The Anti-Jiangcheng Church is no stranger to many "old Chongqing people". All the way into the city from Zhongshan, a Chinese and Western-style two-story brick and wood structure standing near the Qixinggang Guanyinyan Bus Station is the Anti-Jiangcheng Church. This was the former "Red Flag Theater", a dance hall that anti-construction dance halls longed for in the 1980s. However, the most famous thing about Anti-Japanese War drama is that it is praised as the "Temple of Chinese Drama" by many people who have experienced the Anti-Japanese War drama.
Recently, after more than a year of renovation, this theater built in 1940 has reopened. Soon, the Chongqing Anti-Japanese War Theater Museum built in this theater will also welcome guests, allowing you to get to know Chongqing as the "performance" background. Why is the "Drama's War of Resistance" called the "Golden Years of Chinese Drama" by the Chinese drama history community?
Opening premiere of "Qixiangju Teahouse"
The current exterior view of the Anti-Japanese Church
Get off the Guanyinyan bus station and climb a gentle slope, and you will see a green tile pavement, tall and simple Chinese and Western-style buildings, and several golden The big characters introduce the building’s identity as “Anti-Building Hall”.
The young people in the surrounding communities do not know much about the history of the Anti-Jiantang Church. They only know that the community is called the Anti-Jiantang Community. In fact, the name "Anti-Jiantang" comes from the slogan of the people at that time: "The War of Resistance will be won, and the founding of the country will be achieved." , the inscriber of the theater is Lin Sen who once inscribed the name of Chongqing University.
Inner Courtyard
When you open the door of the theater, you will see the big characters "Temple of Chinese Drama", surrounded by famous dramas such as Tiger Talisman, Returning on a Snowy Night , Peking Man, and Thunderstorm. The relevant person in charge of the Chongqing Theater told reporters that after the fall of Wuhan, Chongqing became the new center and "base camp" of the Anti-Japanese War drama movement, and dozens or hundreds of theater troupes gathered in the mountain city. "But at that time, Chongqing had never had a dedicated theater performance venue, and the only decent one was the Cathay Theater."
In July 1941, Zhou Enlai took a group photo with Guo Moruo, who was the director of the Literary and Art Union, and deputy director Yang Hansheng.
In April 1940, Guo Moruo, then director of the Third Department of the Political Department of the Military Commission of the National Government, and Yang Hansheng, chief secretary, suggested to Comrade Zhou Enlai to build a theater specifically for drama performances to solve the problem of Chongqing's severe shortage of theater resources at that time. After discussion, it was decided to convert the second studio of the former China Film Studio located on the side of Zhongshan 1st Road into a theater. Hua Danni, wife of the famous director Shi Dongshan , was specifically responsible for the reconstruction project. After several months of construction, the Kangjian Hall was officially completed and opened on April 5, 1941.
Inside the building
The above-mentioned person in charge said that this anti-war period theater is a Chinese and Western-style brick and wood structure building. During the restoration, the principle of "repairing the old as before" was followed to strengthen and repair the exterior of the building, and at the same time renovate the interior. Including internal waterproofing, elevator renovation, audio and stage and many other aspects. On the first day that
opened, "Qixiangju Tea House" was performed in the nearly 400-seat theater of Kangjiantang, which was well received by the audience.
The museum received the guidance of Liu Housheng and Qin Yi
On the day of the opening of the anti-construction hall on April 5, 1941, the China Long Live Theater Company performed Ma Yanxiang's new four-act play "The National Thief Wang Jingwei". Shu Xiuwen, Zhang Ruifang and others participated in the performance. (File photo)
"On the day of the opening of the Anti-Jiang Hall on April 5, 1941, the China Long Live Theater Company performed Ma Yanxiang's new four-act play "The National Thief Wang Jingwei". Shu Xiuwen, Zhang Ruifang and others participated in the performance." The above-mentioned person in charge told reporters that the audience was very excited When I went to watch the show, the long queue to buy tickets stretched from the top of the Jingang Pagoda slope to the streets of Zhongshan 1st Road down the slope.
In the "Thunder and Lightning Ode" scene of "Qu Yuan", Jinshan plays Qu Yuan.
From April 1941 to 1945, Kang Jiantang staged a total of 33 large-scale dramas. In addition to "The National Thief Wang Jingwei", there were also " Tangdi's Flower " written by Guo Moruo and directed by Shi Linghe, and "Tiger Talisman" directed by Wang Ruilin. "; "Spring and Autumn of Heaven" written by Yang Hansheng and directed by Ying Yunwei ; "Rejuvenation of the Earth" written by Chen Baichen and directed by Ying Yunwei; "Beijingers" written by Cao Yu and directed by Zhang Junxiang, "Thunderstorm" directed by Jin Shan ", "Transformation" directed by Shi Dongshan, "Sunrise" directed by Su Yi; "Returning on a Snowy Night" written by Wu Zuguang and directed by He Mengxu, "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl" directed by Zhang Junxiang; original work by Zhang Tianyi, written by Shi Linghe, Zhang Ying, Wu Xiaobang Adaptation, "The Monkey King" (children's drama) directed by Shi Linghe, etc.
On October 26, 1941, "Peking Man" created by Cao Yu premiered at the Anti-Jian Tang Hall.
Anti-Japanese War drama is just a representative example of the Anti-Japanese War drama. According to statistics, from 1938 to 1946, professional and amateur theater troupes in Chongqing performed a total of 253 dramas of various sizes. Playwrights such as Guo Moruo, Cao Yu, Xia Yan, Yang Hansheng, Lao She, Chen Baichen, Wu Zuguang, and Song Zhi successively created A large number of masterpieces have been handed down from generation to generation, and outstanding directors and performing artists such as Ying Yunwei, He Mengxu, Jiao Juyin, Jin Shan, Zhang Ruifang, Bai Yang, Shu Xiuwen and Qin Yi have emerged. Cathay Theater and Kangjian Hall have become art temples admired by the audience. There is the famous "Foggy Season Performance".
In 1941, the China Youth Society premiered "Peking Man" at the Anti-Jiang Hall. The picture shows a scene between Jiang Tai (played by Geng Zhen) and Zeng Hao (played by Shen Yang).
In order to commemorate this period of history, a reporter from Upstream News·Chongqing Evening News Slow News learned that the Chongqing Anti-Japanese War Drama Museum is currently being built on the ground floor of the Anti-Japanese War Building Hall. The above-mentioned person in charge revealed that the museum’s exhibitions are mainly divided into four areas, and the exhibition content is divided into eight units with the theme of “The Golden Years of Chinese Drama—Chongqing Anti-Japanese War Drama History Exhibition”. For example, "Anti-Japanese War Drama Group", "Anti-Japanese War Drama Celebrities", "Anti-Japanese War Drama Famous Plays".
The above-mentioned person in charge told reporters that in order to enrich the museum's content, the person in charge also went to Jiang'an, the former site of the "National Drama College", and visited Liu Housheng, Qin Yi and other seniors who had experienced the Anti-Japanese War drama, and obtained their guidance.
Chongqing’s first local amateur drama group
Directions to the museum
“The museum not only has pictures and texts of characters and stills from that year, but also Ying Yunwei, Cao Yu, Chen Baichen, Xiang Kun, Zhang Yisheng and many other anti-Japanese war figures. Descendants of the actors donated physical objects, manuscripts, books, etc. "The above-mentioned person in charge said that the museum collected more than ten physical objects such as costumes, props, stage lighting, and sound effects equipment during the Anti-Japanese War; there were also items from Li Chang, Xue Dianjie, Hu Miaosheng, and . Many contemporary Chinese stage masters such as Gao Guangjian have led the creative production of stage models for classic Anti-Japanese War dramas such as "Returning Home on a Snowy Night" and "The History of the Qing Palace", as well as hundreds of research documents on Anti-Japanese War dramas.
Theater stage
"The Anti-Japanese War drama groups that gathered in Chongqing at that time included the All-China Drama Circles Anti-Enemy Association, the Anti-Enemy Drama Team and the Anti-Enemy Propaganda Team, Roaring Drama Club, Shanghai Movie Theater Troupe, Children's Theater Troupe, etc." Related to Chongqing Theater The person in charge told reporters that the Roaring Drama Club was the first amateur drama group in Chongqing at that time. It was established in Chongqing in September 1937.
The founders of Roaring Drama Club are Yu Keyi, Chen Shuliang (Chen Lang), Zhang Gongxu, Liang Shaohou, Zhao Mingyi, etc. Persons in charge are Yu Keyi and Chen Shuliang. The members of the drama club mainly come from amateur drama enthusiasts from Chongqing Electric Power Company, Chengdu-Chongqing Railway Bureau, and dramatists from Pingxi and Tianjin who fled to Sichuan.
The above-mentioned person in charge told reporters that everyone in Chongqing’s Anti-Japanese War dramas knew about Yu Keyi. He was the chief engineer of Chongqing Electric Power Company at the time. With Yu Keyi’s identity and income, he was enough to live a prosperous life in Chongqing. But most of his salary was spent generously on the theater career and supporting the life difficulties of the dramatists.
In addition to the official work of the power company and the daily management of the "Roaring Theater Club", Yu Kerji also undertook a very special "public welfare" - ensuring the power supply of major drama theaters in Chongqing.During the Anti-Japanese War, power was tight. With the convenience of working in the power company and his good network, he set up "guaranteed supply lines" for major theaters in the main city of Chongqing, ensuring that even if a temporary situation occurred, it could be solved immediately. Therefore, he is also called the "timely rain" by the dramatists to ensure the supply of electricity.
Collection of related books
In addition, the museum will also introduce a young master of the Yang family who is closely related to the "Chongqing Evening News" - Yang Zhongxiu . Yang Zhongxiu is a veteran newspaperman. He once participated in the founding of the "Chongqing Evening News" and served as a consultant. However, during the Anti-Japanese War, he also helped many drama clubs and dramatists. For example, when the Chinese Drama Society performed at the Cathay Theater for the first time, Mr. Yang persuaded his family to free up a two-story building for the drama troupe's cast and crew to stay "free of charge", allowing these foreigners who had no place in the city to feel at home. warmth.
Chongqing Evening News Slow News National Breaking Hotline: (023) 966988
——END——
Upstream News·Chongqing Evening News Slow News Reporter He Hao Intern An Lan Text Bi Keqin Picture
