The literary era since 1979

The next day, CCTV.

Huang Yihe knocked on the director's office door in a hurry and reported to Wang Feng truthfully everything he discussed with Fang Yan yesterday regarding the Spring Festival Gala.

“This is a great theme!”

Wang Feng slammed the table excitedly, "Old Huang, this is much better than your previous plan to move to the Workers' Stadium!"

Huang Yihe smiled awkwardly: "This is all thanks to Teacher Fang's advice."

Wang Feng said: "I really don't know what's going on with Teacher Fang's brain. Where does he get so many wonderful ideas from?"

"Maybe it has something to do with the 'roots-seeking literature' he proposed."

Huang Yihe said that as the leader of the root-seeking faction, dialects hope to bring this trend of cultural root-seeking to the Spring Festival Gala stage.

"I believe that the leaders of the radio and television industry will never say no to this topic."

Wang Feng said with emotion: "It would be great if a comrade like Teacher Fang could join our station, even if he was transferred to the radio and television system."

"Let's stop daydreaming. He is a writer and a treasure of the cultural system. How could he cede it to our station?"

Huang Yihe shook his head and laughed, "When I was at the Writers' Congress, I heard from an old comrade from the Writers' Association that Teacher Fang would make progress again this time."

Wang Feng said quietly: "Even if being a full-time worker is not an option, changing jobs is fine."

"It's too late. He has already been booked by the Film Bureau as the vice chairman of the Film Censorship Committee."

After chatting for a while, the two shifted the focus of the conversation back to the layout and arrangement of the 1985 Spring Festival Gala program.

"Sister Zaijun will assist you in the production and coordination of these programs."

Wang Feng lit a cigarette, "Also, Lao Huang, did Teacher Fang tell you when the lyrics for his two songs will be completed?"

"The lyrics of 'Love My China' have basically been written, and the other song will be created during the National Congress of Literature and Art."

"Then composing and singing..."

"Teacher Fang wants us to first look for a group of composers who understand popular music and pop music."

Huang Yihe said: "Once the closing ceremony of the National Congress of Writers is over, I will find some time to come to Taiwan and have a good chat with them about composing music."

Wang Feng raised his eyebrows, "Popular music? Pop music? I'm afraid this isn't what Gu Jianfen and the others are good at."

"I plan to ask Wang Ming to recommend someone. He runs a popular music training class at the Central Conservatory of Music, so he must know a lot of talented people in this field."

Huang Yihe's tone revealed full confidence.

Wang Feng was quite satisfied: "Okay, then let him recommend a group and let Teacher Fang choose it himself!"

…………

It was already the end of November when the Fourth National Congress of Writers and Artists came to a close.

When Fang Yan found time to visit CCTV, he saw Huang Yihe standing at the door early, obviously having been waiting for a long time.

"Teacher Fang, I've been waiting for you to come!"

They exchanged greetings with each other, and then Huang Yihe took Fangyan to the small conference room.

There were five people sitting inside. Except for Wang Ming, who composed "Unforgettable Tonight", the others were young musicians introduced by him.

"I heard from Director Huang that Teacher Fang was looking for people who are good at popular and popular music, so I found this group of young people who know what they are doing."

"But don't underestimate them even though they are young. They all have extraordinary abilities."

"For example, this 'Su Yue', the composer of Recording and Video Publishing House, 'Bloodstained Style' is the song he composed."

"Nice to meet you."

When Fangyan heard "Bloodstained Style", his eyes lit up, "This military song about the counterattack against Annan is incredible."

"No, no, Mr. Fang, thank you for your praise."

Su Yue held his hand tightly and shook it, "Compared with your song "Chinese Soldier", it's not worth mentioning at all."

"There is no distinction between high and low in music." Fangyan shook his head.

"Yes, both of you wrote first-rate songs!"

Wang Ming continued to introduce him, "His name is Xu Peidong, he is the conductor and composer of the Opera and Dance Theater. He has composed music for operas, dance dramas, TV dramas, and movies. He is a true all-rounder..."

With his help, Fangyan got to know all the composers present one by one.

Su Yue, Xu Peidong and others were very excited, especially when they saw Fang Yan take out two lyrics manuscripts from the briefcase.

The title of one document clearly read "Love My China", but the title of the other document left everyone confused for a moment.

"Madam Shexiang?" "Hiss, Teacher Fang, may I ask who this 'Madam Shexiang' is..."

There was confusion in Huang Yihe's eyes.

"Madam Shexiang was a female hero of the Yi ethnic group and a female chieftain of Qianzhou during the Ming Dynasty."

Fang Yan simply gave a popular science lecture, "During his reign, he opened post roads, suppressed border rebellions, and strengthened the unity between the Yi and Han peoples..."

"This is good!"

Huang Yihe was very excited, as "Lady Shexiang" was undoubtedly highly consistent with the "national" theme of this Spring Festival Gala.

After hearing the story of "Lady Shexiang", everyone became more interested in the lyrics of the song, and their eyes turned to the paper:

"Wumeng Mountain is connected to other mountains.
The moonlight sprinkled on Xiangshui Beach,

Can anyone tell me,

But the heavens are calling you,
A mountain crosses a river, and thousands of mountains and rivers are never lonely..."

In an instant, everyone's eyes widened in shock, their heads buzzing. What kind of song is this?
This type of lyrics is different from the current style in the mainland, and is completely different from the type of pop songs in Hong Kong and Taiwan. It seems like I have never seen it before.

Seeing that no one spoke, Huang Yihe asked in a low voice, "Comrade Wang Ming, what's wrong with Teacher Fang's song? Is there any problem?"

"It's not a question of whether it's good or not, it's really that kind of... rare kind..."

Wang Ming raised his head and looked at Fang Yan with a burning gaze, "Teacher Fang, have you ever thought about how to sing this song?"

This is also the question that Su Yue, Xu Peidong and others want to ask. Compared with "Love in China", they would like to listen to "Mrs. Shexiang" more.

"Ahem, that's embarrassing."

In the expectation of the crowd, Fang Yan cleared his throat and hummed a verse casually, "On the river, cliffs face each other, and buckwheat flowers are blooming in the sea of ​​grass in Weining."

"Who hung the moon in the sky, so that the words we want to say can flow into the sea..."

"Wumeng Mountain is connected to other mountains! The moonlight shines on Xiangshui Beach!"

Huang Yihe was stunned. He had only listened to it once, but it felt like he had listened to it many times.

At this moment, the same lyrics are echoing in my ears and even in my head:

"The Wumeng Mountains are connected to other mountains! The moonlight shines on the Xiangshui Beach!"

It's like forcing it into your brain, leaving a mental stamp on it. No matter what, there's no way to completely forget or erase it.

"The feeling of this song is really, how can I describe it, it's really special!"

Wang Ming opened his mouth, but still couldn't describe the feeling.

"This song needs a male and female chorus."

Seeing the funny silence, Fang Yan smiled and said, "The woman should sing the high notes, and the man should sing the low notes. Is that okay?"

"No...no problem."

Xu Peidong stammered, "Teacher Fang, can I recommend someone for the soprano role?"

The dialect is straightforward, “Say!”

"She is also a lesbian from the Yi ethnic group. Her name is Li Ma and her stage name is Ashima."

Xu Peidong said that she participated in the Second China Original Ecological Music Concert last year, which had a strong Yi flavor and musical rhythm.

Fang Yan said, "Sure! Ask her to give it a try, and then change her if she's not suitable."

"The Yi female comrades are here to sing the songs of the Yi women. The ethnic flavor is so pure!" Huang Yihe was very excited.

Just when everyone was discussing how to compose music for "Lady Shexiang" and "Love My China", Su Yue suddenly stood up:

"Since it's a folk style, I also have a poem here. I wonder if Teacher Fang can give it a taste?"

"You wrote it?"

Fangyan said with interest.

"No, no, it was written by a friend of mine named Chen Zhe."

Su Yue said: "He went to the Yanbei area to collect folk songs in the first half of the year. The local loess plateau left a deep impression on him. It happened that you mentioned "literary roots" and "northwest wind", so he was inspired and wrote this poem."

“Northwest wind!!”

Fangyan smiled and said, "Read it to me." (End of this chapter)