"The Huangpu River, which flows day and night, is my mother river. I use literature to find my hometown, to tell stories with music, to sing the 'Song of Survivors' to the world, and to play the music of human destiny and common suffering and suffering. Bella, a Canadian writer born in Shanghai and has been focusing on the creation and study of "Jews in Shanghai" literature for many years, said in an interview with Wen Wei Po reporter.
On the evening of November 13, writer Bella's "Survivor's Song Concert" will be held at the Shanghai Concert Hall. "In a bumpy carriage / Sitting a girl / Her eyes are full of sorrow ... The sorrow of the wandering people / the death of all mankind... Captain of Noah's Ark / Standing on the Pujiang River to Summon..." Part of the lyrics of the song "Survivor's Song", written by Bella and based on a Jewish folk song, will be sung for the first time by the writer himself on the night of the concert to express her gratitude and love for Shanghai.
It is reported that all the songs in this concert are derived from world famous songs and Jewish folk songs, showing the wisdom of the Jews and the experience of the hero Mike's family in The Survivor's Song written by Bella, who had a wonderful life in a foreign country relying on the power of love and faith; it also presented that the writer Bella's hometown shanghai is a city with a hundred rivers - Shanghai people and Jews share hardships and fates, and compose an unforgettable chapter of inclusive fraternity and international love in human history.
Contemporary Romantic and humanitarian writer Bella was born in Shanghai and emigrated overseas at an early age. At present, she has published more than ten books such as "The Magic Piano", "Survivor's Song", "Sad Casablanca" and so on. Over the past 20 years, Bella has visited Jews around the world who once lived or were born in Shanghai, accumulating a large number of first-hand historical materials. After returning to her hometown of Shanghai, her creations show a broader narrative perspective and burst out with great creative energy. Bella said: "It is my ultimate dream to show the humanitarian spirit of my nation with 'story diplomacy'. "I have a sense of mission and sacredness in literary creation, that is, in addition to returning to literature itself, every work should also build a bridge connecting the civilizations of the East and the West."
With a pair of eyes that discover love and beauty, Bella tells the story of the Jews in Shanghai to the world, spreading the seeds of love and faith. The wisdom and humor of the Jews, as well as the optimistic and strong soul that is still alive in the face of suffering and wandering, flicker and jump between her words.
Among them, Bella's novel "Survivor's Song" is based on the experience of Top Hollywood producer Mike Madway's parents in Shanghai during World War II, and is known as the Shanghai version of "Gone with the Wind". Mike Madway has served as a producer for such famous films as Leaping Madhouse, Field Platoon, Dancing with Wolves, The Silence of the Lambs, Apocalypse Now, And The Philadelphia Story, and more. The Chinese edition of "Survivor's Song" was enthusiastically received by Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House in 2019; the English version in 2020 was translated by Ge Haowen, chief American sinologist, and first published by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Publishing House at the Shanghai Book Fair.
In order to create "Survivor's Song", Bella spent several years studying the history of Shanghai telecommunications and found the resume documents of Mike's father David in the American Shanghai company from the telecommunications archive system. She also visited Mike's mother, Dora, several times in the United States, to obtain more first-hand historical information about the Jews in Shanghai during that strange era. Romantic, warm and powerful love stories are engraved in the background of the big times. The work cuts into the development process of Shanghai's industrial civilization with the explosive node of communication technology, completely and accurately presents Shanghai's early telecommunications past and living beings, and the solid creation has aroused widespread concern from all walks of life. The documentary of the same name is currently being filmed and will be broadcast on Oriental TV; the large-scale sculpture "Survivor's Song" has entered the bronze casting stage and will be unveiled at the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Memorial Hall at the end of the year.
Literature and music are closely linked, accompanied by the sound of the piano to bring an audiovisual feast full of love and faith
Standing at the height of cosmopolitanism, Bella uses literature to find her hometown, focusing on the fate of mankind, the soul, and the humanitarian spirit - the beauty of adulthood, beauty and coexistence. In addition to literary creation, Bella is also fascinated by music and art. She has performed the piano song "Liang Zhu" at the concert of Israeli pianist Yaron Kohlberg and also gave concerts at the Shanghai Concert Hall.
Bella also has literary works closely related to music, such as "The Magic Piano", which stems from her love of music, and delivers the love story of a young Jewish man and woman in Shanghai to a black piano that has traveled from several countries. British playwright Ronald Harwood, who won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay for "The Pianist," is based on Bella's novel of the same name, known as the pianist's companion piece.
Compared with "The Spell Piano", "Survivor's Song" is more historically vivid. Speaking about the upcoming "Survivor's Song Concert" in Shanghai, Bella recalled that in 2012 she was a guest at the home of Top Hollywood producer Mike Madwall. Mike shows her to a piano concert where a Jewish female pianist plays the piano while telling her family story during World War II. Deeply affected and touched, Bella held a perfect blend of literature and music in Shanghai, and it became her wish to tell the story of the Jews in Shanghai with the sound of the piano.
At the "Survivor's Song Concert", in addition to Bella herself, a series of well-known heavyweight performance guests all appeared, namely: the voice actor of the Japanese TV series "Zi Sanshiro" and the famous host of Shanghai Television, ChenGuang, who served as the host of this concert; Tong Zirong, the voice actor and famous voice artist of the movie "Zorro"; Liu Jiazhen, a famous host and voice actor of Shanghai Television; Chen Yanhua, a famous host and "Sister Swallow" of Shanghai Television; Chen Yanhua, a famous soprano singer, Professor Chen Xiaoqun of Shanghai Conservatory of Music; Music Producer and Guitarist Chen Gong; Saxophonist Ye Shuwei; Israeli Pianist Solka; Israeli Champion Dancers Eugene and Anestesia couples. The artist's friends sang with Bella in the form of playing, singing, dancing and reciting, singing the melody of human destiny and suffering. The concert was also supported by the Consulate General of Israel in Shanghai. The concert will be attended by hundreds of foreigners in Shanghai, including international students, senior executives of foreign companies, as well as dozens of consuls general and diplomats in Shanghai, and the concert will be accompanied by English subtitles throughout the concert.
At present, the haze of the new crown epidemic has not dissipated, the world is still shrouded in the melancholy cloud of the epidemic, and the warmth, tenacity and hope projected by art have always been an indispensable force for mankind to forge ahead. The scheduled holding of the "Survivor's Song Concert" will undoubtedly bring people an audiovisual feast full of love and faith.
Courtesy of the performer
Author: Jiang Fang
Editor: Tong Weijing