1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 477 The Last Emperor

It was not until he finished listening to Chen Huangmei's story that Jiang Xian was finally sure.

The foreign director that Chen Huangmei mentioned is none other than the famous Italian director Bertolucci.

Bertolucci is now well-known in the world film industry and has some representative works. He has also served as the chairman of the jury of the Venice International Film Festival, one of the world's three major international film festivals.

Why would such a great director, a film master, want to come to China, where the film industry is not well developed, to make movies?

the reason is simple.

In addition to being an Italian, Bertolucci has another identity.

He is a party member.

Yes, this Bertona Bertolucci is an Italian GCdang member and our comrade.

He is a staunch Marxist and his understanding of Communism exceeds that of any other major international director.

The protagonist of his famous work, "On the Eve of Revolution", is a rich second-generation who is deeply influenced by GCism and is determined to overthrow capitalism.

Later, his representative works included "Last Tango in Paris", "1900", "Stealing Beauty" and "The Dreamers". Almost all of these films contain criticism of social injustice and mockery of class inequality.

Before coming to China this time, Bertolucci said in an interview with the French newspaper L'Humanité:

"I want to go to China because I want to find fresh air."

"I need inspiration to make films. Italy, a seemingly happier country, actually lives on its own corruption. The level of consumption, or 'consumerism' it has achieved, has shattered all local cultures into an international super culture. So I want to move to another country to do my creations."

Listen to this.

Being able to speak at this level and have this level of thought shows that this person is definitely a pure person, someone who has gotten rid of vulgar tastes, a true GCdang member!
“What’s so worth filming about this kind of thing?”

"Yes."

"This is a bit too fantastical."

"."

Most of the people present expressed doubts, believing that filming Puyi would be a very dangerous subject.

Chen Huangmei listened for a while and suddenly noticed Jiang Xian sitting in the corner without saying a word.

He chuckled and said, "Comrade Jiang Xian, what do you think?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked in the direction of Jiang Xian.

Jiang Xian, whose name was called out for no reason, smiled innocently and said, "If you really want me to say it, I think there is nothing that cannot be filmed in The Last Emperor."

"Oh?"

Chen Huangmei leaned forward slightly, showing a gesture of wanting to hear more details.

"There is nothing that cannot be filmed about Puyi, it is nothing more than a piece of history. Nowadays, we talk about openness every day, and we really need to convey China's voice and image to the world through various channels.

If this story is allowed to be filmed, I think it will not only be a manifestation of openness to the outside world, but also a way to show China's long history and splendid culture to the world."

Jiang Xian's words made many people in the room nod their heads frequently.

Before anyone could refute, Jiang Xian spoke again:

"The subject of The Last Emperor is not dangerous. The only thing we need to worry about is whether the director is objective enough, whether we can trust the director, and whether his story will cause foreigners to misunderstand our history.

In addition, if I must compare it with Malraux's "The Fate of Man", I think the subject of "The Last Emperor" is not really sensitive. I have read Malraux's "The Fate of Man" once, which talks about the history of the April 12 Incident in Shanghai.
This story is good. It describes how our party was not afraid of risks and fought a desperate battle with the team led by the bald man. It shows how human beings in an alienated world can get rid of the absurdity of war, defend their dignity and maintain world peace.

But the problem is that in the book, we only see foreigners taking action, commanding, and making decisions, while our revolutionaries are placed in insignificant supporting roles.

Active on the revolutionary stage were a group of foreigners, or Europeanized Chinese. This novel is about this group of people influencing our revolution. This misalignment goes against historical facts. This is a myth created by Malraux and is not true.

I have great respect for Mr. Malraux in my heart, but it is undeniable that Malraux has his own limitations.

The novel "The Fate of Man" is only superficially part of history. I think the reason why it has survived and become a classic is more because it presents a type of hero who combines action, culture and wisdom. In addition, Malraux raises the question of human loneliness and how to overcome loneliness in the novel. "

".I see."

Many old comrades who had not read "The Fate of Man" realized after listening to Jiang Xian's narration that compared with "The Fate of Man", "The Last Emperor" was indeed not a very sensitive topic.

Wang Meng then spoke up, "I have also read the book The Fate of Man. There is only one typical Chinese revolutionary in the novel, and his name is Chen.

This man has neither culture nor wisdom, he is just a man of action and cannot be called a hero. Rather than saying that Chen is a hero, it is better to say that he is an adventurist.

Apart from this Chen, Malraux's heroes, whether in the way they behave, the way they think about problems, their reactions to things, or their pessimism, have little in common with the Chinese.

Therefore, in this sense, this novel is not so much a description of the Chinese revolution as it is that China's specific historical events provided Malraux with a historical framework and an excuse.

The hero of this novel actually embodies Malraux’s own thoughts, tendencies, and philosophy.

He will unconsciously look at and consider issues from the perspective of Europeans, because they feel that Europe is the center of the world, so they will naturally reveal the emotion that Europeans are superior. "

In Jiang Xian's opinion, what Wang Meng said was not excessive at all.

Malraux was certainly an intelligent writer, capable of expressing what he himself thought or felt.

However, when it comes to China, the French still only accept things that are similar to them. There are always some French people who want to move their dreams that cannot be realized in France to China to realize them.

Therefore, when these French writers wrote about China, what they were actually thinking about was something else.

Of course, this discussion on the two topics is only part of the chat.

However, Jiang Xian's views on "Man's Destiny" and the last emperor left a deep impression on many people.

This young man is not simple.

This is the evaluation given to Jiang Xian by many people today.

The major event of the Writers Association during this period revolves around the selection of the next editor-in-chief of People's Literature, the most important literary magazine.

The two most popular candidates at the moment are Jiang Xian and Liu Xinwu.

Liu Xinwu is an old editor who started his writing career later and can be regarded as an author of the same period as Jiang Xian.

At that time, he made a sensation across the country with his work "Class Teacher", and together with a large number of other works such as Lu Xinhua's "Scars" and Wang Yaping's "Sacred Mission", he formed the "Scar Literature" literary phenomenon that made a sensation in the literary world at that time.

Compared with authors such as Lu Xinhua and Wang Yaping, Liu Xinwu has not been silent in recent years, but has continued to produce a large number of influential works. Documentary works such as "May 5 Long Shot" and "Bus Aria" have caused a sensation. A few years ago, he won the second Mao Dun Literature Award for his novel "Bell and Drum Tower".

Therefore, in the eyes of many people, in addition to Jiang Xian, Liu Xinwu is also a good candidate to replace Wang Meng as the director of "People's Literature".

Moreover, Liu Xinwu is older than Jiang Xian.

Within the system, being young has never been an advantage.

Therefore, the number of people who are optimistic about Liu Xinwu is actually no less than the number of people who are optimistic about Jiang Xian.

However, Jiang Xian's performance today, the knowledge and experience he displayed in his every move, invisibly added a lot of points to his reputation in the eyes of many people.

Especially because Jiang Xian is young and does not think highly of his old comrades.

Today, my impression of Jiang Xian has changed.

Although this comrade is young, he knows just as much as the old comrades. Jianguo Hotel.

Located on East Chang'an Avenue, the Jianguo Hotel is the earliest foreign-related hotel in Beijing.

Because it was done so well, a "call" was issued in 84, calling on the whole country to learn "founding a nation."

"Change it here."

In the evening, in the room, Chinese-American director Wang Zhengfang was revising the script of the light comedy film "Beijing Story" which he was planning to shoot.

While discussing with the screenwriter, I suddenly heard a knock on the door.

Wang Zhengfang went over curiously and opened the door, and was surprised by the person outside.

This is the famous Italian director who lives next door to him: Bernardo Bertolucci.

After a brief greeting, Wang Zhengfang invited Bertolucci into the room. Upon asking, he learned that the great director had encountered a problem and needed his help.

Here's the thing.

Bertolucci revealed that he had applied to China for two film shooting plans, one was "The Fate of Man" and the other was "The Last Emperor".

However, after "The Fate of Man" was submitted for examination, it was quickly rejected by the relevant departments, who gave a mild rejection of "The Fate of Man".

But what made Bertolucci happy was that the Chinese people showed enthusiasm for "The Last Emperor".

The filming of "The Last Emperor" was confirmed.

A big problem lies before Bertolucci.

He had almost read to pieces the book "Twilight in the Forbidden City" written by Johnston, Puyi's tutor.

However, Bertolucci was still not satisfied with the first draft of the script.

He said he was very scared because his limited knowledge of Chinese history made the story go awry.

Wang Zhengfang listened to Bertolucci's story, and seeing his flushed face, he could probably sense his despair.

How can I not despair?
He is an Italian who knows no Chinese and not much English.

Out of respect for Bertolucci, Wang Zhengfang immediately helped him to connect with domestic film directors and introduce Bertolucci to them.

After a series of introductions, Bertolucci finally arrived at Chen Huangmei's home.

"I'll find someone for you."

After listening to Bertolucci's troubles, Chen Huangmei said with a smile.

"When we were deciding whether to let you shoot "The Fate of Man" or "The Last Emperor", this person played a crucial role."

"Who?"

After hearing what Chen Huangmei said, Bertolucci immediately became very interested in this person.

"Wait a minute, I'll give him a call to see if he has time and ask him to come over and meet you."

On the other side, Jiang Xian was taking care of his baby at home, and then he received a call from Chen Huangmei.

When he heard that it was Comrade Huang Mei who called, he did not dare to delay and immediately took a car to Chen Huangmei's home.

Tuanjiehu to Muxidi is quite a distance.

When I arrived at Chen Huangmei's house, I saw a foreign face who was about 40 years old.

"Let me introduce you."

Chen Huangmei poured him a cup of tea and introduced:

"This is Bertolucci, the Italian director."

"This is Comrade Jiang Xian, a famous writer, screenwriter, editor, and literary critic in our country."

"Mud howl, mud howl."

Bertolucci shook Jiang Xian's hand enthusiastically and spoke something in broken Chinese.

"The mud is howling too." Jiang Xian responded.

"Jiang Xian, Comrade Bertolucci is planning to make a movie about the last emperor of China, Puyi, but he is not satisfied with the script because he is not familiar with Chinese history and Chinese."

Chen Huangmei explained the situation to Jiang Xian, and then said: "After all, this movie involves opening up to the outside world. Can you provide Bertolucci with some help on the script?"

"I?"

Jiang Xian was stunned for a moment, "You mean, I'm helping this Bertolucci write the script for his movie The Last Emperor."

"It doesn't have to be writing. You can just provide some help and be a consultant for him." Chen Huangmei said.

"."

Jiang Xian was also shocked.

It's not about asking him to write the script, but that Chen Huangmei would ask him for help for "The Last Emperor".

This "The Last Emperor" is quite impressive!
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Out of respect and trust in Bertolucci, the filming of "The Last Emperor" received unprecedented cooperation from China!

Ying Ruocheng, then Vice Minister of Culture, even came to play a guest role.

In addition, I heard that during the filming of the movie, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom visited China. In order to ensure the filming progress of the crew, the Queen’s request to visit the Forbidden City was rejected.

Even the Queen cannot enter the gate of the Forbidden City.

Only open to our comrades!
"Jiang Xian?"

On the other hand, when Bertolucci heard the name, he suddenly felt it sounded very familiar.

With the help of the translator, Bertolucci and Jiang Xian confirmed the identity before finally confirming it.

The man in front of you is the Chinese writer who created best-selling novels such as "Castaway", "The Hunger Games" and "War Horse".

Upon learning that he could get his help, Bertolucci was very happy, as if he had found a life-saving straw, and he was reluctant to let go of Jiang Xian's hand.

"Thank you, my friend."

"You are welcome."

Jiang Xian smiled and said:
“I’m also very happy to be a part of this film.”

"To quote an old comrade."

"We all come from all corners of the country and have come together for a common revolutionary goal."

(End of this chapter)