1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

The opening ceremony begins!
On the stage sat Wu Lao, Mao Lao, Ba Lao, Ding Ling, Xia Yan and other senior literary giants. Although Cheng Xuemin was seated at the end, he was the most eye-catching young man on the stage!
In particular, the old leader, accompanied by Liao Lao, entered the venue to the accompaniment of the opening ceremony music, and he entered from the direction of Cheng Xuemin!

Upon entering, Liao Lao stood beside Cheng Xuemin for a while, shaking hands with him repeatedly and showing concern for the Tai Chi film.

Because the entire venue was too noisy, no one could hear what they were saying on stage.

However, this treatment left Li Mo'an and the others in the audience even more bewildered.

To know!
Liao Lao was the absolute leader of their cultural sector, even above Wu Lao in status.

Such an important figure was so close to that degenerate.

When the old leader, accompanied by Liao Lao, warmly shook hands with them and seemed to offer several words of encouragement, Li Mo'an and the others felt even more uncertain.

It's obvious!
These leaders are all using this literary and art congress to support Cheng Xuemin.

it has started!

First, a senior leader gave a speech, and he said the following:
"Today, representatives of writers, dramatists, artists, musicians, performing artists, filmmakers, and other cultural workers from all ethnic groups in our country have gathered here to summarize the basic experiences of cultural work over the past thirty years, to carry forward achievements, to overcome shortcomings, and to discuss how to promote the cultural cause in the new historical period. This is an event of great historical significance. On behalf of... I extend my warmest congratulations to the conference!"

"Those attending this conference include veteran artists who joined the New Culture Movement during the May Fourth Movement; artists who contributed to the cause of people's liberation at different stages of the revolution after the May Fourth Movement; and artists who grew up after the founding of the People's Republic of China..."

The former leader delivered a lengthy opening speech, emphasizing in particular that "the people need art, and art needs the people even more!"

Furthermore, it provides a powerful supplementary explanation to this statement: "Art, as a complex form of intellectual labor, requires artists to give full play to their personal creative spirit."

What to write and how to write can only be explored and gradually resolved by artists in their artistic practice. In this regard, no one should interfere.

The last sentence, "Do not interfere," was particularly strong, as if it set the tone for the conference and announced that the reform and opening-up process would further loosen restrictions on culture.

Before the leader's congratulatory speech had even finished, thunderous applause erupted under the dome of the Great Hall of the People.

Wang Yang, the former director of Yanying Film Studio, who was sitting in the front row, couldn't help but stand up abruptly, his right hand still clutching half a pencil, his knuckles turning white from the force.

On the notebook in front of him, the words "Do not interfere" were circled repeatedly, the ink almost seeping through the paper.

"Old Wang!" Xu Sangchu from the Shanghai Film Studio, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but stand up and applaud enthusiastically, his voice trembling. "Did you hear that? Don't interfere!"

Wang Yang didn't turn around; his gaze was fixed on the bunch of red plum blossoms in the bronze vase on the platform. At this moment, in his excitement, Wang Yang thought of far too many things.

He couldn't help but shed tears.

Five years ago, when filming "The Break," the script contained the line "Intellectuals can also be farmers," and the censorship team ordered it to be reshot seventeen times.

He was holding a pencil like that in the meeting room, listening to all sorts of criticisms that were "incompatible with class principles," without even noticing the pencil lead break in his palm.

"Old Factory Director!" Huang Jianzhong squeezed through the back row, the film canister in his hand jingling. "That last sentence... Xuemin, he..."

"I heard you!" Wang Yang suddenly turned around, his eyes shining brightly.

With the words "do not interfere arbitrarily," this is a powerful weapon from above. Let's see who dares to nitpick and criticize Cheng Xuemin's popular novels from now on.

The old leaders emphasized this at the meeting, so let's see who dares to launch such a baseless attack in the newspapers.

But more than anything, they were looking forward to the future of their Yan Film Studio.

If the censorship is further relaxed, then their spring is truly coming.

Wang Yang's fingers flew across the notebook, the pen tip skimming the paper: rural reform themes, Lao She's unpublished scripts, Cheng Xuemin's "new way of making martial arts films"...

These ideas, which used to be discussed in hushed tones in public bathhouses, are now sprouting up like spring grass, eager to emerge.

He recalled that when filming "Hai Xia" in 1975, the length of the female lead's braid was censored three times because of "bourgeois aesthetic tendencies".

The old leader's statement that "what to write and how to write can only be explored by artists in their artistic practice" is like smashing the shackles.

At this moment, the old factory director wished he could fly back to Yanying Studio right now, hold a creative meeting, dig out all the best-kept scripts, and make something decent for the people!

The young directors from Yan Film Studio behind him were also in an uproar.

Xiao Wang, Xie Tieli's apprentice, held up his camera, panning from the stage to the seats at Yanying Film Studio, muttering to himself, "Now we can film 'Teahouse'! Mr. Cao Yu's script won't need to have its ending changed anymore!"

Huang Jianzhong was even happier for Cheng Xuemin, because with this tone, all the previous attacks and criticisms against Cheng Xuemin would fall apart on their own, and the Tai Chi movie they had worked so hard to make would have something to look forward to.

Zhu Lin, who was sitting with the other two beauties from Yan Film Studio, also cried tears of joy. Because of the news in the newspaper, she had been worried and afraid for her mentor, the horseman Xu Lingjun.

The applause from the audience came in waves, with everyone standing up to applaud. Cheng Xuemin's mother-in-law, Mrs. Feng, even wiped away tears while clapping.

All the gloom dissipated and passed thanks to the old leader's words, "No interference is allowed!"

As the applause gradually subsided, the microphone on the stage was passed around in an orderly fashion, and the elders Liao, Wu, Mao, Ba, and others sitting on it all gave their opening speeches.

After almost a whole morning, the microphone finally came into Cheng Xuemin's hands.

Because he was also seated at the end of the podium, he didn't expect to have a speech at the opening ceremony, since the literary and art congress would last for almost half a month.

With so many literary giants attending the conference, it will definitely be several days before Cheng Xuemin gets to speak.

I never expected it to be on the morning of the first day. The prepared speech was not very mature and was definitely not suitable for the opening speech.

So I can only improvise and say a few words.

When the microphone was passed to Cheng Xuemin and he stood up to speak, the entire audience fell silent instantly.

This young man has been quite controversial lately.

The newspapers are now filled with criticism and attacks against him, but he hasn't responded much so far.

Is it that he remains unperturbed by praise or criticism, or is he too proud to respond?

All eyes were on this young "reform and opening-up pioneer," eager to see what he would say.
Is it a tit-for-tat counterattack?

Or a peaceful settlement?
Cheng Xuemin stood up, without looking at his notes, his voice calm yet powerful:

"Distinguished leaders, senior colleagues, and fellow practitioners, greetings!"

After a pause, Cheng Xuemin's gaze slowly swept across the entire room.

From the literary giants in the front row to the young writers in the back, the gaze finally settled on the faces of the place representatives, their expressions complex. He cleared his throat, his voice carrying through the microphone throughout the auditorium with a calm composure that cut through the noise:

"I am Cheng Xuemin. I am currently studying and practicing at Yanying Film Studio, and I am also a student at Yenching University." He first gave a brief self-introduction, deliberately downplaying the title of "pioneer of reform and opening up".

continued:

"I was greatly inspired by the speeches of the leaders just now, and I would like to share some of my own understanding of literature..."

The audience fell silent instantly; even the coughing stopped.

Li Mo'an frowned, took out a pen, and wrote the words "attention-seeking" in his notebook. An Shaokang, on the other hand, gripped the speech in his pocket tightly, his knuckles turning white.

Cheng Xuemin began by saying some very "elegant" things, which made everyone think that he was trying to settle things peacefully.

But then he abruptly changed the subject, and after saying "refined," he started talking about "vulgar" things!

Taking the central idea mentioned by the old leader, he continued, "The old leader just said that 'art needs the people even more,' which reminded me of something that happened when we were filming in Chenjiagou."

"There is an old man named Wang in Chenjiagou. He is over seventy years old and cannot read, but he can tell the stories in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms vividly."

Cheng Xuemin's voice was tinged with laughter, as if he could truly see the old man squatting on the doorstep smoking:

"He told me that when he was young, he listened to the storyteller tell the story of 'Guan Yu warming wine before beheading Hua Xiong,' which made the whole village forget to go to the fields. I asked him why he liked these stories, and he said, 'It's satisfying to listen to, like it's our own battle as farmers.'"

"This reminds me that we always say literature should be 'higher than life,' but if it's too far removed from life, ordinary people won't understand it or like to read it. What's the point of being 'higher' then?"

He paused, his gaze falling on Li Mo'an's direction, but without naming him, "Some people say that my writing of 'The Cotton Robe' is 'degenerate,' and that popular novels are 'dross.'"

But when I went back to my hometown a while ago, I saw the villagers sticking torn-off newspaper serials on their kang (a heated brick bed) and reading them at night by the light of a kerosene lamp.

In Chenjiagou, the film crew's copy of "Story Collection" was so worn out from being read so often that even the cowherds could recite a couple of passages by heart.

A soft round of applause began from the audience, coming from the artists who spend years working at the grassroots level.

Huang Jianzhong slapped his thigh excitedly, almost knocking the film canister in his hand to the ground.

He recalled that when filming "Tai Chi" in Chenjiagou, Cheng Xuemin insisted on adding a scene of an old farmer practicing Tai Chi, saying, "This is the real Tai Chi, on the ridges of the fields, on the threshing ground, not in books."

“I do not deny the value of serious literature,” Cheng Xuemin said in a gentle yet firm voice, “just as no one would deny the magnificence of a peony.”

But wouldn't it be too monotonous if the garden only had peonies?

The common people need *Dream of the Red Chamber*, and they also need *The Story of Yue Fei*; they need Beethoven, and they also need *Going West*. This isn't about superiority or inferiority, but rather that each has its own soil and its own sunshine.

Mr. Mao nodded slightly on the platform and tapped the ground lightly with his cane. Mr. Ba turned his head and said to Ding Ling beside him, "This child knows what he's doing. Literature is not something to be displayed in an ivory tower; it needs to enter every household."

Cheng Xuemin's gaze returned to the microphone, his tone now carrying a youthful sharpness:
"The old leader said, 'Don't interfere unnecessarily.' I think this was not only said to the managers, but also to us artists."

Don't judge other people's creations by your own standards, and don't use the label of "highbrow" to deny the tastes of ordinary people.

Cheng Xuemin held up the Wenyi Bao newspaper in his hand, the very one that published the critical articles. "For example, these articles that criticize me, I respect the authors' right to speak, but I would also like to ask them to ask the people in the fields if what they like to read is really 'vulgar'?"

This statement was like a stone thrown into water, stirring up a lively discussion. Supporters nodded repeatedly, while opponents turned ashen-faced.

On the platform, both Liao Lao and the old leader nodded, their faces turned to Cheng Xuemin with great interest and their eyes filled with approval.

"Finally!" Cheng Xuemin closed the newspaper, his voice clear and bright, "I'd like to conclude by quoting a former leader: The people need art, and art needs the people even more. Whether writing novels or making films, as long as you have the people in your heart, your pen will not stray from its direction."

I believe that as long as we are more tolerant of literature and give creators more space, our literature will surely usher in a true spring—a spring of flourishing diversity and vibrant intellectual exchange.

As soon as he finished speaking, several senior leaders on the podium were the first to applaud.

Old Mao tapped his cane lightly on the ground and said with a smile, "Well said! A hundred flowers blooming is what spring looks like!"

Mr. Ba nodded in approval: "It's rare to see such a broad-minded young person."

Li Mo'an's face turned a deep purplish-red, the pen in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud," and he slumped into his chair in a state of utter dejection.

Cheng Xuemin didn't play by the rules at all. He didn't argue or fight back. He simply used the stories of ordinary people to gently remove the "vulgar" label.

Ok!

In fact, their plan to reverse the process had already failed completely, even before the meeting opened, when Liao Gongdu had spoken on their behalf and the old leaders had emphasized that no one should interfere.

They had considered the possibility of failure, but they never imagined that they would fail completely before even starting.

It can only be said that the level of support given to Cheng Xuemin by those above has completely exceeded their expectations.

In retrospect, their silence and lack of response earlier indicated they viewed us as clowns.

Sure enough, they were just pathetic clowns.

As Cheng Xuemin bowed to express his gratitude, he looked at the enthusiastic applause from the audience and recalled his wife's comforting words before he left: "Don't worry, as long as the people like your articles, that's better than anything else."

Now it seems that what my wife said was indeed right.

At that moment, sunlight streamed through the auditorium's glass windows, falling on Cheng Xuemin's young face and on the hands of those clapping enthusiastically.

A debate without bloodshed was thus resolved with a few simple words.

Cheng Xuemin knew this wasn't the end, but at least he had made another voice heard:
A voice from the fields, carrying the scent of earth, a voice belonging to the people.

The morning meeting has come to a temporary close.

As the event ended, Cheng Xuemin accompanied several veteran leaders out of the Great Hall of the People. Mao Lao shook his hand and said with a smile, "Young Cheng, don't let those noises bother you. Focus on writing, and write more stories that the people love to read."

"Yes!" Mr. Ba chimed in, nodding. "Back when we started *Harvest*, we wanted to give young people a platform to speak. Now, it's time to pass that baton to you."

Cheng Xuemin bowed respectfully: "Thank you for your teachings, seniors. I will remember them."

……

Please vote with monthly tickets! (End of this chapter)