In a unique way, the play “Children of Heroes” sang the fearless heroism of volunteer soldiers who sacrificed their lives to defend their home and country.Photo by reporter Ye Chenliang
Mao Shian
■During the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, the heroic city of Shanghai and the heroic Shanghai people did their best to defend the peace of the motherland together with the soldiers on the front lines. Thousands of ordinary citizens shone with heroic brilliance.The drama “Children of Heroes” was born in Shanghai, at the right time and as a matter of course. It is a testament to the profound history.
■Heroism has always been Shanghai and the most precious spiritual wealth of the Republic. From Wang Cheng, Wang Fang, and heroes and sons and daughters, we feel the fearless heroic temperament under the light of ideals. This temperament is just right It is the inexhaustible spiritual source of our nation and our country toward the future.
In the 1950s, the snow-white and blood-red heroic feats composed with youth and life, the long-shadowed film “Heroes and Children” written by Ba Jin’s novel “Reunion” in the 1960s, and the Shanghai drama “Heroes and Children” in the new era of the 21st century, are in the same line. The moving stories of the solemn and tragic moments in history have constructed our immortal cultural and artistic memory in different time and space.
A few months ago, I got the news that the Shanghai Drama Art Center was creating and arranging the drama “Children of Heroes”, and I felt a little uneasy in my heart – novels and movies come first, how should the drama climb over the two insurmountable mountains in front of you? After watching the premiere, all the audience and I stepped out of the theater. Under the starlight, I was still reminiscing regarding the group portraits of heroes and sons and daughters standing in the billowing smoke on the stage. Despite the debut, there are bound to be unfamiliar things, but I was very excited to send a WeChat message “Victory in the first battle”.
The first victory of the play “Children of Heroes” lies in the fact that the original novel and film provided a solid life experience and artistic foundation, but the more important reason for the victory is that the stage of the whole play presents temperament, passion and humanity. The works strive to stand at the height of the new era, and dig deeper into the spiritual connotation of novels and movies. In Balao’s novels, the heroism of Wang Cheng and Wang Fang is wrapped in the rich and heavy feelings of brothers and sisters, fathers and two generations. The movie of the same name chooses to highlight the heroism and drive the warmth of the world. The drama combines these two parts in the At the same time, it further enriches the spiritual world and ideal sentiment of the characters. “Why is the battle flag so picturesque? The blood of heroes dyes it red.” In its own unique way, the play sings praises for the fearless heroism of the volunteer soldiers who sacrificed their lives to defend their homeland and the country. Carefully preserved and enhanced in the movie, Wang Cheng stands alone on an unnamed highland. In the desperate situation surrounded by the enemy, he shouted “fire at me”, rushed to the enemy with a blasting tube, and perished with the enemy. The classic moment of heroism. ; And on the eve of the war, in the smoke of gunpowder and the rumbling of cannons, Wang Cheng and Xiao Sichuan swore an oath in a narrow tunnel, the solemn scene of joining the party in the line of fire, a simple red flag reflected their youthful faces; Wang Chenghe Wang Fang, Xiao Sichuan, the leader of the cultural and art team Ling Guanghua, the soldiers and the members of the cultural and art troupe signed and read the life-and-death agreement word by word. With a hearty song of heroism, the play aroused the passion of heroism in the hearts of the audience. Heroism is the spiritual strength of human beings to overcome all difficulties. The hero theme is the immortal protagonist of the earliest myths and epics of human beings, and it is also the eternal motif of Chinese and foreign literature and art in ancient and modern times. The spiritual power of breath.
From this extension, the drama gives heroism a more everyday and life-like interpretation. In order to rescue his comrades who were injured, Wang Fang compared with his brother Wang Cheng who died, and was distressed that he was not an “earth-shattering” hero. Political commissar Wang Wenqing enlightened her and said, “What regarding your father? He has worked all his life and suffered for half his life. But he is loyal to his work and has contributed everything. Isn’t he a hero? Each of us is in the most ordinary job. He is a hero if he does his own work conscientiously and makes contributions to the motherland.” It can be seen that heroism is not only a feat of “giving up on one’s life to preserve peace” at a critical moment in the war years, but also an ordinary dedication in the era of peace-building. It is also a kind of simple heroism. Vigorous and famous Qing Shi is a hero, and obscurity and hard work are also heroes. This also enabled Wang Fang to create the song “Heroic Hymn”, which is “The thunder and the golden drum are struck on a sunny day, and the waves of the sea make harmony”. The play is very prominently preserved at the end of the whole play, and the immortal song “Heroic Hymn” that has been resounding for 60 years is sung repeatedly.
The drama “Children of Heroes” has the full spiritual radiation of the glorious group of heroes, as well as the delicate description of human warmth. Heroes are not abstract symbols that reject the fireworks of the world, frosty abstract symbols, nor empty preaching, but live respectable and amiable “people” living around us. Heroes not only shake our hearts with their extraordinary will and feats, but also warm and move us with their most ordinary humanity. As screenwriter Yu Rongjun said, “On the stage, Wang Cheng is not only a hero who sacrifices his life to protect his family and the country, but also a son and brother who has deep feelings for his family. And Wang Fang is not only a lively and lovely member of the art troupe. The heroic temperament has also been activated.” Wang Fang’s father and political commissar Wang Wenqing and his daughter were separated 20 years later, respecting the feelings of his adoptive father Wang Fubiao, restraining the surging family affection, and denying his biological daughter. Wang Fubiao went to the DPRK to offer condolences and endured the grief of his son’s sacrifice. It greatly enriches the connotation of the ethical emotion of “reunion”. The drama humanizes the hero and fully explores the emotional world that young soldiers love and yearn for a better life. From the beginning of Wang Cheng’s journey south and north to the DPRK to write letters to his sister to the unexpected encounter on the Korean battlefield, Wang Cheng and Wang Fang’s brothers and sisters were deeply concerned on the battlefield, the sister’s coquettishness, and the brother’s generous care; Wang Cheng and Xiao Sichuan , Wang Fang and the comrades-in-arms of the art troupe; Xiao Sichuan has always cherished the orphanage growing up together, and he secretly fell in love with the photo of the girl who lied as “sister”. Ling Guanghua, head of the cultural and artistic team: If you are “honorable” in the battle, you must bury the photo of “sister” with yourself… Youth burns like a fire on the stage for a long time.
Stage art is different from novels that use literary language to develop imagination, and it is also different from movies that are narrated by montage of sound and light screens. The aesthetic power of stage art lies in the comprehensive saturation of actor performance, sound, and stage beauty in live performances, and then reaches the stage. The “field effect” in which the audience, the actors and the audience empathize with each other. The director of the drama “Heroes and Sons” mobilized the means and energy of stage art in the 21st century, and went all out to reproduce the epic historical face of the 1950s. In the limited stage space, with the help of stage beauty, lighting, sound, and multimedia, he restored and strengthened it. The icy sky and snow of the Chinese People’s Volunteers filled the war-torn Korean battlefield. As a result, it brings the audience an aesthetic experience that is completely different from novels and movies. For example, in the seventh scene, a red chasing light was projected onto Wang Cheng in the upper left corner of the stage, a shocking rendition of Wang Cheng’s “hands clasping the blasting tube / angry eyes spewing fiery blood / enemies rotting into mud / warriors becoming brilliant gold stars”. screen. In the lower left corner of the stage is the simple frontline headquarters. The division political commissar Wang Wenqing and the head of the regiment are calling Wang Cheng loudly and urgently. In stage art, once it meets the audience in the theater, the actor is the focal point of all aesthetic focus. In the drama “Heroes and Children”, the passion of the volunteer heroes burns the actors, and at the same time, the passion in our hearts is ignited through the passionate performance of the actors. I especially like the young actors He Mengjie and Liu Xuanrui who play Wang Fang and Wang Cheng. They portrayed the youthful, ideal, pure and lovely images of the youth of the Republic in such a sincere and natural way. Across 70 years of history, I saw the warm embrace of the youth of the present and the youth of history, and the sincere dialogue between the souls of young people in different eras. “There is light in their eyes, and they are so clear.” Including every extra who shuttled across the stage is entering the role, and every fighter has a light in his eyes. Where there is light, there is the power of infection. “For victory, shoot at me!” Wang Cheng shouted hoarsely with all his strength. After his brother sacrificed, Wang Fang recalled every bit of the brother and sister together. Sitting at the front of the stage and sobbing for a long time, it was very moving. This is a group of respectable and credible “cutest people”. The above is a sufficient reason for me to watch the drama “Heroes and Children”.
During the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, the heroic city of Shanghai and the heroic Shanghai people did their best to defend the peace of the motherland together with the soldiers on the front line. Thousands of ordinary citizens shone with heroic brilliance. The drama “Children of Heroes” was born in Shanghai at the right time and as a matter of course. It is a testament to the profound history. Shanghai, the birthplace of the Communist Party of China, is a great city that has made dedication and sacrifice for every step forward of modern China. As the eldest son of the Republic, it has always stood up and shouldered heavy burdens when the country encountered difficulties. This is the most splendid chapter of heroism in Shanghai’s urban spirit, and it is also a deep echo of the times. During the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, Shanghai made a strong voice of the times, “You want people, money, money, materials and materials, and what you want.” More than 18,000 Shanghai youths joined the Volunteer Army, of which 1,683 died in North Korea. Along with the volunteer soldiers who went to the Korean battlefield, there were more than 800 medical staff, more than 1,200 drivers, and more than 4,300 railway workers from Shanghai. Heroism has always been Shanghai and the most precious spiritual wealth of the Republic. From Wang Cheng, Wang Fang, and heroes and sons and daughters, we feel the fearless heroic temperament under the light of ideals. This temperament is exactly the Our nation and our country are an inexhaustible spiritual source for the future.
The victory in the first battle is not a complete success. As a premiere play, there are still many places that can be modified. I expect that the play “Children of Heroes” will carry forward the heroic spirit, constantly revise and polish, and strive to make the play “Children of Heroes” an excellent play in the new era.
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责编：张晓荣 ]
