On July 29, 1985, the Fifth Congress of the Chinese Writers Association was held in Beijing. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

This is exactly six years since the Fourth Literary Congress and the Third Writers' Congress held in the winter of 1979. In the past six years, the literary circles of the whole country, just as astonishing changes have taken place on all fronts across the country, there has also been a prosperous situation.

The number of writers' delegates from all over the country has almost doubled from the previous congress, with a total of 815 people attending the congress, which reflects the unprecedented growth of the writers' contingent in recent years.

And Ba Lao, who had not participated in the Cultural Congress for many years, also attended the meeting.

At this time, Ba Lao had been sitting in the chair of the Chinese Writers Association for 8 years, and his most important work in his later years, "Caprice", had also been written for 7 years.

The old man went to Beijing with his illness this time, precisely for the sake of Govyn.

At the end of May, the manuscript of Govyn's book "Living Elsewhere" was finally completed.

However, the editors of major publishing houses, who were scrambling for the copyright at the beginning, rejected the manuscript as soon as they read it.

"Govyn, this book is very well written. If we condense the evaluation into one sentence, we think that it prophetically writes the real situation of Chinese intellectuals in a certain period...... It's just that...... The style of this book is so bold! So...... Sorry......"

This is the reason why many publisher editors are embarrassed to explain.

Govin understands their psychology, but he doesn't agree with them.

As he once said, I don't agree with you, but I defend your right to speak to the death.

If these publishers don't publish, then he goes to a publisher who is willing to publish.

Even if no publisher is willing to publish "Living Elsewhere", he can still serialize it in a magazine.

If he can't even "Reading", which is known as "no forbidden area for reading", he can still serialize it on "Fellow Robes".

But I don't know what's going on, in order to make it easier for editors such as the Central Literature Publishing House and the People's Liberation Army Literature and Art Publishing House to read the manuscript, Gowen made several copies of the manuscript at one time and lost one copy.

Then, before Govin could contact a publisher willing to publish "Living Elsewhere", pirated copies of "Living Elsewhere" appeared on the market.

Because of Govine's fame, coupled with the cheapness of pirated books, as soon as the book came out, it quickly caused a sensation in the society, and Luoyang paper was expensive for a while.

In just one month, there were more than 30 pirated versions of "Living Elsewhere" collected by Govin alone.

And this sudden wave of piracy also made Govin scramble and anxious.

"Living Elsewhere", a novel about the life of contemporary intellectuals, has attracted wide attention from all walks of life because of its unique and bold attitude and outstanding description, and has been controversial by two poles of slander, with those who praise it as a strange book and those who destroy it as a bad book.

However, because of social concepts and social values, Govin was more slandered and criticized. Not only did the vast number of ordinary readers denounce him, but even the cultural circles were dissatisfied with his prediction of the degeneration and unworthiness of intellectuals, and fiercely criticized him.

For a time, Govin became a rat crossing the street, and everyone shouted and beat him.

Overnight, Govin went from a young leader, a thinker, and a little king of literature and art to a rogue writer, a reactionary, and a decadent writer, and was worn with countless top hats.

Because "Living Elsewhere" was not censored and was still pirated, the book was naturally banned in the first place.

However, this book has been banned repeatedly, piracy has emerged in an endless stream, and many people are running for pirates' advertisements.

When the rumors spread, Govin had to hide and disappear from the public.

And for a while, the gossip about Gowen's "disappearance" was even more flying.

It was in this situation that Ba Lao dragged his sick body to Beijing to stand up for Govyn.

For a national treasure like Ba Lao, it is natural that there will be high-level leaders to visit him when he arrives in Beijing.

Gewen heard Ba Lao's conversation with his superiors from Sister Xiaolin, who accompanied Ba Lao to Beijing.

Ba Lao said: For middle-aged and young writers, we should learn the lessons of the ultra-leftists and beat sticks in the past, and we must believe in them.

"Literary artists have suffered for many years, and they should be encouraged more and criticized less."

Sister Xiaolin's original words about Ba Lao, Ge Wen listened to it with a very complicated mood and a heartwarming heart.

Ba Lao's love for himself, I'm afraid even Ba Lao's own children will be jealous!

Because he was not a representative of the Cultural Congress, Gowen naturally could not participate in the Cultural Congress, but Gowen intermittently learned about Ba Lao's speech at the Cultural Congress.

The opening speech of the Cultural Congress was a speech by Ba Lao, entitled "Our Literature Should Stand at the Forefront of the World".

In his speech, he pointed out that the number of periodicals in the literary circles at present, the prosperity of creation, the vitality of theories, and the growth of the contingent of writers are all unprecedented. Six years ago, some comrades were not without the preference of "not being able to accept the green and yellow," but now this worry has been completely eliminated. In the past six years, several generations of writers have made their own contributions. Moreover, it cannot be denied that young and middle-aged writers have become the most active factor in China's literary circles. They are diligent in their writing, and their works are numerous, reflecting a wide range of lives, and they are particularly vibrant. They have the courage to think and explore ideologically and artistically, and can better grasp the pulse of the times. Some of them, although they are just starting out, have shown great vigor and potential. Hope is in them.

In his opening speech, Ba Jin also said: Although we have made great achievements and a large number of outstanding new artists and new works have appeared, they are still not commensurate with our era of great historical changes. What we need is not only excellent works in the general sense, but also epic masterpieces, artistic treasures worthy of our time, and fine works that can be compared with the splendid culture of our nation and the best literary masterpieces of mankind. We once dreamed of the early emergence of contemporary Li Bai, Du Fu, Guan Hanqing, and Cao Xueqin, and the emergence of Dante, Shakespeare, Goethe, and Tolstoy in China. This historical responsibility falls on the shoulders of our Chinese writers, especially the younger generation of writers.

During the discussion of the various groups of the Literary Congress, Ba Lao said: Respecting the laws of literature and art, promoting literary and artistic democracy, and ensuring freedom of creation should be written into the new constitution of the China Writers Association.

After the meeting, Ba Jin unexpectedly wrote an article entitled "Creative Freedom": "Creative freedom" is not a godsend, it is earned. …… Guarantee can't replace creation, and the arrival of the real golden age has to rely on a large number of good works to guide the way. The golden age is the era of people and works. Such an era must not be met with hope and waiting.

Ba Lao's series of speeches won the approval of some old gentlemen.

Xia Yan, an old-timer and veteran writer, delivered a congratulatory speech at the conference, saying: After 10 years of suffering, Chinese intellectuals have not been defeated, and thousands of young writers have written works that are difficult to count, with different characteristics and different styles, and they have the courage to explore, are good at independent thinking, and believe that the writers of the 80s will be "blue" and better than the 30s and 50s.

The old gentleman Ji Xianlin said: Literature has its own laws, literature has the great principles of literature, and we must adhere to the quality of literature. Writers are observers of society, always observing the pace and figure of the progress of this country and nation, always describing the ethics and life of this society, and more importantly, facing reality and their own hearts truthfully, and fulfilling the responsibility and meaning of life of a Chinese engaged in the profession of writers in this great era.

As the old gentlemen talked about their views on literature, many began to think and reflect.

On the night of the meeting, the Jingxi Hotel, where the participants were staying, was brightly lit, and many delegates gathered to discuss the day's topics.

Someone mentioned Gowen's "Life Elsewhere", and Ba Lao said without the slightest qualification: Gowen broke through the forbidden area of art that had been imprisoned for a long time with extraordinary courage, and erected an artistic monument of a new literary milestone in China at the end of the 20th century.

Mr. Ji Xianlin said: "Living Elsewhere" will shine in 20 years.

Middle-aged writer Ma Yuan also praised: Among the novels we see now, which books will make grandchildren and great-grandchildren interested in reading? Maybe ten, a hundred, maybe only two or three. But I'm sure that one of them is "Living Elsewhere". I am convinced that this is a remarkable book, and that it is easy to read, readable, and will be used for posterity.

As soon as the meeting ended, Ba Lao flew back to Shanghai.

At the moment when Govin said goodbye to the old man, the old man looked at Govin silently for a long time.

Then he said with some self-deprecation: "After the Wen Dynasty meeting, some people say that this Wen Dynasty is of great significance, saying that I have brought new hope to Chinese literature this time...... In fact, what I am talking about is nothing more than the 'double hundred policy' many years ago. Without socialist democracy, where will 'unifying' and 'contending' come from......"

"In a few days, the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles will organize an exchange group to Hong Kong for cultural exchanges, originally asked me to lead the team, but I was not in good health and pushed it, I have already said hello to Ai Qing, the head of the Hong Kong exchange group, this time you will go on my behalf."

"Ba Lao ......" Govin's voice choked.

"That's all I can do, do it yourself! You have to learn to be patient, and remember not to forget your original dreams! ”

"I ...... I know! ”

With tears in his eyes, Govin watched Ba Lao enter the boarding pad.

……

……

These days there are intermittent updates, and there are a few blocks that have affected everyone's reading experience, and traitor is here to say sorry.

To avoid trouble, the plot about Living Elsewhere ends here. The next chapter will begin a new plot, the Hong Kong volume.

Book friends who are interested in the plot of "Living Elsewhere" can join the whole subscription group, and there is a detailed outline in the group. (To be continued.) )