Literary Master 1978

Lin Chaoyang was listless because he got up several times in the middle of the night to change his son's diaper, and Li Shifei was listless because he was obsessed with reading the manuscript.

As soon as he saw Lin Chaoyang, his originally listless spirit immediately lifted up.

"Chaoyang, I just have a few questions to ask you."

He pulled Lin Chaoyang to the living room, "Your novel is so interesting, but it's a pity that it's not finished yet, so I can't see the reason. But now I can see that you designed a two-layer structure for the novel, right?"

"That's right. One layer is faith, and the other layer is science."

Seeing that he was right, Li Shifei clapped his hands happily, "I guessed right. Through these two layers of structure, the beauty of human ideals and the cruelty in reality are extended, but..."

He hesitated and said, "There is a lot of religious content in this novel, and it may cause a lot of controversy after it is published."

A few years ago, when the fourth uncle was broken, all religious beliefs were labeled as feudal superstitions. Although the mind is liberated now, many people are still not interested in religious beliefs, or even disgusted.

"I'm not writing about pure religious beliefs, but about philosophizing these religious beliefs.

For the protagonist Xiao Sanjiang, there is no difference between Buddhism, Taoism, and Christianity. Rather than saying that these religions are his enlightenment of faith, it is better to say that they taught him the philosophy of dealing with things.

What he finally learned was not faith, but consistent piety and awe."

Li Shifei listened to Lin Chaoyang's words and agreed with him.

"I have another question. You set a trap in Xiao Sanjiang's narration, right?"

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said, "I see?"

"You used a writer 'I', which is the first perspective, but you narrated a lot of content from Xiao Sanjiang's perspective. It would be strange if there was no explanation.

And in "Shutter Island", you also used this method." Li Shifei said proudly.

Lin Chaoyang nodded, "The mystery will be slowly revealed later."

Li Shifei rubbed his hands and said with some expectation: "I really want to see the whole story sooner. There are too many hooks in the structure and plot of your novel, and there are all kinds of miracles described on the sea. I'm afraid they are all images?"

Lin Chaoyang smiled and did not answer him, "You will know when it is finished."

The more he said this, the more Li Shifei felt itchy.

Yesterday he finished reading the novel all night, on the one hand because he was about to leave Beijing and time was tight, and on the other hand because this novel really has the magic that makes people unable to stop.

He slept for two hours the whole night before he quickly read the novel. Because he read it too fast, Li Shifei still felt that there were many foreshadowings and clues in it that he did not read.

"When can it be finished?" Li Shifei couldn't help asking.

"Soon, I have time recently, and I can finish it in ten days or eight days."

The new novel was written intermittently for several months, and the remaining content was stored in Lin Chaoyang's mind. He said that ten days or eight days was not an exaggeration.

"So fast?" Li Shifei was a little surprised at first, and then he was happy.

"That's great, just in time for the first issue of our magazine in the new year."

"Huacheng" is a literary bimonthly magazine, published on the 20th of every bimonthly month. The first issue of 1983 should be on February 20th, which is more than 50 days away from now. In terms of time, it is very leisurely.

"That's no problem, I can guarantee it to you." Lin Chaoyang said firmly.

It's rare to meet a party A who pays so happily, and Lin Chaoyang's efficiency is also rising.

"Okay, okay."

Li Shifei was so happy, and another very important reason was that he met with no less than 20 writers when he went north to collect manuscripts.

Every day he was either soliciting manuscripts or on the way to solicit manuscripts, but things were not so smooth.

Most of the writers he met this time were not the previous contributors to Huacheng. Many of them were meeting for the first time. In this case, it was very difficult to collect manuscripts.

He has only received 2 manuscripts so far, and 2 manuscripts are still being written, but the writers have made it clear that they can give them to Huacheng.

The other writers either have no creative ideas, or have already promised a certain publication with the works they have completed or are writing.

He has been out for more than half a month, and he only brought back two manuscripts, one medium and one short. The amount is a bit unworthy of his efforts as the editor-in-chief.

Now with Lin Chaoyang's novel, he has confidence.

Although the novel has not been completed yet, a glimpse of the whole picture can tell the whole picture, not to mention that he has read most of the content of the novel. He can say responsibly that this novel is definitely a very important work.

Moreover, the flavor of magical realism is too strong. Whether it is the characters or the plot in the novel, it is full of magic and weirdness, and supernatural phenomena continue to occur in the narrative and description.

It has both bizarre fantasy and realistic plots and scenes, making it hard to tell whether it is an illusion or reality.

This magical realism is purer than some Latin American writers!

The creative ability reflected in this half of the novel is definitely not something that can be cultivated overnight. Lin Chaoyang could not have written this novel just because the magical realism genre became popular with the blessing of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

If he had not been deeply immersed in and studied Latin American magical realism literature, it would be impossible to create such an excellent work.

He was extremely glad that he came to Lin Chaoyang to ask for an article this time. With this novel, this trip out to collect manuscripts is worth it even if he returns empty-handed!

The only thing that made him feel regretful was that the half of the novel he had in his hands was not grand enough in terms of narrative perspective.

Li Shifei originally wanted to wait for Lin Chaoyang to publish this novel and see the response, and then ask him for a manuscript according to his own ideas.

But he changed his mind and thought that Lin Chaoyang was now very popular in the domestic literary world, and it was the right time for him to ask for a manuscript this time.

If he waited until this novel was published, he might not be able to ask for a manuscript again.

Thinking of this in his heart, he thought for a moment and made a bold decision.

"Chaoyang, what do you think of the work "One Hundred Years of Solitude"? "

Lin Chaoyang listened to Li Shifei's words and immediately realized that he should be talking about "One Hundred Years of Solitude".

Nowadays, Marquez has just become popular in China, and many of his works have not been introduced to China. Even if some of them have been introduced to China, they are official pirated copies.

The name "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is still the translated name in the official evaluation system in the 1970s. The translated name of this novel in China has not yet been completely unified. Some people also call this novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude".

"A masterpiece that will be passed down through the ages!"

Lin Chaoyang only answered Li Shifei with eight words, but his evaluation was unusually high, somewhat beyond Li Shifei's expectation.

His original intention was to use "One Hundred Years of Solitude" to suggest to Lin Chaoyang that he should also write a magical realism work with a grand narrative perspective and epic temperament.

In his mind, "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is of course an excellent contemporary literary work, but Lin Chaoyang's praise made it difficult for him to speak.

Li Shifei was afraid that if he asked Lin Chaoyang to write such a work, Lin Chaoyang would mistakenly think that he was trying to embarrass him.

Seeing that Li Shifei was silent, Lin Chaoyang asked: "Old Li, you might as well say whatever you want to say."

Li Shifei then said: "Chaoyang, judging from the work you are creating now, your ability in the creative direction of magical realism is extremely strong.

Have you ever thought about digging deeper and creating a masterpiece like "One Hundred Years of Solitude"? "

Hearing this, Lin Chaoyang's face showed a bit of surprise.

Before the novel on hand was finished, they were already planning to ask him to write another one.

This was the first time he had met such an aggressive Party A.

Lin Chaoyang did not think that Li Shifei's request was excessive. He hesitated for a moment and said, "A work like "One Hundred Years of Solitude" is not easy to write."

Li Shifei said quickly, "It is definitely not easy to write. Such a standard of work is difficult for ordinary writers to achieve in their lifetime, but you are different. I believe in your ability. In today's Chinese literary world, if anyone is capable of mastering such a work, I can't think of anyone else except you!"

Li Shifei's flattery was too loud, even Lin Chaoyang's face could not bear it.

But then again, Party A paid for the service, so he had no reason to refuse.

The previous novel was a "propositional composition", and now this one must be considered a "customized article", right?

It costs more!

"You flatter me, you flatter me. For any writer, being able to write such a work is a lifelong pursuit, and it is also extremely labor-intensive. It is difficult to see results without years of hard work!" Lin Chaoyang said modestly.

Li Shifei saw that he was just being modest, but never refused directly, so he knew that an ambitious writer like Lin Chaoyang must have such ambitions in his heart.

What he had to do now was to give Lin Chaoyang more motivation. Thinking of the scene when he was discussing the manuscript fee yesterday, Li Shifei's expression became solemn.

"Creating such a work is a huge challenge for all writers. Writers need to devote themselves to it for a long time without distraction, and the time and effort consumed are inestimable.

But if it can be accomplished, it will be a great thing for the Chinese literary world.

Chaoyang, you are the best person in the current literary world to create such a work."

He paused slightly, and then said firmly: "Our magazine is willing to provide you with the greatest support. I dare not say anything else, but I can give you a standard of remuneration that has never been seen in the Chinese literary world!"

Li Shifei's words are full of ambition and passion for idealism. The listeners can't help but feel excited, but Lin Chaoyang is more concerned about the issue of remuneration.

In later generations, "Huacheng" was famous for its generous remuneration, and it once made news of "sky-high remuneration". If he could give a price that satisfied Lin Chaoyang, he could write a work according to the other party's requirements.

"The current standard of remuneration in China is not high!" Lin Chaoyang said faintly.

The implication is that the standard is not high to begin with, and your so-called "unprecedented standard of remuneration" may not be really high.

Li Shifei gritted his teeth and said, "50 yuan per thousand words! No one should have come up with this standard, right?"

Lin Chaoyang finally looked serious after hearing this, 50 yuan per thousand words?

Not only has no one come up with it, as of 1990, the highest remuneration standard for manuscripts in the "Provisional Regulations on Remuneration for Books" promulgated by the National Copyright Administration was only 30 yuan per thousand words. For those who pay more generously, the standard can be appropriately raised, but it will not exceed 40 yuan per thousand words.

This is a new remuneration regulation promulgated after the two-year price explosion in 1987 and 1988. 50 yuan per thousand words is enough for Lin Chaoyang to see Li Shifei's sincerity.

"Old Li, don't joke. If you give this price, can your publishing house agree?"

The words had been said, and Li Shifei certainly couldn't take them back. He said with a firm face:

"I am the editor-in-chief after all, and I can still do this.

As long as your manuscript can meet my requirements and reach the level of the one I have now, I will force you to take the 50 yuan per thousand words!"

Lin Chaoyang nodded slowly, "Okay! I promise you, a magical realism masterpiece like "One Hundred Years of Solitude", I will take this task!"

Feeling the solemnity in Lin Chaoyang's words, Li Shifei couldn't help but hold his hand.

Li Shifei knew very well that it would be a difficult task for any writer to create a work that could meet the standards mentioned by the two.

If nothing else, the time invested alone is enough to discourage most writers.

Two years is not too little, five years is not too much, and even longer...

How many five years can we have in life?

Thinking of this, Li Shifei held Lin Chaoyang's hand even harder.

"Chaoyang, there is a long way to go!"