Literary Master 1978

"Lao Cheng, why are you here?"

Lin Chaoyang saw that the old man was a little surprised, and stepped forward to shake his hand enthusiastically.

Cheng Yin greeted Lin Chaoyang with a smile on his face, and then explained his purpose, "I came here because someone asked me to."

Listening to Cheng Yin's words, Lin Chaoyang pulled him, "Let's talk outside."

"Okay."

The two came to the triangular area outside the library. The spring breeze in mid-March was still a bit chilly, but the warm sunshine made people feel warm.

"Tell me, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, our Yanying Film Studio plans to co-produce a movie about Go with Japan. We already have a script, which is about the Go content in the script. Because the screenwriter's level is not high, we want to find someone to help check it.

Yesterday, Lao Chen told me that the students of Yanying Film Studio are all talking about your superb Go skills. It just so happens that you are also a good script writer. How about you come to give us a review?"

After Cheng Yin finished speaking, the name of a movie immediately floated through Lin Chaoyang's mind. He asked, "Are you the director?"

"It's not me, it's Duan Jishun from our studio. Have you seen "Wedding" starring Liu Xiaoqing? He directed it."

"Wedding" is a movie released last year. It has good reputation and response. However, the most famous person in this movie is the female lead Liu Xiaoqing.

The two consecutive hit movies "Little Flower" in 1978 and "Look at This Family" in 1979 made her one of the most famous movie actresses in China today.

"The director from Japan is Jun'ya Sato, who is very famous in Japan."

Listening to Cheng Yin's introduction, Lin Chaoyang was sure that this movie should be the one he had seen. He asked, "Who is in charge of the Sino-Japanese co-production?"

"The investment shares of both sides are equal, co-writing, co-directing, and co-performing. The Chinese side is responsible for the Chinese scenes, and the Japanese side is responsible for the Japanese scenes."

After Cheng Yin finished speaking, he saw Lin Chaoyang pondering and asked, "Chaoyang, what are you worried about?"

"Co-production is a thankless task, why do you want to do it?"

Cheng Yin smiled, "Who can't think of this problem? But this is a task!"

Cheng Yin's tone was mixed with a bit of helplessness, and he explained a few more inside stories to Lin Chaoyang.

"The film must be made. It's not easy to find an expert like you who knows movies, dramas, and Go. Don't try to shirk it."

"I haven't agreed yet. Why do I feel like I've been on a pirate ship?"

Cheng Yin patted his shoulder, "There's no way, it's a mission!"

He said again: "Take a leave tomorrow and go to the factory for a meeting first."

"If I go, I may not say good things."

"As long as you come to help."

The next morning, Lin Chaoyang appeared at the Yan Film Studio. Cheng Yin had traveled between Yan Film Studio and Yan University yesterday and had already asked for creative leave for him.

When he arrived, he first met the crew's creative director Duan Jishun, screenwriters Hong Zhou and Ge Kangtong, and then met Yan Film Studio Director Wang Yang, Director of the Literary Planning Department Jiang Huaiyan and Editor-in-Chief Shi Wenxin.

In addition to Cheng Yin who invited Lin Chaoyang yesterday, such a lineup is enough to show that Yan Film Studio attaches great importance to this film.

After the greetings, Wang Yang had something else to do and left first.

Duan Jishun first gave the movie script to Lin Chaoyang, "Comrade Chaoyang, this is the first draft of the script, please take a look. I need your help to enrich the content about Go."

Lin Chaoyang's eyes stayed on the cover of the script - "A Game of Chess That Has Not Been Completed".

It was indeed this movie.

Lin Chaoyang remained calm and took the script, "Then I'll take a look."

Lin Chaoyang was a script consultant invited by Yanying Studio, so he naturally had to learn about the script first. Everyone else left, leaving only him in the Yanying Studio guesthouse, smoking and flipping through the script.

The more he read the script, the more aggrieved he felt, and in the end he slapped the script on the table.

The next day, Duan Jishun called everyone to hold a script discussion meeting, and he was the first to ask Lin Chaoyang.

"Comrade Chaoyang, what do you think of the script after reading it? Are there any problems with the handling of the Go part?"

Lin Chaoyang lit a cigarette, said nothing, and his face was gloomy, and everyone was confused by him.

"Chaoyang, do you think there is something wrong with this script?"

Cheng Yin is familiar with Lin Chaoyang, and he knows from his expression that Lin Chaoyang is in a bad mood.

"Problem? It's not a problem, it's the butt."

Lin Chaoyang said in a cold voice.

Everyone was confused, not understanding where Lin Chaoyang came from.

"What's wrong with the butt?" Duan Jishun asked.

"The butt is crooked!"

After Lin Chaoyang said this, the atmosphere in the conference room immediately became depressed.

"What do you mean by this?" Screenwriter Hong Zhou is a young man in his twenties. Hearing Lin Chaoyang's words, he immediately stood up and asked back.

"Xiao Hong!" Jiang Huaiyan on the side stopped Hong Zhou. He looked at Lin Chaoyang and said slowly: "Chaoyang, if you have any questions, you should communicate with everyone first, don't come up with emotions."

Lin Chaoyang's eyes swept around everyone, and then looked at Cheng Yin, "Old Cheng, when you invited me yesterday, I said that I might not have good words when I came."

Cheng Yin smiled bitterly when he heard this. What is this called? Ugly words in advance? But you didn't see the script yesterday!

Cheng Yin didn't say anything. Lin Chaoyang looked at the screenwriter Hong Zhou who had just stood up. "You asked me what I meant by that. I want to ask you, what's the meaning of writing this script?"

"An Unfinished Game of Chess" tells the story of the Jiangnan chess king Kuang Yishan who attended a warlord's birthday party and met the Japanese Go master Matsunami in Beiping in the 1920s.

At the birthday party, Kuang Yishan played against the warlord and was imprisoned because he did not give in. When he was taken away by the police, he was playing chess with Matsunami, and the game was interrupted. Later, Kuang Yishan was rescued by Matsunami and the Japanese ambassador.

Matsunami found that Kuang's son Aming was very intelligent and wanted to take him as his apprentice, but Kuang Yishan refused. A few years later, the country was in turmoil due to war and the people were living in poverty. For the sake of his son's future, Kuang Yishan decided to send his son Aming to Japan to learn Go.

In 1937, the Japanese army invaded China. Aming, who had obtained the highest honor of Japanese Go, was killed by the Japanese army when he decided to flee back to his country because he refused to join Japanese nationality. Kuang Yishan, who was in China, also suffered great misfortune and humiliation because he refused to play against the Japanese colonel.

At the end of the story, the People's Republic of China was founded. Kuang Yishan and Songbo climbed the Great Wall, recalled the unfinished game of chess thirty years ago, and lamented the vicissitudes of life and the pain that war brought to the people.

The story of the script is very delicate and moving at first glance. It is set against the long years from the Beiyang warlord era to the founding of the People's Republic of China. Through the joys and sorrows of two Chinese and Japanese Go players and their families, it condemns Japanese fascist militarism.

But after reading it carefully, the more you think about it, the more wrong it is.

It's not that there is anything wrong with the story itself. Stories are written by people. As long as the ability is in place, you can make it round no matter how you write it.

The problem is the position of this script. In this era of Sino-Japanese friendly atmosphere, some people may not think there is any problem, but as a later person, Lin Chaoyang thinks there is a big problem.

"Let me ask you about this scene in your script. After Japan's defeat, on the ship where the Japanese were sent back to their country, someone wrapped a child's body in sackcloth and threw it into the sea for water burial. A mother-like woman covered her face with her hands and sobbed.

The protagonist Kuang Yishan turned his head and looked at the vast sea in the twilight.

What did you want to express by writing this scene?"

Lin Chaoyang stared and questioned Hongzhou who was sitting opposite him.

"The people of China and Japan are both victims of the war, and the Japanese people have also suffered from the suffering of the war." Hongzhou answered forcefully.

"Okay. The place you wrote this scene is Huishan Wharf in Shanghai. Then let me ask you, have you seen Japanese living in Shanghai during the Anti-Japanese War? Do you know who they are?"

"There are people from all walks of life, including businessmen, officials, and ordinary reclamation groups and their families."

"Okay, then let me ask you again, have you seen Japanese beggars?"

Lin Chaoyang's question made Hongzhou at a loss for a moment, "The living conditions of the Japanese in China at that time were relatively good, and there should be no beggars."

"Didn't you say that the Japanese were also victims of the war, so why can't there be Japanese beggars on the streets of China?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

"This..."

Hongzhou was speechless for a moment, and another screenwriter sitting next to him, Ge Kangtong, said: "The scene you just mentioned was after the defeat..."

Before he could finish his words, Lin Chaoyang pointed at him and glared at him.

"Yes! It is after the defeat that you wrote about the suffering of the Japanese. What kind of suffering is it?

It is the loser's own fault! It is the backlash of their wolfish ambitions! But you told me that the Japanese are also victims of the war.

The party that started the war lost, and his situation became miserable. This actually became his suffering?

Haha! How can there be such a reason in the world?"

Lin Chaoyang laughed in anger, but there was no smile in his eyes, which were full of coldness.

Everyone present had an ugly face. Originally, Yanying Studio invited Lin Chaoyang to polish the script, and no one expected that he would have such an attitude.

Duan Jishun said stiffly: "Comrade Chaoyang, Xiaohong and others wrote this script for the purpose of reflecting on the pain brought to the people by the war. It not only describes the suffering of the Japanese people, but also the suffering of the Chinese people."

"One is the blood shed by innocent people, and the other is the blood shed by invaders. You think there is no problem in comparing the two?"

"The people are always innocent and victims of war." Hong Zhouqiang defended himself.

"What a great saying that the people are innocent! Who are the people? Who are the people?

Do you think that only the war criminals are the initiators of this war?

Can they conjure up military funds, build machine guns and cannons, and grow food out of thin air?

It's the Japanese! All the Japanese!

A small country with a small population has exhausted the efforts of several generations of the whole country in an attempt to swallow up the world. Tell me, their people are innocent?

Who are the innocent people? Tell me, who are the innocent people?

Are the Chinese people innocent, or are the Japanese people innocent?"

Lin Chaoyang slammed the table and stood up, his eyes were gnashed, his hair was standing on end with anger, and his momentum was intimidating.