Chapter 14 Thirteen

You can't give up on yourself, that's how the letter begins.Although Hong Kong does not have a strong cultural atmosphere, every intellectual has the responsibility to preserve the vitality and continuity of Chinese culture.For a living, no one can stop you from writing ridiculous martial arts novels.Here is a free world, readers are free to choose what they like to read, and authors are free to write what they want to write.I know your pain.Of course, you don't want to write martial arts novels, you just want to survive, and you have to do this kind of work against your wishes.An author with artistic conscience, if he cannot continue to survive, this artistic conscience is equal to zero.However, although your current situation is embarrassing, you still have a lot of free time.You should stop drinking; give up the idea of ​​being an escapist.Use the money to buy wine to buy food; use the spare time to write the works you want to write.Don't be afraid of misinterpretation and misunderstanding by others; don't need to ask for cognition from others. E． M．Forster once said something like this: In the entire material universe, the work of art is the only goal of possessing inner order.It is for this reason that we value artistic work.However, no artist thinks of harvesting when he is plowing.As you said to me in the past: how poor Joyce was during his lifetime; and how hardworking he was.He is a half-blind man, and in order to live, he was forced to teach and do clerical work, but he never stopped doing what he wanted to do, until "Ulysys" was published, and the censor prohibited his works from being published; Pirates pirate his works for profit; readers misinterpret his works; but he is still not discouraged.He still continues to work, including what he is willing to do; and what he is not willing to do.He was very poor, and while living in Zurich he survived starvation on a hundred pounds donated by a society.When he died, he was almost penniless.In the history of literature, there is no writer whose life is more painful and miserable than his.While he was alive his work was ridiculed and scorned; but today all serious critics agree that he is the greatest writer of the twentieth century.All these things were told to me by you.Of course, your understanding of literature is deeper than mine, and I believe your potential is inexhaustible. If you are determined, you will definitely be able to write quite influential works.Literature is a kind of hard labor, and those who really love literature are lonely.You don't have to ask for other people's cognition, and you don't have to pay attention to other people's misinterpretations and curses.Joyce died only 21 years ago, and he has become a giant of modern literature, but who knows what the Donghongs who insulted Joyce at that time were?Friends, you should have the courage to accept the reality, and at the same time pursue your ideals with great determination.

Signed is Mehman.