Source of Meaning

This is mainly a script adapted from the novel "Ni Huanzhi" written by Ye Shengtao. It tells the story of Ni Huanzhi, who was born in a well-off family in the south of the Yangtze River. He could have entered the telegraph office and obtained a stable position through his father's relationship. However, he embraced the ideal of "benefiting the majority of people" and resolutely devoted himself to education, showing a strong sense of idealism. Ni Huanzhi's life trajectory runs through the period of great changes in Chinese society from the Revolution of 1911 to the "April 12" counter-revolutionary coup. He initially believed in "education to save the country", and he and principal Jiang Bingru implemented new education reforms in villages and towns, advocating the integration of education and production labor, founded farms, compiled new textbooks, and tried to transform society by cultivating new people. However, the reform was obstructed by feudal forces, misunderstood by the masses, and internally shaken. In particular, his wife Jin Peizhang gradually retreated to the family after marriage, which made him depressed as his career and marriage ideals were shattered. The wave of the May 4th Movement prompted Ni Huanzhi to awaken. He realized that education alone could not fundamentally change the dark reality, and instead devoted himself to social revolution. Under the influence of revolutionary Wang Leshan, he went to Shanghai to participate in the May 30th Movement and the Great Revolution, and experienced firsthand the heroic struggle of workers and the cruelty of revolution. But when the Great Revolution failed and Wang Leshan died, he fell into pessimism and despair because he could not bear the blow of the collapse of his ideals, and eventually died of illness amid spiritual disillusionment.