They are not old丨On stage and off stage

Brigitte Lin and her second aunt (photo courtesy of the author)

went to Taipei on December 2, 2022, for four days and three nights, and met several Taipei people I most wanted to see. They were all over 80 years old and could not Use old to describe them, in my eyes they are not old. The only relatives of

in Taiwan are my uncle and my second aunt. Every time I go back to Taipei, I try to ask them out, but they are always considerate of my busy schedule and refuse to take up my time. This time I set aside a special day when I come back to Taiwan, and I must meet them. My second aunt is over 80. When I was young, I studied in Sanguang Elementary School where she taught. She is tall, always soft-spoken and caring about the people around her. She often blames herself for saying or doing wrong things. She is very pure and kind. The second aunt was a widow in her thirties, and she never remarried. She raised three children with one hand. She had gray hair a long time ago, and she still works hard for her children and grandchildren. She is a great woman. My uncle is in his nineties, and recently he has swollen feet and cannot go out in a wheelchair. I remember that when he was in his eighties, he always performed Golden Rooster Independence. He had to stand up on one leg and squat down several times to show off how young he was, and he always dressed in khaki colored hat, jacket and trousers with a shirt underneath.

My second aunt and I took the car to go to Tianmu’s uncle’s house. In the car, my second aunt talked about my mother and her childhood, talked about the hardships my grandma and grandpa had suffered, and recalled how my grandpa passed away. If she doesn't talk about these things, no one will know about them. I dare not make a sound, for fear of accidentally interrupting her. I am very grateful to my second aunt for being willing to tell me. My family never mentioned the past, especially my uncle. He thought the past was too hard and he didn’t want to think about it.

brought a box of guavas and two scarves to my uncle. I said a cotton scarf for summer and a wool scarf for winter. Uncle smiled happily, his white teeth gleaming. The second aunt said that my uncle went to the park in a wheelchair to chat, and often showed off his twenty-eight teeth that were intact and not decayed. I grabbed my uncle's hand and gently stroked his thinner shoulders. It's good to live so optimistically. The second aunt smiled tenderly and caringly: "Brother, you want to eat the guava that Qingxia gave you; brother, don't be reluctant to wrap your scarf; brother..." Uncle grinned happily. How many people in their octogenarians can still be called brothers?

Brigitte Lin and her uncle (photo courtesy of the author)

Bai Xianyong has red lips, white teeth, a flushed face, and a sonorous voice when he speaks. He looks better in photos without makeup than me with makeup on. He is the forever white son. I believe that the best way for Mr. Bai to stay young forever is because he has a sense of mission and has fulfilled his mission. He promoted Kunqu Opera, the quintessence of China, and watched Kunqu Opera come to the world stage and become very popular. He spent most of his life explaining a heavenly book "Dream of Red Mansions", from Taiwan, China to the United States, and from the United States back to Taiwan, China, just like preaching, standing on the podium, walking and speaking for three or four hours. feel tired. He wrote the biography of his father, General Bai Chongxi, and completed "Father and the Republic of China", "Pain Relief and Healing", "Forty Years of Sorrows and Joys: Bai Chongxi and Chiang Kai-shek". If the writer's son hadn't spoken out, who could have said it so clearly? I believe that if General Bai had turned into a white cloud in the sky, he would have roamed freely in the sky; if he had turned into a star in the sky, he would have blinked at his son with bright starlight.

Brigitte Lin and Bai Xianyong (photo courtesy of the author)

usually write a topic outline when they are on stage for a dialogue, and communicate with each other. Teacher Bai confidently said no, we will definitely speak well. After listening to Mr. Bai's speeches many times, the deepest feeling is his sincerity and consistent innocence, so he is never old. The bottom line in my heart is to be a good student and be taught well on stage. I will listen to what Teacher Bai says, and answer obediently when he asks me to say. With this mentality, I am much more at ease. Dialogue in Taipei on December 4th, the main title on the poster is "Practice and Passion for Literature", the subtitle is "Brigitte Lin's Writing Path from "In and Out of the Window" to "Qingxia's Essays", and the following line of small characters "Conversation with Pai Hsien-yung, writer Lin Qingxia and writer". Teacher Bai’s "Bai Xianyong Elaborating on the Dream of Red Mansions" is a writer talking about another writer. Today’s conversation is a writer talking about a person who is obsessed with writing. For an hour and a half, Teacher Bai talked with eloquence, like a literati and general Control the overall situation. At the end of the conversation, we were surrounded and walked back to the lounge. I was still in a daze. Teacher Bai embraced me with open arms, "Very good! Very successful!" he said. I stared at him stupidly: "Really, Teacher Bai? Thank you, Teacher Bai!" Teacher Bai's love and support for me, really, how can I thank you?Great words!

Brigitte Lin and Qiong Yao (photo courtesy of the author)

Miss Qiong Yao has no time for the whole of December, and she managed to find time to meet me on the afternoon of the 5th. The appointment was at 3 o’clock. I didn’t know the distance was far away until I got on the bus. It was 3:30 To arrive, I have to leave at five o'clock to go to the airport, and I only have an hour and a half to talk. The first thing I saw when I entered the door was the black sneakers worn by sister Qiong Yao. There were a few white stripes on the shoes, and she was dressed in a light suit. Why did I grow younger and younger? I couldn’t bear to leave her eyes. Go to the big round ball in front of you, and rest your chin with both hands, so as not to miss any sentence. Sister Qiongyao knew everything and taught me the way of writing endlessly: "The most important thing in writing prose is to have a feeling at the end... All writers' first novels will be considered by readers to be the author's own story, so they must be handled with special care. In fact, I The first novel I wrote was "Misty Rain", and I stopped writing "Outside the Window" halfway through, and "Outside the Window" was written very smoothly, but it became my first novel." She suggested that if I write a novel You can use "Caixia Mantian" as a reference, the hero in the book is a real person. Sister Qiong Yao wrote the book after hearing the story for five years. The protagonist in the story has already gone to the United States to study. One day he found this book at the bookstall, and he just stood there and read the whole book in one go. I listened with gusto. I listened all the way and looked at the person in front of me who had gone through so many vicissitudes in the world, and suddenly asked curiously: "Sister Qiong Yao, why don't you have a single wrinkle?" She laughed like a silver bell: "I didn't do anything." Sister Qiong Yao smiled as if she was surrounded by silver powder, as if she was in a fairy tale world.

Although I stared intently and listened with my ears upright, an hour and a half passed quickly. I hurriedly scanned the furnishings in the room and found that there were exquisite porcelain dolls everywhere. Artists do not want to grow up. I believe sister Qiong Yao also Wants to live in her fairy tale world, but in real life she is as tenacious as Super Invincible King Kong.

just received a message from Mr. Bai Xianyong: "Qingxia, you seem to be obsessed with Taiwan, you might as well write more memories of Taiwan. Although you have been in Hong Kong for many years, you are still Taiwanese in essence. You have a kind of Taiwan (Chinese) )’s cultural heritage, this is what makes Brigitte Lin unique.”

Okay, Teacher Bai, let me write.

Brigitte Lin