The Radio of Childhood

This film (drama)Also known as童年的收音机，is aMainland ChinaProducerwomen sex，At2009Released in year 。The dialogue language isMandarin，Current Douban rating8.1(For reference only)。

The story takes place in a small town in southwestern Shanxi at the end of the 1960s, revolving around a few young friends, including "Little Glasses," Zhuzi, and Xīn Gāng, as they make a crystal radio. In that era, toys were a rare sight; the children of the town played their own games every day—playing spinning tops, and it was already enviable for girls to own a beautiful feather shuttlecock. Eleven-year-old Wang Guoqing often wore a pair of small glasses; he was the little king of the courtyard. Because he loved reading, Guoqing always appeared more knowledgeable than other children, frequently talking about "profound" scientific questions during play. This earned him the nickname "Little Science." Since he wore glasses, he was also called "Little Glasses." His presence attracted another little partner, Xīn Gāng, who would annoyingly ask endless questions whenever he saw "Little Glasses." Thus, the eight-year-old Xīn Gāng earned the nickname "Little Question Mark." To be knowledgeable like "Little Science," "Little Question Mark" cried and pestered for seven or eight days until his father bought him a copy of "One Hundred Thousand Whys." As a result, "Little Question Mark" frequently posed scientific questions to challenge other little friends, which puzzled "Little Glasses." A fierce "top-spinning" battle unfolded. Under the lead of "Little Glasses," Xīn Gāng and Zhuzi flanked him left and right, and they fought fiercely against children from another courtyard, ultimately defeating the challengers. A victory made Xīn Gāng particularly happy, and he finally invited Guoqing and Zhuzi to his house for sweet water. Delighted, Guoqing and Zhuzi cheered and rushed to Xīn Gāng's house. While Zhuzi and Xīn Gāng drank sweet water, Guoqing observed in Xīn Gāng's house, wondering why "Little Question Mark" suddenly knew so much about science. Guoqing was determined to find the answer and soon discovered Xīn Gāng's copy of "One Hundred Thousand Whys." Two years ago, his own copy had fallen into the river, and Guoqing had cried for a whole week over it. The curious "Little Glasses" cherished this book. No wonder Xīn Gāng's little belly was puffed up with knowledge! Guoqing quickly hid the book under his clothes, intending to copy the parts he wanted to know before returning it to Xīn Gāng. Back home, "Little Glasses" was engrossed and copied from the book. One question in "One Hundred Thousand Whys" caught Guoqing's attention: how to assemble a crystal radio. Excited, Guoqing decided to follow the instructions to assemble it himself. He realized that Xīn Gāng wouldn't lend him the book, so to build the crystal radio, "Little Science" decided to keep the book hidden for a few more days. Guoqing, who was busy copying the book every day, suddenly disappeared from the top-spinning matches. His friends were puzzled and discussed where their "spiritual leader" had gone. Every action of "Little Glasses" Guoqing made filled the children who admired him with curiosity and mystery. At this moment, "Little Glasses" Guoqing had focused all his energy on assembling the radio. The biggest challenge he faced was gathering all the parts needed for the radio. After some "investigation," the clever "Little Glasses" quickly figured out the situation in each of his friends' homes. The radio required a small iron box, and Zhuzi's Gold Chicken brand oil box became the only choice. Therefore, "Little Glasses" decided to recruit Zhuzi into his "production team." Excited to hear about the radio assembly, Zhuzi could hardly contain himself; if they had their own radio, they would be the "kings" in their respective courtyards! With the radio, they could listen to stories, songs, and movies. Just hearing the word "radio" made Zhuzi's heart race; he could imagine the admiration from other children in the neighborhood once it was built. Zhuzi was so happy that he drooled. Of course, the best way to "fawn" over Guoqing was to offer him a clean cucumber from his waist. To get the oil box, Zhuzi started to work on his father; he voluntarily cleaned his father's leather shoes every day, eager to use up the Gold Chicken oil his father hadn't finished for three years. With "Little Science" guiding the plan, Zhuzi finally obtained the oil box. With the small iron box in hand, "Little Glasses" and Zhuzi began to eye the supplies at Xiao Li's home because they had a piece of magnet. To get that magnet, "Little Glasses" and Zhuzi tricked Xiaoping's grandmother into capturing Xiaoping's little rooster, plucked three golden feathers from its butt, and dyed its backside with dye for hairdressers. "Little Glasses" made a beautiful shuttlecock from the three feathers, successfully obtaining the magnet from Xiao Li's house, as well as copper wire and enameled wire, nearly completing the radio's assembly. Just as "Little Science" prepared to assemble the radio according to the book's instructions, the copy of "One Hundred Thousand Whys" mysteriously went missing. After some investigating, "Little Glasses" finally noticed that Xīn Gāng had secretly taken the book back. Tensions flared among the childhood friends as the children from the outer courtyard challenged the courtyard's children to a top-spinning duel, wanting to reclaim their lost honor from their last defeat. For the pride of their courtyard, "Little Glasses" led the children within to fight against the ones from outside. During the battle, "Little Glasses," Xīn Gāng, and Zhuzi fought in unison, and "Little Glasses" fell and got hurt while trying to rescue Xīn Gāng, rekindling the bond among the friends. At this moment, Xīn Gāng understood "Little Glasses'" plight. Through their collective efforts, the pieces needed to assemble the radio were almost complete, yet they were stumped by a 50-cent crystal detector, which was a fortune for the children. To gather the 50 cents, they foraged around small shops, picking up coins under the counter; they sold their beloved paper cakes, penny by penny. In the end, "Little Glasses" risked grabbing the crystal while the clerk wasn't paying attention, making off with it! With all the parts ready, "Little Glasses," Xīn Gāng, and Zhuzi finally completed the radio after two days of hard work. It was time to test it out, and all their friends came with excitement, watching "Little Glasses" as he started tuning the crystal detector. Time passed, but for hours, the small iron box remained silent, and the friends waited eagerly, only to see "Little Glasses" shed tears of disappointment. He told his friends to take their things home, but none of them took anything back; they departed silently. "Little Glasses" fell asleep next to the assembled radio. In his dream, he heard music coming from the radio. The wind picked up, blowing the antenna on the roof to one side, altering its angle... At that moment, the silent little iron box finally made a sound, and beautiful music awakened "Little Glasses." Thinking he was still dreaming, he realized the little box really sang out. "Little Glasses" Guoqing listened dreamily and suddenly jumped up, running to the roof while shouting, "We've done it... we’ve succeeded...!" The other children heard "Little Glasses" Guoqing's excited shouts and rushed out of their beds to his house. Beautiful songs poured from the little iron box, and the children danced to the melody... that day happened to be the Children’s Day on June 1.