"On such a commemorative day, the unveiling of the sculpture 'Song of survivors' was held, hoping to express the love of people around the world for peace." Writer Bella told reporters.
On the morning of January 27, the unveiling ceremony of the original large-scale bronze sculpture "Survivor's Song", which was designed and inspired by the novel of the same name by writer Bella, was held at the Jewish Refugee Memorial Hall in Shanghai.
It is also the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, established by the United Nations General Assembly. At the unveiling ceremony, nearly 100 people, including representatives of consular offices in Shanghai from Israel and other countries, their wives, and Friendly Chinese and foreign people attended.
I "took" Dora back to Shanghai
Born in Shanghai, Bella has been paying attention to the literary creation and research of the theme of "Jews in Shanghai" for many years, and has successively published books on related topics. The "Jews in Shanghai" series was translated by the famous American sinologist Ge Haowen in English, and after publication, it received great attention in the international community, especially in the Jewish world. Among them, the novel "Survivor's Song" is based on the real life of the Hollywood producer Mike Medwar's family in Shanghai during World War II, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture eight times, telling the story of his father David and his mother Dora in Shanghai who fell in love and married, and struggled to realize the Shanghai Dream in the difficult and turbulent years. Through the ups and downs of the storyline, the work fully shows the Jewish feelings for Shanghai, and is called the Shanghai version of "Gone with the Wind" by scholars, media and readers.
In order to create, Bella spent a lot of time researching and consulting the archives of David's tenure at the Shanghai American Telephone Company. In addition, she also visited Dora many times in the United States to obtain first-hand historical materials. Bella takes love and faith as the core of her works to show the spirit of Shanghai's city and the great love of the Chinese and Jewish peoples in the face of suffering.
Bella pays attention to the fate and soul of mankind, and also shows the humanitarian spirit of Shanghai to the world in the form of music and art. At her suggestion, the sculpture "Survivor's Song" came into being. The sculpture "Survivor's Song", 2.8 meters long, 1 meter wide and 2.6 meters high, uses romantic expression to restore and portray the last scene described in the novel: in 1948, Mike Madway stood on the deck with his parents and reluctantly waved goodbye to Shanghai, which is also a portrayal of the wandering Jews who regard Shanghai as a warm hometown.
"The David family's experience in Shanghai has witnessed the friendship between Shanghai and the Jews, who have strong feelings for Shanghai. Every time I visitEd Ms. Dora to say goodbye, Dora, who was in her nineties, would pull me aside in fluent Shanghainese and say, 'Bella, put me in your suitcase, and I'll go back to Shanghai with you.'" "Today, I have fulfilled her long-cherished wish through sculpture, bringing her and her family back to Shanghai." ”
Writer Bella
From literature to sculpture, witness the friendship between Shanghai and the Jews
The sculpture "Song of survivors" was designed and produced by Lu Qizhang, a well-known sculptor who stayed in Russia. Lü Studied under the contemporary Russian sculptor Alexander Lukavikhnikov.
By chance, Bella met Lu Qizhang and invited him to create the sculpture "Survivor's Song". Lu Qizhang told reporters: "I carefully read Mr. Bella's 'Jews in Shanghai' series. The power of literary works and David's personality charm deeply touched me, and the inspiration and sense of picture of creation re-emerged in my mind. I was excited to communicate with Teacher Bella. He and Bella coincided and decided to show the moving scene of david's family saying goodbye to Shanghai, "the war and the arrangement of fate made them have to leave Shanghai, but the farewell was temporary, implying that they would return to Shanghai to meet." ”
Sculpture part
The sculpture took two years to complete. In the work, David holds his little daughter in his arms and waves his hat to greet his friends. His expression was firm and sad, and he had deep feelings for the hot land of Shanghai, where there were Friends from Shanghai who helped him and footprints of his struggle. Dora put her right hand on little Mike's shoulder, comforting him, while not forgetting to look back and kiss Shanghai Xiang goodbye with tears. Mike was still a five- or six-year-old. He grew up in Shanghai, where he had playmates. When he parted, he was a little sad, sitting on the pier, holding the teddy bear in his hand in a daze. And the sister is still an ignorant baby, she learns the way her parents look, waving enthusiastically.
The sculptures were recognized and appreciated by Mike Madwall, who was far away in New York. Previously, Mike had said: "I am extremely proud to live in Shanghai, Chinese people are very friendly, this is an amazing city." This sculpture commemorates my life and is from the very beginning of my life."
At present, the world is still shrouded in the melancholy cloud of the epidemic, and the light of warmth, gratitude, remembrance and hope projected by the sculpture "Survivor's Song" will shine in the long history of the Chinese nation and the Jewish nation.
"The Song of survivors" was designed and produced by the Russian sculptor Lu Qizhang.
The sculpture "Song of Survivors" is produced by Shanghai Qiyuan Cultural Communication Co., Ltd., and the sculpture is planned to be permanently displayed in front of the Baima Cafe in Hongkou District.
Taking the opportunity to tell the story of Jewish refugees in Shanghai and to remember history and cherish peace with the people of the world, the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Memorial Hall cooperated with the Consulate General of Hungary in Shanghai to launch a photo exhibition of "Today's Jewish Culture from the Perspective of V4 National Photographers" in the afternoon. The V4 countries, the Visegrad Group Four, are subregional organizations composed of four countries: Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. During World War II, a large number of Jews in the four countries were slaughtered by the German Nazis. The exhibition, which is jointly participated by four countries, will showcase 40 contemporary photographs, introduce some Holocaust sites and contemporary Jewish culture, and plan to exhibit for one month.
In addition, from the evening of January 27 to the early morning of January 28, the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Memorial Hall cooperated with the Israeli Consulate General in Shanghai to hold an International Holocaust Remembrance Day themed projection event, projecting the words "We Remember" on the exterior wall of the memorial building. It is understood that Israeli embassies and consulates in various countries will also hold projection activities at the same time.