Cover News Reporter Zhang Jie Intern Zhang Chen
More than ten years ago, one day after writing "The King of Shanghai", Hongying stayed at the Shanghai International Hotel. She had a very strange dream: someone came into her room in the middle of the night, opened her closet, put on her clothes, walked in front of her, and jumped out of the window. After that, she asked the relevant staff of the hotel and learned some stories about female stars in the 1940s. This stimulated her interest in exploring the past of the International Hotel. She conducted a lot of interviews and searches, mobilized her memories of Shanghai experience, and finally produced a novel featuring a female celebrity spy as the protagonist. This became the source of the novel "Death of Shanghai".
In the autumn and winter of 1941, China had been fighting for four years. The war in Europe was at its most urgent juncture, but the isolated island of Shanghai was like a paradise. Director Tan Na decided to perform in the romantic drama "Foxtrot Shanghai" and invited Yu Jin, a famous actor living in Hong Kong, to perform in Shanghai. Yu Jin agreed, but she had several goals of her own. She stayed in the international hotel, and the allies and the Japanese army. , Wang Puppet, and other espionage personnel launched an intelligence war against time. When Yu Jin finally obtained the key information-the sneak attack target of the Japanese air carrier cluster, she faced the most troublesome problem in her life. What is her loyalty to protect? She made a decisive decision, but history has turned a decisive corner. The first draft of the novel "Death of Shanghai" was published in the "Harvest" magazine, and it can be called the sister of "The King of Shanghai".
In "The King of Shanghai", Hong Ying writes Xiao Yuegui, about her process from a little girl to a gangster queen. In "Death in Shanghai", she wrote about a female star, as an intelligence officer, how to face love and hatred, and how to choose life and death. Hong Ying's profound and delicate depiction of female psychology and growth, as well as the structure of the drama in the play, deeply attracted the famous film director Lou Ye. In the end, he made "The King of Shanghai" into the big movie "Lanxin Theater", starring Gong Li and Zhao Youting. At the beginning of September 2019, the film "Lan Heart Theatre" was shortlisted for the "Main Competition Unit" of the 76th Venice International Film Festival. It is scheduled to be screened in Mainland China on December 7 this year. It is considered "the most worthwhile Chinese film industry in 2019." Looking forward to the movie.
The story of "Death of Shanghai" is closely related to Shanghai International Hotel. Hongying said, it can be regarded as "the first Chinese "hotel novel". She admires the Jewish writer Vigie Baum's world's first hotel novel "Shanghai 37", which was changed into a movie by MGM, Garbo Starring, won an Oscar. There is a famous sentence: "People are here again, people will go again. What has never changed is that the hotel remains the same. "Let Hongying feel the same way." The hotel is a microcosm of modern society. The inn of the ancients is a distant projection of the communication between towns and villages. The skyscraper hotel is a living projection of modern society. The plot possibilities created by the divided space of the hotel far exceed any space in pre-modern China. Strangers at the End of the World, living in the same house, still don't know each other, but may fall in love or commit suicide. After the incident, the people next door knew nothing. Isn't this a symbol of modern urban society? Those who live in big hotels, think about this possibility, should read a hotel novel first. "
Hongying accepts cover news interview:
In writing, I am still the "hungry daughter"
Hongying is a typical hardworking and productive writer. She maintains the rhythm of writing, such as "The Hungry Daughter". "Good Sons and Daughters", "K—British Lover", "The King of Shanghai", "Death of Shanghai", "Shanghai Magician", etc. These works are also well sold and well-known. Hongying's works are also popular in the film and television industry. For example, "The King of Shanghai" was adapted into a movie of the same name starring Yu Nan and Hu Jun. "Death of Shanghai" was adapted by Lou Ye and starred by Gong Li. Hong Ying's continuous creative inspiration and lively storytelling skills follow. Where did she come from, and what kind of writing secrets did she have?
On October 27th, Hong Ying came to Chengdu to discuss literature and film with writer Jiang Lan at Wenxuan BOOKS bookstore, sharing the creative experience and creation of "Death of Shanghai" Feel, tell the story behind the "Lanxin Grand Theater". Before the sharing session, the cover news reporter also had a conversation with Hongying.
Cover News: How many of your novels are inseparable from Shanghai Relationship. You are not from Shanghai. Where does such a strong and obvious Shanghai complex come from?
Hongying: My father is from Shanghai. He started from Shanghai and walked through the cities of the Yangtze River, and finally stopped in the mountain city of Chongqing on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Live a lifetime. In the late 1980s, when I went to Fudan University to study, I often went to live with my aunt. Went around Nanjing Road with my cousin, watched all-night movies on weekends, and walked past the entrance of international restaurants late at night. I am very interested in the scenes in Zhang Ailing's novels. It can be said that I have deep emotions, experiences and memories of Shanghai.
Cover News: There are many writers who write about Shanghai, and many of them are accomplished writers. What do you think is the important difference between Shanghai and other writers?
Hongying: The Shanghai I wrote is actually the Shanghai in my heart. The Shanghai written in my novel is my "fictional" Shanghai. I "created" a city called Shanghai. I think this is an outstanding feature of my writing about Shanghai. Of course, in order to make the details more vivid, I checked a lot of information. Many witnesses were interviewed. However, the real material, in my opinion, is the bottom line. A novel still needs to develop artistic imagination on a solid foundation.
Cover News: This novel has also been adapted into a movie by Lou Ye. Have you communicated with the lead actor Gong Li? What's your comment on her performance?
Hongying: Gong Li sat in front of me during the premiere. I told Gong Li: You acted very well. She was very happy. My feeling is: her previous performances made me think she was Gong Li, but this inside made me forget that she was Gong Li. In the past two years, Gong Li's acting skills have reached a completely new level.
Cover News: You are not disgusted with the label of "feminist" writing, but rather bluntly, this is a work with a strong feminist color.
Hongying: This novel is the "Big Heroine" novel. This is also a feature that attracted Lou Ye. I also believe that he understands. Before that, there was a particularly well-known film director with a good box office who asked me for the copyright of this novel, but I didn't give it. I still think that Director Lou Ye is very special, he can finally feel the psychology and destiny of women in my works most.
Cover News: You have become a kind mother and a happy woman from "hungry daughter". How does this change of identity affect your writing?
Hongying: Although I am a kind mother now, I am still a "hungry daughter" in writing. I still want to write for the wonderful female destiny that is worth writing.
