Chapter 41: Are You Really Content To Be A Bystander?
“Apricot blossoms, spring rain, Jiangnan.” Lin Ran’s voice was captured by the aluminum tape microphone, amplified by the Marantz Model 1 vacuum tube, and radiated across the entire Hong Kong Island via the antenna at the Kowloon Beacon Hill transmitting station.
“Hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss.” In a low-price tea house in Sham Shui Po, the cheap Red Lantern Brand 711-2 radio would frequently emit hissing sounds.
“Uncle Wang, can you fix it? If not, I’ll go across the street!”
“Yeah, one sentence gets stuck twice, is this radio for listening or what?”
“I say, German radios are still the best, this Shanghai Red Lantern just won’t do!”
Customers’ dissatisfied voices rose one after another; everyone really couldn’t tolerate it—listening to Professor Lin’s first Hong Kong interview, and it gets stuck like this.
“Don’t argue, German radios are only used in big tea houses. If I quintuple my tea prices, I’ll switch for you all.”
“Don’t argue, I’m fixing it right now, aren’t I?”
The Red Lantern Brand radio was produced and manufactured by the Shanghai Radio Factory No. 2 under the Shanghai Instruments Bureau, imitating the Soviet five-tube model, emphasizing low price and easy repair.
Unlike German radios that need to be sent to specialized places for repair, Uncle Wang could tinker with the Red Lantern Brand himself and fix it.
However, the Red Lantern Brand radios in Hong Kong tea houses weren’t from Shanghai, but locally imitated in Hong Kong, even a bit cheaper than Shanghai’s.
“Apricot blossoms, spring rain, Jiangnan—said so well, no wonder he’s a great scholar; even accepting interviews is so cultured.”
“Didn’t Professor Lin grow up abroad? Speaking Chinese so well is one thing, but how is his foundation in traditional culture so profound too? These few lines are said so perfectly!”
“Give me a break, this isn’t traditional culture, it’s a metaphor—do you understand metaphor!”
In the tea house, discussions about the concept of Lin Ran as a cultural Chinese person arose everywhere.
Chen Jingrun and Section Chief Zhang, this father and son pair, were also in the tea house, sitting opposite each other with just one cup of tea.
It wasn’t strange for them to come specifically to listen to Lin Ran accept the interview; or rather, as two of the only eight remaining students in Lin Ran’s seminar, it would be strange if they didn’t come to the tea house to listen to the radio.
“Cultural Chinese person?” Section Chief Zhang pondered, “That’s actually a good concept, useful for rallying overseas Chinese.”
The tea house they were in was better than the previous one using Red Lantern Brand; Lin Heung Lau was at least a commoners’ tea house, using Zenith Trans-Oceanic from Illinois, America, capable of receiving global shortwave.
“This line ‘we are cultural Chinese people’ is said so well—no one can deny this point. No matter where you are, in Hong Kong or Macau, even if you’re in San Francisco, you can’t escape the influence of cultural China.”
“Professor Lin’s words hit right to my heart; I even feel like I smell the scent of rain from my youth growing up in Jiangnan.”
“I hope in my lifetime I can return to my hometown once more.”
“Wind changes once, snow changes once, the noisy sounds shatter hometown dreams that won’t form; no such sounds in the old homeland.”
The dialogues among the guests in this tea house were noticeably more literary.
“Before preparing the interview, I learned from Mr. Zhou Cong that Professor Lin specially prepared a song for our program this time. Mr. Zhou Cong handled the production of this song, and his evaluation is that it pioneers Chinese music.”
Before starting the program, I had the honor of hearing it once in the studio. My evaluation is similar to Mr. Zhou’s: it’s a completely new style, a shocking work.
Before formally playing this song, I’d like to ask Professor Lin a few questions first. This song is called “Bystander.” Is there any other implication in writing this song?
After learning she would interview Lin Ran, Deng Huixin’s preparations for ensuring the interview went smoothly included collecting his public information. She knew Lin Ran was remarkable and accomplished, having produced globally renowned mathematical achievements—a faint respect. But after hearing “Bystander,” this respect turned to adoration.
It’s hard to imagine a mathematician could write such a good song.
Under Gu Zhengqiu’s performance and Zhou Cong’s arrangement, this song was more than a level above the original version, perfectly embodying the charm and unique appeal of national style songs.
Zhou Cong was an early famous musician in Hong Kong, hailed as the “Broadcasting Emperor,” working for both Hong Kong Radio and Rediffusion. The lyrics for “Birthday Song” and “Wedding Song” in the early radio request programs were all from his hand.
Therefore, when speaking here, Deng Huixin’s gaze toward Lin Ran carried a flavor of tenderness.
“For the birth of this song, besides Mr. Zhou Cong who helped produce it and Madam Gu Zhengqiu who handled the singing, I also want to thank Madam Meng Xiaodong. I found her to help record it, and in just one short week, she assembled such a powerful team for me. The final effect was even much better than I expected—truly very grateful to Madam Meng.”
The song title is exactly what I want to express. Regarding whether to return to China, including invitations from the island side, or elsewhere, I just want to do my academia well on campus. For other distractions, I just want to be a Bystander.
Being misunderstood is the destiny of the speaker. I know after this song is released, it will be interpreted in various ways by newspapers, scholars, and the public, but my original intent is simply that I want to do academia well in a quiet environment.
Hearing “being misunderstood is the destiny of the speaker,” Deng Huixin’s eyes lit up again. Compared to other interviewed guests, Lin Ran had way too many golden quotes.
And in Lin Heung Lau, after hearing “Bystander,” Chen Jingrun felt Professor Lin’s image in his mind was shrouded in another thick veil. “Providing China with intercontinental missile ballistic trajectory calculation methods is being a Bystander? Giving information to tell Chinese people they can be self-reliant is being a Bystander? Specifically opening a seminar for China is being a Bystander?”
Countless thoughts surged in Chen Jingrun’s mind, past scenes recalled one by one. To this day, he clearly understood the seminar was opened specifically for him alone; others were just there to make up numbers.
To put it more bluntly, it wasn’t even opened for him—it was the seminar opened for the people sent by China, with all content serving him.
Including Professor Lin’s faintly unwilling expression two days ago at the lecture hall entrance confronting the white person, it was even clearer. “Professor Lin, are you really content to be a Bystander?” Chen Jingrun pondered.
When distractions occupied Chen Jingrun’s mind, the song from the radio echoed in the tea house:
“.Going hence, covered in dust at the feast of joy
Youth fades, how no sight of the cave paintings’ former brilliance
Yet awaken to be a Bystander”
The song ended, and the quiet tea house suddenly erupted in a burst of enthusiastic applause.
Last day, everyone vote up the monthly tickets! Woo woo woo
