Who is the author of Voices from the Ancient Pool?

Tian Han

Tian Han (March 12, 1898 - December 10, 1968), formerly known as Shouchang, was born on March 12, 1898 in Changsha County, Hunan Province. He was a playwright, opera writer, movie script writer, novelist, poet, lyrics writer, literary critic, social activist, and leader of literary work. He is the founder of modern Chinese theater. He is a multi-talented writer. Originally from Changsha, Hunan Province. He studied in Japan in his early years and began his theater activities in the 1920s, writing many famous plays and successfully adapting some traditional operas. He is also the lyricist of the national anthem of the People's Republic of China, the March of the Volunteer Army. During the Cultural Revolution, he was persecuted to death by the leftist social forces.

Biography and Creative Work

Tian Han was born into a poor family, and was influenced by Tan Sitong, Chen Tianhua, Huang Xing and other poets of the Nansha Society, as well as his uncle, Yi Xiang, in his adolescence, and was anti-imperialist and patriotic; he studied at Changsha Teachers' Training School in 1912, and was assisted by Yi Xiang to go east to Japan in 1916 and was admitted to the Tokyo Higher Teachers' Training School; he joined the Junior Chinese Society organized by Li Dazhao and others in 1919 and began to publish his works. In 1919, he joined the Junior Chinese Society in Tokyo, organized by Li Dazhao and others, and began to publish poems and commentaries. In the following year, he wrote the plays "The Ring of Lin and the Rose" and "A Night in the Coffee Shop", and in 1921, he organized the Creation Society with Guo Shujuo and Cheng Fangwu, advocating new literature, and in 1922, he returned to China, where he was employed by the Editorial Office of the China Bookstore in Shanghai, and in 1924, he and his wife, Yi Shuju, founded the "Southland Semi-Monthly Magazine," which published a one-act tragedy, "The Night of the Tiger," which was staged at various schools in Shanghai. After that, he taught in Changsha First Normal School, Shanghai University and Dafu University, and in 1926, he founded the Southland Film Drama Society in Shanghai with Tang Huaiqiu, and wrote and directed the filming of Going to the Folk, which was not yet finished.In the fall of 1927, he was appointed as director of the Literature Section of the University of the Arts in Shanghai, and was soon elected as the president of the university, and he prepared the dramas "Suzhou Night Tales" and "The Death of a Famous Talent", and so on. At the end of the year, together with Ouyang Yuqian, Tang Huaiqiu, Zhou Xinfang, Gao Baisui, etc. held the "Fish and Dragon Club" performance, the impact is quite wide. 1928, with Xu Beihong, Ouyang Yuqian set up the Southland College of the Arts, Tian Han served as the president and director of the literature. In the fall of the same year, the establishment of the Southland Society, to determine the "unite with the times **** itchy talented young people, for the revolutionary movement in the arts," the purpose. The young people of the Nanguo Society went out into the society and promoted the new theater movement with a wild spirit, and performed in Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and other places for many times. During the same period, Tien Han used the Nanguo Monthly and wrote plays such as The Voice of Gutan, Trembling, Returning to the South, Ward No. 5, Dancing with Fire, The Death of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, and Unanimity, as well as a series of articles on the theater movement.

Tian Han's early theatrical activities from 1920 to 1929 played an important role in laying the foundation for and developing China's emerging drama. In terms of dramatic literature, his creations were completely free from the influence of "civilized drama" and drew on the essence of Chinese opera and European and American drama, bringing Chinese drama to a new height as an independent literary form. The Night of the Tiger and The Death of a Famous Man are the peak works of this period. He founded the South China Society, one of the earliest professional drama groups, which pushed drama from the campus to the society, and played an active role in promoting and leading the popularization of drama and the development of the drama movement. The creations and performances of the Nanguo Society not only had a progressive social impact, but also cultivated a group of artistic backbones, which made an indelible contribution to the pioneering of the drama business.

Beginning in the winter of 1929, Tian Han took an active part in political activities while engaging in literary and artistic activities. in March 1930, he participated in the founding conference of the Chinese Left-Wing Writers' Union as one of the initiators, and was elected as one of the seven executive committee members headed by Lu Xun, and then participated in the China Freedom Movement Alliance. In April of the same year Tian Han published his famous Critique of Ourselves, openly proclaiming his turn to the proletariat. in June, the Nanguo Society was seized by the reactionaries, following the Art Drama Society. In order to further strengthen the unity of left-wing dramatists, the League of Left-Wing Theatre Troupes was reorganized into the League of Left-Wing Dramatists, of which Tian Han was one of the initiators and organizers. 1932, he joined the CPC, and from then on, he participated in the Party's leadership of literature and art, and successively acted as the secretary of the Party League of Theatre Troupes, and as a member of the Cultural Working Committee of the Central Bureau of the CPA in Shanghai. During this period, he wrote plays and dramas. During this period, he created a large number of works, such as the dramas "Plum Rain", "Chaotic Bells", "Seven Women in the Storm", and "The Song of Returning to Spring"; at the same time, he also entered the movie field with Xia Yan and Yang Hansheng, and wrote "Three Modern Women", "Young Women", and "The Three Women of Modernity" for the film companies "Yihua" and "Lianhua". Modern Women", "Youth March", "Sons and Daughters of the Wind and Cloud" and other progressive movie scripts for the film companies such as "Yihua" and "Lianhua", which gave a new look to the movie literature from the ideology to the art. In addition, he also composed famous songs such as "Graduation Song" and "March of the Volunteer Army", which were composed by Nie Er. This period was a time of comprehensive development of Tian Han's political enthusiasm and artistic talent, and he played a leading and promoting role in the development of left-wing cultural activities.

In February 1935, when the China*** Jiangsu Provincial Committee and the Shanghai Literature Committee were sabotaged, Tian Han was arrested and imprisoned along with Yang Hansheng and Du Guoziang, and later released on bail and placed under house arrest in Nanjing. In the autumn of the same year, after the North China Incident, Tian Han organized the China Stage Association with Ying Yunwei and Ma Yanxiang. in December, he invited actors from Shanghai, Beiping, and Tianjin, and held an 18-day public performance in Nanjing, in which he performed "The Song of Returning to Spring", "Armed Battles" (with Ma Yanxiang), "Before the Dawn", and "Floods", which were all written by Tian Han. During this period, the KMT government refused to participate in its work and to give financial subsidies. In the following year, he adapted and performed the 6-act play "Resurrection", wrote the one-act plays "Mother Abyssinia" and "Female Reporter", and the opera script "Battle of Tuqiao". in the spring of 1937, he adapted the 5-act play "The True Biography of AQ" based on Lu Xun's novel, which was premiered by the China Traveling Theatre.

After the July 7th Incident, the 5-act play "Lugou Bridge" was written and performed by the army. Soon after, a Chinese delegation arrived in Nanjing, examined Tian Han's performance after his arrest, and restored his organizational relations. in August, Tian Han went to Shanghai, and participated in the work of the cultural sector to save the lives of the people. After the fall of Shanghai, Tian Han went to Changsha and returned to Wuhan to engage in anti-Japanese united front work in the theater sector. in December, Wuhan staged a joint performance of "The Last Victory", and then set up the All-China Drama Association Against the Enemy, of which Tian Han was one of the main organizers and drafted the founding manifesto. in early 1938, according to the "resolution" of the Association, Tian Han, together with Ma Yanxiang, Liao Moxian, and other members, organized an event in the city of Wuhan. In early 1938, according to the "resolution" of the Anti-Enemy Theater Association, Tian Han, Ma Yanxiang and Liao Mosha edited and published the semi-monthly "Anti-War Drama". Later he went to Changsha and organized the Changsha Anti-war Daily, and wrote an article clearly stating that "the route of drama movement at the present stage is the guerrilla warfare of drama", calling on drama workers to fight for national liberation. in February 1938, Tian Han was invited by Zhou Enlai to join the Third Department of the Political Department of the Military Commission of the State*** Cooperation in Wuhan, and served as the director of the Sixth Division in charge of art propaganda work, together with Hong Shensha. In November 1938, Tian Han was evacuated from Wuhan to Changsha, where he united with Hunan opera artists to stage anti-Japanese and national salvation performances, and personally wrote opera scripts such as New Yanmen Pass, Fishing Songs of Jianghan, and Yue Fei etc. In 1940, Tian Han was summoned by the Third Office to Chongqing, where he founded the Drama Theatre with Ouyang Yuqian, Du Xuan, Xu Zhiqiao, etc. He was also the founder of the Drama Theatre. During this period, he and Ouyang Yuqian, Du Xuan, Xu Zhiqiao founded Drama Spring and Autumn, which was published in Guilin; Tian Han presided over the "Symposium on National Forms of Drama" and "Symposium on Historical Drama" successively, which had a great influence. After the "South Anhui Incident", Tian Han left Chongqing and lived in Nanyue, Hunan Province for nearly half a year, then went to Guilin to engage in anti-war theater activities, and led the formation of the New China Drama Society and the Peking Opera, Xiang Opera and other folk anti-Japanese drama groups under extremely difficult conditions. In the spring of 1944, Tian Han and Ouyang Yuqian hosted the first Southwest Drama Exhibition in Guilin, reviewing the anti-Japanese and progressive drama team and a large number of excellent plays performed in the Kuomintang-ruled area, which greatly promoted the unity of the drama team and the insistence on the progressive drama movement.

After the victory of the war, Tian Han returned to Shanghai in the spring of 1946 and devoted himself to the democratic movement against the reactionary rule of the Kuomintang, writing plays and movies such as "The Lillies", "Memories of Jiangnan" and "Spring and Autumn in the Pear Garden".

During this period, Tian Han mainly organized and led theatrical performances in his public capacity. In addition to the drama groups formed by new literary and art workers, Tian Han paid more attention to the unity of opera artists and the use and transformation of the traditional forms of nationalities, and widely mobilized all kinds of forces in the drama world to devote themselves to the anti-Japanese salvation and to the campaign for democracy and against the civil war.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Tian Han served as the director of the Opera Improvement Bureau of the Ministry of Culture and the director of the Arts Business Administration. He closely united the majority of theater workers and did a great deal of work to strengthen the theater team and prosper theater creations. He actively promoted the reform of opera and the development of traditional opera art. At the same time, he also wrote the dramas Guan Hanqing and Princess Wencheng, and adapted the operas The Legend of the White Snake and Xie Yaohuan, etc. In 1964, he was attacked and framed by Zhang Chunqiao and Kang Sheng. On December 10, 1968, he was persecuted to death during the Cultural Revolution.

Tian Han spent his whole life in literature and art, writing more than 60 plays and operas, 20 movie scripts, 24 opera scripts, and nearly 2,000 lyrics and poems in old and new styles. The March of the Volunteer Army written by him was composed by Nie Er and sung throughout the country, and was designated as the national anthem of the People's Republic of China. He was not only the founder of China's revolutionary drama movement and the pioneer of the opera reform cause, but also the outstanding organizer and creator of China's early revolutionary music and film business.

Tian Han was the vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the chairman of the Chinese Dramatists' Association; he was also elected as a delegate to the First and Second Chinese People's Congresses, and a member of the Fourth Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Major Masterpieces

The one-act play The Night of the Acquired Tiger is one of Tian Han's best early one-act plays. Set in a mountain village in Hunan province in the aftermath of the Xinhai Revolution, it depicts the story of a wealthy hunter, Wei Mou, who disliked the poor and loved the rich, forcing his daughter, Lian Gu, to break off her romance with her cousin, Huang Dazhou, to marry another man. Huang Dafu misses his cousin, and every night he climbs up the mountain to see Lian Gu's lights go out. One night Wei placed a gun on the mountain to hunt for tiger skins for his daughter's dowry. Huang Dazhou mistakenly hit by the gun, in Huang's life-threatening Lian Gu insisted on not leaving. Wei Mou forcibly separated the two, and beat his daughter. Huang Dazhou kills himself in anger. Through this marital tragedy, Tian Han expresses the pain and pursuit of the youth at that time, exposes the dark and authoritarian feudal forces, and embodies the spirit of radical democratism. Through the portrayal of Lian Gu and Huang Dafu, the play enthusiastically glorifies the spirit of resistance of young men and women in their pursuit of freedom and their love for each other till death do us part.

The 3-act play "The Death of a Famous Man" is Tian Han's masterpiece in the Southern China period. The play depicts the famous Peking Opera actor Liu Zhensheng, who treats the art seriously and pays attention to the virtue and character of the play, and whose apprentice Liu Fenxian is corrupted by the hooligan bully Yang Dazhong after she has become a famous person. Liu Zhensheng insists on justice and rises up to fight, and under the oppression of the evil forces, he falls sick of resentment and collapses on the stage. The artistic image of Liu Zhensheng is a real and vivid artistic model, which summarizes the suffering of opera artists in the old society, taking the death of Liu Hongsheng, a famous artist in the early years of the Republic of China, as the material. The characters of Liu Fenxian, Zuo Baoqui, and other characters in the play are also written with full flesh and blood, which is a reflection of the maturity of the playwright's artistic creation. With these artistic images, Tian Han exposes the suffocating forces of darkness, criticizing not the ugliness of money and snobbery, but the entire social system in which hooligans, bullies, and bureaucrats are able to thrive. Although it is a tragic ending, it is not a lonely quest and personal destruction, but the struggle and gradual awakening of people. The Death of a Famous Man, with its naturalistic and profound language, premiered in the winter of 1927 at the Shanghai Pear Garden Public House, with Hong Shen as Liu Zhensheng, Yang Wenying as Fengxian, Zuo Ming as Zuo Baokui, Ou Xiaofeng as Xiao Yulan, Tang Huaiqiu as Master Yang, and Chen Baichuan as the reporter.

The one-act play "Chaotic Bells" was written in early 1932 and premiered in Shanghai by the Avenue Theater Company. The play reflects that on the night of September 18, 1931, students of Northeastern University, upon hearing the news of the Japanese attack on Shenyang and the shelling of the North Camp, rang the bell and assembled generously to go to war, mercilessly lashing out at the Kuomintang government's surrender of the "doctrine of non-resistance". This is a mass drama, the author through the young students of the ideological awareness of the step by step, cleverly from the side of the reactionary authorities of the capitulation and the whole country's people resolute resistance to the war in sharp confrontation. The writer expressed the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggle of the people with great vigor and passion, and put forward the slogan of "joining hands with the workers, peasants and citizens for armed self-help", which was a characteristic of the new stage of Tian Han's creation. Because of the writer's prompt and timely expression of the nation's will to struggle, "The Troubled Clock" played a great role in propaganda and agitation.

The 3-act play "The Song of Returning Spring" was written at the end of 1934 and premiered in January 1935 by the Shanghai Stage Association. The play portrays the moving characters of patriotic youths Gao Weihan and Mei Niang. Gao Weihan, who used to teach in Nanyang, said goodbye to Mei Niang, an overseas Chinese student whom he fell in love with after the September 18th Incident, and returned to China to join the anti-Japanese war. He was seriously wounded in the battle of Shanghai on January 28th. Meiniang breaks free from the bondage of her feudal family and returns to China to participate in ambulance work. The play combines the loyal love of young people with the noble patriotic feeling of national liberation, and combines the sad and happy encounters of the main characters with the passionate scenes of mass struggle, thus opening up new horizons. The plot and characterization of the script are relatively simple, but the author is good at lyricizing emotional scenes and setting up situations to make patriotic feelings and pure love extraordinarily exciting.

The multi-act play "Lillian's Walk" was written between the end of 1946 and the spring of 1947. The script was written about Liu Jinmei, a female worker, who was humiliated by Japanese soldiers and, with the closure of her factory and her family's lack of means of livelihood, was forced to fall into a situation where she was almost driven to the brink of extinction. Her ordeal exemplifies the suffering of women in the middle and lower classes of a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. Liang Ruoying, an intellectual woman, aspires to revolution and has a certain sense of justice, but is unable to withstand the pain and suffering, and is weak and complacent. After leaving her revolutionary husband, Zhang Yuliang, she cohabits with a banker, Wang Zhongyuan, until she is abandoned by Wang and gradually awakens. Li Xinqun, a new woman, not only has the courage and wit of a revolutionary, but also helps Liu Jinmei, a female laborer, and guides Liang Ruoying with deep sympathy. The reality of life again makes the three women come together to meet the struggle for the victory of the war of resistance. Although the script is written about Shanghai during the war, it actually reflects the atrocities of American imperialism and the darkness of the KMT secret service rule. The author organically intertwines the destinies of three women to reveal the social reality after the "tragic victory" in a broad and profound way.

In 1958, to commemorate the world cultural celebrity Guan Hanqing, Tian Han wrote a 12-act play Guan Hanqing, which takes the writing and staging of Dou'e Grievance as a clue to the unfolding of conflicts, and portrays the artistic image of Guan Hanqing, the fighting dramatist of the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Xiaolan, a simple and kind-hearted girl, resists being abused by an evil slave and is framed and executed by a stolen official. Guan Hanqing was so enraged that he wrote the tragedy Dou'e Grievance with the support of Zhu Lixiu, a kabuki, and others. The powerful Alma saw Guan Hanqing's intention to use the play to criticize the current political situation, and forced him to change the script or else he would not be allowed to perform it. Guan Hanqing refused to change the script. Zhu Lianxiu, who was a self-sacrificing person, assumed the responsibility for the performance. The script also wrote a cynical Sai Lixiu, witty and funny and love and hate Wang and Qing, righteous and fierce Wang Zhu and other characters to reflect the main characters, but also wrote a vicious and despicable Hao Zhen and opportunistic shameless literati Ye Hefu as a contrast. Existing historical documents on the life of Guan Hanqing very little information, Tian Han comprehensively analyzed the political and economic situation of the Yuan Dynasty society and people's lives, through the study of the ideological and emotional works to grasp the ideological character of Guan Hanqing, so as to write the relationship between him and the masses of the people are closely connected to write his abhorrence of the darkness, defiance of the power and the spirit of the struggle of the chastity and indomitable. The script is not bound by historical facts, but also fits in the historical reality, and expresses Guan Hanqing's dramatic art activities on the background of class struggle and national struggle, and writes out his most valuable character of struggle. The artistic image of Guan Hanqing summarizes the tradition of struggle of the progressive literati in Chinese history, and is also infused with Tian Han's lifelong experience of fighting for the cause of Chinese drama. The play embodies the usual characteristics of Tian Han's creative work: rich imagination, passionate poetic feelings, and a persistent sense of historical justice. With its complete structure, detailed descriptions and refined language, the play is recognized as the peak of Tian Han's theatrical creation and a monument in the history of Chinese drama. Guan Hanqing was premiered by the Beijing People's Art Theater in 1958. Directed by Ouyang Shanzun and others, Diao Guang Qin played Guan Hanqing and Shu Xiowen played Zhu Lixiu.

Princess Wencheng was written in 1960 to promote the unity and cooperation of all ethnic groups in a socialist society by glorifying the friendly relations of ethnic groups throughout history. In the 7th century A.D., Songtsen Gampo, the British lord of the Tubo, repeatedly sent envoys to propose marriage, and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty adopted Wei Zheng's policy of peace and decided to betroth Princess Wencheng, a daughter of the royal family, to Songtsen Gampo. Inside the Tubo, Songtsen Gampo and Ludongzan, the envoys of the Tubo, are in favor of peace and marriage, while the ministers Omerazan and Gongteng are in favor of war and resistance to the marriage. The whole drama unfolds in the midst of sharp and complicated conflicts. From Chang'an, Princess Wencheng and her entourage overcame the hardship and cold of the road, overcame the conspiracy of Gongteng and others to sabotage, and in the end, the Tang and Tomato were reconciled, and the marriage between Princess Wencheng and Songtsen Gampo was finally finalized. Princess Wencheng is well versed in literature and history, and also good at martial arts, has the ambition of "benefit and happiness of the border people", at the same time, she is a young woman who grew up in the court without experience, lack of experience in dealing with complex conflicts, and is full of feelings of attachment to the departed mother and homeland. The script writes in vivid details the process of Princess Wencheng's character maturity and development, and also fully expresses the spirit of the Han people's unswerving pursuit of national reconciliation. Songtsen Gampo, who was ambitious and determined to join hands with the Tang Dynasty, was not confused by sycophants and was calm and dignified, and finally found out the truth and won the victory. This is a rare image of a leader of a brotherly nation in a theater work. The play is rich in legendary colors and portrays characters in the ups and downs of the plot. The play was premiered by the Chinese Youth Art Theater in Beijing in 1960. Directed by Jinshan, Wu Xue played Songtsen Gampo and Zheng Zhenyao played Princess Wencheng. Because of their great intellectual and artistic achievements, Princess Wencheng and Guan Hanqing have been called the twin jewels of Tian Han's artistic creation in his later years.

Tian Han has always attached great importance to the historical achievements and social role of traditional opera art. 1943, Tian Han had adapted the traditional mythological drama "The Legend of the White Snake" into a 25-act Peking Opera called "The Golden Mantle"; in 1958, he revised the script again and restored the original title of the drama "The Legend of the White Snake," which emphasized the theme of opposing feudalism, developed the mythological coloring of the story, and sang the lyrics in a fluent and graceful way, reaching a new level. 1961 In 1961, the Peking Opera Xie Yaohuan, adapted from the script of Female Inspector, depicted the story of Xie Yaohuan, who, during the reign of Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty, was instructed to inspect the south of the Yangtze River in disguise, and fought resolutely against the local powerful and the traitors Lai Junchen and Wu Sanshi, reflecting the hardships and struggles of the masses, and the aesthetics embodied in this historical tragedy was in line with the play Guan Hanqing, which was the last masterpiece of Tian Han's theatrical creation. The Resurrection