On May 12, 1927, the cruise ship arrived in London.

They were greeted by officials from the British Department of Culture and the head of PEN International.

The person in charge reminded him that things might change when he saw Lin Zixuan, Lin Zixuan was a little baffled, but soon he knew what had happened.

The Soviet Union reacted too quickly!

He originally thought that even if "1984" was published in the United States, it would take a period of gestation before it could cause a response.

However, he did not correctly recognize his influence in the United States, the popularity of his novels, and the impetus of American critics, which led to a strong backlash from the Soviet Union.

Gorky's statement added fuel to the fire and pushed the whole thing to a new level.

In addition, with the imminent convening of the International PEN Congress, a large number of famous writers gathered in London, and their comments on "1984" have virtually increased Lin Zixuan's popularity.

Following the American literary critics, the English literary critics went on to interpret the novel.

The more they interpret it, the more they discover the rich connotations of this novel, which seems to be an inexhaustible treasure.

Some critics regard "1984" as a masterpiece and consider Lin Zixuan to be one of the greatest writers of this era.

Some critics scoffed at it, accusing it of being an evil novel, and the writer was able to write this novel because the writer also had this evil mind.

Whether it is praise or belittlement, it is inseparable from the name Lin Zixuan.

It can be said that although Lin Zixuan is not in London, he has become a London literary circle. It is even a focal point in the world literary scene.

Everything surrounding Lin Zixuan and "1984" is a hot spot chased by the news media.

It's a media.

If Lin Zixuan was up-and-coming in the world literary scene in the past, now he is famous. He was as well-known as the most famous writers in the world at this time.

This "1984" did win him worldwide popularity, but it was a mixed bag.

This makes a point. Controversial works are a shortcut to fame, but there are consequences.

As soon as Lin Zixuan arranged his accommodation, a number of British media came to interview, including major newspapers such as The Times.

When he was in the port, there were reporters taking pictures and interviews, at that time Lin Zixuan didn't know the inside story, thinking that the British media was too enthusiastic, he didn't expect that he had become a big writer in the world literary circle.

He did not rush to the interview, but asked people to buy all the newspapers and magazines on the market to find out the specific situation.

Read the newspaper. His heart was heavy.

Due to the pressure exerted by the Soviet Union, the subordinate chapters of the International PEN were divided and seriously divided, which would have a great impact on China's accession to the International PEN Club.

International PEN is the equivalent of the United Nations of writers, and the PEN Centre in each country represents the attitude of that country.

Writers have both nationality and personal inclinations, and it is difficult to strike a balance between the freedom of writing and the defense of the state.

Lin Zixuan understands this. As a Chinese writer, he will also defend China's interests.

The Soviet Union mobilized a great deal of force to prevent and discredit Lin Zixuan and the book "1984", which inevitably implicated China's vote to join the International PEN Club.

This is no longer a purely literary event, but something deeper involved.

From Gorky's statement. As for the opinions of writers from various countries, the comments of British critics, etc., the situation is not optimistic.

International PEN is dominated by British and French writers. They have the dominance, and the presence of other European countries is not strong. Basically, these two countries are used as benchmarks.

Now the attitude of the British is ambiguous. France is opposed, and most of the other countries are neutral and do not express their opinions.

Fortunately, countries such as the United States, Germany and the Czech Republic have supported China, making the situation less pessimistic.

This is a very interesting phenomenon, the countries bordering the Soviet Union can see the real situation of the Soviet Union and support Lin Zixuan, and those writers who do not know the inside story slander Lin Zixuan.

Maybe many years later, they will regret it because of this incident, but at this moment, it has caused Lin Zixuan a lot of trouble.

Interestingly, PEN International's mission is to fight for freedom of expression and to actively protect writers from political oppression.

However, it is impossible in reality not to be influenced by political factors.

Encountering this incident, Xu Zhimo and Yu Dafu were a little caught off guard, and in the face of criticism from international public opinion, the pressure was too great.

What they need to think about now is how to turn things around.

All three of them are young people, and they have no mood to retreat, but are high-spirited, and the book fair is put aside for the time being, and they want to carry out public relations and lobbying for writers from all over the world.

After the discussion, Lin Zixuan was responsible for dealing with reporters, and Xu Zhimo and Yu Dafu visited writers from other countries.

Their lobbying strategy is to separate Lin Zixuan from China's entry into the International PEN Commission, and not to confuse the two things.

Speaking to reporters, Lin Zixuan talked about the original intention of writing "1984", which was inspired by a conversation with Zamyatin in Moscow.

He does not think that the novel is a satire of the Soviet Union, but rather describes the problems that prevail in the world, where the boundaries between democracy and totalitarianism lie, and whether the world will move towards the society described in the novel in the future.

It's a science fiction novel, but many people read it as a work of realism.

Lin Zixuan said that he was very helpless, he felt that the Soviet Union was too sensitive, and as a big country, it did not have the corresponding bearing.

British journalists did their homework, asking Lin Zixuan what he thought of the Soviet Union, and quoting passages from Chinese newspapers to prove that Lin Zixuan had criticized the Soviet Union.

In this regard, Lin Zixuan said bluntly, that is indeed his true opinion.

This is what the media is like, wanting to report big news, British journalists obviously want to portray Lin Zixuan as a hero who resists the Soviet Union, and Gorky is the defender of the Soviet Union.

The fierce confrontation between the two great writers is the favorite of readers.

So, they asked Lin Zixuan what he thought of Gorky.

Lin Zixuan thought about it and replied like this, he admired the previous Gorky, not the current Gorky.

The British correspondent used a very catchy headline in the next day's paper, which led to a huge increase in the newspaper's sales.

"Lin believes that Gorky's time has passed, and now is his time."

This is obviously taken out of context, and Lin Zixuan is extremely speechless, he does not have time to fight with reporters, but constantly meets and talks with writers from different countries, including John Goldsworth, the president of International PEN.

Goldsworth was a novelist and playwright, and an outstanding writer of British realism, whose masterpiece is The Forsyth House.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932.

Coming from a wealthy bourgeois family, he was neutral and impartial, and he supported China's entry into PEN International, but he could not influence the thoughts of other writers.

He gave Lin Zixuan a chance.

Prior to the voting of the members of the PEN chapters, Lin was able to give a speech in front of all the attendees to express his views, which was his last lobbying opportunity. (To be continued.) )