November 10, 2018 is the sixth anniversary of the death of Mr. Zhang Song, the founder of China’s broadcasting discipline. This article is specially published to commemorate Mr. Zhang Song’s outstanding achievements.
Zhang Song, formerly known as Zhang Yongchang , broadcasting name Li Chang, is the founder of Chinese broadcasting theory, one of the important founders of broadcasting and hosting art education in China, a famous broadcasting and hosting art educator, a national teaching teacher, a doctoral tutor at Communication University of China, and the first dean of the School of Broadcasting and Hosting Art at Communication University of China. Born on July 27, 1936 in Yixian County, Hebei Province, he joined the Communist Party of China in 1984. He graduated from the Chinese Department of Beijing Normal University in 1959 and joined the Central People's Broadcasting Station as an announcer and editor. In 1963, he was transferred to the Beijing Broadcasting Institute (now Communication University of China) to teach. As an academic leader, he has cultivated many outstanding broadcasting and hosting talents, achieved a large number of theoretical research results, and promoted the development of professional education and discipline construction. Among them, "Basics of Broadcasting" written by him and "Chinese Broadcasting Science" edited by him have constructed the theoretical system of Chinese broadcasting and hosting art education; "Reading aloud" and "Reading Aloud Aesthetics" provide creative paradigms for the creation of high-quality audio language arts. His theoretical achievements have an important guiding role in the world of broadcasting and hosting art and the world of audio language communication.
On the campus of Communication University of China, there was once a poem circulated - "A Song Singed by White Hair to Black Hair".
In the late autumn of 1999, on a moonlit night, a chasing light gently fell on an old man with white hair in the center of the stage. He spoke to the students with the art of reciting that he has loved all his life: "Just now, a classmate said, Teacher, your hair is all white... My hair is white, yes, but how much I love to hear the singing of black hair/We have struggled all our lives, it is worth it/My responsibility is here, my career is here /My hope starts here every year/Apart from here/What other life can I pray for/...Although I am old, I will try my best to give you a ride."
Because of his old age, his voice was a little old, and he was shaking slightly because of his excitement. This voice, more than ten years later, is still as clear as yesterday.
This old man with his trademark white hair is none other than Mr. Zhang Song, a scholar who has devoted his whole life to the theoretical research of broadcasting and hosting, a teacher who pours his love into his students, and an elder who has a heavy weight in the broadcasting industry, in the radio and television industry, and in the hearts of several generations of Broadcasting Institute (Communication University of China was formerly known as Beijing Broadcasting Institute, referred to as Broadcasting Institute) students.
Now, after sending students one journey after another, Mr. Zhang Song, who finally felt a little tired, passed away on November 10, 2012, a drizzling winter day due to ineffective treatment for advanced esophageal cancer.
At night, when students pass by their tutor's building, they will still habitually look up to see if the light in the study room behind the window is on. They can't help but look again and again.
"Every peach and plum in the world is in the public domain"
Zhang Song's grandfather was a traditional Chinese medicine doctor. He made a living in Beijing in his early years and hoped that his grandson could inherit his medical skills. However, compared with hearing, listening and asking, the boy was obviously more interested in the "talking box" (radio) in his grandfather's house. He liked to imitate the sounds on the radio station, such as " Seven Heroes and Five Righteousness" by Wang Jiekui and "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" by Zhao Yingpo. This fleeting, mysterious and wonderful thing deeply captured him. He probably didn't expect that a few years later, his voice would appear in that "chatterbox" and he would be associated with it for a lifetime.
From "Xiao Xia Qing" in the Chinese Department of Beijing Normal University to an announcer on the broadcast team of the Central People's Broadcasting Station, young Zhang Song sprinted towards his ideal. However, not long after, due to "original issues", Zhang Song left the broadcasting front and came to the Beijing Broadcasting Institute to engage in broadcasting teaching.
It was 1963. The Beijing Broadcasting Institute at that time was nothing more than a three-story building with a school sign. The broadcasting major, which became famous in the future, was affiliated to the Department of Journalism, with only four teachers. The so-called teaching materials were just a few experience summaries from the Soviet Union, the Central People's Broadcasting Station and various local radio announcers.What kind of knowledge does broadcasting contain and what does it teach? How to teach? Even more, what exactly is broadcasting? There was no way before, and there is no way to do it now.
He and his colleagues went to listen to the classes of opera artist Liang Xiaolou and linguist Zhou Dianfu, and searched for relevant information from university Chinese textbooks and relevant courses in film schools and drama schools. He tried his best, running with his legs and looking. , my hands kept writing, my mind kept spinning, and finally I "digged out" some materials, explaining the theme, attitude, and tone for the first batch of broadcasting students in my country...
But the storm of the "Cultural Revolution" soon hit, and Zhang Song's teaching work was also forced to stop. However, even in the days of "opening the school" and "learning from farmers", Zhang Song still had to talk to the students about his experiences and methods at every opportunity. He also found the article "The Unlockable Da Lao Zhang" as an example, and asked everyone to prepare the manuscript at his accommodation and then read it to him in the fields. These 10 years, which were gloomy but always full of hope, were not wasted for Zhang Song. Ideas for theoretical construction were growing secretly in his mind.
html Sharpen your sword in 2020. In 1983, Zhang Song's important work "Reading aloud" was published, which established the theoretical framework and overall outline of reading aloud. In 1994, "Chinese Broadcasting Studies" was published, which clarified the disciplinary positioning of Chinese Broadcasting Studies, marked the formal establishment of Chinese Broadcasting Studies, and had a profound impact on the theory, practice and teaching of Chinese broadcasting and hosting. Subsequently, works such as "General Theory of Broadcasting Language", "Reading Aesthetics", and "On the Development of Chinese Broadcasting Science" were published one after another, and the theory of Chinese broadcasting and hosting became increasingly rich and comprehensive.In 1977, the broadcasting major of Beijing Broadcasting Institute was upgraded from junior college to undergraduate. In 1980, the Broadcasting major was formally affiliated with the Department of Journalism and became a separate Department of Broadcasting, and began to recruit master's degree students. In 1986, Zhang Song was invited by the Voice of America (VOA) to go abroad and serve as a senior consultant for six months, guiding American announcers in broadcasting, and received high praise. In 1999, it began to recruit Chinese doctoral students in broadcasting. Today, the Broadcasting and Hosting Art Discipline of Communication University of China has become an important base for academic research and high-level talent training on radio and television broadcasting and hosting art in my country.
"All the peaches and plums in the world are in the public gate." Li Ruiying, Luo Jing, Jing Yidan , Zhang Zheng, Li Yong , Haixia , Liu Chunyan, Wang Ning , Kang Hui , Lu Jian , Sun Xiaomei , He Hongmei , Chun Ni ... are all his doctoral students, graduate students, undergraduates, and even his students' students are now active on the screen.
Every spring, there will often be catkins floating all over the sky outside the Ximen of Communication University of China. It is at this time that candidates from all over the country for interviews for the broadcasting major always line up from the School of Broadcasting near the Ximen of Communication University of China to the avenue outside the Ximen, going round and round, and there are even foreign students who have come all the way across the ocean. Zhang Song, who was walking along the path of Guangyuan under the warm sun and surrounded by flowers, must have been filled with joy.
"Broadcasting is learned"
Among the many Weibo posts in memory of Mr. Zhang Song, his closest student Chai Lujing left this sentence: "How many people don't know Mr. Zhang. What everyone sees is him. Achievements, but do not understand his pursuit. A lonely wanderer, a road full of obstacles and unfulfilled ambitions. "I studied for a master's degree with Zhang Song in 1995, and later became his doctoral student. After graduation, I have been teaching by his side. Chai Lujing has a clearer interpretation of Teacher Zhang's heart than many others.
In 1959, the moment he stepped into the door of the Central People's Broadcasting Station, Zhang Song's complicated mood was probably difficult for today's broadcasting students to understand. Compared with the dazzling brilliance of today's announcers and hosts, back then, they were just "promising reporters." Especially for undergraduates who graduated from prestigious universities, it is unbelievable to give up the glorious profession of people's teacher and choose "reporter"! Seeing that most of his classmates stayed at Beijing Normal University, Zhang Song was also hesitant. He expressed his thoughts to his teacher Qi Yue . Qi Yue's words made him enlightened: "The announcer is a teacher in a larger lecture hall."
From then on, he was obsessed with sound. One flower, one world.He secretly made up his mind to build a theoretical system for broadcasting that seems to be "can only be understood but cannot be expressed in words", proving that "in the land of Chinese broadcasting, if you dig a hole in the soil, you will get a harvest!" He believes that announcers and hosts are not "script readers" or "megaphones", and their creativity can give birth to models of audio language expression, "broadcasting has learning"! Regardless of whether he was allowed to broadcast or not, whether he could give lectures or not, he remained determined despite the cold and heat. It was against this background that Zhang Song wrote his first book "Reading aloud". After the book was published, it was warmly welcomed. The academic community was greatly shocked and began to pay attention to the broadcasting profession.
After the reform and opening up, in the face of the rapid development of radio and television, voice expression was once again left out. Various views and theories that ignored language norms and despised language skills spread like wildfire, and there were even attacks on language researchers. Zhang Song, who has always been low-key and gentle, couldn't hold back. "In the situation of being called out by name, with numerous labels such as 'negative', 'error' and 'sophistry' being slapped on me, I can no longer remain silent. Silence is roughly equivalent to 'unreasonable'." So, in the 1990s, Zhang Song compiled a 10-chapter "General Theory of Broadcasting Language - Crisis and Countermeasures", which analyzed the problems in the theory of radio and television broadcasting. Some misunderstandings and prejudices should be clarified in order to "understand right from wrong, develop careers, and still be able to 'adhere to the truth and correct errors.'"
As more and more program hosts appear on the screen, the crisis of "oral supremacy" has emerged. The society generally exalts "hosting" and despises "broadcasting". Some supervisors show the tendency of "only speaking is better" and "exclusively respects spoken language." Zhang Song once again wrote vigorously and shouted with all his strength: It is not easy to make an "audio version" of written language well! The so-called correct words and a round tone means that only with a right heart can the words be correct, and only with full emotions can the tone be round. Broadcasting is an artistic re-creation of words and language that is closely related to individual qualities. "Whether it is 'broadcasting' or 'hosting', there is no need to settle on the same person, and there is no need to differentiate between superiors!" At that time, it took a lot of courage to make such a voice.
In the era of all media, when "pan-entertainment" invades radio and television, Zhang Song once again made such a loud voice: "Radio and television language communication shoulders the responsibility of improving the social morality of the broad audience and guiding the direction of advanced culture, and is by no means exclusively for people. For fun, vulgar skills that are used for entertainment."
Regarding the various problems existing in the broadcasting and hosting industry in the new era, Zhang Song could not let go even on the eve of his death. If his life can last for a few years, this brave singer will continue to move forward, no matter whether there are ravines or thorns ahead.
"Many things have not been done yet, many things have not been written yet"
For a long time, Zhang Song's home was just a 12-square-meter bungalow in the Mahua Radio dormitory on Dene Street, Beijing.
student Lu Jingchao will always remember the scene he saw when he walked into this hut for the first time in the midsummer of 1984: the thin door creaked open, and in the low and dark hut, there was a small table and a large bed. His daughter Zhao Yan was doing homework on the table. Teacher Zhang Song was sitting half-prone on the hard board writing. His wife kept fanning the big cattail leaf fan, but the teacher's back was still soaked with sweat.
Zhao Yan, who grew up in this hut, doesn't like summer. The hot weather makes her father, who is immersed in writing, sweat profusely even if he is shirtless. She is also afraid of rain. Once it rains heavily outside, it will start to drizzle inside. However, her father always takes it calmly and happily comes up with various ways to solve every leak.
It was in this small house that Zhang Song completed the first important book in his life, "Reading aloud".
This cabin has become his second classroom. This place is like a listening room, with reels of audio tapes, from the central and local radio and television stations, county radio stations, students' own, sent in person, sent by mail, sent on behalf of others, those he knows and those he does not know. He treats them all equally, listens to them patiently, writes down his own opinions and then returns them, as piously as a primary school student handing in his homework.
He lived in this small bungalow for more than 20 years. At the age of 54, Zhang Song and his family finally moved into a small three-bedroom apartment with an area of more than 60 square meters near Wanshou Road. In 2005, they moved into a room with better conditions on the Communication University of China.
From then on, in many of Zhang Song’s writings, you can often see the line “Written in ‘Sanshuwu’”, which clearly shows his cherishment of this house. My husband's "Three Books" is not a spacious and bright place facing the green mountains and surrounded by green bamboos. It is just a small room that is a little cramped for three or two people. However, for Zhang Song, it is enough to have a corner where he can read, teach and write without any distractions - the so-called "three books"!
At the beginning of 2012, Zhang Song, whose condition was deteriorating, still appeared on the podium. Whether it was a professional course in the Broadcasting Department or an external department asking him to give a lecture, Zhang Song would gladly go as long as he had a little bit of energy. On March 27, Jiang Baochen, a student in the 11th-level Master of Broadcasting class, listened to Mr. Zhang Song’s last lesson. "The teacher looks a little haggard, sitting upright on the podium, but his eyes are still as bright as before." I don't know if it was a premonition, but the students who did not know the teacher's condition in advance had to pay extra attention to the class. Apart from the teacher's voice, only the rustling sound of writing could be heard around them.
One day in August 2012, a car was driving to the Beijing Cancer Hospital, where the seriously ill old man was preparing to receive radiotherapy. During the conversation, the optimistic old man suddenly lamented: "Many things have not been done yet, many things have not been written yet!"
Don't be afraid of insults, nor do you want to be crowned.
On November 9, 2012, Jing Yidan and Yan Qian went to the hospital to visit Zhang Song. Jing Yidan said: "Teacher, everyone has been busy publicizing and reporting on the 18th National Congress these days. Did you know that most of these people fighting on the front line are your students." After listening to her words, Zhang Song struggled to raise his arm, stretched out his thumb, and then fell into sleep again.
Students have always been his greatest pride and concern throughout his life.
Yang Xi, an alumnus of Communication University of China, treasures a title inscribed by teacher Zhang Song for the Broadcasting School’s journal "Morning Star" in 1997. The three words "Morning Star" were written seriously several times. Zhang Song hopes that students will not only be able to broadcast, but also have the ability in literary creation and news interviewing, and become multi-talented talents, so the founding of "Morning Star" was launched. The title of the magazine also came from Zhang Song's idea, which expressed the old man's deep hope for young students.
Zhang Song, a doctoral student, remembers getting a reply from his supervisor the day after submitting his thesis. Zhang Song read through the 140,000-word doctoral thesis in just one night. The manuscript I got was full of dense footnotes, and even the punctuation had been changed. The teacher’s wife said, Teacher Zhang didn’t sleep all night because he was afraid of delaying your revision time.
According to regulations, the supervisor is not allowed to be present during the doctoral thesis defense. When Zhang Long and his junior students came out after the defense, they discovered that the 70-year-old teacher Zhang Song had been waiting outside the building for news about his disciples. After learning that he had passed successfully, Teacher Zhang was so happy that he took his wife and disciples to sing in KTV for the first time in the evening. Zhang Long remembered that that night he and his teacher sang a song called "I Will Become You When I Grow Up."
"Teacher Zhang Song especially likes to treat students to dinner, and chats with them about life and ideals at the dinner table." Zhang Zhengfa said, "Every time we have dinner, my wife always fights with us to pay, and in the end it is my wife who mostly 'wins'." Zhang Song often helps students with poor financial conditions. In fact, students all know that Teacher Zhang Song himself was extremely frugal in life. The clothes he left behind were clean and tidy, but they faded and deformed due to repeated washing.
On the issue of principle, Zhang Song did not give in at all.
When Li Ruiying was in school, her grades were very good in all subjects for one year. Only the language expression class taught by Zhang Song only scored 79 points, missing out on the selection of three good students by one point.Li Ruiying felt aggrieved by Teacher Zhang Song's "inhumanity". Teacher Zhang patiently pointed out some shortcomings in her profession, and finally said something that Li Ruiying will never forget: "Are you a student just to be rated as a top student?" From then on, whenever she encountered grievances or difficulties at work, Li Ruiying would always remind herself to get out of her small self and live out her big self.
In one class, Zhang Song suddenly asked the students to recite poems without writing. Everyone looked at each other in shock when they heard this. After listening to the students' recitation, Zhang Song was quite dissatisfied and made comments one by one. Finally, he said seriously: This is the basic skill of the broadcasting and hosting profession. It must be practiced consistently and checked frequently in the future. A student couldn't help but muttered: "Teacher Zhang is too cruel." The teacher said calmly: "This way, more cruelty will come later." As soon as these words came out, everyone was solemn.
From the time he was diagnosed with cancer last year until the end of his life, Zhang Song never looked dim in the eyes of the students. When I call him, I always get a hearty response: "I'm fine, don't worry."
"Mr. is a very nice person, funny and cheerful, with pure white hair, shining with wisdom, and full of beauty. We all like him. Whether we are students who are not attending classes or not, we often eat and chat with him. We laugh so much that we shed tears, and we are reluctant to leave very late." said student Zhao Lin.
Just a few days before the old man passed away, Lu Jian distributed yellow bracelets designed to prevent the elderly from getting lost at a charity program. After Zhang Song saw the program on TV, he immediately called Lu Jian and asked him to bring one to him. However, before Lu Jian could send him there, Zhang Song had already been rushed to the hospital for rescue. This is a person who may die at any time, and the rest of his life can only be calculated in hours. How could the old man not know it? But the old man still hopes to get such a yellow bracelet to protect his life.
That day, Lu Jingchao went to the hospital to visit Mr. Zhang Song. Chai Lujing, who was in charge of taking care of the teacher on duty that day, wiped the teacher's dry lips with a cotton swab and called out softly. "Teacher Zhang opened his eyes slightly and saw me standing at the head of the bed. He smiled, very kindly and brightly." That smile in pain made Lu Jingchao unforgettable.
Zhang Song appreciates these lines of Pushkin's poems:
"O Muse of poets, obey the will of God,
Neither fear insults nor desire laurels,
Be calm and tolerant of both praise and slander,
Do not have empty arguments with foolish people. "
In his heart, this "God" is the party and the people.
Four days before Zhang Song's death, Gong Aiqiang, secretary of the Party branch of the school's Retired Personnel Management Office, visited him in the hospital. At that time, Zhang Song was extremely weak. When he saw the person coming, he still stood up with difficulty and said to Gong Aiqiang: "Our party branch has a meeting this morning. I can't go, but I haven't paid my party dues yet..."
Lu Jian remembered that in the entrance qualification examination for master's students that year he took part, there was such a question: On the relationship between journalism and artistry. In the days that followed, Teacher Zhang Song repeatedly emphasized that even though broadcasting and hosting is an art, its newsiness comes first. Announcers and hosts are first and foremost ordinary journalists. They should stand at the forefront of public opinion to serve the people and communicate face-to-face with the audience on an equal footing. "Teacher Zhang often tells us to remember who gave us the right to speak. It is the party and the people. No matter how glamorous the profession may seem to outsiders, never regard yourself as a star. If you are too high above others and lack a sense of communication, how can you do journalism work! "
During the interview, Lu Jian did not forget to introduce himself humbly: "Lu Xun's Lu, healthy Jian." In her text message communication with Li Ruiying, her reply was quick and detailed, including "please" and "thank you" and other honorifics. This man has passed away, but his legacy will live on forever. This is the disciple who came from Zhang Song's sect.
Li Zhuo, who participated in the 2003 "Xia Xin Cup" TV host competition, was deeply moved by Zhang Song's back.Zhang Song was the editor and judge of that competition. Compared with this "unknown" white-haired old man, both the players and the audience paid more attention to the popular hosts and judges, such as Ni Ping and Bai Yansong . After the competition, when the judges were surrounded by enthusiastic audiences, Zhang Song quietly walked out of the arena.
This lonely figure is a true portrayal of Zhang Song’s life. He often said, "Loneliness is very training for people and a great opportunity for growth. Loneliness allows me to go my own way with peace of mind and think rationally about bad phenomena and different viewpoints."
