Lu Shi did not refuse the exchange trip to Paris.
There is a very important reason, which is Scott’s strong persuasion.
Brother, I even thought of the title of the headline——
"The Nobel Prize in Literature? Lu Shi: It’s just a joke! 》
If "Mirror" starts its publication like this, it will definitely become popular.
However, Lu Shi felt that the title was too offensive, and asked Scott to downplay the individual as much as possible, and instead attributed the incident to a common advance and retreat in the Western European literary world.
Scott changed his name:
"A second-rate liberal arts college deserves to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature!" ? 》
Aggression is full.
Ever since Scott came into contact with the new concept of tabloids, his whole person has changed, and he has made rapid progress in popularizing news.
Lu Shi had no choice but to let him go. The only requirement was that it should not be published until Lu Shi returned from Paris.
After agreeing on the matter, Lu Shi and Bernard Shaw set out by water.
The ship crosses the English Channel from Dover, England to Calais, France.
The distance between the two ports is short and the sea is calm, so it won't take long.
There are many people on the boat, and everything is available for food, drink and entertainment. You can also go to the window to watch the sea, or walk to the stern of the boat to feel the early spring sea breeze.
Lu Shi and Bernard Shaw were playing chess in the cabin,
In the UK, chess is not as popular as cards, so Bernard Shaw is a pure bad chess player.
Of course, so did Lu Shi,
The two of them are equally bad at playing chess.
Lu Shi picked up the chariot, then shook his head and put it down.
George Bernard Shaw said: "Lu, you can't do this! Haven't you ever heard of touching the child to move the child?"
Moving pieces is the rule of chess.
In the game, if the chess player touches a certain chess piece on his side with his hand, he must move it. Only when the touched chess piece cannot move at all, can he move another chess piece.
Lu Shi couldn't help but laugh,
"This...I really don't know how to do it."
Bernard Shaw said suspiciously: "You're not going to let me, are you?"
Lu Shi shook his head,
"It may not be difficult for a master to deliberately lose, but it is very difficult for a low player like me to do it."
Bernard Shaw thought so too,
With the chess skills Lu Shi showed, it was definitely impossible for the chess game to be flawless.
This kid is really too cowardly.
George Bernard Shaw pushed away the chessboard and complained: "I can't play anymore. You and I are too far apart to play."
Lu Shi responded: "It seems like you are very knowledgeable~"
After saying that, he stood up and stretched.
Bernard Shaw said: "How long have we set out? If we go out now, we should be able to see the famous White Cliffs of Dover. Come on, let's go out and have a look."
The two left the cabin and headed to the deck.
It was a cold spring day, and the sea breeze enveloped the two of them with salty taste and chill.
Lu Shi tightened his coat tightly, held the railing in his hand, and stood on tiptoe as if looking into the distance.
Bernard Shaw looked at the sky,
"Land, for a giant ship, dozens of kilometers of waterway pass by in a blink of an eye. We should only spend one day on the ship."
In the 20th century, everything was slow,
Bernard Shaw's understanding of "fleeting" is obviously different from Lu Shi's.
Lu Shi looked at the calm and peaceful sea and whispered: "The breeze is coming slowly, but the water is calm."
Because it was said in Chinese, Bernard Shaw didn't understand it.
He didn't ask further, and instead talked about the Nobel Prize in Literature.
"Lu, this morning, just before we boarded the ship, the Swedish Academy sent another telegram. The telegram said that Mr. Tolstoy voluntarily rejected this nomination and even evaluated his work as a 'grandmaster's game.' "
The Nobel Prize for Literature has become a hot topic. The literary world is full of discussions about it, and it is impossible not to spread it to Russia.
Lu Shi sighed,
"'A game like a master'..."
He nodded, then shook his head, without immediately expressing his opinion.
George Bernard Shaw was curious,
"Why do you nod first and then shake your head?"
Lu Shi said: "Of course it is okay for Towen to evaluate himself this way. He is very humble and objective. But the Swedish Academy uses this as a shield... humph..."
Bernard Shaw chuckled and said, "Modility and objectivity are contradictory, right?"
Lu Shi turned around and no longer looked at the sea.
He pressed the elbow of his right hand against the guardrail, and held down the hat that might be blown away at any time with his left hand, and said, "What Toon said should be "War and Peace."
Bernard Shaw said: "The length of the telegram was limited, and the Swedish Academy did not say anything about it. Of course, it is also possible that Mr. Tolstoy was too lazy to talk about it when he sent the telegram to the Swedish Academy. It is difficult to talk about the thoughts of a great writer. .”
Lu Shi said: "It should be "War and Peace", that's right."
Bernard Shaw also agreed with this,
Tolstoy talked about "the game of masters", and the "master" naturally refers to the aristocratic class.
Tolstoy himself was an aristocrat, and the characters Pierre and Bolkonsky in "War and Peace" were based on himself.
Lu Shi chuckled,
"War refers to Napoleon; peace refers to Toon himself."
Bernard Shaw was stunned for a moment, and then he smiled tacitly.
Because the background of "War and Peace" is the Russo-French War, Napoleon equals war.
In the book, the nobles were hardly affected by the war, and continued to play music and dance, which was "peace" in a sense.
Lu Shi couldn't help but sigh: "Toon wrote very truthfully about the 'peace' aspect. It's obviously a book, but it's like documentary literature, portraying the luxury and decay of the upper class almost to the core. Compared to Cao Xueqin... well..."
Bernard Shaw asked curiously: "Did you just talk about a Chinese?"
Lu Shi nodded and promoted to the other party.
"Mr. Superintendent, if I have time, I will translate "The Story of the Stone" for you."
This is actually a big pie.
For foreigners, reading "Dream of Red Mansions" is like a nightmare.
Lu Shi changed the subject again,
"Let's talk about the 'war' in "War and Peace". When Napoleon tore up the peace agreement and marched his army across the Neman River, Bolkonsky's father led the serfs to the battlefield. What was the result?"
Bernard Shaw looked puzzled and said: "Of course the result was victory. Regardless of history or history, the French army fell apart in the end."
Lu Shi shook his head,
"I'm not talking about the results of the war, but the results of those serfs."
Bernard Shaw was even more confused,
He looked at Lu Shi speechlessly, not knowing what the other person wanted to say.
Lu Shi said: "They were wrapped in horse leather and died on the battlefield, but in the end they didn't even leave their names. But such a group of serfs who were hungry and unable to stand were willing to die generously in Tuo Weng's writings. This is reasonable. ?"
Bernard Shaw suddenly realized,
"unreasonable."
Lu Shi said "hmm" in agreement.
If Bernard Shaw thought it was reasonable, he would not only recommend "A Dream of Red Mansions", but also "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" so that Bernard Shaw could take a closer look at how Wang E was killed by Cao Cao.
Lu Shi said: "That's why I say that Tuo Weng's evaluation of himself is objective. After all, experience needs to be accumulated."
Tolstoy was only in his thirties when he completed War and Peace.
You can't expect too much from a noble boy.
Bernard Shaw wondered,
"Lu, since you have the same attitude, why do you use Mr. Tolstoy as a shield to refuse... ahem... I mean, why do you think that only he deserves the Nobel Prize for Literature?"
Lu Shi replied: "I just said that Towen is not only objective, but also very humble. The description of the serfs in "War and Peace" is unrealistic, but as a literary work, its skills and intentions are impeccable. What's more, , Toon and "Resurrection"."
Tolstoy's masterpiece——
"resurrection".
This book has been published in more than 20 Chinese versions alone, and there are countless versions that literature and translation enthusiasts have used their love to create.
The high status is evident.
However, the first edition of "Resurrection" was in 1899, and it was written in Russian. Shaw had not yet read it carefully.
He asked: "Isn't it "Anna Karenina"? I heard that when Mr. Tolstoy was writing this book, he revised it 12 times before it was completed. His writing skills had reached a state of perfection."
Lu Shi didn't reply.
Bernard Shaw then asked: "Where is "Confessions"?"
Because Rousseau and Augustine have written works of the same name, Tolstoy's "Confessions" is not very popular.
But it is undoubtedly a classic.
Lu Shi smiled and coughed,
"No, in my heart, it's still "Resurrection"..."
Before he finished speaking, a chuckle suddenly came from behind him.
The two of them turned around and followed the sound.
I saw a middle-aged man in his early thirties standing there.
He had a gentleman's beard and was wearing a double-breasted coat with a collar clip exposed at the collar. His serious appearance seemed a bit strict, but his back was leaning against the outer wall of the cabin, revealing a certain unruly laziness.
Lu Shi felt that this person was somewhat familiar.
He asked: "Sir, who are you?"
The man replied: "Russian."
Lu Shi nodded,
"Yeah, the accent is obvious."
Russians speak English with a strong Russian accent.
Any "R" in English will be pronounced by Russians as a big tongue trill.
The man glanced at Lu Shi,
"Your English is very good."
He came over, stretched out his hand to Lu Shi, and introduced himself: "My name is Alexei Maximovich Pishkov."
Lu Shi shook hands with him,
"Hello, my name is Lu Shi."
He only gave his name and kept everything else confidential.
On the other side, Bernard Shaw saw Lu Shi acting like this, so he only reported his last name.
Pishkov looked at the two of them,
"Were you just discussing Tolstoy's "The Resurrection"?"
Bernard Shaw said nothing;
He didn't want to comment on a work he didn't know much about.
Lu Shi said, "That's right."
Pishkov glanced at him curiously, and then said: "Mr. Lu, "Resurrection" is not an excellent work. This book is not deep enough."
Lu Shi was stunned for a moment,
"who are you?"
As soon as he said this, Bernard Shaw immediately coughed violently: "Cough cough cough..."
He coughed violently and finally calmed down. Then he patted Lu Shi on the shoulder and whispered: "If you think people are not qualified to evaluate Mr. Tolstoy, there is no need to be so provocative! The Russians will take action if they disagree with you." of."
But Pishkov did not feel dissatisfied.
"'Resurrection' is just Tolstoy's work that picks up people's wisdom, and is far inferior to 'Ball of Suif'."
"Tsk..."
Lu Shi was speechless and said, "Do you still know "Ball of Suet"?"
Of course, Pishkov heard Lu Shi's sarcasm.
He did not retort, but nodded solemnly and replied: "The reason why "Resurrection" is not as good as "Ball of Suif" is because both books are about prostitutes, and the satire of the former is not thorough enough."
The protagonists of both books are prostitutes;
In "Resurrection", the protagonist was tortured, falsely accused and sentenced to death, and finally died in prison unjustly.
And all of the "upper class people" portrayed in it are scum.
The irony is profound.
Lu Shi frowned,
"Where are the two books...well..."
He slapped his forehead,
"If I remember correctly, the publication of "Resurrection" encountered setbacks?"
Pishkov's expression wavered, and he tried to keep a straight face and said, "Mr. Lu seems to have some anecdotes."
Lu Shi said with certainty: "It's definitely not an anecdote. "Resurrection" was too spicy, and the Tsar threatened to arrest Toon, and the publisher did not even dare to publish it. In desperation, Toon could only publish it at his own expense, but he lost a lot of castration content."
Bernard Shaw was surprised,
"There is such a thing!?"
Lu Shi nodded and said: "So, Mr. Pishkov is not wrong in saying that the satire of "Resurrection" is not thorough enough, because it omits a lot of descriptions of rulers. This kind of 'incompleteness' is actually the most thorough. Satire."
When Pishkov looked at Lu Shi, his eyes changed.
He said approvingly: "I thought the two of them were arty people, but I didn't expect that they really understood "Resurrection"."
As he spoke, he took off his hat.
Lu Shi raised the corners of his mouth,
"It seems that you are also a fan of "Resurrection"."
Pishkov corrected: "All Russians should be supporters of "Resurrection". Only the Tsar can... hum... I can't say whether the Tsar is a Russian or not. He may not even be a human being. "
What this guy said is actually a joke.
That year, when the French executed Louis XVI, there was a famous saying:
"The death of a king is not the loss of a person."
As a playwright, Bernard Shaw quickly remembered this joke and couldn't help laughing: "Mr. Pishkov, whose head do you want to chop off?"
This is a sentence to ease the atmosphere.
Unexpectedly, Pishkov turned out to be extremely serious and continued on the topic: "Mr. Lu must hate the Tsar, right? After all, you just lamented that "Resurrection" could not be published in its entirety."
This is not easy to say.
Bernard Shaw shook his head imperceptibly at Lu Shi, signaling Lu Shi not to make his position clear.
Lu Shi was also a master of Tai Chi and said, "The tsar you are talking about doesn't refer to a certain person, right?"
Pishkov smiled and said
"You're scared."
His tone was very calm. It didn't sound like a provocation, but a simple statement.
Lu Shi said: "If the tsar you are talking about does not refer to a certain person, but a profession. Then I must say that there are many outstanding rulers among the previous tsars."
When Pishkov looked Lu Shi up and down,
"Mr. Lu is Chinese, right?"
Lu Shi asked back, "What?"
Pishkov sighed: "No wonder. Chinese people don't... no, let's talk about the topic just now. Are the great rulers you mentioned Peter I and Catherine II?"
Lu Shi also looked at the other party for a while.
"You are Russian, but you don't know much about Russian history. You talk about Peter the Great."
Pishkov was a little angry,
"You actually said that I don't understand the history of my country? I think you really don't understand! When it comes to previous tsars, who can avoid Peter I? He seized the outlet of the Baltic Sea from Sweden and established St. Petersburg. The key to achieving hegemony!”
Bernard Shaw sighed,
"Mr. Pishkov, are you sure you want to talk about history? Frankly speaking, you cannot be Lu's opponent."
As a result, these words only earned Pishkov a vicious look.
George Bernard Shaw shrugged,
It's hard to persuade a damn ghost with good words. Since the other party wants to kill Lu Shi, what else can he do to stop him?
He consciously took half a step back,
"please continue."
(End of chapter)
