"It's a pretty idea. Can I let you be the chairman of the jury?"
Lin Chaoyang's sarcasm did not dispel Li Tuo's ambition. He brought a bunch of people over today. What is this called? This is called public opinion!
"Why can't we be judges?"
"Don't tell me, go to the Literary and Art Association to apply. The organizational principles and award rules of the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award have been set, and the writer judges are invitation-only.
You are so familiar, how easy is it to get an invitation? Are you going to be a judge-——·
Lin Chaoyang's eyes fell on Li Tuo, looking him up and down, making him feel a little uncomfortable. He thought that Lin Chaoyang wanted to belittle him again, and was just thinking about how to retort, but he didn't expect Lin Chaoyang to say: "It's quite appropriate!"
Hearing this, Li Tuo was overjoyed.
"Really? I said that I am suitable to be a judge. In terms of theoretical knowledge and reading volume, there are few in the literary world today who can be better than me!"
When Li Tuo was feeling complacent, several people behind him asked.
"Chaoyang, what about us? What about us?"
Lin Chaoyang glanced at the others, "You guys can't do that!'
"Why?"
"Why not?"
Several people were anxious, and Chen Jiangong became even more angry: "He, Li Tuo, can be a judge, why can't we?"
",What do you mean? What do you mean I can be a judge?"
Li Tuo asked very unhappy.
"Don't say anything yet, I'm asking Chaoyang!"
"Why do you tell me not to speak? You insulted me, and I can't express my dissatisfaction, right?"
"Don't be so messy!"
"Master Tuo, Jian Gong didn't mean that!"
"Then what does he mean? You bunch of wallflowers—"
The few chatted for a while, the room was noisy, Lin Chaoyang was watching the fun, Tao Yushu had no choice but to call Chen Kaige to go next door to talk about business.
Li Tuo shouted: "Let Chaoyang say, there must be a reason why he is optimistic about me being a judge. As for you not being a judge, there must be a reason."
As he spoke, he did not forget to cast disdainful looks at several of his friends.
Everyone was indignant, but felt that Li Tuo's words were somewhat reasonable, and they all looked at Lin Chaoyang.
The scene was similar to a primary school student waiting for the teacher to hand out a small red flower.
"This————-the reason is mainly because the requirements for judges in the award rules are relatively strict.
The works of the current jury are not eligible for selection. In addition, the works of the judges will not be eligible for the next two sessions. Lin Chaoyang briefly explained this rule. Everyone reacted for a while. Chen Jiangong was the first to laugh.
Then several other people also reacted, and they burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"Haha, oops—""
Li Tuo's face was as dark as the soles of his shoes at this moment, and he looked at Lin Chaoyang with eyes full of resentment.
"Why are you looking at me like that? This rule is not intentionally aimed at you. Who makes you half-hearted all day long?
Can’t write anything?”
Li Tuoqiang defended himself: "I don't call it half-hearted, it's just drawing on analogies and reading a lot of books."
"Yes, yes. You are well-read, but you don't write books."
The conversation between the two aroused even more unbridled ridicule from others.
Li Tuo opened his eyes wide, his face turned blue and red for a while. He held on with strength, and the veins on his forehead popped out.
argued:
"Writing a book--doesn't it also require collecting inspiration to write a book? A writer--is not a coder and writes books all day long, then--
Is it still called art?”
The words that followed were difficult to understand, such as "date with inspiration", "root in reality", etc., which caused everyone to laugh even more, and the room was filled with a happy atmosphere.
After a while, everyone finally laughed enough, and Li Tuo finally picked up his poor self-esteem.
"Don't be dissatisfied. If you could write more like them, you wouldn't be the judge." Lin Chaoyang said, holding back a smile.
Li Tuo said unconvinced: "They are not qualified to be the ones they want to be!"
Everyone couldn't help but laugh, but no one argued with Li Tuo anymore. They all agreed that no one was more suitable to be the judge than Li Tuo.
"Chaoyang, what is the process of the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award? Please tell us in detail!"
In fact, a few people just heard that the Literary and Art Association was going to hold a heavyweight award recently. They heard that the prize money was not low, and they didn't know the actual situation. Lin Chaoyang told them about the situation.
When they heard "a single bonus of 100,000 yuan", several people were so surprised that their eyes turned red.
"Really 100,000 yuan?"
"With three individual awards, wouldn't the total prize be NT$300,000?"
"Chaoyang, you really attracted a rich man this time!"
Everyone marveled, Lin Chaoyang waved his hand and said: "It has nothing to do with me. Mr. Zhuang originally wanted to hold a prize, and he happened to find me when I was in Xiangjiang."
Zheng Wanlong couldn't help but think about it: "If I win a prize of 100,000 yuan, I won't have to worry about it in my life! What kind of class will I have to work for?"
Li Tuo said scornfully: "Look at your little fortune! What's wrong with 100,000 yuan? Isn't Chaoyang rich now?"
"So he doesn't go to work!"
"He didn't go to work, but he didn't miss writing the book!"
"If I had 100,000 yuan, I wouldn't go to work and write a book."
Everyone joked and laughed for a while, and then became concerned about the award evaluation cycle and time.
"The awards are reviewed every two years, and the publication time for the works is one month before the official award.
Preliminary preparations will take one or two months. The Cultural Association and I have tentatively decided that the preliminary selection will be in April, the final selection will be in May, and the awards will be awarded in June.
As for the specific time, it will be determined after the preparatory work is completed, and it should be announced in early April."
After listening to what Lin Chaoyang said, several people analyzed it and found that among them, only Chen Jiangong and Zheng Fanglong had a few short stories that met the award requirements.
"It's a pity that Chengji's "The Black Stallion" was published a year early, otherwise it would have been a strong contender for the Best Novella Award."
"Don't say these useless things. If you want to win awards, write more. Don't be like some people who can only be a judge."
Li Tuo was caught off guard and was hurt by Lin Chaoyang's "hidden arrow". He felt angry and said, "When I become a judge, you can't expect your work to win awards."
"My book is not included in the review, so you have no chance of being eliminated." Lin Chaoyang said in a brisk tone.
Everyone looked surprised, and Li Tuo couldn't help but ask: "Isn't your novel participating in the review?"
"Melon fields and plum trees!" Lin Chaoyang only said four words, and everyone understood.
On the one hand, I feel a little admired, but on the other hand, I feel that it is natural.
National Outstanding Short Story Award, Novella Award, Mao Dun Literary Award, Renaudot Literary Award - Lin Chaoyang has won enough heavyweight literary awards in recent years, and this honor is not lacking.
When it comes to bonuses, Lin Chaoyang is even better.
As the first writer in China to receive royalties, his works often cost millions of copies. The royalties from publishing a novel are enough for many writers to write for a lifetime.
Fame and wealth are abundant, and in the Chinese literary world, Lin Chaoyang has become aloof to a large extent.
Li Tuo hesitated and said, "Then I won't be a judge anymore."
Lin Chaoyang behaved with such high integrity, he felt that if he became a judge, he would be a bit suspected of favoritism.
Lin Chaoyang said, "It's okay. You deserve to be the judge. Everyone will agree."
Everyone couldn't help but burst out laughing again.
Li Tuo's face turned red, and he finally suppressed a curse: "Your uncle!"
After chatting about the Zhuang Chongwen Literature Award, everyone chatted about home affairs for a while and planned to have lunch at Lin Chaoyang's house before leaving.
Chen Jiangong sat next to Lin Chaoyang and said, "Chaoyang, are you free recently?"
"Is something wrong?" Lin Chaoyang asked.
"It's not me, it's Jianying who wants to interview you."
Lin Chaoyang's eyes were strange, "Why should I ask you if she wants to interview her?"
"A few days ago, some classmates from the class in Yanjing had a gathering, and she mentioned this matter. Maybe she thought I was familiar with you."
"She is welcome to interview anytime." Lin Chaoyang said.
When Liang Zuo organized a class reunion last year, Cha Jianying was also there. She mentioned that she wanted to interview Lin Chaoyang, but she never contacted Lin Chaoyang after that.
This time, I contacted him specifically through Chen Jiangong, probably because I felt that my relationship with Lin Chaoyang was too unfamiliar, so I was sorry.
Lin Chaoyang made a selfish guess, and after agreeing, Chen Jiangong happily said: "Okay, I'll tell her later and make an appointment again."
Zha Jianying's interview came very quickly. She met Lin Chaoyang on the fourth day after Chen Jiangong finished talking about it.
The meeting place was not at home, but at Yanda University.
Lin Chaoyang walked into the slightly crudely decorated cafe, his eyes full of novelties. Cha Jianying asked him: "Have you never been here before?"
"No." Lin Chaoyang shook his head.
This cafe is located in the small courtyard of the Student Union and Culture Department on the south side of Building 32 of Yanda. It opened four years ago, but at that time Lin Chaoyang rarely appeared in Yanda.
He doesn't usually have the habit of drinking coffee. Unless he is on a date with someone, he would only appear in such a place.
"I also came back to school to play some time ago and discovered this place."
After the two sat down, they chatted for a few words, and the topic was all about the coffee shop.
The employees in the cafe are all students from Yan'an University, who come here for work-study studies. The customers here are mainly teachers and students of Yan'an University, but there are also people from other schools.
There were several young people wearing strange clothes in the store today. Based on their dressing style, Lin Chaoyang judged that some of them should be students from the Academy of Fine Arts.
There are several abstract modern paintings hanging on the walls of the cafe. It is not surprising that these people are attracted to gather here. Lin Chaoyang and Cha Jianying chatted for just a few minutes, and someone has already noticed him.
Although Lin Chaoyang has rarely appeared at Yanda in recent years, his face has become a legend on Yanda campus.
Every time a new student enters the school, he will be mentioned again, and he will take a look at the library where he worked.
"It has been almost six years since my class graduated. I remember that at that time, the dining hall was still the cafeteria.
Now it has been converted into an auditorium, and so many old buildings are gone."
Interviewing is a science, and the topics often start with topics that both parties are familiar with.
Both Zha Jianying and Lin Chaoyang have stayed at Yanda, so this is a natural topic.
There was a hint of mirth in her tone, some reminiscing about the past, but Lin Chaoyang said: "If the old ones don't go away, the new ones won't come. Yanda's construction is getting better and better, which is essentially a good thing.'
The pen in Zha Jianying's hand was still gathering strength. She asked, "Don't you miss those glorious times?"
"Everyone will miss the past, but personal nostalgia can't change anything."
"That's right, the past has passed after all. But I think there are always some things that remain unchanged, such as the humanistic spirit here."
Lin Chaoyang glanced around and said, "It may look like this to you, but it doesn't look like that to me."
Zha Jianying looked questioning, "What do you think is different?"
"It's nothing, just personal feelings."
Seeing that Lin Chaoyang didn't want to talk more, Zha Jianying had no choice but to change the topic, "I remember that at that time, the famous writers at Yanda were all in the Chinese Department. Nowadays, Yanda doesn't seem to have many writers."
"The situation is different. At that time, people had accumulated talents for more than ten years, and they had accumulated enough age, knowledge, and experience. Plus, there was a real need in society, so it was naturally easier to get ahead."
Zha Jianying nodded and asked: "There were indeed many opportunities at that time. Every magazine was short of manuscripts and authors. The editors also had the patience to guide the new authors. You should be regarded as the first batch of writers to succeed after the flood of humanity.
, have you encountered any setbacks when submitting articles?”
"No. It went very smoothly. I just waited for two months. Compared with many people, I am already very lucky."
The interview got to the point, the two of them asked and answered each other, and the atmosphere was harmonious.
When talking about winning awards overseas, Cha Jianying asked: "Do you think you will win awards overseas in the future? Or let me ask another question, do you think other Chinese writers are likely to win awards overseas?"
"Whether Chinese writers will continue to win awards overseas is of course a matter of course, but after all, it is a small probability event.
Literature has no national boundaries, but language and writing are a gap.
Nowadays, most literary awards in various countries are only for domestic works, and it is not easy to win awards for foreign literary works.
The scope of some literary awards may be wider, but for works in non-native languages,
First, there is still an ideological barrier to overcome.
Personally speaking, winning the Renaudeau Literature Prize is a kind of luck.
After all, this is the first time in the history of the award that an exception has been made to award a foreign writer. If one or two judges had objected at the time, it might not have happened."
Lin Chaoyang's answer was not optimistic. Cha Jianying asked: "You said you were lucky to win the Renaudeau Literature Award, but I heard that "The Truman Show" sold very well in France before it won the award, and in the United States.
The sales volume is also good. By the way..."
While she was talking, she suddenly remembered something and took out a magazine from her bag.
Passed it to Lin Chaoyang, "I asked my colleagues to send this issue to me specially."
While Lin Chaoyang was flipping through the magazine, Cha Jianying introduced: "The interview in this issue has received a very good response from the intellectual class in the United States, which means you have gained some fame in the United States, which is very rare among Chinese writers.
"
Lin Chaoyang was not as surprised as Cha Jianying expected. He just said "thank you" with a smile on his face.
Zha Jianying asked without giving up, "What do you think it means to you when your works go abroad?"
After pondering for a moment, Lin Chaoyang replied with two words, "Royalty."
Zha Jianying's face was full of surprise. She didn't expect to hear such an answer and couldn't help but ask:
"International reputation is not important to you?"
"It's not that reputation is unimportant, it's just that royalties may be more practical.
You should understand that in this era, it is impossible for world-class literary giants like Hugo and Tolstoy to be born again.
Even if it is what you call 'international reputation', it is extremely difficult to seek."
Zha Jianying looked puzzled when she heard this, "Why?"
After taking a sip of coffee, Lin Chaoyang asked slowly: "Have you read any Malaysian literature?"
Zha Jianying didn't understand what he meant and shook his head.
"What about South African literature?"
Zha Jianying shook her head again, but she had already realized something.
"In fact, in essence, the so-called literature without borders in the past hundred years was largely a strong cultural invasion brought about by invasion and war.
1
Lin Chaoyang's sudden cultural outrage shocked Zha Jianying. She had never thought about the problem from such a perspective, so it took her a long time to recover.
"What if I take Latin American literature as an example? Latin America has not invaded other countries, right?" Zha Jianying tried to find an example to refute Lin Chaoyang's point of view.
"When did you first hear about the 'Latin American literary explosion' or 'magical realism'?"
Cha Jianying looked reminiscing, "It was probably in 1982 when Marquez won the Nobel Prize for Literature."
"So, the widespread spread of Latin American literature in the world is essentially still a cultural export under the discourse power of Western media.
Without the recognition of the Nobel Prize for Literature, and without the support of the media and elites in various countries who promote Western cultural values, there would be no widespread spread of Latin American literature in recent years."
Lin Chaoyang's words made Zha Jianying look thoughtful. As a person studying in the United States, she instinctively did not want to believe Lin Chaoyang's story, but after thinking about it carefully, Lin Chaoyang's statement seemed to make some sense.
"But whether it's communication or output, overall it's beneficial."
"Of course." Lin Chaoyang looked relaxed, "As long as it is not a unilateral output, it is beneficial."
Zha Jianying heard the unfinished meaning in his words and asked: "But you can't deny that whether it is French literature, British literature or Soviet literature, it has its own uniqueness, right?"
"Aren't there any unique features in the literary works of other countries? "Mocobharata" is not inferior to "The Divine Comedy", and "A Dream of Red Mansions" is not inferior to "Les Miserables"."
2
"A Dream of Red Mansions" tells the story of feudal princes in ancient China, how can you expect readers from other countries to understand it?"
"So, why can we understand Hugo's Jean Valjean, and why can we understand Jane Austen's Elizabeth?"
Lin Chaoyang's rhetorical question left Cha Jianying speechless. After a while, she smiled bitterly and said, "I didn't know you were so resistant to Western culture."
"This label is too big. Our ancestors said that we should take the essence and discard the dross. Any culture and civilization has its advantages and disadvantages. There is no perfect culture or system in this world.
Didn’t you just ask me what I think is different here?”
Listening to Lin Chaoyang's words, Zha Jianying ignored the debate between the two and asked, "What's the difference?"
"Many people here are blind in their pursuit and yearning for Western culture." Lin Chaoyang said sharply.
Zha Jianying couldn't help but frown, "Nowadays, developed countries in Europe and the United States are indeed ahead of most countries in the world in terms of economy, politics, culture, and military. Everyone's pursuit of a better spiritual and material life can't be considered blind, right?"
"Then you might as well do a survey and ask them whether they think jeans look better or Mao suits look better."
Lin Chaoyang's suggestion made Zha Jianying fall into silence. Based on the aesthetics displayed by these young people in the cafe,
Their choice speaks for itself.
"The conversation got a little sidetracked, let's talk about literature.
Seeing that Cha Jianying was trying to get into trouble, Lin Chaoyang took the initiative to change the topic. Zha Jianying wanted to argue with Lin Chaoyang, but he thought that this was an interview after all, so he controlled his desire to debate.
"Speaking of awards, I heard from Jiangong that you are recently cooperating with the Literary and Art Association to hold a literary award. Can we talk about it?"
"Of course. This award was first proposed by Mr. Zhuang Chongwen from Xiangjiang——"
Lin Chaoyang briefly introduced the origin and overview of the Zhuang Chongwen Literature Award. Cha Jianying sighed: "A single prize of 100,000 yuan is an astronomical sum for many creators in the current Chinese literary world!"
"Yes. We hope to select the best current works and give the most generous rewards to encourage serious creators.
Compared with the communication methods of art forms such as movies and television, literature is still not popular enough after all.
If we are able, we practitioners should still expand the influence of literature as much as possible.
After chatting with Lin Chaoyang for a long time, Cha Jianying finally found some valuable conversation content.
"The material rewards of the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award are much more generous than the Mao Dun Literary Award. Do you think its influence is likely to surpass the Mao Dun Literary Award?"
"Since there is an award, of course it must be the best. Whether it can surpass the influence of the Mao Dun Literature Award is not up to me. All we can do is pursue excellence.
We just talked about international literary awards. If possible, I even hope that this award can go international, but obviously this is unrealistic given the current conditions."
Today's interview lasted for nearly two hours. Cha Jianying felt that Lin Chaoyang was not a good interviewee.
Often puts his own ideas above those of the interviewer.
She felt this when she read the interview in The Paris Review.
Moreover, she could feel a sense of wariness against Western culture in Lin Chaoyang's words. Such wariness seemed somewhat inappropriate in the current domestic environment.
Fortunately, the final interview was completed relatively smoothly. From her professional perspective, although it was not as exciting as the interview in "The Paris Review", there were still many things to note.
After the interview, Cha Jianying said: "After I compile the manuscript, it will take at least half a month before it can be published in the newspaper.
I’ll send you a copy after it’s published.”
"Okay, thank you."
Cha Jianying gave the copy of "The Paris Review" to Lin Chaoyang, and Lin Chaoyang paid for the coffee in return.
As soon as the two of them walked out of the cafe, a group of students suddenly gathered around them. Lin Chaoyang thought they might be enthusiastic readers, but he looked at the leading ones with expressions that looked wrong.
It's not like they're here to watch the fun, but rather they're here to cause trouble.
"Hello, is this Comrade Lin Chaoyang?"
"It's me. What's wrong with you guys?"
"Hello, Comrade Chaoyang, I am Lin Dongwei, the president of Yanlang Poetry Club. These are our members. These two are members of Chenxi Poetry Club. We are all students of Yan University."
After the leader introduced himself, he introduced the classmates around him, and then said:
"In the past two days, the comrades of our school's Youth League Committee are organizing an awards event called the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award, and the May Fourth Literary Club has been designated as the special organization for the event.
I heard that you are a promoter of the awards and we would like to make a suggestion to you."
Lin Chaoyang nodded, with a gentle attitude, "Please speak."
"I have read the letter sent by the Literary and Art Association. The original intention of this award is to unite college students and use the power of our college students to select the most representative and outstanding literary works in the contemporary literary world.
But I think it is not enough for the award organizers to simply recruit literary societies like the May Fourth Literary Society.
We have literature lovers at Yan'an University not only in the May Fourth Literary Club, such as Yanlang Poetry Club and Chenxi Poetry Club, but also many students who are not keen on participating in club activities. They are also a powerful part of the award evaluation——"
Lin Dongwei made a long speech, which sounded reasonable and well-founded. His final appeal was that he hoped that more students (including Yanlang Poetry Society and Chenxi Poetry Society) should be included in the evaluation activities of the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award within YDU.
While he was speaking, Lin Chaoyang had a calm face and his eyes were observing the status of the students following Lin Dongwei. They seemed to deeply approve of Lin Dongwei's speech.
After finally waiting for Lin Dongwei to express his opinion, Lin Chaoyang was about to speak when several people ran over not far away.
While running, he shouted: "Lin Dongwei, what are you doing?"
While they were talking, several people came up to them, breathing heavily and staring sharply at the group headed by Lin Dongwei.
"Lin Dongwei, what do you want to do?"
The leader who came after him wore glasses, which were almost as thick as the bottom of a beer bottle. He looked polite, but the expression on his face was a little angry at this time.
"Nothing, we just want to talk to Comrade Chaoyang about the evaluation rules of the Zhuang Chongwen Literature Award." Lin Dongwei said confidently.
"The award procedures and organizational principles are agreed upon by the literary association. The selection of the May Fourth Literary Club was also confirmed by the Literary Association and the school league committee. What else do you have to talk about."
"Why can't we talk anymore? Is what the Literary and Art Association and the Youth League Committee have decreed? Do we have to listen to it?"
Lin Dongwei questioned the man with glasses unconvinced, and then asked Lin Chaoyang: "Comrade Chaoyang, shouldn't the awards be fair, impartial, and open? What's wrong with us literary lovers seeking to participate in the awards?"
The boy with glasses was afraid that Lin Chaoyang would be influenced by Lin Dongwei, so he hurriedly said: "Comrade Chaoyang, don't listen to him.
The organization of the awards activities has been successfully implemented——..."
At this time, Lin Chaoyang waved his hand and stopped the man with glasses.
"With so many people watching, let's find a quiet place to talk."
"Go to the Triangle!"
Lin Dongwei's proposal immediately attracted the approval of all the students present. The triangle area has always been a controversial place in Yanda, and it is in line with the current situation.
Chapter completed!