In Xiong Xianghui's book "My Intelligence and Diplomatic Career", he recorded an interesting diplomatic incident of Premier Zhou Enlai. At the 1954 Geneva Conference in Switzerland, Premier Zhou Enlai had staff members hold film receptions for foreign journalists, when films such as "National Day of 1952" and "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" were screened. When the staff at that time introduced "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" to foreign reporters, they wrote a fifteen- or six-page instruction manual, which was regarded by Premier Zhou as the "Eight Shares of the Party." Premier Zhou Enlai said: "Who reads the instruction manual of more than a dozen pages?" If I were a journalist, I wouldn't watch. As long as you write a sentence on the invitation, 'Please enjoy a colorful opera movie , The Chinese Romeo and Juliet'. ”
Photo of Premier Zhou Enlai in his youth
This story is one of the many diplomatic stories of Premier Zhou Enlai, and the focus of the story is entirely on showing diplomatic wisdom, and few people pay attention to what kind of drama "Liang Zhu" was at that time. There are countless stories in china's "Liang Zhu" series, and it is only said that "Liang Zhu" is very general. The film shown to foreign journalists in Geneva at that time was the Yue opera film Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai.
Yue opera "Liang Zhu" is the first large-scale color Yue opera film in the history of the development of Yue opera, and before this film there is also the first Yue opera film "Xiang Lin Sister-in-law" and the first small color Yue opera film - "Pomegranate Red". But in particular, this "Liang Zhu" has the greatest influence and the strongest reaction.
Stills from the Yue opera film "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai"
This movie was extraordinary when filming began. The film was filmed at the end of 1952 with the approval of Chairman Mao, the care of Premier Zhou, and the strong support of Marshal Chen Yi. At that time, a DC generator was needed for film shooting, and it was difficult to find it for a while, so Marshal Chen Yi seconded the DC motor used for the searchlight of the air defense unit to the crew. The generator was lent to the film factory during the day and shipped back at night to power the searchlights. The film was shot for 11 months, and in the middle of summer, the actors were almost sweating in the studio, but despite this, they still worked more than ten hours a day. When the Geneva Conference was held in 1954, the film had just been filmed.
In this Yue opera movie, Zhu Yingtai is played by the famous Yue opera artist Yuan Xuefen, and Liang Shanbo is played by Fan Ruijuan. At that time, both of them were about thirty years old, at the time of their personal artistic careers.
Yuan Xuefen
Yuan Xuefen is one of the important figures in the history of the development of Yue opera, and he is the founder of the Yue opera "Yuan Pai". The Yuan school has an important influence on other genres of Yue opera, and can be said to be the master of the many schools, and the Qi, Lü, Jin, and Zhang schools in Yue opera are all derived from the Yuan school. Yuan Xuefen once served as the director of the Shanghai Yue Theatre, and made great efforts to cultivate talents of Yue opera. Her representative repertoire is "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai", "Xi Xiang Ji", "Xiang Lin Sister-in-law" and so on.
Yue opera "Xiang lin sister-in-law" (Yuan Xuefen)
Fan Ruijuan is the founder of the Yue opera "Fan Pai", and at the time of filming, she was already the deputy head of the East China Yue Opera Experimental Theater Troupe, and also served as the chairman of the Shanghai Yue Opera Union. In more than 60 years of stage career, Fan Xuefen has played hundreds of stage roles, and her representative works include "Liang Zhu", "Peacock Southeast Flying", "Playing Golden Branch", "Xianglin Sister-in-law" and so on.
Fan Ruijuan as Liang Shanbo
Yuan Xuefen was born in 1922 and died in 2011 at the age of 90; Fan Ruijuan was born in 1924 and died in 2017 at the age of 93.
In July 1954, the film won the Music Film Award at the 8th Film Festival in Czechoslovakia, showing the charm of the East in the West. The works of the two artists are indispensable masterpieces of Yue opera, and the style of the Yue opera film "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai" is also immortal. Today, the Yue opera "Liang Zhu" is still one of the most famous works on this theme among various drama genres.