Literary Master 1978

Lin Chaoyang naturally couldn't understand his French, but fortunately, Secretary Zhou of the embassy was there to interpret.

After the impassioned award speech, Lin Chaoyang stood up calmly amid applause.

He was calm and solemn, with a happy smile from the heart on his face, and gave a brief acceptance speech.

Secretary Zhou translated his words to the guests and judges present, and the restaurant applauded again.

In a sense, everyone present today witnessed history.

Lin Chaoyang is not only the first foreign winner of the Renaudot Prize in history, but also the youngest winner.

In everyone's opinion, this year's Renaudot Prize selection undoubtedly requires great courage.

After giving the acceptance speech, it was time for Lin Chaoyang to take a photo with the judges.

During this period, Clement Metayer also kindly handed over the French version of "The Truman Show" and asked him to take a photo with the work. This photo will be on the pages of major newspapers in Paris tomorrow.

In France, a large number of books are published from the end of August to the end of November every year.

Because there are several literary awards almost every day during this period, no matter how big or small the influence of these awards is, when they are gathered together, they are enough to attract the attention of a large number of readers.

Through the spread of the media and word of mouth of readers, many books continue to accumulate popularity, and with the sign of "XX Literary Award Winner", the sales will also increase exponentially.

Especially the leading literary awards in France such as the Goncourt Literary Prize, the Renaudot Literary Prize and the Femina Literary Prize.

Once the award is won, not only the writer's fame will increase greatly, the royalties will be soft, and the publication of the work will also be equivalent to endorsement, which can be said to directly change the writer's living environment.

Many writers were poor before winning the award, and gained fame and fortune after winning the award. This situation occurs before and after the award ceremony of several major French literary awards every year.

According to statistics from the French publishing industry, the average sales of the Goncourt Literary Prize winners reached 480,000 copies.

The sales of works winning other heavyweight literary awards such as the Renaudot Prize and the Femina Prize are slightly inferior, but still very impressive.

"The Truman Show" was published in France in the second half of last year, and nearly 70,000 copies were sold in one year.

For Lin Chaoyang, a foreign writer, it is already good to achieve such sales for his first book published in France, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

After winning the Renaudot Prize, the sales of "The Truman Show" are about to usher in a leap-forward growth. This is the charm of literary awards.

Whether it is the Goncourt Prize or the Renaudot Prize, the award ceremony is very simple, and two speeches are given after the award ceremony.

Today, two award winners were born in the Tuong Restaurant. According to the historical status and influence of the award, Tahar Ben Jelloun, who won the Goncourt Prize, should have received more attention.

But who made Lin Chaoyang not only young, but also the first foreign winner of the Renaudot Prize?

Before and after the award ceremony, Lin Chaoyang received much more attention than Tahar Ben Jelloun.

This attention was particularly evident during the media interview stage after the award ceremony. There were many more reporters around Lin Chaoyang than around Tahar Ben Jelloun.

Among them were reporters from TV media and newspapers.

Such as France 3 TV, "Literature" magazine, "Liberation", etc.

The two heavyweight literary awards were awarded on the same day, and the superimposed influence cannot be underestimated.

The interview with the newspaper reporter was relatively simple, just asking about the feeling of winning the award, and the group interview was over in less than half an hour.

The TV interview was a little more complicated, with a camera set up, and the reporter on the camera asking questions, and Lin Chaoyang answering them in a formal manner.

In addition to Lin Chaoyang, Zou Daishi also accepted an interview with the TV station, talking about Lin Chaoyang's winning of the Renaudot Literature Award as a fruitful result of cultural exchanges between China and France.

This interview will be broadcast on the news column of France 3 TV tonight.

In addition, Lin Chaoyang also received an interview invitation from the French "Literary Magazine". The "Literary Magazine" was founded in 1966 and has played an important role in the French literary world for many years.

The "Literary Magazine" has not many columns, and the most popular one among readers is "Interview".

They interview writers or poets in each issue, exploring the inner world of these creators and their unique understanding of the world in the form of questions and answers.

The interview requires a quiet environment and was not conducted on the spot. The editor and reporter of the "Literary Magazine" Fremont made an appointment for tomorrow afternoon.

The reason for tomorrow afternoon is that he has to sign a contract with Gallimard Publishing House tomorrow morning.

After winning the Renaudot Literary Prize, Lin Chaoyang will surely become famous in the French literary world.

Not only has "The Truman Show" been scheduled to increase sales, but other works of the winner Lin Chaoyang have also become a hot commodity in the eyes of Gallimard Publishing House.

As early as the news of the nomination came out, Gallimard Publishing House agreed with Lin Chaoyang to introduce several of his novels one after another.

With the blessing of the Renaudot Literary Prize, the sales of these novels must be good.

During the interview, several publishers approached Lin Chaoyang and chatted with him, which aroused Clement Metayer's vigilance and hostility.

Lin Chaoyang spent the entire afternoon dealing with media interviews and interview invitations, and only had a little rest time in the evening.

Zou Daishi had already left in the afternoon, but he kept Secretary Zhou behind.

After returning to the Lenox Hotel and having a quick lunch, Lin Chaoyang said to Reporter Nie from New H News Agency: "Reporter Nie, I kept you waiting for a long time."

Reporter Nie smiled brightly and showed no signs of impatience.

"What the hell. You don't know, I watched you being interviewed by the French media this afternoon, and I felt an indescribable pride in my heart.

Comrade Chaoyang, you are the first Chinese to win the Renaudeau Literature Prize! "

For modern Chinese people, the four words "win glory for the country" seem to be a mission and responsibility engraved in their bones.

We are eager to seek recognition from the world. Sometimes this eagerness may seem clumsy, but it is also cute because it represents a nation’s striving for progress and self-pursuit.

Reporter Nie is in Europe and always sends major news happening on the European continent back to China, but rarely has the opportunity to convey Chinese stories to the European continent.

Lin Chaoyang's award today undoubtedly greatly inspired his patriotism and national pride.

Even though five or six hours had passed since the award presentation, he still couldn't contain his excitement.

He chatted with Lin Chaoyang for more than three hours. While chatting, he kept writing vigorously. He wrote down more than ten pages of content in his notebook, which was enough material for him to make a series of reports.

Surprisingly, during the interview, the phone in his room received several external calls transferred from the hotel, all of which were from the publishing house.

"It is indeed one of the top literary awards in France. The awards were announced today, but so many publishers are already eager for your works!"

After Lin Chaoyang hung up the phone with another publishing house, Reporter Nie couldn't help but sigh.

Although he is a journalist stationed in Europe, this is the first time he has been exposed to literature-related awards and news reports, and it is also the first time he has felt the influence of a heavyweight literary award in France.

"I don't know how they found your contact information."

"There are so many people in the Toon restaurant today. As long as you are willing, it is not difficult to know my address and contact information in Paris."

Lin Chaoyang responded with a smile, and then went on to answer Reporter Nie's question.

It wasn't until around ten o'clock in the evening that the interview ended, and Lin Chaoyang asked him if he wanted to go back to his residence.

But reporter Nie said: "I'm not going back. I'll just get a room in the hotel. I have to sort out these contents quickly and catch tomorrow's flight back to China to bring this good news to the people across the country!"

When he said this, Reporter Nie's face looked a little tired, but full of smiles.

Reporter Nie asked again: "Chaoyang, when will you return to China?"

"I have three days to go."

Originally, based on Lin Chaoyang's thoughts, he planned to return to Xiangjiang after his work in France, but before leaving, Zou Daishi specifically told him that the embassy had arranged two exchange activities, so that Lin Chaoyang must stay and participate.

In addition, the domestic Ministry of Culture and the Cultural Association also prepared commendation activities, and he had to return to Yanjing.

The next morning, Lin Chaoyang got up and knocked on Reporter Nie's door, only to find out that Reporter Nie had left an hour ago, and Lin Chaoyang had to go downstairs to have breakfast alone.

After breakfast, Lin Chaoyang had just arrived at the hotel lobby when he heard someone calling his name.

Lin Chaoyang turned around and saw a middle-aged man with a beard getting up from the sofa in the lobby.

"Mr. Byrne?"

The middle-aged man is none other than the editor Julio Byrne whom Lin Chaoyang met during the Cannes Film Festival last year. He is a senior editor at Grasset Press, a well-known French publishing house.

"Mr. Lin, long time no see!"

Julio Byrne warmly hugged and exchanged greetings with Lin Chaoyang, looking like an old acquaintance.

Lin Chaoyang knew Julio Byrne's purpose without having to guess. After all, a bunch of publishing houses had already contacted him.

But before he could ask, another person appeared in the hotel lobby.

Clermont Meteye was originally here to take Lin Chaoyang to Gallimard Publishing House to sign a contract, but he did not expect to see Julio Byrne here at the Lenox Hotel.

"Mr. Meteye, do you mind if I talk to Mr. Lin alone?"

Julio Byrne looked calm, even a little provocative.

Clermont Meteye wanted to say "I mind", but unfortunately he couldn't make the decision for Lin Chaoyang.

He gestured like a gentleman and returned to the car to wait for Lin Chaoyang.

Less than ten minutes later, Lin Chaoyang came out of the hotel and got into Clement Meteye's car.

A trace of joy flashed in Clermont Meteille's eyes, but he was still more worried. He pretended to start the car casually, and then asked:

"Lin, how was your conversation with Mr. Bourne?"

Although he knew that since Lin Chaoyang came out, there was a high probability that he had not reached an agreement with Julio Byrne, but he still couldn't help but want to confirm.

"The talks were pretty good. Grasse Publishing House is very sincere."

Clement Meteye felt nervous, "It seems that the conditions they gave are good."

Lin Chaoyang looked at him with interest, and Clement Meteye's eyes flickered.

"The conditions offered by Grasse Publishing House are good, but they are not enough to make me tempted. Gallimard Publishing House is still my first choice."

Upon hearing this, the nervous look on Clemont Meteye's face disappeared and he smiled heartily.

"Lin, you made the right choice. Our Gallimard Publishing House is the most professional literary publishing house in France. You will not go wrong by choosing us!"

"certainly."

Clement Metayer handed Lin Chaoyang several newspapers in the car, which were all reports on yesterday's Renaudot Prize.

Clement Metayer introduced these media and the content of the reports to Lin Chaoyang while driving. The two chatted and laughed all the way to Gallimard Publishing House on the Left Bank of Paris.

Compared with the obscurity when he came more than a year ago, Lin Chaoyang has just won the Renaudot Prize and is in the limelight. The publishing house has specially prepared a small celebration ceremony for him.

"Congratulations, Lin! You have created the history of the Renaudot Prize and the history of French literature. You are the first Chinese writer to win a heavyweight literary award in France!"

Ethan Rogers, editor-in-chief of Gallimard Publishing House, expressed warm congratulations to Lin Chaoyang on behalf of the publishing house.

After Clement Metayer whispered a few words to him, he became even more enthusiastic.

After the celebration ceremony, he couldn't wait to pull Lin Chaoyang to sign the contract.

Then he said to Lin Chaoyang: "Lin, you should stay in Paris for a few more days."

"Why?"

"I want to arrange an interview with The Paris Review for you."

The Paris Review was founded in 1953. In its early days, it was famous for publishing high-quality novels and poems by new or relatively unknown writers.

In the first five years of its establishment, The Paris Review published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip Larkin, Philip Roth, Samuel Beckett, Nadine Gordimer and others.

Later, these people all became important writers in the world.

As a result, The Paris Review quickly won great reputation for itself in the French literary world and even in the international literary world.

The Literary Magazine, which invited Lin Chaoyang to an interview yesterday, has a good reputation in France, but it pales in comparison with The Paris Review.

The influence of The Literary Magazine is limited to France, while the influence of The Paris Review is international, especially its "Writer Interview" series is the ace column of the publication.

If someone were to recommend a contemporary literary magazine with the most professional and prestigious reputation, The Paris Review might not be the first, but it would definitely be on the list.

Many well-known international writers have praised it as one of the few truly important literary magazines in the 20th century, and many writers in Europe and the United States are proud to have their works published in The Paris Review or interviewed by The Paris Review.

Lin Chaoyang guessed that this was probably Gallimard's goodwill or sincerity in rejecting Grasset's offer.

In fact, this is also the reason why Lin Chaoyang rejected Grasset and firmly chose Gallimard.

Grasset's royalty conditions are indeed a little more generous than Gallimard's, but Gallimard has advantages that Grasset cannot match.

Gallimard owns several literary magazines of considerable weight, such as Infinity and New France. It has been cheering for Lin Chaoyang before, and it should be said that it has provided some help for Lin Chaoyang to win the Renaudot Literary Prize.

Even the Paris Review mentioned by Ethan Rogers just now has a good relationship with Gallimard Publishing House.

Although the name of the Paris Review is "Paris", it was founded by a group of Americans.

After World War II, the "Beat Generation" was born in the United States.

These young people are rough and unrestrained, and they live a simple and unkempt life.

They like to wear strange clothes and hate work and study.

They refuse to assume any social obligations, enjoy wandering around the world, oppose all secular conventions and monopoly capital rule, and resist foreign aggression and racial segregation.

Among them is a group of young people from wealthy families. They are all rich children who graduated from prestigious universities such as Harvard and Yale, and have high literary literacy and artistic pursuits.

The rise of the Cold War led to the dominance of McKinseyism in American society, making this group of people incompatible with the social reality of the United States.

So this group of people gathered together, came to Paris, and founded the Paris Review.

In the early days of its establishment, the operation of The Paris Review was very difficult. They had no money to rent an office and could only borrow two empty rooms from Gallimard.

Therefore, Gallimard and The Paris Review also forged a deep friendship.

Even though the editorial office of The Paris Review moved back to the United States as early as the 1970s, the two sides have always maintained close contacts.

Lin Chaoyang was not well-known in the European and American literary circles. Now with the blessing of the Renaudot Literary Prize, it is not a problem to be on The Paris Review.

However, Ethan Rogers had to use some favors. After all, it was a temporary move and required the cooperation of The Paris Review.

Ethan Rogers used this to repay Lin Chaoyang's firm choice of Gallimard, which was also full of sincerity.

Being able to appear on the "Writer Interview" of The Paris Review is also a recognition of Lin Chaoyang's influence in the international literary world.

After spending a morning at Gallimard, Lin Chaoyang returned to the hotel after lunch to be interviewed by Literary Magazine.

The next day, it was Secretary Zhou from the embassy who came to pick up Lin Chaoyang.

This morning, the embassy arranged an exchange activity for him at the Paris Teachers College, and in the afternoon, a separate exchange with Chinese students in Paris.

In the evening, Secretary Zou specially held a celebration dinner for Lin Chaoyang at the embassy.

Then Lin Chaoyang spent another two days in Paris, during which time many publishers from other European countries approached him, and Lin Chaoyang signed several publishing contracts.

In his spare time, he also attended a writers' gathering held by Gallimard Publishing House. Having just won the Renaudot Literary Prize, he naturally became the focus of the gathering, attracting a lot of attention and discussion, and also met some French local writers.

On the sixth day of arriving in Paris, Lin Chaoyang waited for Plimpton, the editor of "Paris Review".

Plimpton is a veteran of "Paris Review" and the first editor of the "Writer Interview" column. Over the years, he has interviewed hundreds of internationally renowned writers.

When he saw Lin Chaoyang, Princeton's first reaction was "young".

"I would like to ask your age."

"I was born in 1958."

Princeton looked amazed, "You are probably the youngest of all the writers I have interviewed."

"Is this a compliment?" Lin Chaoyang asked jokingly.

"Of course!" Princeton said seriously, "Youth is a rare asset."

Princeton has a lot of experience in interviewing, and he easily found a topic with Lin Chaoyang.

Then the topic gradually changed from shallow to deep, from daily life to literary creation and ideological level.

In the middle of the interview, Princeton took out an English version of "The Truman Show".

"I've seen the movie adapted from your novel, and it's quite good.

The English version of the novel was published a few days ago. I bought it before I boarded the plane and haven't finished reading it yet, but I boldly believe that it is indeed a very outstanding work.

Where did the inspiration for this novel come from? Is it your dissatisfaction with the political system? Or is it a satire of social phenomena?"

"It's just a flash of inspiration when watching TV. In fact, this kind of inspiration is nothing special. Maybe everyone will have such a flash of thought, but I just caught it."

Princeton asked again: "I have interviewed many writers. In the mouths of many people, literature is a very sacred and solemn thing. But through talking with you, in your concept, such "sacredness" does not seem to exist."

"That's right." Lin Chaoyang answered bluntly.

"So, what do you think literature means to you?"

When asking this question, Princeton's expression showed a bit of solemnity.

Lin Chaoyang's eyes also became serious, "Literature? It's probably a kind of sustenance."

"Sustenance?"

"What the heart thinks, what the God thinks, our spirit must always have an outlet, but it is not that important."

"Why? Why is it not important?"

Princeton frowned, he did not agree with Lin Chaoyang's point of view.

Among the writers he has interviewed, most of them have made remarks such as "Literature is supreme" or "Literature is higher than my life".

Princeton also took it for granted that literature should be so noble.

"Will people die if they don't eat?" Lin Chaoyang did not answer his question, but asked a question in return.

"Yes."

"Will people die if they don't breathe?"

"Yes."

"Will people die without literature?"

Princeton was silent.

After a moment, he retorted: "But our souls will wither."

"Soul? A noble term. If the soul will wither, then it is no nobler than our body."

Lin Chaoyang refuted Princeton with rigorous logic, but he thought about it and said unwillingly:

"Don't you think you are dispelling the sublimity of literature?"

"Are people sublime?"

Princeton hesitated, he noticed the trap in Lin Chaoyang's words.

Before he spoke, Lin Chaoyang said: "It is impossible for people to pull their hair out and leave the earth, just as it is impossible for people to create something more noble than themselves."

Lin Chaoyang's eyes seemed to travel through time and space, and his tone was low, "We are not noble, we just exist, and we will eventually die."

Princeton's eyes focused instantly after hearing this, as if attracted by an invisible light.

His brows wrinkled slightly, forming a shallow ravine, and he fell into deep thought.

After a moment, he looked up at Lin Chaoyang.

The young Chinese writer sat there quietly, even his breathing seemed to be extremely subtle, his eyes were calm and gentle, like a deep ocean, making people feel an urge to indulge in it.

Princeton tried his best to digest the touch and shock of the words just now, and he shook his head unconsciously.

He was not against Lin Chaoyang, but tried to find a point of fit from Lin Chaoyang's words and integrate this new life perception into his existing cognitive system.

"What an interesting point of view, impressive." Princeton's voice was a little dry, and he said: "It seems that you are a pessimist."

Lin Chaoyang laughed easily.

"Some joking people have summarized the characteristics of literature in various countries. Would you like to hear it?"

"I'd like to hear the details."

"British literature is like a brave knight who says he will die for glory.

American literature is like a fearless gladiator who says he will die for freedom.

French literature is like a prodigal who is crazy about love. He says he will die for love.

Russian literature is like an old man who has seen through life. He says he will die.

Japanese literature is like a pretentious young literary man who says he wants to die.

There is nothing to say about Chinese literature, he said live! "

Lin Chaoyang's tone was humorous, making people laugh.

Although he knew that Lin Chaoyang's summary was a joke, Princeton also quite recognized this broad summary.

Just when he was smiling and looking relaxed, Lin Chaoyang looked at him and said seriously:

"Living requires more courage than dying."

At that moment, Princeton's body shook violently, as if he was hit by an electric current.

He gently rubbed his fingers, and a complex emotion instantly surged in his eyes, including shock, surprise, and an indescribable touch.

He couldn't help but cast his eyes on Lin Chaoyang again. This young Chinese writer in front of him could always shock people's soul inadvertently.

Princeton said sincerely: "Lin, you are the most special writer I have encountered in my interviewing career!"

Lin Chaoyang smiled mischievously, "This sentence should be a compliment."

Princeton also showed a knowing smile, his eyes full of admiration, even adoration.

More than a month later, when the latest season of "The Paris Review" was released in the United States, people saw Princeton commenting on Lin Chaoyang like this:

The most eye-catching thing about him is his young face, but when you start to communicate with him, you will be deeply moved by the wisdom hidden behind this young face.

His words are like gurgling water, soft and powerful, and every word contains profound philosophy.

Perhaps he himself did not realize that although he did not think literature was such a noble thing, in him, I saw the most dazzling light of literature.

He is destined to become the best writer of this era. It may be too early to label him with the word "great" at this time.

But I believe that day will not be too far away!