The Younger Generation

Fang Shu was twenty-two years old this year. Her father was a cadre in the Ministry of Culture, and her mother taught at the Central Conservatory of Music. At age seven, she had played Little Turnip as a cross-gender role in *Live in Aflame and Die in Immortality*. Everyone knew Little Turnip, right? Covered in school textbooks, martyred at only eight years old, he was the youngest martyr in China's history. In '78, she had tested into Beijing Film Academy and had already starred in *What a Family*. Tall, graceful, and classically beautiful, with an enviable family background, she was treated like a princess in class. In the 1980s, she would become wildly popular, but unfortunately, she was a hopeless romantic. Later she married Tu Honggang, divorced, and faded early from the spotlight. Zhou Lijing was twenty-five years old this year. Handsome and dashing, he was also destined to be one of the era's hottest leading young men, who would later star in *Life*, *New Star*, the television adaptation of *Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain*, and more. Affiliated with the Gansu Modern Drama Troupe, his official appointment remained intact, meaning he drew a salary while attending school. With striking looks, genuine talent, and an aloof, proud personality, he spoke bluntly and looked down on the other boys in class—he even looked down on the teachers a bit. Yet his natural gifts were undeniably extraordinary, so the teachers indulged him. The two wore calm expressions, sitting steadily like anglers certain of a bite, clearly knowing what to expect. Sure enough, before long the teacher entered and called out names: "Fang Shu, Zhou Lijing, Wang Yue, Zhang Tielin, Shen Danping, Liu Dong, follow me!" *Buzz!* Zhang Fengyi and Xie Yuan were green with envy, grabbing and tugging at Zhang Tielin without letting go. Zhang Tielin hastily pushed them off. "Let go, let go! You're holding me back from becoming a big star! Hands off!" Wang Yue was a bit surprised and stood up in delight. Among the girls, Shen Danping and Liu Dong were overjoyed and happily bustled out. Shen Danping would go on to act in many works, the most recent being Aunt Cui in *The Knockout*. Liu Dong's career was somewhat less prominent; she would later play Ning Zhongze in CCTV's adaptation of *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer*. The teacher led the six students out the school gates. No vehicle was needed; they could walk there in minutes. Along the way, the teacher instructed them, "Today is reserved for our school; tomorrow is for Central Academy of Drama. Word is they only selected one person from CAD, so you all have a huge chance. Make us proud!" "Zhou Lijing, be on your best behavior later. Everyone at Beijing Film Studio is a top director or a revered veteran. Don't let them dock points from their impression of you!" Speaking as they walked, they entered Beijing Film Studio and headed straight for the conference room in the main building. ... Wang Haowei and the others had arrived early to wait. As the screenwriter, Chen Qi had also snagged a seat. Surrounded by respected veterans, he proactively took a chair at the far edge. Casting actors in this era required, above all, physical resemblance. For instance, if the male lead was defined as honest, upright, and dependable, they looked for someone with thick eyebrows and large eyes. If the female lead was supposed to be delicate and piteous, they looked for someone gentle, soft, and fragile. Physical resemblance came first; only after that did acting skills and character interpretation matter. But this approach also placed restrictions on casting, leaving a narrow pool of options. Later generations were different: physical resemblance wasn't strictly required so long as the actor captured the spiritual essence. For example, Gu Yue's portrayal of the Chairman belonged to the former; Tang Guoqiang's portrayal of the Chairman belonged to the latter. Of course, the premise was that the final portrayal had to be convincing. One couldn't have a broad-backed, thick-waisted Lin Daiyu like in the new *Dream of the Red Chamber*, or a Cao Cao that felt like a joke like in the new *Three Kingdoms*, where both form and spirit were ruined. Thus, the candidates sought in this batch had to be youthful and attractive above all—the men handsome, the women gorgeous. "Hello, Director! Hello, Teachers!" "My name is Fang Shu!" The first to enter was Fang Shu. Having already worked with Wang Haowei on *What a Family*, she introduced herself with poised confidence and proceeded to read a dialogue excerpt. It was the very piece Chen Qi had written: "I also want to go see the Yangtze River and the Great Wall, Mount Huang and the Yellow River!" "Sister Ying, isn't all of that love too?" Chen Qi took his role as a reviewer seriously, jotting down a few notes in his booklet. Once she stepped outside, Wang Haowei asked for opinions one by one, finally asking, "Xiao Chen, what do you think?" "She's very pretty and clearly has solid fundamentals, but her image isn't quite right. Her facial features don't match our traditional aesthetic sensibility—there's an edge of aggressiveness to her, instantly giving the impression of an assertive, strong-willed woman." "Aggressiveness? That's a novel way to put it!" "I think she's quite good. How about we advance her to the second round first?" "Mhm, that works too!" Following that, young actors entered one after another for screen tests. Chen Qi remained completely composed, only nearly losing his poker face when he saw the "Imperial Father." The Imperial Father had also been a popular leading young man in the 1980s. Later, he earned a master's degree in Britain and moved to Hong Kong for career development. In *The Magic Crane*, he played Cao Xiong, the Golden Ring Erlang, and nearly bedded Rosamund Kwan's character. And then came *My Fair Princess*. Followed by a messy trail of romantic and legal disputes. "..." Silently, he drew a large X in his notebook. No personal feelings involved—purely an objective judgment. Last was Zhou Lijing. He was proud, but that didn't make him stupid. There was no room for him to act brazenly at Beijing Film Studio, so he completed his screen test obediently. Chen Qi drew a checkmark. ... After the screen tests concluded, they held a brief discussion. "Wang Yue's skin is too dark; it's hard to make him look handsome and delicate. Let's pass on him for now!" "Zhou Lijing and Zhang Tielin are both good. They can advance to the next round." "Personally, I feel Zhang Tielin carries a hint of frivolity. He won't be able to pull off a shy, bashful character. Zhou Lijing seems fine to me. As for Fang Shu, I stick to what I said earlier; I maintain my reservations," Chen Qi said. "What about Shen Danping and Liu Dong?" Wang Haowei asked. "Do you want to hear the honest truth?" "Of course!" "Too plain." Chen Qi shook his head. "Sigh, to be honest, I think they're ordinary too. Compared to ordinary people they're very pretty, but for *Romance on Mount Lu*, that's not enough—nowhere near enough! I expected finding the female lead would be difficult, but I didn't expect it to be this hard. Let's keep looking!" Wang Haowei sighed. ... At this time, power supply across the entire country was poor, and the capital was no exception. An entire courtyard shared a single electric meter, and households kept candles at the ready—a situation that would not improve until the 1990s. Chen Jianjun had listened to the single-deck cassette recorder for a few days before realizing they couldn't afford the batteries. With a heavy heart, he had no choice but to let Chen Qi bring it to Beijing Film Studio. The studio had a special status and enjoyed a relatively stable power supply. In other words, they could get their electricity for free. That evening, the doors and windows of Room 302 were shut tight. Liang Xiaosheng and Ge You were slumped in their chairs as if listening to heavenly music, eyes closed, listening to: *"Smoke rises from chimneys once more, twilight blankets the earth; I long to ask the drifting smoke, where are you bound..."* They looked so blissful, so intoxicated, that anyone unfamiliar with the scene might have thought they were high on something. "..." Chen Qi sat cross-legged on the bed, about to mend a pair of pants, holding a needle in one hand and thread in the other. Old-timers used to say: when the end of the thread won't go through the needle's eye, lick it straight with your tongue, and it'll slip right in. "All right, that's enough from you two. The tape has been rewound three times already. Scram if you're done!" "Just a little bit longer, just a little bit longer!" Ge You said hurriedly. "I have to serve as a reviewer tomorrow. Who has time to mess around with you two!" "How did the casting go?" Liang Xiaosheng asked. "There are plenty of people who can play the male lead, but the female lead is hard to find." "Then what kind are you looking for, exactly?" "Just a kind of... a goddess. Do you get it?" "Don't get it!" Both shook their heads in unison. "She shouldn't just be pretty. She has to evoke a sense of longing—so that after watching the movie, every male compatriot enviously looks at the male lead and says, 'Oh, if I met a girl like that, I'd die happy!' That's the feeling." "..." Ge You and Liang Xiaosheng looked at each other. That was far too elusive.