Chapter 452 Chairman Han

They only read a third of the manuscript, but they didn't ask Su Tong about the rest of the content. They just said that they must read the rest of the manuscript next time they have time.

"This story is indeed quite interesting."

Yu Hua mentioned interesting again, but in fact, the interesting he meant was not the same thing as the interesting understood by ordinary people.

"Bodhisattva Man" is a tragic story. Although the tragedy is revealed at the end, the tone of the first third of the story is already depressing and sad.

What Yu Hua said was interesting. He just said that the story was written in a very special way and was different from the ordinary perspective.

Generally speaking, this is a story about two dead people guarding several living people, but they cannot protect them because they are already dead.

Although the setting is quite fantastic, this is a realistic novel, and it is traditional realism and does not have a true magical flavor.

In fact, many times, if the two dead people are replaced by living people, the story will be true.

In reality, this is also the case in many people's lives.

It's just that this setting exaggerates some of the characteristics of family relationships, which can make the audience's feelings more profound.

After they chatted about "The Bodhisattva Man" for a while, Su Tong asked Zhou Yan curiously, "Have you published any new works recently? It's been a long time since I saw your novel."

Zhou Yan shook his head, "No, I've been busy with movies recently."

Yu Hua smiled and said, "Who said no? Don't you have a novel that is going to be published in the United States?"

He was talking about Shutter Island.

Zhou Yan has handed over the manuscript of "Shutter Island" to Zhang Youan. He has been proofreading and translating it for some time, and it is estimated that the result will be available in one or two months.

The reason why Zhou Yan didn't mention this book was naturally because "Shutter Island" is a popular novel. He wrote it just to make money, and there was no need to talk about it with Su Tong and the others.

Hearing what Yu Hua said, Su Tong asked curiously, "Is this a new work? Why did it go to the United States to publish it first?"

"The novel is called "Shutter Island". The script came first and then the novel came into being." Zhou Yan explained.

"Are we going to make a movie?" Su Tong asked.

Zhou Yan nodded, "Well, it's going to be filmed. The film company hopes that the novel can be released before the movie is released."

"I see, aren't you going to publish the novel in the country?"

"Let's sell it abroad first. If the sales are good, we will sell it domestically."

"This method is quite interesting." Su Tong asked Yu Hua and Shi Tiesheng again, "Have you read the manuscript?"

"He didn't want to read it." Yu Hua was slightly resentful, "I showed him the manuscript of "Xu Sanguan Sells Blood" without hesitation at all."

Zhou Yan rolled his eyes, "What do you mean I won't show it to you? I sent my manuscript out. I'll show it to you when it comes back."

Yu Hua didn't buy Zhou Yan's explanation at all, "You can't write a novel in one day. You have plenty of time to show it to us, but you never told us or showed it to us before."

"Didn't I write it well before?"

"Yes, I didn't write it well before, but I sent it out as soon as I finished it." Yu Hua teased.

Zhou Yan had no choice but to promise, "I will show you the manuscript next week."

"You have to remember what you said."

When Su Tong saw Yu Hua and Zhou Yan bickering, she secretly sighed that their relationship was really good.

He knew that Yu Hua was very open-minded in front of acquaintances, but he was also a little reserved when meeting unfamiliar people.

"By the way, your movie is about to be released," Su Tong said.

Zhou Yan nodded, "I was just about to say this. There will be a premiere on the 20th. Teacher Su, if you have time, you can go and have fun. It will be at the Yanjing Concert Hall."

"The 20th." Su Tong thought for a while, "It should be fine."

He is actually similar to Zhou Yan and the others. The activities such as the change of leadership after the representative meeting have nothing to do with him. He is completely free on the 20th.

"We will all go then." Yu Hua said.

"Is Tiesheng going too?"

Shi Tiesheng nodded and said with a smile, "I'll join in the fun too."

Su Tong raised his eyebrows in surprise. He didn't expect Shi Tiesheng to be willing to participate in such an event. There must be a lot of people at the premiere. Shi Tiesheng has inconvenient legs and feet and has never been willing to go to such a lively place.

Shi Tiesheng's article is very powerful, but in life he is not much different from ordinary disabled people. He is not willing to trouble others, and he is not willing to be watched by many people.

It seems that Shi Tiesheng's mentality is much more relaxed now than before, and his relationship with Zhou Yan is really good.

In the past, Shi Tiesheng would go to Ditan Park to sit and not walk too far, but I heard that now he often goes to Zhou Yan's studio to listen to music.

Of course, Yu Hua played a key role in the process. He often took the initiative to push Shi Tiesheng over.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "I will arrange your seats together when the time comes."

"After a while, Han Shaogong came and asked him if he was going. Sister Wang and the others also asked. It would be lively if there were more people." Yu Hua said.

"Wouldn't it be bad for us to go to the movie premiere in a big group?"

Zhou Yan waved his hands and said, "No, the Yanjing Concert Hall is very big and can seat a lot of people, but it may not be full. If you can go, you can give me a strong venue."

"If you say that, then I have to go."

…

When the tea leaves were changed for the second time, Xiao Li at the front desk led a middle-aged man to the office.

The man was wearing a black cotton jacket, and his hair was combed to one side, covering half of his forehead, but it could be seen that his hairline had begun to fall.

Perhaps the reason why he combed his hair like this was to cover up the fact that his hairline had fallen.

He had a little buck teeth, and his eyes were smiling even when he was not talking.

"Chairman Han, you are finally here." Yu Hua said with a smile.

The man who came was Han Shaogong.

Yu Hua called him Chairman Han, and it was not a false title, he was indeed the chairman of the Hainan Provincial Writers Association.

When he saw Yu Hua and the others, Han Shaogong's smile bloomed on his face, "I arrived at the door and saw the sign of the electronics factory. I thought I had gone to the wrong place. I found the guard and asked, and then I knew I was in the right place."

Although the electronics factory had moved away, the sign of the electronics factory was still there, and Zhou Yan did not replace the sign immediately.

"Before, this was the electronics factory, but now the electronics factory has moved away, and the back is our studio." Zhou Yan explained.

Han Shaogong looked at Zhou Yan and walked over with a smile, "Zhou Yan, I have heard of your name for a long time. Today I finally met you in person."

"Chairman Han, you are joking. I don't have a big name. You are a real senior. Your works have extraordinary significance to the literary world. And your translation of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" also made me know Milan Kundera."

Speaking of Han Shaogong, many people may first think of "root-seeking literature" because the slogan "root-seeking" was proposed by him.

His article "The Roots of Literature" is also regarded as a manifesto of the literary root-seeking movement.

In addition to root-seeking literature, some people should think of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being". The first Chinese people to know Milan Kundera was through this novel translated by Han Shaogong and Han Gang.

After this translation came out, it was very popular in China, and Milan Kundera quickly became popular in China.

If there was no such translation, Milan Kundera might not have such a reputation in China.

Many people may think that even if Han Shaogong and his colleagues did not translate, others would translate later, but if they missed this era, the situation might be very different.

If writers like Milan Kundera appeared in China in the late 1990s or even after 2000, they would probably not be so famous.

In fact, Han Shaogong and Yu Hua are very different in literary aesthetics.

Han Shaogong likes Milan Kundera very much, otherwise he would not translate Kundera's works, and even Han Shaogong's novels are influenced by Milan Kundera.

But Yu Hua does not appreciate Milan Kundera very much.

It is understandable that Yu Hua does not like Milan Kundera, because Milan Kundera's novels lack stories, which is unacceptable to Yu Hua.

If a novel has no story, it is at best a word game.

Just like a bun without filling, it can only be called a steamed bun.

Yu Hua is known as a representative of the avant-garde, and the characteristic of avant-garde writing is to focus on how to write, not what to write.

This was the characteristic of Yu Hua in his early days, but later he "woke up" and began to focus on what to write, and then there was "To Live".

Zhou Yan doesn't dislike Milan Kundera, but he is not a fan of Kundera like Han Shaogong.

However, the three of them have one thing in common in literary aesthetics, that is, they all like Shi Tiesheng.

Let's not talk about Zhou Yan and Yu Hua. Han Shaogong has publicly said that even if there was only one work "I and the Earthen Altar" in 1991, this year can be said to be a good year.

When Han Shaogong first met Zhou Yan, his impression of Zhou Yan mostly came from the novel "Tree Hole". He personally recognized this novel and thought it was really precious for a young man in his twenties to write "Tree Hole".

So today Yu Hua and others invited him to Zhou Yan's studio, and he came without much hesitation.

Now after meeting, Han Shaogong's first reaction was that he was too young and too handsome.

Speaking of which, "Tree Hole" has been released for many years, and Zhou Yan is still so young after so many years.

"Let's stop flattering each other. Today is a good day. It's not easy for everyone to get together in Yanjing. You have been chatting for a while, right?"

"We have drunk several pots of tea and peed several times." Yu Hua said.

Zhou Yan was used to Yu Hua's speaking style. He smiled and invited Han Shaogong to sit on the sofa, and then went to make tea for Han Shaogong.

When the tea was in his hand, Han Shaogong smiled and said, "I have been in Hai'n for a long time, and I can't stand coming to Yanjing all of a sudden. At present, Hai'n only needs to wear a coat. During the day, short sleeves are everywhere."

"What you said, I want to spend the winter in Hai'n."

"Sure, you are welcome to go there anytime."

"You are the chairman of the Writers Association. If you don't lead the team in the hotel, it will be okay to run away, right?"

Han Shaogong smiled, "There are not many people from our Hai'n Writers Association. Apart from me, there are only Lu Shuyuan and Jiang Zidan. There is no team to lead."

"Why don't you bring them with you?"

"I did say so, but they politely refused."

Zhou Yan and the others were not surprised. After all, they had no intersection before. Many people were unwilling to attend such private gatherings.

The few people talked about some things about the Writers' Congress, and then talked about Han Shaogong's new work "Maqiao Dictionary" published this year.

This novel was first published in "Novel World" and then released as a single volume in September this year.

After the novel was published, it caused discussions from all walks of life.

Because the novel has a unique form and a rebellious structure, it caused a stir in the literary world. Some people say that this work is a bold and adventurous work.

However, since there are many discussions, there must be criticism.

For example, some time ago, scholar Zhang Yiwu commented that this so-called adventurous work actually risks being discovered by readers as a copycat.

Zhang Yiwu believes that this "Maqiao Dictionary" is not an exploratory work at all, but an application and imitation of Pavic's "Dictionary of the Khazars". In any case, his local uniqueness in form is not shown.

In addition to Zhang Yiwu, Wang Gan, deputy editor of "Zhongshan", also put forward a similar view.

So when talking about "Maqiao Dictionary", Han Shaogong frowned, obviously, he has been affected by these criticisms.

In this regard, the few people present did not advise him to look at it openly or be magnanimous.

They have encountered this kind of thing more or less. If no one criticizes someone's novel after it is published, it proves that the writer himself is not famous enough.

But when writers really encounter this kind of criticism, it is difficult to ignore it.

If Zhou Yan remembers correctly, Han Shaogong did not hold back this time, and later he directly sued Zhang Yiwu and others in court, and finally won the case.

However, after this incident, many people thought that Han Shaogong was too narrow-minded and could not accept any criticism. He could only listen to good words. As soon as someone criticized him, he would sue them in court.

In fact, these people got one thing wrong. Han Shaogong was not unable to withstand criticism. After all, so many people scolded him, and he was only a few people higher than Zhang Yiwu.

The reason why Han Shaogong won the case was that Zhang Yiwu and others' criticism had crossed the line. Scholars' criticism of writers should be regulated and limited.

They directly asserted that Han Shaogong plagiarized, which meant that they had to provide evidence. Otherwise, anyone could say that others plagiarized in the future. Anyway, it costs nothing to spread rumors.

In fact, Yu Hua also experienced a similar thing later. Zhou Yan remembered that after the publication of "Brothers", the literary world criticized "Brothers" and rated it as a bad work that compromised the public.

A bunch of critics attacked him, including Zhang Yiwu, and other writers such as Canxue and Li Er also criticized him.

Yu Hua did not sue those people in court, but directly stood up and confronted those who criticized him. (End of this chapter)