Lin Zixuan received an invitation from Zheng Zhenduo for "Novel Monthly".

He became acquainted with Zheng Zhenduo because of the controversy over new poetry last year, when Zheng Zhenduo was the editor-in-chief of the supplement of "Xuedeng", which published his views on new poetry and countered Guo Moruo.

However, he is not familiar with Zheng Zhenduo, or with the literary research society represented by Zheng Zhenduo.

The reason is very simple, the Literary Research Association has been fighting against the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly faction since its establishment.

The Literary Research Society advocates realist literature, opposes literature as a pastime, and opposes literature as a tool for individuals to vent their complaints, and advocates literature as life.

The place where they publish their articles is the Fiction Monthly.

Founded in Shanghai in July 1910, the Novel Monthly was published on the 10th of each month under the auspices of the Commercial Press.

Before 1919, it was a Mandarin Duck and Butterfly Sect publication, but under the situation of the increasing spread of new ideas, the Commercial Press had to adapt to the trend and make partial improvements.

In January 1920, some reforms were carried out, and Shen Yanbing was recruited to preside over the editing of the newly established "New Wave of Novels" column, and began to publish vernacular novels, new poems, translations, and essays.

Since 1921, Shen Yanbing has been the editor-in-chief, comprehensively renovating the content, and has become an important position for the literary research society to advocate realist literature "for life".

After the renovation of the journal, there are columns such as commentary, research, translation series, creation, special articles, and miscellaneous articles.

Among them, the creative column is mainly novels, but also poetry, drama, and prose.

Lu Xun, Zheng Zhenduo, Ye Shengtao, Zhu Ziqing and others have all published articles in "Novel Monthly".

By the way, Zhang Zhenshui submitted an article to the "Novel Monthly" when he first started writing, but he waited for several years and did not publish it.

On July 10, 1922, Shen Yanbing published an article entitled "Naturalism and Modern Chinese Novels" in the "Novel Monthly" to criticize the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School.

It is believed that the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School is the most written central idea of love novels or family novels, which is nothing more than a variety of reprints of the feudal idea of "the book has its own golden house, and there are women in the book like jade".

This move caused dissatisfaction among the writers of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly faction, who united to exert pressure on the Commercial Press.

Conservatives at the Commercial Press also took the opportunity to demand an apology from Shen Yanbing, and after Shen Yanbing flatly refused to apologize, the Commercial Press authorities censored the manuscript of the Novel Monthly.

Shen Yanbing formally protested to the Commercial Press, and the two sides made a fuss.

This is a major event in the Shanghai literary scene this summer, and it is also a confrontation between old and new literary factions.

Lin Zixuan has a good relationship with Zhou Shoujuan and Yan Duhe, writers of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School, and he also writes popular novels, so he goes far away from the members of the Literary Research Association.

Shen Yanbing's criticism is the "Saturday" magazine founded by Zhou Shoujuan.

Zhou Shoujuan publishes a short story in almost every issue of Saturday, and the first one is arranged.

Mandarin Duck Butterfly Pie also has publications such as "Half Moon", "Red Magazine", and "Happy Living".

It can be said that the Mandarin Duck Butterfly School has a huge influence in Shanghai's literary circle, and has close ties with major newspapers, periodicals and bookstores.

Because their novels sell well and have a market among the people of Shanghai, especially the small citizen class, who love to read this kind of pastime novels, and almost all newspapers and magazines in Shanghai are monopolized by Mandarin Duck and Butterfly writers.

Even Lin Zixuan's "Popular Fiction Weekly" has to publish their novels.

This attack by the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly faction was a counterattack to the new literature, and they were dissatisfied with the encroachment of the new literature on their market and wanted to drive the new literature out of the Shanghai literary scene.

After Shen Yanbing had a falling out with the Commercial Press, he was temporarily suspended from his position as editor-in-chief and replaced by Zheng Zhenduo.

At the end of the year, Shen Yanbing resigned, and Zheng Zhenduo officially became the editor-in-chief of "Novel Monthly".

It was when the two old and new literary factions were fighting endlessly that Lin Zixuan received an invitation from Zheng Zhenduo.

It's a difficult time for Zheng Zhenduo.

The Commercial Press wanted to check the manuscripts of the "Novel Monthly", and some radical manuscripts or those aimed at the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly faction could not be published, but Zheng Zhenduo was unwilling to compromise with the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly faction.

At this time, he thought of Lin Zixuan.

Lin Zixuan is the founder of new poetry and a master of popular fiction, from Zhou Zuoren he heard that Lin Zixuan also wrote realistic plays, which can be said to be a generalist.

He hoped that Lin Zixuan would write a realistic novel.

In this way, it can not only express the new literature, but at the same time, Lin Zixuan has a friendship with the writers of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School, and will not be troubled by the writers of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School.

With Lin Zixuan's prestige in the Shanghai literary circle at this time, he is the best person to break this deadlock.

Zheng Zhenduo explained the current situation in the letter, as long as this period of time passes, there will be a result within the Commercial Press, if the conservatives prevail, then the Literary Research Society will withdraw from the editorial work of the "Novel Monthly".

If the reformers gain the upper hand, Fiction Monthly will be able to return to normal.

In fact, within the Literary Research Association, there is quite a controversy about Lin Zixuan.

Some people feel that Lin Zixuan has progressive tendencies and can be co-opted; Some people think that Lin Zixuan and the Mandarin Duck Butterfly faction are too close, writing pastime novels, which belong to the type of criticism and cleaning.

Zheng Zhenduo held the attitude of the former, thinking that Lin Zixuan could be wooed, and it can be seen from "Jinmen Hero Huo Yuanjia" that Lin Zixuan is patriotic.

Lin Zixuan was more depressed.

This matter can be said to have nothing to do with him, and he doesn't want to have conflicts with Zhou Shoujuan and others.

In the promotion of the movie "Tianjin Hero Huo Yuanjia", Zhou Shoujuan can be said to have contributed a lot, he introduced the movie on "Declaration" before the screening, and wrote a few praise film reviews after watching the movie.

Although he is a movie lover himself, this is also for Lin Zixuan's sake.

For Lin Zixuan, who came from later generations, new literature and popular literature are not contradictory, but can complement each other, just like online literature and traditional literature, there is no need to oppose each other.

But he is in this turbulent era, and the wave of new literature is sweeping in, and he wants to sweep all the old literature into the garbage heap of history.

Without standing at this historical juncture, it is difficult to imagine how acute the contradiction between the two is.

It's a life-and-death struggle.

Lin Zixuan was willing to help Zheng Zhenduo get through this difficult moment, because Zhou Zuoren had helped him, but he was unwilling to have a conflict with the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly faction.

Then what kind of novel to write is crucial.

He pulled out a piece of paper from the locked drawer at the bottom of his desk, with the names of the novels he remembered.

Some have been crossed out, some have been marked and must be written, and some are still hesitant to write......

These novels were the capital of his becoming a literary hero.

After careful selection, he spread out the manuscript and began to write.

At the end of July, Zheng Zhenduo received Lin Zixuan's novel, opened it, and there were two words on it, "Border City".