Turning up the volume and turning on the hearing aid software, Zhou Mason handed over his mobile phone: "Ask this question, the voice is louder." ”
The prolific and hard-working Jiangsu writer recalled that when he was a child, he grew up in extreme poverty, fell ill for three days and two ends, and suffered from two tuberculosis, more antibiotics, and his hearing gradually deteriorated.
The "Shanghai-produced" TV series "Breakout" is being broadcast on platforms such as Oriental Satellite TV, and this realistic drama focusing on the reform of state-owned enterprises is adapted from Zhou Meisen's new book "People's Property".
The book fictionalizes the images of state-owned enterprise cadres such as Lin Manjiang, Qi Ben'an, and Shi Hongxing, which not only contains Zhou Meisen's memories of life in the mining area, but also continues his creative attitude of critical realism.
Recently, at his home in Nanjing, a reporter from Jiefang Daily Shangguan News had an exclusive interview with writer Zhou Meisen. Although, like In the Name of the People, the story in "The Property of the People" takes place in the fictional city of Jingzhou, Handong Province, Zhou Meisen instinctively opposes the idea of a "sequel" and emphasizes the independence between the works.
Zhou Mason said: "Film and television dramas can be industrially produced, which is a characteristic of the industry. But I'm a writer in a screenwriter, not a cultural businessman, and I don't produce a series of industrial products. If you title "The People's Property" as "The Name of the People 2", you are just selling "The Name of the People" again. ”
At the age of 17, he worked as a worker and left his "roots" in the coal mine
After publishing his work for the first time in Harvest magazine, Zhou Meisen walked into the Shanghai Writers Association at No. 675 Julu Road, and at a glance, he felt that the "Eros Garden" in front of him was very familiar. When he was young, Zhou Meisen lived with his parents in the Jiawang Coal Mine in Xuzhou, and in the exhibition hall that introduced the history of the mining area, there was a photo of the "Eros Garden". Because the old owner of this garden house is Liu Jisheng, the younger brother of Liu Hongsheng, the "coal king".
It was a coincidental encounter between coal mines and literature. From coal miner to writer, Zhou Mason felt that he had walked out of the coal mine, but left the "roots" there. Almost every work he created about large state-owned enterprises is inseparable from what he has seen and heard in the Jiawang Coal Mine. People's Property is no exception.
Shangguan News: Why is "The People's Property" the story you want to write the most in your life?
Zhou Mason: A socialist country has a characteristic, that is, it has a large number of state-owned enterprises. From central enterprises to local state-owned enterprises, it constitutes the ballast stone of China's economy and is our "national heavy weapon". I grew up in the environment of state-owned enterprises, and Xuzhou Jiawang Coal Mine was the place where I lived and grew up. Therefore, the first time I published my work in "Harvest" and walked into the Shanghai Writers Association, I felt very familiar. I later walked out of the coal mine, and in 1979 I was transferred to the Nanjing Literary Magazine "Youth" as a novel editor, and later became a professional writer, and never went back.
But after I walked out, the "roots" stayed there. Almost every work I write, involving large state-owned enterprises, is related to the state of the Jiawang Coal Mine where I worked at that time. For example, the "State Public Prosecution" writes about bankruptcy, and "People's Property" writes about three brothers and sisters. Many scenes and characters of the coal mines kept flashing in front of my eyes, and I always felt that I should write them out. In recent years, one corruption case after another in large state-owned enterprises has broken out, which has aroused my interest in in-depth investigation. I really wrote the novel in 2016, Li Lu was filming "In the Name of the People", when the money was also found, the gap was plugged, and I had nothing else to do but look at the replay.
Shangguan News: Lin Manjiang, Qi Ben'an, Shi Hongxing, and Labor Model, who were in the mine at that time, the characters around you?
Zhou Mason: The subject of "People's Property" I wanted to write 20 years ago. Since I was 14 years old, I have worked part-time in coal mines and studied half-time, and my salary is 9 yuan a day. Later, at the age of 17, he worked as a coal mine worker and came into contact with a group of friends, many of whomse fathers died in coal mine accidents. This incident is very deeply remembered in my youth. It's just that when it surfaces and becomes an artistic image, it needs an opportunity. Including the fact that I have seen many corrupt elements in state-owned enterprises, some rely on their own diligent labor, some rely on scientific inventions, and take up their posts with their own strength. Where did they lose their original intentions? State-owned enterprises should be economic carriers that benefit all the people and the country. So the political thinking, coupled with personal experience, became this work. In my opinion, "Breakout" is not an anti-corruption drama, nor a political drama, but a political and economic drama.
In "Breakout", Huang Zhizhong played Lin Manjiang
Shangguan News: "In the Name of the People" directly attacks anti-corruption, and "People's Property" pays attention to the reform of state-owned enterprises, all of which have very sharp elements.
Zhou Meisen: Lin Manjiang is corrupt in "People's Property", and in the case of corruption of a leader, the ecology of a place is worth exploring, because the "reverse elimination" of cadres has formed. He simply does not take the property of the people and the interests of the people seriously. Writing about the character of Lin Manjiang is indeed too addictive. How can a senior executive of a state-owned enterprise have a private jet? This is a big traitor businessman specially bought to send Lin Manjiang to Hong Kong for medical treatment, he lasted for three years, just to become the governor of the province. This character's lust for power has reached a disdainful level, and this is a very typical character I have created.
Shangguan News: Will the success of "In the Name of the People" put pressure on new creations?
Mason Chow: There's no pressure because I'm a writer. Writers are always looking, always creating. Writers are essentially unable to accept the repetition of industrial production and routines of TV dramas. So when I wrote Breakout, I knew that this was not a case-driven work.
Some people say that "The People's Property" is "The Name of the People 2", and I am also disgusted by this statement. When I wrote "My Lord's Ups and Downs", I fictionalized Han river province. In "The Name of the People", because after more than ten years, the changes were too great, and I was forced to fictionalize Handong Province and Jingzhou City, and put my character activities into it, which was very convenient and did not need to be conceived too much. Otherwise, if a novel wants to fictionalize a province, people will feel that the work is very false. I had to have as solid a stage as possible for my characters to perform tragicomedy.
In "Breakout", Yan Ni played Shi Hongxing
Like Balzac, tell stories for a lifetime
Compared with the writers who write in the ivory tower, Zhou Mason's life experience is unusually rich. He worked as a coal miner, as deputy secretary-general of the municipal government, in the real estate business, and in stocks, and his favorite thing was writing. After reading Balzac's biography at the age of 14, Zhou Maison remained a believer in Balzac. In his view, a writer is a person who tells stories with a pen all his life.
Shangguan News: You say the writer you admire the most is Balzac? Why?
Mason Chow: I had no formal college education, and my love of literature began when I saw a copy of Balzac's biography when I was 14 years old. This book changed my life, and I remain a believer in Balzac to this day. Balzac once wrote a sentence under the portrait of Napoleon: "You conquer the world with your sword, and I will conquer the world with my pen!" This loud and clear sentence has always inspired me. Balzac was a writer who intervened in life, and he wanted to get rich in business all his life, but he did not get rich, and finally wrote a "Comedy of Man". I also have a natural interest in real life, a natural sensitivity.
Shangguan News: When did your interest in literature begin?
Zhou Mason: I started writing my first novel when I was fourteen or fifteen years old, and I probably didn't even know 3,000 Chinese characters at that time, but I wrote 200,000 words, which is not simple. At that time, in coal mines, paper had to be waxed before it could be wrapped in explosives. I wrote on the cut strip of paper before it was waxed.
From 1971 to 1979, for 8 years, I wrote several film scripts, 3 novels, and did not publish a word. Even the post office knew me, shouted from afar, and Zhou Mason rejected the manuscript again. At that time, even if it was published, there was no fee. But born to love to write, no way.
The '80s were the best periods of literature. At that time, there was a critic who was assigned to a certain central organ after graduation, but he did not report, and later went to the Writers Association to become a poor writer for a lifetime. During my concentrated study period, I was in the literary monthly magazine "Youth", where I worked as an editor for five years. Later, I also read books, but I was more pragmatic, such as writing the history and materials involved in a novel, so I went to read it. This was the period when I read the most, and I actually read it hungrily in the coal mine, but there were no good books. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" was read several times, and "Never Left Behind" was also read at that time, and it was written in "The People's Property". The magazine has a reference room, which is very convenient for reading books.
Shangguan News: Your life experience is very rich, not only have you worked in government departments, but also done real estate and stock speculation, what inspiration did these experiences inspire your creation?
Zhou Mason: I went to Xuzhou in 1996 as deputy secretary general of the municipal government and began to consciously understand how government organizations work. Knowing this piece well in writing is related to this year's hanging. Later, in the 90s in Lukou, Nanjing, the newborn calves were not afraid of tigers, and built more than 80 villas, which were very difficult to sell, and were not packaged and sold until after 2000. Fortunately, I didn't borrow, I didn't make money and I didn't lose. Now that I think about it, fortunately I came ashore early and didn't make up my real estate dreams.
It may also have something to do with me coming out of the coal mine, and I want to do it in my career. For example, there are several TV series that I invested in alone. "National Public Prosecution" was fully invested by me and filmed in cooperation with the Film and Television Center of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. "My Lord's Ups and Downs" and "My Hero" are all my personal investments. In The Name of the People, I was just a screenwriter. When Breakout started, my other TV series, The Great Game, shut down. After the press conference of the launch of "Breakout", I flew to Qingdao the next day to shut down.
I only write my own works, and I don't trust other people to write the screenplay. I take the novel as an outline, there are characters, there is a story, this is the outline, the script is very smooth.
In "Breakout", Jin Dong played Qi Ben'an
Shangguan News: Before writing political novels, you also wrote some historical novels in the early days, such as "The Land of Destruction" and so on. What stages do you think your creation can be divided into?
Zhou Meisen: The first novel I published was "The Land of Sinking", which was written about the coal mines of the Republic of China period, mainly with its atmosphere, depth and novelty of angle. After the success of this work, it played a great role in the formation of my writing style. Later, a series of my works carried this tragic, sad color, from the mine to the "Black Grave". Later, I also wrote a series of war novels, which were different from Mo Yan's writing style, which caused some old comrades to criticize. In 1985, Mo Yan and I attended the same military literature seminar, and old comrades criticized us, and I was the only non-military writer at that time. Then came the stage of political novels such as "The Right Way on Earth". But everything is inseparable from its origins, and it is a kind of realism that is rooted in the roots. Some people say it's talent, I say I don't have literary training, I may have a little talent, but the main thing is hard work.
Shangguan News: Starting with "The Right Way on Earth", you began to turn to political fiction, what was the reason for this?
Zhou Meisen: I wrote "The Right Way in the World" because I was touched by an excellent Communist Party member and a leading cadre in a region. His name was Li Yangzhen, the former secretary of the Xuzhou Municipal Party Committee, who had been dead for many years. This municipal party secretary let me see that in the process of reform and opening up, some officials have struggled and sacrificed. So I began to pay attention to them, because I was a beneficiary of reform and opening up, and I was also a participant. I saw a lot of things, thought of many things, and wrote it out through the "True Path on Earth." After writing it, it is impossible to receive it.
In "Breakout", Chen Xiao played Qin Xiaochong
Social reality cannot be pretended to be invisible
Compared with other cities, Nanjing's plane trees are exceptionally tall. After moving to Nanjing in 1979, Zhou Mason has lived in the city. In addition to Nanjing, he was no stranger to Shanghai, which he considered to be his main literary position. Regarding creation, he advocated literary intervention in society and maintained a "presence" posture in the course of history.
Shangguan News: You have been living in Nanjing, what impression does Nanjing give you?
Zhou Mason: Since I came to Nanjing in 1979, I have liked this city very much, because it is very inclusive. When I was young, I was impressed by the heat in Nanjing, and I was covered with a wet bath towel and blown under the fan to cool down. Everything but the heat was good. And the cultural atmosphere of Nanjing is also very good. The writers in Nanjing are also very dashing and independent, each writing his own work, with different styles, but mutual respect. If it weren't for Nanjing, I probably wouldn't have lived so freely.
Shangguan News: You said that Shanghai is the main position for your literary publication.
Zhou Mason: "Harvest" has sent me 4 novellas and 3 novellas, namely "National Prosecution", "My Lord's Ups and Downs", "Made in China", and "Novel Circle" has also published several articles.
After "The Right Way on Earth" came out, it was made into a TV series, and Barkin saw it, and every episode had to be watched. Because he was older, his daughter Li Xiaolin recorded the film and showed it to him the next day. If you don't understand something, ask Kobayashi to find a book to read to him. Kobayashi called me and said that my dad would watch your play and asked me to hurry up and send the book over. Barkin asked, why don't we publish "The Right Way on Earth"? Also asked me what I was writing. I said I was writing Made in China. I was shocked that Elder Ba was more than 90 years old at the time, and he was still concerned about the fate of the country and the historical process of reform and opening up. After this, there were three novels published in "Harvest", and I am very grateful to Ba Lao.
Shangguan News: You once said that as a writer, you can't help but care about this era, and you have also paid attention to social and economic development for a long time. When did this conscious awareness begin?
Zhou Mason: I live in an era of extreme poverty, my life path is almost synchronized with reform and opening up, without reform and opening up, there would be no me today. So my generation is full of feelings for reform and opening up. Born in this era, my creation cannot but be concerned about this era. An era must have a group of writers "present."
Shangguan News: How to understand the "presence" of writers?
Zhou Meisen: In this era, there must always be some writers who pay attention to our reform and opening up and pay attention to the various contradictions in this society, because we are in a period of great change and are facing changes unprecedented in a thousand years. Therefore, I think that there must be some writers who pay attention to real life and pay attention to the problems that the people are concerned about, and cannot pretend not to see.
My work always faces social reality and always faces a lot of sharp questions. When I wrote "The Right Way in the World," it caused a storm in which dozens of officials jointly filed a complaint, and I don't think they are all bad cadres. More than 800 amendments have been made to the National Prosecution. I have always been deeply rooted in life and deeply involved in economic life. These are very meaningful to my creations. This era changes very quickly, and if you are not careful, you will be abandoned.
Shangguan News: Looking back now, how do you sum up your artistic view, literary view or literary aesthetic?
Zhou Mason: Unswerving loyalty and advocacy to critical realism. In the early years, I listened to folk artists tell stories in the mining area, and then I used my pen to tell stories, and now I use film and television to tell stories, and I have been a storyteller all my life.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Shi Chenlu Text Editor: Shi Chenlu
Source: Author: Zhang Yi