Far East Wanderer

Author: Deng Gang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Although the world today is colorful and dazzling, it is also diverse and varied. The interplay of artistic and material light and color not only makes my eyes somewhat blurred but also throws me into disarray. So, I worked tirelessly for a more lucrative writing method—in other words, I haven’t written novels for many years. During those busy and lonely years, a publisher’s editor didn’t forget me and often called or wrote to encourage me to “come back to the right path” and return to the proper path of literary creation. This moved and excited me, and I felt quite embarrassed. Finally, in the new century, I resumed my long-lost writing career, producing short novels such as Sanya, The Story of Dogs, and N-Level Bodyguard, and later wrote the full-length novel Mountain Wolves and Sea Bandits. These works were soon selected for various anthologies, which made me feel thrilled about my redemption. The editor who always encouraged me was from Beijing October Literature and Art Press.
Recently, Beijing October Literature and Art Press is publishing my full-length novel while also compiling my Selected Short Novels. This is undoubtedly a great encouragement to me. However, when I reread my past writings, I am filled with mixed emotions. Frankly, in the past half-century, the Chinese literary world and Chinese writers, having endured countless trials, have become shrewd and even impervious to criticism. No matter how the history is or how sudden the changes in the times, everyone has the ability to turn danger into safety. Without confusion, melancholy, or pain, they face reality yet dare not or cannot write clearly. Meanwhile, some brilliant writers have soared into modern and even postmodern realms. Therefore, I am somewhat pessimistic and believe that all our novels, whether glorious or not, are basically waste paper when exposed to the light of history. For this reason, since the 1990s of the last century until now, I haven’t had the courage to compile and publish the works I have published, not even daring to look back at the words that once cost me blood and sweat. But today, Beijing October Literature and Art Press has given me this opportunity, forcing me to take stock of myself. To my surprise, I found that I still have a few pieces worth reading today—Left-Neighboring Right-Neighboring and Rogue of the Far East. These two short novels were later adapted into films Stand Up, Don’t Kowtow and Passionately Kissing Russia, which pleased some audiences. But when I reread these texts today, I feel they are far more interesting and meaningful than the films, so I confidently included them.
Today, the waves of the market economy have reached the desks of writers, meaning that novels must be sold like fresh fish and shrimp on a scale. For Chinese writers, who have long been accustomed to the big pot system and have often served as engineers of the human soul, this is a bittersweet blessing. At least, it forces them to return to the essence of the novel and reflect. In the past, we spent too long trying to educate or criticize certain things, making the face of the novel both stern and complicated. Now, if we want to take money from the wallets of readers who are not wealthy, what matters most is that the novel must be engaging. Writing an engaging novel is child’s play. Novels are not documents or essays; they are inherently meant to be enjoyable, and they have been written for thousands of years. Yet today, we seem to have just woken up to the realization that novels must be entertaining to attract readers. However, writing a novel that is both unconventional and engaging is indeed difficult. But no matter how difficult, a novel must move readers through its own charm. Without these qualities, the path will only become harder.
Today’s readers are no longer like those of the past. It is a formidable task to pull their eyes away from the hateful yet beloved screens of television and turn them toward books. I weighed the twenty or so thousand words I selected, and I believe they are quite engaging. Don’t believe me? Just read them.