"Recollection of Lantern Flames" - Zhou Chulin Mo Yu's Memoirs

Author: Zhou Chu / Lin Muyu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Old friends reminisce about the time when the Chinese film industry held benefit performances in Beijing to aid Anhui and Jiangsu provinces. I had the privilege of meeting two old friends from the 1930s, the renowned director and film artist Liu Qiong and Shu Shi. We were both very happy to have the chance to reconnect and reminisce about the past. I remember it was autumn in 1940, in Shanghai, when the "Shanghai Drama Troupe," led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) underground organization, gathered a group of progressive theater workers. Their performances were supported by a wide audience but also destruction. Due to the isolated struggle and the large target, they were vulnerable to attacks. Therefore, under the advocacy and organization of the CPC underground Cultural Committee, with Ai Ying taking the initiative, a new group was formed with Ai Ying, Liu Qiong, Wu Yonggang, and others at its core, known as the "New Art Drama Troupe." This formed a coordinated effort to stage Ai Ying's plays, "Sea Country Heroes" and "The Legend of Yang E." At the time, Ai Ying, Wu Yonggang, and Liu Qiong invited me and Shu Shi to join the New Art Drama Troupe to engage in revolutionary artistic performances. Although we three were unaware that Ai Ying was a CPC member, we understood the political background of the New Art Drama Troupe. In our hearts, joining the New Art Drama Troupe meant participating in the revolutionary theater activities led by the CPC. We had resigned from our original jobs and risked persecution to join the New Art Drama Troupe. I remember when performing "Sea Country Heroes," Liu Qiong forgot his lines and instead played a "prank" on me and Shu Shi. In the play, Liu Qiong played Zheng Chenggong, while I and Shu Shi were the A and B alternates, playing the general Zhang Mingzhen. In one scene, Zheng Chenggong was in his camp, ordering troops and giving commands, saying, "General X, attack General Y,"