1980 My literary era

For most writers, having their works in textbooks is a dream come true.

Most literati love money, but compared to money, most people still prefer that their works will last forever.

The textbooks may not be circulated for that long, but there is absolutely no problem in influencing one or two generations of this country.

It is difficult for any writer to reject such influence, including Lin Weimin.

However, the issue of textbooks is just a rumor from Zheng Guo. Every time the textbooks are revised, it will take two or three years. Now it is just a matter of hearing the news.

The days in the first month passed quickly, the flavor of the New Year gradually faded away, and people's work and life returned to normal.

Before the Lantern Festival, colleagues from Yilin Publishing House came to visit Lin Weimin.

Li Jingrui was originally the editor of the editorial department of "Yilin". After the publishing house was established, he was appointed as the president of the publishing house.

"Yilin" magazine was founded in 1979. It is a translation publication that introduces foreign literature founded by JS Province at the request of superior departments.

At that time, there were several magazines in China that introduced foreign literature to Chinese people, but their styles were different.

"World Literature" is affiliated with the Academy of Social Sciences, and its style is more orthodox and serious; "Foreign Literature and Art" is affiliated with Shanghai Translation Publishing House, and its style is too novel.

"Yilin" has found its own direction after some careful thinking. From the reader's perspective, it introduces popular literature involving foreign real life to readers and introduces popular writers and works.

"Open the window and understand the world", this magazine positioning allowed "Yilin" to quickly establish a foothold in the domestic periodical industry and gain a large number of readers.

In 1988, the country began to attach importance to external publicity. In this form, "Yilin" magazine had domestic and foreign translation resources accumulated over the years, and was chosen by the Publishing Department to expand from "Yilin" editorial department to "Yilin" Press.

The biggest mission of Yilin Publishing House is to translate Chinese literary works and publish them abroad, and to spread excellent Chinese culture and literary works to overseas countries and regions.

From the editorial department to a publishing house, Yilin was under great pressure.

The establishment time was short, the publishing resources were few, the economic strength was weak, and there were too many problems.

The funding and subsidies applied to various projects for "going global" publications from higher authorities have also disappeared, leaving Yilin Publishing House to find its own solution.

After multiple arguments and research, Yilin Publishing House decided to launch an English version of the "Modern Chinese Literature Library" over a few years. With the approval of the provincial publishing house, Yilin Publishing House organized the topic selection.

It was originally planned to include the works of several modern literary giants such as Lu, Ba, Guo, Lao, etc. as the first batch of works in the "Chinese Modern Literature Library", but at this time someone raised an opinion.

Among the first batch of masters, except for Lu Xun, very few of their works have been translated and published abroad.

To put it bluntly, there is no reputation, and the benefits of publishing works are worrying.

Although the purpose of Yilin Publishing House is to promote domestic culture, the publishing house's current foundation is so weak that it cannot openly engage in loss-making business. It is best to make money.

After some discussion, someone decided on Lin Weimin.

In terms of seniority and qualifications, Lin Weimin was definitely not qualified to be among the first batch.

But who made him famous abroad?

I heard that the novels have been sold in millions and millions of copies abroad and have won many awards. If his works can be included, it will definitely be a big help for the new "Chinese Modern Literature Library".

The compilation of "Chinese Modern Literature Library" is a huge project. If Lin Weimin is the first writer of "Chinese Modern Literature Library", if certain benefits can be achieved, it will be of great benefit to the promotion of the works of subsequent writers in the future.

Li Jingrui sat in Lin Weimin's office and told him in detail about Yilin Publishing House and "Chinese Modern Literature Library". After listening to his words, Lin Weimin pondered for a long time.

"It's not easy to handle!" Lin Weimin said.

Li Jingrui asked: "What's the difficulty?"

Lin Weimin said: "The contracts I have signed with foreign publishers are exclusive copyrights and priority renewal. I am afraid I will disappoint you."

"Ah, this..."

Li Jingrui was a little surprised. He didn't expect to encounter such a situation right from the start, and his start was unfavorable.

"Can I ask in detail which works they are?" Li Jingrui asked.

"This is true for "Farewell My Concubine," "Lover," "Horse Man," and "No matter what, life is beautiful."

These four novels are the most widely published and best-selling of Lin Weimin's works.

Other works are either published in a relatively small scope, such as "The Ming Dynasty 1566", which has a good sales volume, but is only published in Chinese-speaking areas such as Xiangjiang and Wandao.

Or it's like "Burning", which has a wide range of publications, but the content is too literary and the sales are average.

There are also early works such as "Latent", "The Wind", "Have Something to Say" and other early works. Due to their subject matter, they are rarely published overseas and are basically not considered.

Li Jingrui frowned when he heard this. Since this was the case, there was nothing he could do.

Lin Weimin's works are relatively few compared to others. Without these novels, the content of a single volume will be reduced by a large amount.

"That's really a pity!" Li Jingrui sighed.

Lin Weimin said: "It may be too early for you to come to me now. It may be more appropriate in twenty years."

His joke made Li Jingrui laugh, "I can only look forward to cooperating with you in the future."

After chatting for a few more words, Li Jingrui took his leave. He was going to the Museum of Modern Literature of China to visit another descendant of the master to discuss the selection of specific works and other editing and publishing related matters.

After sending Li Jingrui away, Lin Weimin was not satisfied with the library of Yilin Publishing House.

For him, this kind of thing is more like the icing on the cake, and it is better than nothing to add one flower among the flowers.

It has not improved his reputation abroad, and it is impossible to give him much royalties. It is more like an image project.

The only thing worthy of praise is probably that he was put in the same position as several literary masters.

Lin Weimin feels that the only advantage is not that good. If the trees are beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy them. If they pile up on the shore, the current will be turbulent. There is no need to be in the limelight.

Li Jingrui's arrival has provided the editorial department with something to talk about. Recently, everyone is talking about Lin Weimin's novels that may be included in textbooks. Now there are publishing houses rushing to publish Lin Weimin's collected works, and they will publish them overseas. Everyone is here Discuss Lin Weimin's current historical position in the domestic literary world.

In late February, Lin Weimin made intensive phone calls for two days to notify all his familiar teachers, colleagues, and friends. It didn't matter whether he came or not. Anyway, it was etiquette that he had arrived.

On a sunny day, Lin Weimin and Tao Huimin went to get the certificate, and the next step was the wedding.

Lin Weimin doesn't plan to make a big deal out of it, but recently when everyone saw him, they mentioned the wedding, which made him unable to do it. Sometimes being too popular can be a problem.

After the last discussion, the wedding was held in Shizhu Courtyard.

This is Sanjin's house. The place is big enough. It can accommodate thirty to fifty tables both inside and outside the house. It is more than enough to hold a wedding.

His wedding didn't involve any red tape, he just invited people over for a meal.

If we dig up the Huifeng Hall from top to bottom and organize it for two days, the wedding will be settled.

In the early years, Yanjing had eight large halls, which were equipped with stages, where operas were performed and large-scale banquets were held. The scale was large enough to accommodate five to six hundred people dining at the same time.

At that time, BJ, these halls were the most exclusive, socially oriented eating establishments. Most of the most famous Peking opera actors of that era also sang "Tanghui".

Up to now, the eight major halls in Yanjing have long existed in name only, and only Huifengtang, which specializes in Shandong cuisine, remains.

Two days before the wedding, Lin Weimin was too busy with his feet to touch the ground, and there were a lot of people from out of town.

Some of them were classmates from the Institute of Literature, such as Cheng Shixu, Huang Zonghan, Jin Ying, Jiang Zilong, etc. More than ten people from these classmates came. Others who could not come also called Lin Weimin to send blessings.

There are also some writers discovered by Lin Weimin, such as Yu Hua, Lu Yao, Er Yuehe, etc.

The day before the wedding, Lin Weimin invited his classmates to dinner and called several teachers who were at the Institute of Literature.

Nearly nine years have passed since we studied at the Institute of Literary and Literature Research. We all took this opportunity to meet again, which was very sad.

During the dinner, we talked about everyone's changes over the years, and there was endless talk.

Among the teachers, Xu Gang and Tang Yuqiu, the original directors, have retired, but the others are still on duty. Xiao Jing has changed from the original librarian to Director Jing, and has been teased by everyone for a while.

Compared to the teachers, the students have changed even more.

After finishing their studies at the Institute of Literature, most of the students returned to their respective jobs and their creative achievements were better than before. Among them, there were a few outstanding ones, including Lin Weimin, Jiang Zilong, Huang Anyi, and Gu Hua.

These few people have now become well-known among young and middle-aged writers in the domestic literary world.

Most of the remaining classmates have given up on writing, such as Qu Xiaowei and Zhang Lin, which is a pity for everyone.

Except for these people, the development of others is high or low, and there is not much difference.

Cheng Shixu was considered to have a difficult time developing among his classmates. He won the National Outstanding Short Story Award that year, and studying at the Literary Research Institute became the highlight of his youth.

After studying at the Institute of Literature and Art, it fell silent for several years. A few years ago, with the help of Lin Weimin, I went to Wuhan University to further my studies. After returning to the provincial Institute of Literature and Art, things started to improve. I published several works in succession, which was considered a stabilization. Got a job.

Cheng Shixu was very excited to see Lin Weimin this time. If it weren't for Lin Weimin's help before, he wouldn't have known where his future would be.

Compared with Cheng Shixu, Jin Ying's development surprised all teachers and classmates.

No one thought that the quirky little girl in the class would become the leader of a provincial literary association at the age of thirty.

Not only that, Jin Ying's achievements in writing are also quite excellent. He is not the first echelon in the class, but at least he is the leader of the second echelon.

Everyone exchanged their life and work over the years, and while chatting, they inevitably mentioned Guo Yudao, who died young.

At a gathering of friends, the absent one is always the focus of everyone's conversation.

Guo Yudao was the first to leave among his classmates, and he died young. Every time we meet, it always arouses infinite regret and sadness among everyone.

While everyone was immersed in a gloomy atmosphere, Cheng Shixu suddenly asked: "Hey, why didn't An Yi come this time?"

The eyes of several classmates were focused on him, as if they were mentally retarded.