Chapter 58 Part Four: Regrets in the Film World: Unfinished Films of Famous Actors A Glimpse of Unforgettable Songs

As early as one year ago in 1963, when Foreign Minister Chen Yi accompanied Guinean President Segur to visit Shanghai, the "Shanghai Spring" concert was held in Shanghai that year.When Foreign Minister Chen Yi accompanied President Segur to watch the special show named "Asia, Africa and Latin America", Segur couldn't help but shed tears with mixed feelings. He said affectionately to Mr. Chen: "The French invaders have ruled us for so many years. , their band has never played our music, and today the Chinese have done it, I am very touched..." Afterwards, Mr. Chen solemnly told the leaders in charge of Shanghai's cultural propaganda work and one of the main organizers of the "Shanghai Spring" Comrade Meng Bo said: "...your music has helped our diplomatic work."

On May 23 of the following year, in order to welcome the 15th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the grand opening ceremony of the "Shanghai Spring" concert was held. , It can be described as well-intentioned.On the famous Ten Thousand People Cultural Square in Shanghai, more than 3,000 professional and amateur musicians and dancers from Shanghai and several provinces in East China performed a song and dance party—the large-scale song and dance "Singing and Forging Under Mao Zedong's Banner", which is full of revolutionary passion and magnificent momentum It is spectacular, among which there are hundreds of professional musicians, and amateur actors from cultural palaces and museums in the city and district are also used.According to news reports at the time: "This song and dance is a major review of the brilliant achievements of Shanghai's music and dance workers in revolutionizing, nationalizing, and popularizing over the past year. , a concentrated expression of the direction of serving socialism and the policy of letting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend.”

The large-scale song and dance "Singing and Forging Under Mao Zedong's Banner" was actually created, developed, and evolved on the basis of the experience of "Revolutionary History Song Table Singing" by the Art Troupe of the General Political Department of the Air Force in 1961.This large-scale song and dance full of revolutionary passion, in the form of comprehensive art, focuses on the struggle history of the Chinese revolution and the great achievements of socialist construction after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Its process and time span have been written until the "Great Leap Forward" and "People's Commune". "stage.Such a large-scale large-scale song and dance is the first time in Shanghai and even the whole country.During the performance in the famous cultural square in Shanghai, the entire song and dance was divided into eight performances except for the prologue, including "Dawn of the East", "Red Flag Flying on Jinggang Mountain", "On the Road to Anti-Japanese and National Salvation", "Down with Chiang Kai-shek and Liberate All of China". ", "The East is Red", "Socialism is Good", "Three Red Flags Flying in the Wind", and "Singing Forward Under Mao Zedong's Banner". The form is chorus, unison, solo, group singing, table singing, and connected by recitation or band performance, thus forming a majestic and inspiring masterpiece.It is no exaggeration to say that the artistic style and grand momentum of the epic work "Singing Forward Under Mao Zedong's Banner" has played an indelible and important role in linking the past and the future to the emergence and development of Chinese song and dance performing arts in the future.

It just so happened that Foreign Minister Chen Yi was in Shanghai again. On the evening of June 18, he accompanied Tanzanian President Kawa to watch the big song and dance performance.When performing the first scene of "Wharf Workers on the Yangtze River" in "Dawn of the East", Mr. Chen thought to himself: Beijing is planning a party for the 15th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the party in Shanghai is good, so we should be able to recommend the plan.Then he instructed: "Don't leave the singing and dancing troupe. I'll invite the Prime Minister to come and see it once."

In midsummer, Zhou Enlai and Chen Yi, foreign ministers, concluded their friendly visit to neighboring Myanmar. Similarly, the hospitable and hospitable Burmese people also warmly welcome the visit of Chinese leaders with the characteristics of rich regional customs and national traditions and grand scenes of singing and dancing. Surrounded by seas of flowers and seas of people, Zhou Enlai lingered and forgot to return. He had a better understanding of the origins of cultures and arts of various countries. The deep truth of serving the people well. Director Meng Bo, who was busy setting up work for the performance, suddenly received a call from Boss Chen: "Get ready, Premier Zhou and I will come to Shanghai tomorrow to watch the show "Singing Forward Under Mao Zedong's Banner."

On July 12, Zhou Enlai and his party transferred to Shanghai to return to China.The next day, Zhou Enlai and Chen Yi met with the heads of the East China Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China. They had strategically important talks on the current situation in the Taiwan Strait and the development and evolution of the situation in Southeast Asia as a whole. The political meeting had been going on for a day, and Premier Zhou was obviously tired. The "hosts" exchanged glances knowingly. In order to enliven the atmosphere and relieve fatigue, they seemed to be fully prepared and showed their "cards" to entertain distinguished guests. Foreign Minister Chen Yi, who was the first mayor of New China Shanghai, specially invited Zhou Enlai to the theater to watch the large-scale song and dance "Singing and Forging Under Mao Zedong's Banner", which will be performed shortly after the rehearsal in Shanghai. Immediately nodded in agreement.Foreign Minister Chen Yi understood and expressed his willingness to "give up his life to accompany a gentleman".A group of people drove to the performance site amid hearty laughter.

In Shanghai in mid-July, it is midsummer, and the roof of the Cultural Square is surrounded by thick iron sheets, which is not only simple, but also sultry.The organizer organized the performers to rehearse, while cleaning and cooling down the temperature. The fire trucks sprayed water on the roof in sections and at different times. In addition, they borrowed many electric fans from the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Government Affairs to blow air on the audience and the stage respectively. In addition, a local method was adopted to place a large number of ice cubes around to prevent heatstroke and cool down, so as to ensure the normal progress of the performance.

On the evening of July 13, 1964, Zhou Enlai was dragged by Foreign Minister Chen Yi to watch the large-scale song and dance "Singing Forward Under the Banner of Mao Zedong" created and performed by 3,000 literary and art workers from Shanghai and several provinces in East China in the spirit of collaboration. The large-scale song and dance performance called "Singing and Forging Under Mao Zedong's Banner" has a hint of its name. It is self-evident that this song and dance performance combines music, songs, dance and poetry, and there is a big theme throughout, that It is to use a brand-new technique of stage art to show the historical process of the Chinese people's new democratic revolution and socialist construction under the leadership of the Communist Party of China under the guidance of Mao Zedong Thought, and to sing the praises of the Chinese people under the wise leadership of the Communist Party. The old world ushered in the revolutionary struggle of the new world and the great pioneering work of socialist construction.In addition, in addition to the overall mastery of music, poetry, singing, dancing and paintings on the stage, it is also unique in the set design, not only setting up a wide variety of props, but also using slide projections as the background of each theme. , the diverse and unique forms, coupled with the exciting singing and dancing scenes, made Zhou Enlai almost fascinated, and the blood in his body was rushing rapidly.The emotional Zhou Enlai had ups and downs, a lot of thoughts, and a long time of emotion.While watching the performance, Zhou Enlai suddenly had a bold creative idea in his mind: With the improvement of the national economy and the approaching of the 15th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, a decent large-scale evening party combining songs, dances and poems will be held in the form of comprehensive art. What a meaningful thing it is to celebrate the glorious history of the Communist Party of China and perform as a gift for the National Day!The big song and dance performance was very successful, and Zhou Enlai was especially encouraged.

At about 11 o'clock in the evening of the same day, Zhou Enlai and Boss Chen met Meng Bo, director of the Municipal Bureau of Culture, and Xu Ping, deputy director of the art director of the big song and dance, at the Jinjiang Literature and Art Club. They had supper together, and each had a bowl of mung bean soup.During the dinner, Zhou Enlai said heartily: "The party is generally good. But there are two problems: first, the span is too long, so it is better to stop the show when the founding of the People's Republic of China; second, the party did not include the Zunyi meeting, which is very big In the history of the party, the Zunyi Conference is very important. It established the correct line represented by Chairman Mao, and has since led the revolution from victory to victory..."

As the saying goes: The guest goes away and the host is safe.However, on this night, Zhou Enlai, who was a guest, suffered from insomnia. If Zhou Enlai drank Moutai so excitedly that he could not fall asleep when the good news of the victory in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea came, then today and tonight’s special singing and dancing performance, although he did not drink alcohol, also aroused him. Peace of mind.At that time, when watching the performance, Zhou Enlai, who has always been known for his calmness and composure, couldn't hold back his excitement. He turned sideways and whispered his long-buried idea to Mr. Chen beside him: "Look, this Isn’t it an art form that we have been looking for for a long time?! This kind of epic work can just reflect the glorious course that our party has gone through for decades, don’t you think? The greatness we have personally experienced Events need such a great work to be expressed." Boss Chen also loves this kind of singing and dancing with momentum and thoughtful connotation, and he kept nodding his head, expressing that he fully agrees with his views and ideas.

At midnight, Zhou Enlai was still intoxicated by the singing and dancing scenes that did not disappear before his eyes. Although the program of the performance still needs further deliberation and improvement, the overall performance effect and level of creation can be greatly promoted. At this time, a grand and huge performance plan , strategizing in Zhou Enlai's chest, gradually approaching!If the "Songs of Revolutionary History" performed by the army three years ago focused on the development of the army in the revolutionary base area, and the current "Singing and Forging Under Mao Zedong's Banner" is based on this, With a deeper ideological connotation, there is also a broader space for development.In two months, the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China will soon be held. Such a large-scale literary and artistic work that combines music, songs, dance, and poetry should be put on the stage of the capital, and it must be promoted. Rehearse performances in a larger and wider range, so as to visualize and artistically reflect the ups and downs of the Communist Party of China with a grand, complete and systematic majesty.Thinking, thinking, Zhou Enlai's thoughts became clearer and clearer. He simply got up, strolled to the window, pushed the window out, facing the summer night wind, and looked at the surging river in the distance against the brilliant lights of the city that never sleeps in Shanghai. I also thought that it would definitely not be that simple to produce such a magnificent work in just two months, because the whole performance should not only reflect the glorious history of the Chinese Communist Party leading the hard work of the entire Chinese people, Also, if it is a great writing that combines thought and artistry, it cannot be turned into a rigid dogma and rote textbook. Relying on the long-term accumulation of artistic knowledge and a deep understanding of the laws of art, Zhou Enlai knows that the difficulty is by no means ordinary. For this reason, he decided to take the lead and take the lead himself. Based on Beijing's "Revolutionary History Songs Singing" and Shanghai's "Singing Forward Under Mao Zedong's Banner" as the basis, he organized and mobilized related art groups in Beijing, Shanghai and the army. Cooperate together, gather the best "forces", and stage an unprecedented and unprecedented stage boutique drama. Zhou Enlai was fully prepared, with the literary and art groups in Beijing as the backbone, he mobilized some creative personnel in Shanghai and national literary and artistic elites, and based on Shanghai's "Singing Forward Under Mao Zedong's Banner", he organized a large-scale party to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, as a gift to the National Day .This large-scale evening show is, of course, the large-scale music and dance epic "Dongfanghong" that has influenced generations. The east wants to be bright, just waiting for the dawn.Zhou Enlai's insights and confession were immediately affirmed and appreciated by Foreign Minister Chen Yi.