Chapter 23 "Movie gongs and drums" shocked the whole country

All of a sudden, "Big Sing, Da Fang" became the most fashionable high-frequency word in Chinese newspapers and periodicals, and became the latest Chinese political term. In fact, "Big Ming Da Fang" originated from "Ming Fang", and "Ming Fang" originated from "Let a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend". However, Mao Zedong said that he "invented" "Ming Fang", and the "big" of making loud voices was invented by the rightists. Mao Zedong once said: "On the basis that most people support socialism, at this moment, it is very beneficial to have such forms as big talk, big release, big debate, and big-character posters. This form has no class nature. What are big talk, big release, big-character posters? The rightists can also make big-character posters. Thanks to the rightists, the word "big" was invented by them. In my speech on February 27 this year, I didn't talk about big talk, big airing, and big debate. There is no such thing as "big". 'Character.' Last May, we held a meeting here to talk about letting a hundred flowers bloom. It is a "letting go", a hundred schools of thought contending, that is a "ming". There is no such word "big". Later, when the rightists wanted to get involved in politics, they had to speak out about all issues. This was called the period of opening up, and they wanted to make a big statement. It can be seen that this slogan can be used by the proletariat, the bourgeoisie, and the left. It can be used by the centrists, and it can also be used by the rightists.”①

In his speech on October 13, 1957, although Mao Zedong ceded to the rightists the right to invent the "big" that speaks loudly, his speech on October 9, 1957 In the speech, it was said that it was "created by the masses".No matter how inconsistent his previous statement was, he affirmed that this form is consistent.He saw this as a "new form" of socialist revolution.He said: "This year, the masses have created a form of revolution, a form of mass struggle, that is, big talk, big release, big debate, and big-character posters. Now the content of our revolution has found its very suitable form. This form, It could not have happened in the past. Because in the past there were wars, five major movements, and three major reforms, such a form of calm debate could not be produced. At that time, calm debate, presenting facts, and reasoning were not allowed for a year. Now it is allowed We have found this form, which is suitable for the content of the current mass struggle, suitable for the content of the current class struggle, and suitable for the correct handling of contradictions among the people. If we grasp this form, things will be much easier in the future. Whether it is big right or wrong, small right Whether it’s minor issues, revolutionary issues, or construction issues, they can all be resolved in the form of open debates, and they will be resolved relatively quickly.”②

Da Ming, Da Fang, Da Character Posters, and Great Debates are called the "Four Great."Mao Zedong admired the "Big Four".Mao Zedong said: "Our democratic tradition has made a big progress this year. In the future, we must pass it on in the form of big talk, big release, big debate, and big-character posters."③ The "Four Great Principles" have been passed down from 1957 to the "Cultural Revolution", and have been "greatly developed" during the "Cultural Revolution". ...Naturally, this is a later story. Since Mao Zedong advocated Da Ming Da Fang, in 1957, people from all walks of life enthusiastically participated in Da Ming Da Fang.

The harbinger of making a big splash can be regarded as the "movie gongs and drums" in the film industry. The "movie gongs and drums" were first sounded in Shanghai's "Wen Wei Po". In 1957, "Wen Wei Po" was a newspaper with ups and downs in the Chinese political arena.Here, by the way, I would like to mention the rather tortuous history of Wen Wei Po. "Wen Wei Po" was first published in Shanghai on January 25, 1938: "Wen Wei Po was bred by a little-known 'Xin Xin Club'. The main characters were Yan Baoli and some of his colleagues and friends .” ①

Yan Baoli is a native of Wujiang, Jiangsu Province. He used to be the financial inspector of the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway Bureau and the Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway Bureau.He rented room No. 313 for a long time in the Xinxin Hotel opened by Xinxin Company on Nanjing Road, Shanghai. He often met with his friends in the room and formed the "Xinxin Club".At that time, Shanghai was controlled by the Japanese army and there were few newspapers.Yan Baoli decided to start a large-scale daily with the "Xinxin Club" as the backbone.This newspaper is Wen Wei Po.Therefore, "Wen Wei Po" appeared as a "non-governmental newspaper" from the very beginning.

Since then, "Wen Wei Po" has gone through many vicissitudes and ceased publication several times.In late May 1947, the Shanghai "Wen Wei Po" was closed by the Kuomintang government.As a result, many "Wen Wei Po" staff moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong, and on September 9, 1948, Hong Kong "Wen Wei Po" was established in Hong Kong.So far, there is still a "Wen Wei Po" in Hong Kong, which is how it came about. Shanghai "Wen Wei Po" resumed publication on June 21, 1949.It was a private newspaper at that time.From January 1, 1953, Shanghai Wen Wei Po became a public-private joint venture.

From April 1956, the "Wen Wei Po" agency moved from Shanghai to Beijing, merged with Beijing's "Primary Teacher" magazine, and became the official newspaper of the Ministry of Education - "Teacher News". However, the transformation of "Wen Wei Po" into "Teacher's Daily" greatly limited the newspaper.Moreover, most of the editors of "Wen Wei Po" lived in Shanghai, and the move of the newspaper to Beijing caused the husband and wife to live apart, which made people miss Shanghai. Zhou Enlai noticed the extensive social influence of "Wen Wei Po" in the past, and thought it was inappropriate to merge "Wen Wei Po" into "Teacher's Daily", so he suggested that "Wen Wei Po" should resume publication.As a result, Wen Wei Po moved back to Shanghai and resumed publication on October 1.

At that time, Wen Wei Po had Xu Zhucheng as the president and editor-in-chief, Yan Baoli and Ke Ling (also deputy editor-in-chiefs) as the vice-presidents, and Liu Huozi, Pu Xixiu, Qin Benli, Guo Gen, and Tang Hai as the other deputy editors-in-chief.Among them, Xu Zhucheng, Yan Baoli, Pu Xixiu, etc. are not members of the Communist Party of China. In this way, in Shanghai at that time, "Liberation Daily" was the official newspaper of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, while "Wen Wei Po" was a "non-governmental newspaper" under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (before 1949, "Wen Wei Po" was the "influenced newspaper" of the Communist Party of China). " under a private newspaper).

Probably because of the different "identities" of "Wen Wei Po" and "Liberation Daily", their fates in 1957 were completely different. At the beginning of the resumption of publication of "Wen Wei Po", I really wanted to make a few shots.At that time, Mao Zedong had just put forward the "double hundred" policy of "let a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend", and "Wen Wei Po" took it as its mission to "sing the gongs to clear the way for the double hundred policies". "Wen Wei Po" had set up a Beijing office as early as September 1949, with Pu Xixiu as its director.At this time, the Beijing office is still set up.

There is a female reporter in the Beijing office, named Yao Fangzao, who is just in her early thirties.She is a native of Yin County, Zhejiang Province. She graduated from the research class of China Journalism College in 1946 and worked as a reporter for "Lianhe Evening News" and Hong Kong "Wen Wei Po". In order to "blame the gong to clear the way" for the "Double Hundred" policy, the Beijing office of "Wen Wei Po" made a fuss about the film issue.Yao Fangzao recalled how the "movie gongs and drums" were first sounded: I went to the Literature and Art Department of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to find Zhong Dianfu, and prepared to listen to his opinions. This was the first time I stepped into the Central Propaganda Department, and it was also the first time I saw Zhong Dianfu.

The Central Propaganda Department is located inside the red wall on the beach, which used to be a corner of the Forbidden City.Rows of low bungalows have long been dilapidated after hundreds of years of ups and downs.I think, in the past, it might have been the residence of the little eunuch, and Zhong Dianfu sat there alone in a small room.Although we met for the first time, we seemed to be close friends.He was already well-known for his articles on film reviews in newspapers and periodicals.I admire his article very much, and think it is free from dogma and stereotypes.Originally, in my imagination, he was very tall, but in fact, he looked so short, wearing a gray cloth tunic suit, with a relaxed and uninhibited look.Behind the deep lenses, a pair of small eyes shone with a deep light. When I talked to him about our newspaper’s plan to discuss issues in order to implement the “Double Hundred” policy, he immediately said: “There are so many issues in film that are worth discussing.” He was very excited and told me about the issues in film work in detail , he said: "The movie has narrow themes, the same story, and a formula of content and concept. Who likes to watch it? So the box office value is extremely poor, and often the cost cannot be recovered." Zhong Dianfei talked eloquently about the problems existing in the film work. He talked for nearly two hours in one breath.He is a cadre in charge of film in the Department of Literature and Art of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. I believe that his research on film issues and the accumulation of materials have by no means happened overnight, but have been carefully considered.His words attracted me very much and made me have a strong interest in the movie.I believe that it is very valuable to discuss these on the page, and it can implement the spirit of the double hundred policy, and it will definitely attract the attention of readers.I decided to actively suggest that newspapers discuss film issues. In this way, on November 14, 1956, "Wen Wei Po" launched a discussion on film issues.On this day, "Wen Wei Po" published a news report "The attendance rate of domestic films is not good" and distributed a short commentary "Why are there so few good domestic films?" ", also distributed two reader contributions.Thus, the "movie gongs and drums" sounded! Indeed, the poor attendance rate of domestic films is a major problem related to film creation: since October 1949, several films that were popular with audiences and had a high attendance rate, such as "White Hair" Female", ", "Plain Guerrilla" and so on.However, most of the domestic films do not have a high attendance rate.Taking Shanghai as an example, the attendance rate of "One Proposal" was only 9%, that of "Land" was 20%, and that of "Spring Breeze Blows to the Nuomin River" and "Minjiang Orange Red" were 100%. Twenty-three. According to statistics, from 1953 to June 1956, a total of more than 100 domestic films were distributed, but more than 70% of them did not recover their costs.Others recovered only 10 percent of the cost.And there are even more films that have not even recovered the advertising fee. A short commentary in Wen Wei Po pointed out that the editorial department often receives letters from readers, who believe that the common problems of domestic films are: "Narrow themes, similar stories, formulaic and conceptual content"; "When you read the beginning, you know the end." The short comment clearly raised a question: "Why are there so few good domestic films?" A stone stirs up a thousand waves.Today's "Wen Wei Po" has attracted widespread attention.People in the film industry and the general audience have participated in this big discussion.