The drama "Longsugou" is one of Lao She's representative works. The play was completed in 1950 and premiered in February 1951 by the Beijing People's Art Theatre, directed by Jiao Juyin.
Lao She returned from the United States in December 1949 and was elected chairman of the Beijing Municipal Federation of Literary and Art Circles in June of the following year. Just arrived in New China, the enthusiasm is high. Lao She once stood on the podium of the National People's Congress and said passionately: "I am a non-partisan person. But I have pie today. What faction?' Goetheism'. He began to write two scripts, "Square Pearl" and "Dragon Sugou Valley". Influential is "Dragon's Whisker Ditch".
Originally, the famous "Longsugou" in Chongwen District flowed out of Beijing from the north and east of the Temple of Heaven to the southeast. This Longsu Ditch is likely to be the ancient old road of the lower reaches of the Gaoliang River. Probably because the city of Beijing was the capital of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and was the place where the emperor who claimed to be the "True Dragon Heavenly Son" lived and lived, this river also had the reputation of Longsugou. Before liberation, the banks of Longsugou were inhabited by poor people. There are also handicraft workshops, tanning skins, and the stinking wastewater of the dyeing workshop also flows into the Longsu Ditch, which is a stinky ditch where dirt drifts and mosquitoes and flies breed. After liberation, it was immediately thoroughly rectified and turned into a clear water ditch, and the people's artist Lao She wrote the famous script of "Longsu Ditch" as the theme of the change of this ditch, which was later made into a movie.
Lao She said: "I will grasp the stinky ditch and hold on to it, so as to achieve the praise of the people's government for repairing the ditch." Even if I am not yet mature, I have to reflect it. "Reflect that it always has to have a life, and Mr. Lao She has old cold legs, it is not very convenient to walk, and his right hand is always clinging to the cane." He couldn't go down often, so the leader of Renyi sent Lin Jinlan's messenger to ask him to go down to the interview. Find the material and give it to Lao She. This method is called "three combinations", that is, the leadership of the thought, the masses out of life, and the writer out of the skill.
After Lao She wrote "Longsugou", Ren yi found Jiao Juyin, who taught at Beijing Normal University, as a director. He felt that "Dragon Sugou" was too thin to be performed. Ren Yi repeatedly tried, Jiao Juyin finally agreed, then let the director and actors enrich the play together.
"Longsugou" tells the story of before the liberation, Beijing Longsugou was a stinky ditch, and the ditch was full of all kinds of lower-class working people who were selling their strength and playing tricks. These residents were often persecuted by the Kuomintang, bullies, hooligans and threatened by a harsh environment, and their lives were miserable. Cheng Baoqing, an upright and upright old artist, originally sang a single string in a teahouse, and because he refused to go to the bully Black Whirlwind's family singing hall, he was injured by his minions and fled to longsugou to live, relying on his wife Cheng Niangzi to set up a cigarette stall to live. Cheng Baoqing was full of sorrow, but people did not understand him and called him crazy. Only Cheng Niangzi endured the humiliation and burden, hoping that her husband could wait until the day when he would emerge again. The little bully Feng Dogzi snatched Cheng Niangzi's cigarette. Ding Si, a tricycle worker in the same hospital, was also bullied by bullies. The upright mason Old Man Zhao was upset with them, to no avail. Soon, Ding Si's daughter XiaoYizi fell into the dirty and smelly Dragon's Whisker Ditch and drowned. After liberation, Longsugou gained a new life together with Beijing. The people's government brought the bully hooligans Black Whirlwind and Feng Dogzi to justice, and the people along the Longsugou valley lived a happy life. The film depicts the different life encounters of people living in the same region in the old society and the new society, and praises the great achievements of the Communist Party and the people's government in caring for the masses, seeking benefits for the people, and enabling them to live a good life
After "Dragon Whisker Ditch" came out, insiders were not optimistic, thinking that it was straightforward and politicized. Zhou Enlai believed that this was exactly what the party needed, that the people did not understand what was going on with the Communist Party, that our regime should take root in the cities, that it was not enough for people to study editorials, that it was necessary to help with literary and artistic works. Let people be moved on stage and understand why the new replaces the old. He said bluntly that it helped me a lot. Zhou Enlai hoped that Zhou Yang would come forward to praise him, and Zhou Yang wrote an article in the People's Daily calling on people to "learn from Mr. Lao She's real political enthusiasm."
Zhou Yang wanted to award Lao She the title of "People's Artist," but some writers and theorists from the Liberated Areas were not convinced, believing that Lao She had just returned from the United States and had not participated in the revolutionary struggle, and it was somewhat inappropriate to commend him in this way. Peng Zhen learned that Zhou Yang was embarrassed, so he came out and said that it would be issued by Beijing Municipality, because "Longsugou" was written in Beijing.
The enthusiastic Zhou Enlai recommended "Longsugou" to Mao Zedong, and Mao Zedong, who did not like to watch dramas, finally watched this play in Huairentang and did not evaluate it too much afterwards. Some people speculate that perhaps the script is too strong for Mao Zedong to understand.