In the second issue of "Youth" in 1982, a short story was published, titled "Female Star". This is a story with a stream-of-consciousness style. All the gossamer-like emotions overflowed in a short walk. It tells the joy and panic of a young girl after becoming a movie star, and also talks about her ignorant emotions when she first met. The restlessness and shyness at times.
In China in the 1980s, literary journals abounded everywhere, and "Youth" was one of the most popular. It was positioned to discover new talents and enjoyed a supreme status in the hearts of literary youth at that time.
However, the author of this article "Female Star" is not an unknown newcomer. On the contrary, her name has long been a household name. In 1978, at the age of 17, she starred in the movie "Little Flower" and became an instant hit. She also won the first Best Actress Award after the Hundred Flowers Award was restored. She was a well-deserved "top figure" of that era, and her photos can be found in many families - they are on the monthly cards and calendars hanging on the wall, or in a book of "Popular Films" that has been read over and over by the desk and bed. 》. She is Chen Chong.
In the past forty years, the name "Chen Chong" has never faded. She has taken root in the film industry like an evergreen tree. No matter how the scenery on the screen changes, she has always been familiar to generations of audiences. But in the world of literature, she stopped at that issue of "Youth" and did not move forward for a long time.
It was not until 2021 that memories suddenly began to rush and overflow in her thoughts like the melting of glaciers, and she picked up the pen again, from the villa in the San Francisco Bay Area to the ancestral house in the Shanghai alley, from the growth and social encounters of a girl The migrations and ups and downs of our fathers and ancestors, all the way upstream, picking up the past events. In the past two years, more than 200,000 words have been unfolded in front of us. They were first published in serial form in "Shanghai Literature" and recently compiled into an autobiography called "Cat Fish". This time, Chen Chong finally reappeared as a writer.
writes
The surge of memory after the melting of the glacier originated from a separation.
In February 2021, because his mother was diagnosed with terminal lymphoma, Chen Chong and his brother began to take turns returning to Shanghai to accompany her. Before going to bed or waking up, the mother in the hospital bed would often mutter in a daze, "Mom and dad are coming to take me home today." One night, as Chen Chong was about to leave the ward, his mother asked behind him, "Where are you going?" Chen Chong replied, "Go home." Then he found tears welling up in his mother's confused eyes - she said she also wanted to go home. Go back to the pavilion to cleanse yourself. Only then did Chen Chong realize that the home his mother longed for was the ancestral home on Pingjiang Road. She had forgotten that she had moved away from there a long time ago.
Several years ago, my mother suffered from senile amnesia, and her memories were erased bit by bit from her mind. From then on, Chen Chong felt that she was losing the first person in her life who loved her and the first person she loved, because "people are actually memory and time", and life is just a place for these two things to settle. But when the moment of withering life is really approaching, all the psychological preparations made are in vain. What's more, there are still too many memories that are about to pass away that have not been carefully examined and identified.
writer Jin Yucheng actually suggested to Chen Chong very early on to write down all the stories and past events she remembered, as well as those unimpressive times and expressions that were completely filled with dust. He had read her blog post in memory of director Bertolucci, knew she had this ability, and was willing to use her thirty years of editing experience to help her find her romantic yearning for writing. He repeatedly mobilized Chen Chong, but was repeatedly blocked by various excuses.
In the eyes of many people, Chen Chong is strong, courageous, and even possesses a certain kind of formidable ferocity. This is not always the case. She does have a stubborn and determined part, but at the same time she is shy and meek, driven step by step by fate with deep self-doubt.Just like when she first became an actress, she was chosen completely by accident, and then she rose to prominence because of a glance from director Xie Jin. Later, she made her way to the United States, and the turning point was a chance encounter in a parking lot - Hollywood producer Dino De Laurentiis took a fancy to her, which indirectly allowed Bertolucci, who was planning to film "The Last Emperor", to find his ideal empress Wanrong.
Chen Chong also lacks initiative and courage when it comes to writing. She likes the beauty of words and believes in the power of writing, but she only feels that she is a reader. At most, she can paint a few strokes inspired by her feelings, which is nothing. Including the original article "Female Star", it is only "in the novel". Under the cover of this, I expressed my childish feelings." Perhaps, she still needs a completely unavoidable motivation, a hard push on her back.
At the end of September 2021, my mother's condition suddenly worsened, and she developed symptoms of severe infection and mild heart failure. Chen Chong flew back to Shanghai again and took care of her for more than a month before leaving. Unexpectedly, not long after leaving, the doctor issued a critical notice. Her brother told her that her mother might not see her for the last time. At that moment, Chen Chong seemed to see the God of Death sitting beside his mother's bed, wearing a black cloak.
By the time Chen Chong returned home to Shanghai, his mother had been put into an urn. Her father told her hoarsely and tiredly that the box was kept with him until he died and would be thrown into the sea together. She began to sort out her mother's belongings and also began to find out about her mother's past. In an alumni address book left by his mother, Chen Chong found dozens of names and sent letters one by one: "I am collecting my mother's information and hope to write it down. Maybe, I just want to learn more about it in the process. Find her again and keep her. "
This pen started by my mother has never been put down after being held in my hand. Chen Chong's writing does not stop at her mother, but includes her father, grandparents, grandparents, husband, daughter, and even old friends, including her own experiences and tastes of her sixty years of life. She became famous too early. Chen Chong has repeatedly recounted many past events, so much so that she has been reprinting them again and again. But this time, she said that most of what she wrote has never been told to anyone.
Chen Chong's writing has its own tone and interest. She focuses on daily life and details, and is interested in thoughts and emotions. However, this does not prevent the vicissitudes of life behind the private past from revealing their background. Intentionally or unintentionally, the personal history and family history written by Chen Chong are woven together with the grand process of the outside world - just like they were originally Same as when it happened. Jin Yucheng is the first reader of all the text in
. He was delighted with the delicacy, freedom and straightforwardness presented by Chen Chong, and even more appreciated that "her people and events, especially the history of several generations of intellectuals, have filled the narrative gaps in literary Shanghai." For Chen Chong, all these are due to his company: "Because Jin Yucheng is beside me, I feel like I am confiding to him alone. Only with this sense of security can I continue to write. .”
Memory
Chen Chong is not a person who is obsessed with memory. Once upon a time, another writer friend once wrote in a book: "Chen Chong is a person who seldom remembers her. First, life is too hurried, and second, she does not allow herself to be sentimental, because sentimentality will affect her ability to do practical work." But this does not mean that memory is not important to her. On the contrary, she attaches great importance to the meaning and value of memory: "I think memory and imagination are everything to us. They extend the limited life in a twists and turns."
In the realm of creation, memory plays a particularly prominent role, not only in writing, but also in movies. In addition to acting, Chen Chong has directed a total of three feature films so far. Except for "Autumn in New York", which was invested, restricted and compromised by Lakeshore and MGM, the other two are all related to memory.
In 1995, Chen Chong participated in the Berlin Film Festival and served as a judge for the main competition. In two weeks, she watched a lot of disappointing movies, "neither audio-visual sensory stimulation, nor ideological impact, subversion or spiritual sublimation."So, she made a decision: to direct a movie by herself, to say what she wanted to say, and to commemorate the youth of a generation.
The movie is adapted from a friend's novel and tells the story of the ups and downs of an educated youth girl. Chen Chong wrote the first draft of the script himself, starting in a Berlin hotel and finishing it when the plane landed in San Francisco. Many of the clips had already formed a concrete picture in her mind, and the scenes were all familiar looks from the era when she grew up. By the time the crew was established, all kinds of magazines, fabrics, schoolbags, belts, water bottles and other props and objects were piled up. All the colors, textures and smells came back. The stories in the movie seemed to gradually merge with her memories, and they seemed familiar.
If Chen Chong did not really experience going to the countryside to jump in the queue because she entered the training class of the Shanghai Film Actor Troupe, then in 2017 she directed another film, which has more fuses that touch the memory - this one The work titled "English" is adapted from the novel of the same name by writer Wang Gang. Through the perspective of young Liu Ai, it tells the story of the growth, confusion, dreams and impulses of a group of children in a special era, as well as their relationship with an English teacher. The touching friendship between them.
According to the time clue of the story, Liu Ai and Chen Chong are similar in age and both grew up in the 1970s; Liu Ai longed to speak pure English, and Chen Chong also insisted on learning English from his mother, records and radio when he was a child; Chen Chong had a thick book A thick English dictionary is what Liu Ai dreams of possessing...
Wang Yajun, an English teacher from Shanghai, reflects the shadow of his relatives on many levels. Chen Chong's second aunt and aunt have a similar mobility trajectory to Wang Yajun: one went to rural Ningxia after graduating from the Department of Architecture of Tsinghua University, and the other went to Zeku, Qinghai after graduating from China Medical University. They both left their hometown and went to the remote and desolate northwest. As for Wang Yajun's elegance, kindness and firm belief, she looks very much like her grandfather: "They represent the noblest feelings and virtues of Chinese intellectuals."
Two movies, the same era, the same memory. This is no coincidence. Chen Chong has admitted that he is not a talented director, nor is he a technical director. He must have a strong desire for narrative to be able to do it. And all kinds of memories from her youth can always bring her such a desire to stimulate her. "Actually, filmmakers all have themselves inside. For all creators, childhood and adolescence are the source of creation throughout their lives." Chen Chong said, "No one can choose their own theme, and no one can escape their own theme." What we are touched and what kind of spiritual sublimation we yearn for are determined by personal experience. They come to us at the same time as fate.”
The only difference is that the specific tone and subtle texture have changed after 22 years. difference. Although Chen Chong is nostalgic and never decisively cuts off and abandons everything he clung to in the past, some things are indeed changing. Just like when she went abroad at the age of 20, she brought a cardboard box with hundreds of badges of various sizes inside. It was a treasure that she and her brother had collected since childhood, and it was also a spiritual force that she relied on religiously as she grew up. Later, during the days of wandering, this box was inexplicably nowhere to be found during the constant moving. The once precious treasure was quietly lost.
"Memory is an emotional and subjective thing that is inseparable from the state of the person involved. The past years must be changing every day. From the debut novel to "Inglis", the appearance must be different. Because the appearance of memory has changed." Chen Chong said.
enriched
When he directed his first film, Chen Chong had not yet become a mother. By the time "English" was launched, the eldest daughter was already 19 years old and the younger daughter was 15 years old. Therefore, in Chen Chong's subconscious mind, this work was also made for her two children. She wanted them to know how their mother grew up as a girl.
In the past ten years, children have been the most important part of Chen Chong's life: "This has been a very challenging decade. The two children encountered various difficulties during their adolescence. There is no simple instruction manual that can teach you how to Being a mother is something your children teach you slowly.So this decade is the hardest and the best. "
Chen Chong has many mixed parts. A friend once described her as a "mixed contradiction". For example, she is free and unrestrained, with a distinctive and eye-catching independence of modern women, but she also retains some traditional connotation and longing for I long to be loved, desire to marry, and desire to have children. I believe that a lovely woman should be virtuous and quiet. She will cry for a long time over a failed marriage and be intoxicated by the sweetness of a happy family. "From the outside, I am the brighter one. At that time, in fact, that period was the lowest point in my life. Some of the times when I may have disappeared were actually moments when I was very happy. "She said that between life and work, she values life more than the pursuit of career.
Therefore, when he won seven awards at the film festival for his directorial debut, Chen Chong's focus had already begun to shift to his children. Then At an award ceremony, she was sitting in the audience and endured the pain of engorged breasts. She knew that the first half of her life was over, but she was willing to do so because "a mother will defend to the death only her children and the things that children rely on to survive." Environment, nothing else." From then on, she no longer filled herself with busyness, nor was she fearless and courageous. She tried her best to take on some short-term shooting projects, thinking about how to shorten the separation from her family every time. .
There are still good harvests in his career, especially in the two years of 2007 and 2008, Chen Chong delivered four movies in succession, "Yi", "Lust, Caution", "The Sun Also Rises" and "Tale of 24 Cities". The latter three films are all works by top Chinese-speaking directors. Although she is not the protagonist in them, her unique touch of color shines brightly. "Yi" was directed by a Chinese-Australian director, which helped her win three awards in one fell swoop. The trophy for the best actress.
However, in comparison, Chen Chong has been a bit dull on the screen in the past ten years, although there are also roles such as Sheriff La Yun in "Manslaughter" and the old queen Yixiu in "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace". , the deputy mayor's wife in "Solid as a Rock" and other roles, but both the character weight and the quality of the film are difficult to compare with those previous works to a certain extent.
This is of course due to Chen Chong becoming more and more relaxed at work. The reason cannot be solely attributed to herself. Many times, actors are passive, and the kind of works and roles they can encounter depend on the overall creative consciousness, market atmosphere and cultural environment. What's more, Chen Chong is 63 years old. As an actress, she belongs to the category. Her opportunities, her place and her space are unlikely to ever be the same again
“That’s just part of life. Regarding this, Chen Chong was indifferent, "I am not unhappy at all. I have experienced all kinds of ups and downs. I am not such a person. Life itself is the most important, and fulfilling yourself is the pleasure." , the source of happiness. "
Not long ago, she just listened to a new song by Celine Dion. The voice was very thin and the breath was very short, but it was very moving. She especially liked what this world superstar who suffers from stiff man syndrome said in the interview. Quote: "If I can't run, I'll walk; if I can't walk, I'll crawl; I won't stop, I won't stop." She hopes she is like this: "The only immortality is to continue to create. It is meaningful only to be in a state of creation forever." "
Chen Chong indeed continues to create: at the end of June, the new version of "The Wedding Banquet" in which she participated was announced to be finalized; another American drama in which she starred, "oh. what. fun." is also being filmed in Atlanta; at the same time, just a few days ago , the movie "Brother" was released in North American theaters. As the starring role, she followed the crew for several days of promotion. And now, she may have another way of creation besides acting and directing-" At this time when I have been a little busy recently, I really miss the days when I could calm down and write."
Published in the 1153rd issue of "China News Weekly" magazine on August 19, 2024
Magazine title: Chen Chong: The only immortal thing is to continue to create
Reporter : Xu Pengyuan
Editor: Yang Shiyang
