The literary era since 1979

Chapter 208 General Fang's appearance
On September 9, dark clouds rolled over the train station.

This was Gong Xing's second time in Xingcheng. Last time he was alone, but this time there was one more person with him, Wei Zongwan.

The old and the young take care of each other and have a very harmonious relationship.

The actors of Shanghai People's Art Theatre have rich performance experience. Along the way, Gong Xing kept asking questions about acting and benefited a lot from them. However, there was still a big question that lingered in his mind.

"Teacher Wei, do you know of any way to help actors get rid of the habit of 'playing whatever they want like themselves' and truly achieve 'playing whatever they want like what they are' as Teacher Fang's theory of performance art says?"

“I really can’t answer you this.”

Wei Zongwan shook his head. "After all, drama and film are different. This is my first time acting in a movie. Strictly speaking, you are the teacher and I am the student. I need to ask you for advice."

"How is this possible? How can I teach you?"

Gong Xing waved his hand.

“There is no beginning or end in learning; the one who is most accomplished is the teacher.”

Wei Zongwan said: "I heard that Teacher Fang will also be in the crew. In my opinion, there is probably no better teacher than Teacher Fang to help you solve the problem of 'playing everything like yourself'."

"Teacher Fang..."

Gong Xing nodded and repeated it several times in his mouth.

The two walked out of the exit and found Guo Baochang in the crowd, and saw Zhang Yimou standing next to him.

"You have worked hard along the way."

Guo Baochang introduced Zhang Yimou to them.

When they heard that this was the photographer of "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" and also that it was a young film crew, Gong Xing and Wei Zongwan were surprised.

Although Gong Xing had heard the rumors at the Shanghai Film Studio and Guo Baochang had explained it over the phone, he still couldn't believe it.

The Guixi Film Studio really gave this important movie, "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog", to several newly graduated students from the Beijing Film Academy.

If they were placed in the Shanghai Film Studio, they would have no chance to make films independently and would have to start as assistants.

"It's a long story."

Guo Baochang said: "If you are interested, I can tell you about it on the way. It all starts with Teacher Fang."

"Teacher Fang?"

Gong Xing asked him if he had arrived in southern Hunan now.

"I arrived the night before last and stayed at the guesthouse at the Shonan factory."

Guo Baochang, who spoke in dialect, had originally planned to pick someone up at the station, but unexpectedly his friend came to visit suddenly, so he had to give up.

Gong Xing followed them and came to a jeep.

"This car was borrowed from the Shonan factory."

Guo Baochang said: "He also borrowed our Jiefang brand truck."

Wei Zongwan sighed and said that the Xiangnan Film Studio really supports the work of its sister units.

"That's right, but it's not entirely because of our brother unit."

Guo Baochang smiled but didn't say "for the sake of the dialect".

The film industry is so small, and the news that the Guixi Film Studio warmly entertained Fangyan and obtained "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" had already spread among film studios across the country, and the Xiangnan Film Studio naturally also knew the news.

How could you miss this overwhelming wealth!

Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you!
We must give Teacher Fang the full amount of respect!

………………

On the way to the Xiangnan Film Studio, Gong Xing learned about the background of the youth film crew from Guo Baochang.

Since Mr. Fang and Guo Baochang recognized the abilities of Zhang Yimou and others, Wei Zongwan also put aside his doubts.

The jeep stopped at the guesthouse, and the group got out of the car and went to the front desk to show their letters of introduction and other documents.

Gong Xing received the key and walked towards his own room. This time he did not live next door to Fangyan, but diagonally opposite.

At this time, the door of the room was open, and anyone walking in the corridor could vaguely hear the conversation.

What we talked about was basically literature.

"In the past two days, several groups of people have come to see Teacher Fang. They are all writers and editors from Xiangnan."

"There are two people in the room now. One is Gu Hua, the author of Furong Town, and the other is Han Shaogong, who seems to be the editor of a local journal."

Listening to Guo Baochang's introduction, Gong Xing couldn't resist his curiosity and took a few sneak peeks as he passed by.

Fang Yan took a sip of water from the enamel cup and said to Han Shaogong and Gu Hua:

"Strictly speaking, if we classify it by genre, That Mountain, That Man, That Dog is considered a prose novel."

"If we classify it by type, it should be the local literature of Xiangxi..."

"As for whether it can be considered pure literature, it's a matter of opinion."

"I think it is!"

Gu Hua said: "Whether it is the relationship between father and son or the conflict between work and family, there is no doubt that they all point directly to human-centered issues."

Han Shaogong said: "I think whether it is pure literature or not, it does not affect the fact that this is an excellent novel. I have read it no less than seven times, and every time I was attracted by the local customs and folkways of Xiangxi." "Shaogong hit the point. Compared with being called 'pure literature', I would rather call it a 'folk customs novel'."

Dialect looks left and right.

"Folk Customs?"

Han Shaogong and Gu Hua looked at each other and couldn't help but exclaimed.

Gong Xing, who was not far away, heard the noise, stopped what he was doing, quietly walked to the door, and looked at Fangyan's room.

"good."

"Mr. Cong Wen and Mr. Wang have both told me similar things: customs are a lyric poem of life created collectively by a nation."

“So, in Border Town and The Rite of Initiation, I can feel the strong poetic flavor of folk customs and human sentiments…”

Fang Yan laughed and said, "My "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" was also deeply influenced by them."

Han Shaogong couldn't help but recall "Border Town" and "The Initiations", sometimes he thought of Cuicui and Nuosong, sometimes he thought of Minghai and Xiaoyingzi.

Minghai, a monk, and Xiaoyingzi, a girl, fell in love with each other. They made wishes under the moon and counted fireflies together. There was no lovey-dovey talk or vows of eternal love. Wang Zengqi integrated this love that transcended taboos into the mountains and rivers.

"Snapped!"

Gu Hua slapped his thigh and said, "No wonder, no wonder I always feel that "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" has a sense of continuity with "Border Town" and "The Rite of Initiation". It is concise, clear, slow and plain, and the descriptions of folk customs and natural landscapes are all "poetic."

Of course not, they were all taught by the same master!
Fangyan smiled but said nothing.

"I seem to understand a little bit now."

Han Shaogong said: "Why do I like That Mountain, That Man, That Dog the most among all your works? It is because of the poetic folk customs of western Hunan that deeply attracted me."

Fangyan said: "This shows that the 'roots' of your literature are in this vast land of Sanxiang."

"The 'roots' of literature?"

Gu Hua and Han Shaogong were very interested and kept asking questions.

Fangyan simply repeated what he had said in the Huacheng novel writing class. "This is how literature from eastern Guangdong works. I wonder if literature from southern Hunan can also be written in this direction?"

"What you said is exactly what I have been thinking about!"

Han Shaogong was pleasantly surprised and said, "I once worked in a production team near the Miluo River. I lived only 20 kilometers away from Quzi Temple. I carefully observed the local customs and found that some dialect words can be linked to Chuci. For example, 'stand' is pronounced as 'gather', which is consistent with the 'want to gather far away but have nowhere to stop' in Li Sao. But other than that, there are not many traces of Chu culture left."

"No, no, there are still quite a few."

Gu Hua corrected him, "From Dongting Lake along the Xiangjiang River, you can find many place names related to Chuci, such as Junshan, Baishui, Zhurong Peak, Jiuyi Mountain..."

“That’s all that’s left.”

Han Shaogong asked: "I often wonder where the splendid Hunan and Chu culture has gone? Has it been interrupted and dried up, or has it all flowed into the underground tombs?"

Fang Yan said: "I don't think so. When I was creating "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog", I stayed in the Miao village in Suining. That ancient village retains many traces of Hunan and Chu culture. We will go to that village again to make a movie this time."

“Hmong?”

Han Shaogong pondered for a moment, "This reminds me of the ancient Miao song, 'Traveling Through Mountains and Rivers'. It seems that the saying that 'part of the Xiangchu culture flowed into Xiangxi' is not without basis."

Fang Yan smiled and said, "If you have the chance, you can go there to collect some inspiration."

Han Shaogong said that when he has time, he will definitely go to the Miao village.

Then, bursts of laughter were heard again.

Although Gong Xing couldn't hear clearly what they said, he could hear the noises made by Han Shaogong and Gu Hua when they were leaving.

"This is the film's art director, Guo Baochang."

"This is director Zhang Junzhao, cinematographer Zhang Yimou..."

"The actor who plays the rural postman, Chen Daoming."

Under the leadership of Fang Yan and Guo Baochang, Gu Hua and his partner greeted the main creative staff of the crew.

"This is Gong Xing, who plays the role of the Dong girl."

"Teacher Gu, Teacher Han, hello."

After Gong Xing said this, Han Shaogong let out a light exclamation, praising the casting.

"The 'Dong girl' in my mind suddenly became concrete. How can I describe this feeling..."

“Does it look like something out of a novel?”

Fang Yan glanced at Han Shaogong, then looked at Gong Xing.

Han Shaogong clapped his hands suddenly, "Yes, that's what I mean!"

"I also think so."

Fangyan smiled and said, "In ancient times, there were fairies in paintings, and now there are goddesses in books!"

Gong Xing was fond of poetry and prose, so he had naturally read "Chu Ci" and "Fu of the Goddess", and he understood it immediately.

In an instant, her face turned red with shame and she twirled the corner of her clothes in her hands.

Stirring and stirring, my heart is in turmoil.

(End of this chapter)