The 1930s was a decade of misery in Chinese history. On the one hand, the national conflicts raged because the September 18 Inccident took place in 1931 and the Japanese army invaded and occupied the northeastern part of the country; on the other hand, the class conflicts also became fierce and the revolt against capitalists and landlords by workers and peasants occurred like rising wind and scudding clouds.
"Red Drama" was a mass theater movement that originated during a special historical period. At the end of the 1920s, the CPC founded the first revolutionary base, established the Soviet regime and built a revolutionary army in the area surroundingJinggangMountaininJiangxiProvince. At the time, Mao Zedong pointed out that the revolutionary army was not only a fighting troop but also a propaganda team, to inspire and raise the masses' consciousness.
In 1932, the CPC Central Committee established the Workers and Peasants' Drama Society atRuijin,JiangxiProvince. The society held dramatic performances at each festival or during the holidays. It also, trouped to the countryside. At that time, the propaganda team's performance mainly consisted of lectures accompanied by singing Red Army songs and folk ditties.
During the Spring Festival of 1933, the Red Army soldiers staged a four-act play entitledThe Snow of Lushan Mountain. The major plot of the play is as follows: Chang Kai-shek assumed personal command atLushanMountaindirecting the campaign of suppressing the CPC. The red army united as one in organizing a counterattack. The director was Luo Ruiqing who proposed "soldiers playing soldiers and generals playing generals". So, Nie Rongzhen (political commissar of the corps) played the political commissar of the Red Army, Lin Biao (commander of the corps) the commander-in-chief of the Red Army and Luo Ronghuan (director of the political department of the red army) director of the political department of the Red Army in the play while Luo Ruiqing himself played the role of Chang Kai-shek. The performance was staged in a dilapidated temple and was a great success.
At Ruijin, the red political power also foundedGorkyDramaSchoolwith Qu Qiubai serving as its head.
After the Long March, the propaganda was never relaxed. During the arduous trek, soldiers of the Red Army adapted some stories into dramatic works to inspire their own morale. For example,A Pair of Worn-out Straw Scandalsreflected the heroic feat of the Red Army breaking through the Kuomintang army's siege and bravely crossingJinshaRiver. Such street plays asGoing North to Resist the JapaneseandI will Join in the Red Armywere performed from time to time and were well-received during the march. After the Red Army arrived at the northern part ofShaanxiProvince, the "Red Drama" spread throughout the new revolutionary base.
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