The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

The reception started, and the distinguished Chinese and foreign guests were walking around with wine glasses.

As the initiator of this reception, Barrett went to the center of the crowd to raise a glass and said: "On behalf of the President of the United States and the people, I would like to extend my greetings of peace to consular officials of various countries and friends in China. For world peace ,cheers!"

"For world peace!" The foreigners raised their glasses and shouted in unison.

A sarcastic smile appeared on Zhou Hexuan's face, and he picked up his cup and took a sip reluctantly.

Just for this group of foreigners who are ungrateful for profit, are they worthy of the word "peace"?

Perhaps, the peace they talk about is only for their own citizens. Isn't Barrett coming to Tianjin with 4,000 marines just to protect American nationals?

Chinese politicians and businessmen have been circling around behind foreigners. On the contrary, it was those foreigners who often came to strike up a conversation with Zhou Hexuan, among which Americans had the largest number.

There is no American Concession in Tianjin, there used to be, but it was handed over to the British Concession, so Zhou Hexuan rarely had contact with Yankees in Tianjin.

The American devils at today's reception are all gathered from all over the north. They registered at the consulate, and if the Northern Expeditionary Army came over and riots occurred, they would immediately flee on a warship.

"Mr. Zhou, will the US really experience an economic crisis next year?"

"I guess so."

"No, no, I don't think so, why don't we make a bet."

"Mr. Zhou, do you have any new works recently?"

"Just wrote a book about anthropology."

"My God, I didn't expect you to do research on anthropology."

"Mr. Zhou..."

For more than ten minutes, Zhou Hexuan was pestered by Yankees, answering various questions to satisfy their curiosity.

It wasn't until the live dance music sounded that Zhou Hexuan was finally relieved. Unexpectedly, just as he was about to go dancing with Zhang Leyi, a French guy appeared again.

This man was short in stature and had curly hair. He stopped Zhou Hexuan and said, "Mr. Zhou, I am Le Goff, a reporter from the French newspaper Le Figaro. Can I take a moment of your time?"

"Of course," Zhou Hexuan asked, "Le Figaro also has reporters stationed in China?"

Legoff explained with a smile: "I am a special correspondent with the army."

France also sent troops to Tianjin this time. The Nanjing incident last year really frightened foreigners, and well-informed newspapers from various countries naturally followed suit, and they might even get exclusive news.

As for Le Figaro, it is one of the oldest newspapers in France.

This is a newspaper rich in culture. Its registration originated from the famous play "The Marriage of Figaro" by the French playwright Beaumarchais. The purpose of the newspaper is also taken from this play: "If criticism is not free, neither is praise significance."

Yes, Le Figaro pursues freedom of expression.

Decades ago, the sister newspaper of Le Figaro was banned by Napoleon III for publishing articles protecting the interests of the poor. In the future, during World War II, Le Figaro would also be closed for refusing to cooperate with the German occupation forces.

"Le Figaro" especially likes to interview literati, writers and poets are the objects they are keen to interview.

Le Goff and Zhou Hexuan found a corner to sit down, Zhang Leyi stood by with a smile on her face, she liked to see her man being sought after by foreigners.

Le Goff took out a small notebook from his pocket and said, "Mr. Zhou, when I was chatting with Americans yesterday, they highly respected you. Your historical work "The Rise of Great Powers" is now sparking a wave among the American elite. A sensation."

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "It's not a sensation, otherwise it would have sold more than tens of thousands of copies in the United States."

Le Goff said: "French fragments of "The Rise of Great Powers" also appear occasionally. When will this book be published in France?"

"I'm not sure about this, it depends on whether there is cooperation from a French publisher." Zhou Hexuan said.

Legoff asked again: "As far as I know, you are also a poet and a novelist. Who is your favorite European author?"

"Romain Rolland." Zhou Hexuan said.

Legoff asked, "Why?"

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "I like his famous saying: recognize the world, and then love it. For me, it is to recognize the country, and then love it."

"Are you a patriot?" Legoff asked.

"It should be." Zhou Hexuan said.

Legoff said: "The data in "The Rise of Great Powers" are very detailed. How did you collect these historical materials? Can you talk about your experience?"

"Of course..." Zhou Hexuan began to repeat his story again. What happened was that his family was ruined since he was a child, and he was taken to North America by American missionaries.

After talking for 20 minutes, Zhou Hexuan finally finished his story.

Le Goff opened his mouth in an "O" shape and exclaimed: "Oh, your life is really a legend, it's too unbelievable. It's a pity that I don't understand Chinese, otherwise, I would definitely read your novels."

Zhou Hexuan laughed and said, "The novel is too long, you can write down a few of my poems."

"French?" Legoff asked.

"Of course, please give me your notebook." Zhou Hexuan said.

Zhou Hexuan used Le Goff's reporter's notebook to translate "A Generation" and "Answer" into French poems, and then said with a smile: "Sorry, my French writing is not very good, and the translation may not rhyme well."

"The night gave me black eyes, but I use them to find light."

"Despicableness is the passport of the humble, and nobility is the epitaph of the noble..."

Legoff immersed himself in the reading, then immediately raised his head and looked at Zhou Hexuan with reverence: "Mr. Zhou, you are not only a poet, but also a thinker and philosopher."

Zhou Hexuan shrugged: "I'm overwhelmed."

"If possible, I would like to bring all your works back to France for translation by French scholars who are proficient in Chinese. I know several publishers who have their own professional translators," Legoff said.

"Of course, thank you very much." Zhou Hexuan smiled.

Early the next morning, Legoff went to the Ta Kung Pao office to ask Zhou Hexuan for the manuscript.

"The Rise of Great Powers" and "Goddess" have already been published, and you can just send the books directly. Zhou Hexuan treated Liao Yaquan as free labor and asked her to copy "The Dog Officer" and "Guns, Germs and Steel", as well as the poems "created" before, and even copied a copy of "I Have a Dream".

Poor female spy, she spent more than a month copying on the table, and every day when she came home, she was so tired that she just wanted to sleep, and she didn't even have any interest in spying on information.

Le Goff did not return to France until the summer, and he threw all of Zhou Hexuan's series of works to the publishing house. Sure enough, two of them were interested in it and organized their own translations. But when it is actually published, it will be next year.