Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1179 Traditional Chinese Medicine on the Big Screen: A Model of "A Comprehensive Guide to Nanyang Materia Medica" Emerges (Two Chapters Combined)
Having bought their tickets, but before it was time to go in, everyone stood or leaned on the steps, waiting to be notified to go in. Fang Yan and Lao Hu went to the side to chat about things in Hong Kong.

The others could only chat amongst themselves.

"There's an ice pop vendor over there, who wants one?" Director Chen asked the group.

Apart from the brother-in-law's family, who were very enthusiastic, not many other people wanted to eat.

"Mingzhu, how about your godfather buys you an ice pop?" He turned to his goddaughter and asked when he saw that no one else reacted.

"I won't eat it." Mingzhu shook her head.

"What's going on? What kid doesn't like popsicles?" Director Chen asked, bewildered.

The little girl Mingzhu said:
"My brother said that eating cold food is bad."

Director Chen then realized that it must have been taught by dialect.

The righteous child always treated what was said in the dialect as gospel, and of course, there was some truth to what was said in the dialect.

"Is it okay to eat one?" he asked, still somewhat uncertain.

"Why are you always urging the other child to eat if they don't want to?!" Sun Jialin, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore and said to him.

"Okay, then I'll buy tickets for all of us," Director Chen said.

As soon as he finished speaking, realizing that Zhengyi was saying it was bad to eat cold food, his brother-in-law's two daughters chimed in:

"Then I won't eat it either!"

Director Chen was speechless. Why did all these young girls listen to Zhao Zhengyi?
Having no other choice, he bought popsicles for himself and his brother-in-law and his wife, then deliberately took big bites in front of Zhengyi, trying to entice the child to eat them. But Zhengyi said to him:
“My master said… First, when you eat cold things, it freezes the ‘yang energy’ of your spleen and stomach, just like water freezes in winter and can’t flow. If you eat too much, you won’t want to eat and you’ll get diarrhea. Second, you should sweat a little in summer. Eating cold things makes you hold back your sweat and prevents the ‘dampness’ from being expelled, which can easily lead to prickly heat and sores. Third, you can see that the boxes selling popsicles are covered with thick blankets, which means that ice is a ‘yin’ and cold thing. People need to be warm to feel comfortable. Eating cold things all the time is like pouring cold water on a small stove, which will weaken your body.”

After he finished speaking, he stood on tiptoe and reached out to touch the popsicle in Director Chen's hand, then quickly pulled back, frowning slightly as he added:
"If you really want to eat it, take a small bite and hold it in your mouth until it cools down before swallowing. Don't gulp it down like you did, or it will upset your stomach."

“Last time my sister secretly ate half a root, and she had a stomachache that night. My master boiled mugwort leaves in water and soaked her feet in it, and she got better.”

Director Chen's hand, holding the popsicle, froze in mid-air. He didn't know whether to lick it or put it down. Looking at the two children's serious expressions that seemed to say, "You don't understand health," he swallowed back the words he was about to say, "Just one, what's the harm?" Finally, he reluctantly took a small bite and mumbled:

"Fine, fine, I'll listen to you. I'll eat slowly, okay?"

After waiting for about forty minutes, the line to buy tickets snaked from the ticket window to the street corner. Children clutching small bills in their hands stood on tiptoe to look ahead, chattering and wondering if they could buy tickets today.

Just then, the iron gate of the ticket checkpoint opened a crack, and a young staff member in blue overalls shouted to the outside:

"Huang Feihong, tickets for the 9:10 show, check tickets! Check tickets!"

The staff shouted at the top of their lungs, their ticket-checking tongs snapping against the ticket stubs. The iron gate was pulled open, creating a gap about half a person's width, and the surging crowd kicked up dust.

Fang Yan made his second sister and sister-in-law walk in front.

Behind them are the eldest sister's family and the brother-in-law's family.

Song Jian was shielded between his two Russian apprentices, while Anton held up his newly bought bucket of popcorn, afraid it would spill in the crowd. The ticket inspector glanced at the tickets, then at the crowd, and said to Sofia with a smile, "Foreign comrades are here to see Wong Fei-hung too? This movie is awesome!"

Fang Yan, Lao Hu, Lao Die, Lao Furen, and Ma Wenying walked at the very back.

When everyone entered the screening room, they found it already packed with people. The fans on the walls were whirring, and beams of light shone from the back rows onto the screen, making it possible to see tiny dust particles floating in the air.

Fang Yan and his group found seats and sat down. Someone in the row in front of them glanced back at Sophia's blonde hair and whispered, "Does this foreign girl like watching this too?"

At this point, a news briefing had already started playing on the screen.

Everyone immediately turned their attention to the big screen.

These days, it's very common to play news before movies. This practice is closely related to the social environment and the characteristics of media dissemination. Before television became widespread, movies were an important channel for the public to obtain information and cultural entertainment.

To keep audiences informed about current events at home and abroad, newsreels are often shown before film screenings. These films are called "news briefings" or "news documentaries".

The content covers important domestic and international events, national policy promotion, and achievements in social development, serving both information dissemination and publicity and education functions.

Today's news report covers the recent college entrance examinations, the large number of overseas Chinese returning to China via the Friendship Pass in Guangxi, former US Representative to Beijing Bush stating that the US has ample reason to strengthen relations with China, an article in the Japanese magazine "Seiron" claiming that China's research on the Soviet Union is lagging behind, and India's population growth is rapid...

Then, as the resounding gongs and drums suddenly rang out, and the three large characters "Huang Feihong" appeared on the screen at the beginning of the film, the buzzing conversations in the theater instantly subsided, and everyone's eyes were fixed on him.

On the screen, the bustling wharf of the Thirteen Factories of Guangzhou is once again presented. "Wow!" A small exclamation rang out from the children in the front row. The camera quickly panned across the busy wharf, the imposing foreign sailors, and Wong Fei-hung (Little Li) standing out among a group of coolies, along with Aunt Thirteen holding a camera.

"This makeup is pretty good, it actually looks quite convincing," Fang Yan said to Lao Hu in a low voice.

Lao Hu said:

"I've also brought over the costumes, makeup, and props from Hong Kong this time."

Fang Yan nodded. The costumes and props were indeed something worth paying attention to, and there was much to learn, especially in the area of ​​makeup.

Soon, a fierce fight broke out.

Everyone got excited.

On the big screen, Leonardo DiCaprio's portrayal of Wong Fei-hung is swift and agile, effortlessly wielding Hung Kuen and Buddha Palm techniques. Accompanied by an adrenaline-pumping soundtrack, every move is clean, crisp, and powerful.

The atmosphere in the screening room was instantly ignited. Some people couldn't help but cheer quietly, the children in the front row stomped their feet excitedly, and even Ma Wenying and Song Jian, who were sitting in the back row, watched intently.

"Tsk tsk, that 'Foshan Shadowless Kick' was... exhilarating!" A man in the front row slapped his thigh loudly, drawing attention from those around him, but he didn't care and kept his eyes glued to the screen.

Old Hu also spoke in dialect:

"As expected of the national champion, his skills are indeed clean, crisp, and beautiful!"

A while later, during a break in the fight, Huang Feihong swiftly used silver needles to seal acupoints and stop the bleeding of a coworker who had been accidentally injured. The eyes of everyone present lit up instantly, almost forgetting that they were watching a movie, and they excitedly pointed at the screen and shouted, "Our traditional Chinese medicine is really amazing!"

Fang Yan was quite satisfied with everyone's reaction.

Later in the movie, there were several more scenes promoting traditional Chinese medicine.

On screen, Wong Fei-hung (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) moves nimbly, dodging the punches and kicks of the foreign sailors. Then, with a somersault, a flash of silver light appears in his hand, revealing several slender acupuncture needles.

He moved closer, avoiding vital points, and precisely inserted needles into acupoints such as Quchi and Hegu on the arms of the attackers. The arms of the several fierce-looking burly men immediately went numb and went limp, their weapons clattering to the ground.

"Bravo!" The theater erupted in even louder cheers and applause. This time, it wasn't just the exciting fight scenes that captivated the audience, but also the clean, efficient, and effortless kung fu techniques that incorporated the principles of acupressure from traditional Chinese medicine, making the performance both satisfying and novel.

The conflict subsided, and the scene shifted to the "Po Chi Lam" pharmacy, a place frequented by Wong Fei-hung. The pharmacy was far from peaceful. Aunt Thirteen accompanied a woman carrying a young child, her face filled with anxiety. The child's face was flushed, and her breathing was rapid; clearly, she was experiencing a febrile seizure.

Next, Xiao Li demonstrated traditional Chinese medicine treatment. Huang Feihong quickly stepped forward, grabbed several herbs from the medicine cabinet, including gypsum to clear heat and purge fire, coptis to cool the blood and detoxify, and rehmannia to nourish yin and generate fluids. His movements were skillful and seamless.

He poured the herbs into a stone mortar, held a pestle, and crushed the herbs with a "thump, thump, thump" sound. Then he poured them into a clay pot, added water, and boiled them.

While the medicine was being decocted, Huang Feihong washed his hands and carefully wiped the silver needles with an alcohol swab, once again demonstrating his superb acupuncture skills.

He precisely applied needles to the child's acupoints such as Dazhui, Quchi, and Hegu, each needle being applied with perfect precision, drawing quiet admiration from knowledgeable spectators around him.

"Excellent technique! The acupoints are pinpointed perfectly! This filmmaker is quite skilled," an elderly man wearing reading glasses couldn't help but exclaim.

“Yes, just by looking at this needlework, you can tell he’s really skilled,” a middle-aged man next to him chimed in.

Under the combined effects of acupuncture and medication administered by Huang Feihong, the child's high fever gradually subsided, his complexion regained some rosiness, and his breathing became more stable.

Fang Yan asked Lao Hu with some curiosity:

"How did they film this? Could they have actually found a sick child to treat on set?"

Lao Hu said:

"That's definitely not it... but it must be the director's skill. He'll be here with his people in a few days, then you can ask him."

Fang Yan and the others continued watching. The plot was quite different from what they had seen in their previous lives. According to Fang Yan's request, many stories about traditional Chinese medicine were added, which did not seem abrupt. This was mainly because Huang Feihong was originally designed in this way, which made him more well-rounded.

As the movie ended, the soundtrack reached its climax, with the stirring melody echoing throughout the theater, pushing the audience's emotions to their peak.

Fang Yan then realized that the background music for this film was not the well-known "A Man Should Be Self-reliant".

The original composition was based on the ancient melody "General's Command," with lyrics by James Wong and vocals by George Lam.

The movie's soundtrack is alright, but the dialect just doesn't quite feel right.

Fang Yan thought for a moment, and the second part was called "Men Should Be Self-reliant", so he decided to bring over the music as well. He just didn't know who would be the best singer.

Or just do it yourself!

"Let's go! Let's go! We've finished watching!" Old Hu called out to Fang Yan.

The lights in the screening room came on, and Fang Yan finally came to his senses. Then, everyone left the movie theater together, and many of them still looked like they hadn't had enough.

Some of the young men were even discussing coming back to see it again tomorrow.

If it weren't for the difficulty in buying tickets right now, they would probably buy another one immediately and go in for a second look.

……

After watching the movie, Fang Yan and the others didn't plan to stay outside any longer and prepared to go home. The main reason was that the sun had already risen, and the temperature outside the movie theater was quite high under the blazing sun.

The group walked back to the courtyard house.

As they walked, they discussed the plot of Wong Fei-hung, wondering how wonderful it would be if Fang Yan's script were made into a film. Director Chen was already imagining himself with his name on the movie after it was finished, and how his teachers at school would look at him with new respect.

When Fang Yan returned home, Zhu Lin said to him as soon as he entered the door: "Editor-in-Chief Xia just called and said that 'The Complete Treatise on Materia Medica of Nanyang' has been printed and he wants you to go and take a look."

Fang Yan was taken aback upon hearing this, and then immediately said:

"Okay! I'll go find him right now."

"I'll go too!" Old Hu said.

The two then immediately went out and drove towards the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

After arriving here, the two headed straight for the People's Medical Publishing House.

When we arrived at the publishing house, many people were greeting Fang Yan.

"Director Fang is here! We've already finished printing your book, working overtime!"

"Director Fang, this book uses a new process and is of very high quality!"

"Director Fang..."

Everyone chimed in, enthusiastically describing the fruits of their labor.

The dialect alone tells you that the entire publishing house has been mobilized.

When Fang Yan arrived at Editor-in-Chief Xia's office.

Editor-in-Chief Xia was dozing off, his back to the door, slumped over a large desk.

Hearing Fang Yan and Lao Hu push the door open and come in, Editor-in-Chief Xia suddenly looked up, his face showing the exhaustion of staying up all night.

"Ouch, I just dozed off!" Editor-in-Chief Xia rubbed his eyes and said to Fang Yan and the others.

"You've worked hard!" Fang Yan said.

Editor-in-Chief Xia waved his hand, and soon a light shone in his eyes, like a small flame burning.

He greeted them in dialect:
"Come on, come and take a look!"

A book held in his hands was placed in the center of a cushioned table.

Fang Yan and Lao Hu looked over.

The book is a thread-bound, color-printed, hardcover edition.

The dark blue fabric cover gives it a very sophisticated look.

In the upper right corner of the cover, there is an embossed pattern of a banana leaf with simple and smooth lines, which is taken from the illustration of the emergency wet compress method recorded in the book.

Moving the gaze downwards, one sees the large, gold-embossed characters: "Comprehensive Explanation of Nanyang Materia Medica and Clinical Guide to the Prevention and Treatment of Tropical Diseases with Traditional Chinese Medicine." Below the title is a line of smaller, gold-embossed text: "Compiled by Huaxia Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine and published by People's Medical Publishing House."

Fang Yan quickly picked it up and opened the cover to see rows of deep red handprints of various shapes! These handprints varied in size, with clearly discernible knuckles. They were the marks left by all the participants at the celebration banquet that day, from the slightly thin fingers of Grandpa Lu Donghua to the plump fingertips of the young researcher.

The background of this "red handprint" is a scanned image of the original white paper document recording everyone's signatures!
It is no longer just a signature, but more like a scorching "collective medal of honor," a silent yet deafening declaration that the birth of this extraordinary book is the condensation of the collective will of all participants.

"The sample books... are finally finished! Look at the quality, they're better than any of the books our publishing house has ever published, just to be worthy of your hard work!" Editor-in-Chief Xia said with a sigh of relief.

He then stepped aside, making room for Fang Yan and Lao Hu to take a closer look.

Fang Yan said to Lao Hu:

"The color printing on coated paper is even better than expected! Look at the color reproduction... and the title page!"

As the dialect was translated, Lao Hu exclaimed in admiration:
"This cover feels so solid! Wow! The color pictures inside are so clear? You can even see the mud spots on the roots of the herbs, and the layout is so impressive..."

The text includes collation of the original ancient texts, pharmacological analysis, clinical adaptation plans, an emergency treatment manual for tropical diseases, and an atlas appendix containing commonly used herbs, their properties and contraindications, and regional toxicity differences. The structure is clear and the context is distinct. It is the skeleton that the dialect was originally carefully designed, and now it has been filled with rich flesh and blood.

With vibrant illustrations and a clean layout, the ancient texts are silently transformed into intuitive understanding.

In particular, the entries repeatedly verified by the doctors who provided medical assistance abroad, the addition of dialects, such as the banana leaf wet compress method, the variation of artemisia compatibility with altitude, and the external use of gallnut, were all clearly recorded.

Turning to the last page, Fang Yan said to Editor-in-Chief Xia:

"Editor-in-Chief Xia, it's done!"

He raised his head, his gaze intense:
"The sample is fine! Let's start printing immediately!"

Editor-in-Chief Xia nodded and said:
"Okay! I'll arrange it right away."

Fang Yan said to Editor-in-Chief Xia:

"Then I'll take this sample book with me? I'm attending the August 1st meeting tomorrow, so I might as well bring this book with me."

"In addition to reserving a hardcover edition for the research institute's library after the book is completed, please also print an extra batch of paperback editions at a lower cost. We have promised that this book is primarily intended for comrades who may be going to the mountainous jungles of the south."

Editor-in-Chief Xia nodded:

"no problem!"

After saying goodbye to Editor-in-Chief Hu, Fang Yan went outside. Downstairs, Hu took the sample from Fang Yan and remarked to her:
"Good heavens! This is more than just a gift... This book feels heavy in my hands; it's a formidable trump card! It's academically sound and usable on the battlefield—this is a real weapon in our hands!"

Fang Yan nodded. "If we take this out tomorrow, it will definitely shock the people in the General Logistics Department of the army."

Then Lao Hu suddenly remembered something, and he turned to Fang Yan and said:

"By the way, didn't you say last time that professors from Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine were among the people invited this time? How come we haven't heard anything from them yet?"

Fang Yan shook his head:
"I don't know either, but I only heard from Grandpa Xie that they would be invited on August 1st, and they would use a private plane to bring people from Guangzhou to Beijing."

Fang Yan glanced at the time and said:

"If it's a direct flight, there's still enough time. Maybe it'll be an afternoon or tonight's flight."

Hearing the dialect, Lao Hu nodded. The direct flight from Guangzhou would indeed take only a few hours.

Next, the two went to the Secret Formula Research Institute. It was also a working day there. Huang Li and Zeng Luquan were both on site, holding their work notebooks and discussing issues on the production line.

Upon seeing that Fang Yan and Lao Hu had arrived, the two of them quickly greeted them.

"Didn't you say you were on vacation today? Why did you all come over?" Zeng Luquan asked Fang Yan.

Fang Yan pointed to the book in Lao Hu's hand:

"Come and get the sample book. We need it for the military region's August 1st Army Day meeting tomorrow."

Zeng Luquan's eyes lit up:
"Wow, they're all printed?"

Seeing his expression, Old Hu knew he was interested in the contents. He handed it to him:
"Take a look."

Zeng Luquan immediately took it and started flipping through it.

Taking advantage of this moment, Fang Yan asked Huang Li, who was standing to the side:

"By the way, Comrade Huang Li, I've been busy wrapping up the project these past few days and haven't had a chance to come over. Professor Zeng told me that you've already started connecting to the production line? Is everything going smoothly here now?"

Huang Li said to the dialect:

"Don't worry, Director Fang. We've basically figured out the process. Vice Dean Zhao gave us the key points before, and I've gone through all the procedures here with Professor Zeng these past two days. I'm also actively preparing for the new parts that will be opened here. I will definitely do my best in everything here."

After thinking for a moment, Fang Yan asked him:
Have you started contacting those people who have returned?

Huang Li said:

"Yesterday, Professor Zeng and I went to meet them on behalf of our unit, bringing rice, flour and cooking oil. Right now, it's mainly Dean Zhao from our institute who's in contact with them, mainly dealing with some family matters and children's schooling issues after they return. There's not much I can help with; we can only start working on things after they arrive at the unit."

After a moment's hesitation, Huang Li immediately added:

"Actually, I plan to take the initiative to ask Vice Dean Zhao today about the experts' arrival schedule and their professional skills, such as processing and pharmacology, so as to plan their job allocation in advance. I also plan to take advantage of the window of opportunity before the experts arrive to organize the team to sort out the pain points of the production line and formulate a plan to match the experts' technical capabilities, so as to avoid an excessively long adjustment period after they arrive!"

I was going to say a few words in dialect, but Huang Li added them on his own.

This person even mentioned things that Fang Yan hadn't thought of, showing that he was quite perceptive. Fang Yan nodded and said:

"Hmm, not bad! Let's do it your way!"

Hearing Fang Yan say that, Huang Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, I was able to catch up quickly, otherwise my work ability would have been insufficient.

If he doesn't handle things well here, he'll be in big trouble when he goes back to Peking Union Medical College Hospital.

The dean had explained this to him many times before he arrived.

Fang Yan and Lao Hu then walked around the area for a while, and when it was almost time, they went back.

Fang Yan still needs to prepare her speech for tomorrow's August 1st Army Day after she gets back.

Such formal occasions are rare opportunities to improve the image of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, and dialects should not be easily overlooked.

PS: The basic chapter of 6000 words has been updated.

(End of this chapter)