**While learning about the movie “The Long March,” I came across this article, which mainly describes the behind-the-scenes story of the “The Long March” crew filming on location in Heilongjiang. It reflects how proletarian artists interact with the masses, contrasting with today’s bourgeois artists who often act aloof, look down on the masses, and always stay in certain film studios to be served. Proletarian artists, on the other hand, are regarded by the people as “down-to-earth and approachable,” and on this basis, they completed the filming of “The Long March” together with the broad masses. Although the article contains many scenes praising the pre-liberation and post-capitalist restoration bourgeois black arts, such as Qin Yi and Feng Ming, it still retains a deep nostalgia for proletarian revolutionary art and proletarian artists, which is worth sharing.
In recent years, the vast forests of Lin Duyichun have attracted countless tourists. Actually, as early as the 1970s, the beautiful scenery of Shangangling Forestry Bureau caught the eye of Shanghai Film Studio. The film “The Long March,” starring the famous actors Qin Yi, Guo Kaimin, and Feng Qi, was shot here.
The crew arrived in the small town
One day in late August 1976, two cars drove into the quiet Shangangling town. After the generator truck in front stopped, some strange equipment was unloaded. What attracted the townspeople even more was the people who got off the car behind, especially the middle-aged woman walking at the front, with yellowish hair, fair face, dignified features—wasn’t she the brave “Fang Lin Sao” from the popular movie “The Railway Guerrillas”? The woman, over fifty, often played villain roles. Her name was on the tip of everyone’s tongue, but she couldn’t be called out at the moment. Also, the young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes behind her, with that demeanor, looked like he was from a big city… How could they come to this small place? That night, these people stayed at the modest Shangangling Forestry Bureau guesthouse. The next day, a message spread through the town: Shanghai Film Studio had chosen Shangangling as the filming location for “The Long March,” and those people who arrived last night were the main crew members! The beloved “Fang Lin Sao” was the famous actress Qin Yi, the actor who played the villain was Feng Qi, and the young man was the emerging artist Guo Kaimin! The crew quickly selected outdoor locations in Shangangling. Since the film mainly depicts the lives of educated youth going to the mountains and plains in Heilongjiang on the Sino-Soviet border, they built a thatched house at Xiangyang Farm (now Pingchuan Farm), with a slogan “Vast land, great achievements” hanging in front. From then on, watching the crew film became the most popular activity among the townspeople.
Experiencing film art
Before the crew arrived, people were full of mystery about filmmaking, so every day the filming site was crowded with spectators. To this day, some filming details remain deeply etched in their memories. Because the crew only had one generator truck, they borrowed a large bus locally for work purposes. Hu Wen’an, a Shangangling worker who was a government office driver at the time, was fortunate to become the crew’s dedicated driver, escorting crew members daily and witnessing many filming processes. His wife still vividly remembers: Qin Yi played a character called “Guan Aunt” in the film. During rehearsals, her first appearance was in a black velvet collar dress, carrying a rice bowl, with a white towel draped over her shoulders, and leading a small child. Guo Kaimin played a vigorous young team leader, dressed in work clothes, no different from the local townspeople. Feng Qi played a “Zhang Shan,” a Soviet spy. What interested people most were some special filming methods used by the crew. There was a scene where the Tsarist troops invade and set fire to villagers’ houses. The crew’s art department nailed a small wooden house less than a meter high, inside which they installed explosives. When ignited, the house exploded into pieces. To create a scene of smoke and fire, they set fire to some grass by the river, completing the scene of burning the village. People watching found it strange: just a little smoke, a small house, yet on screen, it looked like the entire village was burning. Hu Jianmin, who was a student at the time, now recalls the scene of the youth team cutting grass, and still laughs happily. The scene was shot in a birch forest. The director thought one of the small birch trunks was not pretty enough, so the art department painted it with white advertising paint and added fake flowers beside it. A female actress getting makeup nearby was told her double eyelids were not obvious, so the makeup artist used eyelash curlers, but it either pinched too hard or pinched flesh, causing her pain and nearly tears. But what people remember most is the actors’ spirit of enduring hardship for filming. There was a scene of educated youth climbing a snow mountain, but since it was summer, there was no snow. The crew spread white ash on Nanshan opposite the office street to simulate snow. In the afternoon, actors wearing sheepskin coats stepped on the ash and filmed under the scorching sun all afternoon. When the director called “cut,” the actors were soaked in sweat. They took off their clothes, wrung out the sweat, and told the crowd: “This is tough.” Wang Fuhua, who was a telegraph operator then, sat on the beach across the mountain with some friends, watching the whole afternoon.
Playing the role
The crew had limited actors, so when extras were needed, the townspeople naturally appeared on screen. At that time, extras were unpaid, and the townspeople participated purely out of enthusiasm. Hu Wen’an, who was 73 years old then, played a minor role in the film, and he remembers that scene vividly. It was a scene of the Tsarist troops invading a village. The crew first found more than ten Sino-Russian mixed-blood children in Jiayin County to play Tsarist soldiers, then asked the townspeople to act as displaced villagers. Because of the townspeople’s participation, that day almost the entire town gathered to watch at the “Anti-Imperialist Bridge.” Hu Wen’an and more than ten extras had their hair tied in big braids, wore old-fashioned jackets, and were chased into the river by “Tsarist” soldiers holding prop guns. When they reached the riverbank, they could still control their expressions, but when the “Tsarist” soldiers fired, the audience burst into laughter, and the extras couldn’t hold back either, causing the director to shout “Cut!” after a whole afternoon of filming, the scene was approved. Later, Hu Wen’an also appeared as a lumberjack in the film, wearing a dogskin hat, kneeling and chopping a big tree. His then five-year-old daughter, Yali, also had a lucky cameo in the film. That day, the crew was filming a scene of soldiers leaving their wives and children to join the army. The cute and lovely Yali was temporarily cast as a soldier’s daughter. Hu Wen’an’s wife remembers clearly that the crew dressed Yali in blue linen shorts and a yellow top with small white dots. A military wife held Yali and saw her off at the train. Strangely, Yali was very well-behaved that day. From the moment a female actress took her from her mother’s arms until the end of filming, she didn’t cry once, kept her eyes wide open, and watched everything curiously.
Close contact with famous actors
During those unforgettable days, many townspeople had close contact with the crew actors. The deepest impression they left was: they were unpretentious and approachable. Due to the “Cultural Revolution,” Qin Yi had just returned to the silver screen after a ten-year absence. This film marked her second artistic spring. Qin Yi, who was over fifty at the time, cherished this hard-won opportunity to return to acting. She studied her lines carefully every day and researched her role. Qin Yi felt very close to everything in the town, except she was afraid of going to the outdoor public toilet. The high toilet was built about twenty meters from the guesthouse, and especially at night, she was even more afraid to go. She brought her own toilet, but every morning she refused to let the service staff empty it, insisting on doing it herself.
The veteran actor Feng Qi also got along very well with the townspeople. He would go for a walk by the railway every morning and greet the locals enthusiastically. Meng Qingjiang, now the director of Shangangling District Radio and Television Bureau, once met Feng Qi by the railway. Feng Qi said something that made him feel very close: “You all are so happy living here. The air here is so sweet, I really envy you!” Because the crew often worked early and late, the cooks were brought by the crew. After a few days, the Shanghai master cook wanted to cook “Qing Dun Juanxin Cai” (a dish with cabbage), which puzzled the staff at the guesthouse. They wondered what “Juanxin Cai” was, as it wasn’t sold in the town. When the master cook returned from the store loaded with vegetables, everyone understood that “Juanxin Cai” was the common large-head cabbage in every household’s field. The crew had strict requirements for actors, forbidding them to drink alcohol. Feng Qi, however, liked his drink. After becoming familiar with driver Hu Wen’an, they quickly became good friends. Feng Qi often visited Hu’s home after work, and as soon as he entered, he would ask Hu Wen’an’s wife: “Sister-in-law, has dinner been cooked?” Hu’s wife hurriedly told her husband: “Go, buy two dishes at the guesthouse, and have a drink with Teacher Feng!” Feng Qi was delighted like a child, holding a bottle of wine, sitting at the dining table, waiting for the “wonderful moment”. When drinking, Feng Qi liked to talk about his experiences in filmmaking. Once, Hu Wen’an’s wife asked curiously: “You look kind and gentle, why do you always play villains in movies?” Feng Qi sighed and said: “Don’t mention it. Ever since I played a careless doctor in a film, whenever I go out, people point at me and say, ‘Look, that’s the bad doctor.’ Since then, the director has always cast me as the villain!” After filming ended and the crew was about to leave the town, Feng Qi reluctantly came to say goodbye to Hu’s family and asked the townspeople to buy some soybeans to take back to Shanghai. He said that everything on the black land is delicious, and these soybeans are much better than elsewhere! The film had just finished shooting, and post-production was not yet complete. They held a test screening at Shangangling Club. Although the film had no dubbing yet, the silent movie attracted many townspeople to watch. A year later, “The Long March” was officially screened in Shangangling District, filling every show. The townspeople felt an immense sense of closeness to this film shot nearby. Every time a scene of the town’s scenery appeared, it would trigger laughter. When the crowd actor Hu Wen’an’s scene flashed on the screen, the audience immediately shouted in surprise: “Look, that’s Old Hu!” Hu Wen’an and his whole family went to watch the movie. When they saw Yali’s scene, Yali’s older brother, who was just over ten, was so happy: “Sister, look, there’s you!” Time flies, and “The Long March” has become an old film recording history. Most of the actors who left a deep impression on the townspeople have long retired from the screen, but the townspeople still care about and remember them as always. The Hu Wen’an family has been paying close attention to all reports related to Qin Yi, even concerned about her troubled marriage and her son with dementia. They said: “A few days ago, we saw Qin Yi’s interview on TV. Seeing her still elegant at 84, the whole family was very happy. It’s like seeing a long-lost relative.”