Chapter 629: Shaanxi Army's Eastern Expedition

"Nonsense! Losing the manuscript, how frustrating is that for a writer? Comrade Jianqun is the most promising writer in Shaanxi literary circles. I have to care about and comfort Comrade Jianqun and not let him get discouraged."

Faced with Lin Weimin's eloquent speech, Lu Yao said that he didn't believe in any punctuation marks.

He knew this guy's character too well. He would never believe Lin Weimin's words even if he was beaten to death.

In 1987, the Chinese Literature Foundation accepted a donation from Hong Kong patriotic businessman Zhuang Zhongwen and established the Zhuang Zhongwen Literature Award. Last year, Gao Jianqun, Jia Pingwa and Yang Zhengguang jointly won the Zhuang Zhongwen Literature Award.

Part of "The Last Hun" has been published and has received very good reviews among critics and readers. It is self-evident what Lin Weimin's purpose is.

Joking aside, Lu Yao still gave Lin Weimin Gao Jianqun's contact information.

After the two hung up the phone, Lin Weimin called again.

When he contacted Gao Jianqun, he first asked about Gao Jianqun's well-being, which made Gao Jianqun flattered.

You have to know that Lin Weimin is not only a famous writer renowned both at home and abroad, but also the editor-in-chief of Guowen Publishing House. When he suddenly called to greet him, Gao Jianqun was overwhelmed.

Then, Lin Weimin asked about his current creative progress.

What Gao Jianqun lost was the manuscript of the first part of "The Last Hun". He had only completed the manuscript of the first part, and now he could only rely on memory to start over bit by bit.

Lin Weimin consoled her a few more times, and then said naturally, "Rewriting the manuscript is a very painful thing. It is not conducive to creation to keep writing like this. If you have time, you should go out and relax. Creation always requires a combination of work and rest."

His words touched Gao Jianqun's heart. It would be difficult for people who had never rewritten a manuscript to understand the unspeakable pain. He really should go out for a walk.

At this time, Lin Weimin said, "I have read part of the novel you published in Lijiang. It is very well written. If you finish the novel, how about handing it over to our Guowen Press for publication?"

Gao Jianqun didn't expect Lin Weimin to make such a request. He was stunned at first, and then asked, "Can my novel be published by Guowen Publishing House?"

"If the quality remains consistent with that published in Lijiang, it can be published."

Gao Jianqun was very excited when he heard this, and his mood, which had been very irritable due to rewriting the manuscript, immediately became brighter.

“I try to do that,” he said.

Hearing his answer, Lin Weimin laughed, "Comrade Jianqun, I'll be waiting for your good news!"

"No problem, don't worry."

When Gao Jianqun thought about his works being published by Guowen Publishing House, he felt his heart filled with strength and his mind overflowing with inspiration.

Lin Weimin casually said, "If you don't have any inspiration for writing, come to Yanjing. Our Chinese Literature Society has a guesthouse, and there are subsidies for writing here."

"Thank you for your kindness. But it may not be convenient for me to go to Yanjing. I am currently working in Huangling County."

Gao Jianqun is not only a writer but also an official. His position in Huangling County is deputy secretary of the county party committee.

Lin Weimin felt a little regretful when he heard this, and said, "It doesn't matter, we'll meet again when you send me the manuscript!"

"Okay, I'll treat you to a drink then!" Gao Jianqun said cheerfully.

When he was about to hang up, Lin Weimin asked again, "Do you know what Jia Pingwa is writing recently?"

"I don't know. I heard that he has been having some troubles at home lately, so he probably doesn't have the energy to write."

Just as he was about to hang up the phone, Lin Weimin couldn't help but chat with Gao Jianqun for a few more words as he smelled the scent of gossip.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Weimin thought for a moment, called He Qizhi, and told him about Gao Jianqun. He then said, "Let comrades go to Shaanxi more often if they have time this year. There have been many talented people in the Shaanxi Army in the past two years, so we need to attract more of them, especially Gao Jianqun, Jia Pingwa, and Jingfu, who are writers in their prime. We need to devote more energy to them."

With Lu Yao's "Ordinary World" in the past and Cheng Zhongshi's "White Deer Plain" in the latter, Shaanxi writers have had an unprecedented voice in the Chinese literary world in recent years. Therefore, He Qizhi was not surprised by Lin Weimin's advice and agreed readily.

Lin Weimin went on to say, "You should go to Shaanxi more often this year. I plan to hold a novel seminar in the second half of the year, and I will mainly invite writers from Shaanxi."

"Mainly invite writers from Shaanxi?" He Qizhi was a little puzzled.

"In recent years, the 'Shaanxi Army' has produced many talented people. I think that just "Ordinary World" and "White Deer Plain" are not enough. I estimate that several masterpieces will be published in the next two years. The publishing house has had little contact with some powerful writers in Shaanxi before. We can take this opportunity to build relationships and get their new works published."

On March 25, 1993, Guangming Daily published a commentary article entitled "Shaanxi Army's Eastern Expedition", which mentioned the concept of "Shaanxi Army's Eastern Expedition" for the first time.

The so-called "Shaanxi Army's Eastern Expedition" was not a military action. The "Shaanxi Army" referred to a group of writers in their prime in the Shaanxi literary world.

The background of this review article is that in the early 1990s, classic works such as "White Deer Plain" (Cheng Zhongshi), "Fei Du" (Jia Pingwa), "The Last Hun" (Gao Jianqun), and "Bali Love and Hate" (Jingfu) were published intensively in a short period of time, forming an unprecedented "Shaanxi Army" trend in the Chinese literary world.

Cheng Zhongshi, Jia Pingwa, Gao Jianqun and Jing Fu, together with Lu Yao whose works were published earlier than them, are known as the "Five Tiger Generals" among Shaanxi writers because their works are widely popular and have a great influence.

In this time and space, Cheng Zhongshi's "White Deer Plain" was born three years earlier because of Lin Weimin's promotion.

However, the works of Jia Pingwa, Gao Jianqun and Jingfu still follow the rhythm of history and were basically created in 1992 and 1993.

After the term "Shaanxi Army's Eastern Expedition" came out, publishing houses, the media, and the literary circle fanned the flames. For a time, newspapers and book stalls were full of slogans and promotional advertisements for the "Shaanxi Army's Eastern Expedition," creating an unprecedented sensation.

Under such a sensational effect, the biggest beneficiaries are of course these five writers.

Not to mention "Ordinary World" and "White Deer Plain" which have already become masterpieces, "Wasted City", "The Last Hun" and "Bali Love and Revenge" all became bestsellers with sales of more than 1 million copies in the same year.

Among them, Jia Pingwa's "Wasteland" had the most exaggerated sales.

The names of Gao Jianqun and Jingfu are relatively unfamiliar to the public, but the name of Jia Pingwa is well known to the people.

The reason why Jia Pingwa's name became a household name is inseparable from his masterpiece - "Wasted City".

In 1993, Wasted City was published in the fourth issue of October. Due to its unique and bold attitude and explicit sexual descriptions, it aroused heated controversy from all walks of life. The novel received mixed reviews, and Jia Pingwa was even dubbed a "rogue writer."

"Wasted City" was published by Yenching Publishing House two months after its publication. As soon as the novel came out, it was enthusiastically sought after by booksellers.

At that time, the printing volume of Yenching Publishing House could not keep up. In order to meet market demand, it had to sell the plates and let some booksellers print and publish the books themselves. The books were sold to six or seven booksellers at once, and these booksellers started with a print run of 100,000 copies.

In just half a year, the genuine version of "Wasted City" sold more than 2 million copies.

At the same time, pirated booksellers were also madly harvesting the market. At the end of 1993, a publishing house conducted a special survey and found that in less than half a year, the sales volume of pirated copies of "Wasteland" exceeded 10 million copies.

The author Jia Pingwa alone has collected more than 60 versions of "Wasted City" printed by various publishing houses and pirated copies.

"Wasted City" in 1993 can be regarded as a cultural phenomenon in the Chinese literary world.

The hot sales of Wasted City, apart from the quality of the novel itself, is mainly due to the QS descriptions therein.

Among the readers who buy novels, a large proportion of them are curious about something. The more they lack something, the more they desire it. On the one hand, many readers are afraid to talk about sex, but on the other hand, they have a strong voyeuristic mentality, which is similar to what happened when "The Lover" was published.

But the color level of "The Lover" is not as good as that of "Wasted City", and the color level of "Wasted City" is not as good as that of "The Golden Age".

In later generations, "Wasted City", which had experienced the "ban" storm, has long proved its literary and artistic qualities under the test of time.

Wouldn't it be a shame if Guowen Publishing House didn't take such a work?

Moreover, if "Wasted City" can be successfully published, Lin Weimin also plans to resume publishing the complete version of "White Deer Plain", and may even try to publish Wang Xiaobo's "The Golden Age".

The publication of these novels is bound to spark discussion and even criticism, but Lin Weimin believes it is worth it. The sales of Wasted City are guaranteed, and the sales of White Deer Plain and The Golden Age are because he promised Cheng Zhongshi and Wang Xiaobo.

Faced with a group of best-selling books whose future sales would easily start at millions of copies, Lin Weimin was like King Zhou meeting Daji. How could he possibly refuse?

What’s there to be afraid of if you get scolded?

Isn’t it enough if the writer and the book become famous?

During the communication with He Qizhi, Lin Weimin even thought of the promotional strategies for the future novels. Now everything is ready, and he is just waiting for the novels to be published.

No, it should be about winning over talented people.

Except for Lu Yao and Cheng Zhongshi who have already been captured, Jia Pingwa and the other two have a very ordinary relationship with the Guowen Publishing House. The Guowen Publishing House has not even published their works.

Two days later, Cheng Zaochun discussed with Lin Weimin the convening of a seminar on contemporary popular literature.

The Contemporary Popular Literature Seminar was an idea proposed by Lin Weimin last year. Such a nationwide seminar is beyond the capacity of Tongwen Publishing House, so it was organized by Guowen Publishing House.

"I think we should choose the Yanjing Hotel as the venue. The anniversary celebration is held there. It's big and luxurious enough to show our high standards."

Cheng Zaochun showed a bit of pain on his face, "It's not necessary, just find a similar restaurant."

"Don't be so stingy. This is a national seminar after all, and we took the initiative to propose it. Show some generosity. This will also help boost the development of domestic popular literature."

Cheng Zaochun couldn't help but grumble at Lin Weimin's attitude of selling his father's land without any regret. Lin Weimin said, "Can you please give me a straight answer?"

"Why don't you just be the president!" Cheng Zaochun complained.

After some discussion, Cheng Zaochun finally agreed to the venue, and then the two of them began to discuss the specific details of the meeting.

"Bang, bang, bang!" There was a hurried knock on the door. Before Cheng Zaochun could call out "come in", Li Qingquan from the planning office pushed the door open and walked in.

(End of this chapter)