle is unique. In the delicate text, one can feel the drowsy climate of the tropical country. The air is thick and soft, mixed with the fragrance wafting from the Emerald Mountains.

Fang Minghua felt that there was a real chance of winning the award.

What he didn't know was that historically, this novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in the United States.

In addition to receiving manuscripts from the United States, the judging office also received works from Japanese writers, including the very famous essay "A Journey to Prodrome Priory" by Haruki Murakami.

According to the introduction in the letter from the publisher, this is an essay in Haruki Murakami's essay collection "Rainy Days and Hot Summers". The entire essay collection records what Murakami saw, heard and thought during his travels in Greece and Turkey. The author presents the cultural landscape of Greece and Turkey from a unique perspective.

There is no doubt about Haruki Murakami's writing style. Fang Minghua just feels it is a pity that the book "Norwegian Wood" written by him has already been published and translated into Chinese. Otherwise, even if he did not win the award, he should have no problem being shortlisted.

Later, more and more entries were sent from foreign countries, but most of them were from Chinese living abroad.

Yan Geling's novel "The Young Fisherman", Zhang Ailing's essay collection "Grass Oven Cakes", and Bei Dao's essay "The Polish Visitor".

That very famous poem:
We had dreams then
About literature
about love
About traveling across the world

Now we drink late at night
The cups touch each other

The sound of shattered dreams
It comes from this essay.

Two months have passed, and now it is October. By the end of September, Zhang Yanqian counted the number of articles she received, including 37 novels, 68 novellas, 154 short stories, 89 essays, and 38 poems (collections). There will definitely be more submissions later, but Fang Minghua estimated that the climax has passed.

But these several million words of works are enough for the members of the reading class to spend some time reading every day, especially Fang Minghua, who occasionally has to go to Xida for classes.

A hard life.

It's the National Day holiday now, and it's a rare opportunity to have a few days off.

Today, Fang Minghua's courtyard was extremely lively. Except for the two children, a large group of people stayed here.

It turned out that the chrysanthemums in the flowerbed at the corner of the courtyard were in bloom. They were light red, light white, and dark yellow, and were very beautiful. So a group of literati clamored to appreciate the chrysanthemums.

Lu Yao, Chen Zhongshi, Jia Pingwa, Bai Miao, and Wang Yu. Li Hongying and Wang Zi also came. Anyway, they didn’t have anything to do at the moment.

Isn’t there a poem that goes: The autumn wind is bleak over the Double Ninth Festival, the yellow chrysanthemums are in bloom and the wine is fragrant?

It is not enough to just appreciate the chrysanthemums, you also need to drink. It is not enough to just drink, you also need to eat vegetables.

Fang Minghua's house has all kinds of vegetables and meat, but the problem is that these old Qin people can eat and drink, but they are all amateurs when it comes to cooking.

Li Hongying volunteered to be the chef. She is from Chongqing and has been able to cook since she was a child.

But how can a girl like her handle all the work?

Fang Minghua simply invited her mother who lived at her sister's house to come over. The old lady was great at cooking, liked the hustle and bustle, and also wanted to visit her two precious grandchildren, so she came over.

Mom Zhang Fenglan was the cook, Li Hongying was helping in the kitchen, Wang Zi was playing with the two kids, and Fang Minghua and the others were drinking tea and chatting in the courtyard.

The weather is nice today, with clear and crisp autumn air. It is indeed a good day to relax.

We didn’t talk about literature today.

After chatting for a while, Jia Pingwa insisted on going to the calligraphy and painting exhibition hall on the third floor, so Fang Minghua had to agree.

If he doesn't have a good relationship with the person he is visiting this time, he will usually decline politely.

Everyone followed him up to the third floor, and when Fang Minghua opened the door, everyone was amazed, especially Bai Miao and Wang Yu, who had never been here before, who were even more stunned. This was simply an exhibition hall in a museum.

As the saying goes, experts see the details while laymen see the excitement.

Older writers from the 1980s all have one thing in common: in addition to writing, they are also particularly interested in painting and calligraphy, especially calligraphy. Zhang Xianliang from Ningxia, Feng Jicai from Tianjin, Gao Jianqun, Jia Pingwa, and Chen Zhongshi from Qin Province have all practiced calligraphy and are quite knowledgeable about it.

So as soon as they went up, they looked at each painting and calligraphy and started to comment on it.

"Hey, I heard that some wealthy people in Hong Kong and Taiwan specialize in collecting celebrity paintings and calligraphy, especially paintings by the deceased Xu Beihong, Zhang Daqian, and Qi Baishi. I heard that they have been sold for more than 100,000 Hong Kong dollars." The speaker was Jia Pingwa.

Among this group of people, he was the one who was most interested in this thing.

Others were shocked when they heard this.

A painting costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it’s Hong Kong dollars!

Only Fang Minghua smiled without saying anything.

Hundreds of thousands, isn't that a bit conservative?
"Hey, Minghua, didn't you go to Hong Kong some time ago? Didn't you plan to sell a few paintings? To earn some Hong Kong dollars?" Jia Pingwa asked again.

"I really didn't know a painting could be sold for so much money." Fang Minghua looked like he knew nothing.

"I've said before that these things are not for sale. I just took a look at them when I have nothing to do. If a painting is really that valuable as Pingwa said, I'll sell a few of them in a few years when the Chinese Literature Award doesn't have money to give out prize money."

Fang Minghua said half jokingly and half seriously.

Unexpectedly, everyone showed contemptuous expressions.

Are you still short of money?!
As the saying goes, there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts, but you are definitely the richest among the scholars!

"It's time to eat. Come down and eat." Li Hongying shouted loudly downstairs in her Sichuan dialect.

"Let's go, let's go downstairs to eat!" Fang Minghua urged everyone and quickly closed the door of the exhibition hall.

The dining table was placed in the middle of the yard. Everyone washed their hands and sat down. The dishes included traditional Qin Province dishes as well as Sichuan cuisine - Mapo Tofu and Fuqi Feipian, which were made by Li Hongying.

The wine is Chenggu Tequ. Fang Minghua usually drinks this when entertaining guests. It is affordable and tastes good.

Just as this scene was happening at Fang Minghua's home, Song Tangtang, thousands of miles away, was preparing to participate in a TV talk show.

Columbia Broadcasting System headquarters building in New York.

(End of this chapter)