In the mind of Ding Ling's secretary Wang Zengru, 40 years ago, in October 1984, the scene of the old writers in the Yan'an period celebrating Ding Ling's birthday was as clear as yesterday: "Ding Lao stood up with a smile and said, I don't think I'm 80 years old, I just look like I'm just 18 years old." On October 12, 2024, sponsored by the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature, the China Ding Ling Research Association, and the Changde Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, hundreds of experts and scholars in the field of literature, culture and education gathered in Beijing to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Ding Ling's birth in the form of a symposium. What makes everyone emotional and excited is that Ding Ling, who has been away for 38 years, has not gone far, and her pulse is still beating today.
"On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of General Secretary Xi Jinping presiding over the symposium on literary and artistic work and delivering an important speech, we hold this symposium to learn and carry forward the spirit and creation of literary predecessors, which is an echo of history." In his speech, Zhang Hongsen, secretary of the party group and vice chairman of the China Writers Association, called Ding Ling's 3 million-word work "the precious spiritual wealth of the Chinese people." This is not only an ode to the people, but also a feedback, in her more than 60 years of creative career, Ding Ling has always adhered to the people-centered creative orientation. When creating "The Sun Shines on the Sangan River", she said affectionately, "I love this group of people and love this life". After going through ups and downs in her later years, she wrote "Du Wanxiang" full of affection for the people. Zhang Hongsen said, "Comrade Ding Ling believes that writers should devote their feelings to new things, write new people and new looks, and show the new atmosphere of the times. This inspires contemporary writers to work with the party with one heart and one mind, walk in the same direction with the people, and use more works with muscle, morality, and warmth to depict the glorious atmosphere of the new era and new journey. ”
For decades, the study of Ding Ling has been hot. From the "Collected Works of Ding Ling" published by Hunan People's Publishing House in the 80s of the last century to the "Complete Works of Ding Ling" published by Hebei People's Publishing House in 2001, researchers have more abundant materials. The "wealth" left by Ding Ling is like an inexhaustible treasure, and the "incomplete collection" is both a regret and a joy. Not long ago, when Wang Zengru was sorting out the accumulated materials, he found a 6,000-word long letter written by Ding Qiulin, a girl who volunteered for frontier construction from Wuxi to Qinghai, to Ding Ling, which was full of optimism and pride, and did not feel depressed and sad about going out early and returning late, and sleeping in the open. The infected Ding Ling personally compressed the letter to more than 4,000 words to make it more concise and smooth, and recommended it for publication in the March 1957 issue of China Youth Daily. Ding Ling's son Jiang Zulin is still busy after writing and publishing "The Biography of Ding Ling" in 2017, and now he is 94 years old and is ready to continue to do some material addendum work.
He Guimei, president of the Ding Ling Research Association, introduced that there is still room for more in-depth advancement in Ding Ling's literature collation and research, and this year completed the collation and discussion of the unpublished manuscript "Du Xiulan", which has a high degree of completion, shaping the image of a new social director in the context of agricultural cooperation, and filling the creative gap of Ding Ling in the 24 years from 1953 to 1977. Hebei Education Publishing House has newly published a set of "Ding Ling's Selections", which are divided into three volumes: "From 'Mengke' to 'Du Wanxiang' - Selected Novels of Ding Ling", "Fighting is Enjoyment - Selected Prose of Ding Ling" and "Crossing into a New Era - Selected Essays of Ding Ling".
Ding Ling likes to socialize with young people. Chen Shuyu, former deputy director of the Lu Xun Museum in Beijing, recalled that on November 6, 1980, at the age of 39, he met 76-year-old Ding Ling. Because of his study of Lu Xun, Chen Shuyu became Ding Ling's special preference for young people. Time flickered, Chen Shuyu was over eighty years old, his eyes were no longer bright after the lenses, and he was impressed by Ding Ling's "beautiful and clear big eyes" that were not afraid of age.
Today's young people can't have the luck to see Ding Ling in person, but they can be guided by their predecessors over the years. Writer Xu Kun drew the energy of three sets of keywords from Ding Ling: first, "individuals and times", articles are written for the times, and a writer can only create works that will leave a name in history if he walks with the times; The second is "Women and Freedom", Ding Ling is a literary grandmother and female pioneer who carried the banner of women's equality and liberation in the May Fourth Literary Revolution in the 20th century. The third is "art and life", even if the road is blue, bumpy and difficult, but still tireless, the original intention has not changed.