The literary era since 1979

Chapter 320 People's Literature

August 2, Yanjing.

The day after the CCTV Spring Festival Gala was broadcast, the staff responsible for manning the hotline of the central station were so busy that they were overwhelmed.

The calls came one after another with almost no breaks, and everyone was casting a vote for their favorite show.

Even in the streets and state-owned restaurants, people could be seen discussing and commenting on last night's Spring Festival Gala.

"For songs, of course I'd choose 'Little Happiness'."

“‘A Little Happiness’ is nice to listen to, but ‘My Chinese Heart’ and ‘Descendants of the Dragon’ are both nice to listen to and touching.”

"Yes, that's the truth! Even a grown man like me cried after hearing this. When can he return?"

"..."

"For the language category, what did you choose? A Day of a Heroic Mother? How can this be better than Eating Noodles?"

"Why not! The part about 'Sima Guang smashing the jar' made my old lady laugh all night long, and she kept talking about Zhao Lirong."

"Chen Xiaoer's acting was pretty good. If I hadn't known his bowl was empty, I would have thought he had drunk a whole bucket!"

"........."

I heard Fangyan visiting each household to wish them a happy new year as usual, starting with Shen Shuang's family, then Zhang Guangnian, Wan Jiabao...

But things are different now. This time I brought Gong Xing with me and helped her arrange for further studies in the directing department of Beijing Film Academy.

When it was Wang Meng's turn, he was warmly received by his family.

"Yanzi, come with me into the study and take a look at my new book."

"Your new book? I'd like to take a look at it."

Fangyan followed him to the study and saw a thick stack of manuscript paper on the table, with "The Transformation of Human Form" written on the title page.

“This book should have been written last year.”

Wang Meng shook his head and laughed, "But you also know that I have just been transferred to People's Literature, and there are so many things to do. I can't do everything at once. I have to sort out the relationships and ideas first, so that I can grasp the key points and carry out my work. Isn't this what has delayed me?"

Fangyan flipped through the pages and asked, "What are your plans?"

“First of all, we need to think clearly about how to make People’s Literature better.”

Wang Meng said: "That is, what is our philosophy for publishing? In other words, what kind of literary magazine do we want to make People's Literature?"

Following his gesture, Fangyan sat down and said, "Actually, this question is difficult to answer, but also easy to answer."

"how to say?"

"The answer is right there on the puzzle itself. In 'People's Literature', the key point is of course the word 'people'."

"You have a point. Just like this year's Spring Festival Gala, it was well received by the people."

Wang Meng readily agreed, "I also hope that People's Literature can provide readers with a magazine that is of a high standard and pleasing to the eye, but it is not that easy. Right now the entire editorial department, and even the entire literary community, is in a state of confusion, and there is no unified consensus at all."

Fang Yan said: "Doesn't this seem like 'let a hundred schools of thought contend'?"

"You sound a bit sarcastic."

"How dare I? I dare not be sarcastic in front of you, my old leader."

"Then don't beat around the bush. Just say what you want to say. There are no outsiders here."

"Let's not talk about anything else, just take last year's 'spiritual pollution' as an example. You should know how much damage it caused to the literary and artistic circles, right?"

“This is also the main reason why I did not implement reforms at People’s Literature last year.”

Wang Meng sighed. Influenced by this, the editorial department is currently divided into three factions, following three different literary routes.

After asking Fangyan, I found out that the three literary lines and factions were related to the three deputy editors-in-chief of People's Literature.

"Take Zhou Ming for example. He and Lv Shuyou, the deputy director of the editorial department, both believe that People's Literature should be the most cutting-edge and global benchmark in the literary world. They should introduce more works from Western modern literary genres and support more novels by young avant-garde writers."

Wang Meng listed them all: “For example, Latin American magical realism and the American ‘Beat Generation’.”

Fang Yan frowned, "What about the other two?"

"Wang Chaoyin is mainly responsible for contacting the Hunan Army. You are more familiar with the situation of the Hunan Army than I am."

Wang Meng said: "Gu Hua, Han Shaogong and others were influenced by you and wanted to combine literature with national and regional culture. Wang Chaoyin also had this standard for selecting manuscripts, which was completely inconsistent with Zhou Ming and Lu Shuyou's publishing philosophy."

Fangyan smiled but said nothing, and the remaining Liu Jianqing was just as he expected, a middle-of-the-road person who specialized in mediating between the two sides.

"Comrade Jianqing is a good man. Thanks to him in the editorial department, People's Literature has not encountered any major chaos."

There was a hint of helplessness in Wang Meng's tone.

Fangyan folded his arms, "This is difficult." "If it wasn't difficult, I wouldn't have borrowed you."

Wang Meng said, "Originally, I wanted you to be transferred directly to the editorial director, or the editor-in-chief's office director, but there was a lot of resistance, so I can only be the acting director for the time being. Once your position is officially transferred to Renwen Press, I will help you remove the word 'acting' from your position."

Fangyan raised his eyebrows and took another small step forward unknowingly.

"Although your authority is not as high as that of the deputy editor-in-chief, Comrade Jianqing and I will fully support your work."

Wang Meng said seriously, "And your position in the editorial committee is the same as Zhou Ming, Wang Chaoyin and others."

Fangyan's eyes flickered: "New editorial board?"

Wang Meng nodded: "After the new year, we will reorganize the editorial board of People's Literature, and the old and new members will take over the baton."

"I think that since a new editorial board has been established, there should be a new atmosphere."

Fang Yan said: "Why not make a New Year's declaration in the name of the editorial department of this magazine to explain your philosophy of publishing to readers."

"Exactly what I want!"

Wang Meng burst into laughter and took out the editor-in-chief's declaration that he had already drafted from the drawer.

Fangyan took a closer look and saw that the title was "Not Just for Literature - A Letter to Readers."

It states that “literature should pay attention to the world and human nature, and to social progress”, and also that “support and encourage all attempts that can enrich and innovate our literary expression methods”. It strongly advocates innovation in the art of fiction and opens the door of the magazine to new literary talents…

"In short, it means 'be open to all literary avenues'."

Wang Meng said: "Whether it is Zhou Ming's line or Wang Chaoyin's line, as long as it is beneficial to People's Literature and Chinese literature, I will support it regardless of whether it is chaotic or not. What do you think?"

“May I add one more?”

"Which one?"

“People’s Literature will never forget its roots, and even less will it forget the people.”

Fang Yan said leisurely: "We hope to present to readers the voices of hundreds of millions of people and the magnificent and mottled picture of the times. We welcome works that are closely related to the fate of tens of millions of people, and are connected by blood and heart..."

"Okay! Well said!"

Wang Meng slapped his thigh and said, "Please add this for me and see where it would be appropriate to add it."

Fangyan took the pen he handed over, considered carefully for a while, and started to make revisions directly on the manuscript paper.

"There's one more thing I need to tell you about in advance."

As Wang Meng read, he talked about the division of labor in the editorial department of People's Literature and the author commissioning areas of different editors.

Generally speaking, in addition to his or her own fixed group of writers, each editor also has the connections and resources accumulated from the journal platform. The editor's voice and status in the entire editorial department can be seen based on the location of the divided areas.

The most important things in People's Literature are the three literary centers of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, which are currently controlled by Liu Jianqing.

Next are Hunan, Hubei, Henan and Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, which are managed by Wang Chaoyin and Zhou Ming respectively. Each deputy editor-in-chief is like a commander with a large army.

Having said that, he patted his shoulder and said, "As for you, Yanzi..."

Fang Yan said: "I am very close to the Guangdong Army, Guangxi Army, and Shaanxi Army. Why don't I take charge of these three places?"

Wang Meng said, "Okay, I originally wanted you to be in charge of South China and Southwest China."

Fang Yan asked, "Including the Sichuan Army?"

"Yes, the Sichuan-Shu literary world has performed quite well in recent years."

Wang Meng said: "But People's Literature has a weak foundation in Sichuan and Shu, and basically has not discovered many talents for me to use."

"Speaking of Sichuan, I can go and get some information on behalf of People's Literature."

Fangyan said that he was going to Chengdu and planned to hand over the manuscript of "The Ring" to the editorial department of "Science Fiction Literature and Art".

"Sichuan and Shu are indeed ahead of other literary circles in popular literature, especially in martial arts, romance, and science fiction."

Wang Meng paused, "But last year's 'spiritual pollution' did great harm to science fiction literature."

Fang Yan spread his hands and said, "It was because of this that I decided to go to Rongcheng."

Wang Meng's eyes lit up, "I'll approve this leave application now!"

"Thank you, Teacher Wang." Fang Yan smiled.

Wang Meng asked: "Don't thank me yet, tell me about "The Ring"."

"This cannot be revealed in advance, otherwise it will greatly reduce the viewing experience."

Fang Yan smiled mysteriously, "Anyway, I promise I won't let you down." Then he changed the subject, "If you really can't wait, why not wait a few more days? My novel is published in the latest issue of October."

(End of this chapter)