18Years and 18 Days

By Yi Jiangning

18Years and 18 Days

By Yi Jiangning

S unLijun,Vice President of the Beijing Film A-cademy,felt that he had fallen short of what a father should do because hedidn’tleavemuch timeforhischild.In what seemed the blink of an eye,his daughter Sun Jia had arrived at the age of 18.Sun Lijun realized that he had never participated in his daughter's parent-teacher meetings,which he regretted.

Before graduating from high school,Sun Jia'sschoolheldanannual‘coming-of-age’ceremony,which required every pair of parents to send their child a gift.Sun Lijun wondered:What kind of gift would work?After contemplating thisformorethana month,on the day of the ceremony,SunLijun wrote a proposal of a few pagesinlength,titled“18Years,18Days.”Sun Lijun commented in it:“A day is like a year, and 18 days represent my daughter's18yearsin this world.We can accomplishsomething meaningfultogetherin this time.I believe this is more intimate than any material gift could be.”

Sun Lijun's plan was to go on a cycling trip together with his daughter,following a route from Beijing,through TianJin,Tai'an,Qufu,Jinan,Nanjing, and finally arriving in Shanghai.The total distance was 1668 kilometers and would take 18 days.He wanted to sharethesentimentalexperiencewithhis daughter,and also raise funds for a project of Animated Cartoon Notes,a new book by Pu JiaXiang,a senior animator from the Shanghai Animation Film Studio.The final destination was the Studio.

Long-distance cycling is by no means an easy thing,and Sun Lijun planned to train before their departure.His daughter,however,refused any training.She had a negative feeling towards cycling, and Mr.Sun had to let her be herself.

In the end,Mr.Sun's plan changed. His wife would be driving a car,his daughter would be filming her father, and Sun Lijun would be riding alone. When they posted the plans for the journey on Weibo,China's version of Facebook,Mr.Sun's students took the initiative to join the shooting team.Their plan was to make a documentary about the journey.

On July 20,2014,Sun Lijun took his daughter to watch the flag-raising ceremony in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, and they started their journey afterwards. Mr.Sun rode his mountain bike for the journey,withheavybaggagethat weighed about 30 kg strapped to the bicycle.The cargo he had included a projector,a screen,and some small speakers.

When they departed,Sun Jia didn't ride with her father,but instead got into an accompanying car with a video camera.She sat in the car,watching her father on his bicycle.There seemed to always be a distance between the father and daughter-sometimes they would not be able to see each other at all.

In the first few days,Sun Lijun had a very tight schedule.One day,he rode 170 km,from 5 a.m.to 7 p.m.,and woke up to find himself unable to lift his legs the second day.On the third day of riding,Sun Lijun already felt exhausted. It seemed to him that he was doing the journey all-alone.Summer heat,physical pain,and loneliness were his only partners.

Following him,Sun Jia felt closer to her Dad than ever before.The hunchbacked figure in the camera's viewfinder became increasingly clear.In the early morning,she watched him start his journey after packing his bags,with the rays of morning sunshine draping over his body,which endowed him with a different kind of beauty.

At night,in remote villages,her father would project cartoons for the children of rural laborers working in far-away cities,left behind in the countryside to be with their grandparents.He said:“I grew up watching outdoor movies andhad the dream of becoming a filmmaker. Now I will give these children such a chance at inspiration.Even if we pass on confidence to only one child,it will be worth it.”Almost all of the children from the villages came for the screenings,sitting on the plastic chairs in the dark in front of the curtain,eyes gazing at the screen.The attentiveness in their eyes would have touched the hardest hearts in the world.

On the 11th and 12th days,Lijun's whole body became swollen,making his cycling extremely difficult.But he remarked:“Even if I had to climb to the finish line,I would do that.I will definitely keep my promise.”

On the 15th day,the morning before they arrived in Nanjing,the group was ready to set out.Sun Jia,sitting in the car all the way,suddenly said:“Daddy, I will ride with you.”Hearing this,Sun Lijun was in a daze for a while before fond happiness struck his heart:“My daughter is no longer like the little princess in the castle.”The father and the daughter merrily rode over the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.

In the last four days,Sun Jia rode for 200 kilometers.Along the way,there weresweats,painstakingefforts,the restlessness of going on wrong ways, and the helplessness of having broken tires.The care and love between the father and the daughter,however,had made the documentary impressive and memorable.

Sun Lijun and his daughter finally arrived at the gate of Shanghai Art Film Studio, though weary and fatigued.Watching his father riding the full-of-mud bicycle and slowly getting close to the mottled walls and overgrown yard,Sun Jia suddenly sighed:“It is really not easy for Daddy to hold fast to his dream in so many years.”

After the ride,the editing of the documentary“18 Years and 18 Days”was completed,which won two awards at the first Canada Film Show.

Someone asked the daughter,“Do you understand the present your father gave to you in the 18 days?”

Sun Jia felt that she’only got to understand his father's heart on the 18th day.The biggest regret was that she had not ridden for the whole 18 days with him.She would invite his father to have a riding together again when he retired at the age of 60.With these 18 days of mutual understanding in the memory,all the beauties and glories will be extended.

(FromShenzhen Youth,Vol.4,2015. Translation:Liu Yulan.)