The literary era since 1979

A wave of unrest, a wave of up again.

"Farewell My Concubine" did not have the effect of settling the issue in the great debate, but instead seemed to add fuel to the fire.

Fangyan, as the founder and leading figure of the root-seeking school, and Farewell My Concubine, as the masterpiece of root-seeking literature, naturally attracted attention and discussion from many parties in the literary world, and completely pushed the whole debate to its climax.

On the front page of the Literary Gazette, a long commentary article titled "The Overlord is still alive, but Cheng Dieyi is nowhere to be found" was published.

Variety newspapers such as the Literary Newspaper, Wenhui Daily, and even Drama Month also worked at full capacity to promote the event positively.

"Farewell My Concubine" reveals how feudal traditions distort and obliterate human nature through the ups and downs of a pair of Peking opera actors over half a century. It confuses right and wrong, black and white, and insults civility. The golden bell is destroyed and the earthen cauldron thunders... A smile brings eternal spring, a cry brings eternal sorrow."

"In the novel, there is a kind of power that is unheard of, yet has a terrifying power of its own."

Although batch after batch of literary critics, including many leading figures, have praised Farewell My Concubine, there is still a group of opponents who have seized on the obscure and complex homosexuality issues of Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolou, and have strongly criticized and condemned it.

After all, although the social atmosphere these days is gradually moving from conservative to open-minded, homosexuality is still a big taboo that cannot be spoken of openly.

Just like in the literary world in the early 80s, love themes have always been regarded as a scourge, and "homosexuality" is a red line that cannot be crossed.

Even the radicals who always pursue the avant-garde think that dialects and Farewell My Concubine are too radical! Too unconservative!

Under such public opinion situation, the Fourth National Congress of Writers and Artists was held as scheduled in the Great Hall of the People.

As a professional writer of the Yenching Writers Association, Fang Yan naturally served as a representative and attended the event with Wang Meng, Lu Shuyou, Yu Deli and others.

There were about 20 minutes left before the meeting officially started, and people began to arrive at the venue one after another.

They gathered in groups of three or four, whispering to each other, and the topic was without exception the recent heated debate on "root-seeking literature".

As soon as Fangyan appeared, he immediately became the focus of everyone, and all eyes were focused on him.

Zhang Guangnian waved his hand and called Wang Meng and Fang Yan over.

When facing literary giants such as Wan Jiabao and Ding Ling, Fang Yan greeted them in a polite manner.

Ding Ling laughed and said, "Xiao Fang, you are now Monkey King making trouble in the sky, almost poking a hole in the sky."

"You lift me up."

Fang Yan said: "I don't have the ability of Sun Wukong, but I am just as miserable as Sun Wukong. Now there are 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals coming to surround and suppress me, and there are also a bunch of monsters and demons that I can't name. All I need is the Five Finger Mountain of Tathagata Buddha to suppress me."

Zhang Guangnian said: "Not only Tathagata Buddha, but many old comrades have come to me to complain, hoping that I can take good care of you."

"I have some here too, and they mean the same thing." Wan Jiabao said, "I want you to walk on the right path."

"I just don't understand. Root-seeking literature isn't something that has just been proposed."

Fangyan shrugged. "The whole trend of searching for literary roots started in the first half of this year and lasted for nearly a year. If we trace it back to the time of national literature and regional literature, it's probably at least two and a half years. Obviously, it has been going well for such a long time."

I looked around in confusion, "How come I held a meeting, created a genre, and published a novel, but now it seems like I made a big mistake?"

"Because the current environment is different from before, Western literary trends have made a big splash, and avant-garde literature has also grown..."

Zhang Guangnian said: "Adding 'modernity' and 'postmodernism' to the mix has messed up the entire literary world."

"Otherwise, we wouldn't be holding this conference this year, and we wouldn't be setting 'creative freedom' as the theme of this conference."

Wan Jiabao patted Fang Yan on the shoulder and said, "It's a pity that Brother Ba is ill and cannot personally preside over this meeting."

Ding Ling nodded, "Xiao Fang, Xiao Lin told me that Lao Ba really appreciates your Farewell My Concubine, right?"

Fangyan grinned and said, "Ba Gong said that I wrote about the deepest part of human nature."

"But even so, there are still many criticisms in newspapers that Farewell My Concubine is 'against the historical trend' and a step backwards in literary creation."

Wang Meng shook his head and sighed.

"Fortunately, the public has a keen eye."

Fang Yan said that at his suggestion, this issue of Contemporary Magazine set up a reader questionnaire specifically for Farewell My Concubine.

Judging from the feedback collected so far, the popularity and reputation of "Farewell My Concubine" have not been affected by the issue of homosexuality.

“No wonder I was wondering why Contemporary Magazine kept up with the times and followed your example of People’s Literature in conducting a reader survey.”

Ding Ling joked, "So it was you, Xiao Fang, who suggested this again."

"Aren't we all in the same community?" Fangyan smiled.

Wang Meng explained: "He was also worried that someone with ulterior motives would use the issue of homosexuality to attack Farewell My Concubine, and used Farewell My Concubine to criticize root-seeking literature, so he made preparations in advance, but in the end, he didn't expect that it would actually come in handy."

"We understand the good intentions behind this."

Zhang Guangnian said: "We cannot completely deny the possibility of an excellent work just because of some advanced subject matter issues."

"Especially novels like Farewell My Concubine, which are in no way inferior to world literature and have Chinese cultural genes!"

Wang Meng was very excited and his words were a bit exaggerated.

"The people are still happy to hear it."

Fangyan added confidently, after all, there were statistical results from the reader survey to check.

"You, don't think that the reader survey can represent the views of the majority of readers."

Zhang Guangnian reminded: "This can only be used as a reference for decision-making, not an absolute result."

"Yes, yes, brother, I am right."

Fangyan nodded and agreed.

Soon after, he was invited by Zhang Guangnian to visit and meet bigwigs such as Shen Congwen, Zhu Muzhi, Wang Zengqi, Feng Mu, and Chen Huangmei. During their conversations, the words between the lines revealed their tolerance, appreciation, and even open support for "Farewell My Concubine" and root-seeking literature.

Commander Fang now feels more and more confident. Even if there is a lot of opposition in the literary world, what is there to fear?

Even if you accidentally encounter a few "unsighted" people in the crowd, you will respond to them in a reasonable and appropriate manner.

"Teacher Fang!"

Just as he was debating with the group of scholars in dialect, a strange but friendly voice suddenly came from behind.

When I looked back, he seemed familiar, but I couldn't remember his name.

The visitor simply introduced himself, "My name is 'Zheng Yuanjie', and I am an author who specializes in writing children's literature."

"Zheng Yuanjie? Hello, hello!"

Fangyan's eyes lit up and he looked him up and down. Wow, no wonder I didn't recognize him. It turns out he has flowing hair.

If her hair grows longer, she will look at least 40% like Lin Junjie, if not 70% like Guo Donglin.

"Ever since I read your book Artificial Intelligence, I have been dreaming of meeting you one day."

Zheng Yuanjie excitedly shook hands with him and said, "Today I finally got what I wanted."

Fang Yan smiled and said, "No, no, it's my honor too."

As the two were talking, Yu Deli and the others were displeased by being interrupted in line, and there was a hint of disdain in their tone:
“I didn’t expect that this literary congress would invite so many authors of children’s literature.”

"Yes, it is indeed rare. In previous years, only a few gentlemen from Bingxin were invited."

“………” “I’m sorry, Comrade Yuanjie, we know very little about the field of children’s literature. Can you tell us about the masterpieces you have written?

Hearing that they were all trying to make things difficult for Zheng Yuanjie, Fang Yan frowned.

As expected, children's literature is at the bottom of the literary contempt chain. Even the most icy children's literature was not well received in the literary world during the Republic of China period.

Zheng Yuanjie is obviously used to this kind of contempt, because he has works to his name, so he speaks with confidence:
"Not many, just a dozen novels like "Pippi Lu and Lu Xixi" and "Hei Hei on Honesty Island."

"never heard of that."

Yu Deli curled his lips, and like some of the people present, he still did not give due respect.

This scene is just like that scene. The more I look at the dialect, the more familiar it looks.

I've never heard of the Monkey King. How could a mere little Bimawen, a monkey in charge of Taoyuan, dream of attending a banquet at Yaochi? He is just dreaming!

Zheng Yuanjie seemed to share the same feeling, his face was gloomy, and he had already begun to feel the urge to leave.

Fortunately, Teacher Fang's face was full of enthusiasm, saying that her sister loved watching "Pippi Lu and Lu Xixi":
“Although I haven’t read the whole thing, I think the various childlike and wonderful ideas in it are very suitable for enlightening children’s imagination.”

"Teacher Fang, you are too kind. Compared with your book Artificial Intelligence, it is really not worth mentioning."

Zheng Yuanjie smiled happily, as if he would be satisfied only by getting Fangyan's recognition.

Seeing the two chatting animatedly, the people who were left out were quite unhappy, and someone immediately stood up:
"We welcome Comrade Yuanjie to join our discussion. How much do you know about Western literature?"

"Do not really understand."

Zheng Yuanjie shook his head.

Another question: "Do you know the existentialist literature of Sartre and Camus?"

Zheng Yuanjie was still confused and didn't know the answer to any questions.

Yu Deli asked: "Have you read Dostoyevsky's works?"

The answer I got was always "I don't know", and many people could hardly hide their contempt in their eyes:

"You haven't even read his book?"

"you……"

Without waiting for Fangyan to speak, Zheng Yuanjie smiled and waved his hand, asking back: "Have you read the works of Kuskaya, a popular female writer in the northern country? I read her book recently and was quite inspired."

"Kuskaya?"

Yu Deli had never heard of it and felt unfamiliar with it, but when he saw more and more people saying that they had seen it, he nodded his head unwilling to be left behind.

Seeing that 70% to 80% of the people nodded, Fang Yan suppressed a smile and said, "I have never read Kuskaya's book, and I have never heard of her."

Then he raised his hand, covered his mouth and asked, "Yuanjie, who is Kuskaya? What country is she from?"

"Teacher Fang, it's better that you don't know." Zheng Yuanjie said calmly, "I made up this name."

For a moment, there was complete silence. The people who had just made things difficult for Zheng Yuanjie were stunned, with embarrassment written all over their faces.

Especially those who pretend to know everything, lower their heads in shame and avoid other people's gazes guiltily.

The atmosphere became tense and funny in the dead silence.

"It's getting late, and the meeting is about to start. I think we should just go home."

Fangyan suppressed the smile on his face and took the initiative to give them a way out.

Looking at the people who were running away, Zheng Yuanjie no longer hid anything and said, "Bah, what a joke!"

Fang Yan shook his head and laughed, "It's a good thing you could come up with this trick, haha, Kuskaya..."

"Teacher Fang, to be honest, I originally wanted to say 'Kusi Diao Ya', which is the homophone of 'pants fell off'."

Zheng Yuanjie said: "But I thought it might be indecent to say it in public, so I changed the word to 'Kuskaya'."

"After what you did, I'm afraid they will stay away from you next time they see you." Fangyan said jokingly.

"That's great. It saves them from chattering in front of me in the future." Zheng Yuanjie said disdainfully.

Fangyan said: "That's right. If you can't fit in, there's no need to force your way into a circle. It will only hurt yourself."

"You know what? I hate these pretentious people the most. They take advantage of their superficial knowledge of Western literature and boss others around. If you don't know them, you would think they have won the Nobel Prize in Literature." Zheng Yuanjie said, "Especially those who look down on our children's literature."

Fangyan said meaningfully: "Let's make an appointment some other day and sit down and have a good chat."

"Teacher Fang, are you also interested in children's literature?" Zheng Yuanjie was surprised and happy.

"Slightly interested."

Fangyan asked Zheng Yuanjie for his autograph in the name of her younger sister, but in fact she had already started to think about Zheng Yuanjie's fairy tale IP.

Whether it is Shuke and Beta, or Pippi Lu and Luxixi, they are all nuclear-level killers for children.

Children's clothing, children's shoes, school bags, stationery, etc., as long as you can get these IPs, the money will flow into your pocket.

Mr. Lu Xun said it well, it is easiest to make money from women and children. After all, "only women and children are difficult to raise."

…………

After a while, the Fourth National Congress of Writers and Artists officially opened.

Hu Muqiao read out the superior's congratulatory message to the conference, emphasizing that "creation must be free."

"Writers must use their own minds to think, have full freedom to choose themes, themes and artistic expression methods, and have full freedom to express their feelings, passions and thoughts. Only in this way can they write truly infectious and educational works..."

"No matter who it is, they should firmly guarantee this freedom for writers!"

"Clap clap clap."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was thunderous applause.

After all, no writer likes to be a censored writer or to have his or her creative freedom restricted by rules and regulations.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Guangnian, a senior fellow in dialect studies, stood up and gave a report entitled "Chinese Literature in the New Era is Striding Forward."

“When we talk about creative freedom, there are two meanings.”

"On the one hand, it refers to the guarantee that society provides for the free development of writers' creative talents, that is, the bright and healthy political situation that objectively encourages and protects creation; on the other hand, it refers to the free state that writers enter in their creative activities, that is, the spiritual leap from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom achieved when writers subjectively fully master the objects of expression..."

"Shhhhh."

Fangyan looked left and right. Everyone around him was busy taking notes, and it was unclear whether they were taking real notes or not.

At this moment, Zhang Guangnian suddenly mentioned "root-seeking literature":
"For example, the 'literary roots' movement that has attracted much attention and discussion in the literary world recently, with the reference of world literature and the nourishment of local culture, has given rise to contemporary literature rooted in the traditional culture of the Chinese nation. This is a good example of 'creative freedom'."

"The transformation from habitual writing to conscious writing has achieved a valuable breakthrough in the narrative style and subject matter of the novel!"

In an instant, there was silence. Even the "swish swish swish" sound of writing disappeared without a trace. You could hear a pin drop.

Fangyan raised a smile. With the mention of it by the National Congress of Literature, root-seeking literature has undoubtedly received official recognition and support.

This time, the offense and defense are completely different!
Those who oppose, question and deny the root-seeking literature including Farewell My Concubine are no longer ordinary writers, and they must be dealt with severely! (End of this chapter)