The in-depth interview conducted by the "United Daily News" supplement with Lin Chaoyang lasted one afternoon, but the profile interview with the group of writers surrounding Lin Chaoyang lasted two days.
Su Weizhen suspected that he had stabbed the writer's nest. After all, he could not finish the interview that night. With Xian's support, he had no choice but to make an appointment to continue the interview the next day.
As a result, I went to the courtyard of Xiaoliubukou Hutong the next day and saw that there were so many people there.
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief to make sure he saw it right.
Then I found out that everyone had heard that they were coming for an interview and came over specifically to contribute some material.
Some people even hesitate to take time off.
For the first time in his life, Su Weizhen felt a physical distaste for his career, and he felt like he was going to vomit during the interview.
At the same time, he also deeply doubted that there was so much material, how to organize and edit it in the future, couldn’t he publish it all? Then he couldn’t publish more than ten issues in a row?
Eventually he figured out that these articles were not something he should worry about.
The interview in the supplement of "United Daily News" was carried out with great enthusiasm for two days. The protagonist Lin Chaoyang's scenes were pitifully small, similar to the male protagonists in later generations who had all their scenes deleted in order to praise the rich woman's milk dog.
It completely became a gathering for the Yanjing Writers Circle and some foreign writers in Beijing to praise Lin Chaoyang. The sense of existence of this group of people was simply ridiculously strong.
In the end, Xian, Su Weizhen, and Yu Bixiao returned with a full load of material (including countless literary gossip) that far exceeded their imagination when they came.
A few days later, the supplement of "United Daily News" published the article "I Send Little Warmth to the World - An Interview with Xu Lingjun, the Newstat International Literary Award Winner of the United States."
The author of "I Send Little Nuan to the World" is Zhong Xian, and the lines of the article are filled with Zhong Xian's deep appreciation for Lin Chaoyang.
"When I first arrived in Yanjing, the afterglow of the Asian Games had not completely faded away, and traces of the event half a month ago could still be seen in the streets.
Mr. Cao of the Journalist Association who was in charge of the reception contacted Mr. Lin in advance for us, and the next day the four of us drove to Xiaoliubukou Alley.
The car drove on Chang'an Street, passed by Tiananmen Square, Zhong N Sea, and turned into Daliubukou Street. Just from the name, you can tell that this was the office of various government agencies more than a hundred years ago.
The entrance to Xiaoliubukou Hutong is narrow. When the car stopped at the entrance of the alley, we got off the car and walked. We were surrounded by quaint and unique courtyard houses.
When passing by an open courtyard gate, there was a sign saying "Author's Home" hanging on the door. Mr. Cao, the reporter Xie, introduced that this was the west courtyard of Mr. Lin's home.
There was a vague noise coming from inside. Mr. Cao said that this is the place where Yanjing writers most often gather, and it is also the first stop for foreign writers to settle in Beijing.
About fifty steps further in, you will find the east courtyard where Mr. Lin's family has lived.
There is a plaque on the door of the east courtyard, which reads: Xunweizhai. There is a couplet on the side of the door, which reads: Where can I find the immortal sound in the sky, and the best taste in the world can be found in this Zhai.
Mainland writer Yu Hua introduced us to the house. The east-west courtyard with three entrances can be called a house. The courtyard is structured with a Chinese courtyard, combined with Western-style arches and Chinese-style window grilles. It is a combination of Chinese and Western styles.
There is a courtyard in the house, and there are trees in the courtyard. They are two French plane trees. The sky can be seen from the trees, which is very beautiful.
Mr. Lin fits my impression of a writer very well. He has a fresh and clean image, bright and sincere eyes, is humble and polite, generous and gentle.
He is much younger than I thought. Maybe it is because I have heard his name a long time ago, and through the imagination of the work, I created the image of a highly respected man. When I saw the real person, I was a little unbelievable. This article about Lin Chaoyang
The full text of the in-depth interview was published in Jinfangzi. It not only interviewed Lin Chaoyang before and after winning the award and the inside story unknown to the public, but also introduced many detailed information about Lin Chaoyang to Bay Island readers.
Lin Chaoyang's works have become extremely popular on the island in the past two years, and many cultural figures and readers are curious about this well-known writer from the other side of the Taiwan Strait.
Therefore, once this article was published, it aroused great repercussions in the island's cultural circles and reader groups.
The "United Daily News" supplement has a high status in the Bay Island literary world and has always been published independently. After the interview with Lin Chaoyang was released, the supplement's sales increased by nearly 200,000 copies, and the effect was surprisingly good.
The editorial department of the supplement was excited. Seeing that Wandao readers were so interested in Lin Chaoyang, they immediately urged Su Weizhen to organize and edit the content of the interview in Yanjing that day and continue publishing.
"Decrypting the Xunweizhai Literary Salon, the No. 1 Literary Event in Mainland China" and "Behind the Birth of the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award"
"The Relationship between Wang Zengqi and Lin Chaoyang" "The 'Zhuoxian Meeting" that launched the first shot of root-seeking literature"——
At this time, Su Weizhen finally felt the benefit of being "besieged" by writers in Yanjing. There was so much material that she could never use it up, and she had all kinds of anecdotes about the mainland literary world at her fingertips.
After the article was published, the supplement's sales increased steadily and received rave reviews.
The golden age of Bay Island literature in the 1970s and 1980s produced a large number of readers with extremely high literary literacy. In the past two years, JY on the island has witnessed the rise of a mainland craze. Readers are very interested in mainland literary works and writers.
interest.
Many readers believe that the 1980s, when mainland literature was booming, was like the 1970s in the Bay Islands, which makes many readers who have experienced that period feel more familiar.
Readers also had a good impression of the "Xiaoliubukou Hutong" described in the supplement article, feeling that it was like a literary paradise and called it the mainland version of "Lin Haiyin's living room".
The publication of these articles not only further enhanced Lin Chaoyang's reputation in Bay Island, but many readers were influenced by the articles and regarded Lin Chaoyang as the leader of the new generation of mainland literary circles, and they felt a sense of admiration.
A few days after Zhengxian and others left Yanjing, Lin Chaoyang also got on the plane back to Xiangjiang.
When he was in the mainland, it was difficult to receive information from Bay Island.
As soon as I returned to Xiangjiang, I heard that the supplement of "United Daily News" published consecutive interviews with him, which caused a series of reactions on the island.
The exchanges between the two places are already close, and there are no official barriers between them, so the exchange of information is relatively smooth.
Seeing the vigorous coverage of Lin Chaoyang in Wandao, the media in Xiangjiang felt a little uncomfortable.
As early as the results of the Newstat International Literature Prize in the United States were announced, Hong Kong media reported the news that Lin Chaoyang had won the award.
The Hong Kong cultural circles and readers all cheered and shouted for it. Everyone has always regarded Lin Chaoyang as one of their own. No matter whether Lin Chaoyang won an award for his work or his adaptation, the media praised him as a flower. He would always say "The Light of Hong Kong"
".
Now, "Light of Hong Kong" has won a literary award in the United States, participated in activities in the mainland, and accepted interviews with Taiwanese media, but it has no role in Hong Kong. How can this be considered unworthy of humanity?
During the days when Lin Chaoyang lingered in the mainland and was interviewed by Bay Island media, several media outlets made some sarcastic remarks.
But when they learned about Lin Chaoyang's return to Xiangjiang, they immediately sent out an interview invitation.
Xiangjiang's cultural circle has never had much international reputation. Lin Chaoyang won an internationally influential award like the Neustadt International Literature Prize, which is equivalent to giving Xiangjiang a reputation in the world.
The media couldn't wait to praise him, and their attitude was even more exaggerated than when he won the French Renaudeau Literature Prize a few years ago.
Suddenly, invitations from reporters from twenty or thirty media outlets came flooding in, leaving Lin Chaoyang overwhelmed.
He screened and kept six or seven orthodox media outlets with good reputations, while rejecting the rest. Even so, he was busy for three days.
During this period, I also took time to go to the Chinese University of Hong Kong and gave a speech, which was warmly welcomed by the students at the school.
Students like to be exposed to new things. They may not have heard of the Neustadt International Literature Prize, but they can’t resist the media’s efforts to popularize it!
"The Nobel Prize for Literature in the United States" and "Nobel Prize for Literature Weathervane" have many titles and specious introductions. Although they are suspected of being unfair, they have indeed played a role in attracting readers' attention and attention.
In addition to media coverage and warm welcomes wherever he goes, another benefit of Lin Chaoyang's award is the continued growth in sales of his works.
This is true not only in Xiangjiang, but also in many countries and regions such as the Mainland, Bay Islands, Japan, and the United States.
The influence of the Neustadt International Literature Prize is not as great as that of the "top-tier" Nobel Prize in Literature among international awards, but it is definitely considered first-rate among international literary awards.
As a Xinpu award-winner, Lin Chaoyang and his works have been widely reported by literary media and publications in various countries during this period, which has promoted the growth of sales of his works.
At this time, "Ming Pao" reported that Lin Chaoyang's new work "Father" will be released simultaneously in the three places across the Taiwan Strait on November 1.
As soon as the news came out, readers rejoiced and cultural circles from all over the country turned their attention to it.
You know, this is Lin Chaoyang's first work after winning the Neustadt Prize. Everyone is very curious about what kind of stories and breakthroughs Lin Chaoyang will bring this time.
On the morning of November 1st, Sanlian Bookstore, O'Brien Road, Wan Chai.
In the city of Xiangjiang, bookstores have never been crowded places. Except for stationery stores that also sell comics and are frequented by students, there are few bookstores where readers gather in groups.
But in the past two or three years, every special day, a large number of readers would gather in some bookstores in Xiangjiang.
Wan Chai Sanlian Bookstore's storefront is not broad. It looks similar in size to Xinhua Bookstore in mainland counties. However, in Xiangjiang where land is at a premium, such independent bookstores are already one of the few.
The new book release information hanging in the store today is very eye-catching. It was specially marked in bold to prevent readers from noticing it. It said: "Xu Lingjun's "Father", a new book is on the shelf!"
Early in the morning, a large number of readers had gathered here.
As soon as the bookstore opened, readers rushed in. In a short time, everyone had a book in hand, which was "Father" that had just been put on the shelves.
Over the past few years, Lin Chaoyang has accumulated a group of very cohesive and loyal readers in Xiangjiang. Whenever his new works are released, these people will definitely gather here, and today is no exception.
A girl with long black hair and beautiful appearance had just gotten the copy of "Father" and looked delighted. She couldn't wait to flip through it when she heard two people whispering beside her.
"Hey, stop reading now and go to the Kowloon Library."
"Why are you going to the library?"
"Just now Ah Wei sent a message saying that Xu Lingjun is holding a readers' meeting at the Kowloon Library today."
"Damn! Where did he get the news? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Don't worry about this for now and go quickly."
Two young men who looked like college students rushed out of the bookstore. The girl only hesitated for two seconds before rushing out.
You can read the book at any time, and there are not many opportunities to attend reader meetings.
A few days ago, Xu Lingjun went to give a speech at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She went there because of the popularity. The atmosphere was extremely heated.
She raised her hand for a long time, but didn't even get a chance to ask questions.
Wan Chai is on the main island, a long drive from Kowloon. The girl finally arrived at the library in Ho Man Tin at early ten o'clock.
The Kowloon Library was just completed five years ago, and both the building and the facilities are very new.
The girl gasped and ran into the library lobby. Without searching, she found an eye-catching event notice in the lobby, which clearly stated the time, location and other related matters of the "Xu Lingjun Readers' Meeting".
The venue of the meeting was on the sixth floor of the library. When the girls walked into the venue, it was quiet and filled with dense crowds of people.
Everyone was listening intently to the conversation between the two people on the podium. In the space of more than 2,000 people, only the voice of Lin Chaoyang's conversation echoed.
".---If we look at ourselves as humans from a higher-dimensional perspective, we can clearly find that in fact, we humans are just poor creatures trapped in the prison of time. Lao An's situation is actually the same for each of us.
Possible situations—."
Today's reader meeting was attended by Lin Chaoyang at the invitation of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
He just won an award recently, and the official came to take advantage of the popularity and seek some benefits for the citizens of Xiangjiang.
At the meeting, the person he talked to was Liu Yi, an old acquaintance.
The girl entered the venue and listened for just a few minutes. Before she could get enough of it, the conversation between the two ended, which made her deeply regretful.
Next came the communication time between Lin Chaoyang and the readers. In the eyes of the girls, the situation was similar to the speech given at the Chinese University of Hong Kong a few days ago. The readers' communication and questions were frighteningly enthusiastic.
She raised her hand for a long time, but it was inconspicuous among the crowd of arms. She was never touched. The girl couldn't help but feel disappointed.
"Please ask the lady with long hair and the black coat."
The girl suddenly realized that the direction and characteristics Lin Chaoyang pointed at were exactly hers. She felt as if she had been hit by a trap falling from the sky, and stood up happily and excitedly.
"Hello Mr. Lin, I am Zhang Xiaoxian, a student of Hong Kong Baptist University. I would like to ask you a question. "Please tell me!" Lin Chaoyang on the stage politely extended his hand to Zhang Xiaoxian.
"I noticed that you have written works on many themes, both in content and style, but you have never written works on love themes.
I would like to ask, will you consider writing a love-themed work in the future?
If you could write, what kind of story would you like to write?”
After listening to Zhang Xiaoxian's question, Lin Chaoyang laughed.
The girl in front of me is none other than Zhang Xiaoxian, a romance novel writer who became famous across the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan. Given her character, it is reasonable to ask such a question.
Lin Chaoyang thought for a while and said: "As for whether I will create a love-themed work, I can't answer you for sure.
But I think I might not write a novel specifically to praise love."
Zhang Xiaoxian couldn't help but feel disappointed after hearing this, and asked: "Love is so beautiful, why can't we sing about it?"
"This world is beautiful, not only about love."
Lin Chaoyang replied. Since there were still many readers waiting to ask questions, he did not communicate more with Zhang Xiaoxian.
After the meeting ended, Lin Chaoyang was surrounded by readers asking for autographs. Zhang Xiaoxian stood outside the crowd and watched these people swarm forward, feeling envious in her heart.
I feel that being a pure literary writer is as good as Lin Chaoyang's.
But she thought about Lin Chaoyang's answer just now, and felt a little angry. What happened to love novels? Which one of Qiong Yao, Yi Shu, and Li Bihua didn't write love novels?
Feeling a little depressed, she didn't follow the crowd and ask for autographs. Thinking that she hadn't read the book she just bought, she found a random place in the library and read novels there.
Lin Chaoyang's new book is called "Father". When Zhang Xiaoxian saw this title, she instinctively thought it was about father's love.
After she turned a few pages, she couldn't help but frown.
The beginning of the novel tells the story of the daughter "An Xin" going to the home of her father, Lao An, who has memory problems. Because of her husband's job, she was transferred to Xiangjiang and could no longer take care of her father. Her father also drove away the caregiver Aunt Mei. She persuaded her father to accept her as a caregiver.
Arrangements for new nursing care.
But his father firmly believed that he could take care of himself and rejected "An Xin". The father and daughter had a quarrel and finally broke up.
Because the preset had been preset, this beginning did not bring any freshness to Zhang Xiaoxian.
She admitted that Lin Chaoyang's writing power was extraordinary. With just a few thousand words at the beginning, the stubborn and conceited character of the father had been completely established. The image of his daughter An Xin was a little dry, but her character traits were also very clear.
But this arrangement can hardly be called innovative, Zhang Xiaoxian commented in her heart.
However, at this moment, the story of the novel suddenly changed, and a stranger suddenly appeared in Lao An's home. He called himself Luo Jun, said that he was An Xin's husband, and that the house where Lao An lived belonged to him.
Facing Luo Jun's certainty, Lao An fell into confusion. He suspected that Luo Jun was a liar, but he also realized that he seemed to have missed some information.
He slowly sorted out his memory, but what he still remembered was that he had driven away nurse Xiaomei, and then An Xin was going to Xiangjiang, arranged a new nurse for him, and asked him to move to a nursing home.
After reading this, Zhang Xiaoxian was as confused as Lao An. This is nothing. Wasn't it fine just now? Why is the plot completely separated? What is going on with Luo Jun?
She thought she had missed some key information, so she read the first few pages of the novel again, and found that she had read it correctly, but the narrative of the novel suddenly fell into fragmentation.
It feels like the author suddenly fell into a schizophrenia.
You still look down on romance novels!
Zhang Xiaoxian complained in her heart and continued reading patiently. She had read many of Lin Chaoyang's novels and understood Lin Chaoyang's creative ability. She knew that he didn't even have the most basic storytelling ability.
Looking further, Luo Jun said he was going to get a cup of tea, but then he disappeared.
At this time, An Xin, who claimed to be "An Xin", appeared, but Lao An found that he did not recognize the An Xin in front of him at all, and Lao An fell into self-doubt.
The father and daughter chatted and talked about An Xin's husband who had just appeared and disappeared. An Xin said that his name was Liu Yanbing and that she was divorced five years ago.
Seeing this, Zhang Xiaoxian felt like her head was exploding.
She clearly understands every natural part of this paragraph, but why does she feel like she can't understand it when they are put together? What is the problem?
She couldn't help but feel a little irritated, and she really wanted to throw this old book aside.
But she thought that she had already bought the novel, so if she read a few more pages, maybe she would be able to give out some clues later on?
With this mentality, Zhang Xiaoxian continued to read.
Then, she became more and more confused. Although Lin Chaoyang kept throwing out clues in the narrative, as a reader, Zhang Xiaoxian was still unable to get a glimpse of the whole story.
We can only try to understand and summarize the whole story with a tentative touch, like a blind man feeling an elephant.
But until the library was about to close, she still hadn't completely figured out the plot of the novel.
She walked out of the Kowloon Library angrily. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. After reading novels for so many years, she had never seen such a novel. It was simply fooling the readers into thinking they were fools.
After thinking about it again, she felt something was wrong.
If she can't understand the novel, isn't she worse than a fool?
She returned home with a sigh of relief, and continued to read the novel. She did not believe that she could not even understand a novel.
After two days of this, Zhang Xiaoxian also lay in bed for almost two days, during which she hardly stopped except for eating and going to the toilet.
At this moment, she was lying on the bed, with the novel opened next to the pillow. Tears were pouring out like a flood, and she tried her best to suppress her sobs.
She read it for two days and finally understood the story.
But at this moment, she didn't care about whether the novel made her look like a fool. She just wanted to cry wildly.
After crying for a long time, she finally felt a little relieved. She picked up the novel again and tried to sort out the story.
But when she saw what Lao An said in the book, "I feel like my leaves are about to fall off," her tears burst out again, completely uncontrollable.
This novel has so much staying power!
For half the night, Zhang Xiaoxian cried while watching, and the more she cried, the more she watched, until she finally fell asleep.
After she had a good sleep, she finally cleared away the sadness in her heart, but at this time, she had already accumulated thousands of words of praise in her heart, and she urgently needed to find an outlet.
Finally, Zhang Xiaoxian picked up the pen and wrote a line of text on the paper:
We will eventually be forgotten, including ourselves.
Affected by the upsurge of coverage of the Neustadt International Literary Award, Lin Chaoyang's "Father" was greatly welcomed by the readership when it was first launched in Hong Kong.
Various bookstores were crowded with enthusiastic readers who came to buy books. In just one week, the sales volume of the novel in Hong Kong exceeded 50,000 copies.
This situation not only happens in Xiangjiang, but also in the mainland and Bay Islands.
This time "Father" was released simultaneously in three places on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and advertisements in many literary publications in various places were placed a month in advance, which can be described as a huge momentum.
It takes one week to go on sale in mainland China.
The sales volume of "Father" exceeded 280,000 copies, which is one of the few achievements among Lin Chaoyang's works.
In Bay Island, it also achieved sales of 23,000 copies per week.
However, along with the novel's booming sales momentum, many readers have reported that the content of the novel is very obscure, the story structure is like a maze, and the narrative has no smoothness at all.
Among Lin Chaoyang's millions of readers, there are many senior literature lovers with rich reading experience. However, even these patient and aesthetic readers were frightened by the difficulty of reading "Father".
.
There are not many readers like Zhang Xiaoxian who can persist in reading it for the first time.
The first wave of reader feedback for "Father" scared away many potential readers who were ready to take action. These people were not Lin Chaoyang's most loyal readers. They would buy a copy if the work had a good reputation, and vice versa.
The sudden drop in readers' reputation caused the originally good sales of "Father" to take a turn for the worse. The novel's sales in the mainland in the second week were only 110,000 copies, and sales in Xiangjiang and Wandao also fell sharply.
This situation was something that several publishing houses on both sides of the Taiwan Strait had never imagined. They are the publishers of "Father" and are very confident in the story and quality of the novel.
It is generally believed that the narrative and structure of "The Father" are indeed not friendly enough for ordinary readers.
To even understand this story, you may need a little bit of IQ.
But overall, this novel is still a masterpiece full of artistic charm.
After the novel was released, sales started high but then declined, and the early reputation did not meet expectations, which is extremely rare among Lin Chaoyang's novels.
In the past, works such as "The Master of Chess" and "The Great Era" had a poor reputation in the early stage, but Haoluo's sales performance was able to withstand it.
The beginning of "Father" this time feels a bit like Waterloo.
Fortunately, this situation did not last long.
In the last week of the novel's first month on the market, as more and more readers "gnawed" down "The Father", the novel's reputation among readers also experienced a reversal.
At the same time, many literary publications and newspapers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and three places also released their evaluations of the novel.
Among the many comments from media publications in various places, the article in Ming Pao was the first to be published. In the second week after the novel was released, Ming Pao published an article titled "We will eventually be forgotten."
This article can hardly be regarded as a book review, because there is no rational logical analysis throughout it, and it is all about the author's subjective reading experience of the novel.
Chapter completed!