The literary era since 1979

Chapter 131 Local Literature
On the night of the performance at the Great Hall of the People, Su Ya and Fang Hong gathered together, holding a radio and listening to the radio station. When the announcement came that the next performer was "Yan Da", the two were very excited.

"What a pity that Yanzi is not here at such an important moment."

There was a hint of regret in Su Ya's tone.

"Maybe Yanzi is also listening on the radio now."

Fang Hong turned the knob to turn up the volume.

"Sister Hong, did Yanzi say when he would be back?"

Su Ya cast a questioning look.

Fang Hong turned her head and looked at the night sky outside the house.

"He said he'll be back from Shonan tomorrow."

"Clang, clang."

The train to Yanjing was bumpy all the way.

During the National Day holiday, Fangyan has been collecting folk songs in a Miao village in Suining. The manuscript was completed in the guesthouse. As soon as it was finished, he returned to Xingcheng and took a train directly to Yanjing.

The whole journey took more than twenty hours. It was already afternoon when we arrived at the station. I went back home to rest for a night and went straight to the editorial office of Yenching Literature the next day. Wang Meng, Zhou Yanru, Wang Jie and others were there.

"Yanzi went to Xiangxi and became thinner and tanned."

Wang Meng looked at him and asked, "Why do you look listless? Did you not get enough rest or are you sick?"

"I'm not sick, I just have some discomfort with the local climate."

Fangyan sighed and said that everything was good in Shonan Province except the food. Basically, all the dishes had chili peppers in them, even cabbage was not immune, which made him very distressed.

"Hahaha!"

"Since it's Shonan, how could they not eat chili?"

"Yes, the great man said, 'Without spicy food, there is no life; without Hunan, there is no army', 'People in southern Hunan can eat chili and publish books'..."

"Yanzi, it's a good thing you went to southern Hunan. If you went to western Jiangxi, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to stand the spiciness there."

Wang Meng, Zhou Yanru and others smiled at each other.

"But no matter what, it's not in vain. I have already written the first draft." Fangyan handed over the manuscript paper.

Wang Meng and Zhou Yanru looked at it first. After finishing the first page, they passed it to Ji Xiuying, Li Yue and others, and finally it was Wang Jie's turn.

Wang Jie was extremely anxious, but when she saw the first page of "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog", her whole mood changed slightly.

The writing style is light and agile, the language is simple and beautiful, the emotion is revealed in nature, and sincerity is seen in the ordinary. It is neither as heavy as "The Qin Splitting" nor as anxious as "The Hidden".

It is like a cup of well-brewed Junshan Yinzhen tea, refreshing and sweet.

The more you read, just like drinking tea, your mind becomes calmer.

"I didn't expect you to write a prose novel."

After savoring it, Wang Meng expressed deep emotion.

"I didn't think too much about it at first. I just wrote it down quickly when inspiration came. As I wrote, it ended up like this."

Fangyan drank some hot water to warm his stomach.

The prose novel is a genre between prose and novel, which is equivalent to the mutual penetration and fusion of the two genres of novel and prose, becoming a prose novel.

"I originally thought that at your age, it was already amazing that you have the outstanding ability to write short, medium and long novels, and can master literary genres such as poetry, novels, dramas and film scripts. I didn't expect that Yanzi, you have made further progress!"

Wang Meng's eyes were full of surprise and admiration.

Although Wang Jie didn't quite understand, she was deeply shocked.

Quietly came to Zhou Yanru and asked in a low voice:
"Master, is Yanzi's prose novel good?"

"It's not a question of whether it's good or not, but it's really rare." Zhou Yanru said: "In the literary world, there are not many people who can write good novels, and there are not many who can write good essays. There are even fewer who can combine essays and novels and write well."

"Teacher Wang, Teacher Zhou, you are too kind."

Fangyan is very happy because he loves to hear cultured people praise others.

"No, not at all."

Li Yue waved his hands, "This is indeed a rare masterpiece. Without a solid foundation, it is impossible to write it." "I will accept all these compliments without hesitation."

Fang Yan smiled and said, "Take a look at this manuscript and see if there is anything that needs to be revised?"

"This prose novel is also a rural novel."

Wang Meng looked around and said that the editorial department certainly had the ability to make changes, but in comparison, there was someone who might be more suitable than them.

"Are you talking about Mr. Wang?"

Fangyan remembered Wan Jiabao's words, Wang Zengqi is good at both local literature and prose novels.

"It seems we are thinking alike."

Wang Meng nodded, "It just so happens that Mr. Wang is very much looking forward to your work this time. I believe he will not refuse if I ask him to help review and revise it. Besides, this manuscript is really rare!"

…………

Ganjiakou, No. 5, 9st Floor, Gate , South Fucheng Road.

Fang Yan and Wang Meng visited Wang Zengqi in the afternoon and sat quietly, waiting for him to finish reading.

"Xiao Fang, you really didn't disappoint me."

"What Wang Meng said is absolutely correct. You are a person who loves to make progress. You don't need others to whip you. You will spur yourself on. It really is 'working hard without the need for a whip'."

Wang Zengqi read it from beginning to end and raised his eyebrows.

Fangyan smiled knowingly, "You're too kind."

Wang Zengqi said: "Not at all. Nowadays there are not many writers who can write rural novels like you."

Fangyan listened patiently and finally understood the deep meaning.

In modern and contemporary Chinese literature, the most developed and accomplished category is local literature.

If we trace it back, it can be traced back to the 20s.

The first person in local literature is Mr. Lu Xun. For example, his well-known works "Hometown" and "The True Story of Ah Q" have far-reaching influence.

Subsequently, Shen Congwen and Shen Yanbing in the 30s, Zhao Shuli and Sun Li in the 40s, and later Liu Qing, Zhou Shaoyi and Wang Zengqi, developed local literature in depth. Generally speaking, local literature can be divided into three categories.

One type is like Mr. Lu Xun, who criticized the darkness and backwardness of the countryside.

One type is like Shen Yanbing, who cares about the living conditions of the countryside and farmers, and the people’s livelihood.

The other type is writers like Shen Congwen, Wang Zengqi, and Fei Ming, who write about the beautiful and warm side of agricultural civilization.

Although rural literature is not as declining as the novel, it is also much worse than before, especially the branch led by Shen Congwen.

“Homeland is not just a way of life, but also a spiritual sustenance.”

Wang Zengqi said: "Your prose novel is concise and free-spirited, and it blends the father-son relationship and the Xiangxi customs very well..."

Wang Meng said, "Since Mr. Wang said so, could you please revise this manuscript?"

"No, I can't change this manuscript."

Wang Zengqi raised his hand.

"Mr. Wang, why is this?"

Wang Meng and Fang Yan looked at each other.

"You misunderstood me. Since I'm writing about the customs of western Hunan, I think there's someone more suitable than me."

Wang Zengqi smiled and said, "That's my teacher, Shen Congwen."

Fangyan was stunned. Shen Congwen was Wang Zengqi's teacher? !
Wang Zengqi said leisurely that he was admitted to the Chinese Department of Southwest Associated University, and later became Shen Congwen's direct disciple.

"If the training institute had arranged for you to be Mr. Cong Wen's disciple, you and I would probably have to call each other brothers today."

"You're joking."

Fangyan never expected that "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" would go through so many twists and turns and eventually end up in the hands of Shen Congwen.

(End of this chapter)