In order to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the National Theatre of China commemorates the 80th anniversary of the publication of “Speech at the Yan’an Symposium on Literature and Art” and the 8th anniversary of the publication of “Speech at the Symposium on Literature and Art”, with a high-spirited creative attitude, Adhering to the original intention of the founding of the academy, he created and arranged the documentary drama “Literature and Art in the War of Resistance Against Japan”. On October 1, 2022, the play successfully premiered at the National Centre for the Performing Arts Theater, and will continue to perform until October 7.
“Song of the strings never ceases to sing the mountains and rivers”, “Art in the Anti-Japanese War”, in the form of literature and drama, presents the classic literary and artistic works of the Anti-Japanese War, paying tribute to the cultural pioneers who contributed to the cause of the liberation of the Chinese nation.
It is worth mentioning that the Yan’an Lu Xun Academy of Arts mentioned in the play has a very deep relationship with the predecessor of the National Theatre of China, the Yan’an Youth Art Theatre established in 1941. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, some members of Yan’an Qingyi and Yan’an Luyi formed the Second Northeast Literary and Art Work Group. In 1949, he entered the customs and arrived in Beijing, where he established the China Youth Art Theatre. Wu Xue, Lei Ping, Bai Ling, Li Zhihua and other comrades from Yan’an Qingyi joined China Qingyi and started a new Chinese drama career. This literary and artistic team from the banks of the Yanhe River has always adhered to the revolutionary tradition and went to the masses to create and perform excellent works for the people.
The First Documentary Drama of the National Theatre of China
Literature and Art in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression is the first documentary drama launched by the National Theater of China. It showcases the creative and performance capabilities of the National Theater of China, and brings together outstanding creators and artists from the fields of film, music and art.
The play is written by Yanghezhiwen Work Club, directed by Tian Qinxin, composed by Ye Xiaogang, visual director Fei Jun, actor director Hao Wei, executive directors Gao Leilei and Liu Dan, stage designer Wang Chen, lighting designer Wang Qi, multimedia designer Hu Tianji, Video artist Xu Haidong, modeling designer Chen Minzheng, sound designer Wang Danrong, non-original music arranger Ji Peng, prop designer Jin Jifeng, video producer Yang Hongtao, video director Song Cheng, etc.
The main creators, with an upright and innovative creative attitude, carefully checked the documents of the Anti-Japanese War, took real writers and artists in historical events as the characters in the play, told history on the stage, and reproduced the passionate feelings of Chinese literary and artistic ancestors.
“Art in the Anti-Japanese War”, with magnificent brushstrokes, shows that from 1931 to 1945, patriotic writers and artists pursued and struggled in literary and artistic ways to find a way out for China. Finally, at the end of the Anti-Japanese War, they gathered in Yan’an. Under the correct guidance of the party’s literary and artistic policy, a people-centered creative direction has been established.
The play involves Lu Xun, Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Ba Jin, Lao She, Cao Yu, Tian Han, Xia Yan, Ouyang Yuqian, Hong Shen, Nie Er, Xian Xinghai, Ding Ling, Zhang Ruifang, Shu Xiuwen, Bai Yang, Qin Yi and other famous literary artists, showing left-wing literature , drama, film, music, art and other artistic styles, and present the spirit and power of Chinese literature and art during the Anti-Japanese War in a collection of contemporary stage language.
Tian Qinxin, director of “Art in the War of Resistance” and president of the National Theatre of China, said that the play is another valuable play provided by Yanghe Zhiwen Work Club after “The Red Beginning” for the theater. The screenwriter started writing in 2021. It took more than a year to check the information and put in effort to sort out the literary and artistic thoughts of the 14 years of the Anti-Japanese War. The main creators actively invested in creation, looking for the literary and artistic spirit in the Anti-Japanese War. The actors are full of emotion for the characters they play and pay tribute to the glorious years together. The crew gathers strength, uses drama to understand the literary and artistic spirit of the Anti-Japanese War, and presents a magnificent picture of literary and artistic pioneers supporting the Anti-Japanese War with literary and artistic methods.
An experiment combining installation video art with dramatic art
In terms of stage art presentation, “Art in the Anti-Japanese War” is not only a drama performance, but also an experiment combining installation video art with drama art. The stage space of the play is simple and the structure is rich and diverse. With the help of technology, multimedia, classic movie clips, art, music and other elements, a “document museum” is built on the stage to trace the spirit of the Anti-Japanese War literature and art, so as to show the situation of the Anti-Japanese War and restore the literature and art of the Anti-Japanese War. History and the real state of writers and artists have achieved a combination of ideology, exploration and artistry.
In terms of stage composition, the upper wide screen and the lower nine small screens change. The nine small screens are both integrated and can be divided into different scenes. The images have close-up, close-up, and long-range views. Artistic processing of various historical materials to render the atmosphere of the times . It can be said that “Art in the Anti-Japanese War” combines the characteristics of installation video art and drama art. The images, works and lives of the famous literary and artistic predecessors are presented in front of the audience one by one in the majestic sound of music against the backdrop of a dance atmosphere with a profound historical texture…
The attitude and determination of the literary and artistic ancestors towards the war of resistance and their actions in the war of resistance were vividly displayed on the stage. In the interpretation of light and shadow, performance and song, we recall the glorious years together, inherit the spirit of Chinese revolutionary literature and art, and write a brilliant chapter in the new era.
Stage performance and video performance complement each other
Literature and Art in the Anti-Japanese War writes history on the stage through the mining and deconstruction of documents. The actors are both in shape and spirit, recreating the past events of Chinese literary and artistic sages that are full of national affection.
The actors of the play play the role of the narrator of the chorus, and at the same time play the role of cultural celebrities in the history of the Anti-Japanese War. They are both narrators and characters. The whole play is divided into stage performance and video performance. Among some roles and actors, the stage part (including video) includes Tian Yu as Mao Dun, Li Guangjie as Xia Yan, Guan Xiaotong as Qin Yi, Wu Jinyan as Zhang Ruifang, Wang Ting as Tian Han, and Zhao Yang as Guo Moruo, Luo Yizhou as Nie Er, etc.; in the video part, Duan Yihong as Lu Xun, Sun Honglei as Jin Shan, Liao Fan as Ba Jin, Chen Jianbin as Lao She, Xin Baiqing as Xian Xinghai, Song Jia as Xiao Hong, Wan Qian as Ding Ling, Tong Dawei as He Jingzhi, Xing Jiadong as Li Huiying Wait.
In the play, Xiao Hong, Xiao Jun and other northeastern writers worked hard to write books for the Anti-Japanese War, Lao She bounced the dust off the books under the sound of Japanese artillery fire, Guo Moruo returned to the motherland during the national disaster, Ding Ling went to Yan’an, and Ba Jin wrote “Cold Night” in the cold night. Nie Er explored the way out of Chinese music to write “March of the Volunteers”, Xian Xinghai wrote “Yellow River Cantata” with patriotism in mind… A literary pioneer during the 14-year Anti-Japanese War, just as Xia Yan commented on Nie Er, “Believe in individual genius, and be more Believe in the power of the collective.” They used novels, dramas, poems, music, films, art, etc. as tools to publicize the war of resistance against Japan, and while looking for a way out for Chinese literature and art, they greatly boosted the morale of the people.
In May 1942, the leaders delivered an important speech at the Yan’an Literature and Art Symposium, explaining the fundamental direction of revolutionary literature and art serving the people. Under the influence and inspiration of the Yan’an Literature and Art Symposium, the majority of literature and art workers reflected the unity of the army and the people and the hard work of life from different aspects, and created a group of working people with typical meaning and personality.
In this regard, the actors who participated in the play said that through the rehearsal of “Literature and Art in the War of Resistance Against Japan”, during the 14 years of arduous anti-Japanese war, the Chinese literary and art circles resisted foreign humiliation with the voice of literature and art, and awakened the people with literary and artistic works. I hope I can show the spirit and character of a generation of people in the literary and art circles with my performance, and pay tribute to the literary and art ancestors who have contributed to China’s self-reliance and self-improvement.
At the end of the premiere, some audience said: “I feel the power of literature and art from the works. I was moved to tears by the outstanding literary and art workers during the 14-year Anti-Japanese War. I hope that this special form of literature drama can be performed more, especially in schools and popularized. Chinese Anti-Japanese War Literature and Art History!” Some viewers also said: “Although the scale of the show is medium-sized, with only 20 actors on stage, the stage space created by skillful use of large and small screens and images is complex and changeable, and the technical content is very high.”
[
责编：张晓荣 ]