1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 355 Non-fiction

"Are you used to the food?" Chen Ruoxi asked with concern as they walked out of the restaurant.

"It's a bit strange." Jiang Xian said.

"Haha, there's nothing we can do about it. After all, the ingredients are limited, so we have to make some local changes."

Chen Ruoxi asked Jiang Xian what places they would like to visit next in San Francisco.

"There are so many strange places in the United States." The street was very quiet, not many people were around, and cars were passing by quietly but quickly. The atmosphere was a bit mysterious. Chen Ruoxi said, "This is the Tongxing District."

"Tongxing Company?" Wang Anyi became curious.

"Yes, there are Tongxinglian people sitting in those bars and cafes," said Chen Ruoxi.

“It’s scary.”

"You don't have to be afraid. The security in Tongxing District is the best. They are all high-class people: lawyers, doctors, artists. They will not hurt others, and will not touch you." Chen Ruoxi said.

"Then no one else will come to touch them?"

"The deputy mayor of San Francisco is from Tongxinglian. He got a lot of votes from Tongxinglian. So Tongxinglian can be protected here, and some Tongxinglian from outside will also move here to live."

"."

Jiang Xian was speechless. It was indeed the world's capital of copper apricots. He then heard Chen Ruoxi complain in a low voice:
"The public security is still quite reassuring, but recently a sexually transmitted disease of copper apricot was discovered, which is very annoying."

"."

Jiang Xian calculated and it must be that thing without a doubt.

"Is there any zoo or botanical garden in San Francisco? I want to go check it out tomorrow."

"zoo?"

Chen Ruoxi didn't expect Jiang Xian to be interested in animals. "Yes, of course. The San Francisco Zoo is one of the best zoos in the United States. Do you like animals?"

"Not really." Jiang Xian said, "I like to do more research no matter where I am, history, society, climate, cooking. Recently, I suddenly want to study animals."

“A writer’s occupational disease.”

"That's how writing works. No matter what the facts are, they will make your story feel real."

"Yes, the dialogue flows smoothly and is full of tension, the description is full of words, sharp contrasts and powerful details, your story cannot be anything but remarkable."

Chen Ruoxi and Jiang Xian were chatting very happily. Wang Anyi was listening beside them with a childish look on her face, unable to get a word in.

“Sometimes that doesn’t help.”

Jiang Xian said, "Sometimes a story has all of the above elements, but there is always a moment when you feel that the story is missing something, a vitality that makes the story alive."

"That's right." Chen Ruoxi nodded vigorously, "You said it very well, Jiang Xian, I know that feeling, it's a painful desire."

"."

Wang Anyi looked left and right, wanting to interrupt, but couldn't find the feeling that Chen Ruoxi was talking about.

You are noble!

You are amazing!
"Teacher Chen, if I want to submit some English manuscripts in the United States, can you help me contact the magazine?" Jiang Xian suddenly asked.

"Submit an English manuscript?"

Chen Ruoxi was surprised. "Is it a translation or a book?"

"It's a manuscript." Jiang Xian said.

He knew that Chen Ruoxi probably thought that he wanted to translate his domestic manuscript into English and try to submit it in the United States.

Jiang Xian didn't intend to do that.

First of all, knowing a little English doesn’t mean you can translate.

Translation is a technical job. It is very difficult to make people who speak another language feel the charm of this novel.

Secondly, some novels are not to the taste of foreigners.

"You really surprise me." Chen Ruoxi was surprised, "You can also write English manuscripts?"

“At the moment I just have the idea to write.”

"Of course, no problem. I'll leave you my contact information. Whether it's a publisher or a magazine, I can introduce them to you."

Chen Ruoxi wrote down a phone number for Jiang Xian and told him that if he had any manuscripts, he could call her.

Listening to the phone call, Jiang Xian felt dazed.

Lamenting the greatness of modern life.

Compared with China, telephones are basically common in American households.

This is very convenient for Jiang Xian, a modern person who is used to sending messages directly on WeChat when he has something to say.

Chen Ruoxi took Jiang Xian and the others for a walk nearby. On one wall was a poster of "ET the Extraterrestrial". A man in a well-tailored suit was pacing back and forth, saying something passionately.

"It's a psychopath."

Chen Ruoxi said, "There are many mentally ill people in the United States. The richest people in the United States are doctors, and the richest among doctors are psychoanalysts."

Wang Anyi found it very rare and said, "This must be a very advanced subject."

Chen Ruoxi said, "It's nothing special. It's just about listening to the patient's nagging and complaining patiently. If a person feels unhappy, he or she can talk to the psychoanalyst. After talking it out, he or she will naturally feel relieved."

"Then why should he spend money to see a doctor?"

"Who else can we talk to? Who has time to listen to his nonsense? We are all busy."

"."

Everyone couldn't help but sigh, this is really a great profession.

Jiang Xian felt that everything around him was very familiar, and thought that the foreign server was indeed a trial server, and everything was exactly the same as the era in which he lived in the future.

They also passed by Broadway, strip clubs, and bars. Jiang Xian and his friends said goodbye to Chen Ruoxi and others and returned to the hotel where they were staying.

"It feels like a dream," Zhu Lin told him.

"This hotel is really unlike the buildings in our country. It looks like a toy house. And the hair and skin color of those foreigners are like dummies, but they can move."

"Yes."

Jiang Xian also felt as if he was in a dream. Looking at everything around him, for a moment he couldn't tell which era he was in.

The next day, while everyone else wanted to stroll around the city of San Francisco, Jiang Xian took the initiative to go to the San Francisco Zoo. In addition to a camera, he also brought a booklet, which was filled with information when he came back.

"When did you become so fond of animals?" Zhu Lin was puzzled.

"I just want to try to write some novels that Americans might like to read," said Jiang Xian.

"I discovered that a literary style called 'non-fiction' is very popular in the United States."

“Non-fiction?”

What is nonfiction?
Since the 70s in the United States, some writers have gradually discovered that the bizarreness of real life has exceeded their imagination.

So instead of writing fiction, it is better to use the techniques of novel writing to depict those events that cause a social sensation.

This type of literature is similar to reportage, but compared to reportage, it allows the writer's observations and imagination to be incorporated into the writing process.

Therefore, the written work will be more in-depth and detailed, with more of the author's personal color and strong artistic appeal.

In other words, these novels are based on real events, and readers can often find the prototypes in real life after reading them.

This style is also common in the film industry, such as:
Hachiko: A Dog's Story

"Memories of Murder"

"Dallas Buyers Club" "The Terminal"

In short, this style is more in line with the tastes of modern people than the reportage style that is faithful to the facts.

After all, some things need to be processed artistically to be attractive.

Jiang Xian explained it to Zhu Lin once, and Zhu Lin roughly understood it. "So you plan to start writing from an event that caused a social shock?"

"Ah."

"What incident?"

"About a hundred years ago, in the 80s, a yacht named Mignonette suffered a shipwreck at the Cape of Good Hope."

Jiang Xian told Zhu Lin the incident.

Zhu Lin's face gradually turned from curiosity to fear and discomfort.

"Okay, okay, Jiang Xian, please stop talking. I feel a little sick listening to you."

"I'll get you a glass of water."

Jiang Xian diligently poured a cup of hot water for his wife.

Zhu Lin was very curious again: "What does this incident you are talking about have to do with the zoo?"

"The zoo is an artistic process," Jiang Xian explained.

The next morning, Jiang Xian settled the rent and left San Francisco. Wang Anyi's friend drove them to the airport.

This person was a classmate of Wang Anyi. His name was Zhou Hairui. Later, he changed his name because Hai Rui was dismissed from office.

Jiang Xian thought for a long time but couldn't find such a person in his memory. He was probably just a passerby.

“Are you guys coming back to San Francisco?”

"I'll go this way when I return home."

"I'll come pick you up then." Zhou Hairui said politely.

Wang Anyi nodded, feeling a little proud for a moment. It was all thanks to her connections that they were able to enjoy such convenient rides in San Francisco.

The more people lack something, the more they want to prove it.

In the short two days in the United States, Wang Anyi originally thought that she had a lot of experience, but when she traveled with Jiang Xian, compared with her many special experiences, her own experience seemed particularly empty, weak, and insufficient.

The group took off from San Francisco again, first went to Denver, changed planes in Denver, and finally arrived in Iowa.

After getting off the plane, Wang Anyi was afraid of getting into any more trouble this time, so she walked quietly behind Jiang Xian.

After completing the formalities and going out, I soon saw two people holding a sign that read "Welcome Mr. Jiang Xian and Ms. Ru Zhijuan", one man and one woman, both in their forties or fifties.

The woman was wearing a blue Indigo cheongsam. She was petite, but there was a kind of determination hidden between her brows that was not easy to detect.

The man wore a suit and shirt, did not wear glasses, and had long curly hair, giving him a handsome look.

"You are Ms. Nie Hualing, right?" Jiang Xian leaned over and asked.

“Yes, yes.”

Nie Hualing was very happy to see them.

"Hello."

Ru Zhijuan shook hands with her and looked at the man next to her, "Are you Ms. Nie Hualing's husband?"

The man made an exaggerated expression of surprise, then burst into laughter.

"You misunderstood. My name is Chen Yingzhen, and I am also a writer participating in this writing project."

"Are you Chen Yingzhen?!" Jiang Xian glanced at him.

Although he had heard of the names of many literati, he did not know what they looked like, so when he saw this person for the first time, he did not expect that this was Chen Yingzhen.

"Hello."

The two shook hands, and Chen Yingzhen smiled and said, "I came a little earlier. On the recommendation of Ms. Nie Hualing, I read your Red Sorghum and The Last Hun. The description of the countryside in 'Gaoliang Gaomi' is really beautiful."

"Oh, you're so polite." Jiang Xian said.

Chen Yingzhen recognized his "rural" descriptions, and this recognition is definitely valuable.

After all, Chen Yingzhen is the representative writer of "local literature" in Taiwan.

However, his hometown is undoubtedly in the mainland, so he was attacked by Yu Guangzhong and others before.

"I often read your works, and I also follow many writers from Taiwan."

"A writer from Taiwan?" Chen Yingzhen was surprised.

"Like Sanmao, I particularly like her articles, and Lin Haiyin, her novel "Old Things in the South of the City" is really well written. The movie adapted from her novel has also been released in mainland China. It is very touching and indescribably beautiful."

Chen Yingzhen nodded.

“They are both very nice.”

Sanmao is the favorite writer among young people in Taiwan.

Lin Haiyin is the "grandmother figure" of Taiwanese literature.

It is said that Lin Haiyin was hospitable and her living room was always visited by various literati. It could be said that her living room was half of Taiwan's literary world.

We got in the car and it took about half an hour from the airport to Iowa City, and we chatted all the way.

"I've wanted to meet you since I read your novel."

Chen Yingzhen said, "The more national it is, the more global it is. Your theoretical article is truly brilliant."

Root-seeking literature is a kind of cultural pursuit in rural novels, and Chen Yingzhen’s rural literature is a literary style inherited from Lu Xun, so Chen Yingzhen feels that he and Jiang Xian have a lot of topics to talk about and they get along very well.

Nie Hualing also spoke:

"Mr. Chen, you don't know how popular Mr. Jiang Xian is in the country right now.

Mr. Wang Meng wrote to me saying that after reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, he felt a great despair and that there was still a gap between the current level of domestic literature and world literature.

But after reading Jiang Xian's novel, he felt that this gap was not insurmountable. "

“Amazing young people.”

These two people took turns praising Jiang Xian when they met for the first time, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

"You flatter me."

Jiang Xian said modestly, and then said: "Before, we only communicated through letters, which was not convenient. If possible, I would like to ask more about the international writing program."

"What do you want to ask? Just ask."

"Is there anything we need to complete when we participate in this writing project? In other words, what are our obligations?" Jiang Xian said.

Nie Hualing had previously introduced the "Iowa International Writing Program" in a letter. Her goal was to allow everyone to hear voices outside the mainstream, so the writers invited were often from disadvantaged countries or third world countries outside the mainstream.

For example, Palestine, the Philippines, Indonesia, South Africa, including China, Taiwan Province, Hong Kong and other regions.

Before coming, Jiang Xian roughly knew that this plan would not force participants to do anything.

But he felt a little embarrassed to just eat and drink Nie Hualing's food for free.

“We do have an obligation in our writing program.”

Nie Hualing said, "Every participant will have to give a speech. We will divide them into groups according to region and institutional ideology. You will be arranged in the same group with Ms. Ru Zhijuan and Mr. Chen Yingzhen."

(End of this chapter)