In memory of Cao Yu
Remembering the Master
He is the most accomplished playwright in the history of modern Chinese drama, known as the "Shakespeare of the East", and he is also one of the pioneers of China's new cultural movement, along with Lu Xun, Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Ba Jin and Lao She.
His original name was Wan Jiabao, and he later took apart the traditional character of the surname "Wan" as a pen name, becoming the Cao Yu we are familiar with. From the age of 23 to 30, Cao Yu wrote works such as "Thunderstorm", "Sunrise", "Beijinger", and "Wilderness", which laid his foundation for an unshakable position in the history of modern drama and even in the history of literature.
Cao Yu has been obsessed with writing all his life. In his later years, he beat his chest and said, "I am in pain, and I have to write a big thing before I die." ”
He loves one of his individual characters and gives them the soul of life on stage.
On December 13, 2021, the 25th anniversary of Mr. Cao Yu's death. Perhaps the best memorial is to read, to get to know this man better by reading his works. "If you don't read Cao Yu, you won't know that the love and hate of life can be so intense."
Today, we especially recommend cao yu daughter Wanfang exclusive authorized version of the "Cao Yu Classic Selection Set", hoping to remember this drama master in the form of reading.
In 1933, a 23-year-old "theatrical genius" turned out to be born.
His "Thunderstorm" was a hit, shaking the literary world and breaking the long-term situation in which Western works fully occupied domestic theaters.
The subsequent "Sunrise", "Wilderness" and "Beijinger" established his mastership in the history of world theater.
This person is Cao Yu.
He was known as the "Shakespeare of the East", a generation of grandmasters of Chinese theatre;
Huang Yongyu praised him as China's Tolstoy;
The cao yu drama literature award, the highest award for Chinese drama script creation, is named after him.
In the history of Chinese drama, Cao Yu's plays have eternal vitality. His plays have been translated into multi-Chinese words; the number of performances is unparalleled in the history of Chinese drama.
Every adult should read Cao Yu again. Even after nearly a hundred years, Cao Yu's tragic and joyful life is still playing out. Those questions that still haunt us, Cao Yu has already given answers in his works.
If you also want to revisit this unique drama master in China, we recommend this set of Cao Yu Classics Selection.
It can not only be used as a representative work of Cao Yu's life, but also a classic worth collecting at home and reading for a lifetime.
"Cao Yu Classic Selection Set" all 4 volumes
This set of "Cao Yu Classic Selection Set" is the only authorized version in China. Douban has an average score of 9.0 or more, which is a classic version recognized by readers.
It collects Cao Yu's most representative works: "Thunderstorm", "Sunrise", "Wilderness", "Beijinger".
These four major plays are repeatedly staged on the stage and in the human world.
"Thunderstorm" directly hits the desire and collapse of contemporary people's hearts, and the thunder of summer nights seems to remain in the mind forever;
"Sunrise" is full of depravity and suffering, and although the social flower Chen Bailu hates and despises everything around her, she cannot escape;
"Wilderness" tells a thrilling story of revenge, but it is not a simple revenge;
Three generations of the "Beijinger" Zeng family are entangled with each other, and the people who wake up finally go to find a new life...
Each play is the author's passionate love and hatred for that era, and it is a poem that burns life.
If you don't read Cao Yu, you won't know that the love and hate of life can be so intense.
Maybe you've read a clip of "Thunderstorm" in a high school textbook, or maybe you've heard the dog blood plot of Zhou Mansion.
But if you have not really read Cao Yu, have not empathized with life so fierce and rich, but just picked up the teeth and wisdom that others have chewed, it cannot be a regret in life.
It is not easy to watch a drama during the epidemic, so it is better to open this set of books and have your own exclusive theater anytime, anywhere.
01
Burning it only once in a lifetime is enough
"Not wanting to read bad things is like not wanting to live a bad life, because time doesn't allow it." Literary critic Harold Bloom said.
When we see fast food, sensationalism, chicken blood, don't forget that at the same time, there is a real beauty, thick, deep in this world.
The depth and heaviness of Cao Yu lies in the fact that he always pays attention to human nature and the living situation of people.
Struggling in shackles and shackles, Zhou Xuanyi's love is hot and turbulent, but also humble.
I wish I had become the mouth of a volcano today, to brag passionately once, and to burn everything clean. At that time, I fell into the glacier again, frozen to ashes, and only burned hot once in my life, which was enough.
Stills from "Thunderstorm"
Ascetic Fang: Si Yi treats her harshly, Zeng Hao intends to control her, she always obeys; Wen Qing's love for her is weak and barren, and she is willing to do so. She said to her confidant Ruizhen:
He is gone, his father I can serve him, his children, I can take care of him, he loves the words and paintings I manage, he loves the pigeons I feed. Even the people he didn't like I felt thoughtful, should like, should love...
Stills from "The Beijinger"
Socialite Chen Bailu also faces the dilemma of how to go on in life. Even if the reader unanimously requests: go with the first love Fang Dasheng, go home with him, marry him, live with him!
But the helplessness of reality made it impossible for her to escape. She said:
"The sun is rising, and the darkness is left behind. But the sun is not ours, we are going to sleep. ”
How women liberate themselves, and even how to question family ethics and spiritual morality, you can find the answer from Cao Opera.
02
Cao Yu can't finish acting Inexhaustible Cao Opera
In the past hundred years, Cao opera has been read by generations of people and rehearsed by a group of actors, and the washing of time has not diminished its brilliance, and has become a classic of modern Chinese literature.
This kind of classic, first of all, lies in the fact that Cao Yu's script has a poetic beauty.
The famous drama actor then said: "Mr. Cao Yu is a playwright, but also a poet. ”
Its words are beautiful, the sentences are poignant, and many paragraphs can be used directly:
When you lament the bitterness and sweetness of life, you can say:
Isn't that the tone of being alive? We are alive for such a long period of bleak and sweet days! Make you think you can't help but cry, think and can't help but laugh!
- "The Beijinger"
When you encounter unrepentant love, you may say:
I don't have children, I don't have a husband, I don't have a home, I don't have anything, I just have to say: I—I'm yours.
- "Thunderstorm"
The soul problem of the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law comes from Cao Yu. Kaneko asked The Big Star:
I fell into the river at the same time as your mother, which one do you save first?
- "The Wilderness"
Cao Yu's classic also lies in the fact that all the hot conflicts are played to the fullest on a small stage.
"Thunderstorm" takes only four acts and one day to show two generations and thirty years of love-hate entanglement, and on the night of the thunderstorm of lightning and thunder, the most intense conflict erupts:
Si Feng, who was already pregnant, was electrocuted and died, Zhou Chong, who saved her, was also electrocuted, Zhou Ping shot herself, Andi, Shi Ping went crazy...
"Wilderness" is also in the three-act drama, intertwining the contradictions and conflicts between Jin Zi and Jiao Daxing, Qiu Hu and Jiao Da Xing, Qiu Hu and Jiao Mu, Jin Zi and Jiao Mu, and showing them vividly on a stage in one day.
Read Cao Yu,
You will not be satisfied with the daily rough reading experience,
And let life be more poetic and surprising.
03
The version is unique, beautifully framed, and can be read for a lifetime
The October Literary and Art Edition, exclusively authorized by Cao Yu's daughter Wan Fang, is carefully revised from the first published version of each script (published by the Republic of China Cultural Life Publishing House).
With reference to the changes that Mr. Cao Yu finally identified before his death, the original appearance of the famous works was maintained to the greatest extent possible, and the fallacies that appeared in the process of circulation were removed.
The only authorized version in China, and also recognized by readers as a classic version, has been reprinted 26 times in 4 years.
Moreover, what is particularly fascinating is that the overall design is very advanced, 32 small folio, light and exquisite, easy to carry;
Good quality of paper, natural softness when reading, faint ink fragrance, open is an elegant and calm;
The hardcover version, the font size is moderate, and it is not bothersome to read at all.
The play of the theatrical genius Cao Yu,
A must-read for a lifetime.
One read, one can read for a lifetime.
This article is reproduced from the Ten Points Chronicle
Some of the diagrams come from the network
Editor: Xu VV