Chapter 70 Seven "Brightness in the World"

From the second half of 1956, some foreign journalists and guests often came to visit me, and some foreigners wrote to me and asked me for photos.In February 1957, I received a letter from Stirling-Wendel, France, asking me to sign the photo. In addition to attaching a few photos of me in the past, there was also an unknown What to do with the article, the full text of the article is as follows: If he had sent it two years earlier, maybe I could have exchanged some tears, but he sent it too late.I replied in my reply: "Sorry, I can't agree with you. I can't sign the photo." Not long ago, during an interview with some foreign journalists, I encountered many strange questions, such as: "As the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, don't you feel sad?" Doesn't that surprise you?" Wait, there seems to be a similar sympathetic tone in it.I replied to them that if it is about sorrow, I used to be the emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the puppet Manchukuo, and that is exactly my sorrow; if it is about surprise, it is very surprising that I have received such lenient treatment.The gentlemen of the reporters seemed to be quite puzzled by my answer.I think the gentleman who wrote from France must have felt the same way when he read my answer.

In my opinion, what is the light in the world?This is the great heart of Fang Surong, the simple language of the peasants in Taishanbao, the great changes reflected in our next generation of Aixinjueluo, the flames on the gas stove in the Fushun mine, and the Those domestic machine tools that replaced Japanese equipment are the old age of the old workers in the nursing home...Are these all meaningless to me? Is it meaningless to me that I am placed in the hope and trust of being a decent human being?Is not this the most precious judgment? I believe that this is not only my personal feeling, but the common feeling of many prisoners, and even some of them have long had a feeling.In fact, this kind of desire and belief to strive for a new life is gradually growing in more and more hearts (at this time we have begun to regard transformation as our own business), otherwise, the New Year in 1957 would not be It will be so different from before.

Every time we celebrate a new year, in terms of recreational activities, in addition to the daily ball, chess, cards and watching movies twice a week, we will organize a party as usual, and a few people with this talent will perform some small programs , such as the tricks of the puppet Manchukuo general Lao Long, Xiao Gu's Allegro, Lao You's a cappella, Pu Jie's "Xiao Heyue Chasing Han Xin", the Mongolian Lao Zheng and Lao Guo's Mongolian songs, and so on.Pu Jie occasionally talked about a self-made cross talk, and everyone sometimes came to a chorus.The audience is these dozens of people from our school, and the venue is in the corridor or small club of our school.The corridors have been decorated with lights and festoons since the first few days of the New Year, and the decorations are colorful.With these, together with the sumptuous meals and sweets and snacks for the New Year, everyone is very satisfied.But this time in 1957 was no good. Everyone felt that everything else was fine, but the tunnel party was a bit unsatisfying; if we could organize a large-scale party in the auditorium like Japanese war criminals, it would be enjoyable.It is still far away from the new year, and many people have expressed this desire.When it was time to start preparing for the New Year, some young academic committee members couldn't hold back and raised this idea to the institute.The Institute said that if it is confident, it is okay to hold a large-scale one, and said that if it can be run, the newly transferred war criminals from the Chiang Kai-shek Group from the No. 3 and No. 4 Institutes can be spectators and fill the auditorium to the full.The academic committees got such a reply and told each group, so everyone prepared happily.

The reason why everyone is happy is because they all want to have a happy New Year, and the reason why the prison supports it is because this is one of the successful methods for the prisoners to educate themselves.The Academic Committee was the first to accept this idea.They had been inspired by the performances of Japanese war criminals.In addition to the usual singing and dancing, every Japanese war criminal party must have a drama performance. Most of the scripts are based on materials from Japanese newspapers and periodicals.I remember a play called "Children of the Atomic Bomb", which described the tragedy of the Japanese people who suffered from the disaster of the atomic bomb. The audience was full of accusations and crying.The academic committee saw that the Japanese war criminals had achieved the effect of mutual education and mutual help by the playwrights, performers and audiences through acting, so they were determined to perform such a play at this gala.The plan of the academic committee was supported by many people, and they quickly figured out the general content and title of the play.There are two plays in total, one is called "The Failure of the Invaders", which tells the story of the British army's invasion of Egypt and the failure of the Egyptian people's counterattack. This is a current affairs drama; A puppet Manchurian traitor, from being a traitor to reforming experience, this is a story play called "From Darkness to Light".There are also playwrights, such as Pu Jie and an official surnamed Mu from the former Jiangxi puppet regime.As soon as the matter was decided, they immediately wrote the script.

At the same time as the creation of the script is the preparation of other programs. The "Illusionist" Laolong's tricks have always been the most popular. Now he is not satisfied with the little tricks he used to play, such as "get the egg from the hat" and "swallow the ping pong ball", and declares that he will perform several amazing big tricks .The Mongolian brothers Laozheng, Lao Guo and others are preparing for Mongolian singing and dancing.Lao Chu, the study group leader of our group, a former diplomat of the puppet regime of Wang, is a music lover. He brought a group of people to practice chorus.There are also some people who prepare traditional programs such as cross talk, allegro, and a cappella separately.The busiest person these days is Lao Wan, the director of the academic committee. He is busy arranging programs, finding actors, and planning the layout of the festival venue.Xiaorui was in charge of the layout of the venue. He is a skilled hand in making paper flowers and lanterns. Under his guidance, some people made lanterns, paper flowers and all the decorations necessary for lanterns and festoons with various flower papers.Da Li is responsible for the lighting equipment of the whole venue, and he has become an excellent electrician now.My Gu nephew is also busy enough. Apart from being an assistant to the illusionist, he also has to prepare for cross talk and participate in singing practice.Driven by all parties, everyone was involved in the preparatory activities.

Every time there was a party in the tunnel before, I didn't have any part in the preparations.I can't speak allegro, I can't juggle, and no one asks me to arrange the venue.Even if I help someone get a thumbtack or pass a note, they still think I'm in the way.In this preparatory work, I originally thought that no one would trouble me, but unexpectedly, our team leader, Lao Chu, found that my singing pronunciation was not bad, so he put me in the singing team.With gratitude, I sang "Dongfanghong", "Singing the Motherland", and "One Heart of the People of the World" with great care.I had just mastered the song, and another unexpected thing happened. The director of the academic committee came to me.

"Puyi, there is a role in the first play, let you play it! It's not too difficult, there are not many lines, and, this is a civilized play, you can improvise the words, and you are not too restricted. This job is very meaningful, It's self-education, it's..." "No need to persuade," I stopped him, "As long as you see me doing it, I'll do it!" "Okay!" Lao Wan opened his mouth wide in joy, "You can do it! You must do it, your voice is very loud! You..." "I'm overwhelmed and overwhelmed! Just tell me what kind of play I'm acting in?"

""The Failure of the Invaders"—this is the title of the play. The British invaded Egypt, and people complained about it. I went to Pu Jie to learn about the plot, read the script, copied my lines, and then went to choose the costumes.Since you are playing a foreigner, of course you have to wear a western dress.This kind of thing is not lacking in the storage room of the management office, because many people's clothes are stored here. I took out the navy blue suit I wore in the Tokyo court, and took the shirt.Tie and other things, back to the cell.There was no one in the cell, so I dressed up alone.Just after changing into a Wrigley white poplin shirt, Lao Yuan came in. He was startled, and after a long pause he asked me:

"What are you doing this for?" Partly out of excitement, partly because the collar of my shirt was too tight, I couldn't speak for a while. "I want to act," I said panting, "come on, loosen the straps on the back of my vest." He loosened it for me, but the front button still couldn't be fastened, and I realized that I was fatter than before.The pair of leather shoes from the British Huiluo Company also pinched my feet. I asked the old man annoyed: "I play a member of the British Labor Party, can I not change my shoes?" "Come on!" the old Yuan said, "The MPs of the British Labor Party still wear perfume, can they still wear cotton boots? It doesn't matter, you may wear it for a while and it won't be tight. You can pick up this vest and read it first. Lines. You also acted on stage, what an anecdote! Haha!..."

I walked into the corridor and heard his laughter.But I am very happy.I remember what Lao Wan told me, this performance is a kind of self-education and a kind of mutual assistance.This is the first time I have been put in the position of helping others, and I have always been helped in the past.It turns out that I, like others, have my talents and can be on an equal footing in mutual aid. I went to the club and started reciting the copied lines.From this moment on, I recite my lines all the time.Lao Wan spoke well, his lines were very short, probably the fewest lines spoken by actors on stage.According to the plot, at the end of the play, when Lloyd defended his failure of aggression on the podium of the parliament, some members of the opposition party stood up and questioned him, and then attacked them. At this time, I stood up in the crowd and casually refuted him A few words, and then I have to say these few words: "Mr. Lloyd, please stop sophistry, the facts are shameful, shameful, and the third one is still shameful!" Ed stepped off the stage, and I shouted: "Get off! Get off!" There was no complicated plot in this drama, it was mainly a debate at the venue, from the questioning of a congressman to the dismissal of the Foreign Secretary, it took less than fifteen minutes.But for those few lines, I spent about dozens of times more time.I am afraid that I will forget or say something wrong, and live up to the expectations of others.For the first time I was unable to sleep because of excitement and tension, which had caused insomnia and sleepless nights because of worry and fear.

new Year is here.When I walked into the venue of the New Year's party, I was completely attracted by the festive atmosphere and the beautiful stage, and I forgot my inner tension.The colorful decorations and artful flowers are beyond amazing.The lighting installation is a purely expert method, and the red ground and white characters on the lintel of the stage read "Celebrate the New Year's Fun Evening Party", which is an artistic Song style, written by Lao Wan.The "Tonight's Performance Program" on the curtain is the most attractive: 1. Chorus, 2. Solo, 3. Mongolian singing and dancing, 4. Cross talk, 5. Allegro, 6. Juggling, 7. Live newspaper drama "Invaders" The failure of ", eighth, the drama "From Darkness to Light".Nothing less than an evening party for Japanese war criminals.Seeing the whispering and admiring expressions of the Jiang Jun war criminals sitting in the middle, our group couldn't help but wink at each other happily. Lao Wan's opening remarks came from the loudspeaker, and then the chorus began.The performances went on one by one, and there was a burst of applause in the venue.It was the turn of the old dragon's big trick, and the emotions in the venue reached a climax. At the end of the performance of "The Great Transformation of a Living Man", the living person Xiao Gu got out of the empty box, and there was a burst of laughter and applause.Later, when the performer pulled out an infinite number of colored ribbons from a small paper plate, and finally pulled out a colorful flag, when the words "Strive for reform, be a new man" appeared, the cheers, applause and slogans were worryingly loud. The ceiling will shake down.That's when I went backstage and started putting on makeup. After a short break in the venue, the live newspaper drama began.A debate about the failure of the Suez Canal War began on stage.Old Run's Lloyd was very resembling. His nose was already big. Of all the British citizens in this parliament, he was the only one who resembled the British the most.His expression was excellent, too, resentful, apprehensive, resigned and reserved, a failed foreign secretary.Next to me sat the old Yuan, who was also a member of parliament, and was very impatient with the foreign secretary.There are more than a dozen of us Labor Party leftist MPs, occupying the front of the stage, and the Conservative Party seats on the side of the stage, where there are fewer people, making a dingy look.The play lasted for more than ten minutes, and the old man said to me quietly (this posture is required in the script): "Don't be so dumbfounded, do something!" I bowed and looked up at the audience. The audience seemed to pay attention not to Lloyd but to me, the leftist congressman, and I panicked.During the chorus, no one in the audience paid attention to me, and now I have become the focus of attention.Before I regained my composure, Lao Yuan touched me and said, "Tell me, it's time for you to refute him!" I hurriedly stood up, facing Lao Run who was talking nonsense, I couldn't remember the lines for a while .I was in a state of tension, and suddenly I was in a hurry, and I shouted to him in English: "NO! NO! NO!..." My shouting really interrupted his words. At the same time, I also remembered the following lines, and hurriedly Then I said: "Mr. Lloyd, please stop sophistrying." I put one hand on my hips and pointed at him with the other: "The truth is shameful, shameful, and the third one is still shameful!" There was applause, and there was a shout of "Get off! Get off!", and Foreign Secretary Lloyd ran off the stage in a panic. "You did a great job!" Lao Yuan stepped off the stage and was the first to praise me. "Although I was a little flustered, it's really good!" Later, other people also expressed their satisfaction and couldn't help laughing at my impromptu lines.Someone also mentioned that I refused to meet the Swedish prince who had taken a photo with Mr. Mei Lanfang, and I couldn't help laughing. The turbulent venue gradually calmed down, and the drama "From Darkness to Light" began. The plot of this play brings people into another realm.The first scene is about Wu Qijie and Bu Shiwei, the former bureaucrats of the Northeast, who turned into big traitors when the Northeast fell. The second scene is about them being arrested by the Soviet army when the Japanese surrendered. After being escorted back to the country, he used a set of deceptive tactics during the reformation, but it was ineffective. In the end, inspired by the government's education and leniency policy, he pleaded guilty and accepted the reformation.The script is not well-written, but the war criminals are very familiar with this representative story. Everyone can find their own reflections in the play and recall their past, so they are all attracted, and the more they watch Feel more ashamed.There is a scene in the play where the traitors force the migrant workers to repair the Shenmu Temple. Big Chin saw that this was his story, and couldn't help muttering, "Why do you act this embarrassing thing?" The traitors sat in a conference room, When I offered the idea to the Japanese to plunder the food of the Northeast people, and made a flattering gesture, I heard someone beside me sigh and say, "It's so ugly!" I feel that the ugliest is not the characters in this play, but A wooden niche with curtains in the meeting room of the puppet government was an indispensable thing in every government organization at the time of the Puppet Manchukuo. It enshrined the so-called "Yuzhenying" - the photo of the traitor emperor.When everyone in the show bows to it after the scene, I don't think there is anything uglier in the world. In the last scene of the play, when the government personnel came out to explain the policy of reforming criminals to Wu Qijie and Bu Shiren, the emotions at the venue reached the highest peak of the entire party, and the applause and slogans exceeded anything I had ever heard before.This is not so much because of the plot, but rather because of the feelings of life in the past few years, especially because of the feelings I have directly obtained from a series of things such as family letters, family meetings, outings, Japanese war criminals pleading guilty in Chinese courts, etc. Today All worked together.Amidst the deafening slogans and applause, there was also the sound of weeping that was drowned out.A few rows in front of me was a short, fat man with drooping white hair and twitching shoulders. This was Old Liu from Pu Jie's group, the man who wouldn't believe the facts until he saw his daughter with his own eyes.Behind me, weeping loudly, was the old Zhang who had regained his fatherhood, and the gold pen on his breast pocket was shining. The excitement that appeared at the party fully explained that the world has a "glory" for us, and it is a brighter and brighter brilliance.Not long after the new year passed, a group of people were freed from prosecution.There were thirteen people in this group, including my three nephews and Da Li.After the warm farewell, we had a more jubilant Spring Festival, and we organized a better party (performing a second self-written play "Spring Festival in Two Times", which describes a Northeast village Different situations in Manchukuo and after liberation).After the Spring Festival, the second batch of four prisoners were released, including my two brothers-in-law.At this time, the Frenchman wrote me the letter about "the glory of the world"!