First, an overview of the germination and development of modern drama in China
In the history of China literature in the 20th century, drama was one of the artistic categories that made great breakthroughs and achievements. Among the four major literary styles, poetry, prose and novels have existed since ancient times, while drama is an out-and-out import. As a form of western drama, drama was introduced to China by western expatriates at the end of 19. 1866, Shanghai Western Amateur Theatre established its first regular theater-Shanghai Lanxin Theatre, which performed several times a year. Later, a small theater named "Tokyo Seats" appeared in Shanghai, which was specially designed for some new japanese theatre groups to perform in China. China people began to perform dramas from the amateur performances of missionary school students, such as 1899' s The Ugly History of Officialdom (Shanghai St. John's College), 1900' s Six Gentlemen (Shanghai Nanyang College), and 1903' s Zhang Wenxiang Sting Horse (Shanghai Nanyang College). Later, students from several schools formed an amateur theatrical troupe "Literary Friends Association", which moved from campus to social performances. 1February, 907, the Japanese student organization "Spring Willow Society" (mainly composed of Li Shutong, Zeng Xiaogu, Lu Jingruo, Ou Yangyuqian, etc. ) Performing the third act of La Traviata in Tokyo, and then performing the five-act drama "Black Slave Record" based on Lin Shu's translated novel in Tokyo, which caused a sensation in Tokyo drama circle. After the Revolution of 1911, some members of "Spring Willow Society" returned to Shanghai, and continued to promote the performance of "civilized new drama" (the bud of modern drama) in China, gradually expanding from coastal cities to some cities in the mainland, and gradually having national influence. However, later, the "civilized new drama" was characterized by professionalism and commercialization, and gradually lost its audience because of accommodating the feudal backward consciousness and low taste of ordinary citizens and shoddy art. The amateur dramas ("American love dramas") of students in Tianjin Nankai School (such as Zhang's "New Village Zheng") and Beijing Tsinghua School (such as Hong Shen's "The Tragedy of the Poor") attracted social attention.
During the May 4th Movement, in order to meet the requirements of the New Culture Movement, the drama movement rose again. Starting from the Ibsen Special Issue of New Youth, the upsurge of introducing foreign drama theory, translating and adapting foreign drama creation has rapidly formed. According to incomplete statistics, from 19 17- 1924, 26 newspapers and 4 publishing houses have published more than 70 translations of/kloc-0, involving more than 70 playwrights from 17 countries, such as Shakespeare, Ibsen, Bernard Shaw. Various schools in the history of western drama, from realism and romanticism to modern symbolism, futurism, expressionism, aestheticism and neo-romanticism, have flooded into China almost at the same time, bringing diversified drama concepts, drama aesthetics, drama forms and techniques different from China's traditional dramas (mainly singing and dancing and freehand brushwork).
At the same time, many specialized drama clubs appeared, such as People's Drama Club organized by Shen Yanbing and Chen Dabei in the early 1920s (192 1), Beijing Experimental Drama Club organized by Chen Dabei and Li Jianwu (female student of Beijing Women's Normal University, 1922 directed by Li Dazhao, Chen Dabei staged Peacock Flying Southeast). It caused a sensation in half of Beijing (reported in the Morning Post and Beijing Daily at that time), as well as the Shangxi Association, which Ou Yangyuqian and Hong Shen joined successively, and the Nanguo Society led by Tian Han later. At first, the early crescent society was also a drama salon that was written and performed by itself. Tian Han, Hong Shen, Ou Yangyuqian, Ding Xilin and Chen Dabei became famous playwrights engaged in drama creation in the 1920s. By the end of 1920s, the left-wing drama movement reached its climax. Besides Tian Han, Hong Shen, Ding Xilin and other famous playwrights, Yang Hansheng, Chen, Song Zhi and Yu Ling also created many excellent plays. The appearance of Cao Yu's Thunderstorm and Sunrise in 1930s marked the real maturity of China's drama art.
Second, Cao Yu's life and his main creative achievements
Cao Yu (19 10- 1996), formerly known as Wan Jiabao, was born in Qianjiang, Hubei, and was born in a feudal bureaucratic family in Tianjin. My mother died only three days after I was born. At the age of five, his beloved sister died unfortunately. His father, a frustrated soldier with a bad temper, retired at home very early, and often invited some equally frustrated public servants and his aides to sing poems and write lyrics at home. Cao Yu later recalled his family and said, "I was born in a family that was once rich and then declined. The young master has his own servants and his own study. I live comfortably, but I'm bored. The whole family is depressed. I can hear and see a lot of messy things every day. Things like Zhou Puyuan forcing Fan Yi to take medicine can often be heard from my relatives and friends. " In such a family environment, "I have seen many senior villains and senior hooligans; I have seen many characters in Thunderstorm, Sunrise and Beijingers, and I even lived with them for a while. " But this family, at the same time, is full of poet's breath; My stepmother loves drama, and often takes Cao Yu to the opera: Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera, Hebei Bangzi, Shanxi Bangzi, Tangshan Xia Zi, and various folk arts and civilized dramas (the embryonic form of modern drama) fascinate Cao Yu. "After watching the play, I will play with the children in the study. Sometimes I act according to the story, and sometimes I just rely on myself. His obsession with acting cultivated his interest and understanding of becoming an outstanding playwright in the future.
/kloc-in the autumn of 0/922, Cao Yu entered Tianjin Nankai Middle School. The new school play is very active. He participated in the "Southern Theatre Company" and performed on the stage Public Enemy by Ibsen, A Doll's House, Miser by Moliere, Oppression by Ding Xilin and some outstanding playwrights' plays since the May 4th Movement, which further cultivated his stage consciousness and laid a preliminary foundation for scriptwriting. 1928, after graduating from Nankai Middle School, he was promoted to the Political Department of Nankai University. In order to study western literature, the following year I transferred to the Foreign Languages Department of Tsinghua University to specialize in western literature. During this period, he extensively dabbled in a large number of foreign literary masterpieces, especially plays, and made detailed studies from Greek tragedies to Shakespeare, from Chekhov to Gorky, from Ibsen to Eugene O 'Neill. In the drama world of foreign drama masters, he learned from others, constantly enriched his knowledge structure, and gradually introduced him to the door of art.
More importantly, he has enough life background and mental preparation. He is very familiar with the life like Thunderstorm and has met many "unfortunate women" like Fan Yi. He hates that "messy" home, hates that evil society and longs for a "thunderstorm" to destroy it. The "temptation" of life and the "urgent need of emotion" aroused his creative desire more and more strongly, forcing him to write a big play. 1933, Cao Yu finished his first novel Thunderstorm in Tsinghua University. He was only a senior at that time. In July, 1934, recommended by Ba Jin, was published in the third issue of Literature Quarterly 1 volume edited by Ba Jin and Jin Yi. But "within a year after publication, it seems that no critic has paid attention to him and said a few words." (Ba Jin) 1935 In April, the "China Drama Association" organized by Japanese students studying in China premiered in Tokyo, Japan, directed by Du Xuan and Wu Tian, and was warmly welcomed by the audience. After watching the performance, Yuki Akita, a famous Japanese dramatist, commented: "China's modern social and family tragedies have been endowed with profound dramatic images by this writer, which is very interesting." (On China's Modern Tragedy) However, the "preface" and "epilogue" in the original work were deleted in this performance. Cao Yu is very dissatisfied with this. He wrote a letter and published it in the annals, expressing his dissatisfaction with the deletion of the "preface" and "epilogue" in the original work in the performance. He thinks this is the life of the whole drama. He said Thunderstorm was not a social drama, but a poem. However, Thunderstorm, which was staged afterwards, never had a "prologue" or an "ending". In August of the same year, the solo troupe of Tianjin Normal University performed Thunderstorm in the school auditorium, which was a sensation. Later, Shanghai, Nanjing and other places also staged Thunderstorm one after another, which lasted for a long time and became a wonderful work in the drama world in the 1930s.
Since then, Cao Yu has successively created the second drama Sunrise (1935). The play was premiered by the Drama Club of Fudan University, with Ou Yangyuqian as the director and Feng Zi as the heroine Chen Bailu. 1937, this play was staged in Tokyo by a group of international students. Like 1935' s Thunderstorm, it once again caused a sensation in Japanese drama circles. The famous Japanese dramatist Akita Yuki said to Guo Moruo: "China people are really geniuses, and a script as big as Sunrise is rare in Japan." From then on, Thunderstorm and Sunrise stood side by side like two peaks in China's plays in 1930s. 1April, 937, he wrote "Yuanye" and completed his trilogy of life, thus establishing his position as a drama master in the history of modern drama in China.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Cao Yu withdrew from the Theatre Academy. 1938 collaborated with Song Zhi to create Black Word 28 (also known as National Mobilization), in which Cao Yu personally played a role, Hou Fengyuan. 1939 created the metamorphosis. "Only when you reluctantly shed a rotten old body can a new happy life be born." Hong Shen listed Metamorphosis as one of the "ten anti-Japanese war scripts that must be read". When he performed "The Island" in Shanghai, it sold out in a month.
/kloc-in the autumn of 0/940, he created the fourth classic "Beijingers". As far as its ideology and artistry are concerned, it is another peak of Cao Yu's drama creation.
The adaptation of Home in 1942 is a very creative "re-creation" by Cao Yu. From Ba Jin's Home to Cao Yu's Home, 1 provides a successful example for novel adaptation into drama. 2. A new breakthrough has been made in the exploration of drama poetry. Cao Yu's Home focuses on the exploration of beautiful poetry of love, and writes love with youthful vitality and warm poetry. It became Cao Yu's fifth drama classic.
1946 wrote the bridge, but only two scenes. 1946 In February, Lao She and I were invited to give lectures in the United States. 1947 65438+ 10 returned to Shanghai, 1947 wrote sunny days in autumn.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China: 1953 drama "Clear Sky"
1954- 1957 Prose Collection "Spring Festival"
196 1 year historical drama Sword of the Brave
Wang Zhaojun began to conceive in the 1960s and was forced to stop writing during the Cultural Revolution. 1978 The manuscript was not completed until October.
Third, Thunderstorm-the first peak of China's drama creation.
1, Thunderstorm is not a "social drama" (such as the author's original intention and long-term misunderstanding)
2. Eight main characters in Thunderstorm (specific analysis)
3. The structure of Thunderstorm and Sunrise (comparative analysis)