There may be as many kinds of fathers as there are men in the world. For children, the ideal father is both tall and warm, able to shield the wind and rain, and as powerful as Doraemon. However, as we grow up, we will find that our father is just an ordinary person, who will not be brave, will be grumpy, will be busy and has no time to spend time with his family... But the imperfect father must also have a great side, for example, he silently carries the weight for the sake of the family, and does his best to give you the most love he can...
Today, movable type Jun shares a particularly warm little book with book friends, "Little Ai, Daddy Misses You Specially". The letter written by the painter Ding Wu to his daughter Xiao Ai during the cadre school, each letter is written in a comic, funny, warm, each stroke contains a strong feeling.
In 1969, Xiao Ai was 8 years old. From May 1969 to August 1972, Xiao Ai lived with him at the Yellow Lake Cadre School, and Ding Wu wrote a total of 61 letters and 277 pages in three years. Because it was a letter to his daughter, he always wanted to write about the little things that were fun. He always wrote, "You say it's fun! Or, "You say it's fun or not?" ”
What are these fun things?
The story of the snake swallowing the frog was the one who remembered it the most: one day, they came back from swimming and saw the dove and the snake fighting for a small fish. As soon as the dove saw the person, it flew, and the little brother Mei who was traveling with him grabbed the tail of the snake and picked it up, and the snake was confused, and then the small fish in his mouth also spit out. They cut the snake open and found a frog inside. The frog was swallowed into the slender body by the snake and turned into a long strip. They peeled off the snake skin and sent Xiao Ai a piece of sun-dried snake skin.
In 1969, Ding Wu's life seemed to be quite relaxed, he spent all day with animals, and the painting style was particularly interesting because of the animals. The cattle he cultivated the land were named "Big Ocean Horse", because riding it was like riding a bicycle, and he also painted Xiao Ai, which showed that this person really had a playful nature.
He herded pigs every day, like sheep, and drove the pigs to the grass to graze. Pigs love to eat field snails, and chew "kaba, kaba" sound, "just like we eat peanut rice". Sigh, he's still quite proud of this pig.
What are the fun things that came up later? Wounded on his hand, acupuncture became a hedgehog, and he asked, "Do you say it's fun?" When it rained the road was slippery and his feet were covered with mud, he also said, "Look, how much fun!" He fell, walked with a stick, he said it was fun; when he was working, he heard a bird called "Ding Wu"—it was really a bit of fun. Even if it is not very fun, his brush turns, and the more humor and cleverness, it will be more interesting.
Whenever he talked about happy scenes, he always painted Xiao Ai into it. He drove a small donkey cart to pull water and thought it was funny, so he said, "When you grow up and come to your father, he will let you sit on the water wheel, do you dare?" "Do you want to ride a big ocean horse with Daddy?" While imagining, he casually painted his daughter.
Another time, somehow, I talked about the blossoming of the iron tree. Maybe Xiao Ai saw the iron tree blossoming and wrote to her father, saying that the iron tree would only bloom once in sixty years. So Ding Wu wrote: "Then if you want to see the iron tree blossom again, you are seventy years old, and your father is a hundred years old... Daddy's white beard and Xiao Ai's braids both grew to the ground. He did draw a picture of Xiao Ai with his hair growing to the ground and his white beard mopping the floor.
Born in 1931 in a family of foreign doctors, Ding Wu was the "king of comics" in the hearts of the post-80s generation, and most of the young people at that time had seen the comics he drew or edited, as well as the foreign comics he introduced into China, such as "Cherry Pills" and "Robot Cat". After graduating from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1952, Ding Wu served as an art editor for China Youth Daily until 1969, when he was decentralized to rural Henan.
At that time, his understanding of rural life was probably not much more than today's urban youth. Suddenly, when I arrived in the countryside and arrived at the Huanghu Five-Seven Cadre School in Henan, the transformation of life was unimaginable, but the degree of bitterness was unimaginable.
Those local labors, such as catching pigs, cutting frogs, driving donkeys, and planting gourds, are interesting under ding wu's humorous brushes and cheerful tone renderings, almost making people believe that the life of cadre school is also uniquely charming. Perhaps because weekdays are always difficult, only because of the thought of my daughter in my heart, the life of cadre school shows a vivid and interesting side. With Xiao Ai in his heart, his father was working while thinking about how to tell his daughter how to be funny, and Xiao Ai seemed to be a filter for dad's hard life.
In a few letters from July 1970, I don't know what happened, Ding Wu's thoughts about his daughter seemed to reach an unbearable point. Ding Wu told Xiao Ai the sad story of four birds - a child stabbed the bird's nest and gave the bird's nest and the four birds inside to Ding Wu. He fed them, learning how the big birds fed the little birds. He liked the birds, fed them several times a day, and it turned out that he didn't know if they were fed too much, and two died; after another day, only one remained. He also wanted to tell Xiao Ai the story of the remaining bird, but unfortunately, the last one also died. "Daddy can't tell Little Ai the story of the little bird anymore!" Finally he sighed.
Perhaps it was the story of the little bird that stung his licking feelings, and in the few letters that followed Ding Wu, the feelings of longing and loneliness became more and more intense, and he was crazy. He was very happy to receive two letters from Xiao Ai. He said, "Daddy isn't angry at all if you don't write to me, Daddy will never be mad at you!" Then add three consecutive exclamation points with the exclamation point "Never!" "Daddy misses you so much!" Daddy misses you so much! "Your letter Daddy read it several times, several times, several times!" "Daddy really wants to fly to your side right away!" It's a pity Dad has no wings! Unfortunately not! Unfortunately not! "It's a letter written with exclamations.
Looking at the moon, he recalled that when he was a child, he held Xiao Ai standing on the balcony, and Xiao Ai said that during the day, the moon would go home to find his mother to eat. He asked Xiao Ai, "Do you remember?" This thought never stopped.
Later, Xiao Ai's photo was sent to his father' hand, and at night, he took it out and looked at it repeatedly. The light went out, and I still wanted to see it, so I paddled a match to see Xiao Ai. When one is gone, another one is drawn until it returns to darkness. We could see a big tear in the corner of his eye. He remembered that when Little Ai was young, she cried when she saw her father swimming—she thought his father had jumped into the water and disappeared.
My father was always smiling and squinting at me and wouldn't force me to do something I didn't like. If I do something wrong, he will be kind enough to reason with me and let me understand what is wrong.
- Xiao Ai
Ding Wu has a proud thing that has been mentioned many times, that is, yang Zirong, the hero in "Wise Tiger Mountain" performed at the celebration. "Dad sang: 'Mao Zedong Thought Shines Forever!' Dad still has to punch... Dad pointed to a mountain carving and said, 'This idiot! However, in the end, he still said: "Xiao Ai, you see how many people are under the stage!" It's a pity there is no Little Ai! ...... But it doesn't matter, in the future, Dad can give Xiao Ai a performance alone. ”
In one letter, Ding Wu said that he had made a "traitor" to Xiao Ai. What is a "traitor"? A look at the picture, painting Xiao Ai happily smoking the gyro, it turns out that "Han traitor" is the reference to the gyroscope. Look, how much fun!
Years later, Xiao Ai recalled that his father often lamented that those years were the most creative years for him, but he spent his talents in the cadre school. Ding Wu painted all his creative desires to his daughter, but unexpectedly achieved the best work in his life. But what is the price of such an "unexpected achievement"? Such sighs and regrets were not seen by the young daughter of that year in the letter, and it was carefully hidden by Ding Wu behind the fun things and interesting drawings.
Poet Wang Xiaoni said that "Xiao Ai" is a fairy tale and testimony in a special era. She wrote:
A father, with a whole lovely letter with words and pictures, has worked hard to block out all the evil deeds and lies of reality that he does not want his children to see, and it is hidden in the adult world. This book allows us to discover that there are beautiful fairy tales in any era, and its rarity lies in the fact that it is a real fairy tale.
Little Ai, my dearest child:
Daddy misses you so special!
Today is November 06, 1971!
Ten years ago today, Mom gave birth to you!
Dad was so happy that day that he wanted to give you a nice name at home. Dad thought about it for three days and three nights, thought of a lot of names, and finally thought of the two words "Jian Ai", and my mother also liked it, so since then you have called Jian Ai.
After you gave birth, you lived in the hospital, and dad wanted to see if you looked like dad, but the hospital wouldn't let you see it. It took several days for Dad to see you and take you home.
At that time, you would cry except eat and sleep in two chairs next to Mom and Dad's big bed. Mom and Dad have to go to work, and no one is watching you, so they send you to Grandma's house and ask Grandma to see you.
Later, Xiao Ai could walk and went to the kindergarten to live. Mom and Dad sent you to kindergarten, and you cried and didn't let Mom and Dad go. Mom is crying too, And Daddy is crying too!
Then I'll take you home on Saturday. At that time, you didn't know where your home was, and you thought Grandma's house was your home. You always want to go back to Grandma's house, and when you get to the night, you cry, and Dad can't do anything about it!
After many days, you got along with your parents and realized that your parents' home is your home. You can't see Daddy and say" "Find Daddy"! Mom went to wash the dishes, you can't see Mom, say "Go to Mom", and go to Mom.
Mom went to the countryside, Dad played with you alone, and you were especially good with Dad! During the day, dad takes you to the street to play, and at night dad shoots you sleeping and sings you a lot of nice songs. You listen and listen, and you fall asleep, and you laugh when you fall asleep!
Later, you grew up and became more and more like Dad, and Dad liked you more and more!
One night you asked Dad, "Where's the moon?" Daddy tells you, "The moon is coming home for dinner!" ”
One day, Dad told you the story of the puppet, telling that the puppet especially missed his father, and when he looked for a long time to find his father in the belly of a big whale, Xiao Ai cried. Do you remember?
……
How Daddy loves Little Ai!
Lots of fun stories! Dad will tell you later!
Little Ai has grown older, and Daddy has grown older! Xiao Ai, remember! November 6, 1961 is your birthday. You're ten years old!
Your dad Ding Wu
November 6, 1971
Ding Wu (first from left) and Xiao Ai (second from left) are with relatives in Japan. (March 1984)
Excerpts from the content
"Little Ai, Daddy misses you very specially!" 》