Chapter 135 Silence was imprisoned for twenty years by a cartoon

Silence this man, the Shanghai newspapers call him a "Hong Kong sculptor", and the Hong Kong newspapers call him a "Shanghai sculptor".In fact, it is correct to say: he holds a Hong Kong passport and settled down in Hong Kong, so of course he can be regarded as a Hong Kong sculptor; however, he originally worked in Shanghai and still has an apartment in Shanghai, so he can also be regarded as a Shanghai sculptor.Throughout the year, he runs between Hong Kong and Shanghai.He always said, "Hong Kong sculptor", "Shanghai sculptor" and "Chinese sculptor" are the most appropriate!

The experience of being silent about this person is quite peculiar.I vaguely remember that he once said to me by chance: "Don't look at me, I am sculpting and going into the sea at the same time, and people call me 'Hong Kong boss'. In fact, I was an out-and-out working class and a very orthodox CCP. Party member! I had a haircut and never oiled it. I never wore pointed leather shoes. I thought it was a 'bourgeois lifestyle'. In terms of revolutionary qualifications, I was a retired cadre. Later, I became a 'rightist'... " He is currently investing and setting up a factory in Shanghai, and he is a veritable "Hong Kong boss".How did he change from the working class, a revolutionary cadre, and a member of the Communist Party of China to a "rightist", a "Hong Kong sculptor", and a "Hong Kong boss"? "Oh, it's a long story..." Shen Mo broke the silence this time, talking about his tortuous life.He told me that according to his legendary experience, Hong Kong is preparing to shoot the TV series "Sculpture Life".

He spent more than four hours telling me about his "life in sculpture".I seem to feel that his life path is always marked with the distinctive imprint of the times... Silence was originally his pseudonym.His real name is Shen Zhida.In 1932, he was born in the hometown of Shaoxing Opera—a village in Shengxian County, Zhejiang Province. No wonder he still speaks "Shaoxing Mandarin".His father, Shen Shugen, was a middle peasant.Silence, as a young man in the countryside, originally spent his life silently on that land. On the eve of liberation, Shen Mo was studying in Shengxian Middle School. A sudden unfortunate incident changed his life.

It was his hall uncle who was the mayor at the time, and he had a conflict with his father.The township head had a pistol and wounded his father with the gun, and severely wounded his third brother (later died).The mayor threatened that he still had twelve bullets in his pistol, and the twelve members of Shen Mo's family happened to "eat" one bullet each! Shen Mo, who goes to school in the county, has to walk five miles to get home.On the road, it is easy to be attacked by the township chief.His family members told him to run away and never go home. Where can a rural youth escape to?He heard that there was a CCP guerrilla group on the mountain called the "Three-Five Detachment", so he defected there.Therefore, according to his qualifications, he is now a genuine retired cadre.

A few months later, the Chinese People's Liberation Army marched southward, and the red flag was planted in Sheng County.Silent changed from a guerrilla to a student at the Military University of the Second Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.He wore a military uniform and pinned the symbols of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.From then on, he became a member of the Red Army. At that time, military universities flowed with the army.The "flow" of silence has "flowed" from Zhejiang to Sichuan and is stationed in Hechuan.He was in the 35th Division of the Twelfth Army, and the division commander was Li Desheng.

Mr. Mo Moyuan suffered from lung disease, which relapsed shortly after enlisting in the army, and he vomited blood endlessly.Helpless, in May 1952, he had to be demobilized and "flow" from Sichuan to Shanghai.From then on, scenes of tragedies and comedies in his "sculpture life" took place in Shanghai. Shen Mo has loved art since elementary school.His teacher saw his paintings and said that he would be very promising in the future and would become a painter.He came to Shanghai and was assigned to a large factory in Shanghai, the Shanghai Smelter.Considering that he loves painting, Shen Shen was assigned to the factory union as the deputy director of publicity and the director of the club.The silence at this time was twenty years old.

Because Shen Mo had fought guerrillas and joined the army, he was active in his work, and his life style was simple—that is to say, “no oil on his hair, no pointed leather shoes”, he became the target of the party organization in the factory. .In 1955, Shen Mo joined the CCP.At this time, he was only twenty-three years old.He comes from the countryside, has been a soldier, and is now a working class. He is a combination of "workers, peasants, and soldiers." If he steps up the Red Road step by step, he may become a considerable cadre. However, he is not good at politics, but the quality of an artist.At that time, he liked painting, kneading mud and making sculptures.He became a correspondent for the Shanghai Labor Daily, drawing cartoons for the newspaper.Since another correspondent in the factory took the pseudonym "Blur", he took "Silence" as his pen name, which means "Speak nonsense abruptly, be silent and silent".

Never expected that this "quiet silence" caused a catastrophe because of a cartoon! That was in 1957, when the CCP launched the rectification movement, the workers in the factory were dissatisfied with the factory manager and wanted to draw cartoons in silence.The director of the factory was an old cadre. After he came to Shanghai, he abandoned his wife in Shandong Xiaojiao and married another young woman in Shanghai.What a coincidence, there was a comic magazine in Shanghai at the time, and it had just published a comic "Chen Shimei Denies Ex-Wife", which satirizes the same phenomenon.Shen Shen used that cartoon as a blueprint, enlarged it, drew it into a big-character poster, and posted it in the factory.This big-character poster immediately caused a sensation in the whole factory...

Silence sowed the seeds of disaster. Soon, the "Anti-Rightist" movement began.Initially, Mo Mo was not regarded as a "rightist", because after all he was born as a "red kid" and a member of the Communist Party of China, so there was no "class hatred" to speak of.So it was just "decentralization" of Shen Mo: Mo Mo was sent to Zhangmiao Village in the northern suburbs of Shanghai, and served as the club director in Songnan Township. The "Anti-Rightist" movement is in full swing in China.One by one "rightists" in the Shanghai smelter were found out, but the "quantity" was not enough, and "remedial lessons" were needed!Therefore, in 1958, the "Anti-Rightist Supplementary Lesson" was launched.

Silence, who was originally working in the countryside, thought he could escape this political disaster.Unexpectedly, the factory suddenly sent a car to pick him up.He was "made up" as a "rightist" and criticized in the factory.Criticism comes and goes, all because he drew that cartoon. The "logic" of "criticism" is this: Painting "Chen Shimei Denies Ex-Wife" is to "vilify veteran revolutionary cadres"; To "vilify veteran revolutionary cadres" is to "vilify the party"; "Buglining the Party" means "anti-Party";

"Anti-Party" means "rightists"! Mo Mo was labeled as a "rightist" because of his paintings, and was punished by expulsion from the party, demotion and salary reduction.He was reduced to a "secondary clerk" with a monthly salary of 53 yuan. Silence went to the countryside again.This time, he is no longer a "decentralized cadre", but a "five types of elements" who are "supervised labor". At that time, he was only twenty-six years old, and he felt sad as if he was carrying a heavy cross. Mo Mo farms in Nanshen Village, Songnan Township.His residence, known as "foreign house" - was originally a sheep house.When it rains, he does not go to the ground, and silently idles in the "foreign house".Looking at the wet mud in front of the door, he had an idea, why not use mud to make sculptures! In this way, he put his political loss out of the blue.The countryside is full of mud, and living alone in a "foreign house" is undisturbed, and there is plenty of time.Silence is fascinated by sculpture.The political turmoil forced Silence to become a sculpture artist! Sculpture made him forget the pain, and he devoted himself to the art world. After more than a year of "supervising labor" in the countryside, he was finally transferred back to the factory. In the factory, he was still "supervised labor".He was transferred to transport copper.The copper parts were so heavy that he collapsed from exhaustion: not only the old disease recurred and he vomited blood, but also a new disease-high blood pressure. He had to take long sick leave.The infirmary gave him a sick leave form for three months. Unexpectedly, this disease provided him with a good opportunity to learn sculpture! Zhang Chongren is a well-known sculptor in Shanghai.There is a saying in Shanghai: "The art school is easy to pass, but it is difficult to enter the Chongren Studio." The so-called "Chongren Studio" is actually a private art school run by Zhang Chongren.The tuition fees charged there are very high, so the students there are almost all from rich families. Mo Mo admired Zhang Chongren for a long time, and wanted to study in Chongren's studio.However, with his monthly salary of 53 yuan, how could he enter the threshold of Chongren Studio? Silence during sick leave, went to the painter Yan Wenliang for help.In the past, when Mo Mo was working in the labor union of the factory, he went to the Shanghai Workers' Cultural Palace to learn painting and sculpture, and met teacher Yan Wenliang. Yan Wenliang and Zhang Chongren have a good friendship.Hearing the silent request for help, he immediately called Zhang Chongren.Yan Wenliang introduced Shen Mo to Zhang Chongren on the phone, and asked Zhang Chongren to accept Shen Mo as a student.Zhang Chongren did not agree.So, that call became a "marathon call."Yan Wenliang "grinded" with Zhang Chongren on the phone, but Zhang Chongren never let go. After more than half an hour of phone calls, there was still no progress.Yan Wenliang had to take a step back: "Let Shen Mo bring the work to you, and you can give him some pointers, okay?" Now, Zhang Chongren agreed. So Mo Mo hurried home—at that time, he lived in his elder brother’s house in Shanghai, selected his own sketches, watercolors, reliefs and other works, and rushed to Zhang’s house on Hefei Road, Shanghai with a feeling of nervousness and excitement. A building with three ups and three downs is where the "Chongren Studio" is located.After Shen Mo went in, Zhang Chongren's daughter asked him to wait in the living room.After a while, footsteps were heard on the stairs, and Shen Mo stood up quickly.Sure enough, Mr. Zhang Chongren, whom he admired, came. After Zhang Chongren sat down, he slowly looked at Silence's works.He first looked at silent still life sketches—sketch is the basic skill of sculpture.After watching it, Mr. Zhang said something completely out of silence: "If you ask me to paint, it will not be much better than you." This shows that Mr. Zhang has quite a good eye. Next, Zhang Chongren looked at the silent watercolor.This time, he shook his head and said that the watercolors were not very good. Finally, looking at the sculptures, he shook his head and nodded again. Mr. Zhang made a general evaluation of Shen Mo's works: "If you continue to work hard, within three years, you can become an excellent sculptor!" Mo Mo hurriedly asked: "Mr. Zhang, can I study with you?" Zhang Chongren replied: "Yes." The god of destiny is so strange.What a mistake, the "rightist" unjust case turned Shen Mo to sculpture art, and the disease caused by "supervising labor", coupled with Zhang Chongren's insight and love of talent, gave Shen Mo the opportunity to further study in Chongren Studio - he This sculptor was so "shaped" by fate! As soon as the "Cultural Revolution" turmoil started, Zhang Chongren became a striking target.The Red Guards took up the "iron broom" and ransacked the property of Chongren's studio.Mr. Zhang Chongren's carefully sculpted works were swept into the "historical garbage dump".Shen Mo is the only "working class" in Chongren's studio, and he secretly transfers gold ornaments for his teacher.For fear of losing something, he wrapped the gold in his belt and stayed with him all day long, so as to live up to the great trust of his mentor... However, he could no longer learn sculpture skills from his mentor. The God of Destiny once again made a big joke with him: the raging wave of "revolution" made him unable to settle down in sculpture, and he turned from art to politics again.Silence, which had been silent for many years, became active on the stage of the "Cultural Revolution" for a while. At that time, the demobilized soldiers organized a nationwide rebel organization - the "Red Guard".Mo Mo is a demobilized soldier. He not only joined the "Red Guards", but also became the head of the Shanghai headquarters of the "Red Guards". Silence had only been active for a few days before the "Red Guards" were banned.The headquarters of the "Red Guard Army" on Huashan Road in Shanghai was suddenly surrounded, and Shen Mo was arrested while jumping over the wall. As a result, the old account of "removing the rightist hat" was revealed—although Mo Mo had already taken off the label of "rightist" in 1961, he was still a "rightist without the hat" when he took off his hat. At this time, "old accounts are settled together with new accounts", and the old accounts of the "rightists who have taken off their hats" are added to the new accounts of the leader of the "Red Guards". He becomes a "bad leader", that is, a "counter-revolutionary".As a result, he was sent to the detention center of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau and became a prisoner. In his dreams, he often returns to Chongren's studio, where he makes sculptures with mud.After waking up, I had to look up to the sky and sigh.In the "foreign house", although he is the object of "supervised labor", there is still endless mud for his sculptures.However, in the prison, there is only concrete floor and no mud. He was very itchy, and when he washed his hands with soap, he suddenly had an "inspiration": Isn't this soap can be used for sculpture?The problem of materials has been settled, but it is still not possible without tools.He used chopsticks to grind on the cement toilet, and finally ground it into a carving knife. So, behind the guard's back, he quietly relived his sculpture dream.Using his fellow inmates as models, he sculpted Yiyi Rusheng's head with soap, to the surprise of the inmates! As a result, a strange phenomenon occurred: when the prisoners "visited" their families once a month, they all asked the family members to bring a few pieces of daily soap when they visited the prison next time! In fact, it was Silent. After comparing various soaps, he found that only daily soap was neither soft nor hard, and was the most suitable for sculpture.What's more, the daily-use soap is orange-yellow in color, and the sculpture made is almost like a boxwood carving. It is placed on the window sill, facing the sun, it is translucent, and has the texture of jade. The "soap sculpture" that Shen Mo "invented" in prison is unique.The inmates carefully preserved these silent "soap sculptures". He was released in 1971 after spending four years in prison for the crime of "bad leader". After he was released from prison, he still returned to the Shanghai smelter.However, he was quickly seconded by Yangpu Park.There is a group of sculptures of young pioneers to be built, please proceed in silence. Although the wave of the "Cultural Revolution" was still there, Mo Mo finally passed a period of "happy" days.He was constantly seconded, here to carve clay figures for the "Class Struggle Education Exhibition", and there to contribute to the statue of so-and-so.Only on the day when the salary is paid, he "appears" in this unit.This is much more comfortable than being in prison, not to mention being engaged in the sculpture business he loves... With the spring breeze of reform and opening up, the silent parents-in-law were allowed to move to Macau.The silent wife also moved to Macau with her two sons.This time, only Shen Mo was left alone in Shanghai. Shen Mo buried himself in sculpture, entering the golden years of his artistic career.He became very busy, and his new works came out continuously, and he won the reputation of "Oriental Rodin".He was seconded to Shanghai Oil Sculpture Studio to engage in professional creation. Soon, Mo Mo was allowed to move to Hong Kong—originally, he should have moved to Macau. He thought that Hong Kong's situation was bigger and more suitable for him.With the consent of the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau, he was approved to go to Hong Kong.He was originally scheduled to leave Shanghai on December 16, 1982. In order to make a statue for Ba Jin, he postponed his trip and did not go to Hong Kong until it was completed. Silence gained a firm foothold in Hong Kong.He has since become a "Hong Kong sculptor". His most influential work is "Cultural Revolution" Monument.That was when he responded to the writer Ba Jin's suggestion of establishing a "Cultural Revolution" museum, thinking that there should be a "Cultural Revolution" monument.He made a sculpture of a nude woman tied to the Huabiao pillar in front of Tiananmen Square with four ropes at the neck, chest, waist, and ankles.A skeleton at the woman's feet symbolizes the compatriots who died in the "Cultural Revolution".This work participated in the 4th Asian International Art Exhibition and attracted people's attention. The Hong Kong newspapers praised: "The realism has both form and spirit, as if it is infused with life, and the statue made by Silence is breathing." It also said: "The artistic creation of Silence is based on realism, and it properly absorbs the expression techniques of Western modernism. The portrait has both form and spirit. Not only is it lifelike, but it also expresses the spiritual outlook of the characters." In 1989, Mo Mo was invited to Taiwan.He also received extensive coverage in the news media in Taiwan.A Taiwanese magazine commented on Shen Mo's works: "He has a high attainment in realism, and the three-dimensional head looks like a delicate, rough and delicate." Shen Mo has money in his hand, so he returns to Shanghai to invest and set up a factory.As a result, he became the "Hong Kong boss" again. He said to me with emotion: "As a Chinese intellectual, I have gone through all kinds of hardships. My artistic attainments are the result of untold hardships!"