Lu Yao, a writer from northern Shaanxi, is famous in the Chinese literary world with two famous works, "Life" and "Ordinary World". Among them, the latter is almost a household name, and has achieved epic sales of 20 million copies so far, and is known as a modern rural epic work.
However, perhaps no one expected that such a great writer who won the Mao Dun Literature Award had lived a period of time when even ordinary people were not as poor as ordinary people. It can be said that Lu Yao was born in poverty and died in poverty.
Lu Yao, who was originally the first child in the family, was supposed to be the most favored as the eldest son. However, with the birth of his five younger siblings, his family's life became increasingly impoverished. In desperation, Lu Yao's biological parents had to pass him on to his uncle as a son. On the day he left home, Lu Yao hid in no one's place and cried all afternoon.
In order for Lu Yao to be able to go to school, his adoptive mother Li Guiying even had to go to ask for food, so as to save a little ration so that Lu Yao could go to school. In order not to make Lu Yao feel humiliated, Li Guiying would even walk dozens of miles and beg where Lu Yao could not see.
Lu Yao's early poverty made his inferiority and proud character at the same time carved into his soul. It has created a self-esteem and desire to conquer beyond ordinary people, and at the same time has also created his deformed view of consumption.
Lu Yao does not pay attention to eating or wearing, according to the words of friends: "Eat a steamed bun on weekdays, chew a green onion to be satisfied, but at the critical moment, you must absolutely smoke a good cigarette, wear decent clothes, and even if you are poor, you must give a gift to your friends."
That is to say, in places where people cannot be seen, Lu Yao always treats himself harshly; in society, Lu Yao is always generous. Obviously, the family has been unable to open the pot, but also continue to take the initiative to fund some friends, borrow money to invite others to eat.
At the same time, Lu Yao has a different hobby in smoking and drinking coffee. Bad cigarettes, he absolutely would not smoke; bad coffee, he would never drink. The monthly expenditure on smoking and coffee was astronomical at the time.
The reason why Lu Yao is so enthusiastic about high-end coffee and high-grade cigarettes is largely because Lu Yao wants to use these foreign objects to show his difference. His friend Haibo once asked him: Why not lower the grade of smoke? Lu Yao's response is that good smoke is not a physical need but a psychological need.
If Lu Yao had survived until now, this little cost might not be anything at all. But in the era when Lu Yao lived, his family fell into extreme poverty. For example, Lu Yao's "Life" has a total of 130,000 words, and Lu Yao receives a manuscript fee of 1,300 yuan, 10 yuan for a thousand words; in 1986, "Ordinary World" was first published by Wenlian Publishing House, with a manuscript fee of about 30,000 yuan and a thousand words of 30 yuan.
Judging from the price level at that time, such income is really enviable. But in the way Lu Yao spends money, these fees are far from enough. When "Ordinary World" won the "Mao Dun Literature Award", the highest award in Chinese literature, he did not even have the travel expenses to enter Beijing to receive the award.
In the end, Lu Yao's poverty completely destroyed his originally strong body. Lu Yao's family originally had familial cirrhosis of the liver, and his life and work style of day and night, day and night, supper, tobacco and alcohol addiction made his cirrhosis enter the late stage early.
Since 1987, Lu Yao has experienced symptoms of vomiting blood. Due to the shyness of his pockets, Lu Yao did not even dare to go to the hospital to check. In the year of Lu Yao's death, as soon as the Yan'an-Xi'an railway was opened, he rushed to the train and prepared to collect some materials to write a huge work beyond "Ordinary World".
However, as soon as Lu Yao got on the train, he felt unbearable abdominal pain. When he got off the train, he couldn't move anymore and almost fell to the ground. When he was carried into the hospital and the diagnosis results came out, the doctor only shook his head vigorously, indicating that he was weak in heart, and directly instructed the family to take care of the aftermath.
After being admitted to the hospital, although everyone hid from Lu Yao and did not tell him the specific condition. However, Lu Yao was vaguely aware of his physical condition. Therefore, Lu Yao, who is lying on the hospital bed, is worried every day, often shedding tears, he is worried about his 13-year-old beloved daughter Lu Mingming, worried about his adoptive mother who still lives in the cold kiln.
What was even more devastating was that just 2 months before his death, his wife Linda handed over the divorce agreement to him in front of him in front of his sickbed. In this regard, Lu Yao did not say anything, and signed the agreement with pain.
On the night of November 17, 1992, Lu Yao died of depression and pain. In his dying, Lu Yao kept nagging his biological parents, and kept "nonsense": "Mom and Dad are important... Mom and Dad are affectionate."
At the time of his death, Lu Yao was a great writer who shook China. But after his death, what he left for his old mother and 13-year-old only daughter was a stack of MORE than 10,000 IOUs. And one of his biggest last wishes before he died was just to borrow 5,000 yuan.
It is said that before Lu Yao died, he insisted on seeing his old friend Jia Ping and must say one last word to him. According to the person's recollection, Lu Yao's last words to Jia Pingwa were: "Look at my bear-like appearance, you must take this as a warning, and be more careful!" When Jia Ping heard this, he rushed out of the ward like an escape, crouched at the corner of the stairs, sobbed, and cried loudly.
In 2017, 15 years after Lu Yao's death, Jia Pingwa said in a commemorative article: "He was an excellent writer, an outstanding politician, and a man of great dignity. But he praised his father even more and fell on the road of thirst."
Perhaps this is the best summary of Lu Yao's bitter life.
Today, Lu Yao has been away from us for 18 years. But to this day, his life and works can still leave us with great shock. In an online survey, on the question of "do you think the most tragic contemporary writer", 78% of the respondents gave their votes to Lu Yao; "the contemporary writer who has the greatest impact on your life" option, 89% of readers still voted for Lu Yao; and the last choice, "Who do you think is the most outstanding contemporary writer", still 72% of netizens chose Lu Yao.
His masterpiece" Ordinary World is still one of the best-selling books in bookstores, and has even been listed by the Ministry of Education as one of the must-read books for teenagers.
In the eyes of many people, "Ordinary World" is just a "cool text" of that era. "How can any poor boy be favored by the daughter of the provincial party secretary?" Fantasy? Such comments abound on the Internet. At the same time, from an artistic point of view, "Ordinary World" is too realistic and not "avant-garde". Therefore, when Lu Yao handed over "Ordinary World" to the publishing house, he was once rejected. At that time, the critics even said loudly: "I can't imagine that such a person can write a work like "Life"." ”
But as the prime minister famously said: "The masses like it, you are old." Despite the belittling critics, The Ordinary World continues to be printed at a rate of 3 million copies a year, and there are countless pirated copies on the Internet. This means that many of the literate Chinese have read the book, and even if they don't, they have heard it.
It is precisely because "Ordinary World" has such a high popularity that he has influenced the values of an entire generation. Because this book writes out the emotions that everyone shares, it is like a reservoir of historical memory, whether there is experience in rural life or not, every ordinary person with extraordinary dreams may be able to find his own shadow from this book.
When Ma Yun was still a poor boy who was lonely and nameless, Ma Yun accidentally picked up a copy of "Ordinary World" at the train station and could not put it down again after reading it. Ma Yun said: "It was 'Ordinary World' that changed him and made him realize that as long as he doesn't give up, there will be hope." ”
Life is not easy, life is a lot of tribulations, for each of us, there are always times when we can't stick to it. When you are confused and helpless, go to "Ordinary World" to find the answer! Let the powerless be powerful, let the pessimists move forward.
Therefore, the author solemnly recommends this good book to everyone here, the original price of 118 yuan, now only more than 70 yuan, but the money of a movie ticket. It is the only collated version and the most authoritative Beijing October Publishing House that publishes Lu Yao's works.
Interested parties can purchase by clicking on the image below: