British writer

In the next few days,

Sales of "The Moon and Sixpence" began to climb, catching up with "Lord of the Flies".

They are all Lu's works, and there is a feeling of "you" chasing each other.

As expected, Lu Shi received invitations from many universities, and students wanted him to give lectures and answer questions about his recent works.

Lu Shi was already familiar with things like giving speeches and decided to accept it happily.

The final choice was Cambridge.

mid-June,

Lu Shi took a train to Cambridge.

It was still his old friend Montague James who greeted him at the station.

When he saw Lu, he couldn't help but laugh,

"Sir Lu, I've heard all about it."

While talking, he showed an "I understand~" expression and blinked mysteriously at Lu Shi.

Lu Shi:? ? ?

"What did you hear?"

James lowered his voice and said, "It's about the Nobel Prize."

Only then did Lu Shi react,

His nomination form was sent by Cambridge. After that, Columbia University, the University of Paris, and the University of London Alliance also responded and cheered for him.

These universities must have received acknowledgment telegrams from the Swedish Academy.

Lu Shi said: "I hope I can live up to my name."

James was speechless,

Thought,

Professor Lu has really changed a lot.

In the past, he was humble and low-key, but now he is domineering and domineering.

But neither the former nor the latter is offensive;

Being modest and domineering are the prerogatives of powerful people.

James whispered: "Actually, we have thought about it. Your qualifications may be shallow, but your status is high! Not to mention KBE, a status that has nothing to do with literature, just being a foreign corresponding academician of the French Academy of Letters is more important than Swedish The School of Liberal Arts…ahem…I didn’t mean to belittle them, don’t get me wrong.”

No misunderstanding,

This is belittling the Swedish Academy.

Lu Shi tried his best to keep his face straight and not to laugh out loud.

The two of them got on the carriage and headed to the campus together.

James continued the topic just now,

"If the Swedish Academy still thinks you are not qualified, I will give you my chair to silence them."

British people also speak freely when talking about scenes.

Lu Shiquan thought it was a joke.

The two chatted for a few more words, and James put on a serious expression and said: "In the final analysis, the Nobel Prize for Literature should be based on its works."

He looked out the window, hesitant to speak.

Lu Shi said, "Old Zhan, just say what you have to say."

James thought slightly,

After a long while, he suggested: "Lu, there is a saying that has been widely circulated among students recently. I think it should be the same in London."

Lu Shi said softly, "Yeah".

"I know. There is a small group of people... let me tell you clearly, those students in the Faculty of Arts. They feel that the creative motivation of "The Moon and Sixpence" is not pure enough and that there are too many entangled interests."

James breathed a sigh of relief,

"You do know."

He felt relieved,

With Lu Shi's intelligence and wit, since he knew the problem, he would be able to solve it well.

"So, how are you going to respond," he asked.

Lu Shi spread his hands,

"What to deal with? What's worth dealing with?"

James was startled, then laughed loudly, patted Lu Shi on the shoulder, and praised: "Well said! There is really no need to respond to those rumors! What does that poem say? That's the one, you A motto for the Nobel Committee.”

Lu Shi said:

"

'Er Cao's body and name will be destroyed, and the rivers will not flow forever. ’

"

He first chanted in Chinese,

Then explain it again in English.

James was very impressed and praised: "China's cultural heritage is indeed profound and makes people admire it."

The two stopped discussing and returned to the Nobel Prize and literature.

In this way, the carriage wandered to King's College.

In mid-June, the campus is bathed in warm sunshine, showing a vibrant scene.

On the green lawn, students were sitting or lying down, enjoying a pleasant time.

Two people passed by,

Someone immediately recognized Lu Shi and came over with a book for Lu Shi to sign.

After simply signing two, James stood up at the right time and told these enthusiastic students that Lu Shi still had to go to the auditorium to give lectures and could not delay too much time.

When the students heard about this, they spontaneously followed.

As a result, when Lu Shi and James arrived at the auditorium, a large group of people followed them.

The auditorium was even more lively,

Looking around, there are crowds of people and all seats are occupied.

Almost everyone is trying to push forward, trying to find a seat closer to the podium.

There was a lot of noise,

"Shiit! You're not from the School of Liberal Arts, why are you here?"

"Public speech? Of course we can listen! On the contrary, it's you childish people from the liberal arts college who are here to cause trouble!"

"Who are you calling naive?"

"You! You you you you you!"

…

Even before Lu Shi took the stage, the scene was already very lively.

James has one head and two heads.

He confessed to Lu Shi, then squeezed through the crowd and reached the front row.

Not long after, Principal Cavendish stood up and

"Everyone be quiet!"

The quarrel suddenly stopped.

Lu Shi also walked to the first row,

Cavendish shook hands with him tightly and whispered: "Professor Lu, I'm sorry, I made you laugh."

Lu Shi shook his head,

"It doesn't matter. I've seen this kind of thing a lot."

Cavendish laughed,

"I almost forgot, Professor Lu, you have also seen big scenes."

Later, he did not go to the podium, but faced the students directly and said: "Professor Lu often comes to Cambridge for academic exchanges, so I won't talk nonsense! Everyone welcomes him with applause!"

The scene immediately burst into warm applause.

Lu Shi came on stage and said: "Today we are going to talk about secular cognition and literary creation... um..."

He had to stop,

Because the audience cheered and raised Lin Li's arms.

The interesting thing is that this kind of thing is divided into camps.

The students sitting by the window on the right side of the auditorium were raising their hands, while the students on the left looked at them as if they were laughing.

The two sides are clearly divided.

Lu Shi looked to the side with his hand raised,

"You are?"

The students make eye contact with each other,

Suddenly, a man wearing glasses stood up and said, "Professor Lu, did you write "The Moon and Sixpence" just to make money?"

One stone stirs up a thousand waves!

There was an instant commotion below.

"Hey, hey, hey! Have you read too many novels that criticize reality and made your brain stupid? Isn't it wrong to make money?"

"Get out of here! Literature must be pure!"

"Childish! How old are you, still saying such incomprehensible things?!"

…

boom--

Both sides stood up.

The two sides pointed their noses at each other and sprayed each other, and the arms of the people on the front "front line" even intertwined their canine teeth.

However, they still adhered to the etiquette of British gentlemen, and no matter how fiercely they scolded, they could not fight.

Lu Shi sighed,

"well……"

I originally wanted to see a river of blood, but looking at it now, I'm afraid there is no chance.

He waved his hand,

"Everyone, be quiet."

Cavendish, James and others also began to maintain order.

Finally, both sides sat back down.

Lu Shi faced the area on the right and asked, "Are you all from the School of Liberal Arts?"

A kind of student nods.

He turned to the other group again,

As a result, before he could ask the question, he began to answer spontaneously,

"Law School."

"History!"

"I study drama..."

…

Before he finished speaking, the drama student was severely criticized as a traitor in the liberal arts college.

The scene became noisy again.

Lu Shi pressed his hands down,

"Okay, let's pause the speech and let's ask questions freely."

In fact, he didn't want to explain anything, just like he just said to James.

But we can't let these students confront us down below.

The student wearing glasses stood up again and raised his voice: "Professor Lu, my question remains the same, 'Did you write "The Moon and Sixpence" just to make money?"

Lu Shi was curious,

"From what you said, it sounds like you think making money is shameful?"

"Ah this..."

The student wearing glasses was asked,

Then, he reacted,

"Professor Lu, you are confusing the situation! There is never any shame in making money. But if writing has no pursuit at all and is purely for fame and fortune, the writer will inevitably have to cater to it, and naturally, literary expression will be affected."

Lu Shi said: "This is roughly correct."

It was quiet down there for a while,

Then there were whispers,

"He admitted it?"

"I don't understand."

"No, I shouldn't admit it, because I said 'roughly'."

…

Lu Shixiao asked: "Have you read Tuo Shi's "The Gambler"?"

Dostoyevsky,

Characters that can never be avoided when studying literature.

Almost everyone at the scene nodded silently, indicating that they had read it.

"The Gambler" was written based on Dostoevsky's experience.

He is good at analyzing people. Because he lost money in gambling abroad and felt ashamed to see his wife, he was inevitably ashamed and cruelly analyzed himself.

But analysis is just analysis,

Just because you cut yourself open doesn't mean you'll be able to correct yourself. It's still a gamble.

Lu Shi said: "I believe you should know that the original motivation for many of Tuo Shi's creations was royalties."

There was silence for a while,

Suddenly someone said: "Professor Lu, this statement may be correct. But looking deeper, especially after reading "Crime and Punishment", it is not difficult to find that Dossier is very sensitive to stimulation. In other words, he is very sensitive to stimulation. He became addicted. Gambling was something that could bring him psychological stimulation. These stimulations gave him the power to live."

The implication of this statement is obvious:

If you dig deeper, you will find that Dostoevsky's motivation for creation is not money, but to make money and gamble, so as to experience the excitement.

Lu Shi smiled,

"What you said is definitely not wrong. But if we dig this deep, it will inevitably become endless."

The students nodded.

Lu Shi continued,

"So, if it is only from the perspective of making money, does Tuo Shi cater to it?"

Everyone was speechless.

Dostoyevsky's level was too high, and what he wrote was the trend itself.

Therefore, he does not need to cater to the readers, but the readers cater to him.

Using the example of such a great writer illustrates one point: there are people who can balance literary expression with fame and fortune, and make money on their own.

Lu Shi continued: "The profession of writer is indeed special, but we cannot stop some people from simply using writing as a means of livelihood. Such writers will cater to it and write works that are not profound but are easy to read."

Do you simply regard writing as a tool for making a living?

This is a bit out of line,

Even James below was a little anxious after hearing this.

After all, Lu Shi is going to win the Nobel Prize this year, so he needs to pay attention to the impact.

The students in the Faculty of Liberal Arts looked at each other,

As everyone knows, there are two types of works:

The first category, thought-provoking and evocative,

Like Dorothy's "Crime and Punishment";

The second category provides readers with emotions when reading,

Most casual novels fall into this category.

Both of these are necessary to exist, but what Lu Shi said...

A student asked: "Professor Lu, would it be too utilitarian if we simply regard writing as a tool for making a living?"

Lu Shi spread his hands,

"Would you marry a wife who only talks sense to you?"

The student reacted quickly and realized that Lu Shi compared the first type of novel to "a wife who only talks sense to you".

He immediately retorted: "Then will you marry a wife who only knows how to flatter others?"

The young man must have never been in love.

Is that called flattering someone?

It should clearly be "providing emotional value"!

Lu Shi cleared his throat,

Unexpectedly, before he answered, a student below said: "I will not marry such a wife, but I will find such a lover!"

In an instant, the scene fell into silence,

A few seconds later, a roar like a tsunami swept through the entire auditorium.

Someone else whistled.

The student next to him shouted at the person who made the shocking remarks: "You must be from France! Admit it! You are not British!"

Lu Shi was quite speechless.

Compared with the students, I am still too serious.

He pressed his hands down to signal everyone to be quiet.

He waited until the atmosphere at the scene calmed down before continuing the topic.

"The discussion about wives and lovers just now is not crude. The best state of a book is that it is both easy to read and profound. But if you have to consider extreme situations and choose one of the two, everyone will definitely choose to read it. After all, , just reading the textbook in class is enough.”

The students could not refute;

It’s not just the writer’s problem that writers write works that cater to make money, it’s also a choice that readers make by contributing to sales.

Lu Shi said: "Writers who are pursuing great things are great, but they cannot criticize those who only regard writing as a career from the commanding heights. Making money is not a waste of time."

This remark caused the students to whisper,

"I'm just going to call those people in the liberal arts college naive, right?"

"I'm still in liberal arts college~ I really read "Hunting" in vain."

"Hahaha! Yes, "Hunting"!"

…

The students in the School of Liberal Arts suddenly felt that their faces were shameless.

Someone said: "Professor Lu, you are right, of course it is okay to make money. But it can't be too ugly, right?"

This statement immediately attracted a lot of approval,

Someone got up again,

"Professor Lu, your museum collects a painting by Mr. Gauguin, and later he wrote "The Moon and Sixpence" based on him. The character of the protagonist in the novel is really... I will not comment."

This is a hint that Lu Shi charges money to do things.

Lu Shi sighed,

In fact, this rumor is also circulating in London.

Not only Gauguin's paintings, but also Picasso's behavior of sweeping away "Whispers of an Art Apprentice" and "Before and After", which looks very much like a stock trader who has obtained inside information, which inevitably makes people think.

The relationship between Picasso and Lu Shi is well known.

In addition, the protagonist of the novel is indeed a scumbag. Most people can't figure out why such a protagonist is written.

Combining multiple aspects will inevitably lead to doubts about the creative motives.

Lu Shi thought for a while and said, "I suddenly thought of a question. If someone gives me a worthless fake cultural relic, that is, a handicraft. Then, he told me that there is a collector somewhere who is willing to recycle it at a high price, but I If I didn’t sell it, am I considered receiving property?”

The inspiration for this question actually comes from a work——

"Celadon".

(PS: There are both novels and TV series.)

The students understood it,

The value of Gauguin's paintings depends on the collector's subjective judgment, which is equivalent to what Lu Shi called "worthless fake cultural relics."

Lu Shi's novels as repayments were also "worthless fake cultural relics."

Therefore, the two people were actually communicating with literati.

The value is entirely subjective.

The students were talking a lot,

"It still feels like you've received property, right?"

"From a legal point of view, it shouldn't count. Because it is worthless, how will the case value be calculated if we sue?"

"You who study law are just talking on paper!"

"Liberal College, childish devil!"

…

Both sides started again.

Lu Shi waved his hand because he had a headache.

"Okay, everyone, be quiet."

The students are no longer chattering.

Lu Shi sighed,

"I didn't want to explain, but you were so noisy and didn't really fight, which made it impossible to continue the speech, so I just said it. In fact, Mr. Gauguin exchanged his paintings for Mr. Picasso's paintings, which is an artistic exchange. It’s just that the painting is temporarily in the museum.”

Seeing no one refuted it, he added: "The Moon and Sixpence was indeed inspired by Mr. Gauguin and was created based on his experience. Of course I want to make money, but it's not what you think."

This is said very sincerely,

The liberal arts student was finally convinced.

As a result, another group of people were still interested in the question-and-answer session.

A law student asked: "Professor Lu, did you just come up with the example of cultural relics on the spur of the moment?"

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"What's the point of improvising? This method is very common and not advanced at all. In ancient China, high-ranking officials often painted ink paintings, and people who wanted to join his disciples would throw stones to ask for directions, and spend money to buy their ink paintings as a token of recognition. This kind of behavior is still There is a proper term called 'elegant bribery'."

The students were amazed.

James was also shocked when he heard this below.

The phrase "Your body and name will be destroyed, but the eternal flow of rivers will not be destroyed" made him see the depth of Chinese culture.

What I didn’t expect is that Chinese culture is far ahead even in human sophistication.

What Europeans play is what others play.

The student continued to ask: "I think we can further discuss the issue just now. Professor Lu, if you take the cultural relics to recycle and find that the other party only gives you 100 pounds, you feel that it is not worth it and choose not to trade. Does this count? Crime cessation?”

Lu Shi:? ? ?

"Wait a minute! Why did I commit a crime? Why did it stop again?"

The student touched the back of his head,

"For example, don't take it for granted."

Lu Shi was a little embarrassed.

Unexpectedly, I gave an example casually, and the law students actually studied it seriously.

He said: "I don't understand this either. But if I were an investigating police officer, I would give you three phrases: to create problems, to make deliberate efforts, and to resist the investigation."

This is a gag.

The scene immediately erupted into cheerful laughter.

Cavendish was also very satisfied and said to James: "It seems that Professor Lu has been questioned sometimes."

James chuckled,

“We Cambridge students are open-minded.”

He couldn't help but think of "Yes!" written by Lu Shi. Prime Minister", and the sentence "Great Britain has never been a good person when it comes to being a good person", I laughed in my heart,

When it comes to "human relations and sophistication," Great Britain is no less generous.

It seems that all cultural backgrounds are similar.

Lu Shi on the stage waved his hand,

"Okay, do you still have any questions? If not, then let's continue."