Living off Others for Free

"I've never been to Mount Lu, but I've always longed to go."

"Whether it was Li Bai's poetry or the Chairman's 'Ascending Mount Lu,' I knew them backward and forward as a child. My parents worked at Xinhua Bookstore, so I had plenty of books to read. Once, I came across a Geographical Atlas that introduced many of our motherland's famous mountains and rivers, including the beautiful scenery of Mount Lu.

I was spellbound. Then I thought, a place this beautiful must be the setting for a beautiful story-say, two young people meeting by chance on Mount Lu and falling in love at first sight...

I followed that inspiration, kept working at it, and gradually turned it into this script."

When Chen Qi finished, everyone chuckled.

"A young man longing for love!"

"His ideas really are different from ours. Full of romanticism."

"But they also represent the qualities of some young people today..."

Jiang Huaiyan nodded and smiled. "Little Chen, I read the letter you wrote to China Youth Daily. You're a thoughtful young man, and we're happy to see fresh talent continually emerging in the film industry. We were quite surprised when you said you wanted to try your hand at writing, and then, right after reading the paper, we received your submission."

"That's right. We were startled, and then the script gave us another surprise. You'd actually written a love story."

Shi Wenxin continued, "You should know what it means to portray love openly in a film. That's what worries us, too. We discussed it for a long time and decided to invite you here after all. If we're talking about a new era, it should have the spirit of a new era. Since there's nothing like it in the country yet, let it start with Beijing Film Studio!"

Among the many film studios in the country, Changchun, Beijing, Shanghai and August First could be called the big four.

August First Film Studio was a military organization, so leaving it aside, the other three were all immensely powerful, had connections reaching to the heavens, and possessed plenty of daring. When things were uncertain in the early days of reform and opening up, they made a number of "outrageously defiant" films.

Beijing Film Studio, for example, had Look at This Family this year. It was actually a comedy-a comedy in 1979!

There was also The Mysterious Buddha, starring Liu Xiaoqing and due for release next year. It was the first commercial action film. The Second Handshake, also due out next year, went without saying: it was adapted from a banned book.

As for Romance on Mount Lu...

There was a writer in Jiangxi named Bi Bicheng. In July this year, he submitted a script to Shanghai Film Studio and went there to revise it. While working on the revisions, he used his spare time to write Romance on Mount Lu.

The story was very simple: the daughter of a Nationalist officer returned to the mainland from the United States and fell in love with the male lead at first sight on Mount Lu, but because of that particular era, they were forced apart.

Five years later, reform and opening up had begun. The female lead returned to Mount Lu, and the two were like dry kindling and a blazing fire, inseparable as glue and lacquer. But the male lead's father was an officer in our Party, and their fathers had even fought each other on the battlefield. The female lead thought it was going to fall apart again, but the male lead's father came to find her of his own accord and said:

"You're a good child who loves the motherland. Though your father is overseas, he too never forgets the motherland... The motherland's realization of the Four Modernizations requires national reunification and ethnic unity. He's welcome to come back!"

It was very much a product of its time.

It might seem awkward now, but back then it was earth-shattering.

As soon as it was released, it swept the country. It was a landmark film. One could even say that, in a history of Chinese cinema after reform and opening up, the very first entry would have to be Romance on Mount Lu.

Chen Qi's version, however, deliberately erased some of the content.

So Jiang Huaiyan said, "We read the script carefully. Its strengths are that the prose flows fairly well and the writing is coherent. Some passages are quite beautiful, and the descriptions of Mount Lu's scenery are vividly lifelike.

But that's also its weakness. You placed too much emphasis on the scenery, leaving it short of dramatic conflict and a realistic background of social life. It's a bit like scenery for scenery's sake."

"Our suggestion is to add some conflict, give the plot more ups and downs, and flesh out the protagonists' backgrounds. More importantly, although you want to portray love, the story ultimately has to come to rest on a broader theme."

"A broader theme? Love for the motherland?"

"Mm, something like that!"

Jiang Huaiyan admired him a little more. The young man was quick to grasp things.

The other editors then shared their thoughts as well. Perhaps because he was young and inexperienced, they truly guided him by the hand. Chen Qi knew they meant well and was very receptive to their advice.

The meeting finally broke up after two hours of discussion.

Liang Xiaosheng went out with him and said, "There are a lot of people at the studio. You can get to know them gradually. If you need anything, just come to me. You don't need to rewrite the whole script. Just glue the new material in place, then copy it out again once the draft is final.

That's how we all make revisions. By the end, the scripts are as thick as big bricks.

Think about it: you put a script that thick in front of the leader and say, 'Look how many times I revised it.' You'll score points for a good impression right off the bat!"

"Ha! Thanks for the advice!"

Chen Qi laughed, then thought for a moment and asked, "What's the fastest revision record here?"

"Twenty days! That screenwriter had a family matter and had to go back to deal with it, so he revised the manuscript overnight... Actually, we all know what's going on. The guesthouse is comfortable, and they come to live off the free food and lodging.

There's nothing wrong with that. We respect screenwriters, and we're willing to give them that treatment."

As they talked, they returned to the guesthouse.

Chen Qi went into his room, bolted the door, and officially began his life of living off others for free.

Since the fastest record was twenty days, he could take about that long, then publish it in Film Creation first to avoid clashing with the original author.

Once the script was finalized and preparations began to assemble the crew, he could keep living off them. After taking care of Romance on Mount Lu, he could write another, then another, living off them for free without end...

Honestly, although Romance on Mount Lu was a classic, he couldn't sit through it.

Some classics were made by their era.

Others were timeless in themselves.

For example, if he were asked to watch The Bund, The Legend of the Condor Heroes 1983 Version, or Huo Yuanjia again, he would surely find them awkward. But he could watch the CCTV adaptations of the Four Great Classics with relish; even in later years, they were still regular fare to watch over a meal.

Teacher Liu's character might not amount to much, but his Monkey was a joy to watch again and again;

Great King Silver Horn was adorably goofy;

Daiyu and Baochai had their first taste of clouds and rain;

Lü Fengxian had just acquired a batch of Western Liang American-style equipment, Pan Jinlian's legs were long and fair, and Yang Simin's version was even more exciting...

So why was Chen Qi bothering with Romance on Mount Lu?

To put it bluntly, it was also because of the times. He didn't dare test the waters of 1979 with another film that hadn't been proven. He had plenty of things in his head, but they were utterly incompatible with the present environment, even a raging flood or a savage beast.

In an open environment, he could have soared straight to the heavens...

"Even if I'm living off them for free, I should at least put on a show!"

Chen Qi pushed open the window. Outside, willows swayed gently. He sat down at the desk and flipped through the script, which was full of revision notes.

Following Liang Xiaosheng's instructions, he found some glue and manuscript paper, wrote a new passage, and pasted it in. After pasting in several passages totaling a few hundred characters, he shut the script with a smack.

"OK! Today's work is done!"

(That's all...)

(End of chapter)