1980 My literary era

Cheng Zhongshi wrote a sentence on the title page of "White Deer Plain", which was said by Balzac.

"The novel is considered the secret history of a nation."

After reading "White Deer Plain", everyone all recognized the sentence written by Cheng Zhongshi on the title page.

Cheng Zhongshi gave "White Deer Plain" a rich epic quality, which can be called majestic.

Against the backdrop of the Great Revolution, the Japanese invasion, the civil war between the Communist Party of China and the Communist Party of China, and the merger and separation of the two parties, the destinies of the descendants of the Bai and Lu families were intertwined and intertwined under the changing times. The grievances and hatreds are all in the book.

Cheng Zhongshi said at the beginning that this novel is a "secret history", because most of the novel is naturally about the little-known secret past in Bailuyuan. These secret pasts are extremely stimulating. Due to the profound historical sedimentation, , once they are excavated, the smell they emit becomes even more turbid.

The White Deer Plain in his works seems to be the floating Macondo town described by Marquez, which is both unpredictable and full of sensory stimulation. It is just on the edge of humans, ghosts and beasts.

It took a full twenty days to review the manuscript of "White Deer Plain". Many colleagues in the editorial department participated in it. Lin Weimin wrote down the review opinions.

After discussion, the editorial board unanimously decided to publish the novel in the first issue in January next year.

The treatment is the same as that of "The Ashes Has Settled" in August, with headlines, large font size, and one issue published, which shows that the editorial department attaches great importance to this novel.

After confirming the publication of the novel, Lin Weimin called Cheng Zhongshi and only spoke a few words to him.

""White Deer Plain" will be published in the first issue at the beginning of next year. It will be published in the first issue with headlines and large font size."

"Take a good rest at home during this period and recharge your batteries. You will be very busy next year. I have already set a date for your work seminar."

“Don’t worry about what the critics are saying, they’ll come to you.”

"This work will win the Yan Bing Literature Award."

Cheng Zhongshi, who was on the other end of the phone, was filled with excitement as he listened to Lin Weimin's sonorous and powerful voice.

"Weimin, is what you said true?"

"I promise you with my personality! Lao Cheng, your brick is ready!"

Cheng Zhongshi on the other end of the phone was silent for a long time, and then he said: "For the people, thank you!"

"I should thank you for contributing such an outstanding work to "Contemporary"!"

After finishing the call with Lin Weimin, Cheng Zhongshi rode his bicycle, feeling excited all the way.

Returning to the small yard at home, he pulled up his wife who was working and said, "We... don't need to raise chickens anymore."

It is not an exaggeration to say that Lin Weimin said on the phone that he had even arranged the date for the "White Deer Plain" work seminar for Cheng Zhongshi. After the manuscript of "White Deer Plain" was reviewed by several editors of "Contemporary" in turn, Lin Weimin handed it over to Contemporary. Literature No. 1.

The novel is scheduled to be published in January next year, and Lin Weimin can't wait to put the publication on the agenda. As for the work seminar, it will naturally be held after the novel is published and before it is published.

After waiting for several years, Lin Weimin finally harvested the masterpiece "White Deer Plain", and Lin Weimin's heart was filled with satisfying joy.

Colleagues in the editorial department were also happy. The changing trend of sales this year and what Lin Weimin said to everyone made everyone feel tense.

As the difficulty of survival of publications continues to increase, the importance of good works to publications has become more and more obvious. Every high-quality manuscript is a magic weapon for publications to stabilize sales.

With these works, there is the foundation for the survival of "Contemporary".

After "The Dust Has Settled" in August, the editorial department of "Contemporary" once again got a heavyweight work like "White Deer Plain" in its hands. Everyone can already foresee that in January next year, the Chinese literary world will once again be cast by "Contemporary". This shocking bomb shook the earth.

Therefore, during this time, the editorial office was filled with laughter.

In addition to the upcoming publication of "White Deer Plain", there is another thing that also contributes to the joyful atmosphere in the editorial office.

A symposium on Alai's "The Ashes Has Settled" will be held on the second floor of the Chinese Literature Society the day after tomorrow. Many well-respected critics and veterans of the literary world have decided to attend the symposium.

And one week after the seminar, the single volume of "The Dust Has Settled" will be on the shelves of major bookstores across the country.

The day before the seminar on "The Dust Has Settled", Alai came to Yanjing.

When Alai appeared in the Chinese Literature Society again, he was dressed in a gorgeous Tibetan dress. He was completely different from before, full of high spirits and heroic appearance.

Four months after its publication, "The Ashes Has Settled" has received rave reviews from domestic readers and has also aroused unanimous praise from critics.

In just a few months, Alai has grown from an unknown young author to a popular writer who is famous all over the country. He participates in endless symposiums, seminars, and speeches every day.

"Not bad, he looks really energetic!"

Alai came to Yanjing and specially wore a brand new Tibetan clothes. Tomorrow is the seminar on the work of "The Dust Has Settled", and he will dress up to attend.

Lin Weimin looked at it for a few times and praised it.

Aledese said: "Teacher Lin, clothes are not the important point."

As he spoke, he showed Lin Weimin the necklace hanging around his neck.

Tibetans have their own unique aesthetics, and wearing clothes all over their bodies is the most common feature.

The beads on Alai's necklace were the size of mung beans. He pointed them out one by one and introduced them to Lin Weimin.

Turquoise, agate, beeswax, lapis lazuli, sandalwood, Tibetan silver, all kinds of colorful materials, 108 in total, represent 108 kinds of troubles in Tibetan Buddhism, which is the same as 108 beads in Tibetan Buddhism represent 108 It's such an annoyance that it jingles when I walk around with it hanging around my neck.

Alai was very excited when he introduced the necklace. Lin Weimin is from the Northeast and understands his obsession very well. It is probably similar to the obsession of Northeastern aunts for "Diaoer".

"It seems that the royalties have been received!"

Lin Weimin's joke put a smile on Alai's face again. His necklace was not cheap, and he couldn't get it without money.

The full text of "The Dust Has Settled" has 310,000 words. It was published in "Contemporary" in August and earned Alai nearly 8,000 yuan in royalties, equivalent to seven or eight years of his salary.

Recently, a single book will be published. According to the "Interim Regulations on Book Remuneration", the remuneration for printing is between 1 and 20,000 copies, and 5% of the basic remuneration will be paid for every 10,000 copies.

The basic remuneration for the single volume of "The Dust Has Settled" has increased slightly compared to when it was published, reaching 30 yuan for 1,000 words. For the first printing of 100,000 copies, the remuneration for each print run is equivalent to 15 yuan for 1,000 words. The basic remuneration plus the remuneration for each print run is about 1 It's 14,000 yuan. Tianguo Literary Society just wired the royalties to Alai a few days ago.

Once published, once published, and the two royalties combined directly changed Alai's economic conditions.

The next day, a seminar on the work "The Dust Has Settled" was held in the conference room on the second floor of the Chinese Literature Society, with Lin Weimin presiding over the meeting.

Some of the guests present were senior writers, some were experts in the field of criticism, and another group were senior editors in the industry.

Before the seminar began, Lin Weimin met Ai Baier, an old classmate from the Institute of Literary Studies. He now works at "Ethnic Literature" and is already the deputy editor. Alai is an ethnic minority, and "Dust Settled" can also be regarded as the crystallization of ethnic minority literature. , Abair, a minority writer and editor, was naturally invited to attend the conference.

"For the people!"

"Abair!"

The two chatted animatedly for a while, and the seminar officially began.

It has been several months since "Dust Settled" was released, and its reputation among critics has always been excellent, so the reception at today's seminar was almost overwhelmingly positive.

"I think the attraction of "The Dust Has Settled" lies first in the stylistic creation of the novel. Its narrative angle, narrator's person, and narrative tone are all unique and attractive. Its plot is also well refined and very interesting. Attractive…”

"Many readers romanticize and mystify the chieftain system in this novel, which is wrong. Because Alai writes about the disintegration and decline of the chieftain system in the first half of this century, which all refer to the theme of the novel. In terms of basic direction. The theme of the novel is ambiguous, but in terms of the basic direction of its theme, it mainly writes about the decline of the Maiqi Tusi and the disintegration of the Tusi system..."

"Let me tell you something interesting. Before Alai's "Ashes Settled" came out, I had never heard of the word "Ashes Settled."

But in the past few months, this word has been flying all over the sky. When watching TV and reading newspapers, whenever it describes an incident that has attracted public attention or may be concerned about a case that has been closed or finalized, the sentence "the dust has settled."

Not to mention anything else, just saying that Alai has contributed a new word to our Chinese language library should be credited to him. "

"The literary and artistic quality of "The Dust Has Settled" is worthy of recognition, especially the attribute of using poetry as history in the novel, which gives it the characteristics of an epic such as simplicity, legend and chaos, which makes the ancient Tibetan people The artistic representation of the process of gradually moving towards modernization.”

…

The "Dust Has Settled" work seminar was a successful meeting. Alai was praised as a flower by the experts, and Lin Weimin was present throughout the whole process without saying a word.

No way, who made him the editor-in-chief? Who told this to be a seminar organized by his own publication?

After listening to the experts praising "Ash Has Settled" and Alai all morning, the meeting came to an end and the final evaluation of "Ash Has Settled" was discussed. Since it was a seminar, there must be a final conclusion.

Conclusion: This is the peak of long-form creation in recent years!

At the end of the seminar, Alai was floating as he walked.

It's normal. If you listen to a bunch of veteran experts praising you for a whole day, you won't be disappointed.

The key point is that these people's compliments are really not flattery, they are all well-targeted and logically rigorous, making it difficult to refuse!

Teacher Lin felt that this confused soul should be saved.

"Alai, do you have any ideas for your next novel?" Teacher Lin asked with serious concern.

Alai, who was still immersed in complacency, was startled when he heard this, "Next novel? I don't have an idea yet."

Teacher Lin patted Alai on the shoulder, "It's been more than four months since "The Dust Has Settled" was published, and it's been half a year since you finished writing it. You're still so young, and it's when your creative energy is at its strongest. You can't live up to the expectations of your predecessors. Your expectations!”

After Lin Weimin finished speaking, several experts nearby also agreed. A group of people chattered incessantly, and soon Alai's little pride was completely shattered.

Not ten minutes after the seminar, I was praised as a flower, and now I was almost being said to be ignorant and incompetent.

This huge gap made Alai feel heavy.