Chapter 327 Seminar: We can master machines, and we can master beauty...
"The Echoes of Spruce" has sparked huge controversy, with some saying it is a desecration of the model worker factory director...
"Seriously distorting the facts and the characters..."
...
A week after the broadcast of "Echoes of Spruce," a seminar was held in Shanghai on "How Literary and Artistic Works Reflect the New Era." At this seminar, undercurrents were swirling and the words were heated.
Many people have criticized the TV series "Echoes of Spruce," which caused a sensation and drew huge audiences.
Among them was Ma Baoqiang, a well-known commentator with conservative views. He adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, spoke sharply into the microphone under the gaze of the crowd:
"Artistically, the TV series 'Echoes of Spruce' is undoubtedly beautiful and successful. However—" Ma Baoqiang's tone shifted abruptly, his voice rising sharply: "I strongly question the authenticity of the characters! Choosing a beautiful young woman to play the director of a large factory with tens of thousands of employees, and portraying her on television as a spoiled 'spoiled young lady' who constantly complains about trouble, is a serious distortion of the spirit of hard work! This is a low-level gimmick created to grab attention!"
"This is the degeneration of art, the degeneration of aesthetics! The decay of morality!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the scene erupted in uproar, and the flashes of the reporters' cameras went off wildly. After speaking, Ma Baoqiang sat down with an air of righteous indignation, a hint of pride in his eyes. He firmly believed that he had defended the "truth of art."
After media reports, his name will resound throughout the country tomorrow.
The leaders chairing the seminar were somewhat embarrassed and were trying to smooth things over. Xue Jianjun, sitting in the guest seat, couldn't help but stand up to retort, but was gently held down by the person next to him.
At this moment, Chen An, who had been invited to participate in the seminar and had participated in the construction of Feiyan Textile Factory and typhoon relief efforts, stood up and took the microphone.
“Comrade Ma,” Chen An’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a resounding weight, “you called Director Qin a ‘spoiled young lady’ who dislikes trouble, but it was precisely this kind of spoiled young lady who, during the fierce typhoon, guided everyone to evacuate in an orderly manner to protect the precious textiles, and it was also this kind of spoiled young lady who, at the Mawangdui site, saw the national treasures almost damaged, stepped forward to repair them…”
Chen An listed numerous of Factory Director Qin's achievements, while Ma Baoqiang scoffed, thinking he was just being unreasonable. He slammed his hand on the table and solemnly declared:
“This worker, I’m not questioning the existence of ‘Factory Director Qin’ and her deeds. I don’t deny her achievements, but it’s really unnecessary to portray her as a young and beautiful woman.”
"I don't know if you've received bribes from the director to come here and say these things."
At this moment, Chen An took out more than ten black and white photos from his briefcase:
"These are old photos left behind by Director Qin back then. These were taken when he went to Mawangdui."
"And this is a photo of Director Qin when he was working as a female worker at the Shanghai 316 Textile Factory."
"This is the start of operations at the Feiyan Textile Factory..."
"This is Director Qin from 'The Blue Sea and the Silver Shuttle.' Director Qin and her husband played supporting roles in the film."
...
This was the first time the media had seen so many clear photos. Black and white photos are different from pictures in newspapers. Newspaper photos are blurry and the faces are not clearly visible, but the factory director in these black and white photos is undoubtedly a beautiful woman with an oval face.
Chen An: "Did you see that clearly? Our Factory Director Qin has always been this beautiful! She is not only our factory director, but also the undisputed 'factory flower' of our Feiyan Textile Factory!"
"Her wisdom overshadowed her face, but in everyone's hearts, she will always be that young, beautiful, and intelligent factory director."
"Beauty is a gift from your parents, but skills and responsibility are developed through your own efforts. Are these two things contradictory?"
The scene was completely silent. Ma Baoqiang's expression was also not very good. He still didn't believe that a female factory director could be that beautiful. Choosing a pretty vase to play the role of a female factory director was just a deliberate attempt to create a gimmick.
Ma Baoqiang: "As the saying goes, 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.' Even if a female factory director is plain-looking, she is probably the most beautiful woman in the eyes of her factory workers."
"Beauty is a subjective matter; opinions vary from person to person."
"No matter how beautiful Factory Director Qin is, can she really be as pretty as Zeng Yao? Is she really such a stunning beauty as Zeng Yao?"
"And Zeng Yao is too stunning! How could someone with such an image of wealth and beauty possibly play a character like Factory Director Qin—"
"A worker should act like a worker!"
As Ma Baoqiang continued to argue his point in front of everyone, the door to the conference hall was gently pushed open.
As light streamed in, a figure stepped into everyone's sight, bathed in its glow.
The woman wore a dark green cheongsam with subtle patterns, paired with a soft faux wool coat. Despite being without makeup, her features were exquisite, her temperament refined, and her bright and elegant face exuded the charm of a mature woman honed by years of experience and career advancement. At that moment, she captivated everyone's attention.
Qin Xiangxiang took off her sunglasses, revealing an oval face that bore a resemblance to Zeng Yao on the screen, but was even more beautiful and charming, unlike anything else.
She originally did not want to attend the seminar, but Xue Jianjun and others strongly urged her to come, saying that it might be necessary for her, the "Factory Director Qin," to appear in order to prove everything.
Qin Xiangxiang initially thought it was unlikely, and she didn't intend to show up... However, some people genuinely felt she "shouldn't be pretty," and the factory workers praised her beauty—was it just "beauty is in the eye of the beholder"? Or was it just polite talk?
Why is it that Zeng Yao playing her is considered to damage the image of "Factory Director Qin"? Her image as Factory Director Qin has always been like this, it has always been like this!
Hmph, she's been beautiful since she was a child.
Qin Xiangxiang walked into the conference room, but instead of going directly to Ma Baoqiang, she went straight to the podium and glanced at the materials on the table, which were full of questions about the casting of "Echoes of Spruce".
She calmly scanned the entire room, finally settling on Ma Baoqiang, whose expression was strange. The entire hall fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.
"Comrade Ma, I think you have a problem with your understanding of workers."
"Just because someone does manual labor or technical work, does that mean they don't deserve to be beautiful?"
"In your eyes, laborers and workers should all look disheveled and have ordinary appearances? Do you look down on workers, or do you look down on... beauty itself?"
"If we say a woman is shallow, brainless, and incapable of taking on important responsibilities just because she is beautiful, wouldn't that be a form of contempt for women?"
Her questions were like resounding slaps to the faces of Ma Baoqiang and all those who shared the same prejudice.
In fact, in the eyes of many intellectuals, laborers are dirty, simple, and rough, and therefore not beautiful. Only intellectuals who wield the pen are considered to be engaged in high-level mental labor and are entitled to enjoy elegance and beauty.
In the eyes of many chauvinistic men, a woman who is more capable than a man at work must be a burly, clumsy "woman" who is just imitating a man.
Such women cannot even be called women, because these strong women take pride in "living like men"; they are "men in spirit."
Ah, how delightful! A woman has to desperately abandon all feminine characteristics just to be like a "man," to become a so-called "strong woman." And what about us? We are born men. They kneel down and learn from us, abandoning their own gender, rejecting all feminine characteristics, even rejecting the women's group, learning how to be a man, actively pandering to men to integrate themselves into the male group and gain their approval. Such strong women are truly despicable.
The most ridiculous thing is that they take pride in being "like men," while we are born men! Doesn't this just show that they themselves believe that women are inherently inferior?
Arrogant men often use this kind of "secret smugness" to look down on so-called "strong women".
He's just a clumsy imitation of a man—a "fake man."
...
But the factory director in front of me was completely different. She had typical feminine characteristics and typical feminine beauty. She was not ambiguous and androgynous, nor did she have short hair. She never made herself look like a man, and she never suppressed or erased her feminine characteristics.
This is Factory Director Qin, a legendary female factory director.
Her very existence overturned many people's perceptions: must women who surpass men's achievements be androgynous? And have short hair?
Qin Xiangxiang put down the materials in her hand, nodded to Xue Jianjun and the others. Since she had already appeared, there was no point in arguing about her personal image.
"Let's go, we have things to do at the factory, so we won't continue with the seminar."
Qin Xiangxiang had no desire to deal with the media reporters, so she slipped away as suddenly as she had arrived, leaving behind only the sweet fragrance of Flying Swallow Oriental Charm perfume and a completely distorted venue.
The following day, almost all the headlines of Shanghai's cultural newspapers were related to this:
Beauty is not a sin, prejudice is—Factory Director Qin appears at a seminar to refute the "gimmick" theory.
Who says a model worker can't be the "factory beauty"?
"Through Factory Director Qin, We See Women in the New Era: We Can Master Machines, and We Can Master Beauty"
Beauty? Wisdom? Struggle? All Three Coexisting
"Director Qin was a great beauty when she was young, even more beautiful than Zeng Yao."
"That's right! When she was a machine operator at the state-owned 316 Textile Factory, she was the most beautiful girl in the factory! Her mother was just as beautiful as her and was also a model worker when she was young!"
"This TV series is not exaggerated at all; it's probably even toned it down quite a bit!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
