"decryption" is one of the representative works of the famous writer mai jia. mai jia gained fame with a series of spy-themed novels such as "decryption," "dark chess," and "wind sound." the novel "dark chess" won the 7th mao dun literature award and was selected as one of the world's top 20 spy novels.
"decryption" is mai jia's most satisfying work. he spent 11 years writing this novel, which was rejected 17 times and revised more than 20 times before it was published. it can be said that he put a lot of effort into it!
this turbulent "decryption" achieved great success after its publication. it was translated into 33 languages and released in 35 countries. it is the most widely collected chinese work in the world's libraries and was hailed as the "2014 top ten global novels" by the authoritative magazine "the economist." it received rave reviews from 41 international mainstream media such as the new york times and the wall street journal.
"decryption" is the only contemporary chinese novel selected as a "penguin classic," following lu xun's "the true story of ah q," qian zhongshu's "fortress besieged," and zhang ailing's "lust, caution."
during the spring festival holiday, i stayed at home and finished reading the novel "decryption" and watched the tv series of the same name. the characters, plot, and original work of the tv series are not the same. it has been greatly adapted, and the author is one of the screenwriters. the series received great acclaim as soon as it was released and won the title of excellent tv series in celebration of the "95th anniversary of the founding of the communist party of china."
the tv series is labeled as youthful, inspiring, and spy-themed, and the main actors are youth idol stars who are handsome and talented in acting. moreover, their clothing is very beautiful, fashionable, and stylish, making the protagonists look even more heroic. although the story is set in the 1950s and 1960s, it is full of modern elements and has gained popularity among audiences.
"decryption" tells the story of the events that happened in the secret unit 701. "mathematical genius" rong jinzhen was selected into 701 and went through a series of tests to become a master of code-breaking. he dealt a heavy blow to enemy agents and safeguarded the security of the country and people's lives and property.
rong jinzhen is a genius but also suffers from autism. in life, he is like a fool. mai jia has defined "genius": a genius is someone who sends us to heaven while they themselves go to hell!
i prefer the tv series, which incorporates many emotional factors, making the characters more vivid and lifelike. in the novel, the protagonist rong jinzhen goes crazy and leads a life without children and love. the ending is extremely tragic. however, in the tv series, rong jinzhen deciphers "purple secret" and "black secret," becoming a respected hero and winning both love and a complete family. liu yiping, who went crazy because of deciphering the "purple secret," miraculously recovers after the secret is cracked. the chinese audience loves a happy ending, which satisfies the psychological expectations of the viewers.
rong jinzhen's transformation from a "fool" to a "genius" is due to the love from people around him. love enables him to overcome his inferiority and weakness, becoming confident and powerful. he not only deciphers the "purple secret" and "black secret" but also engages in a life-and-death struggle with enemy agents, killing the enemy's leader, known as the "awakener" of the purple secret. he earns great merits and becomes a hero. love is the redemption of rong jinzhen's life.
this series has two contrasting storylines: the bright line is rong jinzhen's growth experience, and the dark line is the "love" that runs through the entire series. the great love refers to patriotism, the spirit of selfless dedication to the country, and the small love refers to family, friendship, and love.
this kind of patriotism, which sublimates personal emotions for the national interest, is precisely what the author intends to praise.
from the perspective of love, let's analyze the transformation of rong jinzhen's growth:
1. from rong jinzhen's background, love is the determining factor for his survival and growth.
in the tv series, the head of the secret unit 701, zheng dang, went to ningzhou university to recruit talents and met rong jinzhen, who had extraordinary mathematical talent, and decided to take him under his wing.
zheng dang learned about rong jinzhen's background from a brief introduction by the head of the university: he was the grandson of the head of the university and his father was a prodigal who squandered the family fortune and died in poverty. his relatives were all deceased, and he was adopted by the head of the university at the age of seven. because of his special background, he became timid and weak in all aspects except for his exceptional mathematical abilities. therefore, the head of the university disagreed with zheng dang taking rong jinzhen away.
in the novel, rong jinzhen's background is sensational and shocking. his grandmother is the head of the university's cousin and is known as "abacus rong." she is a mathematics ph.d. from cambridge university and is proficient in eight languages. she was involved in the wright brothers' aircraft manufacturing and became the head of the mathematics department at ningzhou university after returning to china, gaining great fame and bringing great glory to ningzhou university.
unfortunately, this outstanding woman died at the age of less than forty due to difficulties and dangers during childbirth. the birth process was difficult and horrifying, struggling desperately for days and nights, resulting in a ruptured liver. the child was born by caesarean section.
in exchange for the child's life, the child's head was abnormally large, and compared to her mother, she looked insignificant. many names were taken for her, but none were as famous as her nickname, known as the "big-headed ghost." at just over ten years old, this "big-headed ghost" did all sorts of misdeeds, played with hundreds of women, squandered the lin family's assets, and was killed at the age of twenty, putting an end to his evil life.
rong jinzhen's mother was one of the hundreds of women played by the "big-headed ghost." she searched for the family of the "big-headed ghost" with a pregnant belly and was kicked out of the lin family's estate. helplessly, the woman cried and cried, and she found the old father of the head of the university, the former headmaster. the compassionate old headmaster instructed the head of the university to send the woman back to her hometown of tongzhen.
the head of the university tried his best to have the brothers and sisters from his hometown take care of the woman. when the woman gave birth, the tragic scene of the birth was repeated, with blood flowing like a river. the child born was an exact replica of the "big-headed ghost." finally, it was confirmed that the child carried the blood of the rong family to him.
such a terrifying child naturally was not welcomed by the rong and lin families and would have been fortunate not to be abandoned in the wilderness. he was raised by servants and grew up like a humble weed, weak and sickly, and later lived with mr. yang, who was researching family genealogy. mr. yang was a foreigner who fell from grace and ended up at the rong family. he had some knowledge, gave the child the name "big-headed worm," and taught him cultural knowledge. the "big-headed worm" showed outstanding mathematical talent at a very young age.
later, mr. yang passed away, and the head of the university took the "big-headed worm" to ningzhou university to study. he changed his name to jinzhen, and his whole family loved him very much, affectionately calling him "zhenjie." he called the wife of the head of the university "teacher mother" and the daughter of the head of the university "teacher sister," although their generations were not correct. it can be seen that the head of the university's family truly treated him as their own child, concealed his background, and took care of him in every possible way. they even prevented him from doing anything except studying, to the point that he didn't know how to wash his underwear. later, when he joined 701, he caused many amusing incidents.
the author is skilled in using contrasting techniques, and the story is unpredictable and ever-changing, making the characters mysterious and full of twists and turns. it reveals that life is full of hardships and difficulties, with bleak and challenging aspects, which is the author's consistent style.
the rong and lin families were once prominent and wealthy. the rong family respected academics, and the old headmaster studied abroad and returned to the provincial capital to establish ningzhou university. all the children of the rong family, regardless of gender, could receive a good education. the rong family brought forth an extraordinary woman, abacus rong. however, she did not have a happy ending. she gave birth to a son, the "big-headed ghost," who was even more evil than her. he squandered all the lin family's property and died a violent death at a young age. "big-headed worm" jinzhen was an unfortunate child with an unknown origin. for both the rong and lin families, he was the misfortune of the family and the shame of the lineage. according to china's feudal customs, it would not be possible for such a child to be accepted.
the head of the university was a foreign student whose horizons were broadened. he understood knowledge and reasoning and was kind-hearted and generous. he took in jinzhen's mother, and later adopted jinzhen, allowing this suffering child to receive a good education and experience warmth and care.
blood ties cannot be severed. the head of the university's family abandoned the concept of family and birth background and decided to raise jinzhen. they concealed his background and took care of him as if he were their own child, reflecting the brilliance of human nature and deeply moving people. love once again ignited jinzhen's talents, making him a useful talent for the country.
容老校长热衷于资办学，亲自创办了宁州大学，并慷慨捐资支持革命。容校长的儿子继承了父亲的事业，为国家培养人才。父子二人都怀揣着赤诚的爱国心，在当时是多么难得而可贵！当容金珍被郑先生选中为国家效力时，容校长一家痛苦地割舍了亲情，含泪告别。
这种为国家舍小家的行为，使得容校长一家的形象更加崇高和伟大。这种爱国之情是一种为国家无私奉献的精神，它通过弘扬主旋律、凝聚主题，使得这部剧具有更深刻的教育意义。
二、来到秘密单位701研究院，爱让容金珍由一个傻瓜变成了天才
容金珍进入701，从一个傻瓜变成了一个天才。他身边的人通过爱来鼓励他，让他不断进步，克服胆小、软弱和敏感，攻克了一个个难关。最终，他成功地破译了紫密和黑密，成为了701顶尖的人才。