Liu Tong: Strive to write a beautiful chapter of Chinese culture

Liu Tong: Strive to write a beautiful chapter of Chinese culture

Liu Tong (also known as Zhao Tong) is currently the legal person and secretary general of the China Socio-Economic and Cultural Exchange Association, the president of Chizi Magazine, the chairman of Chizi International Culture Media (Beijing) Co., Ltd., the chairman of Tongtong Pictures (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., and a member of the China Democratic League.

With a high degree of cultural self-confidence, we are committed to the inheritance and dissemination of Chinese culture. In recent years, he has organized many large-scale cultural exchange activities at home and abroad, and has been highly valued and guided by party and state leaders, envoys stationed abroad, and international friends, and has traveled to more than a dozen countries in Europe and Asia. In 2013, he launched the series of activities of the "Chinese Dream, Pure Heart" Chinese culture international promotion project, which caused a warm response at home and abroad. Over the years, Liu Tong has been committed to spreading Chinese culture, letting the world understand China, and improving the influence of Chinese culture in the world.

In the early morning, the buildings on both sides of Chang'an Avenue look golden under the sunlight. The China Socio-Economic and Cultural Exchange Association is located in the QiJiayuan Diplomatic Apartment on the north side of Chang'an Avenue, east of Jianguomen Bridge.

At 7:00, Liu Tong got up on time, changed into a suit after a simple wash, and prepared to go downstairs to drive to the unit. From 7:30 to 9:30, the traffic jam "blockbuster" of Beijing's morning rush hour is staged on various ring roads and highways, and traffic jam is the first problem that everyone has to face on the way to work. If the traffic is still smooth, Liu Tong often arrives earlier than other employees.

Liu Tong, born in 1969, does not look like a person who is already "aware of the destiny", whether it is the state of work or the gathering of friends, his energy is always very strong. Even if you go to bed at three or four in the morning, you will get up around 7 in the morning. This habit has been maintained for 29 years since he studied in France.

From businessman to head of an association

In 1993, Liu Tong returned to the motherland due to the death of his father. In a few years, China has undergone tremendous changes. Liu Tong went to Shenzhen and saw a fishing village transforming into an international city. The rapid changes in the motherland held his heart. He did not want to leave again and decided to stay in his homeland. "My roots are in China, this is my hometown, here are my relatives and friends."

At the end of that year, Liu Tong established Fontainebleau Information Co., Ltd. in Beijing, mainly to undertake some large-scale cultural performance activities and represent many outdoor big names in advertising. "In this way, I began to do business since I returned to China, and my business gradually increased, and there were many billboards for my company on Airport Road at that time."

In 1995, Liu Tong established Anya Advertising Company (the predecessor of Chizi International Culture Media Company).

In 1996, Liu Tong founded the Zhao Qing Film and Television Performing Arts Training School. Thousands of students came to the school to participate in the training. Liu Tong found the best professors in the schools of Chinese Opera and Nortel to give lessons to the students, such as Professor Liang Bolong, the teacher of international superstar Gong Li, Professor Yan Gang, the teacher of Xia Yu, Professor Qi Shilong of the Beijing Film Academy, and Professor Wang Deshun, who is now an 83-year-old master of physical arts, and Was also invited by Liu Tong to give students physical lessons. After training, some students were admitted to the Beijing Film Academy, some students were admitted to the Beijing Broadcasting Academy (now the Communication University of China), and more students were admitted to the Central Academy of Drama. Many students' names Liu Tong have forgotten, but there is one student he still remembers, this student's name is Jia Nailiang. "I recruited him from Harbin, studied with me for half a year, and was later admitted to the Beijing Film Academy." In the past few years after Liu Tong returned to China, he began to develop diversification. He was involved in advertising, performances, education, and catering. "The first restaurant I opened was called Kouwaiyang, located near the Aerospace Bridge, and later invested in an Inner Mongolian restaurant with a few tenggers, and the business was very hot." Until 2007, due to the impact of the Beijing Olympic Games, Beijing had to demolish a large amount

After the introduction of the outdoor billboard policy, he decided to stop all commercial companies, withdraw from the commercial field, and concentrate on culture.

In fact, in 2006, Liu Tong was already a legal person and president of the Naked Magazine under the China Socio-Economic and Cultural Exchange Association, and the president of the association was his mother Zhao Qing. "When I took over the work of the magazine, all the work in the magazine was in a state of stagnation, the annual inspection had not passed, even the official seal was gone, and it was conceivable how difficult it was to carry out the work." In the first year of operation, he lost 3 million yuan and lost everything. Liu Tong began to carry out a drastic reform of the magazine, recruiting experienced journalists, creating high-quality and in-depth content, maintaining publications, and attending two sessions every year...

A series of actions have brought the magazine back to life, and the influence of the magazine has been expanding. "The magazine is doing a very good job, and almost all the leaders of ministries and commissions, the party and the state leaders have our magazines in their offices."

In 2008, Liu Tong began to participate in the daily work of the China Socio-Economic and Cultural Exchange Association, and in 2010, Liu Tong became the legal person and secretary general of the association and embarked on a leadership position. That's it.

The "Zhao Dan Spirit" is the greatest wealth left to me

Zhao Dan, China's outstanding performing artist, has shot more than 40 films in his lifetime, starred and directed more than 60 plays. He has shaped hundreds of artistic images, leaving the people with immortal film works such as "Cross Street", "Road Angel", "Wuxun Biography", "Lin Zexu", "Nie Er", etc., and the screen images he has created such as Lin Zexu, Nie Er, xu Yunfeng and so on are popular and vivid, enjoying a high international reputation.

Grandpa's influence on the formation of Liu Tong's personality and the cultivation of values even exceeded that of his mother Zhao Qing. Liu Tong, who was more than one year old, was sent to his grandfather's house to live with his grandfather Zhao Dan and his grandmother Huang Zongying. Probably because of the next generation of relatives, Zhao Dan loved him very much, often accompanied the little grandson to hide and seek, took him for a walk in the morning, and sometimes returned home, saw Liu Tong running towards him, he opened his arms and hugged him, and then kissed his face heavily, making a long "meow" sound. These scenes have been difficult to forget in Liu Tong's mind.

Grandpa Zhao Dan was not a star in Liu Tong's childhood impression, just a kind old man wearing a vest full of holes, sleeping on a wire bed, playing with him, kissing him, and loving him. But a trip with his grandfather completely changed his impression of his grandfather.

When Liu Tong was seven or eight years old, Once Zhao Dan took him out to take the bus. Liu Tong remembered very clearly that his grandfather wore a torn blue cloth cotton jacket and a hat that day, although he was very worn, but as soon as he got into the car, someone suddenly recognized him. "Are you Zhao Dan?" "Isn't this the great actor Zhao Dan?" Zhao Dan smiled and responded to everyone one by one. At that time, the buses in Beijing were very crowded and very crowded, and Zhao Dan took Liu Tong for one or two stops to get off. "At that time, everyone on the bus stood up and applauded and even cheered for my grandfather. When I got out of the car and walked through the alley to get to our yard, when I turned the corner in the alley, I looked back and saw that the bus was still parked there, and everyone was holding on the window to watch us. At that moment, Liu Tong suddenly realized that Grandpa was an extraordinary person.

When Liu Tong was 11 years old, his grandfather Zhao Dan died of illness. The years of living with my grandfather were Liu Tong's happiest years. As he grew older, he learned more and more about his grandfather, and when he cooperated with CCTV Movie Channel to shoot the documentary "Forever Zhao Dan" in 2005, Liu Tong truly understood his grandfather's contribution to the establishment of New China and the development of China's film industry, and truly understood how great his grandfather was!

Talking about the wealth left by Zhao Dan to him, Liu Tong frankly said that the greatest wealth is the "Zhao Dan Spirit" left by his grandfather, that is, he must have no complaints and regrets about his beloved cause and belief, he must struggle for life, and he must love our party and country even more, and have the spirit of dedication to the rise and fall of the country. "My grandfather once said a sentence: 'Heaven and hell lock art beads', you can go to heaven and go to hell, but don't abandon your own life values and ideals, this is the belief that my grandfather left to me, the greatest wealth left to me." 」

To do one thing is to be done to the extreme

Liu Tong's mother was the previous president of the China Socio-Economic and Cultural Exchange Association, the honorary president of the association, the first generation of dance performance artists in New China, the first batch of experts to enjoy the special government allowance of the State Council, the vice chairman of the China Dancers Association, the representative of the Third National People's Congress, the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth CPPCC members, and the current consultant of the China Dancers Association. Dances such as "Baolian Lantern", "Knife Club", "Congo River Roaring", and "Ode to the Eight Girls" are all representative works of Zhao Qing.

In addition to his grandfather Zhao Dan, the words and deeds of his mother Zhao Qing also had a subtle impact on him.

Liu Tong said that her mother Zhao Qing was a naïve person, but she was a "drama maniac" in business and had a very high pursuit of art. In terms of dancing, Liu Tong said that the conditions of his mother Zhao Qing were not the best, her legs were not long, and her height was not high, but with a lot of tenacity, she jumped to the highest peak of dance art. Until he was forty or fifty years old, Zhao Qing still went to the queue every morning

Practice, a practice is a whole day. "Maybe my grandfather was too good to put a lot of mental pressure on my mother, who came to Beijing alone when she was 13 years old, away from my grandfather. She put all her energy into her career. ”

Liu Tong was very filial to his mother, and he lived with his mother for fifteen years, but his filial piety was different from others. This has to start from Zhao Qing's transition from dancing career to learning painting.

On September 12, 2011, the "Zhao Qing Congyi 60th Anniversary Zhao Qing New Stage Oil Painting Exhibition" was grandly opened at the National Art Museum of China, and there were leaders of ministries and commissions, as well as party and state leaders who attended the event and watched the oil paintings. In her speech, Zhao Qing thanked all the people who helped her on the road of her life and thanked the party and the country for cultivating her.

"The event was an unprecedented success." Liu Tong said that this is where his filial piety is different from others, he has held many painting exhibitions for his mother, held in the United States, Japan, France and other countries and regions, which is his way of filial piety in addition to companionship.

"Whether my mother danced or painted, she was constantly challenging herself and conquering herself. The two most prominent words in her life dictionary are 'strong', which is a continuation and inheritance of the 'Zhao Dan spirit', as long as you do one thing, you must do it to the extreme, to do it well. Liu Tong said that her mother Zhao Qing used a paintbrush to praise the motherland, the people, the party, and the country, which is a portrayal of her real life now.

The international promotion project of Chinese culture will continue to be done

In 2010, Liu Tong officially became the legal person and secretary general of the China Socio-Economic and Cultural Exchange Association, which was the most difficult time for the association. At that time, due to various reasons, the work of the association was completely stagnant, the official seal and account were all lost, and it took a lot of time and energy to rebuild the work alone. But the most important thing is how the association can work for a long time, how to make the association shine again, these are all things that Liu Tong has to consider.

In 2013, Liu Tong and his mother Zhao Qing jointly applied to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the China Federation of Literature and Literature to launch a series of activities for the international promotion of Chinese culture "Chinese Dream, Pure Heart", which was warmly concerned and recognized by the superior leaders.

In September 2013, the "Chinese Dream, Pure Heart" Zhao Qing Oil Painting Exhibition was held in New York, USA, and the exhibition was well received by all walks of life in the local community.

In March 2014, the "Chinese Dream, Pure Heart" Cross-Strait Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition of the Same Root and Same Origin was held in Taiwan.

In October 2014, the "Chinese Dream, Pure Heart" Korea-China Art, Culture and Art Exhibition was held in Seoul, South Korea.

In April 2015, the first Japanese-Chinese art exchange event of "Chinese Dream, Pure Heart" was held at the Japan-China Friendship Association Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan.

In June 2018, the launching ceremony of the "Chinese Dream, Pure Heart" Chinese Culture International Promotion Project (Paris and Shenzhen) was officially launched in the Auditorium of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing.

In October 2018, the "Chinese Dream, Pure Heart" - Danqing Romance Art Exhibition was held at the espace commines Art Museum in Paris, France.