Chapter 822 The Forbidden City is just like that
Liu Jinyun invited Lin Weimin this time, in addition to asking him to watch the premiere of "Tanghulu", he actually had another purpose.
In 1993, the Capital Theatre decided to convert the old cafeteria into a small theatre. In November last year, the theatre was completed and put into use. It was named the Yenching People's Art Theatre Small Theatre. The first play to be staged here was "Lovesickness" by American playwright Sam Shepard.
What Liu Jinyun wanted to talk to Lin Weimin about this time was to cooperate with the Guowen Publishing House to develop several plays.
After hearing his words, Lin Weimin pondered for a moment.
In recent years, the domestic drama market has been sluggish, even worse than the film market.
When he launched the full copyright operation plan of Guowen Publishing House, he also considered the adaptation of drama. However, the influence of drama is declining now, let alone making money from it. If Guowen Publishing House really wants to do it in a big way, it would be a bit of a loss.
Now that the National Theatre of China has taken the initiative to propose cooperation, it is difficult for Lin Weimin to refuse.
We are all old acquaintances, and although the benefits of cooperation are small, they are not non-existent. At least it is a direction of adaptation, and it will always increase the influence of the original work. As for the benefits brought to Guowen Publishing House and the writer himself, they are almost negligible.
After all, it was held in a small theater in the capital, with less than 300 seats in total, so it wouldn't make much money.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Weimin agreed to Liu Jinyun's request.
"Let's ask the institute to contact our copyright operations department to see if there are any suitable works that can be adapted."
After getting Lin Weimin's answer, Liu Jinyun expressed his gratitude to him.
A few days later, Lin Weimin received a strange phone call. It was from Zhang Chunru, who had interviewed him in the United States and was now in Yanjing.
When they met, Zhang Chunru first talked to Lin Weimin about her new book which was to be published this year, which was about Mr. Qian.
In 1990, Zhang Chunru was admitted to the language writing master's program at Johns Hopkins University. Her tutor discovered her writing talent and recommended her to Susan Rabina, an editor at HarperCollins Publishers. Susan Rabina suggested that she write the story of Chinese scientist Qian Lao.
This proposal became the focus of Zhang Chun's life in the next few years.
She came to China in 1993, visited Qian's hometown and workplace, and interviewed a group of colleagues and friends who had interactions with Qian, but she never met Qian himself.
Mr. Qian refused to meet with any writer who wrote a book or biography about him, and Zhang Chunru was no exception.
In the end, she had to go through a lot of twists and turns and found Qian's son in California, USA, obtained a lot of first-hand information, and finally completed this book about Qian.
Now that the book is about to be published, Zhang Chunru still feels regretful for not having interviewed Mr. Qian in person, so she asks Lin Weimin if he can introduce her to Mr. Qian.
"I don't have much friendship with Mr. Qian, I'm afraid I'll disappoint you." Lin Weimin politely declined Zhang Chunru's request.
Hearing this, Zhang Chunru looked a little regretful, "It seems that this book can only be published in this way."
Her book is about Mr. Qian, but it lacks his own authentication and first-hand information, which is a shortcoming for the book.
But she quickly changed her mood and talked about her next book, "The Nanjing Massacre: The Forgotten Catastrophe of World War II."
Zhang Chunru started preparing for this work two years ago. Last winter, she completed the preliminary material preparation for the book at the National Archives of the United States and the Library of Congress in Washington.
During this visit to China, in addition to interviewing Mr. Qian, Zhang Chunru also plans to conduct in-depth investigations in many cities including Yenching, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Jinling for a period of time.
Listening to Zhang Chunru introducing her investigation plan, Lin Weimin gladly offered to provide her with some help within his ability.
Zhang Chunru made an appointment with Lin Weimin to meet today. She originally wanted to ask for help, and when she saw Lin Weimin took the initiative to offer to help, she couldn't help but feel a lot more relaxed.
The subject of writing about what China experienced during World War II is heavy in itself, and there are many memories that those who experienced it are unwilling to touch. Although she is of Chinese descent, she is a foreign journalist after all, and it is not easy for her to complete such a work independently.
Lin Weimin has a very high reputation in China and also has an official status, so it would be great to get his help.
“Two years ago, I received a call from my brother in New York, telling me that my father had passed away in the early hours of that morning.
He had been seriously ill for the past few years and we all knew he didn't have much time left, but this news still makes me feel indescribable sadness and loss.
At my father's funeral, I didn't think of anything to say until the last minute, so I wrote it on the back of a shopping receipt.
You don't know, my grandfather died in Jinling, and my father's childhood was filled with the pain of war...
But there was nothing to be found in our school library, in the municipal public library, or in the history textbooks of the world I lived in.
Including the teachers, they know nothing about this period of history, I want the world to know…”
Zhang Chunru calmly narrates the impact of the war on her parents and grandparents, which is also the driving force and motivation for her to write about the history of Nanjing during World War II.
"Mr. Lin, your novels The Sound of the Wind and The Horse-Trapping Man are among the few works published in the United States that reflect the invasion of China by the Japanese during World War II.
But there are still too few works of this kind. There should be more works telling this period of history in American libraries and bookstores so that Americans can learn about this period of history.”
Lin Weimin nodded and said, "You are right. We should let the world know about this history. We have not done enough."
"No, you have done a lot. I have read your works about the Anti-Japanese War during World War II. They are very well written, but the influence of these works abroad is indeed limited."
The two chatted for a few more words, and Lin Weimin said, "How about this, when I was writing a book, I collected a lot of information about the Anti-Japanese War. I can provide this information to you first. If you need me to help you coordinate interviews with some eyewitnesses, I will help you contact them later."
"That's great!" Zhang Chunru said happily.
After the two finished chatting, Lin Weimin took her home.
The courtyard where Lin Weimin lives is a quadrangle with three entrances. His family of three lives in the main house, and two nannies live in the wing rooms. Except for the room used as a kitchen and a utility room, the rest of the rooms in the quadrangle are almost all occupied by the books and materials that Lin Weimin has collected over the years, which can be said to be filled with books.
Zhang Chunru was surprised to see such a large collection of books in Lin Weimin's home.
“There are more books here than in many small libraries.”
"I don't have any other hobbies. One is that I like collecting antiques, and the other is that I like collecting books." Lin Weimin said casually.
The two chatted casually while Lin Weimin was searching one book after another on the bookshelf for information that Zhang Chunru might need.
After searching for nearly half an hour, Lin Weimin finally found two large boxes of books and materials.
"That's about it, but I don't think many of them can be used." Lin Weimin said.
"Writing this kind of documentary work is like this. You collect millions of words of information, but you may only be able to use a few thousand words."
While we were busy, dinner was ready.
They came to the restaurant to eat, and the almost four and a half year old Xiao Doubao was very excited to see the unfamiliar face Zhang Chunru.
He didn't even bother to eat the chicken leg on the table. He just stared at Zhang Chunru with his big eyes blinking.
"Eat your meal well. Why are you always staring at your aunt? It's rude!" Tao Huimin scolded.
Xiao Doubao immediately lowered his head and looked submissive, but before he could hold on for two seconds, he turned his gaze to Zhang Chunru again.
Zhang Chunru smiled at her, and Xiao Doubao responded with a bright smile. She showed a few white teeth with vegetable leaves hanging on them, and she didn't look like a lady at all.
After finally finishing the meal, Lin Weimin flipped through the pile of information he had found and introduced it to Zhang Chunru.
Zhang Chunru was born in the United States and is a second-generation Chinese. She speaks English well but her writing is average. She found it very difficult to read some materials about the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and even earlier periods.
Lin Weimin translated and explained it to him word by word. She was also very serious. She opened her notebook and recorded it rigorously, saying that she would go back and check it with the English materials she had collected before.
Xiao Doubao leaned against Lin Weimin's legs, watching her father and aunt's serious and solemn conversation. Although she didn't understand what they were discussing, the more at times like this, the more seriously she listened, much more attentively than when she was in kindergarten.
Tao Huimin was very pleased to see her daughter being so well-behaved.
It seems that this girl is not uneducated, she just hasn't found an interest that suits her.
Lin Weimin chatted with Zhang Chunru until the evening and let her stay at his home.
Before going to bed at night, Tao Huimin suddenly said to Lin Weimin: "Hey, what do you think about letting Doubao learn history in the future?"
"Study history?" Lin Weimin was a little surprised. He didn't know why she would say such a thing out of the blue.
Tao Huimin then recounted what Lin Weimin and Zhang Chunru had done when they were looking through and discussing the materials. Lin Weimin thought about it and realized that he was discussing seriously with Zhang Chunru at the time and didn't pay much attention to Xiao Doubao's performance.
"It's a good idea for girls to study history. If they behave themselves, they can become teachers in university in the future," said Lin Weimin.
Seeing that her husband agreed with her opinion, Tao Huimin was a little excited. "It's summer vacation now, so you can take her to visit the Forbidden City more often and tell her more about this. You have to cultivate her interest from a young age."
"There's a museum right here at home, why go to the Forbidden City?"
Tao Huimin said: "The museum at home is not that big. The Forbidden City is much bigger and has more collections!"
Feeling contempt from his wife, Lin Weimin felt that his dignity as a man was offended.
“The Forbidden City is just like that.”
Seeing her husband suddenly act like a child, Tao Huimin found it a little funny. "Yes, yes, the Forbidden City is full of great things left over from past dynasties, while your museum is all your own possessions. In this respect, the Forbidden City is no match for you."
Lin Weimin nodded in satisfaction. "That's right. But we have to admit the gap in reality. There is still a big gap between our Jinghua Museum and the Forbidden City, but this gap will definitely get closer and closer."
Tao Huimin responded to Lin Weimin with a humming and hawing.
It seems like men never grow up, but an occasional bit of youthfulness can be refreshing.
Talking about the museum, Lin Weimin suddenly started mumbling again. He remembered what Zhang Chunru said today.
I said to myself, “Should we build a library?”
Tao Huimin was speechless. This man was going to squander the family fortune again!
(End of this chapter)
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