Chapter 478 If you want to write
China, Beijing.
He Zhixing was drinking tea in the living room, his face full of contentment.
Next to her, Tongtong was watching TV holding a furry toy that was taller than her.
What was playing on the TV was the animation of "Snow White".
I'm afraid Wang Mo didn't expect that in less than half a year, "Snow White" would be animated by the animation department of Yunhai Media and put on the screen.
This is mainly due to the fact that "Snow White" quickly became popular all over the world after its release. It was not only loved by children, but also by adults from all walks of life. Therefore, Yunhai Media made the immediate decision to produce it. animation.
Sure enough, this decision was the right one.
After the animation was released, the number of views worldwide exceeded 10 billion in a short period of time, and the response was excellent.
The animation copyright revenue alone is worth hundreds of millions.
In addition, various peripheral items are already being developed at the moment.
According to conservative estimates in the industry, the IP value of the fairy tale "Snow White" is as high as tens of billions! Even higher!
As for similar fairy tales, Wang Mo originally produced ten of them at once.
Although not every IP value is so high, the value of fairy tales such as "Daughter of the Sea" and "Cinderella" is also considerable.
Many people marveled: Just these few fairy tales are enough to create a fairy tale department under Yunhai Media with a scale of tens of billions.
now.
Tongtong looked at the beautiful Snow White on the TV and chirped: "Wow, Snow White is so beautiful. Sure enough, the fairy tales written by my brother are the most beautiful. Grandpa, when can my brother come to my place to play? I want to listen to my brother's instructions. I tell more fairy tales.”
"Hey!"
He Zhixing touched Tongtong's head and said kindly: "Brother Wang Mo is very busy now. When he is done, I will invite him to come over and play with Tongtong, okay?"
"Um."
Tongtong nodded and immediately immersed himself in the animation again.
He Zhixing sighed in his heart: Wang Mo, this boy, writes really good fairy tales. Even an old man like me was amazed when I first saw the story of Snow White. It's a pity that this guy focused all his attention on Western fairy tale themes, but Chinese fairy tales were a little less interesting.
He felt that he must talk to Wang Mo in the future and ask him to write more classic fairy tales with Chinese themes.
There are so many mythological characters in China, so it shouldn’t be difficult to write a few fairy tales with a Chinese style, right?
The West has princesses and castles.
China has emperors, cities, heavenly palaces, gods...everything is no worse than the West.
Um?
Thinking of this, He Zhixing suddenly raised his eyebrows: "A few days ago, Lao Zhao told me that Wang Mo once said on the stage at the International Music Hall Night that he wanted to write a novel with an oriental mythology color? Oriental mythology... a full-length novel …Isn’t this the Chinese-style fairy tale I’m talking about? Well, it may not be appropriate to call it a fairy tale, but it’s almost the same meaning!”
He chuckled.
It seems that Wang Mo is enlightened.
It’s time to enrich the story with Chinese characteristics.
However, I don’t know if the story I wrote can compare with fairy tales such as “Snow White” and “Sleeping Beauty”.
Based on He Zhixing's judgment, these fairy tales with a rich Western flavor have almost reached the extreme of imagination, and it is difficult for any other stories to surpass them.
"It would be terrible if the traditional Chinese mythology stories written by Wang Mo were not as imaginative as "Snow White" and other stories..."
He Zhixing said in his heart.
After all, West Tower already has a certain reputation internationally.
At that time, if the Eastern stories he writes are not as good as Western stories, under the instigation of some Western media, there is a high probability that Eastern culture will be inferior to Western stories.
But he really couldn't think of any story that could surpass those fairy tales.
"Sigh...Wang Mo, does this mean he has pushed himself to a dead end?"
He Zhixing shook his head.
I was about to continue drinking tea.
Suddenly, a notification popped up on his phone, indicating that he had received an email.
"Huh? Is it from Wang Mo?"
He Zhixing didn't pay attention at first, but after seeing the name in the email, he was so excited that he almost jumped up and rushed into the study.
"Contents of the first three chapters of "Journey to the West"!"
He read the email title several times before taking a deep breath and clicking on the email.
As expected, whatever comes to mind comes.
I was just talking about Wang Mo's new story, and the other party actually sent me the content.
But what do the first three chapters mean?
As a big figure in the Chinese literary world, He Zhixing knows that only ancient novels generally use the "chapter" method, but today's novelists use "chapter" to distinguish the upper and lower content.
"Let's take a look first."
He Zhixing closed the study, carefully downloaded the email, and then clicked on the content of the first three chapters.
[Chapter 1: The source of spiritual root nourishment flows out of the mind and practice to lead a great life]
[The poem says:
Chaos is undivided, the sky and the earth are chaotic, vast and indistinct, no one can see it.
Since Pangu broke through the Hongmeng, he has opened up the distinction between purity and turbidity.
Encourage all sentient beings to look up to the benevolence and discover that all things are good.
If you want to know about the Yuan Gong of Good Fortune, you must read the Journey to the West: The Legend of Shie.
According to the number of heaven and earth, one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred years is one yuan. One yuan is divided into twelve groups, which are the twelve branches of Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu and Hai. Each will be 18,000 years old. 】
Just after reading the beginning, He Zhixing's eyes widened: "Ancient vernacular literature?"
He had no idea that Wang Mo's mythological novel "Journey to the West" was actually written in ancient vernacular, and the opening poem was so fascinating.
"Well, with Wang Mo's literary attainments, it is not difficult to write novels in ancient vernacular. Maybe he has his own intention in writing this. I just hope he is not trying to flatter others."
He Zhixing knew that there were many writers in China. In order to show off their own culture, they often used ancient literary styles when writing novels, which made them clumsy and clumsy. Not only was it difficult to read, but the content was also empty.
The first one or two paragraphs of the story only describe the changes in the world, the avenue of time, and other things.
Slightly boring.
But when the explanation came to Dongsheng Shenzhou, He Zhixing's eyes lit up.
In just one paragraph, a paradise place is vividly described and makes people yearn for it. It also tells the legendary story of how the stone monkey originated from heaven and earth.
The story unfolds...
The stone monkey was worshiped as the "Monkey King" by the monkeys. Later, in order to seek immortality, the stone monkey traveled to Nanshanbuzhou to visit famous teachers. Finally, he met the Patriarch Subhuti and was named Sun Wukong.
In just a few thousand words, He Zhixing's eyes were filled with brilliance.
"Wonderful! Wonderful!"
"This story! This mythological background, and the descriptions of characters and things are all wonderful."
He Zhixing quickly opened the second chapter.
He never expected that as a person who had read all the ancient Chinese books, he would become very curious about a mythical story just after reading the first chapter. He wanted to know what Sun Wukong would do next in the world. Storm.
Then comes the second chapter: Enlightenment of the true and wonderful principles of Bodhi, severing demons, returning to the origin, and uniting with the soul.
The story this time explains: Sun Wukong learned the seventy-two transformations and somersault clouds from Master Bodhi, but he still had no change in his playfulness, so he was driven back by Master Bodhi. After coming back, he found that his children were being bullied by other monsters, so he immediately cast spells to eradicate them, winning the respect of all the monkeys.
The first story has already aroused He Zhixing's curiosity.
The second time was already exciting.
Seventy-two changes.
Somersault cloud.
Destroy the demon king.
Everything he saw made He Zhixing's eyes shine: "It's really good! In a short space of time, the rich mythology and romanticism of China are described in detail, which is really rare!"
"The third time! Hurry!"
He Zhixing couldn't wait to open the third chapter: Thousands of mountains all over the world are hiding in the Nine Netherworld, and all ten categories have been eliminated.
The third chapter is about: After Sun Wukong got the weapon of the Demon King, he didn't want to take advantage of it, so he went to the Dragon Palace of the East China Sea to get the Ruyi Golden Cudgel. Because his life span has expired, he made a big fuss in the underworld and removed the book of life and death. After the Jade Emperor learned about it, he sent Taibai Jinxing down to earth to recruit Sun Wukong, and issued an edict: If he violates the destiny of heaven, he will be captured.
If we talk about the second story, He Zhixing was filled with admiration.
The content of the third episode made him so excited that he clapped his hands and applauded.
Get the golden cudgel!
Hook up the book of life and death!
There was a sensation in heaven, and Taibai Jinxing was sent to recruit peace.
Everything he saw made He Zhixing's blood boil with excitement, and he kept shouting excitedly: "Good! Good! Good! What a Monkey King!"
His heart was boiling, and even a man in his sixties could not restrain his inner passion.
He broke into the Dragon Palace under the sea and obtained the 13,500 kilograms of sea-fixing needles, which he turned into a wish-fulfilling golden cudgel. He also went deep into the underworld, checked out the life and death records of himself and other monkeys, and fought his way out of the underworld, allowing the Ten Palaces of Hell to be capitals. Don't dare to get close. This kind of thing was simply beyond He Zhixing's imagination, and it made his skin crawl.
"Wonderful!"
He Zhixing felt that he had rediscovered the thrill of secretly reading novels when he was young.
When he saw Taibai Jinxing coming to recruit Sun Wukong, his first reaction was that Sun Wukong would definitely not be recruited peacefully due to his naughty and bad temper, so something would definitely happen.
If a monkey who knows the seventy-two transformations, can do cloud somersaults, and holds the Ruyi Golden Cudgel, an artifact of heaven and earth, will cause what kind of trouble will he cause if he goes to heaven?
Thinking about it makes me excited.
"The fourth time! Quick! Look!"
He Zhixing couldn't wait.
However, after he clicked the mouse, he found that the document display had reached the last page.
Gone?
Only then did He Zhixing realize that Wang Mo had only sent the first three messages.
Depend on!
The dog who broke the chapter must die a good death!
He Zhixing swallowed, feeling itchy all over his body. This feeling of urgency to know the follow-up plot made him feel uncomfortable no matter what.
Therefore, he dialed Wang Mo's phone number almost immediately.
The other side.
Wang Mo was coding the fourth chapter of "Journey to the West" when he saw He Zhixing calling.
He took a look and answered the phone.
Before he could speak, He Zhixing's anxious voice came: "Xiao Wang, where's the fourth episode?"
Wang Mo was stunned. After a moment, he understood what He Zhixing was asking. He coughed and said, "It hasn't been written yet."
He Zhixing: "When will it be written? Hurry, I want to read it!"
Wang Mo coughed again: "I guess it won't be that fast."
He Zhixing was anxious: "Then tell me, did Taibai Jinxing succeed in recruiting the Monkey King? What happened after Sun Wukong went to heaven?"
Wang Mo smiled and said: "Mr. He, it's boring to say it."
"……All right."
He Zhixing took a deep breath and then asked in a complicated voice: "Is this... the Chinese mythological story "Journey to the West" that you told everyone you were going to write?"
"Um."
Wang Mo responded and asked, "Mr. He, what do you think?"
He Zhixing sighed: "It is unprecedentedly exciting. At least the first three chapters are fascinating. It has created a world with strong Chinese mythology and an unforgettable character of the Monkey King. It can be said that every word is precious." This kind of novel about gods and demons is quite good, at least in my opinion."
Wang Mo smiled and said: "That's good."
He thought to himself: It is indeed one of the four great classics, but it has conquered literary giants like He Zhixing in the first three chapters.
However, Wang Mo was soon stunned.
Because He Zhixing continued: "It's just..."
Wang Mo quickly asked: "Just what?"
He Zhixing said: "The "Journey to the West" you wrote is of course excellent, especially in the ancient vernacular form. It is very concise to read and the words are accurate. But it is not difficult for me to read such ancient vernacular text, but it does not represent the ordinary people. There is no difficulty. In my opinion, if you publish it, although its story is very exciting, the reading threshold is high, which is not a good thing for the spread of a fantasy novel. Especially when it comes to international The translator would probably be tortured to death while translating.”
When Wang Mo heard this, he immediately said: "Mr. He, there is no need to worry about translation. In fact, I have already translated "Journey to the West" into a popular English version."
"oh?"
He Zhixing said: "Then let me see."
"Please wait."
Wang Mo hung up the phone and wrote the English version of the first chapter of "Journey to the West" as quickly as possible, and then sent it to He Zhixing.
The other side.
He Zhixing had been waiting impatiently for a long time. When Wang Mo sent the English version, he opened it and read it immediately.
People of their generation, who can reach the professor level, are basically very proficient in English. Let alone ordinary novels, they can even read professional English literature.
So it’s easy to read the English version of "Journey to the West".
At the beginning, He Zhixing was worried about Wang Mo's translation. After all, in his opinion, the difficulty of translating the ancient vernacular "Journey to the West" into English exceeds five stars.
However, when he saw the translation of the opening verse, he let out a sigh.
Because there is no Chinese rhythmic poetry in the West, when the sentence "The white sun sets over the mountains, the Yellow River flows into the sea" is translated into English, it directly becomes: The white sun sets over the mountains, and the Yellow River flows into the sea.
It doesn’t matter that the artistic conception is completely destroyed. The straightforwardness of this kind of writing is not even that of a primary school student. This is also the reason why foreigners look down upon many of China's amazing poems when they are translated into foreign languages.
Because no matter how good the translator is, he or she cannot properly translate Chinese poetry and culture.
But when Wang Mo translated the opening verse, he transformed it into a verse with Western characteristics in an ingenious way. Not only did the artistic conception remain unchanged, it was also extremely smooth.
"Oh, this translation is really good."
He Zhixing was greatly impressed. He didn't expect Wang Mo's translation skills to be so high. He was impressed by just these few sentences.
Then, as he looked down, the shock in his heart became stronger and stronger.
Until after reading it.
He Zhixing felt that a storm had set off in his head.
"This translation."
"This level."
He took a long breath and dialed Wang Mo's phone again: "Xiao Wang, was this... the English version really translated by you?"
Wang Mo's heart didn't waver at all: "Yeah."
He Zhixing paused and then said: "How about you come to the National Library and help us with translation for two or three years?"
Why can Western culture be accepted by China, but Chinese culture cannot be accepted by the West?
Many Western media say that Western culture is better than Chinese culture.
This is pure bullshit.
The real reason is actually that Chinese culture is too profound and obscure, and like poetry, it loses its flavor when translated. Western culture, on the other hand, is straightforward and has no connotation at all, so it is easy to translate and is easily accepted by the public after translation.
But with Wang Mo's level of translation, as long as he can translate 70% to 80% of the essence of Chinese literature, it will definitely cause a huge sensation in the West and subvert their impression of Chinese literature.
Wang Mo, on the other hand, smiled bitterly.
He wants it too.
But my concubine can’t do it.
The translation of "Journey to the West" cost him tens of millions of prestige. No matter how rich his family was, he could not withstand the trouble.
He Zhixing also knew that what he said was unreliable. With Wang Mo's ability, how could he deign to be a translator?
He sighed and then said: "Xiao Wang, to be honest, this is the best translation I have ever seen. Even in my opinion, although the English version of "Journey to the West" is a little less literary than the ancient vernacular version, it is It is easier to read, easier to be accepted by the public, and more interesting. So I have a suggestion: In this case, why don't you write a popular version of "Journey to the West" in Chinese? It's classical Chinese. Both editions and popular editions are available.”
Wang Mo raised his eyebrows: "Oh?"
He Zhixing continued: "In this way, the audience size of the popular version of "Journey to the West" will be greatly increased, for example, even increased by more than ten times. You have to know that literature is written for the public, and the popular version means the elegant, and the elegant It’s also popular. Two versions can make it both elegant and popular, so why not? Of course, if you feel you don’t have time to write a popular version, I can also ask someone to translate it into a popular version.”
Converting ancient vernacular texts into popular versions is more than ten times less difficult than converting them into English versions.
It was a piece of cake.
Wang Mo was greatly moved.
After thinking about it for a while, he made up his mind: "Then I will do it according to Mr. He's wishes."
"good!"
He Zhixing readily agreed, and then added: "You must show it to me as soon as you finish writing the ancient vernacular version... No, no, you will send me a chapter every time you write one, do you understand?"
Wang Mo smiled helplessly: "No problem."
He Zhixing chuckled: "Don't think too much, I'll have people translate them to improve efficiency. I'll try to get your work published as soon as possible."
"right?"
Wang Mo didn't expose it and smiled slightly.
He Zhixing coughed and asked: "Xiao Wang, how long do you think it will take to finish writing "Journey to the West"? How long is it approximately?"
Wang Mo thought to himself: Twenty to thirty thousand words a day can be completed in a month or so at most.
However, in order not to scare He Zhixing, he still said: "It will probably take half a year, and the overall length should be about one million words."
One million words in half a year.
He Zhixing was not too surprised, but continued to ask: "How do you plan to publish? Do you want to publish domestically first and then abroad, or publish directly to the world?"
Wang Mo said: "I met several big names in publishing houses in New York. When the time comes, we will publish it directly around the world."
He Zhixing frowned: "I don't feel very appropriate."
Wang Mo: "What do you mean?"
He Zhixing said: "Although you are now a popular music master all over the world and have a prominent reputation, your reputation as 'Xi Lou' is still a little small. Xi Lou is only famous in the fairy tale world, but if it really needs to be put into other industries, It still doesn’t have much popularity. So if Xilou published "Journey to the West", even with your recommendation from Wang Mo, it would probably have lost its popularity after half a year. Even if "Journey to the West" is excellent, there is a high probability that it will make no splash at all. Can’t get up.”
"so……"
Wang Mo fell into thinking.
He knew what He Zhixing said was right.
Xilou is only well-known in the fairy tale world, but it is still not well-known in the international literary world. As for its popularity in other industries, it is even less worthy of mention.
Even many people in the West know stories such as "Snow White" and "Sleeping Beauty", but they don't know Xilou at all. This is a typical example of a work that is popular but not popular among people.
Therefore, when Xilou publishes "Journey to the West" internationally, it will be difficult for sales to improve.
No matter how good "Journey to the West" is, it's useless.
Because people in the West simply don’t have any curiosity to read a long romantic work about gods and demons from China.
"Do you have any ideas?"
Wang Mo asked.
He Zhixing said: "My idea is: before you publish "Journey to the West", try to increase Xilou's international reputation. If Xilou becomes famous in the literary world and gains many fans, then by then The effect of "Journey to the West" will definitely be much better when the time comes."
raise the popularity?
Wang Mo's eyes lit up and he said quickly: "Mr. He, do you have an idea?"
He Zhixing smiled: "I really have a suggestion. There are several major literary magazines in the world today. Basically, they publish contributions from some global novelists every month, and every article in them is basically very precious. For example, the world's most famous short story magazine "Shuge" publishes ten short stories every month, and each story in it is a rare masterpiece in today's literary world.
It can be said that as long as the novel can be selected by "Book Pavilion", it will cause certain waves in the literary world.
Because of its influence, professionalism, and authority in the literary world, short story writers around the world basically list it as a holy place of fame.
Especially unknown writers hope to soar into the sky with the help of it. Because as long as his works can be selected and published by "Book Pavilion", there is a high probability that this writer's name will become famous in the literary world and become a blockbuster. "
Wang Mo cleared his mind.
He said: "What do you mean, you want me to contribute to "Shuge" and use it to make Xilou famous?
"Yes."
He Zhixing said: "You have very good attainments in prose. Just with that piece "Haiyan", I feel that it can be selected into a world-class prose selection. So if you go to submit "Haiyan" to the other party, or write Another similar prose submission will definitely be picked up and published."
"prose?"
Wang Mo was stunned: "Didn't you say that "Shu Ge" is a short story magazine?"
He Zhixing smiled: "Short story magazine does not necessarily publish short stories. It also has poetry, prose, etc. I just think that you are the most accomplished in prose, and your style is also suitable for the world, so of course I asked you to submit prose. If you can write short stories, that's even better. However, it is too difficult for short stories to be accepted by "Bookstore" because its standards are too high. So my suggestion is for you to submit prose and don't do something meaningless. matter."
That's it...
Wang Mo nodded and understood. (End of chapter)