Remembering Mr. Zhang Xianliang

It was the summer of 2007, and I set foot in the vast land of Ningxia for the first time. The gushing Yellow River, the majestic Helan, shines with each other, the beauty is breathtaking, everything you see feels new, no wonder the poets of the Tang Dynasty have long left behind the popular poems: "The orchard under the Helan Mountain is formed, and the north of the River is famous." ”

During this trip to Ningxia, my old friend Fang Lu also gave me an unexpected surprise - taking me to visit the famous writer Mr. Zhang Xianliang. After a hurried lunch that day, Brother Fang drove to the "Zhenbeibao Western Cinema" in the eastern foothills of Helan Mountain. He said that this is Zhang Xianliang's three-dimensional literary work, known as "China's must," the treasure of Ningxia, if you travel to Ningxia, do not come here to Yinchuan.

Brother Fang pointed to the quaint and rugged studio and told him. It was originally the site of two ancient castles, and Zhang Xianliang, who worked here, found it. In the 1990s, in the boom of literati going to the sea, Zhang Xianliang founded the Film and Television City in 1993, which integrates sightseeing, entertainment, leisure, catering and shopping, and hard to build the desolate land into a national 5A-level scenic spot. More than 100 film and television works such as "Wrangler", "Red Sorghum", "Journey to the West", "New Dragon Gate Inn" and so on have been filmed here, which has become one of the top ten film and television bases in China, and has also been rated as "China's Most Popular Tourist Destination". Some people say that this is the cradle of Chinese film and television stars, and Zhang Yimou, Gong Li, Jiang Wen, Zhu Shimao, Cong Shan and other groups of film and television people stand out from here. On the wall, the slogan of "Chinese films from here to the world" is not exaggerated.

Following brother Fang's steps, we shuttled between Qingcheng and Mingcheng, lingering in scenes that were difficult to distinguish between true and false, as if time had passed, and the magic was incomparable. The shape of the main gate of Qingcheng resembles a large turtle, taking the meaning of "the spirit turtle descending the mountain, auspicious and happy". The interior of Qingcheng is dominated by various folk craft performances, and the main attractions are urn castle, lucky gate, mysterious cave and so on. The second gate of the Qing Castle, known as the "Lucky Gate", is located in the middle of Helan Mountain, and has the potential to be a dragon with pearls. It is said that the filming and filming of the city gate is "Journey to the West", "Zhu Yuanzhang", "Feitian", etc. have been very successful, so the film and television industry calls this city gate "Lucky Gate".

On the film and television street, the bustling scenes of the ancient northern small towns are displayed one by one, and there are many tea houses and wine shops and art fields.

After changing the customs clearance documents and entering the Ming City, I only saw the camel bells clanging and the yellow sand in the sky. The back of the city has just gone, and the horn of the Silk Road has quietly sounded. Mingcheng reflects the original and desolate natural appearance and is the main shooting location of the studio.

As an alcoholic, at the winemaking workshop of "Red Sorghum", I couldn't help but pick up the large bowl of wine and take a photo. Here not only for the artists to leave a wealth of imagination space, but also for the film and television enthusiasts to fully participate in the space, you can rent a variety of costumes, props to take pictures, a good experience of "walking here you are a tourist, from here you are a star."

In the evening, Zhang Xianliang met us at the "Hundred Flowers Hall" in Qingcheng. Although he was too old to be old, his body was strong and his voice was like a bell. Mention Zhang Xianliang's name, people who know something about the Chinese literary world will certainly not be unfamiliar. In the 1980s, this maverick writer published works such as "Spirit and Flesh", "Half of a Man is a Woman", and "Green Tree", which were almost household names, and with his stories full of human warmth and new ideas, they stirred up huge waves in the reading of the Chinese people. His works have been translated into more than 30 languages, including English, French, Russian, Japanese, German, Spanish, Hebrew, etc., and enjoy an international reputation, and have also won the "International Cultural Honor Award" issued by the American Institute of Biography. In the past ten years, he has been known for "betraying desolation" and has become a unique scenery in today's literary world. At this time, Zhang Xianliang has set the dual identity of a heavyweight writer and an entrepreneur, he has served as the chairman of the Ningxia Literary Association and the chairman of the Writers Association, and has been re-elected as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, but he has no celebrity shelf, like a big brother who has not been seen for many years, and talks to us with great interest.

Between the jokes, I asked him for his views on overseas Chinese literary creations. He frankly said that there are not many works in this area, but there are also high hopes, because immigrants are a kind of soul and body rebirth, and it is better to produce great works after suffering, and many Nobel Laureates in Literature are also immigrant writers.

Talking about the ins and outs of the "Zhenbei fort western cinema", Zhang Xianliang was even more eyebrow-raising, and he said that he could write a big book. He pointed out that it maintains and makes use of the original peculiar and decaying scene of the ancient castle, highlights its sense of desolation, loess flavor and the aesthetic connotation of primitive and folk, and retains its special aesthetic value as much as possible, so that the artist can exert his creativity in this western scenery. Finally, he said with great energy: "This studio unquestionably announces to contemporary people that science and technology are the primary productive forces, and culture and art as humanities are also a productive force!" Culture and art can greatly increase the added value of goods. After the market economy is highly developed, cultural works of art will be one of the most expensive commodities!"

Before leaving, he generously gave me a seven-volume "Essence of Zhang Xianliang's Works" and took the trouble to title each book.

Shrouded in a magnificent sunset, the studio is even more majestic and desolate. Zhang Xianliang, who has a slender figure, was also specially sent to the door of the "Hundred Flowers Hall" and took a group photo with us, looking kind and kind. Shaking hands with each other to say goodbye, he asked me to walk the upcoming "Old Yinchuan Street" a few years later.

After returning to Canada, I always wanted to write a biography of Zhang Xianliang's impressions, but his achievements were too big, and there were too many review articles, and it was always difficult to find a new perspective, and the delay was several years. At the end of September 2014, Brother Fang suddenly received the bad news that Zhang Xianliang was ineffective due to medical treatment, and he died at the age of 78. At the time of great pain, I also felt deeply guilty, I had known him for 7 years, and I could not write down only a few words, only "to stay in my dreams and with jun"...

Thinking about the years in a hurry, seeing everything bustling up close. Today, although Mr. Zhang Xianliang has passed away for the sixth anniversary, the Western Cinema still stands on the land of Ningxia, and many films are still filmed here, receiving tens of thousands of tourists every year. A few years later, even if it is no longer needed as a background for filming, all can be produced with high technology, and the Western Cinema at that time will become a film and television museum, with a long historical value, it is still a beautiful scenery in Yinchuan.