Chapter 621 The Great Wall of Publishing
At the beginning of the year, Lin Weimin set fire to the Guowen Publishing House again.
These days, the most hotly discussed topic among everyone at the Guowen Publishing House is naturally the "Collection of World Literary Classics".
"Collection of World Literature Classics", just hearing the title is scary enough.
There were those who supported the idea in the society, as well as those who opposed it. Everyone expressed their opinions in private, and the discussion went on and on without end.
Those who oppose it have several reasons. First, it is a waste of money and time. Second, it may not have economic benefits. Third, it may be seen as a show of ostentation.
The reasons of those in favor are very legitimate. Other major countries in the world, especially developed countries, have their own world libraries, but China does not. World libraries help domestic people understand world literature, which is the unshirkable responsibility of Guowen Publishing House. If the "World Literature Classics Library" can really be published and distributed, it will become an unprecedented feat in the history of Chinese publishing, and Guowen Publishing House and even every editor who participated in the editing and review will go down in history.
While everyone in the office was arguing endlessly, several guests came to Lin Weimin's office.
Jiang Lu, Lu Yuan and Wen Jieruo are all senior editors of the Guowen Publishing House. They are also experts in translating foreign literature. They also have other identities, such as writers and poets. They are all senior members who have been with the publishing house since its establishment and are highly respected.
A few days after the editorial meeting, news about the "World Literature Classics Collection" spread like wildfire within the company. Although several people have retired, they still participate in the company's work and have the title of consultant.
The three people went to Lin Weimin's office mainly to express their support for Lin Weimin's plan to plan and publish the "World Literary Classics Collection".
The older generation of publishers are extremely idealistic and enthusiastic.
The publication of "Collection of World Literary Masterpieces" is not only a major event for Guowen Publishing House, but also a major event for the domestic publishing and literary circles. They actually had this idea a long time ago, but in the past few years Guowen Publishing House simply did not have the strength to carry out such a large project.
As Jiang Lu spoke, he handed Lin Weimin a large stack of information. He opened it and found that it was a bibliography of the "World Library" published by Britain, the United States, France, Germany, the Soviet Union, Japan and other countries. At the end was a commentary he specially wrote on the gains and losses, advantages and disadvantages of the bibliographies of various countries' libraries.
Lin Weimin looked at the information and felt deeply moved.
Nowadays, there is no Internet and domestic information is relatively closed. It is not an overnight achievement for Jiang Lu to collect information from so many foreign libraries and write about their pros and cons one by one. Without years of attention and dedication, it would never be possible to achieve such detailed results.
But the problem is that before Lin Weimin, no one from Guowen Publishing House had ever mentioned the concept of "World Library".
The information collected by Jiang Lu was entirely out of his ideals and passion as an editor.
Jiang Lu said, "Part of this information is what I have accumulated over the years of work, and part of it is what I came up with a few years ago. I thought that if the publishing house really wants to publish a series of books like the Seven Stars Library in the future, it might come in handy."
"Teacher Jiang, your information is so valuable. It helps us avoid so many detours!" Lin Weimin said gratefully.
"As long as it can be put to good use. We old guys support your work on the World Literature Masterpieces Collection from the bottom of our hearts and will definitely give full support to your work."
Lin Weimin's face was filled with emotion. "Thank you so much, teachers. With your help, this will definitely succeed."
After the excitement, Lin Weimin discussed with several others the details of the libraries of various countries, trying to extract the essence and discard the dross.
Finally, after some discussion, everyone generally agreed that the previous "World Libraries" of various countries focused on the West and neglected the East, focused on their own country and neglected other countries, and many libraries lacked the true meaning of the word "world".
Therefore, in the process of editing and reviewing the "World Literature Classics Collection", Guowen Publishing House must stand at the height of the history of world literary development and restore the true face of world literary history without any prejudice.
Lin Weimin concluded: "We should be impartial, neither belittling ourselves nor being arrogant, and in a pragmatic spirit, include important literary works from various countries and periods in the World Literature Collection. This is the essence and true meaning of the World Literature Collection."
"Weimin is right."
"We are relieved that you have this kind of awareness!"
After listening to Lin Weimin's ideas, several old comrades were all smiling. With such a high level of thinking and mentality, why worry about the failure of the "Collection of World Literary Classics"?
"Collection of World Literature Classics" is destined to focus on world literature. Jiang, Lu and Wen are all great translators and respected seniors in the Foreign Language Department of the publishing house. They are still responsible for some translation and final review of foreign literary works. With their support, Lin Weimin's pressure is much less.
A few days later, the purchased works from various countries' libraries were mailed to the Guowen Publishing House one after another.
These libraries often counted hundreds of volumes, which was quite expensive and not easy to purchase. Lin Weimin commissioned the International Book Trading Corporation to purchase the books in the name of Guowen Publishing House, which made Cheng Zaochun feel distressed for several days.
But the money must be spent. These bibliographies not only provide a basis for the planning and argumentation of Guowen Publishing House, but also provide a reference for the editing and review of the "World Literature Classics Library".
Hundreds and hundreds of volumes of original foreign works were constantly moved into the front building, and the Foreign Language Room became the busiest place in the Chinese Language Society in the past few days.
The Foreign Languages Department is the main force in editing and reviewing the "World Literature Classics Library", and they are the only ones who can understand and translate these original foreign works.
Naturally, not all of these books will be translated. Many of the works included in the libraries of various countries have been introduced and translated by the Guowen Publishing House. Some works that are not suitable for the "World Literature Classics Library" will also be eliminated, so the workload of the Foreign Languages Department is far less than you see.
Thousands of original foreign works were added to the Foreign Language Room. For a while, there was no place to step in the office. However, the editors of the Foreign Language Room were happy to do so. Even the director Chen Jiangen, who had previously resisted the "World Literature Classics Library", was beaming with joy.
Although these original foreign works are used as reference for the editors of the "World Literature Classics Library", the benefits of the Foreign Language Room are also real. These books will become nourishment for the editors of the Foreign Language Room.
Not only the Foreign Language Department, but also many colleagues from other editorial offices came to borrow these books.
Those who can join the Chinese Literature Society are all college students. They may not be good at other languages, but they have no problem with English, so the works from the British and American libraries are the most borrowed.
The Foreign Language Department had been harassed for several days, and Chen Jiangen couldn't take it anymore.
Because there were too many people borrowing books, the Foreign Languages Department didn't take it seriously at first. But a few days later, they found that the entire library was almost emptied. How could they carry out their work?
Chen Jiangen quickly asked someone to return the books. Books are easy to borrow but difficult to return. Everyone had only read them for a day or two when the Foreign Language Department urged them to return the books, which immediately caused many colleagues to be sarcastic.
Chen Jiangen had no choice but to send all the original foreign language works to the editor-in-chief's office, and the Foreign Languages Department could come and get them if they needed them.
In this way, no one will dare to be so rampant.
As the book catalogs of libraries in various countries have been purchased one after another, the argument for the project "World Literature Classics Library" has also been put on the table.
As the editor-in-chief of Guowen Publishing House, Lin Weimin took the lead and invited many respected old editors who were still alive in the publishing house, including Tu An, Yan Wenjing, Meng Weizai, Qin Chaoyang, Lu Yuan, Jiang Lu, Wang Yangchen...
Many famous scholars gathered together to offer suggestions for the argumentation of the "World Literature Classics Collection". Several veteran comrades also volunteered to personally participate in the planning and editing work.
The establishment of the "World Literature Classics Collection" project can be regarded as the most important project of the Guowen Publishing House in the past decade. The last time there was such a momentum was in 1981 when the Guowen Publishing House mobilized the entire society to recompile the "Complete Works of Lu Xun".
Even Ba Lao's collection of works does not have such scale and momentum.
It took Lin Weimin more than half a month to gradually sort out the division of labor for the project of "World Literature Classics Library", and the demonstration progressed rapidly due to the participation of many predecessors and famous scholars.
After much discussion, many predecessors and experts gradually reached a consensus.
It is entirely feasible for Guowen Publishing House to publish the "Collection of World Literary Classics". This series of books fills the gap in the domestic publishing industry in the world library and also has very great political significance and social benefits.
As for the economic benefits that many people are worried about, the old predecessors didn't even mention it. We are all revolutionaries who have walked out of the mountains of swords and seas of fire. Compared with the political significance and social benefits demonstrated by the library, those economic benefits are nothing. How can everyone not have this awareness?
On the day when the argumentation document came out, Lin Weimin arranged a dinner for a group of elderly people and brought them to Donglaishun.
No one needs a bite of mutton hotpot, but the joyful and pleasant atmosphere of the banquet made many seniors recall the days when they struggled in the Chinese Literature Society.
The old predecessors recalled the good old days, and Lin Weimin was waiting on the side, which fully demonstrated the respect for the predecessors and made this group of people feel very happy.
“It’s great for the people!”
"Yes, I saw he was a good talent since he joined the club."
"How old is he? He's already the editor-in-chief. When Mr. Tu was the editor-in-chief, he was older than him, right?"
"Can we compare them like that? Not to mention our Guowen Press, Weimin is unique in China's publishing industry. With outstanding abilities, professional excellence, and talent, we old guys can rest assured when such a young man becomes the editor-in-chief."
These old seniors were in a very good mood today and praised Lin Weimin like a flower.
As the banquet came to an end, several former presidents and editors-in-chief gave a few words of greeting.
Tu An: "Weimin, the idea of the World Literature Masterpieces Library is very good. Now that everyone has given you a good start, it's up to you young people to carry it forward!"
Yan Wenjing: "You have only been the editor-in-chief for a year. Proposing the idea of a World Literature Masterpieces Collection is a severe test for you. You must give a perfect answer to all colleagues at the Guowen Press and the higher authorities."
Meng Weizai: "You have grown up under everyone's eyes. To make the World Literature Masterpieces Collection a success, we need the help of many colleagues in the publishing house. Remember, you must unite everyone. Things cannot be accomplished by one person alone."
Guowen Society is a cultural unit and its official tone is not so strong. After everyone said a few words, it was Lin Weimin's turn to express his opinion.
He raised his glass and said solemnly: "The project establishment and demonstration of the World Literature Masterpieces Collection is inseparable from the help of many leaders and predecessors. I am afraid that I will have to trouble you all in the future. Here, I assure you that the editing and review of the World Literature Masterpieces Collection will be completed as quickly as possible with guaranteed quality and quantity, so that this project will become the 'Great Wall' of our Guowen Publishing House and even the domestic publishing industry!"
Lin Weimin's statement was passionate and full of confidence.
"Great!" Everyone cheered loudly and was full of anticipation for the birth of the "World Literary Classics Collection".
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
