Literary Master 1978

In addition to letters and sample books, the package sent by Ming Pao Publishing House also contained some magazines and newspapers, which were collected by Dong Qiao.

It recorded some media feedback after "The Death of Van Gogh" and "Crossing Guandong" were released in Hong Kong in the past year or so.

Lin Chaoyang flipped through it casually. There were at least 15 or 16 publications in it, and half of them were introductions and comments on "Crossing Guandong".

You should know that "Crossing Guandong" has only been published for less than two months, and the attention of these publications also proves the popularity of this novel in Hong Kong.

One of the new magazines is the most eye-catching, which is "Hong Kong Literature" which was just launched this month.

"Hong Kong Literature" is named "Hong Kong", and its intentions and pattern are self-evident.

Looking into the origin of this publication, it is not difficult to find that "Hong Kong Literature" was actually founded with funds from the mainland, and invited Hong Kong writer Liu Yichang to be the editor-in-chief.

If it were in the 1970s, "Hong Kong Literature" would almost be impossible to appear.

Because since 1967, the Hong Kong government has imposed strict restrictions on ZY people and their activities.

The reason why "Hong Kong Literature" appeared at this time point is naturally closely related to the "ZY Joint Statement" just released last month.

With the release of the ZY Joint Statement, Hong Kong's return to China has become an ironclad fact, and the ZY culture that has been suppressed for many years has gradually become mainstream.

Since the 1970s, the situation of Hong Kong's literary journals has tended to deteriorate, and people of insight in the literary world have even exclaimed: Hong Kong's literature is about to die.

Hong Kong's literary environment is not good, and pure literary journals are not easy to survive. This is an old problem, and it will not change much because of the attention of the literary world.

But the birth of "Hong Kong Literature" is undoubtedly a shot in the arm for the sluggish Hong Kong literary journal industry.

This publication does not continue the traditional idea of ​​publishing pure literary journals in Hong Kong in the early years, which is either friends or enemies, but is inclusive and unites writers from all walks of life.

In the inaugural issue of Xiangjiang Literature, Liu Yichang first emphasized that Xiangjiang literature is an integral part of Chinese literature.

Then he said that Xiangjiang Literature does not represent a certain position or faction, but represents the whole of Hong Kong, emphasizing that Xiangjiang literature can play a special role in communicating between China and the West and connecting Chinese literature.

Liu Yichang not only said this, but also did it.

In the inaugural issue of Xiangjiang Literature, there are not only works by ZY writers, but also works by YY and modernist writers such as Li Kuang, Huang Ya, Li Yinghao, and Yang Jiguang, which is incredible for a publication funded by the mainland.

Such a broad pattern laid the development direction and momentum of Xiangjiang Literature. As soon as the magazine was published, it received many praises from the Xiangjiang cultural community, which seemed to make everyone see the hope of Xiangjiang literature.

And in this issue of the publication that has been well received by the Xiangjiang literary community, there happened to be a book review written by Xiangjiang poet Li Kuang for "Crossing Guandong".

The title is "Lonely Romance - Cheers for "Crossing Guandong"".

The article reads:

The publication of "Crossing Guandong" in the mainland has made critics cheer, the press amazed, and readers rushed to buy it. It was "in great demand" for a while.

Amidst the overwhelming praise, I still can't help but praise it.

"Crossing Guandong" was born in the hands of mainland writers, but it is the pride of all Chinese people. Because it allows us to see more possibilities of Chinese literature, and also see the vigorous creativity and vitality rooted in national culture.

Its tragic and solemnity are extremely rare in Chinese literature. It shows the unpredictable life and the vicissitudes of history, which are full of artistic appeal.

Its birth has raised the height of Chinese literature in the world literary world and established a new peak for Chinese literature.

Li Kuang is not well-known in later generations, but he is indeed a figure that cannot be ignored in the Hong Kong literary world in the second half of the 20th century.

As early as the 1950s, Li Kuang was a popular poet in Hong Kong. His poems were popular in the literary world and were almost the memory of a generation of Hong Kong people in that era.

After that, he edited two literary magazines, Renren Literature and Hailan, which were widely welcomed by readers and were extremely popular. He was like a leader in the literary world.

Unfortunately, he bid farewell to the Hong Kong literary world 58 years later and settled in Singapore. He has not been heard from since then.

Now, after 27 years, Li Kuang's writings have appeared in Hong Kong Literature again, which naturally attracted strong attention from the Hong Kong literary world.

Of course, in addition to this article, he published a serious article in this issue of the magazine, which seems to be a novel called "The Dusk of Su's House".

"Lonely Romance - Cheers for "Crossing Guandong"" caused a lot of repercussions after the publication of the first issue of Hong Kong Literature.

No one expected that the first article he published after his comeback to the literary world would be to sing praises for "Crossing Guandong".

And although the Hong Kong literary world has praised "Crossing Guandong" for a lot of time, it is still rare to sing praises like Li Kuang.

His high evaluation of "Crossing Guandong" was also recognized by many people in the Hong Kong literary world, which helped boost the popularity of this novel in Hong Kong.

After learning about the views of the Hong Kong literary world and the media on "Crossing Guandong", Lin Chaoyang collected all these publications.

A few days later, time quietly came to the twelfth lunar month.

This year's Spring Festival was particularly late, and it was not until February 20th that the New Year was celebrated. Therefore, it was not until the end of January that the twelfth lunar month began.

Yesterday, Lin Chaoyang had a sudden idea. He used the waste wood leftover from the renovation of the east courtyard to make several brick molds, paste the outside with soil, and then pour water inside.

After such freezing, an ice brick is ready.

Early this morning, Lin Chaoyang worked hard to repeat yesterday's operation, and then used these ice bricks to build a uniform downward slide. Water was poured between the seams of the ice bricks as an adhesive. .

The highest point of the slide is about 1.2 meters high and about 4 meters long. The width is just enough to accommodate a little kid like Xiaodongdong.

When Liu Xinwu led Tian Geng in, he saw Lin Chaoyang working hard to shovel the handrails on both sides of the slide with a small shovel. The edges of the ice cubes were sharp and they had to be shoveled into an arc.

"Chaoyang, what are you doing?" Liu Xinwu asked.

At this moment, Lin Chaoyang was working with white steam coming out of his head, as if he had reached the state of three flowers gathering on top. He turned around and saw Liu Xinwu and Tian Geng, and greeted them with a smile.

"Make a slide for my son. Just wait for me and it will be ready soon."

While talking, Lin Chaoyang continued to be busy. Liu Xinwu and Tian Geng stood in the courtyard and watched Lin Chaoyang work with interest.

Twenty minutes later, Lin Chaoyang finally finished the slide. Xiao Dongdong, who had been waiting at the side eager to try it out, couldn't wait to climb up the slide regardless of Tao Yumo's obstruction.

As a result, before I reached the top, I fell hard and screamed!

When Tao Yumo helped him up, he grabbed Tao Yumo's hand without giving up. With his aunt's help on the horse, he could finally experience the slide.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!"

Lin Chaoyang took out the aluminum laundry tub at home. He placed the laundry tub at the top of the slide, then carried Xiao Dongdong into the laundry tub and pushed it gently with his hand.

The coefficient of friction between metal and ice was very low. The washing tub carried Xiao Dongdong and slid down briskly, and then slid a long distance on the flat ground. Lin Chaoyang also sprinkled some water on the ground, which formed ice.

Xiao Dongdong burst into laughter with excitement and clapped her hands excitedly. After stopping, she could already drag the washtub back to the starting point without Lin Chaoyang's instruction.

"Auntie! Hug!"

The slide was too high for him to get up, so he had to ask Tao Yumo for help.

Seeing his son's happy look, Lin Chaoyang had a smile on his face, and his two days' hard work was not in vain.

"Let's go into the house." Lin Chaoyang led Liu Xinwu and Tian Geng into the main room.

In fact, Lin Chaoyang could guess their purpose of coming today. "Chess Master" has been published for several years, and the publishing contract is about to expire. At this time, it is self-evident what Tian Geng and Liu Xinwu are doing.

After drinking a few sips of tea and chatting for a while, Liu Xinwu got to the point first.

"Chaoyang, I came here with the editor-in-chief this time to talk to you about the contract issue of "Chess Master"..."

Yanjing Publishing House has undergone personnel changes in recent years, and Tian Geng has become the editor-in-chief.

Liu Xinwu started, and Tian Geng continued what he said, saying nothing more than how pleasant the previous cooperation between the two parties was and how he hoped to continue the cooperation. Then he took the initiative to mention the royalties.

"Chaoyang, I heard that you received more than 100,000 yuan in royalties from the publication of "Crossing Guandong"?"

Lin Chaoyang asked curiously: "Who did you hear this number from?"

"Everyone says this, are there really so many of them?"

When Tian Geng asked this question, Liu Xinwu on the side shot a gossipy look.

"Be conservative."

Lin Chaoyang spoke concisely and to the point, Liu Xinwu's eyes widened, "Is this conservative? How about two or three hundred thousand?"

Lin Chaoyang said nothing.

"Four hundred thousand?"

Lin Chaoyang said nothing again.

"Five million?"

Lin Chaoyang still didn't speak.

After guessing this, Liu Xinwu no longer dared to guess any more, because this number was beyond his acceptable range.

There was even a chill in his heart. You must know that Liu Shaotang suffered a lot because of the high royalties.

At this time, Tian Geng didn't know what to say. The two of them stared at each other. Tian Geng finally asked Lin Chaoyang blankly:

"Chaoyang, can the contract for "Chess Master" be renewed?"

Even if you can't afford it for 500,000 yuan, how much money did Huacheng Publishing House give Lin Chaoyang? He had given up hope in renewing the contract.

"Yes, as long as the price is right." Lin Chaoyang said happily.

Tian Geng's eyes lit up immediately, but then he became cautious again.

That’s hundreds of thousands!

Speaking of the royalty contract, Tian Geng and President Lu Yuanchi had a special discussion before coming.

Both of them believed that since Huacheng Publishing House had set a precedent, Yanjing Publishing House would not be able to continue cooperating with Lin Chaoyang without taking this path.

So after discussing it, they decided that it was not impossible to sign a copyright contract.

Anyway, if the sky falls, there will be tall men to hold it up, and Huacheng Publishing House will charge forward. Even if the trend changes in the future, they, Yanjing Publishing House, will only be able to make some mistakes.

But when he really saw Lin Chaoyang and heard from him the amount of royalties paid by Huacheng Publishing House, Tian Geng still flinched a little.

A book has a royalties of at least 500,000 yuan. If this was put on the line, he and Lu Yuanchi would probably be blamed.

"You mean royalty payment?" Tian Geng asked thoughtfully.

Lin Chaoyang nodded and said: "Yes. I signed a royalty contract with Huacheng Publishing House. If nothing else happens, if the contract for "The Master of Chess" expires, it will be given to them, unless there is a publishing house willing to pay more than them. price.”

“Ah!” Tian Geng let out a short cry.