Introduction to Thunderstorm

Original author: Cao Yu

Main character

Zhou Puyuan is the chairman of a coal mining company, and he is 55 years old.

Zhou Fanyi-his wife, 35 years old.

Zhou Ping-his ex-wife gave birth to a child, aged 28.

Zhou Chong-Fan Yi was born, age 17.

Lu Shiping-Park Won soon's wife, a school maid, is 47 years old.

Gui Lu-Zhou Zhai servant, 48 years old.

Lv Sifeng and Shi Pingnv, 18, Zhou Zhai's maid.

Son of Lu Dahai, Pu Pu and Shi Ping, coal miner, 27 years old.

[Main content]

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One summer in the 1920s, the climate was sultry, there was no sunshine outside, the sky was dark, and a storm was coming. The owner of Zhoufu has been busy with official business because of dealing with the miners' strike, and has not seen his wife after returning home. Sifeng, the maid in the living room, is filtering medicine. Her father Gui Lu even drank and gambled yesterday and owed money to others. He had the cheek to ask his daughter for money. "If you don't give it, I'll make your affair with that gentleman public." Sifeng had no choice but to give him money to send him away. Gui Lu was so happy that he told Sifengjun Zhou Ping that he had an incestuous relationship with his stepmother Fan Yi. Just then, Fan Yi walked into the living room and asked Sifeng about Mr. Zhou Ping. When the wife asked, she became more nervous. The wife invited her mother again, wondering what she was worried about.

At this moment, Fan Yi's son Zhou Chong came skipping. He told his mother that he wanted to give Sifeng half the tuition and let her go to school because he was madly in love with Sifeng. Just then, his drought-striken fields walked into the living room. He said that he would leave home tomorrow and go to the mine to talk to his father.

His drought-striken fields are the children of Zhou Puyuan and a maid of his family. At that time, he was a gentleman of a feudal bureaucratic family and fell in love with Mei Shiping, the daughter of his servant Ma Mei. Shi Ping gave birth to two sons for him. Because Zhou's father didn't agree with this marriage, he was kicked out of the house on the third day after giving birth to his second child. She braved the snowstorm with her child in her arms and jumped into the river. Hou Zhou's family moved several times.

Yi Fan is Zhou Puyuan's second wife. She is only seven years older than Zhou Ping. She is pale, with beautiful facial contour and melancholy eyes. She was neurotic and couldn't get any warmth, so she fell in love with weak Zhou Ping. Fan Yi asked Sifeng's mother Ma Lu to let her take Sifeng away and get his drought-striken fields back.

After lunch, the weather became more gloomy. His drought-striken fields went into the living room and made a sign. Sifeng ran in from the outside. They agreed to meet Sifeng at night 1 1. Fan Yi hopes that his drought-striken fields can be with him. She accused Zhou Ping of seducing her, so that her mother was not like her mother and her mistress was not like her mistress. Zhou Ping said coldly, "If you think you are not my father's wife, I will admit that I am my father's son." "I hope this conversation will be our last." She said to his drought-striken fields, "You can't just abandon me. I can't be bullied by the Zhou family for two generations. I want you to taste the power of a woman when she is injured. "

Ma Lu, accompanied by Sifeng, went to the living room. She is Mei Shiping who threw herself into the river. She was not dead, but saved. Later, she was married twice, both of which were inferior. She never imagined that thirty years ago, she served master Zhou, and thirty years later, her daughter served master Zhou again.

Zhou Puyuan walked into the living room, and Shi Ping's Wuxi accent caught his attention. After questioning, he recognized Shi Ping. Before that, he missed Shi Ping very much. Everything in the room was arranged according to Shi Ping's existence, but when Shi Ping stood in front of him, he snapped, "What are you doing here?" "Who sent you?" Shi Ping replied angrily: "Life, unfair life sent me here." Zhou Puyuan decided to settle their differences with money. Shi Ping tore a check for 5000 yuan in person, saying that she just wanted to meet his Pinger.

Then the strike representative Lu Dahai broke in. He is the second son of Shi Ping and Zhou Puyuan. Zhou Puyuan took out the contract and prepared to return to work. It turned out that he used money to buy off several other strike representatives and prepared to expel Lu Dahai. Lu Dahai revealed angrily that when he was building the Harbin River Bridge, he deliberately let the levee go out of danger, drowned more than 3,000 workers and made a fortune. His drought-striken fields slapped Lu Dahai, and Shi Ping saw the fatal tragedy of his father and son.

In the evening, there was lightning and thunder, and it was stormy. Zhou Chong's mother ordered her to send 100 yuan to Shi Ping. Sifeng refused to accept it, but Gui Lu had the cheek to accept it. Lu Dahai knew about it, returned the money to Zhou Chong with Gui Lu, and drove Zhou Chong out of the house. Also came to Lu's home in the rain. His drought-striken fields jumped into Sifeng's room from the window, followed by Fan Yi, who closed the window. The sea that went into the house to get things found Zhou Ping, and Sifeng fled in shame.

Shi Ping and Lu Dahai came to Zhou Mansion to find Sifeng. Shi Ping wants to take Sifeng home. Sifeng had to tell Shi Ping the truth. It was like a bolt from the blue that she was pregnant with Zhou Ping's child. They are half brothers. At the pleading of Sifeng, she promised to let his drought-striken fields take Sifeng away and never see them again.

Fan Yi took Zhou Chong to stop his drought-striken fields from taking away the four phoenixes, and Zhou Puyuan also heard the sound. He thought Shi Ping had come to recognize his son and asked his drought-striken fields to kneel down and recognize his birth mother. The harsh reality made Sifeng unbearable. She rushed to the garden and died when she touched a leaking wire. Zhou Chong was electrocuted to save her. His drought-striken fields shot himself, and two women went crazy.

[Creation background]

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Thunderstorm was written on 1933. Two years ago, the September 18th Incident of Japanese invasion of China just broke out. The whole country set off an anti-Japanese upsurge. Cao Yu also actively participated in anti-Japanese propaganda. Lu Dahai in Thunderstorm is the shadow of a thoughtful and intelligent young worker Cao Yu met in Baoding.

At that time, many excellent plays by Ibsen, a famous Norwegian writer, which exposed social darkness and pursued the liberation of human nature and women, had been introduced to China. Ibsen's thought had a great influence on Cao Yu. His graduation thesis in Tsinghua University was on Ibsen written in English. In addition, the plays of Shakespeare and ancient Greece also had a far-reaching influence on Cao Yu.

[Promotion, adaptation and performance]

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1July, 934, Thunderstorm was first published in the Literary Quarterly edited by Ba Jin.

1April, 935, China Drama Association (drama group for students studying in Japan) premiered for three times in the Kandahashi lecture hall in Tokyo, Japan. Wu Wei is a director. In August of the same year, the Solo Troupe of Tianjin Normal School performed Thunderstorm in the school auditorium, which was China's first performance. Subsequently, Shanghai Fudan Drama Club performed Thunderstorm directed by Ou Yangyuqian. At the same time, China's first professional drama group, China Travel Troupe, performed Thunderstorm in Tianjin, Shanghai and Nanjing successively.

1936, Japan published the Japanese version of Thunderstorm. In the same year, Yao translated Thunderstorm into English and published it by Tianxia Monthly.

1938, Shanghai Xinhua Film Company filmed Thunderstorm.

1944, Kim Gwangju translated Thunderstorm into Korean and performed 70 performances in Seoul. In the same year, it was translated into Vietnamese and performed in Vietnam.

From 65438 to 0947, Taiwan Province Audience Performance Company performed Thunderstorm in Taipei.

February 1954, The Actor Troupe of Shanghai Film Studio performed Thunderstorm, directed by Zhao Dan, with actors Wang and Wang Yi. In June of the same year, Thunderstorm was performed by Beijing People's Art Theatre, directed by, with actors such as,, Su Min,, silent film, Lv En, Hu Zongwen, Dong,.

1956, Thunderstorm was staged in Singapore Art Theatre, directed by Lynne.

1957, Thunderstorm was staged in nine theaters in the Soviet Union, with more than 2,000 performances.

1959165438+1October, Singapore Art Troupe performed Thunderstorm.

198 1 year, Shanghai Ballet adapted Thunderstorm for ballet performance.

From 65438 to 0984, Shanghai Film Studio filmed Thunderstorm again, directed by Sun Daolin, with actors including Sun Daolin, Gu, Qin Yi, Ma and Liang Tongyu.

1988 February, Singapore Practical Troupe performed Thunderstorm, and Xia Chun went to Singapore to direct the play for the troupe.

1999 10 Beijing People's Art Theatre will arrange Thunderstorm again, directed by Zhou Tiezhen, Pu Cunxin, Zheng Tianwei and Gong.

The Significance of Thunderstorm

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Thunderstorm is Cao Yu's first artistic life, and it also marks the maturity of modern drama. The publication of Thunderstorm shocked the literary world. At this time, Cao Yu was only 22 years old. In addition, his four classic masterpieces Thunderstorm, Sunrise, Yuan Ye and Peking Man all appeared on thousands of stages in various ways and were deeply interpreted by different people.

Thunderstorm makes full use of the "three unifications". The story of eight characters from two families in just one day involves past grievances, and it is still confusing. In the narrow stage, it not only highlights the contradiction between ethics and class, but also highlights the strong disharmony between individuals and the environment and the times, and completes the characterization in various fierce conflicts. In fact, tragedy has long been lurking in every line and every foreshadowing, and it only broke out at the last minute, turning into a downpour, which shocked everyone's soul extremely strongly.

The script is characterized by gripping plot, concise and implicit language, distinctive characters and extremely rich subtext. Like a sharp sword, it glides slowly on the reader's heartstrings, and the lingering sound does not stop. Thunderstorm pays special attention to sound and color effects in the description of natural scenery and portraits, and does not hesitate to express it with strong colors. At the same time, pay attention to the exaggerated treatment of the voice, smell and eyes of the characters.