"If the Turks succeed, the first to lose their lives is such a person. I will do my best to lead a accustomed life for these insignificant people. What I want to protect is this Chang ‘an — — Can you understand me when I say this? " Zhang Xiaojing said.
Zhang Xiaojing fought in the Western Regions for ten years, and was later put on death row for killing the magistrate of Wannian County. As the Turkic wolf guards infiltrated Chang ‘an, and there are twelve hours (that is, 24 hours) left before the Lantern Festival, a disaster that devours everything is about to break out. Zhang Xiaojing, as a marginal person, was regarded as the only hope to save Chang ‘an by Li Mi, the official of Jing ‘an Company.
This is a seemingly impossible task, and Zhang Xiaojing has lost confidence in the Tang Dynasty.
In the process of solving the case, Zhang Xiaojing is maverick and cynical, but he has his own logic: for the sake of an old Uighur man who specializes in making Biluo cakes in Shengdaofang, for the sake of seeing the little novice monk in the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, for the sake of carving a beard in Fusaiji, for the sake of Arroyo who tamed camels in the East City, and for the sake of dancer Li Shier … … Chang ‘an is a concrete and vivid Chang ‘an, in which ordinary lives struggle and strive to realize humble dreams. Because of them, Zhang Xiaojing is willing to make sacrifices.
With the popularity of the TV series The Longest Day In Chang’an, this fictional story, which was set to happen before 1275, has once again aroused heated discussion. At least two things have touched people:
First of all, the details of urban life in the Tang Dynasty have been restored, from the architectural style of 108 square to the living habits of Chang ‘an people, as well as various famous shops and delicacies, which is like a travelogue.
Secondly, it shows the complexity of human nature. Zhang Xiaojing is an "anti-hero", who likes to complain and is vicious, but he is loyal to everything he believes. Opponent Cao Poyan is cunning and cruel, but in front of his master, he is very tame. In his heart, he retains a deep fatherly love for his daughter. Li Bi (changed to Li Bi in TV series) is a young man with a bright future, but he yearns for cultivating immortals. While playing a courageous and capable player, he is full of disgust at the changeable world and the danger of people’s hearts … …
The Longest Day In Chang’an’s story is like a text version of The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, telling the weather in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. In order to deepen this story, we specially interviewed the original author and famous writer Ma Boyong.
I wrote about Chang ‘an in order to test my ability.
Beiqing Art Review: How did you first think of writing about The Longest Day In Chang’an?
Ma Boyong: It was on the Zhihu. Some netizens asked a question: If you write a story for Assassin’s Creed, where would you put the background? Assassin’s Creed is a sandbox video game. The protagonist shuttles through an ancient or modern city to carry out various assassination missions. I like it very much.
Seeing this problem, I immediately thought of Chang ‘an in the Tang Dynasty. I think, if there is an assassin running around in Chang ‘an 108 Square, how interesting it is? Because Chang ‘an in the Tang Dynasty is a dreamland for me. There, anything can happen, which is really the most suitable stage that a creator can think of.
I answered thousands of words at random, but I didn’t expect netizens to leave messages one after another, and they were all interested in this idea. Based on this answer, The Longest Day In Chang’an developed a novel with more than 400,000 words. Later, it had nothing to do with the game.
Beiqing Art Review: How long have you been writing this novel?
Ma Boyong: I wrote for half a year, and spent a lot of time collecting information. I also went to Xi ‘an for several field trips.
For me, writing about Chang ‘an in the Tang Dynasty is a particularly big challenge, because I hope that the novel is as close to historical facts as possible, and the details should be tenable, but there are too many relevant materials, and it is not so easy to choose which one to use.
In addition, the whole story is compressed in one day and one night, which is very difficult to handle. If you write thousands of words, it will be easier to deal with it in a shorter time, but The Longest Day In Chang’an has more than 400,000 words, so you need to keep the tension. At that time, people didn’t have mobile phones, communication was backward, and the efficiency of doing things was slow. How to write the rhythm and turn a slow costume legendary martial arts drama into a fast-paced lonely hero drama with an ancient anti-terrorism theme is an extremely difficult question I gave myself.
I chose this writing method to test my ability.
Write "pull the hook" to have the Tang Dynasty flavor.
Beiqing Art Review: Why did the novel choose Tianbao three years (744) as the background?
Ma Boyong: Because nothing important happened this year. In history books, this is an ordinary year, which is why I want to write. The more ordinary the year, the more it can highlight the story — — An earth-shattering event almost happened in Chang ‘an, but the plot was uncovered in time and daily life continued. The calmer the surface, the more thrilling it can be.
In addition, in the third year of Tianbao, there happened to be a war between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks. Taking advantage of the civil strife in the Turks, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty ordered the Shuofang to attack Wang Zhongsi in our time, and the Turks suffered a fiasco. Under this background, it is also natural that they sent a group of people to Chang ‘an to make trouble to ease the military pressure on the border.
Beiqing Art Review: The book uses ancient words such as "tug-of-war" (a kind of poem written by ancient scholars to promote themselves, similar to modern self-recommendation letters). Why?
Ma Boyong: I hope to restore the life details of Chang ‘an people in the Tang Dynasty, including what people liked to say, what they ate, the surrounding environment and what they used at ordinary times, so as to show the characteristics of the times. If I write tug-of-war directly, the taste will be gone.
Beiqing Art Review: There are many interesting details in the book. For example, when Cao Poyan pretended to be Hu Shang and entered Chang ‘an, the doorman was suspicious of him and approved the word "Wei". After some bribes, he changed it to the word "Listening". Is this method of writing official documents your imagination?
Ma Boyong: No, this is a historical fact. In Dunhuang, many documents of the Tang Dynasty were unearthed, including the requirements of the Tang Dynasty for official document writing. This detail was written according to relevant documents.
Transform foreign culture into China culture.
Beiqing Art Review: Why are you so concerned about Chang ‘an in Tang Dynasty?
Ma Boyong: I have been interested in the Tang Dynasty since I was a child. At that time, I listened to the ballad of The Romance of Sui and Tang Dynasties, and then I read some materials to learn more about the Tang Dynasty. In order to write The Longest Day In Chang’an, I read a lot of materials in depth.
In the history of China, Chang ‘an City is the closest to a modern city. People of different languages and races live here. Whether you are Korean, Persian, Southeast Asian, European or African, Chang ‘an can tolerate and everyone lives together. The Tang Dynasty was originally an open dynasty with cultural self-confidence, but later this self-confidence became less and less.
The opening up of the Tang Dynasty originated from its temperament when it was founded, and it adopted an inclusive attitude towards different ethnic groups and market economies, so it was rich in diversity and diversity, and later dynasties often adopted a restraining attitude towards these.
The Tang Dynasty did not shy away from foreign culture, but turned it into its own use. For example, wine, originally a specialty of the western regions, was introduced into the Central Plains from the Han Dynasty, and the Central Plains tried to brew wine, but its application scope was relatively narrow. On the whole, wine is an exotic product, which can appear in many Tang poems, and it has become an integral part of China culture, such as "the luminous glass of grape wine". Poets write about wine when they think of extravagance or exoticism.
For example, in Bai Juyi’s poems, there is "half the river is rustling and half the river is red", and "rustling" comes from Persian, which means "glass" or "glass". Poets in the Tang Dynasty often use "rustling" to express color, for example, Du Fu’s "it often rains". For today’s readers, no one thinks that "rustling" is a foreign culture.
In a word, the absorption ability and assimilation ability of the Tang Dynasty were particularly strong.
Zhang Xiaojing has only one advantage.
Beiqing Art Review: Zhang Xiaojing is a controversial figure with a strong sense of bandits. Why is he set as the protagonist of the story?
Ma Boyong: Zhang Xiaojing is not a hero in the traditional sense. He has many shortcomings, but he has a bottom line. It is this unique advantage that makes him a hero to save Chang ‘an, which is very interesting in itself. In traditional literature, there are few such figures. When it comes to heroes, they are called "Gao Daquan".
From "Gao Daquan" to "anti-hero", this is the product of modern aesthetic transformation. For example, the heroes in early animation, such as Superman and Batman, are all powerful, perfect in character and handsome in appearance, but the heroes developed in Marvel Comics, such as Iron Man, Hulk and Deadpool, can’t be said to be perfect figures. They have their own shortcomings in personality, but they make us feel more cordial.
Of course, there may not be such a person as Zhang Xiaojing in the Tang Dynasty, because the Tang Dynasty is a society that attaches great importance to identity, and it is unlikely that Zhang Xiaojing’s understanding that everyone is equal and attaches importance to the value of life belongs to the values of modern people. But only by showing modernity can readers understand that any historical novel is like this, and every historical novel writer will have feelings and put his own ideas into it.
Although Zhang Xiaojing’s ideal was shattered, his efforts were used by others, and he himself was betrayed, but the civilians in Chang ‘an were saved. In this sense, his task has been completed and he has succeeded.
Beiqing Art Review: In the novel, Cen Can feels a little funny, while He Zhizhang feels rigid and bureaucratic, which is different from the impression of ordinary readers. Why is this arrangement?
Ma Boyong: I don’t think Cen Can in the novel is funny. He has his own ideals and persistence, but today’s readers have a fixed impression of him, thinking that he is a frontier poet and has lived in a military camp for a long time. However, there are different stages in life. When he was young, Cen Can thought the same way as people at that time, and tried to take the road of imperial examination, but today readers don’t know much about it. I hope to capture the changes of different historical figures, so as to better understand him. A person’s thoughts and performances are different when he is young, mature and old, and so is Cen Can.
As for He Zhizhang, in The Longest Day In Chang’an, he has a rigid and bureaucratic side. In fact, we never said that he was not a rigid person in textbooks in the past, but we only overemphasized that he was a poet. But in fact, his main business is politics, and his sideline is writing poetry. We didn’t know him comprehensively enough.
It is impossible to write a novel in a rush to make a TV series.
Beiqing Art Review: On the Internet, readers have different opinions on The Longest Day In Chang’an. Some netizens think it is Ma Boyong’s masterpiece, while others say it is "American drama thinking+Tang Dynasty scenery". They think it is a mystery novel, and they say it is full of ambition. It was rushed to make a TV series from the beginning, so it is better to write a script. What do you think?
Ma Boyong: So far, The Longest Day In Chang’an is my most satisfactory novel, but it is normal that readers have the right to have different views on a work.
As for "American drama thinking", my writing is mixed with various factors, and American drama is one of them. Today, writers should learn different writing styles and absorb different nutrients.
As for The Longest Day In Chang’an, I think it is difficult to use a certain type. If it must be used, it can only be broadly regarded as a historical novel, because it contains a variety of elements, and it can also be called an action novel, a political novel, etc. It is hard to say that it is a mystery novel in a strict sense.
As for the rush to shoot TV series from the beginning, this is definitely a layman’s point of view. Tv drama is a completely different major, which requires a long process, and there are many links in it, so you don’t have to write according to its requirements. It is impossible for any novel to write in this direction, just as no novel is written to win the Nobel Prize, so the novel written in that way will certainly not win the prize.
The novel market is not depressed.
Beiqing Art Review: In the past two years, the novel market has been in a downturn. What do you think?
Ma Boyong: I didn’t notice this phenomenon. I think the novel market is still very hot, which is similar to the situation in the past. If it is well written, it will sell well. It is impossible to sell well today, but suddenly it will not sell well tomorrow. The key is whether there are works with excellent quality.
As for what kind of novels sell well, there is no certain rule. After all, every writer’s style is different, and there is no uniform standard, but there is something in common, that is, they are good enough to look good. The novel market is relatively direct. Only when it is good-looking, readers will continue to read it. If it is not good-looking, it will be impossible to read it.
The readership of novels will not change immediately, but the way of reading will change. Some people will buy electronic versions, while others will continue to read paper books.
Beiqing Art Review: The Longest Day In Chang’an has collected so many materials. Will you write other novels about the Tang Dynasty in the future?
Ma Boyong: I’m sure I’ll write novels again, but I haven’t decided which dynasty to write. After all, the characteristics of each dynasty are different, depending on the information collected. As for whether I will write about the Tang Dynasty again, I can only say that anything is possible.
I haven’t written a novel since The Longest Day In Chang’an. At the beginning of this year, I published Daming under the Microscope, which is non-fiction writing. I have been reading materials for at least one or two hours every day, reading both monographs and papers. Monographs are more general, while papers pay attention to in-depth excavation. No matter what I read, I will take reading notes. As for the total number of words left in my reading notes, I haven’t counted them, because many of them are stored in the computer.
In short, if you keep reading and accumulate to a certain extent, you will be inspired to write.
The secret of writing a novel is to keep writing.
Beiqing Art Review: The Longest Day In Chang’an TV series has also caused some controversy. Some netizens think it is different from the original. What do you think?
Ma Boyong: Fiction is a text expression, and television is a visual language. They have completely different expression systems, and they will definitely be different. From the first day I knew I was going to shoot a TV series, I let the screenwriter change it. I didn’t participate in the work, but left it to more professional people to play freely. My team and I have a common understanding on this.
Beiqing Art Review: Today, many young people are willing to write novels. What is your advice to them?
Ma Boyong: The premise of writing a novel is that you have to write persistently. I’m not a particularly talented person. It’s almost 20 years since I started writing. During this period, the college entrance examination, going to college, looking for a job, getting married and having children have never stopped writing. I have met many talented writers, and their initial writing felt very good, but for various reasons, they gave up halfway, and it would be too difficult to pick it up later, and their writing was crude.
Actually, when I was in college, I studied marketing, which had nothing to do with literature. When I was in middle school, my composition was only average, not particularly good. When I was in high school, I kept a diary for two years, all of which were running books. I didn’t start writing novels until I was in college, because life is so boring that writing can make me happier. I didn’t think about publishing it at that time. The ultimate goal of writing is to make yourself happy and others happy, which is the best. If you can’t do it, make yourself happy.
Looking back at the things of that year, it is really green, but there are also some enterprising spirits that I can’t find now. At that time, I dared to write without restrictions and was more free.
In short, I don’t have any clear goals when I write it down all the way. At first, I wrote it on the computer, then I wrote it online, and then I published it, so I have been going down. I think, as long as we persist long enough, some people will get more rewards and some people will get less rewards, but in any case, there will always be rewards.
