The development stages of drama

In the first year of the Republic of China (1912), Shanghai Tongmenghui members Miao Tianyu and Feng Dihan led a delegation to Guangde Tea Garden (Liaoyang Grand View Building) in Liaoyang City to perform the dramas "The Tragedy of the Fall of Poland" and "The Soul of the Republic of China" etc. . After the drama was introduced to Liaoning, fans from all over the country organized drama performances one after another. In the 5th year of the Republic of China (1916), Chen Feiwo of Dalian initiated the organization of a drama club and served as its president. Most of the club members were business gentry, newspapers, and cultural figures from schools in the city. The plays they performed included the amusing play "The Drunkard and the Traitor" and the serious drama. "The Brothel", "Tears on the Xiangjiang River", "Looking Back", "Half Brothers", etc. In the 11th year of the Republic of China (1922), the primary school affiliated with the Fushun Youth Association performed "Bad Marriage" and "The Unfaithful Case" at the Fushun West Theater.

In the 14th year of the Republic of China, Ouyang Yuqian went to Dalian, Shenyang and other places to lecture on civilian art and spread modern drama to local theater circles and young people who loved new dramas. Zhang Guangqi (female), an underground member of the Communist Party of China in Shenyang, and a classmate from the female teacher were recruited to join the drama troupe organized by the "Fengtian Youth Association" and performed the dramas "The Story of Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin", "The Peacock Flies Southeast", and "Whose Blame" ”, “Proposal”, etc. Ouyang Yuqian also performed on the same stage with Zhang Guangqi in "The Young Mistress's Fan" and "After Going Home". In February of the same year, Ouyang Yuqian was invited by the Dalian Chinese Youth Association to give a lecture on "The Path to Reform of Chinese Drama". Amateur drama groups are organized throughout Liaoning and their performances are very active. In 1919 (the 8th year of the Republic of China), Chen Dabei, Ouyang Yuqian and others loudly put forward the slogan of "love American drama" (non-professional drama, derived from amateur = amateur), and successively established the People's Drama Club, Xinyou Drama Club, Drama groups such as Nanguo Society; during the "May Fourth" New Culture Movement, Hu Shi, Chen Duxiu, Fu Sinian and others paid special attention to the power of new dramas to inspire people's consciousness, and praised and introduced Ibsen's social issue plays. In the same year, Hu Shi published the one-act play "Lifetime Events" as the representative of their advocates. "The Night of the Tiger Harvest", "Death of a Famous Hero" (Tian Han), "Three Rebellious Women" (Guo Moruo), "Patriotic Heart" (Xiong Foxi), "Shrew" (Ouyang Yuqian), "A Wasp" (Ding Xilin) ??and other outstanding plays were born, establishing an important literary foundation for Chinese drama. In 1922, Hong Shen, who studied drama in the United States, returned to China and joined the Drama Association. In response to the bad habits of civilized dramas, he made bold reforms in aspects such as scripts, stage disciplines, and the establishment of a directing system, and promoted co-performance by men and women, thus forming a complete drama art system. In 1925, the Drama Department of Beijing Art College was established, providing a platform for the cultivation of drama talents. From 1924 to 1930, many anti-imperialist and anti-feudal plays were staged, and a number of artistic backbones were cultivated, including Chen Ningqiu, Chen Baichen, Zhao Mingyi, Zheng Junli, Zhang Shu, and Wu Zuoren. The Southern Art Movement led by Tian Han best embodies the spirit of the emerging drama in the 1920s.

In February 1926 (the 15th year of the Republic of China), Liaoning’s first more formal drama group, Aimei Drama Club, was officially established in Dalian. The president was Ma Dianyuan, the vice president Wang Quanxiang, and the director of the directing department. Lu Futang. In May 1927 (the 16th year of the Republic of China), the Aimei Drama Club was invited by the Chinese YMCA to prepare a civilian education fund and performed at the YMCA auditorium (in today's Democracy Square), performing a tragedy that reflected the contradictions between family and society. "A Thousand Years of Regret" and other dramas. In September of the 18th year of the Republic of China, Che Xiangchen organized the "Fengtian Student Civilian Service Troupe" to perform plays such as "Improved Hospital" and "Blind" in Dahantun, a suburb of Fengtian.

In 1928, Hong Shen creatively translated the English drama as "drama" to distinguish it from the obsolete "new drama", and Chinese drama was named from then on. From 1929 to 1931, Ouyang Yuqian hosted the Guangdong Drama Research Institute, published the magazine "Drama", and organized performances of dozens of plays such as "Roar, China". Ouyang Yuqian, Hong Shen and Tian Han are recognized as the founders of Chinese drama. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, Chinese drama began a stage of great popularity, development, and prosperity. After the "July 7th" Incident in 1937, drama workers staged "Defending the Marco Polo Bridge" in Shanghai on August 7 of that year, and quickly formed 13 national salvation drama troupes and went to various places to promote the Anti-Japanese War. On December 31, 1937, the All-China Theater Circles Anti-Enemy Association was established in Wuhan.

In the summer of 1938, under the leadership of the Third Office of the Political Department of the Military Commission of the Nationalist Government, progressive drama workers gathered in Wuhan to form 10 anti-enemy drama troupes, 4 anti-enemy propaganda teams, and 1 children's troupe, and went to various war zones. Combined with the drama performances organized spontaneously in various places and the drama performances in the anti-Japanese base areas, the propaganda performances spread all over the country's cities and villages, forming an unprecedented and magnificent situation of popularization. In October 1938, the first drama festival staged "National Mobilization" written by Cao Yu and Song Zhi, which caused a sensation and can be said to be the representative drama of this period.

After 1939, the focus of the drama movement began to shift to cities. Influential professional theater troupes such as the China Long Live Theater Company, the China Electric Theater Company, and the Central Youth Drama Society were established in Chongqing, and drama performances became theatrical. A number of outstanding plays were produced, including "One Year" (Xia Yan), "Country First" (played by Lao She and Song Zhi), "Shanghai at Night" (played by Yu Ling), and "Fog in Chongqing" (played by Song Zhi). In the summer of 1939 (the 28th year of the Republic of China), Jin Shanlong, Yang Ruozhu, Wang Zongren and others founded the Shenyang Amateur Repertory Troupe and staged Ding Xilin's ten-act drama "The Tiredness of No Wife". The troupe later merged with the Fengtian Repertory Theater and was renamed the International Theater Company. It successively performed "The Butcher", "The Beacon on the Wall" and "Deep Night" at the Nanshi International Theater (today's Liaoyi Theater), directed by Li Qiao and Jin Shanlong. , "Lifeline" and other dramas. After that, Zhuanghe County Women's National High School performed "Harmonious Family" and "Home", Benxi Xu Dianlin wrote and performed the drama "Love Trilogy", and Anshan progressive writer Yan Lifu organized the Public Voices Theater Troupe to perform his drama "Love Trilogy". Beware" etc.

The Chinese Drama Society established in 1941 and the Chinese Art Drama Society established in 1943 brought new features of commercial performances. From 1941 to 1945, various theater troupes in Chongqing successively performed "Qu Yuan" (Guo Moruo), "Peking People" (Cao Yu), "Heavenly Spring and Autumn" (Yang Hansheng), "Fascist Bacteria" (Xia Yan), "Drama Spring and Autumn" (Xia Yan) There are more than 150 plays including Yu Ling's, Song Zhi's). From February to April 1944, Guilin, Guangxi held the first large-scale Southwest Drama Exhibition. 28 literary and artistic groups performed 27 dramas. It was a large-scale exhibition and review of drama art. In the anti-Japanese base areas, the Drama Department of Lu Xun Art Institute, the Yan'an Youth Art Theater, the Northwest Field Service Corps, and a large number of art troupes and propaganda teams were established in the countryside and the army. Plays such as "Yao Zhongming, etc." and "Li Guorui" (Du Feng) highlight the fighting tradition of Chinese dramas.

During this period, the puppet regime established three royal theater troupes: "Datong Theater" (Changchun), "Harbin Theater Troupe", and "Fengtian Union Theater", all of which were affiliated to the Puppet Union. "Fengtian Union Theater Troupe" was founded in September 27th of the Republic of China. It has more than 100 people and "has the important mission of completing the cultural aspects of the Union Society." The hosts Atsushi Hara (Chairman of the Puppet Manchukuo Theater Association), Susumu Mizuyama, and Yasuda are all Japanese. A small performance was held in November of that year, with the play "New Year's Eve Song". In June of the 28th year of the Republic of China, the first public performance was held, with the repertoire of "East Palace Commander" and "At the Ranch"; in December of the same year, a touring college performance was held, with the repertoire of "In the Army", "Blood Track" and so on. These plays all praise the Japanese invaders. By the 30th year of the Republic of China, the troupe had created and performed more than 20 plays. From 30 to 32 years of the Republic of China, the troupe performed "Thunderstorm", "Sprouting", "The Demon of Desire", etc. in major cities in Northeast China. In the 31st year of the Republic of China (1942), the famous Soviet drama "Roar, China" was performed in Fengtian. The content was to expose the criminal history of British and American imperialism's invasion of China. The original intention of Japan's performance of this play was to publicize the crimes of British and American powers in encroaching on China and to arouse the Chinese people's hatred of American and British imperialism. But contrary to expectations, it aroused the overwhelming hatred of the broad audience towards the Japanese invaders. The crowd rushed to watch, and the attendance was unprecedented. This frightened the Japanese and puppet rulers and immediately ordered the show to be stopped. In addition, the Japanese and puppets also organized theater troupes in major cities in Liaoning to serve the Japanese invaders, such as Xiehe Theater (Dalian), Xieheguan Theater (Anton), etc. These troupes disbanded one after another after the liberation of Northeast China on August 15th. During the War of Liberation, drama activities were at a low ebb. The performances of "Before and After Qingming" (Mao Dun), "Promotion" (Chen Baichen), and "Beautiful People" (Tian Han) were important gains during this period.

In the early days of the Liberation War, the Communist Party of China dispatched a large number of revolutionary literary and art workers to Northeast China and formed some art troupes in Liaoning. Everywhere these cultural and artistic troupes go, they perform cultural and artistic programs, do mass work, and help various localities actively establish cultural and artistic troupes and teams.

He has written and performed a large number of live newspaper dramas and short dramas, laying a solid foundation for the development of new dramas in Northeast China and Liaoning. At the same time, some folk drama groups have also been formed in Shenyang, Dalian, Andong and other places. They are self-funded and voluntary private professional theater groups, such as Dalian’s Dongyi Theater, Guangfu Theater, China Youth Theater, Liaodong Theater, Dalian The theater troupe, the Sino-Soviet Friendship Theater, etc. performed the plays "The Night is Young", "Blood Debt", "Begonia", "Magnificent Mountains and Rivers", etc. At the same time, the "political work team" affiliated to the Kuomintang army and some drama troupes operated by the Kuomintang once dominated the drama stages in various parts of Liaoning, especially in major cities. They performed some reactionary dramas in Shenyang, Dalian, Anton and other places, such as " "Tian Zi No. 1", "Wild Rose", etc. At the same time, he also performed "Thunderstorm" and "Sunrise". In July 1949, the Chinese Drama Workers Association (later renamed the Chinese Dramatists Association) was established in Beijing, and Chinese drama began a new stage of development. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the party and government attached great importance to the development of drama, and successively established the China Youth Art Theater, Beijing People's Art Theater, Central Academy of Drama, Shanghai Theater Academy, the Drama Troupe of the General Political Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and various provincial theaters. Professional theaters and troupes in autonomous regions and military regions.

At the end of 1949, Lao She came back from the United States and saw that the new Beijing of New China had a new look everywhere. As an old Beijinger and a witness of history, he sincerely felt an earth-shaking feeling. So, he wrote "Longxugou". Through the changes in Longxugou, a famous stinking ditch in Beijing, and the sharp contrast between the different fates of three families living in a small courtyard next to the ditch before and after liberation, it shows the influence of the Communist Party on Beijing. The new life brought by people has written the new spiritual outlook of Beijingers.

After the founding of New China, "Longxugou", "Teahouse" (Lao She), "Cai Wenji" (Guo Moruo), "Guan Hanqing" (Tian Han), "Ten Thousand Rivers and Thousands of Mountains" (Chen Qitong), "Ma Lanhua" (Yen Deyao) and other excellent plays have emerged in large numbers; "Cai Wenji" and "Teahouse" directed by Jiao Juyin show the pursuit of nationalization of drama, and "Bold Mother and Her Children" directed by Huang Zuolin introduces Brecht's acting thoughts; In minority areas with weak cultural foundations, Uyghur, Mongolian, Korean, and Tibetan drama performances also appeared after the 1950s, expanding the field of drama art. With the discussion and implementation of the "Double Hundred" policy in the literary and art circles, excellent plays such as "Sentinel Under the Neon Light" (Shen Simon) and "Young Generation" (Chen Yun) appeared after 1962.

The founding of New China brought the joy of liberation and the happiness of being the masters of the country to the Chinese people. Although there was once a "left" influence on the cultural and ideological front, because the Chinese people have finally won the reunification of the country, the peace of life and the improvement of life over the past century, these have ushered in literature and art, including drama. A prosperous spring. By 1956, the development of drama reached a climax with the First National Drama Observation and Performance Conference. Over the past few decades, drama has developed rapidly and has cultivated a group of actors with high reputations both inside and outside the province.

The Chinese people have cleansed away the muddy water of feudalism and swept away the disasters caused by imperialist aggression. Once they became the masters of the country, they showed amazing creativity and made New China work at a faster pace. In a few years, it was A new look, a new world. Drama, with its sensitivity to the times, has timely created some scripts that reflect this new look. Such as "Liu Lianying", "Gate No. 6", "Longxugou", "Test", "Spring Breeze Blows Across the Nuomin River", etc. These dramas mostly reflect the real life of the people and their feelings about the new era. The authors of some dramas come from the front line of production.

After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Chinese drama entered a new era of development. Extensive and in-depth exploration has been carried out in breaking through the limitations of the old stage, innovating drama concepts, and enriching the expressive power of drama art. Experiments in drama creation such as sceneless structure, conceptual image shaping, time-space jumping plots, and fuzzy themes; in stage art, the use of masks, neutral costumes, geometric set props, laser lights, and breaking the fourth wall shortens the relationship with the audience. The distance, four-sided audience and other formal innovations have attracted the attention of drama theory circles, and a discussion on drama concepts and formal innovations has emerged, which has played a good role in the development of Chinese drama. In the new era, drama has become more open to the outside world and exchanges have become wider. Since 1986, the Shakespeare Theater Festival and the O'Neill Theater Festival have been successfully held.

Beijing People's Art Theater's "Teahouse" has been performed many times in Europe, the United States, Japan and other places, and the Central Academy of Drama's "Oedipus King" visited Greece and was a great success. It was a good start for Chinese drama to go global.