Writer 1978: I Need to Give the Literary World a Lesson

Chapter 50: An Adaptation of "Hachiko: A Dog's Tale" (Please Read On)
As a national-level magazine, *People's Literature* naturally has no shortage of manuscripts, but it lacks good ones. Besides those who stay at the editorial office to review manuscripts, some editors travel all over the country to find authors and solicit manuscripts.

The entire editorial team is extremely eager for high-quality manuscripts.

This time, Liu Yimin wrote about "Hachiko," a very famous movie from the film "Little Days." Hachiko is a true story about an Akita dog born in Akita Prefecture, Japan in 1923, whose owner was a university professor named Hidesaburo No.

Ever since the professor adopted this Akita dog, the dog would see its owner off to work every morning and greet him at the station every evening. Until one day, the professor suffered a sudden brain hemorrhage and passed away while teaching, but the dog continued to wait at the station every day.

Even though he was given away for adoption by many people, he always managed to escape to the train station. The station vendors, nearby shopkeepers, and passersby were moved by his loyalty and spontaneously fed and cared for him until he died.

This story became widely known after being reported by a Japanese reporter from the Asahi Shimbun. In 1987, a screenwriter adapted the story into a film.

The film touched not only Japan but also the world. This type of film, devoid of political overtones, plays a significant role in cultural export, appealing to audiences with differing political views.

However, when the little days first started promoting Hachiko, it had a political undertone—gratitude and loyalty!
Liu Yimin adapted "Hachiko: A Dog's Tale," replacing the main characters, the setting, and the plot to make it more suitable for the present era.

The protagonist's name is Lao Xue, a veteran who came down from the battlefield. When he learned that his hometown was setting up a forest farm and preparing to plant trees on a large scale to resist the erosion of wind and sand, he resolutely gave up the organization's arrangement and decided to engage in afforestation work.

As he walked out of the train station, he found a small dog being chased and bitten by other large dogs. Kind-hearted, he took the dog home and named it "Xiao Ba"!
Because he regarded the dog as the eighth soldier he had ever led!
When he told his wife he wanted to plant trees at the forest farm, she didn't understand at all. He resolutely decided to go to the forest farm alone with a shovel on his back. When he arrived, he found that there were only a dozen or so people at the forest farm, and he was to be responsible for a whole hill by himself.

It was far from the forestry headquarters, and even the log cabins hadn't been built yet. Without a word, he and his dog began the work of protecting the forest and planting trees. On this side of the mountain were shrubs and sparse trees, while on the other side was bare yellow sand.

He found joy even in hardship with his dog, and when he sang military songs, the dog would sit and listen attentively. Sometimes, when he angered the dog, he would call it "little bastard!"
A year later, Lao Xue's wife also came to the forest farm. When Lao Xue was planting trees and didn't come back at noon, his wife would cook a meal and hang it on Xiao Ba's body to take with him.

After the man and dog finished eating, Lao Xue planted trees, while Xiao Ba patrolled the forest alone. If he encountered people illegally logging, he would bark loudly. If they couldn't be scared away, Lao Xue would come to protect the forest.

Three years later, the forest farm sent a horse to take care of Lao Xue, and Xiao Ba had another playmate. One day, Lao Xue was planting trees when a sandstorm blew up and buried him in the desert. Xiao Ba frantically dug him out with its claws.

Old Xue affectionately patted Xiao Ba's head: "I'll never call you Xiao Ba Ga again!"

One day, Old Xue collapsed from exhaustion on the road while planting trees. The organization held a memorial service for Old Xue, and his son also took Old Xue's wife away.

On the day he left, Lao Xue's wife couldn't find Xiao Ba anywhere and thought that Xiao Ba had left.

At this time, Xiao Ba was just like any other day, tending the forest among the bushes and sparse trees. The people nearby had heard about Lao Xue's story, and no one went up the mountain to cut down trees anymore; Xiao Ba no longer had to fight with anyone.

Several months later, a new group of tree-planting teams arrived at the forest farm. They were a group of energetic and skilled forestry university students. When they came and patrolled the forest, they found that Xiao Ba was still patrolling the forest as usual.

The story of Xiao Ba and Lao Xue is well-known. When these young people plant trees, they bring Xiao Ba some food, but no matter what they do, Xiao Ba just doesn't want to get close to them.

When the group of young people were being chased by wild beasts, Xiao Ba bravely went up to fight them, but eventually bled to death. Before he died, Xiao Ba looked in the direction of the wooden house. The group of young students had already run back. In his hazy vision, he saw Lao Xue carrying his luggage and walking towards him. He remembered the words Lao Xue had told him when he planted the tree.

"Little Eight, have you been slacking off as a forest ranger?"

Liu Yimin told Cui Daoyi the gist of the story, and after he finished, he noticed that there were glistening tears in the corners of Cui Daoyi's eyes, but he concealed them very naturally.

"It's a very touching story, Yimin. I've read all sorts of manuscripts, but there aren't many that can make me cry. I believe this novel will definitely move all readers." Cui Daoyi patted Liu Yimin's hand, which was resting on his knee.

Liu Yimin thought to himself, "What I want is to move the whole world."

His adaptation of this novel was not merely about the story between Lao Xue and Xiao Ba, but also about conveying the importance that Chinese people of this era place on responsibility, their spirit of not being afraid to sacrifice or disregard personal interests, and China's contributions to environmental protection.

Cultural products (books, movies, etc.) are the main force of cultural export and also the easiest way for foreigners to accept promotion. Love and loyalty are easy to evoke emotional resonance.

Environmental protection has received increasing attention since the beginning of the 21st century. Foreign countries often accuse China of destroying the environment. Liu Yimin wants to use this book to tell the world about China's efforts in environmental protection and break free from the predicament of being constrained by Western narratives.

"This article must be given to our People's Literature and Art!" Cui Daoyi looked like he wouldn't leave unless Liu Yimin agreed.

"Senior brother, okay, I promise you, I'll show it to you as soon as I finish writing it!"

"Then it's settled! You don't have much to do at Poetry Journal, why don't you come and visit our People's Literature?" Cui Daoyi took the opportunity to invite.

"Senior brother, let's do it another day. Comrade Zou Huofan invited me to sit at the Poetry Journal?" Liu Yimin asked hesitantly.

“Okay, but you should still focus your writing on novel writing. Novels can better reflect our thoughts as writers and fully realize our ideas.” Cui Daoyi was afraid that Liu Yimin would neglect his novel writing because of his poetry writing.

Zou Huofan's voice rang out from outside: "Old Cui, I have never said anything bad about your People's Literature and Art magazine!"

"What do you mean, 'People's Literature and Art'? We're all under the Writers' Association, we're one family. Old Zou, I haven't even said anything to you yet, it's not fair of you to keep the news of Yimin's arrival in Yanjing a secret, like you're hiding a mistress in a golden cage."

Zou Huofan retorted without backing down: "Me, cover it up? Even if I did, you would still find out. If I hadn't, other magazines would have come long ago. Would it even be your turn?"

Dear readers, please vote for me with your monthly tickets! I'm prone to crying when watching movies or reading books, and I cried while writing this too.

Reading the rest of the book tomorrow is very important for making recommendations, so I hope everyone can read it tomorrow, thank you!
(End of this chapter)