"Students, get up! Shoulder the rise and fall of the world... We are peach and plum fragrance today, and tomorrow we are the pillars of society..." This "Graduation Song" must be familiar to everyone, right? Who hasn't sung this song for every student who has walked out of the campus? And every time we sing this song, we will be full of blood, full of passion, and proud to be Chinese students.
However, not all students know that this song is actually a movie interlude, this movie, that is, "Peach and Plum Robbery" filmed in 1934. And the screenwriter of this movie and the actor who plays the actor, do you remember? He is Yuan Muzhi. The heroine is played by Chen Bo'er, and later they married and became partners.
Today, Yaqing wants to talk to you again about Yuan Muzhi and his short but brilliant life. Yuan Muzhi was born in 1909 in Ningbo, Zhejiang. Since childhood, he has loved literature and art. In 1920, he came to Shanghai and studied at Chengzhen Middle School. Here, he was formally exposed to theatrical performance, and had the privilege of getting acquainted with Hong Shen, Ying Yunwei, Ouyang Yuqian and other masters of Chinese drama and film.
In 1927, Yuan Muzhi was admitted to the Law Department of Soochow University. But he was obviously more interested in theatrical performances, so he soon joined the "Xin You Drama Society" and became famous for playing Vanya in the play "Uncle Vanya". At only 18 years old, he fully demonstrated his acting talent, and because he was good at shaping characters through various looks and shapes, he gained the reputation of "Man with a Thousand Faces".
At that time, at a photo studio in Shanghai, Yuan Muzhi used only a suit, a tie and a makeup pen to dress himself as ten characters from foreign movies, and his looks were different and lifelike. As a result, as soon as this group of shapes came out, it immediately attracted people's attention, and the title of "Thousand Faced Man" was even more untouched.
Yuan Muzhi first appeared on the screen in 1934. He was 25 years old. He wrote a script with great passion and played the male lead in it. This movie is "Peach and Plum Robbery". After the release of the film, it caused a huge response. In particular, the interlude "Graduation Song" is even more unhurried, which stimulates the patriotic passion of all Chinese youth that "the world rises and falls, and the husband has the responsibility". Many enthusiastic young people sang the "Graduation Song" and rushed to the forefront of the anti-Japanese resistance.
Yuan Muzhi, who created and starred in this movie, also became famous in one fell swoop and became a big star in the eyes of the world. His handsome image and passionate performances all left a deep impression on the audience. And "Peach and Plum Robbery" is also a classic of progressive films, which has been continuously screened and has been popular for hundreds of years.
In 1935, Yuan Muzhi successfully created the image of the male protagonist Xin Baihua in the movie "Children of the Storm". Through his vivid performances, he interpreted the transformation process of Xin Baihua from sinking to awakening and finally resolutely rushing to the forefront of the War of Resistance. The theme song of this movie is "March of the Volunteer Army", which later became the national anthem, and the passionate melody sang the voice of every Chinese.
In 1936, Yuan Muzhi starred in another movie called "Life and Death Together". And in this movie, one person plays two roles - patriotic young Li Tao and Liu Yuanjie. These two characters have similar appearances but very different personalities, after Yuan Muzhi's shaping, it seems that each person has a different appearance, and even many viewers do not believe that this is played by the same actor, which fully shows how superb Yuan Muzhi's acting skills are.
The handsome Yuan Muzhi was already a well-known big star on the screen at that time, but he starred in not many movies. However, in another well-known film, he fully demonstrated his outstanding talent in choreography. This movie is "Road Angel". And it is this movie that has achieved several big stars such as Zhao Dan and Zhou Xuan, which is not enough to make Zhao Dan lay the status of a first-line student in the film industry at that time, and at the same time, Zhou Xuan, who has only played a small supporting role, played the heroine for the first time and became famous in one fell swoop.
Released in Shanghai on July 24, 1937, Road Angel immediately became the highest-grossing film of the year and won numerous awards. Until now, there are still many world film masters who believe that the emergence of "Road Angel" is a miracle, and the "neorealist" artistic approach it embodies is much earlier than in Italy. Obviously, Yuan Muzhi has made great contributions in this.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1937, Yuan Muzhi was just like the song in the "Graduation Song" - taking on the rise and fall of the world. He actively participated in anti-Japanese propaganda activities and performed on the front line of the Anti-Japanese War. During this period, he organized the performance of the famous anti-war drama "Defending Lugou Bridge", and in 1938, he starred in "Eight Hundred Heroes" at the China Film Studio.
In 1938, Yuan Muzhi came to Yan'an with a yearning for light and formed the Yan'an Film Troupe. The former big star on the beach, like all eighth route army soldiers, put on military uniforms and leggings and began the creation of a large-scale documentary "Yan'an and the Eighth Route Army". This film not only truly reproduces the life scenes of the military and civilians in Yan'an, but also goes deeper behind the enemy lines, enters the battlefield, and shoots many precious historical shots. It has left the most authentic information for the scene of the military and the people fighting the war at that time.
In 1946, Yuan Muzhi and Chen Bo'er came to the northeast together and established the first film factory in New China, the Northeast Film Studio, in Xingshan (Hegang). It was also here that the first short feature film "Leave Him to Fight Old Jiang" in New China was born, the first translated film "Ordinary Soldier", the first feature film "Bridge", etc., and at the same time, a large number of choreographers and technical personnel and film stars were trained for New China.
Then, in February 1949, Yuan Muzhi came to Beijing and established the Central Film Industry Administration, where he served as its director. The first year of his presidency, 1950, brought about an unprecedented boom in China's film market. A large number of good movies have been filmed that are popular with the people.
However, at this time, his wife Chen Bo'er died of a heart attack on November 9, 1951, at the age of 44. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Yuan Muzhi. In the common battle and life, the two established a deep relationship, and in Yuan Muzhi's heart, Chen Bo'er has long been regarded as the most important person in life. After that, in March 1952, Yuan Muzhi left his post for physical reasons and formally submitted an application for resignation in 1954. Since then, Yuan Muzhi, who is only 45 years old, has gradually faded out of people's vision.
The second time we got his news, it was on June 30, 1978, that he died at the age of 69 due to a high fever caused by heat stroke.
In fact, after Yuan Muzhi left his post in 1954, he did not give up his artistic creation, and married the Kunqu opera actor Zhu Shiren, and gave birth to two women and a man after marriage. The eldest daughter, Yuan Munu, was admitted to the acting department of the Beijing Film Academy in 1978, and became a classmate of Zhou Lijing, Zhang Fengyi, Zhang Tielin, Fang Shu and others, and after graduation, she starred in many movies such as "The Girl with the Plate" and "Night Shanghai", becoming a well-known movie star in the 80s.
After that, Yuan Munu changed her career to directing, and has directed many film and television dramas such as "The Legacy of the Southern Tang Dynasty", "Whispers of wind chimes", "Children of the Earth" and won numerous awards. But she also died of illness on February 22, 2014, at the age of 57. Prior to this, on January 22, 2009, her mother Zhu Shiren also died of illness at the age of 74.
Although Yuan Muzhi has been away from us for a long time, his contribution to Chinese cinema is something we cannot forget. Especially when the songs of "Graduation Song" and "Volunteer March" sound again, we will always see his former shining figure on the screen. Here, let us pay tribute to this film master and the pioneer of new Chinese cinema.
But I wonder if you still remember this old image of Yuan Muzhi? Which of his works do you prefer? Go to the message area and let us know! This article is original by DJ Yaqing, please do not copy without permission! Violators will be prosecuted!