1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 354: Writers of that Province
Starting from Beijing, we first went to Shanghai, then to Tokyo, and the last stop was San Francisco.

This route was operated by Pan American World Airways.

Pan Am was now one of the largest airlines in the United States, but it went bankrupt in the 90s.

“We’re here, we’re here.”

Jiang Xian, a man, led five women off the plane together.

Wang Anyi is short, and Jiang Xian saw that she was struggling to take the backpack from the luggage rack, so he helped her take it down.

"Why is it so heavy?"

Wang Anyi smiled awkwardly, "I forgot that you know English. I just brought an English-Chinese dictionary and a Chinese-English dictionary with me just in case."

Ru Zhijuan came over and said, "An Yi, put one in my bag."

"Need not."

"I don't have much in my bag. Wouldn't it be easier for you to carry it this way?"

"Oh, I said no thanks." Wang Anyi refused and hurriedly walked down the plane alone. She seemed to think Ru Zhijuan was a burden.

"this kid"

Ru Zhijuan looked at Rao Yuemei and the others awkwardly.

Zhu Lin also looked at Jiang Xian.

"Isn't An Yi quite polite?"

"The rebellious phase has arrived." Jiang Xian joked in a low voice.

In fact, he quite understands Wang Anyi's attitude.

Wang Anyi has a strong personality, and it was thanks to Ru Zhijuan that she had the opportunity to come to the United States, so it was inevitable that she would want to get rid of her mother.

After getting off the plane, I waited for my luggage, and then went through customs formalities.

Several people looked around, curiously examining the modern layout and decorations around them.

"Oh, look at these people, with blond hair and blue eyes, they look fake."

"Yeah yeah."

Rao Yuemei, Zhu's mother, and Ru Zhijuan, three people of the same generation, gathered together and discussed in amazement.

Wang Anyi still intentionally or unintentionally avoided Ru Zhijuan from a distance, but soon ran into trouble.

The customs officer frowned and kept asking questions while looking at her documents. Wang Anyi obviously didn't understand and stood there in confusion.

"Jiang Xian, go over and take a look." Zhu Lin said.

Jiang Xian walked over and asked the customs officer, "What's wrong? Please tell me if you have anything to say."

The man looked at him and asked, "Why is this lady's last name Wang, but her mother's last name is Ru? Is she married?"

"."

After Jiang Xian's explanation, the customs officers gradually understood and let them go.

"What's wrong?" Wang Anyi still didn't quite understand.

"cultural difference."

Jiang Xian said, "In the West, it is common for women to take their husband's surname, so in the eyes of foreigners, you should have the same surname as your mother."

"Why do we still have this custom?" Wang Anyi was very surprised. "Westerners are much more feudal than us."

"In a way, yes."

"Oh, Jiang Xian, I didn't expect learning a foreign language to be so useful." Wang Anyi looked at him enviously.

She had always envied Jiang Xian for being able to understand foreign language translations and having access to a wider range of literary materials and texts.

Now that I am in the United States, this ability has played an even greater role.

Thinking again that she and Jiang Xian were of the same age, Wang Anyi felt very depressed.

Walking further out, a consul named Chen from the Chinese Consulate came to pick them up. They got into the car in a hurry. Because there was too much luggage and the car was not big enough, they had to call a taxi.

It needs to be allocated who gets on which car.

Several people have already regarded Jiang Xian as their backbone, and they all hope that Jiang Xian will take Consul Chen's car so that they can ask about the situation on the road.

There was an empty seat on the bus, and everyone wanted to let Ru Zhijuan get on, but Ru Zhijuan said that she was slow to react, so she gave the seat to her daughter Wang Anyi.

Finally, Jiang Xian and Wang Anyi got into the consul's car.

After a flurry of activity, and after giving each of the American kids who came to help a one-dollar tip, the car finally started.

“There are more customers passing by these days.”

Consul Chen said apologetically, "The ambassador and his wife have also come to San Francisco, and the consulate is now full."

Wang Anyi got nervous when she heard this. "It's full? Then where should we stay?"

"There is a small hotel near the consulate, which is run by someone from Taiwan. We will arrange for you to stay there temporarily today."

"Taiwan Province?"

Wang Anyi suddenly felt very sensitive and resistant, "How can we mix with them?"

"it does not matter."

Consul Chen consoled him: "Outside, everyone is Chinese, and they are not that sensitive."

Wang Anyi was still worried and looked at Jiang Xian.

"What do you think?"

Jiang Xian shrugged his shoulders. "Where else would we live?"

"."

Hearing that Jiang Xian had already made the decision, Wang Anyi didn't know what to say.

Consul Chen smiled and said, "You can stay here first and then transfer to Iowa. You may not know that this year Nie Hualing also invited a cultural celebrity from Taiwan."

"Who?"

"Mr. Chen Yingzhen."

"he?"

This suddenly aroused Jiang Xian's interest.

In later generations, many Chinese people knew Yu Guangzhong, but few knew Chen Yingzhen.

These two are rivals.

A few years ago, there was a debate in Taiwan Province, which was initiated by Yu Guangzhong against Chen Yingzhen.

To be honest, Jiang Xian didn't have much affection for Yu Guangzhong.

Li Ao once said, "He was XX in the past, but now he has returned to the mainland and is showing off everywhere."

This person is not on the same page with us.

In a sense, the later generations promoted Yu Guangzhong's "Nostalgia" to benefit the united front situation.

Jiang Xian didn't like him, but he didn't hate him that much either.

He felt that this person was a bit sad.

There is a saying that goes well.

"Yu Guangzhong loves his country, but he doesn't know where his country is."

He is not on the same page with us, but he is not on the same page with them either.

Compared to Yu Guangzhong's obscure position.

Chen Yingzhen is much clearer.

This person is definitely one of our own!
This man, who was called "Taiwan's Lu Xun", not only dared to speak for us, but he even dared to do so after being released from prison after serving seven years.

From the beginning to the end of his life, he firmly and resolutely defended his position.

He also fought back fiercely in the previous ideological debate initiated by Yu Guangzhong and others, and later clashed with the localists many times, making outstanding contributions.

In later generations, he even became the honorary vice chairman of our China Writers Association as a native of Taiwan.

Jiang Xian was naturally fascinated when he heard that he could meet such a literary giant from Taiwan.

"."

After checking into the hotel, Jiang Xian first went to the toilet in a hurry. For the second he sat in the bathroom, he was actually a little dazed.

He was clearly in the 80s, but looking around
Water heater, washing machine, bathtub, and toilet. Yes, a proper flush toilet, the kind you can sit on and read a newspaper while using the toilet. As his stomach emptied quickly, Jiang Xian was actually a little moved.

"Damn it, we're finally modernizing and can finally use toilet paper to wipe our butts!"

Zhu Lin had been on the plane for too long, so as soon as she arrived at the hotel she lay down on the bed and began to rest.

Jiang Xian walked to the window, looked at the street full of tall buildings, and breathed in a breath of the "free and sweet" air.

This trip to the United States cannot be in vain.

His "International Writing Project" is actually that Nie Hualing and others pay for you to travel to the United States for a period of time.

But now that he's here, Jiang Xian has to do something.

At that time, due to the rapid social development in the American literary world, various genres were constantly born and new trends continued to emerge, such as "black humor", "non-fiction novels", and... well, feminist literature, black literature, and squid literature.

In short, it is a mess, and all kinds of new ideas and new doctrines are mixed into literature.

Horror novels, science fiction novels, and popular novels are also very popular in the United States.

Stephen King is one of the best. He has now written best-selling novels such as "The Shining" and "The Shawshank Redemption" and achieved financial freedom.

All in all, there are a lot of things that Americans like to watch now.

There are many things that Jiang Xian can copy, including horror, fantasy, and science fiction.

Whether it is JK Rowling, George Martin, or Tolkien, they may become the unlucky person whose luck is absorbed by him.

Not only novels, but also scripts and other things can be tried.

Hollywood is so lively right now, with Jennifer Connelly, Brooke Shields, Phoebe Cates, Diane Lane. They are all Hollywood beauties.

Far away.

cough.

When Jiang Xian thought about the fact that he was going to be a father, he consciously calmed down.

All in all, the novel in his mind now is quite good. If he writes it and publishes it quickly, he can make some money in the United States.

The cost of living in the United States is particularly high. I just booked a room, which costs $33 a day, and I have to tip $2. The car fare from the airport was another $20, and there was another $2 in fees. The two expenses totaled $57, not counting other expenses.

Jiang Xian had published articles abroad before and had some foreign currency deposits, but this amount of foreign currency was just a drop in the bucket.

The rest were provided by Nie Hualing.

If he could earn some royalties from writing, his family would be able to live a relatively comfortable life in the United States.

Besides, the child is going to be born soon, and he can’t ask Nie Hualing to pay for the milk powder as well.

When he thought of this, Jiang Xian felt more stressed.

While Zhu Lin was sleeping, Jiang Xian sat at the table, turned on the desk lamp, filled his pen with ink, and no longer thought about those Hollywood beauties. He focused on working hard to get money for his child's milk powder.

After writing for a while, it was already evening and Jiang Xian was inexplicably invited to dinner again.

After asking, I found out that it was the painter Mr. Hou Beiren who hosted them for dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

The shop was opened for a banquet, with two large tables filled with people, all of whom were from the literary and artistic circles.

Hou Beiren introduced them. Most of them have complicated identities. They are Chinese who were born in Taiwan and have nationality of other countries.

Like the famous Ms. Chen Ruoxi, and the American writer Jiang Nan.
This Jiangnan is really awesome. When introducing him, Jiang Xian couldn't help but look at him a few more times.

In a sense, this person's death is also a legend, the famous "Jiangnan Case".

He had a complicated identity. He later wrote a book called "X Jing X Zhuan". Not long after he finished writing it, he was shot and killed on the spot outside his residence.

This death was traced back to Chen Qilai from Taiwan Province. Further investigation revealed even more serious issues. The incident continued to cause shock waves, and X Jing X had to pay the price of his descendants being permanently kicked out of the game to appease the public anger.

All in all, after such a short while, Jiang Xian felt that this trip was really worthwhile. The world is so wonderful, it would be a shame not to go out and see it.

"This is a writer who is emerging in China, Mr. Jiang Xian." Hou Beiren introduced him to everyone.

Chen Ruoxi and the others shook hands with Jiang Xian in a friendly manner.

Ru Zhijuan was introduced again, and people at two tables sat down and started asking questions.

There is a gap between the two places, so we don't know much about each other's cultural circles, and it is inevitable that we are curious about the development of each other's literature.

Ru Zhijuan is about the same age as them, so she can fit in better during the chat.

"We previously proposed scar literature and reflective literature, but recently it has become popular to search for roots, the roots of culture."

"Searching for roots?"

These people from Taiwan Province were immediately curious.

"What's the root search?"

"what does it mean?"

Ru Zhijuan said: "It was probably inspired by Latin American literature. Oh, the person who proposed this idea is right here. Don't ask me, ask him."

Everyone looked at Jiang Xian again.

When I heard that he was so young but could come up with literary ideas that were popular in the country, I was immediately filled with admiration and thought he was really awesome.

After Jiang Xian's explanation, several people suddenly understood and thought it was a very good idea.

“The old culture should be revived and protected.”

"At such a young age, he has reached this level of thought."

“The young people in this country are really amazing.”

"."

As they were talking, laughter was heard from another corner of the hotel.

Everyone followed the voice and saw a few Chinese faces, relatively young, and speaking in a very unconventional way.

"Come on, what can domestic literature come up with?"

"Root-seeking literature? I think it's still the literature of workers, peasants and soldiers."

"funny."

"."

Ru Zhijuan frowned, a little angry.

Chen Ruoxi and others were also very unhappy.

"They are some nasty fellows."

"Ignore them."

Jiang Xian smiled and nodded, "Speaking of which, compared to Comrade Ru Zhijuan, I started writing relatively late, probably in 78.

You should know that the Buzz Buzz Movement had just ended at that time, so I didn’t have a very deep understanding of what Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Literature was.

But after I started writing and read a lot of Western novels, I gradually came to a realization:
An artist must first have a motherland, and secondly, the world."

"First, we must have our motherland, and second, we must have the world."

Chen Ruoxi repeated it and nodded vigorously, "Yes, you said it very well!"

"No wonder Ms. Ru Zhijuan said you are the best. You are so young and yet you have such understanding."

"It's amazing. It's really amazing."

Hou Beiren looked at Jiang Xian with admiration.

If Jiang Xian wanted to retaliate against these young people's statement of "workers, peasants and soldiers literature" just now, it would actually be difficult for him to open his mouth. After all, many of those present were from Taiwan Province. Although they seemed to be harmonious on the surface, it was inevitable that they would hurt everyone's feelings.

But he said this calmly, neither servile nor overbearing, with an incomparable demeanor:
“An artist must first have a motherland, and secondly, the world.”

In the face of such self-confidence that embraces the world, the ridicule of “workers, peasants and soldiers literature” by those young people just now seems so insignificant.

"Please go out, you are not welcome here!"

As he was talking, a burly man came over and drove away the young men.

"To the north."

"What are you relying on? Get out of here and don't let me see you again." The man raised the big spoon in his hand and waved it twice.

Several people left the restaurant in a panic as if they were escaping.

After watching this scene, Hou Beiren turned around, smiled and explained in a low voice to Jiang Xian and the others.

"He is the owner of the restaurant, and his ancestral home is in Shandong."

(End of this chapter)