Shu Xiuwen's name was once thunderous in the film and theater world, and her legendary performances are still talked about today. However, in this sudden political storm, the aura of the past can no longer bring her the slightest comfort. In the corridor of the hospital, someone mocked in a low voice: "That stinky star, it's not the same as being sick to death, what kind of shelf." ”
These words were like a cold blade, stinging Shu Xiuwen's weak heart. But her mind was soon drawn to something more serious - her suicide note.
Shu Xiuwen's stage career
Shu Xiuwen's stage career began at the Jimei Song and Dance Theatre Society, a place known for producing multi-talented stage artists. It was there that she was first introduced to the allure of theatre and began to learn to dance, sing and act step by step. The Jimei Cabaret Club has provided her with a platform to showcase her talents, and it has also allowed her to grow and hone her skills with other young artists.
Subsequently, Shu Xiuwen's talent was more widely recognized, giving her the opportunity to join the more large-scale and influential Mayflower Drama Society. At Mayflower Theatre Society, she has participated in the production of several famous plays, each of which has matured her acting skills. The Mayflower Theatre Society's repertoire is diverse, from classical to contemporary, from tragedy to comedy, which provides an excellent stage for Shu Xiuwen to showcase her multifaceted talents.
Further, she joined the Spring and Autumn Opera Society, a group known for modernizing theater. Each of the Spring and Autumn Drama Society's plays is innovative, often incorporating social themes and modern elements, which greatly challenges and enhances the depth of Shu Xiuwen's performances. Here, she not only played several classic roles, but also began to experiment with directing and screenwriting, adding to the diversity of her artistic career.
In these three different artistic environments, Shu Xiuwen's talent has been developed in all aspects. Not only is she able to navigate complex characters and express their psychology and emotions to the fullest, but she can also influence and inspire audiences through her performances. Over time, Shu Xiuwen has become an invaluable artist in the world of theatre and film, and her name is often associated with excellence in the performing arts.
It was in this context that Shu Xiuwen's performance in the CPPCC auditorium showed the pinnacle of her artistic achievement. On that day, she selected Mr. Lu Xun's essay "A Little Thing" for recitation. This work tells the story of a small thing in daily life, showing the profound social significance and the complexity of human nature through the author's unique perspective.
When Shu Xiuwen stood on the stage, her voice was clear and infectious, and every word seemed to hit the hearts of the audience. Her performance is not just a recitation, but also an affectionate interpretation, which makes the otherwise calm words come alive and full of emotional power. Her grasp of every word, her mastery of pauses, and her shifts in mood all demonstrate her extraordinary acting skills.
The audience, including many government officials and art workers, were deeply attracted by her performance. Among them, Mr. Zhou Enlai, who was the prime minister at the time, was also present.
Film career and skills honing
One of the most celebrated stages of Shu Xiuwen's film career was her experience filming "The Female Driver" in 1950. The film asked Shu Xiuwen to play a train driver, a female character that was extremely rare in Chinese cinema at the time. In order to create this role more realistically, Shu Xiuwen decided to learn to drive a train himself.
Soon after receiving the role, Shu Xiuwen began her train driving training. Her training ground is a railway bureau near Beijing, which has a hands-on training facility for train drivers. Every day, Shu Xiuwen puts on a standard train driver uniform and a work cap, and her training begins with theoretical learning and gradually transitions to practical control of trains.
During the training, Shu Xiuwen not only needs to learn the basic operation of the train, but also needs to understand the mechanical structure and maintenance knowledge of the train. She works alongside real train drivers and learns from experienced instructors how to deal with all kinds of emergencies that may arise while the train is moving. Her hard work and attention to detail allowed her to quickly acquire the necessary skills and pass the professional certification at the end of her training.
This kind of extreme vocational training is very rare for a film actor, but Shu Xiuwen's decision greatly enhances the authenticity of her performance in "The Female Driver". By the time the filming began, she was already comfortable manoeuvring the train and confidently displayed the professionalism of a train driver in front of the camera. This not only impressed the director and crew, but also shocked the audience.
Shu Xiuwen's professional dedication has also been widely recognized after the film's release. Her performance in the film is not only technically accurate, but also shows the character's unique inner world and emotional layers through her acting skills. The success of "Female Driver" has made Shu Xiuwen's position in the film industry more stable, and she is known as a "hardcore actor", a title that symbolizes her rigorous attitude in acting skills and role preparation.
After "Female Driver", Shu Xiuwen continued to be active in the film industry, participating in a number of film projects of different styles. Whether it is a historical drama, a modern drama or a literary film, she can always accurately grasp the core of the role, integrate the character's personality and story background, and show profound humanistic care. Her in-depth understanding and performance of each role shows that she is not only satisfied with superficial performances, but also pursues the spiritual level and emotional depth of the role.
The twists and turns of love life
The love story of Shu Xiuwen and Wu Shaowei began with a chance encounter, and the two met for the first time at a theatrical exchange meeting. As the son of a wealthy businessman who loved drama performance, Wu Shaowei was passionate about stage art, which made him admire Shu Xiuwen's talent and charm. The two quickly brought each other closer together with their shared interests and love for art.
Their romance progressed very quickly, and they soon decided to enter the palace of marriage. The wedding was held in a famous hotel in Beijing, the scene was grand and elegant, many important people from the literary and business circles attended the wedding, and the media also gave great attention and coverage. The happy appearance of the two at the wedding became a widely discussed topic during that period.
After marriage, Shu Xiuwen and Wu Shaowei's lives were full of sweetness and harmony. However, over time, Shu Xiuwen was diagnosed with the inability to have children due to health reasons, which was undoubtedly a huge blow to the couple. Faced with such a reality, the two deliberated and finally decided to complete their family through adoption. They adopted a child named Shu Zhaoyuan and poured all their love and care into this little life.
After adopting their children, Shu Xiuwen and Wu Shaowei's lives seem to have found a new direction and hope. However, as time went on, the two began to diverge over their expectations for life and the development of their personal careers. As an actor, Shu Xiuwen's frequent filming and performance arrangements often make her have to stay away from her family, and Wu Shaowei, as a manager of the company, also needs to invest a lot of time and energy in business.
These factors gradually caused a rift in their feelings. Although they both try to find a solution and hope to regain the feeling they had when they first fell in love, they are ultimately unable to overcome the difficulties and challenges in their lives. The long disagreement and lack of time together eventually led the two to decide to divorce, ending a marriage that was once the envy of countless people.
Difficult years and health challenges
In 1965, Shu Xiuwen's health suddenly deteriorated, and her heart attack caused her to be rushed to the hospital. This heart attack was so severe that immediate surgery was required. At a major hospital in Beijing, doctors quickly operated on her. The operation was performed in an extremely urgent situation, and the doctors, using advanced medical technology and equipment, finally succeeded in getting her out of danger after hours of hard work.
Although Shu Xiuwen is safe for the time being after the operation, her physical condition is still very weak. She needed a long period of rest and recovery, however, it coincided with the political turmoil in the country, and the tension of the social environment added to her physical and mental burden. The wave of the Cultural Revolution swept in, and the social order was greatly affected, and even places such as hospitals were not immune to the influence of political movements.
In this predicament, Shu Xiuwen had to participate in labor with her adopted son Shu Zhaoyuan. Although her health was far from recovering, she was placed to work on a farm near the hospital to meet the political demands of the time. This labor is extremely difficult and dangerous for a patient who has just undergone heart surgery. Shu Xiuwen, along with the other mobilized people, carried out physical activities such as planting and weeding on the farm, which were clearly beyond her physical capacity at the time.
The treatment in the hospital is just as tough. Shu Xiuwen's fame and past success on stage and in movies have become a burden for her at this time. Some in the hospital were prejudiced against her, believing that her past stardom was out of step with the current political situation. Some people even mocked her when she passed by, "What kind of stand do stinky stars have to put on", such words made her feel isolated in the hospital, lacking the support and care she deserved.
In this environment, Shu Xiuwen's road to recovery has become extremely difficult. Due to the lack of proper care and support, her health has been up and down, and she often feels exhausted. There was hardly anyone near her bed in the hospital who offered to help, making even basic mobility and care for daily living difficult. On one occasion when she needed to go to the bathroom, she had to rely on crutches from a friend who came to visit her because there was no one to help.
This series of experiences undoubtedly brought great pressure and pain to Shu Xiuwen's body and mind. Under the dual pressure of political turmoil and personal health crisis, her life has fallen into extreme uncertainty and hardship.
The spiritual inheritance of independence
Over time, Shu's health deteriorated further. Her days in the hospital grew, and her physical strength was weakened by frequent illnesses and surgeries. The doctors did their best to treat her, but her heart disease, combined with long hours of exertion and mental stress, left her in an extremely fragile state. The recovery period after each treatment becomes longer and the results are less and less noticeable.
Shu Xiuwen's life in the hospital was full of hardship and loneliness, and although a few friends visited occasionally, she faced the torture of illness alone most of the time. The environment in hospitals has become more challenging during times of political turmoil, resources are scarce, and medical staff often have no time to attend to the needs of every patient.
In the last months of his life, Shu Xiuwen began to think about his life and the legacy he left to his adopted son, Shu Zhaoyuan. She knew that her time was running out, so she decided to write a suicide note and leave it to her only family, her adopted son Shu Zhaoyuan. Her suicide note is not only a farewell to Shu Zhaoyuan, but also a guide and expectation for his future life.
In her suicide note, Shu Xiuwen detailed how her property was handled. She left all her savings, tens of thousands of yuan, to the organizations she supports, hoping that these funds can be used to promote the development of social and cultural causes. For her adopted son Shu Zhaoyuan, she did not leave any money or material property, but gave a more important spiritual legacy.
In the suicide note, Shu Xiuwen conveyed her teachings to Shu Zhaoyuan in firm and clear language. She stressed that the most valuable legacy she left to her adopted son was not money, status or honor, but the values she adhered to throughout her life – the spirit of hard work, the attitude of selfless work, and the determination to fight endlessly. These spiritual values are what she hopes Shu Zhaoyuan will continue to inherit and practice.
Shu Xiuwen also stressed in his suicide note that no matter how difficult the road ahead is, serving the people should be the highest purpose. This is her belief as an artist and a citizen, and it is also the core spirit she hopes Shu Zhaoyuan can inherit and carry forward.
Finally, on March 17, 1969, Shu Xiuwen suffered a heart attack and died peacefully in the hospital.
Hu Pingyuan.Shu Xiuwen:Literary and artistic female warriors in the beacon years[J].Jianghuai Literature and History,2021(2):113-120