PDLP Chapter 22 People from the Capital
Chapter 22 People from the Capital
A wave of unrest, a wave of up again.
At the publishing house, an internal meeting has just yielded preliminary results.
Suddenly, a group of people arrived in Beijing and rushed to the compound at No. 74 Shaoxing Road, specifically requesting to see Yu Zhen.
More importantly, this group of people from the capital did not come for a routine visit.
It turned out to be two students from the Chinese Department of Yenching University, accompanying an American exchange student. They said they came specifically for the translation and publication of the science fiction novel "The Truman Show" overseas.
Involving foreign guests, every matter is of great importance in this day and age.
President Huang, along with the three chief editors, warmly received the guests from Beijing.
"Hello, President Huang, this is our letter of introduction."
I am Chen Jiangong, a third-year student in the Chinese Department of Yenching University. This is my classmate Zou Xintong, and this is Selena Feng, an international student at our school, an American of Chinese descent.
We are all members of the school's May Fourth Literary Society.
Oh, by the way, we publish a school magazine called "Weiming Lake." This is a sample copy of our inaugural issue, which contains all of Comrade Yu Zhen's modern poems. Please take a look...
President Huang and the others nodded.
They accepted the school magazine "Weiming Lake" presented to them by Chen Jiangong and casually flipped through it.
After all, it was just the school magazine, and it was a handwritten version on wax paper with ink, not a publication printed with lead type by a formal printing factory.
Even so, this is still a prestigious university-level publication of Yenching University. It feels high-quality in your hand and does not give people a poor impression of being shoddy or bad.
Putting everything else aside, the three powerful and elegant characters on the cover alone speak volumes about its origins.
President Huang exclaimed, "Tsk tsk, with Professor Mao personally inscribing the name 'Weiming Lake,' it truly lives up to its reputation as the premier university in Beijing. The younger generation is truly formidable! Chen, your Yenching University May Fourth Literary Society is a vital force for the future of the domestic literary world!"
A person's name, a tree's shadow.
He Chengwei, Li Xiaoli, and Ru Zhijuan, standing nearby, also praised the performance highly.
The Chinese Department of Yenching University is already among the top liberal arts departments in Chinese universities, backed by a group of the most influential literary figures in the country.
Mr. Mao is just the most famous of them all.
They also genuinely admired the three energetic young people before them.
After all, to be able to make a mere school magazine so successful demonstrates true ability and shows that one is no ordinary person.
Out of my professional instincts as a journal editor, upon first meeting the three of them, I couldn't help but feel a desire to test them and take the opportunity to learn more about their abilities in literary creation, and whether there would be an opportunity for us to collaborate in the future.
He Chengwei flipped through the school magazine and found Yu Zhen's poems. He subconsciously began to read them aloud softly, swaying his head.
Upon seeing this, everyone stopped talking and turned their attention to him, listening intently as he recited "My Motherland, My Beloved Motherland." In an instant, the atmosphere in the meeting room became incredibly harmonious.
After a brief moment, He Chengwei noticed everyone's attention, chuckled, and stopped what he was doing.
Then, out of the blue, he blurted out,
"By the way, Chen, what was the payment standard for Yu Zhen's poems? I remember that Yu Zhen only submitted his poems to 'Poetry Journal,' and I haven't heard that he has any other collaborations with your Yenching University's student journal..."
When Chen Jiangong and the other two heard his question, their expressions immediately became unnatural.
Their school magazine never paid for articles, and when it reprinted Yu Zhen's poems, not only did the magazine reprint them without asking permission, but Yu Zhen himself was completely unaware of it.
If I hadn't brought a sample copy to share with everyone...
No one could find out that this actually happened.
President Huang coughed lightly a few times and rolled his eyes at He Chengwei.
Everyone knows it's the school magazine, so why are you bringing up the topic of payment for articles?
It makes you seem so capable. The school magazine isn't published to the public; it's just a publication circulating on campus. Why are you fussing over that...?
Li Xiaoli and Ru Zhijuan also laughed and joked, lightening the awkward atmosphere and bringing the topic back to the purpose of the three students' trip.
"Chen, and you two female classmates, you made a special trip to Shanghai to meet with Comrade Yu Zhen. Is it really just to discuss the overseas translation and publication of 'The Truman Show'? What kind of cooperation do you plan to use to discuss this matter with Comrade Yu Zhen?"
Li Xiaoli took the initiative to speak and inquired in detail on behalf of Yu Zhen.
The journal Harvest only signed a domestic publication rights agreement for the novel The Truman Show.
Logically, they shouldn't have any say in the overseas translation rights of the novel; that should be discussed directly with Yu Zhen in person.
However, including Chen Jiangong and the other two, no one seemed to think there was anything wrong with it.
They seriously discussed how to handle translation copyright issues.
Furthermore, Selena von, who specifically wanted to obtain translation copyright authorization, was practically trying to get something for nothing, as she currently had virtually no money to pay Yu Zhen the authorization fee.
Moreover, as everyone chatted, the final topic of conversation got to the heart of the matter.
Surprisingly, it was Selena von herself who, after reading the novel, had a keen intuition that this science fiction story was very much in line with Westerners' perceptions, especially the god-like core concept of the "Live Island," which she believed would appeal to Western society. She thought that if it could be translated and brought back to China, it might be noticed by American publishers and thus obtain the opportunity to publish an English version.
In short, they are a bunch of complete laymen who only know the basics about overseas copyrights. They are clueless, only half-understanding, and then they want to try it out like guinea pigs with a lot of enthusiasm.
In fact, the reason why people are so "arbitrary" in their understanding of copyright, and can talk about so-called cooperation without considering the author as the party involved, has its own unique historical context.
The crowd did not disrespect Yu Zhen's opinion.
In reality, the domestic publishing industry at present simply doesn't have a clear and well-defined copyright authorization mechanism.
Writers typically receive only one payment per thousand words for each piece they publish in a journal or magazine.
Unless a writer becomes a famous figure and has the opportunity to publish his works as a single book or album, and thus receive corresponding royalties.
Otherwise, it would all really be a one-off deal.
Of course, this also depends on the fact that almost all domestic periodicals and magazines are state-owned and collectively owned, and there are no private booksellers. The majority of the royalties go to the state and collectives.
Each periodical and magazine must allocate its annual paper printing quota according to a plan.
Even if someone wanted to pirate a famous work in large quantities to make a fortune, there would be no fertile ground for such an act.
Yu Zhen is in seclusion to create, and he had stated beforehand that as long as it does not involve matters of life or death, all worldly affairs should not disturb his creative rhythm.
Furthermore, even if Yenching University international student Selena Feng were to begin translating the first half of "The Truman Show" now, it would still require a period of adjustment before the translation could be completed.
Therefore, neither party disturbed Yu Zhen and verbally agreed to authorize the translation. By the time Selena von finished translating the first half, Yu Zhen's secluded writing might have come to a temporary end.
The three were very disappointed that they were unable to meet Yu Zhen.
However, upon learning that the author Yu was in seclusion to write, it turned out that he was working on a sequel to "The Truman Show," which tells the story of Truman after he grew up and successfully left the live-streaming island.
Tsk tsk, just hearing such news has already stirred up endless longing in everyone's hearts.
Selena von immediately made a bold decision, saying she would apply to the school to stay in Shanghai for a while to work as a translator. She couldn't wait to know about the sequel's story...