Huayu 1992: Starting with the CCTV Young Singers Competition

When names like Liu Bin and Lü Jihong appear and their performances are heard, even ordinary viewers can feel their solid skills and authentic aesthetic appeal.

Liu Bin first participated in the CCTV Spring Festival Gala in 1986, singing the song "Poor Children Learn to Be Independent Early". He later won numerous awards in competitions and became well-known to many people.

Lü Jihong has participated in the CCTV Young Singers Competition since 1990, but he has never won a gold medal, which is far inferior to Liu Bin's performance.

After all, Liu Bin had participated in the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, so he was considered quite famous.

Lü Jihong's singing is also quite good; he can usually get into the top three in the professional group.

This year, we're also aiming for the gold medal.

Old Zhao looked even more intently: "These are people who came from proper academic backgrounds. They sound different; they have real expertise."

Xiao Gang, however, was getting a little impatient and secretly yawned.

In his opinion, these songs are nice, but they always feel a bit distant and not as exciting as pop songs.

As the program neared its end, the atmosphere reached its climax.

Host Liu Lu said with great enthusiasm: "Next up is the last contestant in the folk singing category of this semi-final, and also the contestant who has chosen an original song from all categories so far. He is Lin Hanjiang from the China Conservatory of Music. He will be performing an original song for us, 'The Story of Spring'."

"Original work?" Xiao Gang perked up. "A song you wrote yourself?"

"The Story of Spring?" Old Zhao sat up straight, eager to hear what this story of spring was all about.

On the screen, the lights converged, and a handsome young man in a simple white shirt stood there, his eyes clear and firm.

As the prelude begins, the piano and strings create a broad and warm scene.

Then he spoke.

"In 1979, it was a springtime..."

Upon hearing the first sentence, Old Zhao's hand, which was about to pick up a teacup, froze in mid-air.

The voice wasn't the high-pitched, melodious, and somewhat distant folk song style he remembered; rather, it was a sincere voice whispering in his ear.

Every word was spoken so clearly and with such deep emotion.

The camera panned across the audience, where many people had already leaned forward slightly.

When the song reached the line "Cities rise like myths, mountains of gold gather like miracles," Aunt Li's knitting hands unconsciously stopped, and she stared blankly at the television.

She remembered the letters and photos her younger brother sent back last year when he went south to work in Shenzhen.

Old Zhao was filled with emotion. He sighed and said, "The reform and opening up is wonderful! Look at the changes now, it's truly earth-shaking. This song is well-written and well-sung; it expresses all our feelings."

Northeast China, a heavy industrial city, a residential building for employees of a state-owned steel mill.

Zhou Guilan, a former steelworker who made a living by setting up a breakfast stall after being laid off, was counting small bills under a dim light.

The neighbor's TV was turned up really loud, and the singing drifted in.

When she heard "an old man drew a circle on the South China Sea," she stopped counting her money.

Zhou Guilan thought of her husband who went to Shenzhen to look for work. In his letters, he always said, "There are many opportunities, but it's tiring."

She didn't understand what a "special economic zone" was; she only knew that her husband didn't have to live in constant fear like her, guarding a machine destined to shut down.

The hope in the song made her feel that perhaps her husband had chosen the right path, and perhaps this era had truly left a way out for those who were willing to work hard.

She wiped her eyes, carefully put away the counted money, knowing that her fried dough stick stall would be open on time early tomorrow morning.

In Guangdong, the land praised in the song, the response was even more direct and enthusiastic.

In a makeshift shed at a construction site in Luohu District, Shenzhen.

In front of a small black and white television, the screen was covered with static, but the music was clear.

There were seven or eight young people crammed together; they came from Sichuan, Hunan, Anhui, Jiangxi…

As the singing began, a young man from Jiangxi suddenly teared up. He nudged his coworker next to him and said, "Hey, did you hear that? They're singing about our area!"

An older carpenter from Sichuan rubbed his eyes hard and said in a hoarse voice to the fellow villager next to him, "Hey kid, did you hear that? They're singing about the buildings we're building!"

"I've got it all figured out! I've got it all figured out!"

They left their hometowns and toiled in the vibrant city of Shenzhen, living in makeshift shacks and eating hard steamed buns, often drawing strange looks from others.

But at this moment, I heard a song on CCTV that was dedicated to them and the changes that have taken place in this land.

The feeling of being seen and recorded brought tears to the eyes of the young men.

A young man suddenly stood up and shouted in heavily accented Mandarin, "Well sung!"

……

As the song progresses into its second half, emotions build up layer by layer.

When that heartfelt and uplifting chorus sounded again.

"Ah, China. Ah, China. You have taken magnificent new steps, stepping into a spring of renewal..."

CCTV building, broadcast control center.

Director Ge Yanping stared intently at the viewership rating monitor in front of him, the numbers jumping around, his eyes widening.

The assistant beside him exclaimed, his voice trembling, "Director Ge! It's...it's broken 40! And it's still rising!"

Ge Yanping's palms began to sweat.

The semi-finals of the CCTV Young Singers Competition have arrived, and the show has always had high viewership.

But no one expected that a student's original song could generate such a huge pull.

The viewership ratings curve showed a steep upward trend from the moment Lin Hanjiang appeared and sang.

"45%...48%...52%..." The assistant was almost holding his breath as he counted the numbers.

When the chorus "Ah, China, China" bursts forth again.

The number on the monitor, representing the real-time viewership rating, suddenly jumped, froze, and then refreshed again.

58%!

"My God..."

"An old technician murmured."

The control room fell silent for a second, then a chorus of suppressed gasps rose up.

58% means that at this very moment, nearly 60% of televisions across the country that are turned on are tuned to CCTV-3 to watch and listen to "The Story of Spring".

Ge Yanping suddenly stood up, the movement so large that it knocked over the chair.

He didn't bother to help him up; he stared at the number, his mind racing with calculations and comparisons.

It became a hit across the country at the beginning of this year.

The TV series "Stories from the Editorial Department," adapted from a novel by Wang Shuo and starring Ge You, only achieved a peak viewership rating of around 48%.

This song actually exceeded the target by 10 percentage points!

Although it is still some distance from the 71% viewership record set by "The Outsider Girl" last year, this is already an unprecedented peak in viewership since the start of the CCTV Young Singers Competition.

No, this may even be a peak that no non-TV drama program in recent years could reach.

"Record it, record all the data curves, record it for me without missing a second."

Ge Yanping's voice was hoarse with excitement.

"Quickly! Notify the editorial office and the Taiwan Affairs Office immediately!"

This is more than just a viewership number.

This is a signal, clearly demonstrating what kind of voice the public desires.

What kind of expression does our era need?

Ge Yanping wants to get promoted and move up the ranks, so high viewership ratings are essential.

Now is the time to report the good news to the higher-ups.

In the streets and alleys, amidst the lights of countless homes, the melody of "The Story of Spring" and the image of that young man in the white shirt are etched in the memories of many.

In thousands of homes, the song has ended, but its lingering melody continues to resonate.

Many people hummed this song.

Ah, China!