In 1942, Mao Zedong's "Speech at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art" put forward the viewpoint that literature and art should serve the workers, peasants, and soldiers, and literature and art should serve politics. Under the guidance of the spirit of the speech, the party has achieved unified leadership over the literary and artistic work in the Liberated Areas and better integrated the literary and artistic work with the revolutionary work. In 1956, at the Supreme State Council, Mao Zedong announced that "a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend" as the party's guideline for developing science and flourishing literature and art. Under the guidance of this policy, a large number of outstanding realist literary works represented by "Three Reds and One Innovation, Qingshan Baolin" (i.e., "Red Flag Spectrum", "Red Rock", "Red Sun", "History of Entrepreneurship", "Song of Youth", "Great Changes in Mountains and Countryside", "Defending Yan'an", and "LinHai Snow Field") have emerged, and these works reflect the difficult course of China's revolution and construction under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Showcasing the revolutionary romantic spirit of the Chinese people, these literary works came to be known as the "Red Classics". [1] At the same time, film adaptations of "Red Classic" literary works continued throughout the "Seventeen Years" period, and important adaptations of this period included: "White Haired Girl" (1951, directed by Wang Bin and Shui Hua), "The Biography of the New Children's Heroes" (1951, directed by Shi Dongshan and Lü Ban), "Railway Guerrilla" (1956, directed by Zhao Ming), "Song of Youth" (1959, directed by Cui Wei), "Red Flag Spectrum" (1960, directed by Ling Zifeng), "Honghu Red Guard" (1961, Directed by Xie Tian), "Little Soldier Zhang Ga" (1963, directed by Cui Wei), "Red Sun" (1963, directed by Tang Xiaodan), "Eternal Life in the Fire" (1965, directed by Shui Hua) and so on. During this period, a large number of "red classic" films combining revolutionary realism and romanticism emerged, which benefited from a large number of excellent literary works, which were characterized by first novels, then films, literature made films, and films spread literature, which can be described as complementary and complementary. Writers and film artists worked together to create a golden age of red classic films. There are a large number of literary and film works that tell the story of Shandong and expound the spirit of Shandong in the "Seventeen Years", and there is an unusual intimate relationship between Shandong and the "Seventeen Years" red classic film, on the one hand, it is determined by Shandong's important position and outstanding contribution in the revolutionary war years, on the other hand, Shandong's fertile red soil has cultivated a large number of outstanding writers and film artists, who have made important contributions to the "Seventeen Years" red classic film and left a unique Shandong imprint. Studying Shandong's important position in the history of "seventeen years" of red classic films is conducive to our inheritance of this precious revolutionary heritage and artistic wealth. This article focuses on reviewing and summarizing shandong in red classic movies, Shandong people in red classic movies and shandong contemporary main theme movies.
Shandong in the red classic movie
Shandong has a long history and splendid culture, Shandong has a martial spirit since ancient times, and heroes and heroes have emerged. In the feudal society, the peasant uprisings in Shandong rose and fell one after another, and many heroic figures appeared in history. "Water Margin" vividly shows the heroic spirit and fighting spirit of the ancient Shandong people, and makes the Shandong people gain a good reputation. The novel had a profound impact on the literature of later generations, including the creation of the "Seventeen Years" revolutionary historical novel. In modern times, Shandong has been bullied by the Western powers and The Japanese aggressors, and the people of Shandong have waged a tenacious and indomitable struggle; in particular, since the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the people of Shandong have heroically killed the enemy, repeatedly accomplished miraculous feats, and emerged many heroic figures and deeds that can be sung and wept, and have composed a tragic and magnificent history of the War of Resistance and revolution, which has made Shandong a fertile ground for "red classics." During the "Seventeen Years" period, there were many classic films showing the heroic resistance of the people of Shandong, the most famous of which were "Railway Guerrilla", "Mine Warfare", "Three Into the Mountain City", and "Bitter Cauliflower". These works are all adapted from real history, with the theme of resisting the enemy in the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, showing the heroic deeds of the military and people of Shandong, and shaping a group of brilliant and popular heroes, who, as outstanding representatives of Shandong's anti-Japanese heroes, have extensive influence and popularity throughout the country.
The film "Railway Guerrilla" is based on the novel of the same name written by writer Liu Zhixia (1918-1991, a native of Weihui, Henan, who has worked and lived in Shandong for a long time). In the summer of 1943, the Shandong Military Region held a provincial meeting of model combat heroes in Junan County. At the meeting, the anti-Japanese deeds of the railway guerrilla brigade in Lunan area aroused Liu Zhixia's desire to create. After the meeting, he crossed the blockade line twice and went to the Lunan guerrilla brigade for on-the-spot interviews. After the founding of New China, he came to the Lunan area many times to collect materials, and in 1952 he created a long novel "Railway Guerrilla". Liu Zhixia borrowed the writing method of the traditional Chapter Hui novel "Water Margin", portraying characters with the characteristics of national literature, vivid characters, stories with beginnings and endings, and clear clues, which caused a sensation as soon as the novel was published. In 1956, the Changchun Film Studio decided to bring "Railway Guerrilla" to the screen, which was also a success. Composer Lu Qiming drew on the characteristics of Shandong folk songs to create the theme song "Play My Beloved Earth Pipa", the song has a beautiful tone, optimism and exuberance, singing in all directions, and the film and song shine together, which greatly improves the aesthetic quality of the work. Since then, "Railway Guerrilla" has undergone two film adaptations in 1995 and 2016, becoming a typical text of the red classic film adaptation, illustrating the enduring vitality and wide audience of "Railway Guerrilla".
The movies "Mine Warfare", "Three Into the Mountain City" and "Bitter Cauliflower" are all films that reflect the theme of the War of Resistance in Jiaodong. Jiaodong area since ancient times strong folk customs, full of fighting spirit, here is the Ming Dynasty anti-Wu, Qing Dynasty Sino-Japanese naval war the main battlefield, modern times has become a colony of Germany and Japan, Jiaodong people hate the same enemy, in the fight against foreign insults showed a fearless spirit and heroism, wrote an important chapter in the history of the Chinese revolution. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, in order to strengthen the education and training of the militia armed forces, in 1962, led by the Military Training Department of the General Staff And the Bayi Film Factory, the story of the people of Haiyang County, Shandong Province, using self-made mines to fight against the Japanese Kou, was filmed in the form of a documentary as "Mine Warfare", which successfully shaped the group of heroes of mine warfare. Originally shot as a military educational film, Mine Warfare eventually became a classic war feature film, with its comedic style and revolutionary optimism deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. "Mine Warfare" was filmed in Zhao Yan Village, the main battlefield of mine warfare in Haiyang County, Shandong Province, and the actors were all selected from the Avant-garde Drama Troupe of the Political Department of the Jinan Military Region. "Three Into the Mountain City" and "Bitter Cauliflower" are both based on the anti-Japanese stories of the military and civilians in the Kuncheng Mountains, the revolutionary base area of Jiaodong, vividly showing the fearless spirit of the people of Jiaodong who dare to struggle and sacrifice, and shaping the glorious image of the military and people of Shandong.
Shandong people in red classic movies
The land of Qilu has bred many excellent screenwriters and directors, who have made outstanding contributions to the "Seventeen Years" red classic film. Some of them experienced the influence of the May Fourth New Culture Movement, and most of them, as revolutionary soldiers, participated in the revolutionary war and experienced the baptism of war. The cultural and psychological structure of these revolutionary artists is mainly forged by the culture of Qilu and the culture of the revolutionary base area, and these two cultural forms with idealistic characteristics have cultivated the distinct revolutionary idealistic creative orientation of the "seventeen years" Shandong filmmakers. The support of lofty ideals makes them full of vigor and pride, and their works depict the severe and tragic scenes of blood and fire and life and death on the front, and always sublimate the tragic sacrifices of heroic figures in their works into the ideal realm of lofty beauty. During this period, film artists had obvious ideological idealism, which not only had the encouraging force for readers' optimism, but also could not get rid of the influence of "left-leaning" cultural trends.
(1) Representative figure of red classic movies. As one of the leading figures of China's red classic films, Cui Wei (1912-1979) was an all-round film creator who combined actors, directors and screenwriters. Cui Song was born in Zhucheng, Shandong Province, and went to live with his parents in Qingdao at the age of 10, and his family was poor since childhood, and he worked as a child laborer. He successively entered Qingdao Lixian Middle School and Qingdao University, and became a student of Wen Yiduo and Shen Congwen, and a classmate of Zang Kejia. Because of his love of literature and art, he has become the backbone of the "Seagull Drama Club" of Qingdao University. The Seagull Drama Society is a "Left-Wing Drama Association" organized by the Qingdao Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Cui Wei, when he was a student, devoted himself to revolutionary drama activities with great enthusiasm, cooperated with Huang Jing and Li Yunhe, colleagues of the Seagull Drama Society, performed famous dramas such as "Put Down Your Whip", and actively publicized the anti-Japanese resistance. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Cui Wei took the initiative to resign from the administrative position and concentrate on the film business, in 1954 he starred in the movie "Song Jingshi", successfully playing the role of Song Jingshi, the leader of the Peasant Uprising in Shandong, because he was also a Shandong native, Cui Song was extremely suitable for the role from image to temperament. Cui Wei starred in China's first widescreen stereo color feature film "The New Biography of a Veteran", and created the classic artistic character Zhu Laozhong in the movie "Red Flag Spectrum", reaching the peak of his performing arts. Cui Wei has also made outstanding achievements as a director, and his co-directed "Song of Youth" with Chen Huaigao has achieved great success as a tribute film for the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the 1963 children's feature film "Little Soldier Zhang Ga" directed by him is a classic of Chinese children's films. Cui Wei gradually became the leader of red films, he represents the highest peak reached by Shandong people in the art of red classic films, and its transcendence is yet to be surpassed.
(2) Red classic filmmaker group. In the 1950s, Shandong literature in the early 1950s presented the natural integration of the mainstream socialist cultural form and the folk cultural form, the marriage of Shandong folk culture and revolutionary base culture, and its eye-catching literary creation of the theme of civilian heroes, making Shandong an important center of Chinese literary creation in the "seventeen years". In terms of shaping civilian heroes, Shandong writers seem to be at ease, creating many heroic novels, laying a good foundation for film creation. The representative figures of the writers and screenwriters in Shandong in the "Seventeen Years" include He Jingzhi, Qu Bo, Wang Wanjian, Sai Shili, Feng Deying, Liang Xin, and others; the common denominator of this group is that they participated in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the Liberation Revolution, most of them joined the army, experienced the baptism of blood and fire in the revolutionary war, had rich experience in war life, and were excellent writers and screenwriters trained by the party and the army. Most of their works are rooted in the life experience of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation in Shandong, and many of them are based on personal growth experiences, and some of the images they create can find the shadows of their hometown, locality and themselves.
He Jingzhi, born in 1924, is a native of Zaozhuang, Shandong. In 1945, together with Ding Yi and others, he collectively composed China's first new opera "The White-Haired Girl", which won the Stalin Literature Prize in 1951. This is a milestone in the development of new opera in our country. Wang Bin (a native of Changyi, Shandong) participated in the collective creation of the opera "White Haired Girl" in 1944, based on opera, and in 1950 co-directed the film "White Haired Girl" with Shui Hua.
Feng Deying, born in 1935, a native of Rushan, Shandong, is the author of the "Three Flowers Series": "Bitter Cauliflower", "Yingchun Flower", "Mountain Chrysanthemum". The author lives in the Kuncheng Mountains, the base area of the old revolutionary base in Jiaodong, and his novels are based on the author's family life in his youth, showing the heroic struggle of the military and people in Jiaodong against the Japanese and puppet sweeps and the Kuomintang army. "Bitter Cauliflower" was published by the People's Liberation Army Literary and Art Publishing House in 1958, and the film "Bitter Cauliflower" was filmed and released in 1965. The film successfully portrays Feng Da Niang, a heroic mother in the Jiaodong area.
Liang Xin (1926-2017), originally from Shandong, was born in Buyeo County, Jilin Province. In the summer of 1958, during the experience of life in Hainan, he created the famous film script "Red Girl Scout Army", which was later made into a film by director Xie Jin, which swept the country after being officially screened, and quickly set off a "girl army fever" in the north and south of the river. In addition, he also created classic film scripts such as "Bihai DanXin", "From Slave to General", and "The Great Wall of the South China Sea".
Qu Bo (1923-2002), a native of Longkou, Shandong. In 1957, he published his first novel, "Lin Hai Xueyuan", which was full of heroism and became a classic in the red classics like "Railway Guerrilla", with lasting artistic vitality. It has been adapted into movies, TV series, dramas, etc., of which the movie "Lin Hai Xueyuan" and the adapted Peking Opera "Wise Tiger Mountain" have had a very extensive and far-reaching impact.
Sai ShiLi (1919-2001), a native of Wenden, Shandong. In 1964, he created the anti-Japanese war novel "Three Into the Mountain City", which told the anti-Japanese deeds of the Anti-Japanese Base Area in Asan in jiaodong area, and was published by the Shandong People's Publishing House. In 1965, he adapted the novel into a film literary script, as a film commemorating the 20th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, which was brought to the screen by the Changchun Film Studio.
Wang Yuanjian (1929-1991), a native of Zhucheng, Shandong. In 1974, in cooperation with Lu Zhuguo, li Xintian (1929-2019, Suining, Jiangsu, who worked in Shandong for a long time) adapted the novel "Shining Red Star" into a film literary script of the same name, which won the second prize of the National Children's Literary and Artistic Creation Award after being made into a film, becoming a classic children's film. Strictly speaking, this film is not a work of "seventeen years", but the theme and style are a continuation of the "seventeen years" red classic.
Shandong contemporary main theme film
The main theme of the film is the "Seventeen Years" red classic film in the contemporary echo. After the "Cultural Revolution" began, red classic films were criticized from the ultra-left literary and artistic line, and China's film industry also entered a low tide. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, the ultra-left literary and artistic line was denied, the literary and artistic circles carried out chaos and rectification, the socialist cause entered a new stage of reform and opening up, and in the new historical period, Chinese cinema entered the main melody period. The main theme of the film promotes truth, goodness and beauty, lashs out at false evil and ugliness, carries forward the core values of socialism, and serves the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and its spirit is essentially still the development and continuation of the "seventeen years" red classic film. In the main theme film, on the basis of inheriting the fine tradition of "seventeen years", Shandong and Shandong people continue to play an important role, and many excellent films and outstanding filmmakers have emerged. With their talents and diligence, they continue to struggle for the cause of Chinese literature and art, and at the same time continue to add luster to Shandong and write more wonderful stories of Shandong in the new era.
Different from the "Seventeen Years" red classic film, the main theme film, in addition to reflecting the major historical events, pays more attention to the social microcosm and reflects the lives of ordinary people, and the lens begins to enter the daily life of the people from the grand war and revolutionary scenes, cutting into the family, marriage, and social relations; the shaping of revolutionary heroes turns to the depiction of socialist builders; from the vigorous war narrative to the happy life in the peacetime; from portraying the contradiction between the enemy and ourselves to focusing on the exploration of social problems, the overall style is high-spirited, Energetic and full of new atmosphere of the new era.
Entering the new period of reform and opening up, excellent main theme film works closely related to Shandong have emerged, and these works have either occurred in Shandong, such as "Xiyingmen", "Our Cow Hundred Years Old", "Blood Battle Taierzhuang"; or depicting Shandong model figures, such as "Jiao Yulu", "Kong Fansen", "Red Sister-in-law"; or created by Shandong writers, such as "Garland under the Mountain", "Red Sorghum", etc., most of which have both. These films show Shandong's regional culture, people's spirit and style of the times from different levels, and have distinct regional characteristics of Shandong.
Produced by Shanghai Film Studio in 1983 and directed by Zhao Huanzhang (a native of Lijin County, Shandong Province), "Our Cow 100 Years Old" tells the story of the implementation of the production contract responsibility system in rural Shandong, and the story of the communist party member Niu Baishi leading the members of the lazy han group to get rid of poverty and get rich together, fully demonstrating the new atmosphere of China's rural areas after the reform and opening up. The film is based on yuan Xueqiang's (Shandong Rong adult) novella "The Footsteps of Croppers", Yuan Xueqiang's Chengxiang Commune (Chengshan Wei Town) took the lead in implementing the co-production contract responsibility system in yantai (Weihai is a county-level city), and the film was filmed in the Rongcheng countryside. Xiyingmen is a 1981 family ethics drama produced by Shanghai Film Studio, which tells the life of peasant families in northern China in the early 1980s and celebrates the traditional virtues and socialist customs of our people. The film was widely acclaimed for its proximity to life. The film is also directed by Zhao Huanzhang and written by Xin Xianling (a native of Pingdu, Shandong). In October 1978, under the organization of the Weifang Regional Bureau of Culture, Xin Xianling went to the countryside to live in depth and gained creative materials and inspiration. Both films reflect the new face of Shandong's farmers and show the new rural atmosphere of Shandong as a large agricultural province.
Based on the novel of the same name by Li Cunbao (Rizhaoren, Shandong), Wreath of Flowers under the Mountain, directed by Xie Jin in 1984 and produced by Shanghai Film Studio, "Garland Under the Mountain" shows the tests endured by soldiers in the baptism of blood and fire in the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam. The film has shaped a number of characters with distinct personalities such as Liang Sanxi, Zhao Mengsheng, and Jin Kailai, causing a huge sensation, and has won a total of eight awards such as the Best Feature Film Award of the Hundred Flowers Film Award and the Golden Rooster Award for Best Screenwriter. The filming locations were the Yunnan Border Defense Front and the hinterland of Yimeng Mountain. "Blood Battle Taierzhuang" is a war film produced by Guangxi Film Studio, released in 1986. The film shows the grand scene of the Kuomintang army fighting the Japanese army in Taierzhuang in the spring of 1938 and achieving victory, which is the first film to positively reflect the Kuomintang Resistance during World War II, showing the determination and courage of the party to face history squarely in the new era. These two war-themed films have achieved sensational effects, one is to explore the microscopic nature of human nature in the grand war, and the other is an epic masterpiece that recreates history, which embodies the serious search for "truth" in the new period and is a vivid embodiment of the main theme of "emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts."
Jiao Yulu was released in 1990, produced by Emei Film Studio and starring Li Xuejian (Shandong Giant Wild Man). The film tells the touching deeds of Jiao Yulu (1922-1964, a native of Boshan, Shandong) who led the cadres and masses of the county to control the "three harms" and fight against the heavens and the earth during his work in Lankao. General Secretary Xi Jinping once commented on Jiao Yulu: "Comrade Jiao Yulu is an example for the secretary of the county party committee and a model for the whole party. Whether it was, is or will be, it will always be an indelible monument in the hearts of hundreds of millions of people. ”
"Red Sister- in-Law" was released in 1997. Based on Liu Zhixia's novel of the same name, the film tells the story of a peasant woman in Yimeng Mountain during the war years who saved a SOLDIER soldier with milk. The material for Liu Zhixia's novel comes from the real case of Ming Deying, a deaf-mute woman in Yinan County, who used milk to save the wounded of the People's Liberation Army. Since then, the novel has been successively adapted into the Peking opera "Red Sister-in-law" and the dance drama "Yi Meng Song". These two films show that Shandong people have a certain universal quality and sentiment, showing the family and country feelings and loyalty of Shandong people from party members and cadres to ordinary people.
Red Sorghum is a feature film produced by Xi'an Film Studio and released in 1987. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Mo Yan (Gaomiren of Shandong), the film is a classic work that shows the tenacious vitality and bloody and national spirit of the Gaomi people in the War of Resistance Against Japan. In 1988, the film won the Golden Bear Award at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival, becoming the first Asian film to receive the award. The film has made a deep breakthrough in artistry and ideology, which is an important step for Chinese films to go to the world after the reform and opening up, enhance the self-confidence of Chinese filmmakers, open the door for exchanges and dialogues between Chinese films and the world, and also push Shandong culture to the world.
Facing the prospect of a new era
Some scholars believe that the ideal spirit of Shandong writers in the 20th century experienced a development process from simple idealism, to ideological idealism, and then to idealism with humanistic spirit,[2] which is also the ideological trajectory experienced by Shandong filmmakers. Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the main theme of the film has ushered in an unprecedented period of development, from the creative vitality to the continuous expansion of the market scale, from the diversification of theme types to distinct personality characteristics, singing the main theme and carrying forward the core values of socialism have become the mainstream of film production. On the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the Party, reviewing and summarizing the history of shandong's red classic films in the "seventeen years" will help our artistic career to carry forward the past and open up the future. Facing the new era, Shandong film must undertake a new mission and achieve a new leap forward, and must adhere to ideals, attach importance to history, be close to the people, and face the world.
Adhering to ideals is to adhere to the aesthetics of literature and art, to maintain the independent value of literature and art, is to adhere to the spirit of Qilu culture, to carry forward the positive and enterprising idealistic spirit, in the new period, this ideal is to "lead the atmosphere of the times, to be the forerunners of the times, the forerunners, the pioneers, through more literary and artistic works with bones, morality, and temperature, carry forward the Chinese spirit, unite China's strength, and encourage the people of all ethnic groups throughout the country to march vigorously into the future." [3] Attach importance to history, that is, make full use of Shandong's rich cultural resources and thick historical resources, inherit the fine tradition of red classic films, remove the false and the true, remove the essence, make the old trees sprout new branches, and establish the unique cultural character of Shandong films in the new era. To be close to the people is to pay attention to the lives and destinies of ordinary people. In the creative practice of the new era, we implement the people-oriented thinking of "taking the people as the center", express the sense of distress about the survival of the nation and the heroic spirit of serving the people. Facing the world, that is, in this multicultural coexistence world, the development of film should be synchronized with the world, deeply integrated into the cultural family of world cinema, as General Secretary Xi Jinping said: "Heaven is the world's heaven, the earth is China's land, only by looking at the most advanced aspects of mankind, while sincerely facing the current reality of Chinese survival, we can provide Humankind with Chinese experience, and our literature and art can contribute special sounds and colors to the world." [4] Only by constantly reforming and innovating, innovating the old, keeping up with the pace of the times, grasping the theme of the times, improving cultural taste, improving artistic aesthetics, basing itself on the locality, looking at the world, and going abroad, can Shandong films create better and more fine films, promote the development and prosperity of Shandong culture, and build Shandong into a strong province of culture and film.
Note:[1] Most scholars believe that in 1997, the People's Literature Publishing House selected 10 novels reflecting major revolutionary historical themes, including "Gunshots in the Plains", "Stormy Rain", "Lin Hai Snow Field", "Defending Yan'an", etc., to form the "Red Classic Series" and became the origin of the later "Red Classic" title. [2] Wei Jian, "The Inheritance and Re-creation of Qilu Cultural Traditions by Shandong Writers in the 20th Century", Journal of Shandong Normal University (Humanities and Social Sciences Edition), No. 1, 2001. [3] [4] Xi Jinping, "Speech at the Forum on Literary and Art Work," People's Daily, October 15, 2015, 02 edition.
(Originally published in Shandong Art, No. 3, 2021)