Back to 80: My Literary Life

The two of them returned to their home in Xijing at noon the next day. Zhang Fenglan, the mother, was very happy to see her son back. She asked him how he felt and said he would cook a lot of delicious food for him in the evening.

"No, don't do anything, just make me noodles. Tomorrow morning Tangtang and I will go eat Lao Sun's Spicy Soup."

Fang Minghua stayed at home for three days before going to work, reversing the jet lag.

After going to work, Fang Minghua naturally had to go to the leadership office first to report on his experience of studying abroad and give him the American ginseng he brought back from the United States.

Of course, most colleagues also wanted to go over and have a chat, but they were given fruit-striped chewing gum, which is also a rare item in China. Everyone ate it very fresh, but Fang Minghua had to keep telling him that it was for freshening the mouth and should not be swallowed. Go down

They spent the morning talking and laughing, and Fang Minghua returned to his office after going to work in the afternoon.

Zhao Muchun had been temporarily responsible for the work of the poetry group since he left. When he came back and asked about it, he was doing well.

Now make yourself a cup of tea and think about one thing: Lawrence Ferlinghetti was willing to publish Chinese avant-garde novels at the City Lights Bookstore in old San Francisco.

At this moment, the door was knocked open and a middle-aged man walked in.

Jia Pingwa.

"I just had something to do with you, President Huang. I heard that you came back from abroad, so I came over to sit down." Jia Pingwa said.

"It just so happens, Brother Jia, you like drinking. I brought you a bottle of foreign wine when I came back from the United States." Fang Minghua said, smiling and taking out a bottle of golden wine from the desk cabinet.

"This is called bourbon whiskey. It is the liquor that Americans like to drink. It is fermented and distilled from corn grains. It is said that it must be aged in new white oak barrels with roasted inner walls for 4 to 8 years before it can be sold. You can't bring too much of this stuff. You can't bring more than two liters into the duty-free shop at the airport. Brother Jia, try it. How does this foreign wine taste compared to our Xifeng wine?"

"Thank you. I've known for a long time that you will definitely bring something good when you return to China." Jia Pingwa took it over without any courtesy and looked at it from left to right, which was very fresh.

"Minghua, when you have free time, I'll treat you to a treat and let everyone try the bottle of foreign wine you brought back!" Jia Pingwa said.

"Is Lu Yao still in Tongchuan?" Fang Minghua asked again.

"He's still there, but he'll probably be back soon. The first part of his long novel has been written and is being revised."

Fang Minghua nodded after hearing this, and then said: "I brought him a bucket of instant coffee, not Nescafe but Blue Mountain coffee. It is said that the coffee beans are produced in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. The taste is much better than Nescafe coffee."

"Ha! Lu Yao drank your Blue Mountain coffee, and he probably dislikes the Nescafe coffee he is drinking now. You are so used to him." Jia Pingwa joked.

Fang Minghua also laughed.

It was the winter of 1980. Zhao Hongjun gave him a box of Nescafe coffee that his father brought back from abroad. Fang Minghua didn't like drinking it very much, so he gave it to Lu Yao. Unexpectedly, he became addicted to it.

Now I don’t drink tea anymore, I drink this exclusively.

Fortunately, with the reform and opening up, coffee was no longer a rare commodity. It was available in big cities such as Yanjing and Shanghai, so he asked his friends to bring some back.

"Hey, you brought gifts for me and Lu Yao. You won't miss the time, right?" Jia Pingwa said with a smile.

"Of course not. Teacher Chen's gift is easy to bring, just a box of Cuban cigars! Churchill, Castro, and the American writer Hemingway are all their favorites!"

"Oh, really? Let me smoke one and try it. Forget it, I'll ask Zhongshi for it when you give it to him!"

The two chatted and laughed for a while, then turned to literature: "Minghua, you have been out for a few months, what do you think of the American literary world?"

Fang Minghua knew that Jia Pingwa had never been abroad, so he was curious about the outside world.

Fang Minghua pondered for a moment and said: "American novels are generally very primitive and wild, and lack a sense of history. Although we often talk about British and American novels, in fact, there are still big differences between the United Kingdom and the United States in terms of literature."

"British novels are more powerful. Like Kazuo Ishiguro or Agatha Christie, the works have a strong sense of class, bringing conflicts and dilemmas, as well as the accompanying prejudices. But it is precisely because of prejudices that the stories Come on, this is somewhat similar to our Chinese literature."

Jia Pingwa lit a cigarette, nodded after listening, and said, "It's not difficult to understand. The United States has a short history, while the United Kingdom, known as the Empire on which the sun never sets, has a much longer history."

"Also, we really like to read translated works from Europe and the United States, but when I talked with local college students, I found that they know almost nothing about Chinese works, especially modern novels." Fang Minghua said.

"There is nothing we can do about it. Now the domestic translation industry only translates English works into Chinese, and rarely translates Chinese works into English for foreigners to read - oh, except for your science fiction novel, the one named Li Li The level of YSU students is pretty good.”

"He mainly studied under Professor Xu Yuanchong of Yan University. Professor Xu likes to be very good at translating our ancient poetry." Fang Minghua said with a smile.

"I've heard about Xu Yuanchong. He seems to have published an English translation of Tang poetry in our Qin Province Publishing House. But my English is not good enough, so I can't tell whether it's good or bad."

"The translation was very good. When I went to the United States this time, I talked about ancient Chinese poetry and participated in a recitation. It was very popular among local college students."

"That means Professor Xu's translation is good. You also know that ancient Chinese poetry is beautiful, but it is difficult to translate."

Fang Minghua said: "Yes, I met a poet named Lawrence Ferlinghetti in San Francisco. He was also the head of San Francisco City Lights Publishing House. He was very interested in avant-garde works. After talking with me, he asked me Recommend some avant-garde novels in our country, which can be translated into English and published in the United States. I will start preparing this after I come back."

"This is a good thing, but it's just avant-garde works. My novels are not considered avant-garde," Jia Pingwa said.

"Hey, Brother Jia, didn't you write that book "Impossible"? It can also be published in the United States." Fang Minghua said with a smile.

"Do you think it's feasible?" Jia Pingwa cheered up.

My book "Impotence" has been completed and has been handed over to Yanjing October Literature and Art Publishing House for publication. Of course, I am still in the process of communicating with the editor for revisions, and it is expected to be published next year at the latest.

It would be great if it could be published in the United States.

Fang Minghua smiled and said: "You can give it a try. After your Chinese version is officially published, I will contact Professor Nie Hualing in the United States, which is the international writer exchange program she organized. She is very keen to introduce the professional works of writers from our country to the United States. When the time comes, How about sending her the Chinese version and getting her advice?”

"Sure! I'll listen to you!" Jia Pingwa was overjoyed: "Minghua, you've gained a lot from this trip."

"That's right. I think our stuff, not just literature, must go out. If you don't like it, there will always be someone who likes it, right?"

"You're right! I want to go out and have a look if I have the chance!"

Jia Pingwa rushed away happily.

Fang Minghua looked at his leaving back with a smile on his face.

He didn't mean to be complimentary.

This novel by Jia Pingwa won the Mobil Pegasus Literary Award in the United States!