DOI: 10.4324/b22838-3
Mao Zedong and his comrades led the CPC in establishing the People’s Republic of China. However, the Cultural Revolution damaged the new China they established through its turmoil. Deng Xiaoping’s return, as well as the idea of rehabilitation more generally, came to represent the way China had entered a new era. In this brand new political, economic, and cultural climate, it became valuable and meaningful to study how films could imagine and represent New China in a new era onscreen. At the time, old traditions, thoughts, and habits were intertwined with new hopes, ideas, and trends, creating various tensions in society. How this situation was represented in images and text is worthy of in-depth research. At the time, the planned economy was still dominant, but it coexisted with a timid market economy. Under these circumstances, a number of questions emerge: how did films envision an idealistic future for people who had recovered from the Cultural Revolution? How was the increasing influence of the market economy and the corrosive force of globalization gradually deconstructing this type of idealism and allowing for materialism and consumerism to infiltrate? All of these social traces are worthy of investigation.
Imaginings of returning to the pre-Cultural Revolution, 17-year period gradually faded away after the temporary yearnings that lasted from the end of the 1970s until the early 1980s. As political and economic relations adjusted, it became practical on several levels to restore relations between cadres, the public, and individuals, but it was impossible for society to replicate the nature of life in the 17-year period during the new era. This was because there was a new problem that did not exist in the 17-year period. That problem was the newfound openness to the mainstream world, especially as defined by Western countries. Once that door was opened, people’s horizons were broadened: they witnessed different lifestyles and were exposed to new philosophies, all of which changed their opinions of themselves and their surroundings. Even though the leadership experience of Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yun, Li Xiannian, and others from the 17-year period could still serve as reference points, after the implementation of Reform and Opening Up policies, images of China in the new era were different from those of the 17-year period. These new images incorporated several elements from the 17-year period: for example, good relations between cadres and the public, as well as honest administrative teams who corresponded to the people’s expectations. However, after China had opened its doors to the world in the 1980s, new images were constructed that incorporated modem and Western ideas born of either new self-imaginings or imitation and duplication of the West. After all, images of China were no longer being constructed in a closed environment.
During the 100-year period from the Opium Wars until 1949, China had been constantly attacked, invaded, and carved up, being regarded as the “sick man of East Asia” by Western powers. After the May Fourth Movement in 1919, the intellectual force of the Chinese people was stimulated, and dreams of a powerful China grew in intensity. In 1949, Mao Zedong declared in Tiananmen Square that “the Chinese people have stood up." These few words represented the goal that hundreds of millions Chinese people had striven for across generations and centuries. The People’s Republic of China became a vessel for realizing dreams of a powerful China. The revolutionary ambitions and lofty sentiments of development during the 1950s emerged from a narrative emphasizing the need to wash away 100 years of humiliation, to rebuild the nation, and to reestablish the national image. According to Wang Yichuan:
From the early 1950s until the early 1960s, people’s imaginings of modern China converged and a new image of China seemed to have been created with the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the development of socialist revolution, and the implementation of national construction. This new China was marked by the nationalization of social relations and the modernization of social production. This new image was formed according to a basic belief: what is imagined is also real, or, in other words, where there is some measure of imagination there will be some measure of reality. This shows that the new conditions of public ownership and modernization seemed so promising and hopeful that people believed that an imagined beautiful China would be created out of devastation.1
These ideas reflected faith in the belief that man can conquer nature and that everything people can imagine can also be achieved. The productivity of the land could increase indefinitely as long as people were bold enough to imagine it could. In the face of natural laws, people emphasized the expansion of voluntarism and subjectivity. As a result, people imagined the future of China in a subjective manner. The Great Leap Forward was a tragedy caused by people who envisioned the future with goodwill and idealism.
While constructing the new China, Mao Zedong and other national leaders drew on lessons from historical experience. They were fully aware that in order to build a powerful China, it was necessary to promote modernization. It was necessary to improve the basic conditions for modernization in what was then a damaged agricultural country as quickly as possible. However, Mao Zedong’s attitudes to modernization were contradictory. On the one hand, he took a stance of “the more, the better” towards the material achievements of modernization, believing it was possible to transcend reality and leapfrog stages of development through efforts such as the expansion of iron and steel production, the Great Leap Forward, and the goal of “surpassing Britain and catching up to the US.” On the other hand, he worried about the ideological aspects of development, thinking that adopting the values of modernization from Western powers would erode the Chinese people, which the new China did not want to accept. According to Chen Xiaoming:
Regarding modernization. Mao Zedong experienced inner turmoil, knowing that his country needed it, but, at the same time, worrying that modernization would change the character of the country. The latter aspect he disliked. Mao wanted China to have similar productive and technological capabilities to developed countries so as to surpass Britain and catch up to the US. Meanwhile, he hoped to keep out social results of the modem mode of production and modern technology such as changing economic and commercial systems, lifestyles, ethical and moral standards, and culture, as well as the aesthetic ideologies common outside of China. Although the utopian nature of this model of modernization was revealed shortly after its implementation, it dominated Chinese social development from the 1950s to the 1970s.2
Deng Xiaoping inherited the imaginings of modernization advocated for during the 17-year period. After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, realizing the four modernizations became the overall goal of all political and economic work under the Reform and Opening Up policies of the 1980s. Obviously, Deng Xiaoping’s attitude towards modernization was more open than that of Mao Zedong. He realized that modernization was necessary to achieve the dream of a powerful China. Modernization represented a process of learning from the developed countries in the West. Even though that did not mean wholesale copying, it was necessary to learn, and the first step was opening up to the West. With the importation of technologies from the West, personnel from foreign countries entered China, and Chinese people traveled abroad. In this process of two-way communication, lifestyles and values from the Western world were brought into China. Unlike Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping did not give up on opening up the country out of fear that the side effects would erode the Chinese people. He acknowledged that, when China opened its doors, it might attract some flies, but China should not close its doors out of fear of flies. Therefore, during the Deng Xiaoping era, in the 1980s, there were two major policies that were emphasized. One was to stick to Reform and Opening Up policies, and the other was to adhere to the Four Cardinal Principles (upholding the socialist path, upholding the people’s democratic dictatorship, upholding the leadership of the CPC, and upholding Mao Zedong Thought and Marxism-Leninism) and to oppose bourgeois liberalization. The influence of these two policies greatly impacted Chinese society and determined the course of development.
During the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese people suffered the consequences of despotism, ignorance, and acting blindly. Through Reform and Opening Up, Chinese people realized that there was a large gap between China and other countries in both the West and its own backyard. Aware of its weaknesses. China began to strive for progress. The 1980s were full of admiration for and worship of modernization and modernity. Modernization represented progress, civilization, and hope. In Li Zehou’s influential monograph On Modern Chinese Thought (Zhongguo jindai sixiangshi), the postscript recounts that,
after the smashing of the Gang of Four, China had entered a period of awakening: the value systems of the superstructure that developed from the foundation of agricultural productivity would fade away and the four modernizations would finally be realized. The flag of people’s democracy will wave in the sky of this ancient feudal nation with thousands of years of history.3
This represented a typical opinion of the time. Amid this process of such drastic social and cultural transformations, new trends were also revealed in the reproduction of culture.
Film production in this new era not only sorted through people’s suffering during the Cultural Revolution, as well as addressing the themes of rehabilitation common to the time: more importantly, it became a task for filmmakers to reproduce people’s daily lives and portray a future where the beautiful dreams of the 1980s—a time when people were in high spirits despite the lack of material goods—came true. On April 23, 1985, Xi Zhongxun, a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee as well as the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, addressed the Fifth Member Representative Conference of the China Film Association, saying:
Film is a lively and impressive art of images that carries great influence. It should keep up with the times as well as the Four Modernizations. Through different themes and forms, film should reflect and eulogize life, mobilizing people’s patriotism and their positive and industrious spirit so as to strive for the Four Modernizations and national rejuvenation. This is a glorious political task for filmmakers. I hope that our comrades can be brave enough to shoulder this responsibility, diving deep into life, getting in touch with reality, and maintaining close connections with the people in order to learn and absorb from them. This will produce more and better films that make appropriate contributions to the construction of material and spiritual civilization.4
These ideas represented both the directions of the government and the wishes of filmmakers during the 1980s. At that time, the interaction between film production and social reality reached a level that was relatively high for the history of Chinese film. Filmmakers dove deep into, learned about, experienced, and reproduced life. In the process, they imagined the future with ardent enthusiasm. Films at that time not only depicted the different kinds of lives and social realities of China, as well as speaking to the mainstream values of society in the 1980s: they also broadened the space of imagination for the future of China after the Cultural Revolution.
Awareness of living in a new era was broadly accepted by every stratum of society from the end of the 1970s to the early stages of the 1980s. The core of this belief was an ardent wish for modernization that embraced science and democracy.5
This view captures the general cultural atmosphere of the times. Accordingly, narratives about scientific culture occupied a relatively important position in the films of the 1980s. The Young Kids (Xiaozibei, dir. Wang Jiayi and Luo Tai, 1979) is about young people from all walks of life who devote themselves to the Four Modernizations and make innovations. The Happy Bachelors (Kaile de danshenhan, dir. Song Chong, 1983) tells the story of young workers receiving education to improve themselves. A Story of Fortune Makers (Gemen facaiji, dir. Cui Dongsheng, 1988) is about people creating technological innovations with commercial value. In the first half of the 1980s, a high level of recognition of the value of knowledge on the spiritual level was achieved. Because the gap between rich and poor was not large at that time, material aspects did not play a decisive role in the values recognized by mainstream society. After 1986, as reforms deepened, and the laissez-faire commodity economy grew to a certain extent, a small number of people became wealthy by all kinds of means. This caused a great shock to Chinese society, where, for a long time, everyone had been poor, It also displaced the existing social value system and caused the appearance of new standards for determining value. This ultimately resulted in a serious rupture between spiritual and material recognition. Intellectuals cried out during Reform and Opening Up owing to the desperate disappointment caused by the severe mismatch between their imagined future and the real development trends in China. They changed from praising the Opening Up policies to being dubious about the actual implementation of these policies.
Starting with the Great Leap Forward in the 1950s, Chinese people were asked to try living collectively. Since then, the People’s Commune System had confined farmers to “grassroots” units such as production teams while urban residents were placed in factories, government agencies, and other departments. Residential committees managed the lives of urban residents, and people’s private spheres shrunk sharply. The economy’s planned rationing system reduced daily economic activities to a low level. In the chaotic times of the Cultural Revolution, people’s daily lives were politicized, and their private living standards were reduced to a relatively low level. During that period, Chinese society turned completely political, and politics determined everything. The campaign of “fighting against selfishness and criticizing revisionism” thoroughly uprooted the ethical relations of the family; values of age and hierarchy were destroyed in the name of revolution and counter-revolution; social relations were re-sorted according to political labels; secular life was invaded by political power; the private sphere narrowed severely; and individual behaviors were guided by politics as lives became severely restricted. This influenced people’s independence and creativity. During the period of social recovery after the Cultural Revolution, it was primarily acknowledged that people had the right to control their own lives within the limits of the law, and that their wishes should be respected and fulfilled. This became an important standard for realization of personal values.
Although people’s daily lives could move forward, during the 1980s collective values were still dominant. Personal development was connected to plans for national and collective development. However, conditions still differed from the authoritarian strategies that forced individuals to remain consistent with the collective during the Cultural Revolution. It was hoped that consistency in values could be achieved through more voluntary means in this new era. These desired consistent values fused visions of personal development and plans for national modernization.
After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, the importance of Reform and Opening Up and reflecting on the Cultural Revolution were emphasized. Ideas of enlightenment were reevaluated, and the image of the intellectual was magnified. But intellectuals themselves were still controlled by idealism and romanticism. Intellectuals’ plans and imaginings for society still bore traces of idealism, utopianism, and radicalism. They took a positive view of China’s future, but lacked knowledge about the long-term difficulties of realizing societal modernization. Radical impulses still existed, and people believed that developments such as the national mechanization of agriculture in 1980 could be easily reproduced. These radicals took a positive attitude towards imagining and designing society. It was believed that, with clear objectives, it would be easy to achieve people’s wishes and solve China’s problems. This optimism pervaded every level of society, and these types of positive social imaginings could be found in all kinds of texts. For example, these views were expressed in the songs “On the Fields of Hope” (Zai xiwang de tianye shang), “Please Come to the End of the Earth” (Qing dao tianyahaijiao lai), "Summer Island” (Taiyangdao shang), and “Our Life Is Full of Sunshine” (Women de shenghuo chongman yangguang), as well as the films A Sweet Life (Tianmi de shiye, dir. Xie Tian, 1979) and The Young Kids. These all brimmed with optimism.
From 1979 to 1980, three interesting films—A Sweet Life, The Young Kids, and What a Family (Qiaozhe yijiazi, dir. Wang Haowei. 1979)—were screened in China. Different from the films of the Cultural Revolution, as well as the “scar films” that were made to show pity and pain, these three films portrayed the new image of China. They paid attention to daily life and secular happiness and were brave enough to portray love. The atmosphere of class struggle dissipated, and a shining, bright, youthful, and positive attitude suffused the screen and touched the audience. These films were light comedies. They signaled the transformation of screen images in China, marking that those Chinese films had parted with depictions of class straggle and had entered a new time of sunshine. Culturally, it was necessary to represent images of the new China and to contrast it with the previous era defined by class struggle. These practices could help the audience identify with new realities and look forward to the future. These films addressed the sufferings of the Cultural Revolution from a tangential perspective, attaching more importance to the joys of reality. They appealed to young people to hurry to study culture so as to make up for the losses of the Cultural Revolution and to assiduously build the blocks of a better future that matched people’s wishes. These films ’ beautiful visions supported people in their struggles, serving as a spiritual source that guided people to look to the future with fervent expectations of happiness. Because these films heralded this new era. the government celebrated them. ThenMinister Huang Zhen of the Ministry of Culture contended;
Films that directly show the lives of Chinese people in the present day—especially those such as What a Family, The Young Kids and Twins Come in Pairs that reflect the work, study, lives, and love in this new long march—all reveal the problems that concern people in the process of the four modernizations. They do this from different perspectives and provide answers. These films also pay tribute to new thoughts as well as people with the aspirations and actions to advance the four modernizations.6
A Sweet Life is a comedy that explains the importance of family planning as a positive and important way to heal those who suffered during the Cultural Revolution. At the beginning of the him, a beaming truck driver is in his track singing “Our Future Is Sweeter than Honey” (Women de shenghuo bi mitian):
Work happilyWork sweetlyHow we live wonderfullyHappy songsSweet songsThey are soaring in the airTo realize the four modernizationsOur futureOur futureWill be sweeter than honey.
This song depicts a time and space that is different from life during the Cultural Revolution. The economic situation, as well as the social activities of production, has returned to normal; people live and work in peace and contentment; and the younger generations are ambitious about changing both their own lives and the whole world through hard work. They are looking forward to the bright future.
The depiction of love in this film has come to be regarded as typical cinematic language revealing characteristics of the time. In the film, Zhao Di goes on a date with her boyfriend in a plantation as sweet intro music plays slowly. The young lovers go with each other, showering in the sunshine of youth and enjoying their freedom and boldness. The cinematic language prolongs the sense of time in this scene. The camera moves slowly to show the beautiful affection between the young lovers while the hit song "Our Life Is Full of Sunshine” plays:
Happy flowers bloom in the heartHoney love songs blow in the windOur young brave hearts fly far awayLooking forward towards a good and great idealDear people go hand in handand hand in handOur happy life is full of sunshineFull of sunshineBeautiful flowers bloomHoney love birds flyingFacing the storm in the long marchContributing youth and strength for the home countryDear people go a hand in handand hand in handOur happy life is full of sunshineFull of sunshine.
Yu Shuzhen performs “Our Future Is Sweeter than Honey” and “Our Life Is Full of Sunshine” with her sweet voice. In the early 1980s, the refreshing lyrics and infectious melodies of these songs guided the Chinese people to open their minds and dream of their new lives in the future. These films and songs were in stark contrast to the films of the Cultural Revolution, which were suffused with the atmosphere of class struggle. In the new films, neither the campaign of “fighting against the selfishness and criticizing revisionism,” nor cruel and fatal battles, nor bloodthirsty slaughter existed. Only 3 years after the smashing of the Gang of Four, the images of China onscreen were totally different. Life was back to normal, and human nature had begun to reawaken. What is remarkable is that the types of feelings films such as A Sweet Life were intended to elicit in people had already completely changed. The film also depicted contradictions and conflicts, with the plot of film focusing on family planning. This had once been a sensitive topic in China that had long caused complaints and problems in society. However, the film deals with family planning during the beginning of the Reform and Opening Up period as a trigger for comedic effects. Ultimately, the film attempted to transmit pressure-free, relaxed, and joyful visions to the audience.
After the intense pressures of the Cultural Revolution, the public needed forms of relaxation, even if that was just in the fictional worlds of the cinema. Films provided a space for people to relax as Chinese society entered a looser time. Beyond its mood, it is also worth emphasizing that A Sweet Life made innovative efforts at using audiovisual languages to convey emotional expression. The song “Our Life Is Full of Sunshine” was used in combination with the slow movements of the camera to depict the young lovers chasing each other and romping through the garden-like field. Love is shown to be beautiful. The slow camera motion prolongs the sense of affection and happiness in this moment while also extending the duration of the scene. This was the first appearance of this type of slow-motion method in Chinese films. At the time, people found it refreshing. But this method of shooting film was soon misused and imitated by other films. It consequently received a large amount of criticism from audiences and came to be regarded as kitsch that pandered to the public. However, it should be acknowledged that, when this method was first employed, it was a technological choice made out of consideration of how to amplify the emotional effects of a scene showing longrepressed love that could finally be expressed.
What a Family is another light comedy, but the core of the narrative continues to express themes that encourage the young generation to work hard. On weekends, instead of resting and relaxing, the young worker Yu Lin conducts study tours and works on technical innovations. He wants to finish experiments in automation in order to improve the efficiency of textile mills, to increase product quality, and to ease the burdens placed on workers. Though in a humble position, he dares not forget Iris concerns that the country should become powerful, containing individuals who have perfected self-improvement. In actuality, not everyone’s consciousness is as high as Yu Lin’s, and his performance is not acknowledged by all. Zhang Lan, played by Liu Xiaoqing, and Jiaqi, played by Chen Peisi, are not outstanding youth according to Yu Lin’s standards. Zhang Lan is a shop assistant at a book store and has a poor customer service attitude. Jiaqi is a young man who has received only a limited education and is ignorant, impractical, and lacking in aspirations. In an interesting scene, Lao Hu, the father of Jiaqi, expresses the desire to learn new ideas and a foreign language to adjust to the needs of the Reform and Opening Up policies after being influenced by a colleague. After learning several letters of the English alphabet, Lao Hu is satisfied and brings a foreign magazine back home. He points at the English word “Japan” to test his son Jiaqi. Jiaqi says the letter J is a hook and the letter A is a spire. Lao Hu says with anger, “do you think this is a game? How do you read this one?” Jiaqi does not know the letter Lao Hu is pointing at. He scratches his ears and cheeks in embarrassment and hesitatingly says “en . . . n.” Hearing “n” from Jiaqi, Lao Hu feels a little relieved and says at least his son knows one of them. Then Lao Hu asks him how to read the character P. Jiaqi casually utters “It looks like a hilt.” This makes Lao Hu explode with anger, rebuking his son: “you piss me off.” Hearing this, Jiaqi happily says, “that’s it, Dad. it’s P.” The film employs a comedic style to shows the emphasis on recovering the value of knowledge common at the time. At the same time, the film’s descriptions of Jiaqi reveal how the Cultural Revolution caused education to be neglected and ruined the cultivation of younger generations.
Descriptions of love are also included in the film. Yu Lin is consumed by his work and knows little about romance. But, at this time when knowledge is emphasized, young women favor his intellectual inclinations, and he never needs to worry about being neglected or deserted. When interacting with his girlfriend, Jiaqi is willing to listen, and ultimately their love guides him back to the path of learning and working towards the four modernizations. In one scene, Xiao Hong, played by Fang Shu, strolls with Jiaqi at night as they confide in each other. Xiao Hong doubts the Gang of Four has achieved much, and what they have accomplished was at the expense of people’s lives. She wonders what parents would think of seeing children who are lively but ignorant. After she utters these words, the scene transitions to one where Jiaqi holds a stack of books and says he wants to study to make up for previous losses. Through such scenes, we can see how books became a significant cultural Symbol of the 1980s. Libraries appear in The Young Kids, Good Things Sever Come Easy, Against the Light (Niguang. dir. Ding Yinnan, 1982), and other films. In What a Family, there is a bookstore. After the burning and restricting of books during the Cultural Revolution, people were eager to embrace them. The knowledge contained in books played an important role in both realizing individual dreams and achieving national prosperity. A poem written by Marshal Ye Jianying reads: “don’t be afraid of the hardship in assaulting a city. Likewise, don’t be afraid of the difficulty of reading a book. There are obstacles in the pursuit of science, but through hard work one can achieve breakthroughs.” This poem influenced youth of the time and was inscribed on the walls of many schools to inspire students. As a national leader, Marshal Ye wrote many poems advocating people read books and acquire knowledge, which became a particular phenomenon during the 1980s. In this environment that emphasized knowledge, films repeatedly underlined these cultural symbols. This represented an important transition in values from the belief that the more knowledge one had, the more reactionary one could be, to the recognition that knowledge is of great importance to the individual and the nation, to an atmosphere where everyone reads books to increase their knowledge.
Both The Young Kids and A Sweet Life are light comedies full of upbeat, positive attitudes that look forward towards a new life. The images of life on the weekend in the films depict the new opportunities for young people whose youth was wasted during the Cultural Revolution. They are eager to make up for their previous losses. As a result of this context, young people in the films gather at the library on weekends, instead of at shopping malls, gardens, or playgrounds. In Good Things Never Come Easy, the characters Shen Zhiyuan and Liu Fang meet each other in a library. At the time, libraries got crowded, and it could be hard to find a seat. Regardless of real life, such films worked to represent the 1980s as a time when people were hungry for books. In The Young Kids, the bus ticket seller Xiaoqing rides a bike to a library on the weekends. The scene uses a smooth tracking shot to show the ticket seller happily bicycling through sun-drenched streets with the theme song of the film, “How Beautiful Is Youth” (Qingchun duo meihao), playing in the background. The lyrics go:
Our life is,so lovely and so pretty,like colorful buds in the spring.To see flowers everywhere tomorrow,
flowers everywhere,we need to industriously irrigate today.Our youth is,so lovely and so pretty.My heart is like,burning morning sunshine sometimes,moonlight shining above the ocean sometimes.When thinking of a more beautiful future,songs fly from the bottom of my heart.
In the 1980s. Chinese people were sensitive about the concept of time owing to the perception the Cultural Revolution had wasted time. A common slogan was: “make up for the previous losses.” On October 26, 1977, the People's Daily published an editorial titled “The Speed Problem Is a Political Issue.” The article emphasized that “the speed of construction was not simply an economic problem but also a political issue. The political nature of this problem is especially acute due to the circumstances of international class straggle.” The editorial went on to make an appeal:
our great homeland has already entered a new period of historical development. We must keep die question of speed in mind and implement it while acting. If we have a high-speed mindset then we will have high-speed action. It is important to frequently compute our three-year, eight-year and twenty-three-year timetables. Time is speed. We must master time, using the spirit of revolution and sacrifice to race against time and vie for speed. This will accelerate the pace of national economic development.7
In 1980s China, the consensus was that time was precious and it was necessary to make up for previous lost time. After the wastes of the Cultural Revolution, Chinese people cherished time more ardently than ever, regarding it as a resource that need be valued and used efficiently. People argued that the effective and scientific use of time could increase returns during the modernization process, thus accelerating the pace of various types of construction.
Soon after China consciously opened its doors to modernization, it became acknowledged that China lagged behind in terms of both space and time. After the Cultural Revolution, Chinese people found themselves lagging behind not only tire Western world, but also tire surrounding countries known as the Four Asian Tigers (South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong—called the Four Little Dragons in Chinese). From studying the course of modem Chinese history, Chinese leaders fully accepted the cruel reality that lagging behind developmentally leaves one vulnerable to attack, and that the main way to avoid this situation is to catch up with other countries. In the process of “catching up,” time and efficiency were considered primary elements to take into account. The country was pursuing the “Shenzhen speed,” while young people were urged to not let time flow away like water. Popular songs of the time were instrumental in promoting this inspirational spirit. The song written in tribute to the 35th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, “Golden Shuttle and Silver Shuttle” (Jinsuo he yinsuo). went:
Golden shuttle and sliver shuttle,work day and night.Time is like flowing water,and urges you and me.Young people, don’t waste time,cherish good days and months.Young people, work hard,don’t miss the golden time.
The spirit in this song is the same as that advocated for in The Young Kids: it is important to hurry when studying and tackling problems. The bus ticket seller Xiaoqing goes to the library to study on weekends, and the inventor Xiaoge continues reading and thinking when riding the bus. Why do they take advantage of every second to learn? Deng Xiaoping clearly explained this attitude in 1978:
science and technology have received unprecedented attention and care from both the Party and the people of the entire country. A large number of scientific and technical workers as well as the masses of ordinary workers, peasants, and soldiers actively carry out scientific experiments. A new trend of loving and learning science has emerged among young people. The craze over marching towards modernization in science and technology is spreading rapidly throughout the country. There are bright and splendid prospects in front of us.8
Under the exhortations of the government, film was seen as logically having its own role in creating myths around knowledge. In The Young Kids, Xiaoge. the cook who bake cakes in the Heping Restaurant, teaches himself reading, even on the bumpy and crowded bus. He concentrates on electronics, making up his mind to learn about automated construction because he wants to automate baking cakes, the broadcasting of station announcements, and traffic lights. When Xiaoge has to stop and rest because of fatigue, he says, “today it’s time to rest, but I am thinking of a more lovely tomorrow.” In addition to the young people in the film, the veteran worker of the Science and Technology Information Institute also races against time, stating: “the older you are, the more necessary it is for you to seize time.” The influence of Xiaoge and others who have devoted themselves to learning and innovation even leads some people with negative attitudes to change their dispirited states. The young worker Xiaohuang vows:
everyone is pursuing science and culture, but I am dawdling. Now, I vow that I will learn from Xiaoge and pursue science and culture in order to make up for lost time. I want to try to make an automatic car washing machine.
According to Huang Mei:
In the process of national construction, promoting this attitude that emphasizes seizing the day and advancing in the face of difficulties is a common feature of many important figures in the new generation of socialists. They see this as necessary to make up for time lost due to the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution. Whether they are the proletarian revolutionaries of older generations, old cadres who have been persecuted in the Cultural Revolution, or the patriotic intellectuals who suffered through the vicissitudes of society, they all share the same spirit. This spirit encourages the Chinese people to maintain their passions for courageously striving for the early realization of the Four Modernizations as well as the construction of two types of highly advanced civilization. Isn’t this the concrete manifestation of loyalty to communist ideals and occupations? Isn’t this the glorious development of communist ideology and the embodiment of lofty communist morality? As depicted in literary works, these advanced figures continuously develop the Party’s fine style, advancing selflessly and fearlessly despite facing difficulties and obstacles. These actions are the concrete manifestation of communist morality.9
According to David Harvey’s classifications of types of social time, it becomes clear that China entered an era of “transcending itself" during the 1980s. It seemed that everything was rushing forward, and society was collectively focused on transformation and innovation. The future had become the present. This type of social time is likely to cause fractures in experience and increase a sense of contingency.10 On a practical level, imaginings of modernization in the 1980s lacked an understanding of the duration of the modernization process. They also underestimated the new problems that would emerge in the process of modernization. The worship of speed also revealed a social problem: anxieties and radical emotions were transcending reality. It might feel like time was flying by, but the realization of the goals of modernization still seemed far away. Intellectuals were becoming less and less patient in their desire to reduce the time needed to realize modernization goals. In their explorations of these problems, intellectuals first reflected on China’s social system and then on its culture. Many of them ultimately came to embrace a tragic impulse that emphasized the need to completely transform and reconstruct the spiritual world of the Chinese nation in order to achieve modernization as soon as possible. This impulse led to the appearance of viewpoints such as those expressed in the TV series River Elegy (Heshang, 1988). These ideas would cause violent collisions between different ideas of society and ultimately lead to social unrest.
People’s conditions during the 1980s can be observed in films such as The Young Kids and What a Family. One can sense that the images of social space created by these films were very valuable at the time. The characters live in airy atmospheres, and everyone strives to constantly learn and innovate, always pursuing the Four Modernizations and national rejuvenation. Additionally, examining the social relations depicted in these films reveals that the power of the Party and government to encourage social mobilization is not highlighted in the films of the 1980s, despite its frequent appearance in the films of the 17-year period and the 1990s. This further demonstrates the unique social atmosphere and values of tire 1980s—namely, that there was a general consensus in society about the value of Reform and Opening Up, as well as national rejuvenation. Although there may have been differing views on Reform and Opening Up at the top levels of government, public opinion and mainstream society unanimously supported these policies. Because the Chinese people backed these development strategies from the bottom of their hearts, it seemed unnecessary to encourage mobilizations or have political debates among the leaders. This great unification between the collective values of society and the personal values of individuals shaped the unique social situation of the early 1980s. This atmosphere accordingly provided an environment for the liberation of individuals and their freedoms.
In some films, such as The Young Kids, that celebrate learning, scientific research, and innovation, love remains a major focus of the plot, even if racing against time is the implicit value that dominates the narrative. The youth in the film are in their heydays, studying and working hard as they strive to succeed in their careers. Still, searching for like-minded people of the opposite sex remains an important element to enhance the value of life. At the end of the film, several pairs of young people have established close relationships amid their pursuit of the Four Modernizations. This raises the question of whether it was possible to express love with integrity in literary and artistic works. Still, such questions represent a significant dividing line between China in the new era and China during the Cultural Revolution.
An important aspect of human freedom is that people have the right to autonomously control their bodies and their social relations. But the established paradigms of social relations—between individuals, individuals and work units, as well as individuals and social systems—could not be broken in the 1980s. However, freely organizing one’s emotional relationships, if not the entirety of one’s social relations, became a theme that could be discussed openly. What is more, the pursuit of the freedom to love became a typical theme in films of the 1980s.
In the era of autocracy and feudalism, people had no right to deal with their feelings. Parents and other authorities determined which relationships could be established. In contrast, the condition of modernity encourages people to deal with their attachments to others independently. Of course, love is an element of human nature that is the focus of many artists. According to Chen Sibe:
China is a nation with a long and profound tradition of feudal culture. Love based on individuality has always been suppressed by feudal ethics. The excessive emphasis on, and exaggeration of, class character during the Cultural Revolution caused the relationships between people to become ridiculously simplified. There were only two types of relationships. One was between comrades and brothers of the same class. The other was between desperate enemies from opposing classes. The normal feelings between men and women were regarded as bourgeois or petite bourgeois thinking. The word “love” almost disappeared in life and was replaced by other inexplicable words in literature.11
A Love-forsaken Corner (Bei aiqing yiwang de jiaoluo, dir. Zhang Qi and Li Yalin, 1981) became an elegy for the tragedies of love during a ludicrous age. The film presents life in a mountain village located near “Heaven Town” as far from heavenly. People live there in material poverty and cannot afford even three fried dough sticks to eat after working for a long time. People there face spiritual poverty as well. A simple interaction between a man and a woman turned into a criminal case, dealing a crashing blow to their individual lives as well as threatening the young people around them to keep quiet out of fear. The whole village is reduced to a space that has been forsaken by love. This him reveals the great harm that far-left political lines have caused to Chinese society, demonstrating how political campaigns interfered in people’s daily lives.
On October 6, 1978, the American newspaper The Baltimore Sun published a report titled. “Talking about Love Becomes a Normal China Again; the Return of Holding Hands.” The article reported:
Ten years since far-left thought had suppressed all expressions of love, China seemed to have become a society without love. Love stories were banned; love dramas disappeared from the stage; love movies were put down; love songs could not be sung and love became a taboo. But the love was not interrupted and it existed in an extremely secret way. Today, all this has changed . . . There is once again a public discussion of love and women’s clothing. The article says that it is common to see young couples holding hands and walking on the streets. In the beautiful West Lake of Hangzhou, several pairs of young people wandering long till the nightfall. This is also true of the situation in Guangzhou and Beijing.12
On July 12, 1980, the film Romance on Lushan Mountain (Lushanlian, dir. Huang Zumo, 1980) premiered at the East Valley Cinema in Lushan. The film, which was screened throughout China, represented the themes of love that were banned during the Cultural Revolution. This formerly taboo subject was entering into popular culture. The film quickly attracted a large audience, and the film became a phenomenon of the time. Because of its influence, East Valley Cinema was later renamed Romance on Lushan Cinema and only screened this one film. From 1980 until the end of 2002, the theater screened the film more than 8,000 times, attracting over 1.38 million people. This accomplishment earned it the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous ran of a film in one cinema.
Romance on Lushan Mountain tells a love story that takes place on the famous Lushan Mountain. Its plot concerns the daughter of a former Guomindang general, Zhou Yun, who had settled down in the United States, returning home during the Cultural Revolution. She travels to Lushan Mountain to sightsee and encounters Geng Hua—the son of a senior CPC cadre named Geng Feng—who is studying English. They fall in love at first sight, but they have no choice other than to painfully end their relationship owing to the Cultural Revolution. After the Cultural Revolution, Zhou Yun returns to Lushan to find her previous lover. After years of painful lovesickness, the two young people finally meet again and find they are still well matched. However, they now find another obstacle in front of them. They find that Geng Hua’s father, Geng Feng, and Zhou Yun’s father, Zhou Zhenwu, were classmates at the Republic of China Military Academy and later became comrades in arms during the Northern Expedition (1926-1928). However, their lives diverged in the tide of history, and they became enemies on the battlefield. One became a hero of the Republic, while the other was a leader of the defeated Guomindang. The romantic relationship between their children presents a test. But, at the end of film, the two old opponents meet at Lushan Mountain with mutual desires for national reunification, and Zhou Yun’s and Geng Hua's twisting love story has a happy ending.
The film uses love as its main plotline. This plot of meeting, falling in love, separating, having a reunion, facing obstacles, and finally consummating the relationship presents an idealized narrative of love. At the same time, the details of the film’s thought also emphasize themes of national reunification and the unity of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation. The twisting love story between Zhou Yun and Geng Hua also suggests that the future of the country is intertwined with the personal destinies of young people and every individual in the nation. According to Zhou Xingfa:
The director focuses on the idea of love throughout the narrative. There are no violent, dramatic conflicts or battle scenes. The focus of the film is instead on the waves of characters’ thoughts and emotions. It incorporates human relationships, scenery, and stories together to reveal the spiritual beauty of humans with an invigorating style. The film uses scenery to embody emotions and uses expressions of emotion to influence the audience. These techniques lead the film to be permeated with an emotional hue. The concept of love represents the love for Lushan Mountain, love for the country, and love for the people who have devoted themselves to building the nation. The film depicts the natural beauty of the country through images of the beautiful scenery of Lushan Mountain. The love story between Zhou Yun and Geng Hua; as well as the shifts in their parents’ relationship from friends, to opponents, to family; reveals the deep patriotism held by both the younger generation and their parents.13
Although it is titled Romance on Lushan Mountain, the film is not about the romantic love between two young people. It is about continually experiencing these feelings against the background of the great destiny of the nation, and it promotes the style and value of this type of love. When it describes the beauty of love, the film highlights the beauty of the mountains and the rivers as well as the beauty of the soul to put the beauty of humanity, love, and natural scenery on full display.
The hero and heroine stay overnight on Lushan Mountain, helping the film to highlight the beauty of the mountains and rivers of China. This scene turns the beautiful scenery of Lushan Mountain into an essential part of the film, using it to suggest that nature can be a catalyst that inspires young people’s patriotism. When they wake up on the mountain, the splendid scenery overwhelms them, and they exclaim: “I love my motherland, I love morning in my motherland.” The protagonist Geng Hua dreams of building enough skyscrapers in the scenic area of Lushan Mountain to fill the gap between the two beautiful peaks. Such modes of expression may seem exaggerated today, and Geng Hua’s ideas are certainly not in line with today’s emphasis on environmental protection. However, in the film, they reveal how people needed opportunities to vent as a means to recover their repressed affections for the nation after the painful sufferings of the Cultural Revolution. Even if Geng Hua’s sentiments seem irrational in retrospect, they would seem reasonable to. and be popular with, the audience at the time. The film won awards for Best Actress for Zhang Yu’s performance of Zhou Yun, at the First Golden Rooster Awards, and for Best Feature Film and Best Actress at the Fourth Hundred Flowers Awards in 1981.
Although love is the main theme of Romance on Lushan Mountain, the love it depicts is not completely free, nor does it represent the type of pure relationship that is naturally created between men and women. Instead, the love in the film is inextricably linked with politics. During the Cultural Revolution, love was suppressed. Even after that tumultuous time, the love between Geng Hua and Zhou Yun is still constrained by political, ethnic, and historical factors. They have to face the lifelong pain of the conflict between the Guomindang and the Communist Party of China that burdens their parents. When explaining his motivation for writing Romance on Lushan Mountain, the film’s screenwriter, Bi Bicheng, stated:
At the very beginning of conceiving of this script, I wanted to pay tribute to tire new political outlook of the nation after the smashing of the Gang of Four. After that, what were the biggest changes in China? In my opinion, this was the shift in the Party’s focus to working towards the Four Modernizations and its efforts to unite all possible individuals to strive towards this goal. Therefore, I designed this scene where Geng Feng realizes that the girl whom his son is passionately in love with is the daughter of his enemy on the battlefield, former Guomindang general Zhou Zhenwu. He hesitates because the bullet from when Zhou Zhenwu shot him remains in his body. For his part, Zhou Zhenwu was disappointed by Chiang Kai-shek when the Chinese mainland was liberated in 1949, going to the United States instead of following Chiang to Taiwan. Since then, Zhou Zhenwu has repented for the crimes he committed against the country and the nation in the past. In his old age, he misses his home night and day, preparing to allow his daughter to return to China and participate in socialist construction as a way to atone for his crimes. After careful consideration and straggling with himself, Geng Feng finally agrees to the marriage and welcomes Zhou Zhenwu back home. This plot serves the purpose of celebrating the open minds of the old generation of revolutionaries for their willingness to make national interests their top priority. Thus, the film reflects the new political outlook of China.14
According to Bi Bicheng’s explanation, though the core of the film is about love, this love is used to eulogize the open minds of old revolutionaries who made national interests their top priority. This is related to the fact that old cadres possessed great social power. It also speaks to the sensitive question of how love should be expressed in literary and artistic works in the new era. Although literary and artistic creation was freed from the Cultural Revolution’s suppression of love, both how to portray love and what kind of love would fit China’s needs in the 1980s remained questions for commentators and national leaders. Mainstream ideology contained hopeful visions for the types of lives young people should live in this new era. Thus, questions of how to portray love were about more than the concept of love itself. After the Cultural Revolution, films tried to quickly break out of the previous, ultra-left restrictions on discussions of love. Films such as Twins Come in Pairs (Talia he talia, dir. Sang Hu, 1979), The Young Kids, What a Family, and What Is love? (Aiqing a, ni xing shenme?, dir. Yan Bili, 1980) represented marriage and love among young people of the new era. Critics praised these films for their beneficial tones. According to Li Xingye:
They pay tribute to value of love and are consistent with the pulse of the times. By criticizing bourgeois ideas of love that emphasize money, attractive appearances, and the pursuit of pleasure, these films destroy the remnants of feudal thinking and outdated ideas of power that emerge when discussing issues of love and marriage. These films suggest correct ways of dealing with major issues in love and life to a broad audience, and especially to young people. In other films where love is not the main theme, directors still use descriptions of love to expand the protagonist’s spiritual realm and represent tire complicated and tortuous conflicts in life. This occurs in Anxious to Return (Guixin sijian, dir. Li Jun, 1979) through Qi Yuzhen’s affection for Wei Desheng and through the romance between Feng Qinglan, Song Wei, and Luo Qun in Legend of Tianyun Monutain. The descriptions of love in these films express the characters’ lofty spiritual ideas, allowing the audience to consider the enjoyment of love, the cultivation of moral sentiment, and concepts of enlightenment.15
However, some films attempted to fill in their stories with love plots, a strategy which attracted varying opinions from film critics. In 1981, the Shanghai Young Filmmakers Creation Exhibition was held. Afterwards, the relevant organs listened specifically to the opinions of cadres who spoke for young audiences. The focus of these critiques was that films should not represent love solely for love’s sake. According to one such critique:
Three of the four feature films screened in this exhibition are romance films. That is too many. Some comrades think that love is a part of a young person’s life, but it is by no means their whole life. It can be written about or filmed, but the problem is that screenwriters design scenes and conceptualize plot developments at will. These scenes always consist of men and women running around willy-nilly. In order to create contradictory effects, many films use love triangles as a plot device, which does not conform to reality, or at least is not a common phenomenon.16
On January 3, 1982, in Beijing, China Youth Daily published a call for submissions titled “Film Writers, Directors, and Actors, We Hope You . . . " It called for audiences across the country to submit their own suggestions for film creation. By April 5, 1982, the paper had received more than 10,000 letters from audiences across the country. The editor of the newspaper sorted through these letters and summarized the opinions of young people as follows:
1. There is so much description of love in films that it causes people’s antipathy. 2. There are too many films focusing on the lives of literary and artistic workers (actors and actress, painters, writers, musicians, athletes, professors, and scholars, as well as the children of senior cadres), while there are far fewer films about the lives of ordinary workers. 3. Films such as Mysterious Buddha (Shenmi de dafo, dir. Zhang Huaxun, 1980), Where Is the Visitor from? (Ke conghe lai, dir. Guangbu dao eiji, 1980), Love Songs Around the Valley (Yougu liange, dir. Wu Guojiang and Huang Yan’en, 1981), and Kinship (Qinyuan, dir. Wu Tianming and Teng Wenji, 1980), which are bizarre and divorced from the reality, account for a large share of recent films, while films that touch on real life conflicts represent a smaller share.17
Regarding depictions of love in films, the editors summarized in detail the opinions of ordinary audiences, as well as the values that mainstream media outlets such as China Youth Daily hoped to convey:
It was obvious that film critics worried about the ways love was depicted on screen and thus made harsh criticisms. They contended that the abuse of concepts of love in film depictions was actually depreciating the ideals of divine love. They argued that some films even had low moral qualities. For example, they criticized Kinship (1980), which tells the love story of a young girl from Taiwan and a young boy from mainland China who discuss love on a desert island, as well as Love Songs Around the Valley (1981), which is about a female cadre of the CPC who disguises herself as a man to defraud the daughter of a gang leader. It was ultimately determined that arguments over film representations of love required the input of Party and government leaders. The then-general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Hu Yaobang, delivered a clear and comprehensive lecture on the subject. At the center of this talk was the idea that “love is an important theme for literary and artistic works. It can and should be described." However, he also pointed out that “it is necessary to address the relationships between love and revolution as well as love and the cause of socialism.” He argued that love should not be overemphasized to an inordinately high degree. “Healthy love should be fundamentally consistent with the cause of revolution. If necessary, a revolutionary should sacrifice his or her love, and even their life, for the cause of socialism.”19
Emotional life—and especially romantic life—was once absent from Chinese cinema. Once romantic films emerged, they caused concern in critics and leaders at all levels, even at an early stage of development. In the 1980s, the social environment was gradually loosening. Chinese cinema continued to be dominated by tragedies and war films, but emotional life was gradually becoming more openminded. and descriptions of love and romance on the screen were becoming more colorful. This had been unimaginable during the Cultural Revolution. But some of the erotic scenes of the “entertainment films” (yule pian) era represented another extreme caused by the rapid development of material conditions and the excessive liberation of sexual desires.
In the 1980s, people who had lived through the Cultural Revolution gained more autonomy in their emotion lives and more choice in their leisure activities.
A large number of films that depicted the daily lives of Chinese people incorporated music and dance elements. These included A Charming Band (Miren de ynedui, dir. Wang Haowei. 1985) a nd A Guitar Band on the Side of the Road (Lubian jitadui, dir. Chang Yan, 1985). These films described the changes in Chinese people’s daily lives after new lifestyles had been introduced. Films paying tribute to these new lifestyles and focusing on depicting new types of urban life include A Guitar Band on the Side of the Road and Rock Kids (Yaogun qingnian, dir. Tian Zhuangzhuang, 1988). Additionally. A Charming Band portrayed new lifestyles in rural areas.
A Guitar Band on the Side of the Road represents the efforts of Chinese people to leave behind the model plays of the Cultural Revolution and instead freely choose lives of leisure. In the film, several amateur guitarists form a guitar band on tire side of the road. The bandmembers are an undergraduate student an iron and steel worker, a gardener, a musical instrument salesperson in a department store, and a dentist. They enjoy their youth, enriching their leisure time with dreams of writing and singing pop songs for the Chinese mainland. They feel deeply sorry that there are no popular songs produced on the Chinese mainland, so they want to write their own songs. Why do they want to do this? Out of a sense of historical responsibility to use their own songs to compete with overseas ones. They use a popular melody to produce “Don’t be Someone Like This” (Quanjun mozuo zheyang de ren), which goes: “with full pockets but empty brains.” This gains them the praise of a woman journalist who claims: “dissatisfaction with the status quo as well as the courage to strive are common aspirations for today’s young generation.” At the end of the film, the band plays a live show on the side of the road. The audience is moved by the band’s performance and interacts with them in a scene that revels in everybody’s enjoyment. Then, in an imagined interlude infused with romanticism, everyone holds a guitar and sings together. Of course, this universal celebration of the guitar belongs to the excessively romanticized imagination of the film.
When shooting A Charming Band, the director, Wang Haowei, visited rural areas and was touched by the ways new villages had been transformed by socialism. She reported:
What touches us is not only those fanners could afford such expensive musical instruments and have such a strong command over them, but that one could feel types of wisdom, boldness, happiness, strength in forging ahead, and the momentum of national dynamism. At night, in the yard of the band's house, I heard the sound of a trumpet against the noises of animals. I did not know who was playing so capably. The dark red sky, the silhouette of village houses, and the sound of the trumpet immersed me in the pastoral and poetic world of the 1980s.20
The director’s words highlight poetic life as one of the key social features of the 1980s. Every Chinese person was asking themselves how they should live in this moment of emerging from the ruins of the Cultural Revolution and opening up to the outside world. Mainstream ideology continued to attempt to guide people’s lives at a time when the planned economy still dominated society and individual autonomy was still limited. The government continued to believe in a model that combined revolution and love, advocating: “love is expensive, but life is more precious. Both can be thrown away for freedom.” Speaking of the conditions of daily life, the government hoped that there could be rich harvests in both material and spiritual culture. This meant that they hoped people could improve their material conditions without the type of spiritual degeneration brought by material indulgence. As intellectuals embraced ideas of enlightenment, the modem philosophies of the West reentered China. The Commercial Press published a series of Chinese translations of Western academic classics that helped intellectuals to understand concepts of humanity, human nature, and human life more generally. The combination of idealism and romanticism embraced by Chinese intellectuals in their plans for people’s daily lives led to ideas of a poetic life constituted on the basis of a prosperous society. These intellectual imaginings of the Chinese future can be fully demonstrated by the song “On the Fields of Hope,” the lyrics of which pay tribute to the idea of a native place with their poetic imaginings of “our hometown”:
Smoke wafts above the newly-built houses,a river flows besides the beautiful village.There is a field of winter wheatA field of sorghum,a lotus pond in the east,a fruity scent from the west.Seedlings are irrigated by the sweat of farmers,Flocks and herds grow with the flute songs of herders.People weaving in the west,fishing in the east,planting in the north,threshing grain in the south.
People through these sunny days,Life changes in people’s hands.The elders toast,young kids laugh,boys play,girls sing.
“On the Fields of Hope” depicts a pastoral and poetic China where people live in harmony with each other and with their beautiful environment. They rely on their labor to obtain material goods while Filing their hearts with a poetic “China.” Similarly, “The Song of Herding Sheep” (Muyangqu) in the film The Shaolin Temple (Shaolinsi, dir. Zhang Xinyan, 1982) employs both modern features and literary sentiments. Chinese intellectuals and literary workers promoted romantic sentiments in society through their academic and artistic works. The publishing of Liu Xinwu’s story The Head Teacher (Ban zhuren) in 1977 indicated that literature and culture would play a greater role in the new era. The Cultural Revolution had deliberately trampled on culture, and, accordingly. Chinese people’s thirst for knowledge and culture in the new era reached unprecedentedly high levels. Where intellectuals had been defeated during the Cultural Revolution, now people were competing for college entrance examinations to secure new pathways to success. Ordinary people were making short statements about culture as if they were pursuing husbands and wives, claiming drat they loved literature and poetry. Culture, knowledge, and diplomas were becoming important codes to signify the value of individuals in this new era.
Conforming with these social trends, films of the 1980s often referred to poetry. Poetry, with its literary and spiritual values, was becoming an object of pursuit for Chinese people and entering their daily lives. For example, in the film Against the Light (Niguang, dir. Ding Yinnan, 1982). the protagonist Liao Xingming is popular with everyone for his ability to write poetic love letters. Women are touched by his words, and men ask him to write love letters for them. In At Middle Age (Ren dao zhongnian, dir. Wang Qimin and Sun Yu, 1982), the character Fu Jiajie also uses poetry to win the favor of the beautiful and intelligent ophthalmologist Lu Wenting. As they are falling in love, Fu Jiajie recites a beautiful poem for Lu Wenting:
My will is a torrentSo long as the one I love is a small fish,swimming happily in my spray.My will is the uncultivated woods,So long as the one I love is a small bird,Making a nest among and out of my dense branches.My will is the abandoned void,So long as the one I love is the Chinese ivy of youth,Climbing intimately up my desolate forehead.
Lu Wenting: “Who wrote this poem?”
Fu Jiajie: “A Hungarian poet, Petöfi Sándor.” ...
Fu Jiajie: “Do you like poetry?”
Lu Wenting: “I, I don’t understand poetry. One can’t fantasize during surgery. Each and every stitch must be correct.”
Fu Jiajie: “No, your work can make thousands of people see the light again. This is the most beautiful poem of all."
Fu Jiajie gives poetic meaning to Lu Wenting’s work as an ophthalmologist. This reaches through to Lu and serves as a spiritual bridge for their connection. Although a popular social saying of the 1980s claimed that "a scalpel is worse than a razor" (indicating people’s skepticism towards doctors at the time), and despite the fact that Lu Wenting is exhausted by the pressure of devoting herself passionately to her work, Fu Jiajie is still able to use poetic language to motivate the couple: "we are China’s new generation. Our life is full of sunshine. We will live in a garden, not in a tomb.”
In The Girl in Red (Hongyi shaonv, dir. Lu Xiaoya, 1984). the elder sister An Jing is the editor of a magazine. When she discovers that her sister An Ran’s teacher is excited about poetry, she helps the teacher publish a poem in the magazine she works for, despite its poor quality. In return, the teacher helps An Ran win an award for outstanding students. In Life (Rensheng, dir. Wu Tianming, 1984), another film that highlights poetry, Gao Jialin’s encounter with his lover Huang Yaping led this character to be considered unfaithful and heartless, turning him into tire “Chen Shimei of the 1980s” (Chen Shimei is an opera character known as a model of faithlessness). In the film, both Huang and Gao love literature and have many similar topics to discuss. They read the Selected Novels of Prosper Mérimée together and have an in-depth discussion. Gao Jialin reflects: “Mérimée is a realist but his works are full of romanticism. I appreciate Carmen’s character very much. She is liberated and unwilling to endure any constraints in life. I hope there will be more romantic events in my life.” These reflections cause Huang Yaping, who is from a cadre family in the city, to look at him in an appreciative way. She sends her poems to Gao Jialin. The poem entitled “To Jialin” reads:
I wish you were a flying goose,free to love every piece of blue sky.And take anywhere you feel comfortable,as your home.
Gao Jialin responds, “the poem is good but I don’t understand why I should be a wild goose.” Huang Yaping smiles, “I believe you will understand it later.” Later, Huang Yaping’s father is transferred for work, and it becomes necessary for her to return to her home in South China. Before it is time for her to depart, they walk in a poplar forest covered with deep autumn hues. The warm yellow leaves serve as the background for a poetic atmosphere, and the chirping birds add to the sense of melancholy. Huang Yaping cannot help reciting:
Fair southern shore,with scenes I much adore.At sunrise, riverside flowers are much redder than fire,in spring, the green river waves grow as blue as a sapphire,which I cannot help but admire.
Gao Jialin responds:
Dreaming of the southern shore,it’s Hangzhou I adore.
The laurels fallen from the moon I'd like to store,and in the pavilion watch the rise of the tidal bore,When can I visit once more?
As they recite “Dreaming of the Southern Shore,” with all of their poetic and romantic affections for each other, their other romantic admirers appear. Ke Nan, a merchant who admires Huang Yaping, fawningly invites her to Iris house after appearing carrying a large fish. “Yaping, come to my house and eat this fish at noon. I just caught it from the reservoir.” Huang Yaping responds with anger, “fish, fish and all you know is to eat.” Thus, Huang Yaping dismisses Ke Nan’s warm invitation. His proposal is regarded as an expression of his lowly qualities, and he meets with Huang’s loathing. Liu Qiaozhen loves Gao Jialin and has suffered greatly before coming to town. She does not know what to say, so reports to Gao, “the old sow of yours has given birth to twelve piglets, and one was crushed by the old sow. There is still ...” Gao Jialin cuts her off, “Eleven left.” Qiaozhen continues, “there are eleven left, but another one died the following day.” The two completely different women force Gao Jialin to make a painful choice. He can’t sleep, tossing and turning in bed all night. The voices of the two women echo in his head. One is Huang Yaping’s poem, “I wish you were a flying goose, free to love every piece of blue sky.” The other is Qiaozhen’s statement that the sow gave birth to piglets. For somebody like Gao Jialin, who is educated full of dreams, the choice is easy, and he decides that he must pursue a poetic life.
Poetry also plays a significant role in the film Urban Masquerade (Chengshi jiamian wuhui, dir. Song Jiangbo, 1986), proving key to the film's entire structure. The film concerns a girl named Tang Xiaoyun, living in Shanghai in the 1980s. She loves to write poems, but repeatedly faces rejection from magazines. As a result, she decides that life is no longer meaningful, writes long suicide poems, and prepares to end her life. Coincidentally, her poem is seen by Luo Han, a plumber repairing a nearby sewer. In order to save Tang Xiaoyun, Luo Han pretends to be the famous poet Shu Yan and encourages her to continue to write poems, leaving his address to keep in contact. When he then goes to the real Shu Yan’s home to repair the toilet. Luo Han takes the opportunity to hand Shu Tang Xiaoyun’s poems. Shu Yan likes the poems, and, under his guidance, one of Tang Xiaoyun’s poems is finally published in a newspaper. Meanwhile, the mother of Luo Han’s girlfriend Pingfen opposes their marriage because she believes that Luo Han’s work as a plumber is unsuitable for her daughter. After hearing that Luohan has become a poet, she agrees to Pingfen’s relationship with him. In this film, poetry is at the core of the narrative. It determines whether Tang Xiaoyun will die or survive and is able to repair Luo Han’s broken relationship with Pingfen. This reveals the unique value system of the 1980s, in which idealism and romanticism coexisted. This value system shaped the particular logic of these films’ narratives. While such narratives might seem naive today, they represented the efforts of people in the 1980s to pursue spiritual goals. Such aspirations are completely different from those depicted in the narratives of films and TV dramas that are driven purely by commercial success.
Chinese designs for life at this time reflected the ideal state of human existence sought by Western philosophers—as Martin Heidegger describes it, life is: “full of hard work, but still, man poetically dwells on this earth.”21 Chinese literary and artistic works reveal ideas of this idealized state of life, which seemed to guide Chinese people as they moved towards it. People relied on themselves to change their lives, to change themselves, and to change the country. They relied on their labor to survive materially and. at the same time, pursued the fullness of the spiritual world. They were free from the constraints of instrumental rationality and the confinement of materiality, while maintaining the wisdom, rationality, and poetic features of humanity.
Wildfires cannot destroy ideas, and spring breezes give them new life. Chinese people’s imaginings of a better life in the future were not even extinguished at the height of the ruthless Cultural Revolution. In 1968, in the midst of the Cultural Revolution, Shi Zhi wrote the poem “Faith in the Future” (Xiangxin weilai):
When the spider web relentlessly seals up my stoveWhen smoke and embers sigh the sorrows of povertyI still stubbornly spread out the despairing ashesAnd write with beautiful snowflakes: Faith in the future
When my purple grapes turn into the dew of late autumnWhen my flowers are nestled in the feelings of othersI still stubbornly use the frosty withered vineTo write on the desolate ground: Faith in the future
Writing in the much more hopeful 1980s, the young poet Haizi also expressed his visions for the future:
From tomorrow on,I will be a happy man;Grooming, chopping,and traveling all over the world.From tomorrow on,I will care about foods and vegetables,living in a house towards the sea,with spring blossoms.From tomorrow on,I will write to each of my dear ones,telling them of my happiness,what the lightening of happiness has told me,I will spread it to each of them.
I will give a warm name to every river and every mountain,strangers, I will also wish you happiness.May you have a brilliant future!May your lovers eventually become your spouse!May you enjoy happiness in this earthly world!I only wish to face the sea, with spring flowers blossoming.
Poetic life is the ultimate state of human existence, but it needs a sufficient material foundation for its presence to be guaranteed. Although people might have faith in the future, without a solid material foundation, it will have no support, no matter how good life might appear in the moment. After the Cultural Revolution, the material foundations of the family and the nation were quite weak. People’s optimism was based purely on their faith in the future. Because the planned economy, which still dominated society, followed the principle of “to each according to their work,” the economic improvement of every Chinese individual depended on the government and organizations. At the time, the popular view was that, if the large river of the country was not full, then the small rivers of individuals would ran dry. Many literary and artistic works reflected this viewpoint. People believed that, as long as they worked hard, the government and organizations would reward them. They connected their own destinies with the destiny of the country. They worried less about themselves because they believed their lives would be better as long as the nation continued to develop. People based this confidence in the government on the various policies that had been introduced since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee. At that time, the major goal was to realize the Four Modernizations through Reform and Opening Up. These policies were intended both to enhance China’s national strength and to improve people’s individual lives. In this era when everyone placed high hopes on the idea of “reform,” reform became a mainstream value in literary creations of the 1980s. This emphasis on reform also created a unique landscape for film production during the 1980s.
It was difficult to achieve the Four Modernizations without reform, but reform itself was difficult. In history, most reforms, such as the political reforms of Shang Yang or the Reform Movement of 1898, have been paid for with blood. Reforms always shake the existing political and economic structure as well as the present system for distributing profits. They inevitably encounter resistance and challenges. Reforms in the new era of the 1980s also proved difficult. These difficult times called for pioneers such as the respectable Qiao Guangpu, a character in the TV drama Bell Tone (Zhongsheng, dir. Ma Erlu and Wen Yan, 1981). Such pioneers of reform helped give China hope in the prospect of development and motivated society to advance into the future. The fact that the public approved of film and TV dramas such as Bell Tone and New Star (Xinxing, dir. Li Xin, 1986) demonstrates that people felt the need for, and even called for, representations of reformers. The theme song for New Star, “Ode to New Star” (Xinxing Zan), served as the voice of the people:
In the sky after a thunderstorm,a new star has risen.It is like a shining gem,with magnificent brilliance penetrating the clouds.New star, new star,so sparkling and crystal-clear.May you turn into a vast galaxy,And illuminate the earth with infinite light.
In the hot and dry 1980s, reformers gave people hope and motivation. Only reformers could lead the people to transform their ideals into reality. According to Xiao Lin,
the trend of reform is irresistible, and everyone has the same opportunities. The field of activity is vast and contains brilliant prospects. Much can be accomplished. Hurry up and use your wisdom to launch your own “star” on the “orbit” of reform.22
Starting with Bell Tone in 1981, the subject of reform became increasingly popular in Chinese film productions of the 1980s.
Bell Tone was adapted from Jiang Zilong’s novel Manager Qiao Takes Office, which acted as the starting point for much reform literature. Bell Tone similarly came to be regarded as a pioneering work addressing reform.
Bell Tone depicts the pains of reform at a turning point in history. Although the government decided to shift its focus from class struggle to economic development at the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee, the productive capacities of enterprises had been destroyed, and relationships between people had deteriorated after years of class struggle. The process of restoring normal industrial production was beset by difficulties. Bell Tone emphasized that reform was the only avenue out of this situation. At the outset of the series, production at the Hongguang Turbine and Electric Machinery Factory is almost paralyzed. Qiao Guangpu, a CPC member, takes the initiative to become the manager of the factory. He rectifies work discipline, improves rules and regulations, formulates work plans, and restores workers’ sense of responsibility. He finally overcomes all the obstacles and brings the paralyzed factory back to life. After these reforms, the factory meets eight economic targets set by the state, becoming a leader on the industrial front. The truth stated in Bell Tone is that China has a bright future, but the road ahead is bumpy and twisting. Reform is the only way out of this predicament. And it depends on people who have a pioneering spirit as well as the willingness to make sacrifices and take responsibility for the implementation of these concepts on a practical level. Qiao Guangpu is the archetypical reformer. As Xu Nanming writes,
he is bold and resolute in carrying out reforms and opening up new prospect. He is a pioneer of the era, holding new beliefs and possessing a new spirit; a new socialist man marked by the characteristics of his times.23
Although Qiao Guangpu encounters many difficulties and faces various attacks from opponents, his reforms at the factory are successful. However, whether in reality or fiction, not every reformer was successful. For example, Internal Strife (Huoqi Xiaoqiang, dir. Fu Jingong, 1982) presents a tragic story of a reformer. In the film, reform encounters stiff resistance from powerful interests. Fu Lianshan is unable to carry out his plans for reform, and his supporter, a chief engineer, is imprisoned because of him. Fu Lianshan pleads on the witness stand:
Who is guilty? It’s up to you. But I have a question. The Gang of Four has been smashed for several years. Why is it that those who enthusiastically support the correct line of the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee, those who work hard and dare to adhere to their principles and to fight against bad people are still being isolated in some places and units? Isn’t that worth thinking deeply about?
In 1984, Yang Zaibao was awarded Best Actor at the Fourth Chinese Golden Rooster Awards. The award commentator noted, “Comrade Yang Zaibao passionately shaped the image of a contemporary reformer in Blood Is Always Hot. The character’s perseverance in the face of stiff resistance was revealed with an artistic appeal.”24 In Blood Is Always Hot (Xue zongshi re de, dir. Wen Yan, 1983), the key to reform lies in changing printing technology. The application of a new technology seems simple, but the implementation process severely damages the reputation of the reformer Luo Xingang. Luo’s factory is left out in the cold at the Canton Exposition. After an investigation, he finds that the reason lies in a backward production technique. He finds it is necessary to transition from machine printing to manual printing. As the factory manager, Luo boldly signs the contract and returns to the factory to implement production. However, he soon discovers that, even if technical difficulties might be easy to overcome, factors outside of technology can be a sticky business. Specifically, the Finance Bureau blocks the technical transformation of the Phoenix Plant, the Foreign Trade Bureau hinders export quality, and the Personnel Bureau prevents hiring, all in the name of the system. Luo pays a heavy price for such a modest technological innovation when his superiors send an investigation team to examine his problems. Before the investigation, Luo gives a moving speech, which represents the confession of a 1980s reformer:
Some people say that China’s economic system is like a huge machine. Some gears have rusted and become stuck, but as long as we use our blood as lubricant ... Such words have been talked about too many times. They are out of vogue and no one wants to listen anymore. However, our blood is always hot ... The contract will expire tomorrow. Does the investigation on me begin now or wait until then?
The film ends on this unanswered question.
In the film The Xiangsi Women's Inn (Xiangsi nüzi kedian, dir. Dong Kena, 1985), the reforms depicted are only slight but the story is of great significance. In the Xiangsi lowlands, deep in the mountains and forests in a remote area of central China, reforms in the operations of a small inn cause an uproar. This incident is used to convey to the audience the plight of reformers as well as the hardships that can come along with reforms. The original accommodation at this inn for workers, peasants, and soldiers in the Xiangsi lowlands has poor facilities and services. A guest ridicules it, saying,
Everyone who resides in these accommodations are from humble origins. Looking up, I see an ugly sinew; looking down, I see my feet in the stinky sewage. In the morning and the evening, cold water freezes my bones. At night, bedbugs crawl everywhere. The food is always spoiled. Big dogs and little puppies ran under the table. I won’t eat or sleep here again unless someone pays me to!
In this predicament, the protagonist Zhang Guanyin arrives to reform and upgrade the facilities. She adjusts the distribution system and changes the original name, “Xiangsi Lowlands Accommodation for Workers, Peasants and Soldiers,” to the catchier "Xiangsi Women’s Inn.” The look of the inn changes, and its profits increase. However, the renovations meet with fierce opposition from an old interest group headed by Qiao Sanla. Its members say that Xiangsi Women’s Inn is involved with prostitution, and that Zhang lives an immoral life. Zhang sharply denounces them, saying they are parasites and vampires preying on socialism. She is puzzled by these prodigal sons of socialism who use their connections to secure advantages while also being extravagant and wasteful. Unfortunately for Zhang, nobody cares about her complaints. Whoever wants to gain reasonable rewards while also contributing to the country is regarded as trying to introduce capitalism. In the end, Zhang is dismissed, and her reforms at the Xiangsi Women’s Inn are also brought to an end. Upon hearing this news, the leader of reform heartwrenchingly remarks to Zhao Xing, the leader of the township, “Leader, I am already twenty-eight years old. Please at least give me a marriage certificate. Pin going to get married.”
Bell Tone, Blood Is Always Hot, Behind the Defendant (Zai beigao houmian, dir. Chang Yan, 1983), and other films depicted the difficulties of reforms. Similarly, Garden Street Number 5, Acting Mayor (Daili shizhang, dir. Yang Zaibao, 1985), The Power of Women (Nüren de liliang, dir. Jiang Shusen and Zhao Shi, 1985), and other films all revealed the anxieties of reformers. However, in real life, reform remained at the core of mainstream ideological discourse. It was conceived as a practice that must be accomplished in order to rejuvenate China and realize the Four Modernizations. Despite the Promethean tragedy of many reformers, their ten or for reform remained the main theme that films and other artistic works conveyed to audiences. Reform was the main trend in the 1980s, and public opinion called for reformers. As Xiao Lin noted, “reform requires thousands of 'early birds’ to lead the flocks and to create a new history of entrepreneurship in this vast space.” Advocates of reform called out: “Fly high, early birds! The guns of the times will no longer shoot early birds. If you hear the gunshots, let them boost your morale!”25
The four major special economic zones of Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, and Xiamen were all pilot projects for Deng Xiaoping’s reforms and became touchstones for Reform and Opening Up policies. Under the instructions of the central government, millions of workers started building modernization from scratch in the special economic zones. Roads expanded, and buildings seemed to shoot straight out of the ground. The construction in Shenzhen introduced the new idea of “Shenzhen Speed.” At the celebrations of the 35th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, a sensational slogan was printed on the floats in the parade at Tiananmen: “Time is money, efficiency is life.” Time and money were being directly linked together, an idea that had been unimaginable during the Cultural Revolution. In the circumstances of the 1980s, the special economic zones became the focus of much media attention. Literary and artistic creations also paid great attention to these cities. The special economic zones offered new, refined viewpoints and ideas, which came to national attention. Of course, film creators were not absent from these trends. As the special economic zones developed vigorously, films also began to imaginatively represent these hot spots in the country’s plans for reform and development.
The tagline of Ding Yinnan’s work He Has Been in Special Zone (Ta zai tequ, dir. Ding Yinnan, 1984) was: "Ride the wind and waves to build the special zone and struggle to open up new roads.” The him uses flashbacks to recall hardships in the construction of Hukou Special Economic Zone, which is adjacent to Hong Kong and Macau. Despite this location, its development was considered backward. In the early days after the establishment of the special economic zone, Hukou remained a barren land. Zheng Jie, the commander-in-chief of the zone, and his assistant, Fang Lan, came to Hukou determined to build the zone, to develop its economy, and to eliminate poverty.
It is quite difficult to construct a modem special economic zone on barren land. First of all. there is no way to build a special economic zone without talented personnel, but the recruited administrators were unable to arrive at their posts. In order to bring in talent, it was first necessary to build housing. Then, strings needed to be pulled to provide these personnel with televisions, commodities that were in short supply at the time. Completing infrastructure was a necessary condition for attracting foreign investment, but the plans to establish a post office and telecommunications center could not be immediately implemented. In this complex situation. Zheng Jie’s son goes to Hong Kong without authorization, which becomes the excuse for others to attack Zheng Jie. Zheng withstands all of the pressure and pushes forward the construction of the zone despite the difficulties. After just 2 years of construction,. the wide cement road stretches far across the loess slope. This previously barren land has become a paradise for reformers and overseas entrepreneurs looking to invest and start businesses.
Still, Zheng Jie’s wife, Wei Bing, is worried about Zheng’s future. She hopes that Zheng will leave the special zone as he becomes increasingly beset by internal and external troubles. At this important point in the narrative, Zheng realizes he needs to persuade Wei by showing her the pioneering spirit of construction. Indeed, the film takes this opportunity to demonstrate the charms of the zone to the audience. According to Sheng Jiming:
In order to persuade Wei Bing, Zheng Jie takes her to the construction site. The director uses nearly 56 feet of cinefilms to show the high-speed and high efficiency of construction in the special economic zone. The director uses long shots of Fang Lan dispatching cars at the loess construction site. These shots are vivid and full of the vigor and vitality of the times. Both the chaotic and dynamic atmosphere of the construction site as well as the different characteristics of Fang Lan, Zheng Jie, Wei Bing, and the foreign businessmen are vividly presented on the screen.26
The film not only depicts the fervent momentum of construction in the special economic zone, but also uses romantic modes of expression to emphasize the pride and enthusiasm of the builders. According to Shen Jiming, "He Has Been in Special Zone has only 180 shots in total, nine of which are long shots. These long shots make the film more vivid and natural, which makes up for the shortcomings in the original literary script.”27 In one scene, Zheng Jie leads newly recruited experts to visit the site of the special economic zone. The distant sky is studded with white clouds, and wild sisal plants grow on the slope. The Jeep bounces roughly along the top of the slope, suggesting that the special zone might take off from the barren land. The golden beach and azure water intersect in the picture, revealing a place that is both desolate and beautiful, awaiting development. In the orange-red hue of the image, the cannons that Lin Zexu and Guan Tianpei once commanded he on the top of the mountain and point directly towards the sky. The afterglow of the setting sun stains both the cannons and people’s clothes red, inspiring a new generation of reformers.28
The “special zone spirit” of the 1980s also infected the director Guo Baochang. He personally visited a special economic zone and found his creative impulses stimulated by the exciting life he saw there. Guo reported,
As long as you are standing in a special economic zone rather than just watching from the periphery, one will experience this particular new, exciting, energetic, resurgent, and fresh feeling. There is a type of wild strength; a kind of surging passion and beautiful power. It opens a vibrant window to the world, showing the awakening of national consciousness.29
To represent these sensations. Guo produced Male Citizens (Nanxing gongmin, 1986), which focused on praising the first generation of reformers who made their way in a desolate land that had been asleep for 100 years. Guo focused on the leaders of this early stage of the special economic zones because, “they built a path towards a more modem civilization. This is the main theme of Male Citizens."30
Real life spurred on Guo Baochang’s desires for creation. The language of his film is filled with raw power and beauty, capturing the passion of the pioneering reformers. When describing how he conceptualized his film, Guo stated,
The tone captures rough, wild, powerful, and masculine beauty. The high speeds, tight rhythms, and continuous shocks are like turbulent tides, surging waves, and burning fires. These themes derived from the experience gained in experiments and explorations, not from classroom lessons. We were willing to forge a new path.31
Similar to the efforts of special economic zone pioneers, Guo Baochang wanted to explore new modes of artistic expression. Building the special economic zones was an innovative accomplishment of the Chinese people. Transforming areas that were previously wastelands served as a prelude to the new era of reform. The film begins by depicting scenes of the construction of the special economic zone. Film language is used to demonstrate the majesty and power of this groundbreaking construction. The script of Male Citizens reads:
The wind howls, and blows and bends a thatched hut the size of a man.
A desolate and barren landscape. Weeds grow thick in the swampy ground.
The hills are overgrown with brambles ...
We gradually hear the roar of machinery and motors, the “quack” of caterpillar treads, and the clear and sweet “beep” of the traffic light.
The sounds are sometimes forceful, and sometimes are subdued by strong winds. Still, these sounds overwhelm everything with an indomitable and tenacious roar that fills all spaces.
This sleeping wasteland gradually brightens.
Huge electric shovels roar as they sweep over the barren land.
Huge excavators dig out the chest of the earth and raise arms of steel.
Huge delivery trucks rush over with a roar.32
The construction of the special economic zones was not just about conquering nature, it was also challenging the old habitual forces of China’s rigid economic and social system. The special economic zones were an effort to create new thoughts for a new system. According to Guo Baochang,
building roads became the most important task of the first group of builders. In the civilized culture of the 1980s, the clearest manifestation of their pioneering efforts was the desperate fight against all kinds of ignorant, backward, feudal, and patriarchal concepts of tradition. While transforming the objective world, they were also constantly improving themselves and quietly fulfilling the obligations of citizens to the republic.33
Guo used various audiovisual methods to express the courage of these special economic zone pioneers as they swept away the past to create a new era for Chinese society. The script continues:
Steel cables are hung from five giant machines, in five different positions. The other ends of the cables are hung from the vital parts of the small residential buildings. Thousands of workers are waiting quietly. It seems that the fate of this small building is affecting everyone’s heart.
General manager Yang gives an order and waves a red flag.
Accompanied by the cracking of wooden beams and bricks, the small buildings collapse with a loud crash, raising dust and producing smoke.
The dust and smoke gradually disperse, leaving only a heap of rubble.
Thousands of people cheer.
The big electric shovel drives over the debris unstoppably ...
The bulldozer sweeps the earth!
Various vehicles deafen ears with their roar.34
Mainstream Chinese society of the time was driven by a modernist, linear mode of thinking. The concept that “tomorrow will be better” permeated the cultural imagination. People believed that breaking apart the old world would definitely bring about a better, new one. Once the wasteland was conquered, it would surely become a happy garden. The films of this period emphasized the human ability to use tools to conquer nature. The exaggerated adoration of machinery in Male Citizens appears again in the film Green Fields Again (Tianye youshi qingshazhang, dir. Li Qiankuan, 1986), which focuses on changes in rural areas. This film is confident in the ability to transform China, deliberately using the power of the bulldozer to represent the forces of transformation.
The turbulent 1980s were dominated by reform policies and unleashing people’s enterprising spirit. Reforms did not only occur in special economic zones and cities, but also came to remote rural areas, entering peasants’ fields. Green Fields Again addresses these rural transformations. The plot concerns what occurs on one day in a village in northern China called Elm Village. It shows the deep upheavals occurring in rural society and demonstrates the director’s passion for change. The film begins with a scene of a majestic phalanx of bulldozers appearing on the horizon in the early morning, amid chicken clucks. These bulldozers are breaking boldly through all obstacles. In scenes marked by strong contrasts, the film language also depicts clashing values. The bulldozer is both a force for destruction and a tool for construction. In front of the bulldozers, the farmers’ blank faces contrast sharply with the young technicians’ excited expressions. The audience members are left to interpret the symbolic value of these contradictions from their own perspectives.
The director intentionally contrasts new ideas and old traditions throughout the film. In one scene, the elders of Elm Village are sitting under a tree playing a game of Chinese checkers on a set handed down by their ancestors while bulldozers roar past their side. The elders sigh that the present is not as good as the past, while the road builders pass cheerfully. The shots proceed as follows:
Mr. Ding Hua and other elderly men stagger with their feet tied in their pants. This occurs as alternate shots show a team of young surveyors walking gracefully and disco dancing in the wilderness with all their youthful vitality. The shift of shots from the staggering feet of the elderly to the nimble feet of the young presents a dramatic contrast. Both old age and vitality are shown to coexist on the sleeping earth. Three elderly men are confused by the rhythm of the dance music. They see the young people dancing and begin to feel dizzy. Two of the elderly men find abandoned memorial tablets in a small temple and create a shrine to pray to the Earth God for forgiveness. They say, “If this small temple no longer exists, where can we send individuals to report news of death, where can young people seek the God of Wealth?” The following two shots are of young pioneers wearing their red scarves and walking towards the camera. Then the young surveyors also walk towards the camera. Following is another series of close shots:
These are followed by a cut to a shot of a group of elders facing the bulldozers.
Old man A. sighs: “Buzzing all day long, my brain hurts.” ...
Old man A: “The melons are not as sweet as before.”
Old man B: “Fertilizer is being used.”
Old man B: “We could afford to have foreign TVs for the cost of this.”
Old man A: “They spent more than one thousand yuan all to have meetings inside, even the foreigners are there.”
In order to make the strongest case for reform, Green Fields Again adds an action scene concerning three members of the survey team that does not intersect with the main narratives of the film. The three young men walk through the wasteland with instruments on their backs while conceptualizing the placement of future homes. This seemingly detached clue is the theme of the him. Although this mode of expression makes the work look a little jumpy and blunt, it still bears considerable analytical significance for its representations of the cultural values of the 1980s.
The three surveyors look at the ground while speaking excitedly in the unique, poetic spirit of the 1980s:
Let civilization walk into this ancient green curtain of crops. We have stepped through the fields of the whole county, testing the land as well as public feelings. I feel the earth is shaking.
With this poetic and passionate tone, the film expresses the notion of getting rid of the old to make way for the new. In the frame, red-crowned cranes fly by through the green crops while hopeful music plays. The members of the survey team and the county magistrate, Gong, stand on the high slope, pointing to the endless green crops while sketching out their ideas for a modern countryside on the canvas of the earth. According to their plans, the grain production area will be located in the east, the forest area will be to the south, the area for economic operations will be in the west, and the comprehensive economic area will be in the north.
In an era of transition from the old to the new, the surveyors are aware that conflicts and collisions between new and old concepts of values will inevitably arise. According to the calculations of the survey team, the new road would pass through the seventh elder’s future grave, which meets with strong opposition from the old man. He says that the land “is backed by green hills and is near the river. High officials have originated here for generations.” The new site provided by the government is not good, because that area is “between two mountains and near one ditch. Thieves have originated from there for generations.” However, the old man’s stubbornness does not affect the mood of the members of the survey team. They deal with the old man’s chatter like they are watching a comic drama. They deal with the troubles brought by the power of tradition, represented by the old man. in a poetic and impassioned manner:
Male A: “In a ditch for three thousand years.”
Male B: “This flat earthen house will be covered by green curtain of tall crops.”
Yanzi: “Improve education and eliminate illiteracy.”
Male B: “The green curtain belongs to us." The three men put their palms together and say: “Yes, it belongs to us.”
The rooster crows again at the end of the film, implying a new day has begun. The red sun rises, and the bulldozers roar. The confrontation between new values and old habits will continue, but reform is advancing boldly forward in rural areas. The once desolate Elm Village is now immersed in the spring thaw of reform. In the fields, the green curtain of crops has returned while workers are busy building roads. Green Fields Again depicted the surging passion for reform and desires for a better future typical of the 1980s. It also provided a distinctive commentary that became a key theme of films in the 1980s—namely, embracing reform and committing to transformation.
Green Fields Again depicted rural reforms in an abstract and emotional way. It relied on passion to infect the audience with its ideas, but it lacked in-depth analysis of the changes. It also did not provide a depiction of the internal changes experienced by Chinese farmers who bore traditional burdens against the background of reform. In this momentous era, people might be leaving yesterday behind, but tomorrow was still unknown. When facing these changes, farmers were anxious and distressed. These sentiments and transformations were tire hue rhythm of the times. The film In the Wild Mountains (Yeshan, dir. Yan Xueshu, 1986) meticulously describes rural reforms from a psychological perspective.
For thousands of years, people got up to work at sunrise and retired at sunset. This fit a classic portrayal of traditional rural life in China. However, rural life changed as Reform and Opening Up progressed. Rural groups that were originally united were now divided. Some people broadened their minds, feeling that the lives of farmers should change, and that rural areas should take on a new appearance. Some were deeply immersed in farming traditions and believed that farmers should continue to act as farmers. Growing crops was their duty, and doing anything else was just fooling around. This spoke to the continued existence of traditional values that emphasized agriculture while limiting commerce. Since communities were divided on these issues, conflicts would emerge. These made social life in the countryside tumultuous, while also leading to the development of new community relations.
In In the Wild Mountains, Hehe is a soldier who has seen the world outside of his home of Jiwowa (meaning a henhouse in low-lying land). He hopes drat his life might be different from that of the elder generation and his brothers. His unconventional attitude towards country life elicits different attitudes in his neighbors. Hehe thinks about getting out of extreme poverty, but is unlucky. All his attempts fail, and these failures at reform make him far from a good example for others. Other villagers consider him prodigal, and his wife Qiurong divorces him.
Qiurong’s sister-in-law, Guilan, who is also her neighbor, advises her to take back Hehe. Guilan puts in a good word for Hehe, “These days the government encourages us to do business.” But Qiurong is not convinced, “He does not have the talent. He baked in a kiln, and then the kiln collapsed. He raised fish, and then the fish died. All his household belongings were lost in his businesses.” Although Guilan has been trapped in the mountains for a long time and has never seen the outside world, she still has the seeds of change in her heart because she deeply feels the peasants’ sufferings. Guilan says once,
Shit is unpalatable to eat, and money is hard to earn. No one’s life is more bitter than that of a peasant. I don’t want to be a peasant's wife in the next life. From when I was a girl to now when I’m a wife, I have kept watching this stone mill all day long. When the eight-inch-thick stone is ground to four inches, I also will be very old.
Guilan’s husband, Huihui, is a typical traditional farmer and thinks a modern lifestyle has nothing to do with him. He has no intention of accepting a type of modern life that he regards as irrelevant to his life. Instead, he takes delight in farming. Huihui also never brushes his teeth. When Guilan encourages Huihui to embrace a new style of life, he says, “If teeth fall out, they put in gold ones. Director Ma of the commune has gold teeth. That is what people call ‘jade words uttered from a gold mouth’ [jinkou yuyan, an idiom meaning weighty words]."
The farmers who are resigned to their traditional fates also include many women. They have reconciled themselves to their situations. For one, Qiurong divorces Hehe because she does not approve of his risky attempts to change his life. According to the film, Qiurong and Hehe’s divorce is due to their different concepts and attitudes towards life. Divorcing for such reasons was unusual in rural areas in China at the time. Though Qiurong intends to be a traditional rural woman, she inadvertently does something quite untraditional—namely, she divorces Hehe. This reflects new ideas, even if her purpose is to preserve her old values and her established lifestyle. In the Wild Mountains is adapted from Jia Pingwa's novel Families in Jiwowa (Jiwowa de renjia). In the original novel, the name of the movie character Qiurong is Mairong. According to Wang Furen,
the name was changed by the two writers Yan Xueshu and Zhuzi. This new name better represents her typical looks. She is soft and mild, and full of static beauty. The Chinese character “Qiu” (autumn) conveys a sense of decline. It can be used as a symbol of traditional female beauty that is on the verge of obsolescence.35
As a traditional woman, Qiurong intends to be faithful to her husband until death. She divorces Hehe because she does not approve of his lifestyle, but she still longs to rely on a man. If Hehe would change his mind and return to the standard path for his life, Qiurong would still be willing to accept him. In the film, Hehe fails in a silkworm-raising business and subsequently feels depressed about the future. In an important scene, he turns to Qiurong for solace. Qiurong sees Hehe fail and thinks that he will repent and finally mend his ways, so she offers to accept him. Qiurong says that she has sold two pigs for 100 or 200 yuan and has also sold wheat. They could buy a cow, or a few lambs to raise. Hehe says enthusiastically, “I will listen to you about everything from now on. I will stay on the land to grow crops and live a sober life.” However, he later begins to change the conversation and worry Qiurong. “When there is less work on the farm, I will go out to find a good business. I cannot lose so dubiously like this.” Hearing this, Qiurong is furious and concludes that Hehe has no intention of changing his mindset and getting to work. He still wants to do business, and the accompanying risks remain. She ultimately refuses Hehe’s apology and drives him away.
Compared with Qiurong, who settles for the status quo, Guilan is not satisfied with the living conditions in the country side. In her heart, she is eager for reform and intends to take action when the opportunity arrives. An important turning point in the plot occurs when Guilan goes to the county town for the first time in her life to find the missing Hehe. There, she experiences modern life. This woman, who has lived in the mountains her whole life, feels like she has arrived on another world. It is like a “Grand View Garden” (a garden in the classic novel Dream of the Red Chamber) that surpasses all her previous life experiences. She sees fashionable young women, motorcycles, and household appliances that she has never seen before. She watches the distant worlds seen on TV and readily accepts the power of modernization. She senses that her county is rich, but she is told that it is in fact nothing compared with the big cities further away. Guilan feels that she has been trapped in Jiwowa and knows nothing of the world. She thinks that, compared with others, “I am not a true person.” Guilan begins to ponder the nature of humanity and thinks, “how do humans get to be called human?” This proves a major turning point in the life of this rural woman. Compared with the characters Tao Chun in Hometown Accent (Xiangyin, dir. Hu Bingliu, 1983) and Qiaozhen in Life (Rensheng, dir. Wu Tianming, 1984), the image of Guilan is of a person who is divorced from traditional values. She is not just the good wife of traditional farming values, nor is she subordinate to a man. She soberly realizes her own situation, values, and options. “I think, therefore I am”—this is the glorious point of Guilan’s character. According to Zhong Chengxiang:
The strong impact of Guilan lies in the new concepts she embodies. These include new ethical and moral concepts. When creating the character Hehe, the artist does not fully show the values of creativity in Hehe’s heart or the awakening of his subjective consciousness. This awakening to consciousness of human subjectivity is one of the most important gains of our reforms. If there are no people who embrace modern concepts, then the Four Modernizations will become empty words. Guilan is a new image on the screen. This is precious and can be regarded as an important achievement of the year.36
What is a human being, and how is subjectivity constructed? These are important questions of the Enlightenment. Guilan begins to liberate herself from ignorance and is ready to independently choose the course of her own life. Wang Furen argues:
If we say that Hehe occupies the prime role in Jiwowa’s economic history, then Guilan deserves first place in the history of Jiwowa’s spiritual development. Without Hehe’s efforts at economic transformations, Guilan's spirit would bow to the standards of traditional morality in Jiwowa. In that case, her spirit would not be fully developed or achieve such a powerful presentation. Once her spirit is integrated with Hehe’s economic reforms, it quickly takes on two meanings. One meaning is material pursuit, and the other is spiritual pursuit. These two pursuits both exist in Guilan’s personality and form a harmonious ensemble.37
The shocks of modernity caused by Guilan’s county tour and her questioning of human nature lead to a subsequent turning point in the social relations in Jiwowa. The same types of phenomena coalesce. People of the same mind join together. Guilan and Huihui’s marriage ends in divorce, and then Huihui and Qiurong get married. Finally, Guilan and Hehe also naturally become a couple. The two couples enter romantic nirvana, and their lifestyles are no longer dislocated. Everyone now lives with partners who share similar purpose and interests.
In this era when poverty gave rise to desires for change, the film celebrates Hehe for his emphasis on commerce and belittles Huihui for being content with farming. This does not seem such a moderate view at present. The key to China's rural problems in the 21st century is farmers’ inability to concentrate on agricultural production. The narrative strategies of this film reveal how the cultural constructions of rural areas during the period of Reform and Opening Up in the 1980s contained some negative connotations. These attitudes contained the seeds of some of the major social challenges that China faces in the process of development today. Even at that time, there were many different opinions on the values proposed in the film. Judges at the Golden Rooster Awards heatedly debated the film. According to Bao Guang:
Of all the relationships in In the Wild Mountains, the relationship between Hehe and Guilan is the worst. Their marriage contains artificial conceptual elements and does not seem natural. Did Huihui make any mistakes? He just happily works on the farm. But the him actually belittles him. It is easy to give people the impression that fanning is worthless and doing business is the only valuable choice. Our country adopts a policy of mediation for couples on bad terms. After mediation, the contradiction between a “life first” style and a “career first” style can be resolved. Is it really necessary to change wives? In the Wild Mountains has defects in both the structure of its images and its depiction of the relationship between people and the environment. It seems that Guilan and Hehe mainly pursue the improvement of their material lives, but there should be some higher spiritual goals.38
At a symposium on In the Wild Mountains, Zhong Chengxiang recounted:
[The film critic] Mr. Zhong Dianfei has watched In the Wild Mountains twice. The first time he saw it he thought it was unmodified in editing. This time he expressed a different opinion, noticing that one shot had in fact been removed. In the first version of the film, Guilan runs into Qiurong and takes the initiative to greet her. Qiurong feels embarrassed because she has married Huihui, but Guilan says, “I didn’t congratulate you at that time, that’s my fault.” The current version has deleted this scene, but Mr. Zhong says it should not have been cut. What he means is that the trends of reform have made waves in people’s hearts. The reforms broke the old balance in people’s minds, and there must be a process to create a new balance. The old balance must be replaced by a new one. This process is not like a circle on a plane, but a spiral moving towards a higher psychological level. The new balance is manifested through Guilan’s psychological state. This is the particular quality of Guilan and the reason this character is so influential.39
Mr. Zhong’s objection is reasonable when taking into consideration the connotations of film. After the two families are transformed and reorganized, the gap between enlightenment and conservatism in the entire countryside seems evens wider At the end of the film. Qiurong and Huihui are still using the stone mill. They do not enjoy the happiness of their wedding, but have a lonely look on their faces. They are treated coldly by their neighbors and marginalized. However, Hehe and Guilan become celebrities and are shown to be the focus of rural society. Amid the sound of firecrackers, they buy flour-milling machines and want to do great things in a village where people are still using stone mills. Compared with Hehe and Guilan’s high-profile status, Qiurong and Huihui seem much lonelier. Huihui is determined to both sell food at a low price and set up an electric circuit. This honest farmer can no longer sit still; he also wants to change. But Qiurong says, “We already have kerosene lamps. The older generation did not have electric lights and they lived well.” However, Huihui is determined to use electricity. He forces them to make progress, saying, “We must use electricity this time.” If the scene from the first version had been retained, as Mr. Zhong desired, then the characters of Hehe and Guilan would not only promote reforms in the countryside, but also promote the construction of a new balance in social relations. Instead, at the conclusion of the final version, we see changes in the countryside, but we do not see balance and harmony. Unfortunately, this foreshadowed the realities in the subsequent development of community relations in China’s rural areas.
Analyzing the character of Guilan, we can deduce an important aspect of China’s social progress in the 1980s. That is, the awakening of “individuals” as well as the discovery of the value of “individuals.” When Chinese people emerged from the blind obedience of the Cultural Revolution, they found themselves free from its pressures and living in a relatively free and lenient era. They now had the right to pay attention to themselves, and their self-reflections came to be sublimated to the spiritual realm. People realized the preciousness of self-worth, and, accordingly, discussions of the construction of human subjectivity became a main culture. According to Tang Xuezhi, “Today’s citizens are no longer the pawns or clouds of dust that were arbitrarily ordered around and trampled on during the Cultural Revolution.” Instead, they are gradually
seeking freedom in politics, economy, and ideology. Their ideologies, personalities, values, dignity and status all receive respect and protection. They boast full psychologies with temperaments defined by self-esteem, self-confidence, self-love, and self-improvement. Basically, people’s subjective status and subjective consciousness have both been strengthened.40
Gao Ertai proposes that “beauty lies in freedom,” and scholars such as Liu Zaifu have also researched ideas of the “human” and, specifically, the “human” in literary and artistic works. Liu Zaifu believes that, because concerns over theories that emphasize human nature have existed since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, scholars have paid limited attention to ideas of the “human” in the field of literature. He believes that:
Whether you are engaged in researching literature or creating it, you should study ideas of humanity because it is the most complex and magnificent phenomenon in the world. Humans and humanity can be referred to as a “Second Universe” or a “Second Natural World.” Chernyshevsky once said that, “Humans are the most advanced creations that exist in the entire perceptual world. Therefore, the character of human beings is the most beautiful thing in the world that we are able to sense. As for the other types of existence in the world, they are more or less only valued as beauty according to the extent that they hint about humanity or make people think of themselves.”41
The beauty of humanity and human nature praised in literary and artistic works does not only exist in texts. These philosophical approaches also aim to impact the constructions of "humanity” in real life. This purpose defined intellectuals’ cultural mission during the “Enlightenment” of the 1980s. Many scholars of literature and culture—including Hong Zicheng, Chen Sihe, Meng Fanhua, Chen Xiaoming, and Zhang Yiwu—have discussed the relationship between culture and enlightenment during the reform era in depth. Indeed, culture during this the new era could be generally regarded as a story of enlightenment. “Scar literature” and “self-examination literature” are concerned with political enlightenment; modernism and humanitarianism discuss human enlightenment: and "root-seeking literature,” which began in 1985, can be regarded as an effort at cultural enlightenment. In general, an awareness of unexpected transformations as well as a sense of mission ran through all literature during the 1980s.42
The result of intellectuals’ self-examination of the Cultural Revolution was to eliminate ideas of servility in the character of Chinese people. The best way they hoped to accomplish this was to construct human subjectivity through enlightenment. When interpreting Kant’s theory of enlightenment, Foucault pointed out that,
Enlightenment is a process that releases us from the status of “immaturity.” And by “immaturity,” he means a certain state of our will that makes us accept someone else’s authority to lead us in areas where the use of reason is called for.43
Of course, one can fulfill this process of releasing from a state of immaturity oneself. “Kant in fact describes Enlightenment as the moment when humanity is going to put its own reason to use, without subjecting itself to any authority.”44 Enlightenment requires people to be brave, to challenge themselves, and to use their own reason to remove themselves from the immaturity they have intentionally or unintentionally imposed on themselves. They must rely on their own reason instead of the guidance of others to choose the paths that determine their destinies. For China’s specific cultural situation, the entry of enlightenment into China as an ideological movement had distinct characteristics. Western scholar Vera Schwarcz pointed out, “In the 18th century, European enlightenment scholars were eager to be liberated from the ideological confinement of religion, while Chinese intellectuals struggled to remold their own servility.”45 The movement to get rid of servility started with the May Fourth Movement. Pioneers such as Lu Xun attacked feudal ethics and rites as represented by the core values of the Three Cardinal Guides (“ruler guides subject, father guides son and husband guides wife”). He and others saw this as a means to rebuild the people’s spiritual world. But history would prove that this movement to eliminate the old and set up the new would always be incomplete or even unsuccessful. For one, the Cultural Revolution proved that enlightenment was still unfinished business in China. After the Cultural Revolution, Chinese people once again observed their own blind obedience and behaviors. They began to develop a more sober understanding of the servile tendencies deep in their hearts. It was because of these realizations that eliminating servility and establishing human powers of self-assessment characterized the main cultural trends of the 1980s.
According to Anthony Giddens,
modernity is a post-traditional order, in which the question of “how I will live” must be answered in relation to decisions about trivial daily matters such as food, clothing, and means of transport; and be explained through temporary presentations of self-identity.46
At a moment of cultural fission, Chinese films of the 1980s carefully conceptualized each of their characters in relation to the torrent of Reform and Opening Up policies. While film characters of the 1980s might have possessed sober selfconsciousness, they still glowed with radiance against the vicissitudes of history. We see this, for example, in Hehe constantly straggling to change his fate, as well as Guilan deciding her own destiny independently in In the Wild Mountains. Other examples include Li Sha, the female factory director in The Power of Women; An Ran in The Girl in Red; and Jiang Youlin and Lu Xuezhi in Red Beans from the North (Beiguo hongdou, dir. Wang Haowei, 1984). When we look back through history to understand these characters and to appreciate the films, their intrinsic spirits can still move us.
The story of Red Beans from the North takes place in the Greater Khingan Range in Northeast China during a winter of heavy snow when the world is pure white. In 1977, Lu Xuezhi, a girl from a rural area in Hebei Province, comes to a forestry zone with dreams of becoming a worker. She first works as a temporary worker for the logging team. In the forest, the natural environment is harsh, and life is hard, but Lu Xuezhi stands at her post with perseverance. At this time, Lu Xuezhi falls in love with an honest logger named Fang Genzhu. An adult man wants a wife, and an adult woman wants a husband. This should naturally be a good thing. However, Lu Xuezhi’s elder sister’s husband, Lu Minzi, strongly opposes the love of this young couple. Lu Minzi, who is a powerful man in the area, has already made his own plans for Lu Xuezhi’s marriage. He hopes to marry her off to a local cadre in order to pave a way for his own future development. However, at this most important event in her life, Lu Xuezhi shows her independent will. She categorically rejects Lu Minzi’s arrangement for her marriage. Even though she pays a heavy price and loses her job, Lu Xuezhi still shows her strength as she battles Lu Minzi to gain control over her fate. However, Fang Genzhu disappoints Lu Xuezhi in her straggle for independence owing to his cowardice. This shakes her courage to live. At this desperate moment, the secretary of the Youth League committee of the Forestry Administration, Jiang Youlin, steps into the forefront of the straggle against Lu Minzi. Eventually, he bests Lu Minzi and gets justice for Lu Xuezhi. Lu Xuezhi is formally recruited into the team and gets her unpaid wages. Her marriage with Fang Genzhu can finally be officially organized. However, at this moment, when hardships have been overcome and good things seem around the corner, Lu Xuezhi hesitates. She is discontented with Fang Genzhu’s weakness and powerlessness, preferring a man with courage and determination like Jiang Youlin. Fang Genzhu also begins to realize his own shortcomings. When a wildfire breaks out, he follows Jiang Youlin to fight the fire on the frontline, hardening himself in this dangerous situation. He knows he can only win Lu Xuezhi’s heart through self-improvement. Only if he can match her can he marry her.
In Red Beans from the North, Lu Xuezhi tries to realize her individual will and change her fate. Her life path has been determined by others in a harsh environment of ice and snow. Lu Xuezhi works hard to take advantage of trends in society. In her spare time, she studies by herself and finally realizes her dream to become a model employee, which makes her feel one step closer to attaining the status of full-time worker. In romance, she plans to choose her own lover and live with whom she loves. In the end, however, these two goals collide. If she wants to be with the person she loves, she cannot become a full-time worker. It is for this reason that Lu Xuezhi dares to contest Lu Minzi and get justice for herself. But she is under huge pressure while fighting against the local power holders as represented by Lu Minzi. Even when she begins to think of suicide, she has no intention of compromising. This puzzles Lu Minzi. Jiang Youlin tells Lu Minzi that the reason Lu Xuezhi attempts suicide by jumping into the river is to prevent him from manipulating her destiny: “give me liberty, or give me death.”
Lu Xuezhi’s pugnacity only increases after she is rescued from her suicide attempt. She arouses the fighting will of the people around her with her charms. When Jiang Youlin tells her a story from history, Lu Xuezhi feels dispirited and wants to leave. “What does this have to do with me?” She has lost her job and is homeless. How can these historical legends help? Lu Xuezhi questions Jiang Youlin,
How do you dare to not stand up for young people, dare to not back up the young? You spend the whole day thinking about ideas of the ancients in a cave. What you should be wondering about is the nature of humans and the meaning of life.
Lu Xuezhi’s words contain a philosophy on life and touch the secretary of the Youth League Committee. Humans are worthy of pride and should be brave enough to light as long as they are alive. Jiang Youlin finally decides to file a lawsuit for Lu Xuezhi. He sees the true significance of this matter. “This is not just for you, but for the dignity and freedom of all the youth in the forest.”
For his part, Fang Genzhu hopes to make concessions and settle the case out of court. But Lu Xuezhi has a thorough understanding of people and says resolutely, “The lawsuit cannot be settled privately at this point. Otherwise, someone will jump off this cliff.” Fang Genzhu says, “Right, we cannot afford to take care of others.” Lu Xuezhi responds, “Then how about Mr. Jiang? He is helping us. We can’t betray him.” Fighting for dignity in these deep mountains and forests is not without risk. After a large snowfall, Jiang Youlin goes to the provincial capital to file the suit, but meets Lu Minzi on the way. They stand facing each other in the endless fields of snow. Lu Minzi asks, “There is no one within 30 miles, where are you going?” Jiang Youlin answers him clearly, “I’m going to the provincial capital.” Lu Minzi asks, “What are you going to do?” Jiang Youlin firmly responds, “I’m going to use the law against you.” Lu Minzi aims his shotgun at Jiang Youlin. The plot once again elevates this dispute to the level of life and death. This has become a spiritual confrontation between two people. Jiang Youlin does not waver in front of the gun, and his will ultimately defeats Lu Minzi. Lu Minzi finally sighs, “We are both a bit paranoid, why are we doing this?” Jiang Youlin loudly answers, “To make a change in life.”
Although Red Beans from the North is based on the story of Lu Xuezhi’s love and marriage, its meanings are not limited to love. According to Wang Haowei:
This is not only a love story. Lu Xuezhi begins to explore the meaning of life as soon as she starts to strive for independence in marriage. With Jiang Youlin’s assistance and inspiration, considering the straggles and hardships in mankind’s history of progress illuminates her thoughts and she finally realizes the true value and historical value of her life. She discovers that humans should be worthy of pride, and that one should be brave enough to fight as long as one is alive! ... The turmoil and anxiety in Lu Xuezhi’s heart does not at all represent inconsistency. Her contradictions and pains do not only stem from the shackles of traditional moral concepts, but are a continuing part of her search for a new, broader, and more solemn life.47
The director also hoped that this film could arouse more independent thought in young people. “This film undoubtedly has practical significance in our country as we strive to eliminate the fetters of feudal consciousness, to fight for personal rights and happiness, and to establish family life that is based on love.”48
In 1988, Rock Kids (produced by the Youth Film Studio and directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang) also addressed issues in young people’s lives during changing times. This film was cutting edge for portraying break dancing, which had become popular among urban youth during the 1980s. The film followed developing fashion and represented the times. Influenced by popular entertainment films of the time, the film used trendy elements to reach its audience and expand its market. Although this film had commercial selling points such as its depictions of break dancing and suburban street racing, the director did not want to make a purely entertaining film only motivated by profits. Break dancing just served as an attraction and the cultural background. The heart of the film was in its descriptions of people’s choices in the face of cultural changes. Long Xiang and Yuanyuan are lovers who work in a state-run song and dance troupe. These main characters are rich material for cultural analysis. For himself, Long Xiang evaluates break dancing with tolerance. “Break dancing might seem vulgar, but it actually takes a lot of practice.” Therefore, he hopes that this form of dance can enter more formal performance venues.
Long Xiang performs a solo dance that is full of personality at an art festival. However, he is eliminated by the judges and he can no longer participate in the festival. Long Xiang resigns in anger, “I just don’t want to dance that kind of dance anymore. I’m going to do what I want.” Yuanyuan cannot agree with Long Xiang’s behavior. She says, “I don’t agree with you. I think you are being too fanciful. I just want to dance properly and live peacefully.” Although Long Xiang wants to break out of the system and do what he wants to do, Yuanyuan tries to help him back through the use of various connections. In one plot point, Yuanvuan’s introductions enable Long Xiang to participate in a try-out for the city’s song and dance troupe. In this scene, the director emphasizes the film’s values through an audiovisual language that uses mise-en-scène and rhythm control. For example, the film lingers on the preliminary test as well as the reexamination to show how dull the exam is. In the frame, the men and women taking the exam line up in squares and perform uniform dance moves to the rhythm of the music. This proves an appropriate space to highlight Long Xiang’s personality. He feels bored by this stereotypical dance, saying, “I’m getting impatient when doing this.” He walks out of the dance square and withdraws from the exam. His girlfriend, Yuanyuan, is disappointed: “You said I don’t understand you, but do you understand me? You even don’t love me, and I will never see you again.” Later, Long Xiang is hired to work as a coach for the model team, switching from artistic dance to commercial dance. Yuanyuan laughs at him, “Fine. Performing solo dance in the troupe is at least an art form. I really don’t understand why you want to be a model here.” Long Xiang says, “I don’t think about it so much. It’s good here. I can master my time, and there are not as many restrictions.” Long Xiang has gained freedom by doing what he wants to do. In the evening, after he gives a successful personal performance, Long Xiang goes to Yuanyuan and tells her that his performance was successful to regain her love. However, Yuanyuan has already married. Long Xiang pays the price for his choices, but the film does not overemphasize his frustrations. Although his love life has suffered a failure, his career has succeeded. Finally, he has pulled off what he really wants to do. Moreover, even if Yuanyuan does not appreciate Long Xiang’s choices, other girls see his value. For example, a street painter is sympathetic to Long Xiang because they share values of working hard, living comfortably, and trying to feel that life has not been wasted.
Careful analysis of Rock Kids reveals that it depicts how collisions of values can change affections, just like In the Wild Mountains. Like Hehe and Guilan, Long Xiang sacrifices love for a new way of life. Though he pays a price for freedom and his ideals, social pressure does not force him to change his chosen path. These characters steadfastly walk their own paths, even going through the wind and the rain. Compared with the pragmatism seen in the 21st century’s age of consumption, the characters of the 1980s possess greater idealistic resilience. They stick to their paths and do not deviate, no matter which direction the wind blows. These qualities define the stubbornness and charm of these characters, though they are also the causes of their somewhat unpleasant fates.