Interview with Su Chunxi

As a character on the RMB, Su Chunxi’s appearance when she was young has entered thousands of households with the circulation of twenty cents. However, due to Su Chunxi's low profile, even people around her now know that few people know her origins with the renminbi.

How was she selected to be printed on the RMB as a representative of ethnic minorities? How did this experience affect her? How did her life go on after that?

On October 21, reporters talked with Su Chunxi, who has entered her forties, and asked her to tell her story with the RMB.

"To be honest, I don't want to say anything. I feel that I am old now, and the difference from the previous photos is too big."

Su Chunxi, to many people, may be the "most beautiful girl" "Familiar stranger" - the name is unfamiliar, but the appearance is familiar.

On the 1980 version of the 20 yuan, there are portraits of two beautiful ethnic minority girls. Among them, the Korean girl on the right is the prototype of her. Now in her middle age, she lives in Beijing and leads a plain and happy life. Speaking of the "photography" experience when she was 17, she only thought it was a coincidence.

With good political conditions, you can work as a commentator in Beijing

Reporter: Now you use 20 cents of RMB to buy things. Doesn’t it feel different from ordinary people?

Su Chunxi (hereinafter referred to as "Su"): I didn't take it seriously. Seen relatively lightly.

Reporter: Do you have twenty cents like this in your pocket now?

Su: Yes. However, I knew I was going to be interviewed and went to the bank to get it. Now that conditions are better, there are fewer opportunities to use dimes. Back then, two cents could buy a lot of things.

Reporter: What were you doing when you were taking photos of the RMB?

Su: Worked as a commentator at the National Culture Palace in Beijing.

Reporter: How did you come to Beijing to be a commentator?

Su: It’s a coincidence that 1979 was the 30th anniversary of the National Day. The State Ethnic Affairs Commission wanted to hold an exhibition to celebrate the 30th anniversary of ethnic work, and every ethnic minority asked to send a representative to be the interpreter. At that time, there were two quotas for Koreans. The National Ethnic Affairs Committee gave it to the Jilin Provincial Ethnic Affairs Committee, and the Jilin Provincial Ethnic Affairs Committee gave it to the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture Ethnic Affairs Committee. The state Ethnic Affairs Committee gave two quotas to the local state museum. At that time, I had just graduated from high school and was recruited by the local ethnic museum, and then came to the Beijing Ethnic Culture Palace.

Reporter: Were the selection conditions strict at that time?

Su: The conditions at that time required someone to speak both Chinese and Korean fluently, graduate from high school, be relatively young, and have good facial features. At that time, there were not many people in the autonomous prefecture who spoke both languages ??fluently. Either they were good at Korean but not good at Chinese. In fact, I didn’t speak Chinese until I was in the third grade of elementary school, and I didn’t go to a Han Chinese school until I was in the third grade.

In addition to this condition, more emphasis is placed on political conditions.

At that time, my father was an old revolutionary, a soldier in the past, and a cadre of the army before the founding of New China.

Reporter: Is your move to Beijing a formal transfer?

Su: Temporarily. I came to Beijing on a two-year secondment. When I came, I made it clear that I would be a commentator for the ethnic minority work exhibition. In fact, I was the commentator for the 30th anniversary minority work exhibition.

Reporter: Does the family agree?

Su: Not to mention agreeing, I am extremely happy. Because this is being chosen by the country to represent a nation. The selection started in July and was quickly decided in September. Both of us Koreans work in the museum. I am not very tall, so the museum specially made high-heeled shoes for me.

The commentators were all beautiful, and she was called the "flower girl"

Reporter: Did you have many opportunities to take photos at that time?

Su: Many. At that time, there were more than 90 interpreters from various ethnic groups in the Ethnic Culture Palace. Some ethnic groups had one person, and some ethnic groups may have two people. The National Culture Palace made two sets of national costumes for each of us, one for winter and one for summer. Therefore, many people came here to take photos of people of various ethnic groups and to make plaster statues.

Reporter: So the commentators are all beauties, right?

Su: There are also men, but the women should be said to be pretty good-looking. We girls live in a hall on the 13th floor of the Palace of Nationalities and Culture. A province is a corner. Although it was difficult, looking back now, I was quite happy at that time.

Reporter: Are there any boys chasing you?

Su: Haha, I’m all scared.

As soon as we go out, we always meet some boys chasing us. In fact, the most we could do was go to Xidan to have a look, but even on the bus, there were boys chasing us. Therefore, the teacher uniformly manages us and is very strict and does not allow us to go out casually. At that time, we had just arrived in Beijing and were relatively young.

Reporter: Is it because your national costumes are too bright?

Su: No, we only wear casual clothes when we go out. We have more opportunities to wear ethnic minority costumes in the courtyard, such as when leaders come to visit and take photos, so many people know that there are many beautiful girls in the Ethnic Culture Palace.

After I went there, the teachers called me "Flower Girl" and said that I looked like the girl in the North Korean movie "Flower Girl". When the Beijing Film Studio was filming "Afanti", several narrators were selected to perform.

Reporter: If you don’t go out, what do you do in your spare time?

Su: I don’t particularly like to make friends. Apart from work, I go to the library to read. I will definitely go to work when it is time to go to work every day, and I will definitely be in the library in my spare time. I was relatively young at the time, only sixteen or seventeen years old, and I always felt that time could not be wasted like this. I knew this was a temporary job after all, so I just wanted to take the exam and study.

Reporter: How are the other commentators doing?

Su: Haha, I think I am more serious, most girls have more time to play.

Overall, I feel that the performance during the two years was good. The teacher asked us to memorize the explanation, and I was the first to memorize it. My grades in the cultural class were also the best, and the teacher praised me. So when leaders and foreign guests came, they often asked me to explain. However, in the past two years, our guides have often organized activities and visited various parts of the country, which is not monotonous.

You did not get any income from taking photos of RMB

Reporter: Do you still often recall that special photo shoot?

Su: Yeah. The photo of the RMB was taken in the courtyard outside the Palace of Nationalities, not inside the house. In fact, many people came to take pictures of us at that time, and we were already used to it. Because there was a Yi girl named Li Xi who was very beautiful at that time. She took the photo with me. She was holding her stomach and crying out that it hurt. Two years later, I heard that she passed away. It was a pity, so that time left a deep impression on me.

Reporter: When you took the photo, did you know it was for RMB?

Su: At that time, the teacher had told us in advance that the banks were coming to take photos, and that the new version of RMB needed images of all ethnic groups. So that day I carefully combed my hair, tied a bow tie, and put on clean ethnic clothes. In fact, I just obeyed the teacher and didn't ask too much.

Reporter: When was the first time you saw RMB with your own face printed on it?

Su: Because when I took the photo, I was told that I needed the 1980s version of the RMB, so I always paid attention to the new version of the RMB. I don’t remember the specific time, but as soon as I saw the new version of Twenty Cents, I knew it was me.

Reporter: Are you excited after seeing the new version of RMB?

Su: I don’t feel particularly excited either. Because I am mentally prepared.

Reporter: Is this painting the same as the photo you took back then? Which one is more realistic?

Su: This is not completely me. It is basically drawn according to my photo, with a little bit of work. Overall, it looks like the nose and mouth are mine, and the head shape is completely mine. , I am also wearing the floral dress.

Reporter: Did anyone recognize you on the street at that time?

Su: No, because it was taken from the side, so you should be able to see it more clearly from the front.

Reporter: Do your friends know about the RMB on your portrait?

Su: Didn’t tell them. Maybe it has something to do with my personality. I'm a bit introverted and don't like to talk to others. After I took the photo, I told my mother. Later, after the new version of the RMB came out, my mother took it and promoted it to many colleagues. Some of my mother’s colleagues also started to tell people around them.

Reporter: Did anyone discuss the issue of portrait rights with you at that time? Many people think you earn a lot of money.

Su: You see, this is the difference between young people today and our time.

At that time, we were all about dedication and obedience, and we would do whatever the teacher asked us to do. At that time, no one thought of this at all, and no one put forward any conditions.

I don't make any money from this.

Reporter: What if the RMB uses your photo again?

Su: Then we probably need to talk about it, times have changed. But then again, this is an honor.

Teaching Chinese in South Korea after graduating from university

Reporter: What did you do after working as a lecturer for two years?

Su: After 1981, according to arrangements, I returned to work in the Youth League Committee of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Later, in order to prepare for the Museum of Chinese Ethnology and recruit staff from various ethnic groups, I went to Beijing again in 1985 and was transferred back. But because we had been preparing for it at that time, in 1987, our group felt disappointed and could not continue. At that time, I was admitted to Minzu University of China on the recommendation of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture.

Reporter: Did you benefit from the RMB when you returned to Beijing and went to university?

Su: It doesn’t matter much. I can come back. It should be said that my performance at the Palace of Ethnic Culture left a good impression on the people of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission. As for going to college, it was also because of my performance in the autonomous prefecture. However, the governor at the time knew about the RMB and he was deeply impressed.

Reporter: I heard that you went abroad after graduation?

Su: Yes, I went to South Korea (South Korea) in 1989. There were five major companies in South Korea at the time, and one of them was called Sun Kyung. I specialized in trade translation work in this big company and also wrote trade books.

At that time, many traders needed to improve their Chinese proficiency, so I taught Chinese in my spare time.

Reporter: No one advised you to stay in South Korea?

Su: At that time, many people advised me to start a family in South Korea. But I grew up in China, and many of my living habits are more adapted to China, so I came back in 1991. From 1991 to 1995, he studied English at Peking University and worked part-time as a translator in the management of a Korean trading company. I met my current husband in 1995 and got married. Our daughter is now 10 years old.

The husband does not believe that she is a "twenty-cent girl"

Reporter: When did your husband know about the twenty-cent thing?

Su: I told him when we first met. My spouse didn’t believe it, he said “no way”, and I didn’t want to explain it to him anymore. If he didn’t believe it, just don’t believe it. I told him these days, "Look, reporters are coming to see me."

Reporter: After so many years of silence, why are you suddenly willing to appear in front of people?

Su: It was a media that launched a campaign to find people on the RMB. After my relatives saw it, they told the media about my situation. In this way, more than 20 years later, I came to the front desk for the first time because of the RMB.

Reporter: Do you think the RMB on the photo or the two years of working at the Palace of Nationalities and Culture have had an impact on you over the years?

Su: Mainly to train my self-care ability. I have never left home before.

Reporter: It seems that some of the other characters on the RMB are also commentators. Do you have any contact with them?

Su: If I wanted to compare photos from the past, I should know them all, but I haven’t compared them one by one. At that time, the teacher from the National Culture Palace said that most of the people came from this group of commentators. I have no contact with anyone anymore.

Reporter: Now that the media is reporting on you, has anyone in your life recognized you?

Su: No, after all, I am different from what I was 20 years ago. One time my mother and I went to a shopping mall, and my mother took the money and said, "This is my daughter." I quickly grabbed my mother and said, "Mom, what are you doing!"

To be honest, I don't want to say anything. I feel that now that I am older, there is a big difference from the previous photos.

Related news

First phone call after separation

Twenty-six years ago, two ethnic minority girls from far and wide met in Beijing. Afterwards, they separated and there was no news from them. They never thought that today, 26 years later, the two would get together again and tell each other about their years of friendship over the phone for the first time. They are the two beautiful and lovely girls on the 1980 version of the 20 yuan note - Su Chunxi and Huang Qiping

On October 19, Su Chunxi called Huang Qiping. This is the first phone call between the two sisters in 26 years.

Su Chunxi: Hello.

Huang Qiping: It feels very cordial to hear your voice.

Su Chunxi: I called you many times, but no one answered.

Huang Qiping: I was studying at the party school recently, and I might have turned off my phone during class. I haven’t seen you in over 20 years, and I miss you so much. I went to Yanbian, Jilin, to inquire about you in 1997, and someone said you had gone to South Korea.

Su Chunxi: I wish you all the best and good health.

Huang Qiping: I hope to have the opportunity to go to Beijing to meet you.

Huang Qiping currently works in the Discipline Inspection Team of the Hunan Provincial Department of Agriculture. In 1979, Huang Qiping was lucky enough to be selected to go to Beijing as one of the three representatives of Hunan Province. On October 1, the National Ethnic Work Exhibition was launched. After half a year of training, Huang Qiping started her work as a commentator with 103 other ethnic minority trainees in a nervous and excited mood. According to "Beijing Morning News"