Hongshen and Qingdao

In the first half of the 20th century, Qingdao was invaded by Germany and Japan, and the Beiyang warlords and the Nationalist government in Nanjing ruled. In this short and unusual 50 years, Qingdao's society has experienced ups and downs, turmoil and changes. During this period, there were bitter struggles and struggles against feudalism and colonial rule, the rise of the modern economy, the vicissitudes of political power, the collision and integration of Chinese and Western cultures, the rise and development of education, and the prosperity and glory of new cultures. In the political, economic and social environment at that time, Qingdao emerged many well-known scholars, who lived in Qingdao for a short time or for a long time, which had a positive impact on the development of Qingdao culture.

In 1915, a literary youth named "Leshui" published a "Qingdao Observation and Anecdote" in the "Novel Monthly". In this essay of nearly 10,000 words, he tells stories about his various observations and personal experiences in Qingdao. And "happy water" is - Hong Shen. The "Pioneer of Chinese Theatre and Film", who lived in the Jiushui Guanshan Villa in the south of Laoshan And later served as the head of the Department of Foreign Languages at Shandong University (now Ocean University of China), had a bumpy life. In the short time in Qingdao, he left many historical memories for the city.

In 1913, Hong Shen's father, Hong Shuzu, was involved in the "Assassination of Song Jiaoren" and took refuge in Qingdao. When Song Jiaoren was killed that year, public opinion believed that it was at the behest of Yuan Shikai and planned by Hong Shuzu. Hong Shuzu built a villa called "Guan Chuan Tai" in Nanjiushui, Laoshan Mountain. When Hong Shuzu lived in Qingdao, Hong Shen was studying at Tsinghua School and returned to his home in Qingdao every winter and summer vacation.

After the Japanese captured Qingdao in 1914, Hong Shuzu's Guanchuan Terrace was occupied by the Japanese army and converted into a restaurant. After that, when Hong Shen returned to Qingdao, he always had to try to visit Nanjiushui in Laoshan Mountain once. And, always go alone when more... Hong Shen said: "I easily dare not tell people that I am the real owner of this house." "Although in the future, the Japanese restaurant was not well run, and my father was allowed to spend 6,000 yuan to redeem it. But he doesn't want to spend money to buy back what is already his own. Soon after, Hong Shen left Qingdao completely, and in 1916 he embarked on the road to study in the United States.

In 1922, Hong Shen, who returned to China after completing his studies, successively taught at Shanghai Jinan University and Fudan University, and created well-known plays such as "Zhao Yan Wang", "Wukui Bridge", "Fragrant Rice", "Qinglongtan" and so on, and became one of the main responsible persons of the Shanghai Left-wing Drama Federation. As a pioneer of Chinese cinema and the founder of Chinese drama, he later wrote And created China's first sound film "Song Girl Red Peony", and formulated a name and basic statutes for the drama that was in its infancy at that time.

When Hong Shen was in Qingdao, he also joined a "Harmony Society", which was a Peking Opera society, all of whom were fans. Later, he also introduced Lao She to join. Although Hong Shen is a dramatist and filmmaker, he personally loves Peking Opera.

In 1934, Hong Shen's "Peach Blossom after the Disaster" created in Qingdao appeared to have a more story. It is about the former Qing Dynasty old man Zhu Youwei, who built a garden villa on the coast of Qingdao. Later, it was occupied by the Japanese, and the family was also persecuted. This is obviously based on his own family experience. After the script was published, it attracted widespread attention. In 1935, Zhang Ishichuan, director of Shanghai Star Film Company, led the film crew of "Peach Blossom after the Disaster" to Qingdao for filming on location, and with the help of Hong Shen, it was filmed in Qingdao Seashore, Shazikou, Li Village, Governor's Palace, And Madame Marie Danielevsky's Villa (Hu Di Lou) and other places.

In addition to creating "Peach Blossom after the Disaster", Hong Shen also wrote many essays and essays. For example, "My Lost Land" and "Stay in the Green Mountains" published in the semi-monthly magazine of "Taibai" and so on. In the summer of 1935, he agreed with Lao She and Wang Tongzhao to publish a literary and art journal, and Hong Shen suggested that it be called "Summer Escape", which is a pun on the summer heat, which is both the heat of the weather and the heat of the decadent rule of the reactionaries. He wrote in his "inaugural speech": "They came in Qingdao, either for long-term careers or short-term tasks. No one is a real idler; no one has come to Qingdao specifically to escape the summer.

In 1935, the "129 Movement" broke out among the students of Beiping, which set off a mighty anti-Japanese patriotic struggle and quickly spread to Qingdao, and the students of Shandong University set up a "Salvation Congress" to carry out strikes and marches. When Hong Shen went to visit them, the students said: "You often teach us to be a patriotic student, and we are arrested for patriotic struggle, but you don't care." Although Hong Shen was angry at the actions of the authorities, he was also helpless. In 1936, Hong Shen left Shandong University indignantly, and the students' final examination papers were sent to Shanghai, where they were sent back to Qingdao after being approved by Hong Shen, and soon he officially resigned from the teaching position of Shandong University and became an English professor at Sun Yat-sen University. After that, HongShen never returned to Qingdao.

For most people in modern times, Hongshen is still a relatively unfamiliar name. He is also a dramatist, and his works are not as well-known as Lao She's "Tea House". Yes, the pioneers of history are always easy to forget, but their spirit of exploration has inspired today.