Memoirs of movie star Hu Die (continued 12)

We left Moscow on the evening of 27th and arrived in Leningrad on the morning of 28th. It was very cold when we arrived, which was similar to the feeling when we got off at Chita via Siberia. When we arrived in Leningrad, there was a telegram from Moscow in advance, so the female star and director of the largest studio here came to meet us at the station. After entertaining each other for a while, we drove to the hotel. In the afternoon, I immediately visited Leningrad Studio, which is bigger than Moscow's, with newer equipment and everything more magnificent than the former. It is said that there are plans to build a bigger studio to improve the quality of this film. Looking at the progress of Russian film industry, it has advanced by leaps and bounds in those years, and because it is a state-owned enterprise, its production is not sloppy and its film quality is high. When we arrived at the factory, they were filming, so we took some photos with the actors of each film.

I have seen three plays in Leningrad, and I saw toe dance for the first time. The whole program is always dancing with toes, accompanied by beautiful music. Once I watched an opera; Another time, I watched merry widow, which is a mixture of opera and drama. Singing, doing and speaking simple English, the scenery is beautiful.

I haven't been to the cinema, but I have seen some in the screening room of Lenin's studio. One of them is about tanks, and the scenery and photography techniques are first-class. The film tells the love story of a tank soldier and a female student, and tells the story of the change of time and the sprouting and growing leaves of trees. As for the flowering and fruiting, the shooting is very clever, the picture is brilliant and the light is soft, which is really extraordinary. There are many propaganda weapons in various films produced by the Soviet Union. This one takes tank cars as an example. I saw a movie about airplanes in Moscow before, which was full of airplanes, probably to show the enrichment of armaments.

In Lenin Museum, I visited the Russian Museum and the official of Queen Kailonglin. Most museums are historical things, similar to ordinary museums. The architecture of the Queen's Palace is very rich, divided into rooms of different styles in different countries. China's room is completely composed of China furniture, artworks and embroidered chair covers. And the furnishings are quite gorgeous. There are many portraits and sculptures of Russian emperors, among which Peter the Great is the most handsome and mighty. The portrait of Queen Kailonglin is quite full here, but I think I have seen the dress she wore when she was 17 years old when she got married in Moscow Kremlin. The waist is very narrow. She probably gained weight later. This dress is made of silver, which is very beautiful. It has been preserved until now, and it still feels very new. It looks as if it has just been stitched.

The most interesting place to visit is the anti-religious museum. From the beginning of the revolution, the Soviet Union took the slogan that human beings should believe in themselves and build themselves. They deny the existence of all religions and think that all religions with Shinto color are stupid and absurd, so they want to overthrow all religions. Even many churches that existed in the pre-Russian imperial era have now been transformed into other places for them. The anti-religious museum is to display all kinds of religious things in the yard and point out its absurdity. Among them, there are all kinds of idols worshipped by various primitive peoples from Buddhism to Taoism, up and down, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, and all kinds of Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures in China are also among them. The most interesting thing is that there are two mummies. It is said that these two mummies were once called living immortals by priests, thinking that fools collect money, but today these two mummies are lying here quietly, which proves that the so-called living immortals are just like ordinary people, and there is nothing magical about them.

We went to Leningrad for sightseeing, so we didn't bring any films from China. However, the local film industry is very eager to see China's films. As a result, we had to send a telegram back to Moscow, send Sisters to the cinema in Leningrad and invite the local film industry to watch it. After everyone saw it, it was great. Many of them can't imagine that China's films have made such achievements. I remember the scene where Dabao stole the golden lock in Sister Flowers, and the audience applauded. So I think even though their language customs are different, art has no borders, and everyone feels the same way about beautiful or poor places. Before the film was released, the professor of oriental languages in a local university was specially invited to translate the story, so the audience seemed to understand it easily.

The professor heard that he has lived in China for more than ten years and is proficient in China language. He once translated Liaozhai into Russian.

Compared with Leningrad and Moscow, the former is much better. Compared with our hotel, the traffic, architecture and folk customs are much better. If Moscow is Nanjing, Leningrad is Peiping. Leningrad is Petersburg in the old Russian era, so there are many historical sites. The palaces in the old Russian era and the small bridges on the river show infinite elegance and beauty. The roads are cleaner than Moscow, with more cars and simpler folk customs. It is really appropriate to compare it with Peiping.

We stayed in Leningrad for five days before and after, and then returned to Moscow.

I stayed in Moscow for many days, visited the news studio, and filmed an audio news film for them as a souvenir of this hunger trip.

During this trip, I learned a lot of new things and saw a lot of things I have never seen before, especially the enthusiasm we felt, which I can't forget. No matter in Moscow or Leningrad, whenever I go in and out of public places such as theaters or dance halls, people always warmly applaud their welcome. I feel as if there are no suitable words to express my gratitude.

Overseas, I was shocked to hear of Ruan's death.

In the Soviet Union, I was warmly received everywhere, which was unexpected in any case. At this time, a sensational and distressing event happened in China, which was Ruan's suicide. The news came as a bolt from the blue and almost made me out of control. I can't believe it. When the news of Yu Ling's suicide reached Moscow, it was already one month after the incident. I remember one day, the secretary of the embassy said to me, "Ruan committed suicide by taking sleeping pills." Not only did I not believe it, but I also told him not to talk nonsense. I thought it was because she committed suicide in The New Woman, so someone deliberately publicized it to promote the film and make it a sensation. With the support of my secretary, I immediately showed me the newspaper sent by China, which did publish the details of Yu Ling's suicide, so I realized that this unfortunate incident was true.

If people knew how deep my friendship with her was, it would not be difficult to imagine my grief at that time. Yu Ling and I met when we were co-shooting "White Cloud Tower". After filming Baiyun Tower, she left the star and transferred to Lianhua Film Company. In those years, she made great achievements in art, and her personal life experience was unfortunate, but her career achievements gave her great comfort. We don't have many opportunities to meet because of busy things, but whenever we meet, we always feel that there are endless words. Before going abroad, I went to Qinyuan Village to see her. She was not at home that day, only saw her mother and Xiaoyu. Later, I asked her out again. I can't find any trace of her suicide the day she left in the sea. She is still joking with me as usual, or happy as usual. Who would have thought that this would be our last meeting?

After I returned to China, I heard rumors that I was laughing when I heard the news of her suicide outside. I don't want to argue with these inhuman doubts. As far as friendship is concerned, who in the world will laugh at the news of a friend's death? According to the film industry, China was still so short of excellent film talents. I hope everyone will work together to make China films win glory in the world film industry. Who wouldn't be deeply saddened to hear the death of a talented film person like Ji?

What makes me particularly sad is that our friendship over the years will never meet again, and it will become eternal. I don't rely on my coffin, but I don't care about my point. This hatred often stays in my heart and has not been done so far. However, at that time, we were far from home, but what could we do? Then I discussed it with Mr. Yun Jian and immediately sent a telegram back to China to express my condolences. Life is like a dream, and the illusion of the world is really amazing.

We returned to Moscow from Leningrad, stayed for almost ten days, and then went to Berlin by land. When we left, the people who saw us off at the film exhibition also gave us flowers and wallets. One is that the star company praises the films made by "stars", and the other is that I personally reward my acting skills. Finally, I expressed my deep gratitude to them before boarding the train.

We left Moscow on April 15. Russia/kloc-arrived in Poland on 0/6. As usual, the customs officials are very strict, but they are very polite to us, so let's do it. In Poland, I changed to a through train for Berlin. Compared with Russian trains, this train is rich, spacious and comfortable, not to mention rich food. I stayed in the car all night and arrived in Berlin the next day.

A trip to Berlin

The bright and clean streets in Berlin left a very pleasant impression on me, especially the lush colors. Because more than a month ago, I saw nothing but snow and dead branches. When I arrived in Poland, I saw some grass. In Berlin, the weather is warmer, and it is the time when all the trees sprout and flourish. Feel refreshed, refreshed, refreshed. Mr. Zeng Chuiqi, Mr. Wang and his wife of the Embassy and Mr. Wei, the representative of the Student Union, met the car at the station. Immediately checked into the hotel, and after a short rest, Secretary Wang invited him to Taidong Restaurant for dinner. Taitung is an exquisite China Pavilion in Berlin. Interior decoration is completely the artistic color of China. Except overseas Chinese, most customers are Japanese, and the raw materials used are all shipped from London. At that time, Germany tried to restrict the employment of foreigners in order to resettle the unemployed. Therefore, although Taitung is a restaurant in China, all the waiters except the chef are German. So are other restaurants in China, such as Tianjin, Hanjin and Nanjing. This shows that overseas Chinese are restricted there.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, at the invitation of Chongjie, Gong Liu's special envoy, he went to the embassy to have tea and chat. In addition to Gong Liu's special envoy, there are his wife and microscope. Speaking of each other, we all met in Shanghai. Old rain meets, and it feels kind. The embassy here is built by our country and has a good layout. The location is close to our hotel. Although the facilities of the hotel we stayed in were passable, it was not the best hotel in the local area, so we stayed because it was close to the embassy and opposite Taidong restaurant, so it was convenient to go anywhere. There are also many China students living there.

The cleanliness of the streets in Berlin is the best I have ever seen in Europe. The streets here are very wide, at least five or six times wider than Shanghai. Street construction is mostly a tram lane, with two rows of grass on both sides of the tram lane, bicycle lanes on both sides of the grass, followed by car lanes and sidewalks. There are two routes in each street, and there is no mixing, so the car shop is very orderly. The ascending one is completely on one side and the descending one is on the other side, which looks very comfortable. There are many cyclists in Berlin, so there are special bike lanes on the road. People here like to run to the suburbs, which may be the reason why bicycles are popular. On holidays, we often see groups of people riding bicycles to the countryside. Many bicycles are owned by two people, mostly a man and a woman sitting with their bags in tandem, ready to have a picnic in the country.

In addition to ordinary vehicles, there are elevated cars and underground cars in Berlin. The elevated car runs on the iron bridge in the street, and I like sitting on it best. These cars are very comfortable and beautiful, and you can see the whole city. Don't destroy it. Cars are everywhere, private cars have various brands and styles, and taxis are almost all tall and stupid cars. The fare starts at half a mark each time, and the meter will automatically increase the price after a certain distance. If two people sit together, the price is more expensive than that of one person sitting alone, and the price of three people sitting together has gone up again, but the price of three people sitting together is set at most. If five or six people sit together, it is also counted as three.

Germans love sports and nature, and have a healthy spirit and active will. These places can be seen from various buildings outside the suburbs of Berlin. Along the suburbs of Berlin, it is beautiful and comfortable. In many places, everything is arranged by hand, which is more beautiful. The nature of the place is nothing more than for people to enjoy sports in the suburbs, such as boating in the coffee shop swimming pool. Germans are most interested in sports. When we arrived, it was not too hot, but many people went to the seaside swimming pool.

When we arrived in Berlin, it was already warm and we couldn't wear our winter clothes, so we had to go to the department store temporarily to buy clothes. I don't like to wear suits at ordinary times, so I have to do as the Romans do here. China's stiff turtleneck is the most annoying thing. Wearing a suit is the most comfortable place. Casual clothes are generally short and it is convenient to walk. Besides the bad collar, China's clothes also have a disadvantage that casual clothes are as long as evening dresses. I thought it would be better to wear casual clothes shorter during the day and raise the collar at once.

In Europe and America, clothes are ready-made because of high wages. If you like that one and it doesn't fit, he can exchange it for you. Only the rich can afford tailor-made clothes. Even today in the1980s, this situation still exists. I want to buy a pair of shoes in Berlin, but I can't find them in many places, not because of the bad style, but because the shoes are too big. Actually, I'm taller than the average woman in China, but when I got here, I couldn't even buy a pair of smaller shoes, and finally I only bought a pair of bigger ones. This shows the physique of ordinary German women.

The department stores in Berlin are much bigger than those in Moscow and Leningrad, full of beautiful things and considerable layout, which makes people forget the way out. All kinds of goods, everything, and well-made, mostly produced in Germany, the price is not very expensive. There is a canteen in the department store, where eating is extremely cheap, because the owner does not rely on it for profit, but just wants to facilitate customers and attract business. Even today in the1980s, this situation still exists.

Shortly after arriving in Berlin, it coincided with the Easter holiday. Special Envoy Gong Liu's two princesses went to the suburbs with us, boating and having a picnic, enjoying the lakes and mountains, and felt relaxed and happy. Berlin used to be prosperous in the city, but now it is developing to the west, but it is much hotter outside the city than in the city. Another day, Wang Tan and I visited the old palace on the outskirts of Berlin. The official garden is grand, full of stone steps, very magnificent. There is a fountain in it, and many flowers are flying on it. Visitors to this official must buy tickets first and put on felt slippers when entering, so as not to dirty the floor. Slippers are wide and long, and every time the pioneers practice for the latecomers, they are in danger of falling. We are not used to it, and the situation is quite ridiculous. The layout of the palace is good, but it seems to be slightly inferior to the queen's residence in Leningrad. There is also a private room set up by the German king for a writer, who is his good friend and often lives in the palace. There is a big windmill next to the official. It is said that the German emperor thought the windmill was harmful to the scenery in the palace that day and wanted to buy it. The owner of the mill was a local farmer. He refused to sell it anyway, and the Kaiser could not buy it. Later, somehow, they became good friends. After that, the farmer died and gave the mill to the Kaiser. In memory of this friend, the Kaiser refused to dismantle the windmill. Therefore, the wind mill has been preserved to this day, standing side by side with court officials, leaving a much-told story.