Human, human!

Author: Dai Houying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The protagonist, Sun Yue, is the branch secretary of the Chinese Department at C City University. She is beautiful, kind, and upright, with a calm demeanor that hides passion. However, her life journey is not smooth or peaceful; instead, it is filled with pain and misfortune, both in personal relationships and spiritual pursuits. In the 1950s, when she and her childhood friend Zhao Zhenhuan entered C City University together, she was still an extremely innocent girl. Less than a semester later, she showed great talent in various areas: excellent academic performance, regularly publishing essays and poems in the school newspaper, being an active participant in weekend dance parties (invited by no one but Zhao Zhenhuan), a member of the school gymnastics team, and a member of the department's drama troupe. Male students from all grades paid attention to her. He Jingfu first saw Sun Yue during the new student orientation and was deeply captivated by her. After that, he always paid attention to Sun Yue and guided her in reading, eventually becoming friends. During a school performance of the play "Lay Down Your Whip," Jingfu and Sun Yue played father and daughter on stage. On stage, Jingfu couldn't control his love for Sun Yue and suddenly lost his composure. It was then that Sun Yue realized his true feelings for her. However, she couldn't accept Jingfu's love. She didn't want to abandon her past promise to Zhao Zhenhuan and bear the name of being ungrateful and fickle, even though she knew she loved Jingfu more. She publicly declared her relationship with Zhao Zhenhuan and comforted herself with Zhao's outstanding beauty and gentle, considerate nature. Jingfu respected her choice but couldn't give up his love for her, pouring out his heart to her in his diary every day.
In 1957, the Party Secretary of the university, Xi Liu, refused to allow a Chinese student, Xiao Xie, to go abroad to visit his sick mother, citing the political task of "letting it all out" as paramount. Jingfu posted a large-character poster criticizing Xi Liu for lacking humanity and defending Xiao Xie, which caused a great stir on campus. Sun Yue also signed the poster. Soon after, Sun Yue received criticism from the organization and made a self-criticism for signing it. Jingfu was labeled a rightist, expelled from school, and his diary was excerpted and published. This greatly shocked Sun Yue.
In 1962, the university notified Jingfu that he could return to school. However, he was already accustomed to rural life and had secretly studied philosophy. Moreover, he learned that Sun Yue had married Zhao Zhenhuan, and his hidden hope was shattered. Adding to this, both his parents had passed away, and his sister had married, leaving him alone. He left and lived as a vagrant. When Sun Yue graduated from university, she stayed at the school, while Zhao Zhenhuan was assigned to work as a reporter for the A Province Daily. To ease Zhao's concerns, Sun Yue married him immediately after graduation. They lived apart.
At the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, Sun Yue was branded a "hardline old conservative" and persecuted. Her reputation grew worse, until she was labeled the "mistress of the Party Secretary of C City University." Zhao Zhenhuan blamed her for being too politically active, felt that she hadn't fulfilled her duties as a wife by not being by his side, and found life alone unbearable. At this time, he was drawn into the circle of the charismatic Feng Laxiang by Wang Pangzi and quickly lost his reason, abandoning Sun Yue and their daughter to marry Feng. However, he realized that Feng was a vulgar and despicable "woman," while Sun Yue was his true "lover." He was tormented by his conscience. After the Cultural Revolution, he insisted on divorcing Feng and sought Sun Yue's forgiveness.
After the collapse of the "Gang of Four," Sun Yue was transferred back to the university by Xi Liu. Soon after, Jingfu was also recalled. When he learned that Sun Yue had divorced Zhao and was living alone with their daughter, Huanhuan, his hope for love was reignited. At the same time, Xu Hengzhong, who had lost his wife in middle age, was also desperately pursuing Sun Yue, but Sun Yue only felt sympathy for him, not love. Jingfu's return disrupted her quiet life. After more than ten years of wandering, Jingfu had become deeper and more perceptive. His profound philosophical thoughts and his insightful views on Marxism and humanism brought a guiding light to Sun Yue, who was lost in thought. She felt an irresistible attraction to Jingfu at all times and longed to be with him, yet she was plagued by guilt and struggled with her self-esteem. Their daughter Huanhuan loved Jingfu very much, but when she learned that her biological father, Zhao Zhenhuan, wanted to repent and change, she couldn't bear to abandon her own father. All of this made Sun Yue deeply conflicted.
Due to the suppression and obstruction of Xi Liu and others against He Jingfu's book "Marxism and Humanism," Sun Yue increasingly saw the true nature of Xi Liu. She had once seen him as the embodiment of the Party and a model of morality, but now she finally realized that he was just a rigid and narrow-minded person. Xi Liu's thoughts could no longer dominate her thinking. Meanwhile, her interactions with Jingfu increased. The more she learned about him, the more she felt she couldn't lose him and couldn't let him fight the storm alone. She should stand by him and resist the current. Finally, the dam between them broke. Huanhuan also sensibly expressed that she didn't want her mother to sacrifice her love for her. Zhao Zhenhuan also fully understood that he had lost what he should have lost and could no longer regain Sun Yue's love. But he regained what he should have regained and finally earned his daughter's love and Sun Yue's forgiveness.