"I met you on screen forty years ago!"
These were the words that Premier Zhou Enlai had said to Chaplin at that time.
Zhou Enlai and Chaplin in 1954
In fact, Zhou Enlai, who was still studying in Tianjin in 1914, had heard of Chaplin, and later when he studied abroad, he could often see Chaplin's posters on the street. However, at that time, Zhou Enlai was still a poor student and had no money to watch Chaplin's films.
This time in the summer of 1954, the Geneva Conference was in full swing. When Premier Zhou Enlai learned by chance that Chaplin was also in Geneva, he decided to invite Chaplin to his residence.
However, at that time, Chaplin had already been suppressed by the United States, and the other side also released a message saying:
Whoever dares to release a Chaplin film will be severely punished.
So no one dared to look for Chaplin to shoot in this situation, and such a famous comedian was instantly forgotten.
At his most difficult time, he received a call from Premier Zhou saying that he was going to invite him to dinner, and Chaplin was naturally very excited, after all, Premier Zhou's reputation was well known to the world, even he was no exception.
To Chaplin's surprise, Premier Zhou personally stood at the door to greet him. Although Chaplin had seen many great men in his previous decades, no one had ever personally stood at the door to greet him, because in their eyes, even if he was very famous, he was just a comedian, and could not be compared with high society.
When Premier Zhou met with Chaplin, he exchanged a few words of greeting, and then invited the Chaplin family into the house, and Premier Zhou Enlai invited some Chinese filmmakers to dinner together. Because Premier Zhou feels that he is not a very Dong art person, with their company, he can be more relaxed, and he can provide learning opportunities for the future development of the film industry in New China.
Zhou Enlai and Chaplin meet
In the meantime, Chaplin also asked Premier Zhou two questions with concern.
The first question is how is the Geneva conference going? Premier Zhou's answer was that everything was resolved peacefully. This answer seems to be light and cloudy, but the people around the premier's bitter side of this week are looking at it. Through this meeting, the flames of war in Indochina were extinguished and northern Vietnam was completely liberated, which once again disrupted the strategic deployment of the United States to threaten New China from the three fronts of Korea, Taiwan, and Indochina, and let the world see the refreshing style of New China's diplomacy, China's foreign policy of peace, and the weight of New China in handling international issues. Headline newspapers from all over the world also reported premier Zhou's deeds.
Zhou Enlai attended the Geneva Conference
The second question, which Chaplin most wanted to know, was what had changed in China today? Because Chaplin had come to China before, he recalled that he used two words to describe "miserable!" Chaplin used to come to Shanghai, China, although it was a very prosperous city, famous ladies everywhere, many foreigners lived a very luxurious life here, and the children of the poor families who sold newspapers on the roadside said that they were not even as good as a dog next to the nobles, which made Chaplin very sympathetic.
During the Republic of China period, the rich young master compared with the children of the poor family
However, that visit to Chaplin in Shanghai was not without gains. He met Mei Lanfang and Ma Lianliang, a famous Peking Opera artist in China, and they became close friends with each other as they were.
In his conversation with Premier Zhou, Chaplin revealed a strong affection for China. To this end, Premier Zhou told Chaplin the story of the Long March of the Red Army and the founding ceremony of New China, discussed how the Chinese people stood up step by step, and sincerely extended an invitation to Chaplin " I hope you can come to China to see it again."
Their conversation continued until lunchtime, when Zhou Enlai asked the staff to prepare the dishes, and one of the dishes that impressed Chaplin the most was the roast duck, which premier Zhou often prepared for entertaining guests. During the meal, Chaplin also performed his masterpiece "Duck Step" for Premier Zhou in public.
It was such a simple and simple gathering, and it was also the fate of Premier Zhou Enlai and Chaplin, which left a deep impression on each other. At the time of farewell, Chaplin clasped the hand of Premier Zhou and repeatedly said excitedly: "Today is the day I will never forget!" ”
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