Book Language (Love Letters of Ding Ling and Chen Ming)

Author: Ding Ling / Chen Ming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features: Love is originally sweet, yet in the more than half-century of shared life between Ding Ling and Chen Ming, there has been far too much bitterness. They endured 30 years of misfortune together, being sent to labor in the Northeast Inner Mongolia, imprisoned in Qincheng Prison—where enemies were supposed to be held, yet loyal comrades who served the revolution were locked away. They were separated and imprisoned in places near each other, yet were completely unaware of each other's whereabouts. They suffered endless hardships yet remained steadfast in their convictions. History has proven them innocent and blameless, leaving behind a touching story of loyalty to the revolution and to love for future generations. The Language of Books—Love Letters Between Ding Ling and Chen Ming collects 115 letters exchanged between them from March 1947 to December 1978, reflecting from one perspective the love life and hardships of Ding Ling and Chen Ming. Readers can deeply feel the dedication and steadfastness of these two predecessors to the revolution and to love through these letters, thus being moved and educated in spirit. On March 4, 1986, as Ding Ling lay on her deathbed, she awoke from a dream and tightly grasped Chen Ming's hand, whispering weakly, "One more kiss for me!" Chen Ming leaned forward and gently kissed Ding Ling's broad forehead. Ding Ling smiled and softly said, "You've suffered too much, I just can't rest easy about you!" The profound meaning of these words can only be truly understood by Chen Ming. Some say Chen Ming lived for Ding Ling. While Ding Ling was alive, Chen Ming was her guardian, tirelessly devoted to her health, daily life, political life, and literary career. After Ding Ling passed away, Chen Ming became her defender, working to her and fighting to preserve her pure and steadfast image. During this visit to Linli, Hunan, Chen Ming specially gave me a newly published New Literary Materials. In its third issue of 2004, they dedicated a special "Ding Ling Special Issue," featuring a letter written by Liu Lantao, former Secretary of the North China Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, to Ding Ling on May 17, 1982. The letter stated, "History has proven: good people and good deeds cannot be spoken ill of, and bad people and bad deeds cannot be covered up. The thoughts of people in society can be reformed, but history cannot be. As long as one is loyal to the facts and to history, one will be loyal to the truth. A heart with no selfishness is as boundless as the sky." This book collects love letters between the renowned writer Ding Ling and Chen Ming, revealing and recording the spiritual world and love life of the authors.