With a pen as a knife, the island is not alone
On July 7, 1937, after the outbreak of the "Lugou Bridge Incident", the Literary and Art Circles in Shanghai, under the impetus of the Communist Party of China, quickly established the Cultural Circles Salvation Association, and Xia Yan, Mao Dun, Ba Jin, Ouyang Yuqian and others were elected as directors of the Association. Later, under the introduction of Pan Hannian, Zhou Enlai met with Xia Yan in Shanghai and explained to him the party's literary and artistic policy of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the current tasks. Since then, Xia Yan has been engaged in anti-Japanese rescue activities as a professional revolutionary writer and artist.
After the "August 13" Songhu War of Resistance, Guo Moruo, Xia Yan, Tian Han and Zhou Xinfang immediately formed the Shanghai Theater Circle Salvation Association.
The literary precursor of the "Isolated Island" period was essays, which formed a climate at that time and attracted people's attention. Writers Such as Ah Ying, Wang Renshu, Tang Tao, and Ke Ling published many short, concise, sharp, and morale-inspiring essays, which became the most prosperous literary landscape in the "Lonely Island" period. At the same time, the Complete Works of Lu Xun, which was unreasonably difficult and heavily obstructed by the Kuomintang before the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, was also published during this extraordinary period. Lu Xun's spirit of "horizontal eyebrows and coldness" and "bowing down and being willing to do so" has greatly inspired the people's fighting spirit and become an important spiritual resource. In January 1939, the launch of the magazine "Lu Xunfeng", founded by Wang Renshu, a member of the underground Party Cultural Work Committee of the Communist Party of China, marked the arrival of the heyday of the "Isolated Island" essay, just as Wang Renshu said in the "Lu Xunfeng" published a statement: "Born in the era of struggle, it is impossible to escape the struggle." Discovering the secrets of the weapons used by Mr. Lu Xun, using the weapons we may use, attacking the current enemy, and saying that our publication has some 'intentions', that is the only 'intention'. In July that followed, the Horizontal Brow Collection, published by the World Book Company, represented the highest level of "Lonely Island" essays.
The creation of novels in the "Lonely Island" period is also outstanding in the entire literary genealogy of the War of Resistance. In particular, the "July School" novelist group centered on Hu Feng, their works face reality, full of pride in blood and fire, highlighting the test of life and death, and intertwining the emotions of love and hate. Qiu Dongping, a member of the Communist Party of China and a young writer, participated in the "1.28" and "813" campaigns, and his literary works mainly reflected the fiery reality of the War of Resistance, and his novel collection "Seventh Company" in "I Know Such an Enemy", "A Company Commander's Combat Encounter", "We Lost a Battle There", "A Stormy Day", etc., are all famous articles. Commenting on his novel, Hu Feng said: "Unfolding it, we are like facing a crystal steel statue of a writer's bottom, and in the brilliant reflection of his bottom, in front of us appears a group of creatures who have suffered in this great era and leaped forward like gods." It is worth mentioning that Ba Jin completed two novels of "Spring" and "Autumn" in the "Lonely Island" period, and merged with the previously published "Home" in the "Lonely Island" to form the "Torrent Trilogy", which not only became a famous work in the history of Chinese literature, but also impacted the dark net at that time.
There are as many as a hundred kinds of literary periodicals, serials, and supplements in the "isolated island" period, such as the original Left League's pure literary periodicals "Literature Herald", "Beidou", and "Literary Monthly", and the comprehensive literary and art periodicals "New China Literature and Art Series", "Literary Collection", "Rushing Literary and Art Series", "Literature and Art", etc. These periodicals provided a garden for the publication of literary works, especially making reportage flourish, and reportage with the themes of patriotism, anti-Japanese resistance, and anti-Han traitors was quite popular. Among them, the most successful and influential was the reportage collection "Shanghai One Day" compiled by Mei Yi of the Shanghai Cultural Committee of the underground party at that time, which became a representative work of "isolated island" reportage literature and had a wide impact at home and abroad.
Big Dipper magazine
In 1938, the publication of "Journey to the West", the earliest systematic reflection of the real situation of the Red Army, written by the American journalist Snow, was published on the "isolated island", which was even more sensational in the world.
Patriotic drama, "The Grandeur of the Isolated Island"
Under these circumstances, the Shanghai Cultural Commission of the CPC instructed Yu Ling, then secretary general of the Shanghai Theater Circles Salvation Association, to take contingency measures and immediately initiated the organization of the Shanghai Opera Art Society to publicize the anti-Japanese struggle to save the dead, carry forward national justice, inspire the fighting spirit of the masses, and attack the surrender of the Traitors, thus presenting a period of prosperity in which the drama was a period of unprecedented prosperity, which was the "grandeur of an isolated island" in the history of Chinese drama.
Party-member writers Yu Ling, Ah Ying, Yang Hansheng, and other progressive writers Gu Zhongyi, Li Jianwu, Cao Yu, Wu Zuguang, and others picked up the lights and fought at night at this time when the Chinese nation was most dangerous, threw themselves into intense creations, and promptly launched a number of plays with ideological connotations, profound meanings, vivid plots, touching scenes, and borrowing ancient metaphors from the present. Such as Yu Ling's "Night Shanghai", "Long Night", "Biography of Daming Heroes and Martyrs" and "Flower Splash tears". Especially after the performance of "Flowers Splashing Tears", the social response was the strongest, and this drama created the image of a group of dancers who were bullied and insulted, indicted the enemy and puppet forces of the "isolated island", thus awakening the consciousness of the public. Ah Ying created two historical dramas, "The Last Hate of the Late Ming Dynasty" and "Heroes of the Sea Country", showing through ancient metaphors that only by not fearing strong enemies and resisting foreign humiliation can we defend China. "The Hate at the End of the Ming Dynasty" has been performed for about 70 consecutive days for 35 days, and the scene is full.
Cao Yu's "Beijinger" and "Metamorphosis", Guo Moruo's "Tiger Rune", "A Q Zheng biography" based on Lu Xun's novel, and "Home" based on Ba Jin's novel are also very popular. The most popular play is the young playwright Wu Zuguang's "Song of Righteous Qi" (later renamed "Wen Tianxiang"), and near the end of the play, the actor who played Wen Tianxiang read the white: "This magnificent atmosphere is a righteous breath between heaven and earth..." There was silence under the stage, followed by thunderous applause. After the play was staged, it could not stop, and every time it wrote the "final performance" date on the advertisement, it continued to perform, setting a record for six consecutive months of theater performance.
The Shanghai Drama Art Society, which is hosted by Yu Ling, has united and attracted a number of outstanding drama artists, such as Zhu Duanjun, Wu Yuzhi, Huang Zuolin, Xu Xingzhi, etc., and famous actors such as Shi Hua, Qiao Qi, Huang Zongjiang, Xia Xia, Lan Lan, etc. They have their own artistic achievements and artistic pursuits, and their works and performances have aroused strong resonance from the audience. At that time, the most dramas staged in the "Lonely Island" were the Spicy Fei Grand Theater (later changed to the Great Wall Cinema) and the Calden Theater (later changed to the Yangtze River Theater), and the Spicy Fei Grand Theater was known as "one of the few pure lands on the isolated island" at that time.
The "Lonely Island" movie awakens the people
Shanghai is the initiation place of Chinese cinema, and in the 1920s, the rise of three major film companies, Lianhua, Star and Tianyi, made Shanghai truly enter the modern era of film industrialization and urban cinema. As early as 1932, the Communist Party of China sent CCP members Xia Yan, Ah Ying and Zheng Boqi to join the Star Company. In the spring of 1933, with the establishment of the party's film group headed by Xia Yan, the climax of left-wing films was officially ushered in. They filmed Tian Han's "Three Modern Women" and "The Light of Motherhood", Shen Xiling's "Women's Cry" depicting the life of a bonded worker, Sun Yu's "The Great Road" reflecting the unity of the people and resisting Japan, Yang Hansheng's anti-feudal and anti-local tycoons' "Iron Plate Red Tears", Xia Yan's "Twenty-Four Hours of Shanghai" reflecting the disparity between the rich and the poor and class antagonism, and Cai Chusheng's "Fishing Light Song" that exposed the darkness of society. The theme song in the film "Children of the Wind and Clouds", which reflected the anti-Japanese struggle written by Tian Han and Xia Yan, later became the national anthem of the People's Republic of China, thus writing a brilliant page in the history of Chinese cinema.
After Shanghai became an "isolated island", a group of film editors and directors evacuated to the mainland and Hong Kong, but the party's leadership over film creation was not absent, and the communists Yu Ling and Ah Ying stuck to the front line of the anti-Japanese salvation literary and art movement, and successively adapted their own dramas "Flowers Splashing Tears" and "Hatred at the End of the Ming Dynasty" into films and screened them in various theaters. "Flowers Splashing Tears" uses a ups and downs plot to expose the enemy and falsehood, call for awakening, fight against fate, and shock people's hearts. "The Hate at the End of the Ming Dynasty" tells the story of the Qing soldiers attacking the city of Nanjing at the end of the Ming Dynasty with grand scenes and tragic plots, and the Ming officials had no intention of resisting and only wanted to surrender. Although Ge Nenniang was a womanizer and did not let Her Eyebrows, she bravely led the Ming Dynasty patriots to fight the Qing soldiers to the death, but she was unfortunately captured and vowed not to surrender. The film is one of the representative works of the progressive films of "Lonely Island", borrowing from the past to satirize the present and carry forward the spirit of patriotism.
Stills from the movie "Flowers Splash tears"
Ouyang Yuqian is a playwright who organized the Shanghai Theater Circle Salvation Association with Tian Han and Xia Yan after "August 13", he created the film script "Mulan Congjun" in the early days of "Lonely Island", Jiaohuacheng Studio quickly started filming, after the release in February 1939, "Lonely Island" was a sensation, creating a good record of 85 consecutive days of release, breaking the record of 84 consecutive days of "Fishing Light Song". Later, it was transferred to the Shin Kong Grand Theater to continue to be released, and it was full of theaters for several months, reflecting the patriotic sentiment of the "isolated island", and later screened throughout the country and even in Southeast Asia also caused great repercussions. With a compact plot, smooth rhythm and high-pitched tone, the film tells the story of Mulan's female dress in men's clothing during the Northern Dynasty, serving in the army for her father, heroically killing the enemy on the battlefield, defeating the attack of the invaders after triumph, combining the historical story with the realistic background, and full of the anti-war spirit of "braving the enemy's artillery fire". A Ying, a communist party member, published the film's split-shot script in its entirety in the sixth issue of the "Literature" series he edited, and pointed out in the commentary: "Mulan Joins the Army" is a correct path for the creation of "lonely island" films. "Only by following this path can the Shanghai film industry ensure the victory of the struggle and establish the strongest foundation." On February 17, 1939, the "Big Evening News" published an article signed by 14 film critics entitled "Recommending Mulan to Join the Army", affirming and praising: "As far as possible through history, give China a huge force at this stage, it tells us how to struggle, how to win." ”
Poster for the movie "Mulan Joins the Army"
Peking Opera famous character, iron bone Zheng Zheng
Shanghai is the big pier of Peking Opera, and the title of "Peking Opera" first appeared on the "Declaration" in 1876 (the second year of Guangxu), and since then "Peking Opera" has been officially circulated as the name of this genre. By the 1930s, Shanghai Peking Opera was a genre of famous actors, genres, repertoire, and prestigious status. The Qi school founded by Zhou Xinfang and the Gai school created by Gai Mingtian are well-known at home and abroad, becoming the two pillars of Haipai Peking Opera.
The ignition of the flames of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the invasion of foreign nationalities, the aggravation of national disasters and the emergence of "isolated islands" have brought about a profound and tremendous change in the stage performances of Peking Opera and the relationship between famous actors and audiences. Those Peking Opera artists who are rich in family and country feelings and national consciousness have timely performed traditional plays and newly edited historical dramas with patriotic spirit and sense of resistance. The most prominent is the Peking Opera master Zhou Xinfang, who is the main backbone member of the Shanghai Theater Circle Salvation Association, which was initiated by the Communist Party of China. On October 28, 1937, when the gunfire of the Battle of Songhu was still continuing, he led the newly formed Shifting Wind Society to the Calden Theater, and the cannon plays were "The Last Hatred of the Ming Dynasty" and "The Second Emperor of Huiqin", both of which were set in the historical background of foreign invasions, showing the national righteousness of fighting to the death, stirring people to tears and inspiring morale. Shouts of resistance rang out on the big red tree, and the sound of gongs and drums transmitted an indomitable spirit, which was difficult to find at the time, and was praised as "the two art bombs that the Kirin Boy threw into the Japanese Kou and the Wang Pseudo". During the "Isolated Island" period, Zhou Xinfang continued to stage a large number of plays praising national heroes, flogging traitors and traitors, and commemorating martyrs and heroes, such as "Shi Kefa", "Wen Tianxiang", "Death Shu Jian", and "Hong Chengzuo". In particular, the six "Wen Su Chen", which advocates chivalrous resistance, eliminating adultery and rebellion, and upholding justice, has been performed for 455 consecutive days, reaching 456 performances, which can be described as a box office miracle. It was precisely because of his outstanding performance in the Anti-Japanese Salvation Movement that Zhou Xinfang was threatened and harassed by Japanese spies, ronin, and traitors, but he was still beating drums and waving flags on the Peking Opera stage.
Zhou Xinfang performed "The Hate at the End of the Ming Dynasty"
The Chinese Opera Troupe, led by Ouyang Yuqian, is also an "anti-Japanese brigade" on the Peking Opera stage, and they staged "Liang Hongyu", which praised the anti-Gold heroine, "Peach Blossom Fan" and "Fisherman Hate", which promoted national integrity. Since "918", Mei Lanfang, a generation of Peking Opera masters, has performed "Anti-Golden Soldier", "Life and Death Hate", "Cosmic Front" and so on the stage with a distinct patriotic spirit. When Shanghai became an "isolated island", he resolutely grew a beard and refused to take the stage, highlighting his lofty style and integrity. Gai Mingtian, known as the "Living Wusong of Jiangnan", did not succumb to the coercion and inducement of the enemy and the hypocrites, preferring to starve and suffer poverty rather than perform for the enemy and puppet forces.
Under the leadership of the Shanghai Theater Circles Salvation Association, many other famous actors have staged many plays that promote patriotism and show national heroes, such as "Li Ling Monument" starring Tan Fuying, with tragic performances and deep singing voices, showing the unyielding death of a generation of anti-Jin hero Yang Jiye, which made the audience breathtaking.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Huang Wei Text Editor: Xu Yunqian Title Image Source: Advertisement for the movie "Children of the Storm"
Source: Author: Wang Qisen