Back to 80: My Literary Life

It was a month later that Fang Minghua received this novel.

It has been translated into Chinese and is called "奇山香香", a very poetic name in ancient China.

Li Li also sent a letter with the letter, which mainly introduced the author Robert Olen Butler, so that you can have a better understanding of the writing background of this novel.

Fang Minghua read it carefully.

It feels like a novel of the same type as "Yenching People in New York", but in terms of the depth of content alone, it is much more profound than the latter.

Most American Vietnam War literature is Americans' reflection on the war, but this novel is an outlier, describing the story of Vietnamese people.

The cultural differences between Vietnam and the United States, the reflection on the Vietnam War and the separation of the world are reflected through the struggle of individuals in the conflict and confrontation between the two cultures.

Fang Minghua thinks it is quite well written.

But think about it, the people in this country described by the author are also hateful enough.

After experiencing so much suffering in the war, they turned their guns on the people who once helped them selflessly, and were abused again.

So there is a saying: There must be something hateful about pitiful people.

Forget it, let's just leave literature as literature.

This is the first work received from the United States since the call for papers was issued.

The subject matter is novel, the writing angle is unique, and the delicate words can feel the drowsy climate of tropical countries. The air is thick and soft, mixed with the fragrance from the Emerald Mountain.

Fang Minghua felt that it was really possible to win the award.

What he didn't know was that in history, this novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in the United States.

In addition to receiving manuscripts from the United States, the judges' office also received works by Japanese writers, a very famous essay "A Trip to the Prodrome Monastery" by Haruki Murakami.

According to the introduction in the letter from the publisher, this is an essay in Haruki Murakami's essay collection "Rainy Days and Hot Days". The entire essay collection records what Haruki Murakami saw, heard and thought during his trip to Greece and Turkey. The author presents the cultural landscape of Greece and Turkey from a unique perspective.

Murakami Haruki's writing style is beyond words. Fang Minghua just felt that it was a pity that the book "Norwegian Wood" that was not written by him had already been published and translated into Chinese. Otherwise, even if he could not win the award, he should have no problem being shortlisted.

Later, more and more entries were sent from foreign countries, but most of them were from Chinese living abroad.

Yan Geling's novel "Young Fisherman", Zhang Ailing's essay collection "Grass-burning Cakes", Bei Dao's essay "The Polish Visitor".

That famous poem:

We had dreams then

About literature

About love

About traveling across the world

Now we drink late at night

The cups clink together

It's the sound of broken dreams

It comes from this essay.

Two months have passed, and it's October. As of the end of September, Zhang Yanqian counted that among the essays received, there were 37 novels, 68 novellas, 154 short stories, 89 essays, and 38 poems (collections). There will definitely be more submissions later, but Fang Minghua estimates that the climax has passed.

But these millions of words of works are enough for the members of the reading class to spend some time reading every day, especially Fang Minghua, who occasionally has to go to Xida for classes.

Hard life.

It's the National Day holiday now, and it's rare to have a few days off.

Today, Fang Minghua's courtyard was very lively. Except for the two children, a large group of people stayed here.

It turned out that the chrysanthemums in the flowerbed at the corner of the courtyard had bloomed, with a reddish, light white and deep yellow color, which was very beautiful, so a group of literati clamored to appreciate the chrysanthemums.

Lu Yao, Chen Zhongshi, Jia Pingwa, Bai Miao, and Wang Yu, in addition, Li Hongying and Wang Zi also came, anyway, they didn't have anything to do now.

Isn't there a poem that says: The autumn wind is bleak after the Double Ninth Festival, and the yellow chrysanthemums are blooming and the wine is fragrant.

It's not enough to just appreciate the chrysanthemums, you also have to drink.

It's not enough to just drink, you also have to eat vegetables.

Fang Minghua's family has a full range of vegetables and meat, but the problem is that these old Qin people can eat and drink, but they are all amateurs in cooking.

Li Hongying volunteered to be the chef. She is from Chongqing and has been able to cook since she was a child.

But how can she, a girl, be so busy?

Fang Minghua simply invited her mother who lived in her sister's house to come over. The old lady is good at cooking, likes the hustle and bustle, and also wants to visit her two precious grandchildren, so she came.

Mom Zhang Fenglan is the cook, Li Hongying is helping in the kitchen, Wang Zi is playing with the two kids, Fang Minghua and the others are drinking tea and chatting in the courtyard.

Today is a nice day, with clear and cool autumn weather, it is indeed a good day to relax.

Today we didn't talk about literature.

After chatting for a while, Jia Pingwa insisted on going to the calligraphy and painting exhibition hall on the third floor, and Fang Minghua had to agree.

If he wasn't on good terms with someone else, he would usually decline.

Everyone followed him up to the third floor, and when Fang Minghua opened the door, everyone was amazed, especially Bai Miao and Wang Yu who had never been in, they were even more stunned. This is simply an exhibition hall in a museum.

As the saying goes, experts see the doorway while laymen see the excitement.

The older writers in the 1980s have one thing in common. In addition to writing, they are also particularly interested in calligraphy and painting, especially calligraphy. Zhang Xianliang from Ningxia, Feng Jicai from Tianjin, Gao Jianqun from Qin Province, Jia Pingwa, Chen Zhongshi, etc. have all practiced calligraphy and have studied calligraphy.

So as soon as they went up, they looked at each painting and calligraphy and started to comment on it.

"Hey, I heard that some wealthy people in Hong Kong and Taiwan specialize in collecting paintings and calligraphy by famous people, especially the paintings of the deceased Xu Beihong, Zhang Daqian, and Qi Baishi. I heard that they have been sold for hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars." It was Jia Pingwa who spoke.

Among this group of people, he was the most interested in this thing.

Others were shocked when they heard this.

A painting costs more than 100,000 yuan, and it’s still Hong Kong dollars!

Only Fang Minghua smiled and said nothing.

Isn’t it a bit conservative to say hundreds of thousands?

"Hey, Minghua, didn't you go to Xiangjiang some time ago? Didn't you plan to sell a few paintings? Make some Hong Kong dollars?" Jia Pingwa asked again.

"I really didn't know a painting could be sold for so much money." Fang Minghua looked like he didn't know anything.

"I have said before that these things are not for sale. I just have nothing to do to see for myself. If it is as Pingwa said, a painting is so valuable. When the Chinese Literature Award has no money to pay out bonuses in a few years, I will sell a few of them. ”

Fang Minghua said half-jokingly and half-seriously.

Unexpectedly, everyone showed contempt.

Are you still short of money? !

As the saying goes, there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts, but you, the richest among literati, are definitely the first!

"Come down and eat." Li Hongying shouted loudly in her Sichuan dialect from downstairs.

"Go, go, go down and eat!" Fang Minghua urged everyone and quickly closed the door of the exhibition hall.

The dining table was placed in the middle of the yard. Everyone washed their hands and sat casually. The dishes included traditional dishes from Qin Province and Sichuan cuisine - Mapo tofu and couple's lung slices, which were cooked by Li Hongying.

The wine is Chenggu Tequ. Fang Minghua usually drinks this when entertaining guests. It is affordable and tastes good.

There was a scene in Fang Minghua's home, but Song Tangtang, thousands of miles away, was preparing to participate in a TV talk show.

New York, CBS headquarters building.