"Iron door, iron window iron chain, hand holding the iron window I look out." How wonderful is life outside, and when will I return to my homeland? Chains lock me, friends listen to me sing songs..."
In the late autumn of 1958, the cold wind in Harbin failed to blow this song "Tears in the Iron Window", but sent a small treasure.
His name was Chi Zhiqiang, and his eyes were watery.
Perhaps it was the heavens who pitied him in the early winter of the gray and abrupt north, and gave him a relatively "bright" family situation. It is rumored that Chi's father was a policeman and Chi's mother was a literary and artistic worker. Although it is not rich and expensive, there are always well-off.
Like all boys who have played with their families, Chi Zhiqiang as a child also has a heart to repay the country, "Be a policeman, take a pistol, and eliminate all the bad guys!" ”
But I didn't expect that one day, I would become the "bad guy".
01
In 1972, the clarion call of reform and opening up had not yet sounded. Cities that have "developed" early have already smelled the fragrance in advance.
That year, Chi Zhiqiang was admitted to the Changchun Film Studio through layers of selection and became a small actor who was eager to debut.
It is still half a showman.
But the artists weren't as fancy as they are now, and the audience's receptivity wasn't as strong. Only people with good looks and excellent character can stand out, and vice versa can only be eliminated.
He should have understood this long ago.
From Harbin to Changchun more than 200 miles, countless parents and friends came to see him off, and Chi Zhiqiang was both excited and sentimental.
The train roared by, tears and anticipation boiling hot in the rumble.
The mood at that moment was as Zhang Ailing wrote, "He sat alone on the sofa, and there was the quiet buried deep in the gold dust and gold sand in the room." It was windy and rainy outside, and the mountains were all over today. ”
When he first entered the film studio, Chi Zhiqiang was very uncomfortable, and the moment he entered the dormitory with the team teacher, he was completely dumbfounded:
I saw that it was a very simple mud house, with two rows of north-south oriented large shops, like a large earthen kang in the countryside.
He looked at the Same Shocked Changchun classmates around him, and looked at the Beijing roommate who had already made the bed, and he was too speechless to speak.
"Did you know how big the gap was at that time? It's like feeling like an actor, how can you sleep in such a room? But then I figured out that any profession is equal, and there is no such thing as good or bad conditions. ”
In addition to the poor conditions, the acting class is more high-pressure.
The teacher who gave Chi Zhiqiang a lesson was Mr. Bai Dezhang, who went to Changchun to enroll. Every day, Teacher Bai will come to guide the students at fixed points, and any action will be "cut" in place.
After hard training, he quickly got started and starred in the hit drama "Sunny Days" the following year.
This is the first screen debut, and it is a touch of light in his heart.
Since then, "Reef" and "Entrepreneurship", countless classic masterpieces, unforgettable screen images, he has more and more resources in contact, and the strength in his hands has begun to grow.
How to describe Chi Zhiqiang at that time?
If you shout "Chi Zhiqiang is coming" to the crowd, it is estimated that the entire train station will boil.
In that era when information was not developed, such a tall and burly man broke into the atrium of everyone's heart, including eighteen or nineteen-year-old girls.
But that's not the pinnacle.
In 1979, "Small Characters" was broadcast.
The somewhat stunned and somewhat embarrassed conductor attracted the attention of thousands of viewers, and also allowed Chi Zhiqiang to gain greater exposure.
At night, he carried the little horse to the team to watch a big movie, and after the show, the big guys talked about him the most, even the old woman who didn't know a big word was quite fond of it.
Public opinion is the sky.
That year, Chi Zhiqiang won the National Outstanding Youth Creation Award from the Ministry of Culture personally issued by the Central Committee, and the official media praised him even more.
The image of a five-good youth rises.
"Gu One Lost", "Hidden Shadow", "Sunset Street", "The Last Eight". Flipping through his resume, Chi Zhiqiang was simply dazzling enough to make people unable to open their eyes.
That will be people often said, handsome and straight-eyed, but also received praise from the central government, such a guy is simply a model of finding an object!
But the handsome guy also has troubles.
Because the media has a single channel of publicity, fans can only learn about idols through television.
Many emotional audiences actually spontaneously organized to see him privately, so that every time Chi Zhiqiang filmed, he could only hide in the hotel and not come out, otherwise he would be besieged by a group of people.
Even normal life is difficult, let alone social?
But people always have to find some fun for themselves.
02
In 1982, when filming "The Moon to the Mid-Autumn Festival", he met Liu Xiaoqing, the eldest sister in the industry.
Both are literary and artistic workers, and both are well-known, so it is inevitable that they will intersect and talk more.
But I didn't expect that there was an "accident" while chatting.
Before leaving Nanjing, Liu Xiaoqing tentatively asked him if he could find a few cars to take him to the station.
Chi Zhiqiang, who has always been good-looking, resolutely agreed, but he opened his mouth and regretted his death: he didn't have a car, and where did he get the car to send others?
No car but there is visibility.
After hearing the news, a rich woman and sister promised to send him a few cars, a red flag, plus a van, and the face was proper.
But there is never a free lunch in this world.
After the car storm passed, the eldest sister invited Chi Zhiqiang to sit at home.
According to his own recollection, it was an ancient castle with more than 20 rooms, and there was a guard platoon patrolling the courtyard, which did not look like the display that an ordinary person should have.
The eldest sister is warm and cheerful, and what he is invited to participate in is not a high-level meeting, but a private party held by a group of male and female partners.
Most of the girls have beautiful faces and are enthusiastic like fire, accompanied by music and drums, everyone twists their waists, and they play veneer dance in the depths.
This is really nothing, but in the original era that was not yet open, so open, simply wanton!
"You ask me how much I love you, how much do I love you?" My love is unswerving, my love is unchanged, and the moon represents my heart. A deep kiss still touched my heart..."
Teresa Teng's songs, soft and gentle, talking about love is always so bone-chilling and bottomless. The young man's blood spurted rapidly at that moment, and the uncontrolled brain began to move towards the edge of desire.
Perhaps Chi Zhiqiang never dreamed that at that moment, he would be named "rogue".
Because of the frequent holding of parties, many neighbors around them protested and even quarreled with them.
Finally, the thunder exploded in 1983.
Chi Zhiqiang was filming in Hebei that year, and as usual, after work, he hid in his dormitory and played poker with his friends, when a sudden knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Who?"
Seeing that there was no squeak outside the door, he turned to pack up, and when he opened the door, he found that it was actually a group of police officers.
Because he often dealt with cadres and policemen, plus Chi Zhiqiang could have spoken well, he was not afraid, but he generously talked to him, "What's wrong?" Who's messing with you again? ”
Seeing that the other party did not squeak, he glanced out the door, and it did not matter if he did not look, there were rows of police and armed forces standing in the corridor.
It's really moving!
Seeing that Chi Zhiqiang showed his head, the police rushed up and threw him to the ground, and handcuffed his hands, shouting in his mouth, "I received a notice from the Nanjing public security department asking you to be arrested for hooliganism!" ”
As soon as he heard the words Nanjing, he immediately understood.
At that time, the central authorities were strictly investigating the problem of work style, and as a public figure, his behavior was so "excessive", who did he not take as a typical example?
Chi Zhiqiang, who had just been arrested, still had a fluke mentality, and he thought that if he confessed what he had done in Nanjing, he would not get a trace of pity and forgiveness from the other side.
In fact, instead of being forgiven, the guilt will be made clear because of the clarity of the facts.
"Four years in prison, immediate execution!"
To be precise, the moment he heard the verdict, he was ignorant.
03
From the proud son of heaven and the sharp figure in the audience's heart to the prisoner under the order, Chi Zhiqiang never thought that this human script was actually his own.
In addition to him in the detention center, many people were arrested for hooliganism, and several of them were sentenced to death for peeking into the women's restroom, with a two-year suspension of execution.
In comparison, he is still "light".
Life in prison is hard. The rusty windows, the dayless torment, and the public opinion condemnation that crushed people all made Chi Zhiqiang breathless.
From unacceptable to slowly understanding to learning to adapt, he spent a lot of time, and finally got a two-year commutation after waking up.
There is finally a little new hope in life.
After his release from prison, he returned to his original unit to take up his job, and he also thought about returning to the big screen, but in the end he failed to do so.
In the days of idleness, Chi Zhiqiang often recalled his original prison time, and he shed tears while thinking, and "Tears of the Iron Window" was born.
In addition to "Tears of The Iron Window", "Tears of Remorse", "Embrace Tomorrow", "Sorrow" and other songs have also come out.
In "Releasing Tears of Remorse", Chi Zhiqiang did not have a point, and it was not until he finally paid 140,000 taxes that he took back the 90,000 that belonged to him.
After regaining his life, he was in awe of life.
After that, he received commercial performances one after another, and his life gradually began to improve.
During the performance, he met Chi Daiying, the chief of the finance section, and the two fell in love. Chi Daiying does not care about Chi Zhiqiang's past, and he does not care about his future.
He lives only for him in the moment and does not ask questions about the West.
After marrying in 1988, the two settled in Hangzhou and then gave birth to a son. The family of three finally lived a safe and comfortable life.
Today, Chi Zhiqiang, who is already more than half a hundred years old, understands life and sees through life, and he often shares his artistic life on social platforms, interpreting those ditches and bumps in a similar semi-ridiculous way.
Some time ago, he also brought goods to sell red wine on a certain platform, while singing "Iron Window Tears" while watching the live barrage area, the host next to him always intentionally or unintentionally cue that year. This picture looks both funny and helpless.
Not only others say, he himself often generously confides in the details of the past, why he was caught, how he was caught, and how he returned to the screen later, as if he was talking about other people's stories.
Whether he was in prison or in prison, these not-so-pretty words seemed so light and breezy when he said them through his mouth.
Yes, there are no highlights and lows in life. As long as you recognize the mistakes and find the right direction, there will be no "iron window".