Chapter 38 thirty-seven

I have already received your call for contributions letter, because I want to write a creative short story and send it to you, so I didn't reply until today. Since coming to the UK, I have written several boring articles in English, such as "The History of Qipao" and "Bound Foot and Braid", and published them in newspapers and magazines here.There is no other purpose in doing this, just to defraud some royalties.Your letter specifies that I should write short stories, but I don’t even have the opportunity to speak Chinese, how can I still have the ability to write Chinese articles?However, I strongly agree with your purpose of running "Avant-Garde Literature", so I resolutely brought up my bald pen again and wrote this short story for you.Before writing, I was quite ambitious, but after I wrote it, I realized that I couldn't do what I wanted.The method of expression which I have adopted in this composition is rather new, but it has not been successful.If you think you're failing, you might as well throw it in the wastebasket. Anyway, it's an experiment, and it makes no difference to me whether I use it or not.

In the UK, I sometimes meet some young people who have just come here to study in Hong Kong or various ports in Nanyang. When talking about the new literature since the May Fourth Movement, they always say that all our novelists have handed in blank papers.In fact, such a view is obviously incorrect.In fact, over the past few decades, the department of new literary fiction has not been fruitful, but it is not completely absent, especially short stories.The problem is that most of the best short stories are ignored by readers.Due to readers' neglect and years of war disasters, the speed with which short stories are annihilated is astonishing.Needless to say, those that were published in newspapers and magazines but did not form a collection, even those that were lucky enough to win the favor of publishers, often printed a thousand or two thousand copies before being out of print.Chinese readers' lack of encouragement to authors not only prevents great works from being produced; it also prevents some relatively excellent works from being circulated or preserved.For this reason, I have always felt that writing short stories is a waste of effort.

But this is not the only thing to be lamented about. If our readers cannot appreciate the fruits of the field of literature, foreign readers will be even less able to.Lu Xun's "The True Story of Ah Q" was once translated into several languages, but it did not give the European and American reading circles a new understanding of our new literature.On the contrary, this novel has received far less attention than the several classic short stories selected from Sanyan in Lin Yutang's translation of "A Collection of Chinese Short Stories".The things that foreigners are interested in China seem to always be: men's braids, women's footbinding, opium, concubines, old-style marriage ceremonies, old-style social systems, and ancient ritual customs. Besides, they cannot accept that Chinese men have long been The removal of braids and the fact that Chinese women have long since stopped binding their feet.

Phenomena such as these are the main reasons why people who are interested are unwilling to engage in serious literary creation. You wrote to say that the few short stories I published during the Anti-Japanese War were quite excellent.Thank you for your compliments.However, I don't think they are any good.That's why I don't save them myself. Over the years, I have read many good books in England, and I have a clearer view of the direction of novels.However, because I was too busy with chores and didn't get any encouragement, I never tried to write.Words cannot describe my joy when I received your letter.I have not been completely forgotten, at least one friend like you still remembers my existence.I'm glad you asked me to write a short composition for you.I even temporarily stopped my hobby of collecting stamps, and fell on my desk every night to write.For me, this is already a very strange thing.After the article is finished, I read it again, only to realize that it has been abandoned for too long, my eyes are too high, and my hands are too low.My inability to write a good short story is not due to unexpected events.This situation is quite similar to that of an athlete.When he was 20 years old, he had a high jump record of 1.80 meters. Ten years later, he thought he could at least surpass 1.60 meters, but he couldn't even surpass 1.40 meters.

This short story is a failure.However, I sent it to you anyway.There are only two reasons for doing this: first, I want you to know that I did write a short story for you, even though it was a failure; second, I am sending you this failure because I know I'm afraid I won't be able to write anything like this in the future. You gave me a chance to test myself, I am very grateful to you.I may never again have the courage to write fiction; but I can tell you frankly that my interest in literature has by no means disappeared.If there are excellent works, I am still willing to read them. If you are willing to send me "Avant-Garde Literature", I will be very interested.

The letter ends here, signed by Lu Ting. Luting is a serious novelist with very few output, but each one has a unique style and technique.During the Anti-Japanese War, he published several excellent short stories about how the little people in the rear survived in the great era.His friends have given a very high evaluation of his works.Some even say that his achievement is higher than that of Shen Congwen.However, Luting is an educator and must spend most of his time in the classroom. In addition, he is also a very knowledgeable philatelist.Therefore, his output is pitifully small. I often have this idea: if readers can give Luting more encouragement; or if an excellent writer like Luting can concentrate on writing; then there should be no doubt that he will produce more and more successful works.Over the years, in order to live a more reasonable life, he took his wife and children to distant England to work as a schoolteacher.His interest in literature is like collecting stamps, which is of a fun nature and not serious.But his short stories are as brilliant as his postage collections are full of treasures.Readers never paid much attention to him, and he didn't care.The reason why he writes a few short stories is purely for entertainment, and the situation is no different from sticking stamps, listening to records, or even watching a movie.That's the only way to regret it.In our country, how many talents are buried and cannot be brought into play.Only those profit-seeking writers specialize in selling Chinese antiques in foreign countries, using this to deceive the world and steal their names to enrich their own pockets.Luting has lived in England for several years, so he may also be jealous.Otherwise, I would never have written such articles as "The History of Cheongsam" and "Bound Foot and Braid".For a talented person like Lu Ting, writing such a boring article cannot be regarded as a waste.I wish he had set aside some of his time to write short stories.However, due to the waste of time, Lu Ting found that his eyes were high and his hands were low when he picked up his pen again.These are his own words, which may not be reliable, let's look at his works.

The short story sent by Lu Ting, entitled "Twilight", about 8,000 words, uses a brand-new technique to describe an old woman sitting on a bench in the park, with her eyes wide open, staring at two little girls playing with a ball on the grass. The subject matter is quite ordinary, but the way of expression is very unique. First of all, he described in detail the ever-changing sunset glow in just a few minutes. The ever-changing sunset glow symbolizes the disturbed mood of the old woman.The old woman is old, and she still lingers on the world; but the beautiful evening aroused her panic.

She greedily looked at the two girls playing with the ball, and felt that they were even more beautiful under the setting sun. Old women were once young.The old woman also played football in the sunset.However, these have become memories.Knowing that she was about to die, she had a strange idea. She hates the ever-changing sunset. She is jealous of that little girl. So, when the ball fell into the pond, a little girl was standing by the pond crying, and the old woman crept up behind her and pushed her into the pond. This is a very good short story, not only novel in subject matter, but also superb in technique.When describing the psychological changes of the old woman, Lu Ting deliberately used the sunset as a foil, and used it as a symbol of old age, which is both delicate and profound, and the writing is brilliant and amazing.

Luting said in his letter that it was a failure, which is actually not true.In my opinion, this is a rare masterpiece since the May Fourth Movement. I was so excited that I immediately wrote a letter to Lu Ting. The masterpiece "Twilight" has been received.This is a rare masterpiece.As your loyal reader, I must congratulate you. "Avant-Garde Literature" has published two issues, because most of the literary and art workers here rewrite popular texts, and it is not easy to maintain a certain standard.Judging from the content of the past two issues, although the attitude is serious, it is still far from the ideal.Your Twilight will make Avant-Garde a first-rate literary magazine and compel conscientious literary historians to mention it.

I couldn't resist a phone call with Mehman. Lutin has sent a short story from England, very well written, and wants to get it to you right away. OK Where to meet? Gangu. when? Now. After hanging up the phone, I immediately went out to take the tram, and when I arrived in Gangu, Holmen was already there before me. It's a very good short story, I say. Mehman took the manuscript from me, and read it on the spot because there were not many words.After reading it, I excitedly cast him a questioning gaze.After he stuffed the manuscript into his briefcase, he asked me in a light tone:

Do you want cake? I was taken aback by the indifferent response.I asked him: What do you think of this novel? Passable. passable?This is a masterpiece! I raised my voice excitedly, surprising the tea drinkers sitting next to me.But there was still no encouraging expression on Homen's face, as if my opinion was not worthy of attention at all.On this point, I don't mind. In fact, it doesn't matter whether others take my opinion seriously or not.The question is: if an excellent work has appeared, if even Holmen cannot appreciate it, who will be willing to engage in serious writing in the future? Mehman's appreciation of literature and art is not very high. The reason why he resolutely founded "Avant-Garde Literature" is all due to his enthusiasm. Excellent works often have no price; works with price are often vulgar.This is why martial arts novels can sell well; and "Hua Duo Ying of Evil" translated by Dai Wangshu can't even sell 300 copies. Hemen knew that running "Avant-Garde Literature" must lose money, but he had the courage to do it.This kind of courage is certainly admirable, but if you can't distinguish the quality of the works, the meaning of running this magazine will be lost. He was determined to start a first-rate literary magazine; but when he received first-rate manuscripts, he could not discern its merits. This is a sad thing; more tragic than the failure of the Avant-Garde to receive widespread attention. (This is how a real literary worker is lonely, I think. Mehman is also a loner; but he suffers far less than Lu Tindo. Mehman still has a passion for literature; and Lu Ting does not even have this The enthusiasm has also disappeared. If I hadn’t asked him for papers, he would not have done such a stupid thing. Lu Ting is a person who is willing to be alone, so why should I must muster his enthusiasm for writing?) So I said to Homen: Lu Ting has lived in the UK for many years and rarely has the opportunity to write articles in Chinese.If you think this "Twilight" is not up to par, let me return it to him. Homen hesitated for a moment, then opened the briefcase and returned Lu Ting's "Twilight" to me. I was so angry that I immediately ordered the waiter to pay the bill.I said: There is another appointment, let's go first. I have something to do too, let's go downstairs together, he said. Take the escalator down the stairs, walk out of the Zhongjian Building, and part ways with Holmen at the intersection. My friendship with Homen came to an end. When I got home, the first thing I did was to write a new letter to Lu Ting.I didn't know how to explain it to him, so I had to tell him the truth: When I received the masterpiece, I had resigned from the editorship of "Avant-Garde Literature".The current editor is a young man who is passionate about literature but has a rather low level of appreciation.He took 5,000 Hong Kong dollars from his mother, and he wanted to run an excellent literary magazine; but because his appreciation level was too low, most of the manuscripts published by the magazine (including the translation of the second issue) did not meet the ideal. In Hong Kong, it is not easy to produce first-rate literary works; nor is it easy to produce first-rate literary magazines.Such an environment cannot be forced. Your "Twilight" is a masterpiece.For a long time, I haven't read such an excellent short story creation.I salute you. However, it is a waste to publish such an excellent work in an avant-garde literary magazine that is actually quite backward.Therefore, I suggest that you translate it into English and publish it in British and American literary magazines. My suggestion may arouse your suspicion, but I am willing to guarantee with our friendship of more than twenty years that everything I say is true.The cultural atmosphere in Hong Kong is getting thinner and thinner.In the bookstore, there are only martial arts novels, pornographic novels, Sihao novels, and counterfeit literary novels with colorful covers and other words. These are all commodities; and the bookstore owners are all for the purpose of making money.What they need are commodities, not actual literature. I don't want to spoil your masterpiece, so I send it back to you. Finally, I hope you can set aside some time to write novels in English.If you are willing to put in some effort in this area, I believe you will be able to occupy a place in the international literary world. After the letter was mailed, I walked into a restaurant alone for a drink.I hoped to escape for a while, and wanted to drink to my heart's content.