This woman wearing glasses and over fifty years old is called Minglan.
She is the official head of the Blue Star Fantasy Novel Management Department of the Literary and Art Association.
She hosts most of the official activities in the field of fantasy novels.
At this time, Minglan opened the first chapter of "Journey to the West".
The title made her raise her eyebrows slightly: "Spiritual roots nurture the source of flow, and the mind and nature are cultivated to give birth to the great way."
"All living things look up to the Supreme Benevolence, and all things are created for good. If you want to know the power of creation, you must read Journey to the West."
Journey to the West: The Evil is revealed
This seems to be an ancient version of the name.
"Journey to the West" is the name of the popular version.
Why are there two versions
Minglan continued to read curiously:
"I have heard that the number of heaven and earth is 129,600 years per cycle. One cycle is divided into 12 sessions, which are the 12 branches of the Chinese Zodiac, namely Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai. Each session is 1800 years. Let's take a day as an example: Zi hour receives Yang energy, and Chou hour cocks crow; Yin hour is dark, and Mao hour sunrise; Chen hour is after eclipse, and Si hour is next to each other; the sun is at noon, and Wei hour is in the west; Shen hour is dusk, and the sun sets in You hour; Xu hour is dusk, and people are in Hai hour. For example, if we reach the end of Xu session, heaven and earth will be dark, and all things will be gone..."
Minglan was very sure just from the first paragraph:
The classical Chinese version is not suitable for ordinary people.
The reading threshold is too high.
Many people don't have a clear concept of Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, etc.
I just know it's a different time.
Not to mention sentences like "If it comes to the end of the Xu meeting, the heaven and earth will be dark and all things will perish."
But as Minglan continued to read, she became more and more frightened!
All the writing techniques of ancient Chinese and even classical Chinese are used.
Chu Kuang's attainments in classical literature are so terrifying, so terrifying that more than 90% of fantasy writers can't even compare to him!
also.
The book also contains a large number of poems.
For example, the description of the Water Curtain Cave in Huaguo Mountain:
"When the wind blows, there is a place to hide. When it rains, there is a place to stay. Frost and snow are not to be feared, and thunder will never be heard."
"The mist and clouds always shine, and auspicious signs always rise. The pines and bamboos bloom every year, and the exotic flowers bloom every day."
There are many similar poems.
Among these many techniques, the story of the birth of Sun Wukong also emerges before our eyes.
This is a natural stone monkey.
He became the Monkey King of the Flower-Fruit Mountain, but he still had a heart seeking the truth.
He crossed the ocean, overcame many dangers, met Patriarch Bodhi, and entered the Fangcun Lingtai Mountain and the Xieyue Sanxing Cave.
"When the universe was first created, there was no name. To break the stubborn void, one must understand emptiness."
The Monkey King was given a name by Bodhi.
Sun! Wu! Kong!
This is the end of the first chapter.
Minglan read very slowly, so slowly that she read almost word by word. By the end of the first volume, there were already waves of emotion in her eyes.
The story at the beginning is actually very simple.
But it has a very strong literary quality. The content of each episode and the choice of words and sentences are extremely exquisite!
There are a few lines in the poem that made Minglan applaud:
"There is no year in the mountains, and you don't know the year until the cold ends!"
"Watching chess pieces fall apart, chopping wood, walking slowly at the edge of the valley. Selling firewood and wine, laughing wildly and intoxicated. The autumn path is high, I face the moon and sleep under the roots of pine trees. I recognize the old forest, climb the cliff and cross the ridge, holding an axe to cut the dead vines."
"… "
Not just literary.
In this short episode, there are some original Taoist mantras, and even some unoriginal Taoist mantras!
The setting is extremely rigorous!
The world view is very grand!
A vivid, magnificent epic begins here—
Reading continues.
…
Next to Minglan is a male leader of the Literary and Art Association, whose name is Chi Rui and he is the deputy director of the department.
What Chi Rui watched was the popular version of "Journey to the West".
At some point, this powerful man started blushing and trembling slightly!
With the narration of text.
Before his eyes, there seemed to be a series of heroic scenes...
Sun Wukong obtains the Dinghai Shenzhen!
Break into the underworld and change the book of life and death!
All the mountains and seas bow down, and all the nine underworlds and ten categories are wiped out!
The Heavenly Court tried to recruit him, but he caused trouble in the Peach Garden and finally rebelled against the Heavenly Palace, calling himself:
Qi! Heaven! Great! Saint!
The heavenly soldiers and generals besieged the Flower-Fruit Mountain, and Sun Wukong fought against countless immortals and gods.
From the Giant Spirit to the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, to Nezha the Third Prince and even Erlang Shen...
Even though he was captured in the end, he still broke the Bagua Furnace and developed a pair of Fiery Eyes!
The popular version is not like the classical version.
If the classical Chinese version focuses on literary quality, then the popular version focuses on the description of scenes. Whether it is the abilities of the gods or the magic weapons, there are detailed descriptions, and the scenes of these great battles are described vividly!
I need to say something here.
The original classical Chinese version of "Journey to the West" is actually very weak in describing scenes and plots because it contains too many poems and songs.
If only the original work of "Journey to the West" was released, it would not become popular.
But the popular version completely makes up for this shortcoming.
Even without talking about its literary quality, just as a novel, Sun Wukong's experience is thrilling!
As far as the early plot is concerned, Monkey is completely invincible!
Even in an online article, the continuous climaxes at the beginning are enough to make readers excited!
That’s why when Sun Wukong left the Five Finger Mountain, he gave so many people such great expectations and shock!
at this time.
Chi Rui is the reader who was completely delighted!
Sun Wukong's actions shocked him greatly, and the description of the plot in the popular version made him feel as if he were there himself.
This monkey is so fucking domineering!
also.
The popular version also retains many of the features of the original work.
For example, classic lines such as "In the mountains there is no year, the cold ends and you don't know the years" were not castrated. Instead, on the basis of being extremely cool, they were given a wave of rich literary rendering.
Obviously.
A novel of nearly a million words is not something that can be finished in a short period of time.
But you don’t need to read the entire novel. Just the stories from the first few chapters are enough to shock the entire conference room!
"This novel..."
It was only when Minglan read the part about Sun Wukong defeating the White Bone Demon three times that she finally put down the manuscript reluctantly.
As a result, when she opened her mouth, she found that her voice was a little hoarse, so she cleared her throat subconsciously.
“A masterpiece of the highest quality!”
Chi Rui spoke in a low voice, his expression more serious than ever before.
For a moment, everyone put down their novels.
The conference room fell silent.
You can hear a pin drop.
It was not until Minglan cleared her throat again that everyone looked at each other and spoke one after another:
"Chu Kuang is qualified enough to sit here and discuss with us who will be the Supreme God of this term."
"This novel is both literary and narrative. Comparing the two versions, I can only admire it as a mountain."
“This isn’t exactly a fantasy novel anymore.”
"Chu Kuang single-handedly broke the ceiling of fantasy novels."
“This novel has the grandeur of The Great Desolation, but both the refinement of the text and the author’s vision have surpassed that mythological work that has been circulated for so many years.”
"This is what Blue Star Mythology should look like!"
"The imagination is novel, the story is about heaven and earth, and it is so wonderful that it can be said to have reached the pinnacle. The characters are also very distinct, and it is different from the vulgar tastes commonly seen in fantasy novels. I think the Literature and Art Association should arrange for its promotion."
"… "
One voice after another was full of amazement.
After saying that, everyone looked at Minglan.
Minglan smiled bitterly and said, "I dare not comment on this novel easily. Let's finish reading both versions first. But if I want to talk about my feelings after reading this novel, I feel like I am reading a famous work from Blue Star."
masterpiece!
Everyone was shocked, but after a brief silence, no one in the entire conference room refuted.
This novel contains countless religious knowledge, and the text has many metaphors, which the audience will not fail to see, so they can more easily feel the grandeur of this novel...
This Chu madman.
Shocking! World! Shocking! Vulgar!