Exciting 1979!

Chapter 285 A Song That Moved the World

The doctor who had been treating him came out and told the family to prepare, but the man was not pronounced dead until the next morning.

By this time, Wei Ming had already returned home. In order not to disturb his parents, he stayed directly in the courtyard house in Beichizi. The police chief guarded the bedside, and Yinxing squatted outside the house.

On the same day, Xinhua News Agency issued an obituary: Shen Yanbing (pen name Mao Dun), a famous Chinese writer, translator and social activist, passed away in Yenching at the age of 85.

He also introduced his life story, including joining the League of Left-Wing Writers in 30, being elected vice chairman of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles and chairman of the Writers Association in 49, serving as the first Minister of Culture, and holding other positions in the CPPCC.

His works include the novels *Midnight*, *Rainbow*, *Frosty Leaves Red Like February Flowers*, and *Corrosion*; the novella trilogy *Corrosion*; the short story *Lin Family Shop*; the rural trilogy *Spring Silkworms*, *Autumn Harvest*, and *Winter's End*; and the essays *Ode to the Poplar* and *On Scenery*.

Finally, he emphasized his status as one of the founders of modern Chinese literature.

Gong Xueren learned of this news in northern Jiangsu. Because she had starred in the film version of Mr. Wei Ming's most important work, "Midnight," she couldn't help but feel sad and regretful, and wrote a letter to Wei Ming.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Film Studio has begun to speed up the production of copies, preparing to let audiences across the country see Mr. Mao Dun's work as soon as possible. He even personally filmed a scene for the crew.

In addition, many literary figures across the country wrote articles to commemorate Mr. Mao Dun, and Mr. Ba Jin also left behind the words, "The fire will never be extinguished, the heart will never die, and the pen will never be put down."

Wei Ming was no exception; he wrote an article to commemorate and thank this great writer whom he had only met once.

After much deliberation, I finally submitted the manuscript to People's Literature, the first national-level literary magazine in New China, founded by Mr. Mao Dun.

Moreover, he quickly received a notification of acceptance from the editors of People's Literature. Articles written with heart and soul are easily recognizable to those in the know.

The key point is that they didn't expect that the last piece of writing by the gentleman would be a preface to Wei Ming's novel. This shows how much importance and expectation he placed on it!

However, the fact that he could write such a long novel as "The Right Path of the World is Full of Vicissitudes" at the age of 20 shows his great potential and is indeed worth looking forward to.

Amid the nationwide fervor to commemorate Mr. Mao Dun, there was also a response overseas.

The Singaporean newspaper Nanyang Siang Pau published a memorial article, stating that Mao Dun's death was a great loss to the Chinese literary world and even the world literary world.

Japanese media also gave high praise to Mr. Mao Dun, publishing about 17 articles about him in just 18 days, highly affirming his literary value and historical status, and providing in-depth analysis of his representative work, "Midnight".

At Mao Dun's memorial service, the Mao Dun Literature Prize, established with a prize pool of 25 yuan from Mao Dun's estate, was presented to the public for the first time. The prize aims to encourage the creation of full-length Chinese novels, with Mr. Ba Jin serving as the chairman of the judging committee. Specific details will be announced later.

25 million!

In an era when even those with ten thousand yuan were rare, 25 yuan was undoubtedly a huge sum of money.

If we calculate based on the fact that 20,000 yuan can buy a very decent property in Yanjing today, this amount of money would be equivalent to about 60 to 70 million yuan in later generations.

Moreover, this is the first literary award in China named after an individual. It is foreseeable that this award will become, or at least one of, the highest awards for Chinese novels.

Domestic news is reporting on the passing of Mr. Mao Dun and the Mao Dun Literature Prize, while in international news, Reagan of the United States is taking the lead.

Because this new president followed in John Lennon's footsteps and was shot, except he was lucky enough to survive.

Initially, domestic reports omitted many details, and Peking University students expressed curiosity about the hidden political truth behind the incident: was it done by political enemies, or by the public dissatisfied with his policies? Or perhaps by the Soviet Union...?

They probably never imagined that it was a female celebrity's die-hard fan who did this to attract her attention by imitating a movie character.

Even freshmen like Wei Hong were discussing this, and she even talked about it with her parents when she went home for the weekend.

They realized once again that America was a den of wolves and tigers; big stars could be shot, presidents could be shot—was there any safety left?
Even if Wei Ming went to study abroad with Xiao Hong, they wouldn't feel at ease; at least the two of them would have to go with him.

Wei Ming sat on the sofa eating sunflower seeds with his grandmother. When he heard that his father also wanted to go to the United States to accompany his studies, he laughed and said, "If our whole family goes to the United States, what if the country thinks that I will never come back?"

“Oh dear, that won’t do,” Xu Shufen hurriedly said. “Our son is now a well-known writer, representing the image of the country. We can’t let the country worry about this. Let them go. We’ll stay here and wait for them to come back.”

Old Wei agreed with this reasoning and could only regretfully abandon his idea of ​​venturing into the lion's den.

He then continued to question his two children about the story behind the assassination of US President Lee: "Do you think it was the Soviets who did it?"

Wei Hong looked at Wei Ming: "You'll have to ask my brother. He's close to those international students, so he probably knows more inside information."

Wei Ming did not disappoint them: "I actually know something about this. You're all wrong. This matter has nothing to do with politics."

"Oh?" Several people quickly gathered around.

Wei Ming: "But before talking about this incident, I have to mention a movie called 'Taxi Driver.' It's a movie from a few years ago. The director and the male lead are both very famous. The male protagonist is a retired soldier who drives a taxi and is always depressed and frustrated..."

"Driving a taxi and still not doing well?" Old Wei, his mother, and even Xiao Hong found it unbelievable. He was a taxi driver!

Nowadays, four-wheeled taxis only exist in high-end hotels. Not only do they offer high incomes, but they also bring great prestige, as they deal with foreign guests and frequently receive foreign currency.

Wei Ming tapped the coffee table: "The national conditions are different. Driving a taxi abroad is just an ordinary job. The main thing is that he participated in the Vietnam War, which is a painful memory for a generation of Americans."

"What, didn't they feel the pain of the Korean War?" Old Wei retorted.

Wei Ming smiled helplessly. The impact of this on the Americans was indeed far less than that of the Vietnam War. Even during the full-scale intervention period, the Vietnam War lasted for eight years, and in total, it lasted for about 20 years. It started almost immediately after the withdrawal from Korea and was only completely resolved in recent years. The number of troops involved, the number of soldiers killed and wounded, and the amount of military expenditure were all quite staggering.

But now is not the time to lecture Lao Wei. "It hurts, it hurts, anyway, this taxi driver was quite depressed. Later, he fell in love with a girl. She was beautiful and had a respectable job. She worked for a presidential candidate, but she didn't want him. So he made a decision..."

Taking a sip of water, Wei Ming continued: "He wanted to assassinate that presidential candidate, but he failed in the end. Then, by chance, he wiped out a group of bad guys who were forcing women into prostitution, and he also saved a little girl. He became a hero in the media's eyes. The key is this little girl."

"Could this little girl be the real villain?" Wei Hong's mind raced.

Wei Ming tapped her on the head: "You're overthinking it. The actress playing this little girl is named Judy."

Old Wei and Xu Shufen exchanged a glance. Oh, so he's from the same clan as Zhu Lin.

"Judy was a child star. She was not only beautiful but also very smart. The man who assassinated President Lee was very fond of her but could not have her. So he wanted to imitate the male protagonist in the movie and kill a president to show her."

"Is this guy crazy?" Old Wei exclaimed.

Wei Ming praised his father's keen insight: "Let me tell you slowly. He had planned to kill the president a long time ago. He almost succeeded when he killed President Carter, but Carter lost the election and Reagan came to power, so it was Reagan who got shot."

The good-natured Carter was a man whose fortunes were both a blessing in disguise and a curse in disguise.

Wei Ming summarized: "That's the situation. The assassin has been caught. His family has some money and is trying to save him. The only way is to say that he is mentally ill, so that he might escape death."

"Oh, is that possible? Mental illness can be cured?"

Old Wei and the others found it unbelievable. If that's the case, then President Li is far too lenient and magnanimous. In Chinese thinking, sparing nine generations of a family would be considered the mark of a benevolent ruler.

Wei Ming chuckled: "Just lock him up for life, then slowly torture him in a mental hospital, making him wish he were dead."

Of course, he was only imprisoned for 40 years and was released in 2021, while the guy who killed Lennon, Wei Ming, was still imprisoned before his rebirth.

The Wei family members were dumbfounded, as if it were a story, but Wei Ming's expression was serious: "If you don't believe me, Xiao Hong, you can ask the international students at Shaoyuan. Your English should be enough to communicate about this, right?"

“Of course I can. I’ve audited quite a few Spanish classes, and of course I trust you,” Wei Hong said. “What about Judy, the actress? Has she been affected as well?”

"Of course, although there is no such thing as a femme fatale in foreign countries, this matter was caused by her, and she has also suffered a lot of pressure. Fortunately, she is currently in college, which is a good opportunity to take a few years off to focus on her studies. By the way, she attends Yale University."

Old Wei: "What do you mean, 'Night Road University'?"

Wei Hong: "Dad, Yale is a very prestigious university in the United States, ranked among the top few. However, Yale seems to be stronger in the humanities and social sciences."

Since her brother had mentioned wanting to study abroad as soon as she enrolled, Wei Hong had researched which foreign universities were suitable for her, and Yale was not among her considerations.

The next day, Lao Wei saw Lao Sun reading the newspaper at the door and immediately went up to him to talk about the truth behind the assassination of US President Lee, which stunned Lao Sun.

Xiao Hong also began to explain to her classmates the crazy and distorted story behind this incident. Compared to political murder, being driven mad by love was more to the liking of these girls, and their eyes lit up as they listened.

However, since he was a foreign president and hadn't died, the hype quickly died down.

However, abroad, especially in the United States, this matter was huge and remained a hot topic. Old Bushi was even preparing to take over, but unexpectedly, Lingzong came back to life.

In the United States, nothing is off-limits for hype and exploitation. MCA completed "Moonlight Shadow" last month and plans to release it when Sarah Brightman has a full album, or at the end of the year to mark the first anniversary of John Lennon's death.

Unexpectedly, this coincided with the globally sensational news of Reagan's assassination. The MCA immediately mobilized its media resources, bringing up the John Lennon assassination incident from a few months prior and hyping it up. Once the buzz was high, they quickly released "Moonlight Shadow" in the global market, forcefully linking the song to Lennon's death.

And so, in early April, Wei Ming's first English single was officially released.

~
At this time, Michael Jackson, a black singer, was a young black man, only 23 years old.

Two years ago, he spent 84 weeks on the Billboard 200 album "Off The Wall," with all four singles reaching the top 10, one of which won him a Grammy Award for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance.

However, he is currently quite annoyed. He is very dissatisfied with the new album "Thriller" that the company produced for him. The arrangement is terrible and the songs are all weird. This has caused a serious disagreement between him and his company. He is so angry that he wants to smash the master tapes.

Work on this album has been put on hold. Friends advised him to get away and relax. Actually, he would prefer to go abroad, but his manager disagrees.

That day, he was riding his bicycle through the streets of Los Angeles when he walked into a music store, where the Beatles' classic song "Yesterday" was playing.

He loved the Beatles, and he loved Lennon. Damn Mark Chapman, he's deprived the world of so much great music.

After the record finished playing, the shopkeeper changed it to another one. Michael Jackson was about to leave, but as soon as he stepped out of the store, he was drawn in by the melody coming from the record. When he heard the first line of lyrics, he turned back. What a beautiful voice!

Although it's not in the same musical style as his own, MJ was very tolerant and open-minded, and he was willing to listen to more of such a beautiful voice.

"The last time she saw him was under the moonlight, where light and shadow swayed..."

The lyrics were beautiful and melodious, but as he listened, he realized something. Could this song be about him and Yoko Ono on the night Lennon was killed?
After a song lasting more than four minutes finished playing, MJ immediately asked, "Could you play it again?"

"I was planning to play it again anyway." The shop owner smiled; he liked this gentle music, which seemed to have a soothing magic.

After listening to it again, MJ was certain that the song was about what happened on the night of December 8th.

This was a night that caused immense heartache and anger for music fans worldwide. Whenever MJ thought about it, he couldn't calm down, but the peace and tranquility expressed in his songs soothed this restlessness.

magical!

A magical melody, magical lyrics, magical vocals!
"Who sang this? Who wrote it?" he immediately asked the boss.

The shopkeeper glanced at the cover: "Singing by Sarah Brightman, but I've never heard of either the lyrics or the music by Mr. [Name]."

Michael Jackson was quite knowledgeable and well-informed. He recalled that there was a British group called Hot Gossip who released a good album called "I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper," and one of the members seemed to have that name.

However, this "Mr. Why" was unheard of and didn't sound like a proper name; it was clearly a stage name.

"Give me one." Michael Jackson decisively bought the record and went back to savor it slowly.

After listening to it ten times, his agitated state due to the new album finally calmed down. At the same time, he made a decision that went against his ancestors' wishes: even if it meant paying a penalty for breach of contract, he would remake the album "Thriller." He couldn't let his hard-earned reputation be ruined by a bad album.

Thriller, meaning a thriller, can also be translated as "trembling" or "shuddering".

Riding on the attention generated by the assassinations of two celebrities, and the angelic voice of young singer Sarah Brightman, "Moonlight Shadow" quickly gained traction in the global music market.

Not just the United States, but also the United Kingdom, and even Asia.

There was once a band in Hong Kong that was famous in the 70s for imitating the Beatles' style and music. The imitation stemmed from their love for the Beatles, and the Beatles' popularity inspired many young musicians to pick up their guitars and conquer the world.

Later, the band called The Wynners disbanded, and the members went their separate ways. The two lead singers, Tam Yung-lun and Kenny Bee, both had successful careers in film, television, and music. Tam Yung-lun, in particular, had an excellent music career, with representative works in both Cantonese and Mandarin.

At this time, Tam Yung-lun was preparing his third Cantonese album, but unfortunately he was unable to invite the mysterious musician Ah Ming.

He had just come out of the recording studio when his good friend Kenny Bee called him to his house. Not only him, but also several of the Wynners' old friends were there.

Although the band disbanded, their friendship remains strong, and they still occasionally reunite to make music.

Tan Yonglin thought it was Kenny Bee who had written a song and was preparing to sing it with several people, but he shook his head.

"I just wanted to ask you to listen to a song."

"What song is it?"

“I just came back from the United States, and I brought this with me. It’s called ‘Moonlight Shadow’.”

"Is it very popular?" Peng Jianxin asked.

“It’s not popular yet, but I believe it will be soon.” Then Kenny Bee began playing the music.

American music is all very energetic these days, with rock and roll being all the rage, but this song is surprisingly peaceful, and the singer's voice has a classical quality.

This kind of song might have a larger market in Europe, but in the US?
The others weren't optimistic, but after listening to the whole song and savoring the lyrics, Tan Yonglin was the first to realize: "Is this about the night Lennon was assassinated?!"

The dashing guy nodded: "That's right, this is a song specially written to commemorate Lennon, and the lyrics and melody are all excellent."

In fact, after Lennon's death, whether out of genuine affection or a desire to capitalize on his passing, many singers commemorated him through music. Even the talented singer-songwriter Tan Yonglin tried to write a piece, but he wasn't very satisfied with it and simply didn't release it.

In terms of quality, Tam Yung-lun admits that "Moonlight Shadow" is much better than his own songs, and can be said to be the best in this genre. After all, Lennon has only been dead for a little over three months, and even a talented artist like Paul McCartney has not yet released a song in memory of Lennon.

Writing a good song requires time and time to develop.

Even without the backdrop of Lennon's assassination, this song is still of very high quality, having swept the top of music charts in several European countries in its previous life.

Soon, Tan Yonglin's attention turned to the songwriter "Mr Why": "I've never heard of such a musician in America?"

“The United States is so big, and the music market is so big, it’s normal for a talented newcomer to suddenly emerge,” Chen You said with a smile.

However, Kenny Bee shook his head again and took out an English picture book: "He didn't just suddenly appear; he's actually a children's author."

"What?! A children's author?!"

~
In the United States, because "Jumanji" was already quite famous, with total sales of hardcover and paperback editions exceeding 10 copies, more people in the US discovered that the songwriter and composer of "Moonlight Shadow" shared the same name as the author of this fairy tale.

However, this discovery had a limited impact on the popularity of "Moonlight Shadow," since the public already pays very little attention to the songwriters and composers behind the songs.

What truly propelled "Moonlight Shadow" onto the fast track, with record sales and radio airplay skyrocketing, was an interview with Yoko Ono.

She revealed that she recently heard a song called "Moonlight Shadow." Initially, she was reluctant to listen to it after learning its meaning, as she was afraid of recalling that night.

But ultimately, at Paul's strong recommendation, she tried listening to it and found a rare sense of peace within herself.

Thanks to the endorsement of Lennon's widow and another Beatles icon, Paul Walker, this song, which was originally hovering behind the Billboard 100, suddenly debuted at number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100.

While in London, Sarah Brightman, who was rehearsing for a new opera "Cats," was so excited when she heard that a song she had recorded recently had made it into the Billboard Hot 100.

She was grateful to the MCA for selecting her and also thanked Mr. Why, the talented creator.

She knew that the musician was actually a children's author because her relative's child had copies of "Jumanji" and "The Lion King," and especially loved "The Lion King."

So she decided to visit the creator when she had the chance, but of course, she had to visit Macmillan Publishing before that, otherwise she wouldn't be able to find him at all.

~
A week after the Wynners first heard "Moonlight Shadow," the song successfully reached Hong Kong and became a hit on the radio.

Zhou Huimin heard it too, and the first thing she did was to take out an English version of "Jumanji" from her drawer, which was a gift from Amin.

Looking at the author's name above, Amin's eyes widened. It was all "Mr Why." Could it be that this song, which swept across Europe and America, was also written by Amin?!
The second thing she did was sit down at her own piano and start playing and singing the song.

Unfortunately, due to limitations in talent and training, there is still a significant gap between him and the original singer.

The third thing was to insert a blank cassette tape into the tape recorder and "write a letter" to Amin, asking if he was the author of the song.

At this time, Wei Ming, who was in mainland China, was unaware that "Moonlight Shadow" had already gained some international fame due to the relatively closed communication channels.

He's excited about something else now.

The March issue of Harvest magazine has just been reprinted by 20 copies.

The total circulation of 120 million copies in a single issue broke Harvest's own record and also broke the highest circulation record for Chinese pure literature publications!
And this record deserves the greatest credit from "The Right Path of Humanity: Part 2"!
(End of this chapter)