[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rising-in-1979":3,"chapter-rising-in-1979-rising-in-1979-chapter-480":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Rising in 1979",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2261188,4412,"Chapter 480: One Day, Four Awards—A Nuclear Explosion of Glory!","rising-in-1979-chapter-480",480,"\u003Cp>After returning from France, Zhou Huimin took a few days off under the pretext of jet lag and poor health, then locked herself at home to compose a new song, set to Lu You’s “Chai Tou Feng · Red Delicate Hands,” featuring both the original text and her own newly written lyrics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Red delicate hands, yellow-sealed wine, spring colors fill the city, willows by the palace walls. The east wind is cruel, joy is thin. A heart full of sorrow, years of separation. Wrong, wrong, wrong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Spring is as before, but the person grows thin, tears stain the crimson silk. Peach blossoms fall, the idle pavilion stands empty. Though our vows remain, letters are hard to send. No, no, no!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When she played this song for friends in the industry, they were astonished by the tremendous progress Zhou Huimin had made in composition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This self-composed ancient-style melancholy love song was every bit as impressive as her earlier collaboration with Wei Ming, “The Moon Fills the Western Tower,” even surpassing her previous solo works “Nian Nu Jiao,” “The Flowers Fall Helplessly,” and “Sheng Sheng Man,” and it even inspired Tan Yonglin to begin writing original music.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only Anita Mui privately asked her: “Have you and Wei Ming had a fight? Broken up?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How could that be? I’ve always been talented,” Zhou Huimin forced a smile, unwilling to damage Wei Ming’s reputation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, I see,” Anita Mui had assumed A-Min’s creative outburst stemmed from heartbreak. “Then when are you releasing your new album? Are you planning to go head-to-head with Deng Lijun?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Deng Lijun?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, she’s about to release her second Cantonese album. Oh, she just announced the lead single—listen to this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The new song is called “Walking the Path of Life,” with lyrics by Cheng Kuojiang, originally composed by Nakajima Miyuki.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After listening, Zhou Huimin felt her mood lift considerably; she decided she, too, should walk her own life’s path with calmness and freedom, just like the song.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, she had avoided reading any news about Wei Ming, but now she actively dug out the past few days’ copies of Ming Pao at home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Wei Ming was a hot topic, Ming Pao had created a special Cannes section, publishing daily articles and photos sent back by Luo Ashou from France, which readers loved—new wave directors like Xu Anhua, Tan Jiaming, and Xu Ke were all following Wei Ming’s Cannes journey closely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>News of Zhou Huimin’s trip to Cannes had also leaked into this column, complete with photos, which fans took as clear proof the two were dating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although no photo captured Zhou Huimin and Wei Ming together, when Gong Ying saw the news that Zhou Huimin had gone to France, she felt uneasy and dared not dwell on it, instead frantically writing letters to Zhu Lin to relieve her suppressed emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reading the latest issue of Ming Pao’s Cannes special, Zhou Huimin realized so many days had passed—Cannes was closing today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She gazed out the window: “I hope you get what you deserve.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She still remembered that day on the Cannes beach, Ah-Ming saying: “I made this film to show the world a hopeful China, to reshape China’s image. If it wins awards, it will surely help the film spread further.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, even before the premiere ended and the closing ceremony began, multiple European, American, and even African and Latin American film companies had already approached Wei Ming to buy the rights; the highest offer came from 20th Century Fox, who offered one million U.S. dollars to secure all overseas rights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of the prior contract with the Children’s Film Studio, which paid 200,000 yuan for domestic rights, all overseas earnings went to Hong Kong DreamWorks, so he effectively traded 400,000 RMB and equivalent foreign exchange for one million U.S. dollars—a massive profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wei Ming refused to commit, saying he’d discuss terms after the awards ceremony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt his chances of winning were strong—and indeed, the day before the closing ceremony, Cannes’s artistic director, Gilles Jacob, personally notified Wei Ming to keep his team on for the award ceremony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meant his film would win an award, and an award would elevate the film’s rights value even further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deputy Director Bao immediately informed the Xinhua News Agency’s Paris bureau; the original two-person reporting team instantly expanded to four, with an additional official from the French embassy accompanying them to the ceremony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Winning an award at one of Europe’s three major film festivals was the first time ever for a Chinese-language live-action film—this was a historic breakthrough, and now the question was how domestic media would promote it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, upon learning of the win, the Paris bureau immediately called home, and the promotional campaign for Wei Ming and “The Spring of the Sheep Herding Class” officially launched, publishing several earlier interviews and photos as a warm-up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside Wei Ming at the ceremony were the lead actor Li Baotian, Deputy Director Bao Tongzhi of the Film Bureau, the Chinese embassy’s counselor, Mei Linda representing the Hong Kong investors of “The Spring of the Sheep Herding Class,” and Wei Lingling, who had returned from Paris.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After seeing off A-Min and her mother in Paris, Wei Lingling worked a few more days before returning to Cannes to help Wei Ming sell “The Spring of the Sheep Herding Class” for the best possible price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the awards ceremony, Wei Ming saw Andrei Tarkovsky looking unwell, but did not see Martin Scorsese, Ryuichi Sakamoto, or Takeshi Kitano—this year’s Cannes competition was fiercer than ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The main competition awards were not announced first; instead, the Golden Palm for Short Film was awarded first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming had watched several short films this year and noticed some deliberately imitating the shooting and editing style of “The Witness,” but all fell short—this year’s winner was a documentary short.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next came the Caméra d’Or, also known as the Best Debut Director Award, open to both the Main Competition and Un Certain Regard sections; last year, Wei Ming had won this award at Venice for his short “The Witness,” and this year at Cannes, it was his again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Congratulations to China!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bao Tongzhi nearly jumped to his feet in excitement; though he’d won this award last year at Venice, this was a feature film—not the same as a short—and “The Witness” had been largely regarded as a Hong Kong film.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if this were the only award tonight, he, as deputy director, could already justify his role.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then came the FIPRESCI Prize, awarded by the International Federation of Film Critics, going to Tarkovsky’s “Nostalghia” and…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“‘The Spring of the Sheep Herding Class,’ congratulations!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Ming hadn’t even sat down before he had to stand again; after returning to his seat, he told Deputy Director Bao: “If there are more awards, you go up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next award was the Catholic Humanitarian Spirit Award—its name made it clear it had nothing to do with them; the winner was again Tarkovsky’s “Nostalghia,” which had been widely recognized at this year’s Cannes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, the Technical Grand Prize went to the Spanish musical “Carmen,” whose choreography and scenes were exceptionally visually striking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally came the Best Artistic Contribution Award: “The winners are the Spanish film ‘Carmen’ and the Chinese film ‘The Spring of the Sheep Herding Class.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One dance, one music—perfectly complementary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deputy Director Bao was thrilled, but just as he’d agreed to go up and accept the award, he changed his mind, pushing Wei Ming forward instead, and told the Xinhua reporters to snap photos quickly—they’d already taken three.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Best Artistic Contribution Award was largely due to the music in “The Spring of the Sheep Herding Class,” especially that final suona solo, which had opened foreign audiences’ ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While accepting the award, Wei Ming briefly introduced the suona to the curious crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The suona actually originated in Persia, evolved over a thousand years into its current form, and became a uniquely Chinese instrument—traditional Chinese weddings, funerals, births, deaths, all Libukai  it. If I get another chance to take the stage, I’d be happy to play a piece for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the premiere, Wei Ming realized the suona music in the film deeply attracted foreign audiences, so he asked his little aunt to buy him one in Paris and bring it over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the three distinct trophies and certificates in Wei Ming’s hands, Bao Tongzhi, the embassy counselor, and others couldn’t hide their smiles; with these three awards, Wei Ming could be instantly deified in China’s film industry—enough for the media to hype him for three days straight without repeating themselves, and a major achievement the Film Bureau could proudly tout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Un Certain Regard awards had already been presented yesterday; now came the official Main Competition awards, with jury members taking the stage one by one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First up was Best Screenplay, awarded to French director Robert Bresson’s “Money.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The 80-something veteran director shuffled up to accept the award—he was the oldest director in competition this year, born in 1901, having witnessed cinema’s evolution from silent to sound, black-and-white to color, from France-centered to America-centered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>French jury member and cinematography master Henri Alekan wanted to secure a bigger award for this living fossil of French cinema, as this might be his final film.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, the quality of entries this year was too strong; highly favored films like “Carmen” and “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” didn’t make the final list, and jury president William Styron wasn’t fond of this film, so it won only this minor prize—a key point of contention in the judging process.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though only a cinematographer, Henri Alekan was the oldest jury member, the lensman behind “Beauty and the Beast,” “Roman Holiday,” and “Anna Karenina,” holding immense industry stature—even Soviet master Sergei Bondarchuk dared not challenge him directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next came the Jury Prize, not a permanent award, usually a compromise pushed by a single juror, more of an encouragement prize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The winner was Indian master Mrittunjoy Sen’s “The Conclusion,” one of the founders of the Indian New Wave; due to his communist leanings, Soviet director Sergei Bondarchuk fought hard to secure this award for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Bondarchuk wanted too much—he wanted Mrittunjoy Sen to win, yet didn’t want his own countryman Andrei Tarkovsky to win; this became another major point of conflict within this year’s Cannes jury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After two appetizers came the acting awards; first, Best Actor. Wei Ming glanced at Li Baotian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knowing an award was possible, Wei Ming’s lowest expectation for this Cannes was to secure Best Actor for Old Li—and this expectation was entirely reasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he was under forty and this was only his second film, the most brilliant moments of the entire movie belonged to him; he had the most screen time and the most fully developed character arc.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet when he heard it wasn’t Li Baotian, Wei Ming couldn’t help feeling a quiet relief—since “The Spring of the Sheep Herding Class” couldn’t win Best Actress, they’d now receive a more substantial award.\u003C\u002Fp>",1827,"2026-06-19T16:30:59.356Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","69afc915e1ca994c6190ccadece78bacdb93d2a37a15726edcc0b767b66777a7","rising-in-1979-chapter-481","rising-in-1979-chapter-479",509,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frising-in-1979-cover.jpg"]