Sing for the people
- Old Books Retrospective No. 10
Written by Guan Yinong
In the Chinese literary world, He Jingzhi is a well-known figure. The opera "The White-Haired Girl" he composed is well known to women and children, and it has been performed so far. And his "Song Collection" has set a towering benchmark in the history of Chinese new poetry.
The first edition of the Song Collection, which included poems written by He Jingzhi between 1956 and 1959, was published by the People's Literature Publishing House in December 1961 as one of the "10th Anniversary of the National Day" series. My collection is a book that was reprinted in September 1972, and it is said that this is the first book to lift the ban on "17 years of literature" since the liberation during the Cultural Revolution. The cover is designed in sky blue, with the author's self-titled black cursive title in the upper part and the lower part in Yan'an and Baota Mountain pastel paintings, designed by the famous painter Shi Lixing. 32 pages, 217 pages, pricing 052 yuan.
The reprint of the book contains 15 new poems, almost double the size of the first edition, and extends to 1965. The first poem in the opening book is still the popular "Back to Yan'an", a writing technique in the style of Xintianyou, created in 1956, with a strong loess flavor in northern Shaanxi. Later, He Jingzhi once recalled: "The ordinary poem "Back to Yan'an" has nothing to do with the great Yan'an, and the towering Pagoda Mountain is not famous by this poem. But for me personally, it's really an important mark in my journey and creative process. In 1956, I participated in the Youth Afforestation Conference of the Five Northwest Provinces (Regions) organized by the Youth League **, and returned to Yan'an, which had been absent for more than ten years. During the meeting, the delegates and I visited the old sites in Yan'an, planted trees on the top of Yangjialing Mountain, and visited the cadres and villagers in Qiaoergou, where the alma mater Lu Yi is located. There will be a party before the end of the conference, and I am going to sing about my feelings about returning to Yan'an this time in the form of Xintianyou. March in Yan'an was still very cold, humming and writing at night, while crying excitedly, unconsciously, I lost my voice from a cold, and I couldn't go on stage to recite, and when I came back, I published a transcript in the literary journal "Yanhe". The poet Zang Kejia praised this poem: "This is my favorite poem since the liberation, and I am afraid it is also the most representative poem of Comrade He Jingzhi." Every time I read it, I always think of Du Fu's "Gift to the Eight Guards". I guess there's a reason for that. These two excellent poems are written about reunion after a long absence. The sincerity of emotions and the realm of artistic achievements can be compared. Of course, the atmosphere and mood of "Back to Yan'an" are completely different from "Gift to the Eight Guards". The former is a golden light of hope shining between the lines of extreme joy, while the latter is so sad that it makes people feel gloomy when they read it. In 1964, He Jingzhi wrote "Back to Nanniwan", which is also a poem in the style of Xintianyou, which is also a praise of the holy land of Yan'an and a tribute to the revolutionary spirit, and these two poems have achieved a perfect unity in form and content.
It was "Back to Yan'an" that opened the second glorious period of He Jingzhi's creative career. The classic works in the history of poetry such as "Singing Loudly", "The Window of the Train to the West", "The Song of Lei Feng", "China's October", "The Song of August 1st", "The Song of Guilin Landscape", "Sanmenxia - Dresser" and other classic works in the history of poetry represent the strongest voice of an era, which has caused a shock in the literary world, strongly shakes the hearts of the young people of that era, and has also become the most commonly selected and popular work in various poetry recitals. His long lyric poem "Singing Loudly" draws on the writing style of the Soviet poet Mayakovsky, and adopts the "staircase" poetic style of "long sentences and lines", which integrates the flexibility and openness of free verse with the symmetry of the lines and the harmony of rhythm, and successfully expresses the majestic and unrestrained poetry. Although the language is straightforward and vulgar, and has obvious political birthmarks, the whole poem is full of strong optimism and revolutionary heroism, which is nothing less than a masterpiece of that era to inspire people's enthusiasm in terms of the grandeur, brightness, and beauty of the socialist cause. The long poem "The Song of Lei Feng" places Lei Feng between the broad historical background and real life, revealing the great significance of learning Lei Feng. It is precisely because He Jingzhi strives to follow the basic laws of literature in his creation that conforms to the requirements of the times, so his poems have not become purely suitable works like those political poems that have emerged in large numbers in the past, and they will still leave an indelible nostalgia in people's hearts. This is one of the important reasons why I have collected the Songbook.
In his later years, He Jingzhi transformed into a new ancient style poem, focusing on the creation of new ancient style poems. The so-called new ancient style poetry is the modern Chinese "ancient poetry", which has the charm of ancient poetry, but is not as "restrained" as the rhythmic poem, paying attention to rhyme but not paying attention to the plain, a bit more similar to the ancient style of writing in the Tang Dynasty, new words can be incorporated into the poem, and more attention is paid to creating artistic conception. In fact, since 1962, He Jingzhi began to study the theory of neo-classical poetry, and at the same time began the creative practice of neo-classical poetry. So far, more than 360 of his new classical poems have been collected, and many readers like his free verses as much as they like his free verses. Here, you might as well quote three "wine" poems written by him: the first poem "Drinking Lanling Wine": "Where does Taibai visit, Lanling enters the drunken country." After I came here for a thousand years, I will share this with you. Rugged reminiscence of Shu Road, the wind and waves say Yelang. Shishu wine tastes like wine, and generosity gives a new chapter. The second song "Congratulations to the Moutai Poetry Club of the Chinese Wine Culture Festival": "The wine festival will be a poet, and the poems on wine will be expressed." Deeply extract the spring water of the people's hearts and brew the Moutai in the poem. The third song "Changbai Mountain Tianchi Short Song": "Half a life often drink without being drunk, even if there are thousands of joys and sorrows." In order to prepare for the global feast, come to Tiantian Pool to try to get drunk. "How? Isn't it quite ancient, but it's full of new words. I very much agree with his innovative practice.
He Jingzhi was born in 1924 and is still alive and is already 100 years old. He spent his life singing for the people.
About the Author:Guan Yinong, who has been in the army for 23 years, has been running a newspaper for 28 years after changing jobs, has worked in a newspaper for many years, is a senior editor and reporter, and has won the gold medal of the newspaper supplement of the China News Award. Monographs include "Dictionary of the Art of War and Strategy", etc., and many essays and small ** articles have appeared in domestic newspapers and periodicals. Since his retirement, he has been active in interviewing and writing.