The literary era since 1979

The next day, afternoon.

Zhou Changyi knocked on the door of the Shaanxi-Gansu Writers Association with the manuscript of "Ordinary World".

The secretary general wearing glasses was surprised and delighted: "Comrade Changyi came at the right time. We were planning to send someone to the guesthouse to deliver the manuscripts to you. This batch is carefully selected by us, and basically all of them are written by professional writers of the Writers Association."

"Thank you for your hard work. I really don't know how to thank you enough."

Zhou Changyi handed over the manuscript of "Ordinary World" and asked them to pass it on to Lu Yao.

"Lu Yao's novel has quite a few words. Comrade Chang Yi finished reading it so quickly?"

Everyone in the Shaanxi Writers Association was very surprised, and some even suggested that he should read it several times to keep it fresh.

Zhou Changyi politely declined, saying that he was on a tight schedule and had a heavy workload, and could not devote all his energy to "Ordinary World" and so on.

The secretary-general was keenly aware that something was wrong, frowned and said, "What does Comrade Changyi think of this novel?"

"Very good, very good." Zhou Changyi smiled.

"It's good. What's good about it?"

The staff of the Shaanxi-North Writers Association were very dissatisfied with this answer. The more polite Zhou Changyi was, the more they wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Zhou Changyi looked embarrassed, "How should I say it?"

The Secretary General said: "Just say whatever you want to say."

"Then I'll tell the truth."

After careful consideration, Zhou Changyi implicitly stated, "Nowadays, everything in China, including the literary and artistic undertakings, is in a vibrant and prosperous situation. The majority of readers yearn for beauty and look forward to the future. Literature that praises suffering and traditional realistic literature are becoming a thing of the past. Root-seeking literature, illusion realism, and modernism are the mainstreams that are now being pursued in the literary world..."

The secretary-general's face immediately fell, "Comrade Changyi means that "Ordinary World" is outdated?"

"No, no, no, it's not outdated."

Zhou Changyi waved his hand, "There is nothing wrong with the story structure and logic of "Ordinary World". It's just that at first I thought that Mr. Lu Yao's new work would develop in the direction of root-seeking literature, hallucination realism or modernism, but I didn't expect it to follow the path of "Life".

Everyone present heard the hidden meaning in his words, which was that he disliked "Ordinary World" did not conform to the trend of contemporary literature. Only then did they suddenly realize that he came to their door in person this time just to reject the manuscript directly, and it was even possible that he had not even read the novel from beginning to end.

Everyone was unhappy but couldn't show it. After all, publishing houses these days prefer new literary works such as root-seeking literature and modernism. Even magazines such as "Yanhe" under the Writers Association are no exception. So there were mixed reviews and complaints about "Ordinary World", a realistic work written in traditional narrative style. There were also many people like Zhou Changyi who felt that Lu Yao was following in the old ways.

Otherwise, major publishing houses would not care whether it was pre-ordered in advance or not, and would have already fought fiercely to compete for "Ordinary World".

The Secretary-General looked solemn and told Zhou Changyi not to tell anyone about the rejection of the manuscript today.

Zhou Changyi understood that this was to protect Lu Yao's self-esteem, so he agreed without hesitation.

Although he promised not to tell anyone, there is no such thing as a wall that is impenetrable, and the news that "Ordinary World" was rejected still spread.

When Lu Yao heard this, he was struck by lightning. He never expected that the novel he had worked so hard on for three years, writing day and night and exhausting all his energy, was not even taken seriously by a young editor of Contemporary Magazine. He was instantly devastated and began to question his life.

"Pingwa, am I really behind the times?"

"How could that be? Don't think like that!"

Jia Pingwa saw the devastated Lu Yao lying on the bed with empty eyes, and hurriedly said a few words to comfort him.

"Then why does he think that my book, The Ordinary World, is outdated?"

Lu Yao's tone was filled with sadness and grievance.

"Many young editors nowadays don't know their place and always like to be different. Don't take his words to heart."

Jia Pingwa spoke up for Lu Yao, Zhou Changyi was not capable enough to appreciate it, but Fang Yan could definitely appreciate "Ordinary World".

Lu Yao felt that if Ordinary World could not impress a young editor of Contemporary, how could it be accepted by Fangyan? Moreover, Fangyan is now the standard-bearer of contemporary Chinese literature. Many new literary trends, such as root-seeking literature, illusion realism, migrant worker literature, and forensic suspense and reasoning, were initiated by Fangyan. Could he really look down upon Ordinary World?

"That's not necessarily the case."

Jia Pingwa comforted people by speaking in dialect, but at the National Youth Writers Symposium, he held high the banner of "reviving realistic novels."

Lu Yao fell into self-doubt. "But he is using illusion realism to revive realistic literature. Pingwa, do you think Yanzi, who wrote novels like "Hunting" and "Looking for a Gun", would really like traditional realistic themes like "Ordinary World"?"

Jia Pingwa was speechless for a moment. Both "Hunting" and "Looking for a Gun" received rave reviews as soon as they were released.

As "The Ordinary World" has not yet been published, it is still unknown what kind of response it will receive in the literary world and among readers.

What's more, this is still an unfinished work. Only the first part has been completed, and the second and third parts are not yet completed!
"What can we do, what can we do..."

Lu Yao felt deep despair, covering his face with his hands, his mind went blank.

Jia Pingwa was also at a loss. At this moment, he saw Lin Da walking in from outside the house and politely called him "Sister-in-law".

Lin Da glanced at Lu Yao coldly. In order to create "Ordinary World", he basically didn't take care of his family, but seeing his sick appearance, his heart softened. "Instead of imagining nonsense here, why don't you wait for Yan Zi to come and ask him properly!"

As soon as these words came out, Lu Yao suddenly stood up, as if he had grasped the last glimmer of hope, but his eyes suddenly went dark.

Seeing that he was about to fall, Lin Da hurried over to support him:
"Since he started writing Ordinary World, his health has been getting worse. Pingwa, please help me take him to the hospital."

………………

Just as Lin Da, Jia Pingwa and others were looking forward to it, Fangyan, who was traveling with Qin Zhaoyang, Zhu Wei and others, finally arrived.

As soon as I walked out of the train station, I was welcomed by people from the Shaanxi Writers Association, the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Xi'an Film Studio, the Yanhe editorial department and others.

Fang Yan shook hands and greeted everyone one by one. As he passed by Mo Shen, he inadvertently noticed Zhang Yimou who was beside him.

Zhang Yimou said excitedly: "Teacher Fang, welcome to northern Shaanxi!"

Fang Yan exclaimed, "Why are you here?" "It's a long story." Zhang Yimou smiled awkwardly.

Mo Shen explained on his behalf that Zhang Yimou became famous in the film industry for Yellow Earth, That Mountain, That Man, That Dog, and The Ring, so Wu Tianming wanted to dig him out from the Guixi Film Studio and bring him to the Xi'an Film Studio. He offered him conditions that he could not refuse at all. Not only would his salary and benefits be increased, but he would also give the couple a house. More importantly, he promised to let him be independent, switch from a photographer to a director, and make the movies he wanted to make.

Fang Yan said: "A wise bird chooses the right tree to roost in. Staying in the Xiying Studio is indeed not a disgrace to you."

Zhang Yimou smiled naively: "Director Wu also promised me that I would make two more films for Guixi Film Studio to repay Director Wei and Director Guo for their kindness, and then I would direct films for Xi'an Film Studio."

After chatting for a few words, Fangyan turned his attention to Lin Da.

As the editor of Western Film Studio's publication, Lin Da received instructions from the studio early on:

"Director Wu and his team specifically asked me to interview you, the Oscar-winning screenwriter, and to get to know you about concepts such as marketization, entertainment films, commercial films, and overseas film festivals. It would be best if we could invite you to the Xi'an Film Studio to hold a symposium for everyone."

"If I have the chance, I will definitely go to Xi'an Film Studio to have a look."

Fangyan looked around and didn't see Lu Yao, so he asked about his whereabouts.

"He is ill and is now recuperating in the hospital."

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

There was a hint of worry in Lin Da's helpless tone.

Fang Yan was startled: "Are you sick?"

"You know him. When he's creating, he forgets to eat and sleep. He doesn't care about anything else."

Lin replied: "I wrote like this for three years, and ended up wearing myself out."

Mo Shen curled his lips, "In my opinion, Lu Yao is not only exhausted, but also angry. Some young comrades are really too unreasonable."

Fang Yan and Zhu Wei looked at each other, very curious, "What's going on?"

"Let's talk about it on the way."

When Mo Shen saw Zhou Changyi, Qin Zhaoyang and other editors of "Contemporary" meet up, his face was full of displeasure.

Qin Zhaoyang also vaguely noticed that the attitude of his comrades in the Shaanxi-Gansu literary world was not right. They seemed warm on the outside but cold on the inside, and there was resentment in their words and deeds.

After asking Zhou Changyi, he found out the whole story and immediately criticized him: "How could you do this! Lu Yao is a well-known writer and a representative figure in the northern Shaanxi literary world. Do you know that by doing this, you are insulting him and the northern Shaanxi literary world!"

"I didn't expect this to get out."

Zhou Changyi apologized and said, "But Mr. Qin, I still stick to my point of view. Lu Yao's "Ordinary World" is really outdated and completely out of line with the current literary trend. It's just like eating. You say abalone is expensive, but I refuse to eat it because it tastes bad."

"Then you shouldn't be so careless. At least keep the manuscript for a few more days."

Qin Zhaoyang glared and said, "Wait until we get to Chang'an, then let us handle it!"

Seeing Zhou Changyi shrinking his head in fear and making self-criticism, an editor of Contemporary Magazine smiled bitterly:
"This has hurt the hearts of our comrades in northern Shaanxi."

"Especially at this juncture."

Qin Zhaoyang shook his head and sighed. Chinese literature is flourishing at the moment, but the strength and reputation of northern Shaanxi literature are not as good as before.

With the rise of many new literary forces such as the Guangdong Army, Hunan Army, and Shanxi Army, the presence of the old Shaanxi Army has seriously declined. Especially now that various schools, thoughts, and writing styles are colliding with each other, Shaanxi literature lacks innovation and has no successors, so it has gradually become silent.

It was not until the emergence of masterpieces such as "White Deer Plain", "Wasted City" and "Ordinary World" that the entire literary world was shocked again. The three leaders of Lu Yao, Chen Zhongshi and Jia Pingwa led the Shaanxi army to rise again. Before that, the literature of northern Shaanxi had been on a downward trend.

Precisely because of the decline from prosperity, the entire northern Shaanxi literary community is sensitive and inferior, which is why they have high hopes for "The Ordinary World".

Fangyan was well aware of the trick, so after attending the grand welcome banquet arranged by the Shaanxi-North Writers Association, he did not rest but rushed to the hospital without stopping. Together with Zhu Wei, Mo Shen and others, he visited Lu Yao, and saw him lying weakly on the hospital bed, receiving intravenous drips.

"The doctor said it's nothing serious, I just need to rest."

"My sister-in-law has already told me."

Fang Yan said: "Creation is creation, but you also have to take care of your health. As the saying goes, health is the capital of revolution."

“It’s worth paying a little for it.”

Lu Yao pointed at the book "Ordinary World" on the table and said, "Let's not talk about this for now, Yanzi, go and take a look."

Lin replied: "Your novel is so long that Yanzi won't be able to finish it in a short time. Let him take it home and read it slowly."

Seeing Lu Yao's impatient look, Fang Yan comforted her, "It's okay, sister-in-law, we can watch and talk at the same time."

Mo Shen looked at Lin Da and Jia Pingwa, knowing that he was eager to know whether his three years of hard work had been wasted.

Fangyan flipped through the manuscript and then passed the manuscript paper he had read to Zhu Wei.

The more Zhu Wei read, the more he felt something was wrong. His brows gradually knitted together, and he finally understood that Zhou Changyi's decision to reject the manuscript was indeed understandable.

If it were me, even if Lu Yao was a famous writer, I probably would not let "Ordinary World" be published in "People's Literature".

The atmosphere became solemn in the silence. Lu Yao noticed the expressions of the two people and his heart skipped a beat.

"What do you think? Is my realistic novel really outdated?"

"Why do you say that? Realism never goes out of style!"

Fangyan said: "As a genre of literary creation, realism is the oldest and most vigorous. It is almost a red line that runs through the literary history of countries around the world. For example, in Britain, there are Shakespeare, Dickens, Hardy, and Graham Greene.

For example, in France, there are Balzac, Stendhal, and Flaubert; in Russia, there are Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, and Tolstoy; until the 20th century, there was Gorky, the founder of socialist realist literature. Not to mention China, there are too many examples to list. As a creative technique, realism will never become obsolete. Look at the works that are now called modernism, such as magic realism, hallucination realism, absurd realism, and black humor novels. If you trace back to the source, isn’t it still realism? "

With a serious face, he vowed: "My mentor once told me that realism will never disappear in literature, because human beings are the most realistic animals, realism is what the people want to see most, and realistic issues are what the people are most concerned about." (End of this chapter)