The most virtuous wife, the most talented woman: the biography of Yang Jiang

Chapter 16 Enlightenment of the Liyuan·Affiliated to the Theater (2)
Yang Jiang started to write "Satisfactory", and after finishing the draft, she gave it to Chen Linrui for "guidance", because she believed in Chen Linrui's professionalism, and she was very cautious about her debut play Yang Jiang.After reading it, Chen Linrui said, "Your script is too long for a one-act play, and too short for a multi-act play. The content is insufficient and needs to be rewritten."
Yang Jiang did not have any experience in writing scripts before. If others heard the above words, they might have given up on this matter, but Yang Jiang did not. She seriously referred to Chen Linrui's suggestion and broke down the entire previous big story into parts. A play in four acts.The manuscript was finished, but there was a lack of a name. Yang Jiang was thinking about it, walking back and forth in the pavilion, and suddenly a word popped up in his mind, which was called "Satisfaction"!
After the script was carefully rewritten, it was handed over to Chen Linrui for reading.After reading it, Chen Linrui said, "It's fine this time." He handed the notebook to Li Jianwu.

Yang Jiang is waiting for the news, not knowing what kind of evaluation she will get.A few days later, I received a call from Li Jianwu. The content was: "Satisfaction" will be rehearsed immediately, Huang Zuolin will direct it himself, and Li Jianwu will also participate in it. At that moment, Yang Jiang was very happy, like a tree finally blossoming and bearing fruit. There is a joy of harvest.

What was even more exciting was still to come. After a period of intense and intensive rehearsals, in the spring of [-], "Satisfaction" was officially performed, and Yang Jiang's work was staged for the first time.

Prior to this, Yang Jiang had been using the name "Ji Kang". Before the play was officially performed, the author's name had to be printed on the printed promotional film. Li Jianwu asked Yang Jiang to use a pseudonym. Before, someone always used the name "Ji Kang". "When the two words are read together, it becomes "Jiang", so let's call it "Yang Jiang". This clever name has followed her all her life, and everyone calls her "Mr. Yang Jiang".

During the performance, a lot of publicity was done, and the word "Yang Jiang" on the poster was very large and conspicuous.Even Mr. Ji Yu saw it, and asked Yang Jiang for two tickets to take his niece to see it. After reading the evaluation, he said it was very good, and asked her: "Did your father-in-law help you?" Asked with a smile: "What does this have to do with my father-in-law?"
Some people called Qian Zhongshu to congratulate him, thinking that the book was written by Qian Zhong, which made Yang Jiang laugh.When the script was written, Yang Jiang asked Qian Zhongshu to read it, but Qian Zhongshu had no interest in drama, so after reading it hastily, he said "not bad, not bad" and it was over.

The story told in "Satisfaction" happened in Shanghai in the 30s. It is about the indecent behavior of the upper class, and sees through the real world behind the glitz of Shanghai.Because of the loss of both parents, Li Junyu had to seek refuge with relatives, but he was not welcomed by relatives, and was pushed out everywhere, like a hot potato, no one would accept it, but in the end, by chance, he got Uncle Langzhai's preference, recognized him as his granddaughter, and had A happy ending.The story is full of smiles in tears, tears in laughter, humor and poignancy intertwined and integrated into one.

The characters in the play have different personalities, all representing the characteristics of people in a special era at that time.Everyone has their own key words, Zu Yin - lustful, cruel, his wife - hypocrisy, Zu Yi - adoring foreign countries, Zu Mao - cowardly, his wife - mediocre, worrying, interspersed with complicated cousins The concept of love, intertwined into a good show.The protagonist has gone through many bitter and ridiculous things, and finally she is satisfied because of her indomitable and indomitable spirit.Consistently strong language and fresh touches of humor, the response was huge.

Yang Jiang was surprised and excited by the success of "Satisfy Your Heart" in one fell swoop. In fact, this is not accidental. Her solid language skills, literary literacy of extensive reading, experience of studying abroad and meticulous observation of life all helped her succeed. support.At that time, Shanghai was in a special period when Chinese and Western cultures collided, and it was also under the background of the alternation of old and new societies. A cultural "prosperous chapter" was brewing.When Yang Jiang was just a fledgling, she became famous in one fell swoop, and the applause continued. This succession of good luck made Yang Jiang feel really "satisfactory"!

After the play was released, it was also commented by many professionals.Among them, Zhao Jingchen, a professor of Fudan University, once wrote such a passage in the book "Recalling the Past in the Literary World": "Ms. Yang Jiang was originally named Yang Jikang, and her first play "Wishing Your Heart" was staged in Jindu Theater, and Li Jianwu also appeared on stage. Old man, Lin Bin plays the little orphan girl, I have seen it before, and I think this drama portrays the sophistication and human feelings in a subtle way, which non-women can't write, and the writing is so delicate and thoughtful, I can't help but praise it."
When Yang Jiang first started writing the script, she still had some thoughts of her own. At that time, she did not have a job with a stable income. She felt that writing might bring good income. The royalties are only enough for a few friends to go to a restaurant and eat smoked chicken and bacon.

Yang Jiang, who was recognized, was thinking like a spring, and created "Making Truth into False", "Game of the World", and "Wind Xu" in one go.Among them, "Truth into False" has become another masterpiece of her comedy, and after it was staged, it has become a classic work in the field of Chinese drama.

show off in theater
Why do people like watching dramas?Because my life seems to have been "concluded", but I wonder if other people's world is also full of ups and downs.A scene, for a few hours, can present the joys, sorrows, sorrows and joys of another world in front of your eyes, and everyone will inevitably be immersed in it.Some words cannot be said in reality, and some things cannot come true in reality, but hope can be found in drama.

"False" was completed in October [-].The story tells that in a flashy society, people fantasize about using shortcuts to get rid of poverty and embarrassment, but the result is self-defeating, but it also has the desired result.

The hero, Zhou Dazhang, is handsome, but his family is poor, and he lives in a small attic of his relatives. He fantasizes about marrying the daughter of real estate agent Zhang Xiangfu. With a considerable dowry, he enters the upper class.For this purpose, he abandoned his original lover Zhang Yanhua, but Zhang Yanhua was Zhang Xiangfu's niece. She lived under the fence of her uncle's family and thought that she would get rid of the predicament after marrying Zhou Dazhang, who was "the family of poetry and rites". True becomes false".No one's dreams come true, but the saying goes—life needs to be exposed.

The so-called poor people must have something to hate. The protagonist's life experience is not only pitiful, but also thought-provoking. The humorous language reflects the ugliness of the society's dislike of the poor and love of the rich.This drama pays more attention to the subtle description of human psychology, tells a story that happened around me, makes people laugh and find that they are living in such a "drama"...

As soon as the play was staged, it received a better response than "Satisfaction". Major newspapers are publishing related comments. Even the actors are proud of their performance in Yang Jiang's play, and even jointly wrote a thank you letter to her. , This has also changed the situation in which foreign works were mostly adapted in the theater industry.

Mr. Li Jianwu commented: "If there are comedies in China, real folk comedies, authentic comedies extracted from modern life, I don't want to exaggerate, but I insist that in modern Chinese literature, "Making True Be False" will be the second milestone. Some people must think that I have exaggerated, we may wish to see in a few years, whether my prejudice has the correct hunch. The first milestone belongs to Zhu Dingxilin, everyone knows ;The second one, I will happily point out, is Ms. Yang Jiang, the author of "Making the Truth into a False."
At that time, Yang Yinhang took several of his daughters to watch the show together, and only when he came to the scene did he know that the audience's reaction was so enthusiastic. Many times, the audience burst into laughter, and the atmosphere was very good, so he asked Yang Jiang: "You made it all up? "Yang Jiang nodded with a smile, and replied: "It's all." Father was very proud.

The influence of this play has continued to the modern drama world. In 96, when Mr. Yang Jiang was [-] years old, "False" was staged on the stage of drama again. Mr. Yang Jiang wrote a special article titled For the article ""Yang Jiang" and "Yang Jikang"──Congratulations to Shanghai Commemorating the Centennial of Drama", I sighed: "Unexpectedly, the drama world has not forgotten Yang Jiang in Shanghai back then... I was surprised and happy, grateful and ashamed, and felt infinitely honored , I wish the performance a success." She agreed to grant the copyright of the play for free without modifying the original work.Yang Jiang was hesitant before. In recent years, there have been many remakes of old dramas, many of which were changed beyond recognition to cater to the tastes of the current people. Later, after many explanations and assurances from director Yang Xinwei, Mr. Yang agreed.

"Wind Catkins" is Yang Jiang's only tragic work.This work tells the story of an intellectual who focuses on social reform and takes his wife to the countryside. After encountering an incident and being imprisoned, his wife and friends work together to save him.The play started when the protagonist was released from prison. Full of fighting spirit, he discovered that his wife had empathized with him as early as one year in prison, and the other party was the one who rescued him with his wife. The two entangled love affairs staged a scene. Human tragedy.

The name "Fengxu" was coined by Qian Zhongshu. The so-called Fengxu is a poplar flower floating in the wind. Although it used to fly in the sky eloquently, it will land one day and become a flower waiting to germinate. Seeds also imply that even if people have infinitely ambitious ideals, they must always face the reality calmly, otherwise they will be lost in the wind and drift for a lifetime.

Yang Jiang's three masterpieces of drama and two comedies exaggeratedly satirize every ugliness in society, let people see the stains of human nature, and promote the correct energy.Tragedy is to make people think about the right and wrong of human nature, to explore the deeper meaning of existence, and to shock the soul even more.

Yang Jiang's scripts have her own characteristics, each of which has intricate and in-depth plots, witty and witty dialogues, details worthy of scrutiny, and resonant jokes, which are very fascinating.The handling of language and dialogue reflects Yang Jiang's understanding of language and culture, which is as smooth as flowing clouds and flowing water, and can fully represent the artistic level of an era.

The scripts of several plays by Yang Jiang were later included in the "Scripts Series" published by World Book Company, which was republished in [-] after the founding of New China.

In the stories she creates, characters from every class exist, whether they are high-ranking upper-class figures or common people, they all have a place in the stories.The representative types of characters in old China let people see what the soul looks like after removing the appearance.Yang Jiang has a pair of eyes that can dissect the world, and she dominates the development trend of the story from a spiritual perspective, warming what should be warmed, criticizing what should be criticized, and ironing what needs to be satirized.

Not long after Yang Yinhang watched "Falsehood", that is, in the spring of [-], he took a few members of his family and hid in the old house in Miaotang Lane, Suzhou.

At that time, A Yuan had a good relationship with his grandfather, and he missed him very much after he had been away for a while. During the summer vacation, Yang Jiang asked A Yuan and Qimei's family to go to Suzhou's hometown because of things.Ah Yuan was very happy, not only seeing her grandfather, but also a group of brothers and sisters playing together.

During that time, Ah Yuan had a great time, although the old house was very dilapidated.But after returning from Suzhou, she never saw the "grandfather" who always coaxed her to play. Yang Yinhang died in March [-].

When his father was seriously ill, his younger brother called Yang Jiang and Yang Jiang immediately decided to return to Suzhou the next day.At that time, Shanghai was still occupied, and the railways and other important roads were strictly controlled by the Japanese. It was difficult to get train tickets, so the car became the only way.

Early the next morning, Yang Jiang and her younger siblings bought a bus ticket back to Suzhou. The condition of the bus was very poor. It was raining that day, but there was only a piece of tattered canvas on the roof. At that time, Yang Jiang had no intention of caring about the environment in the car, and only thought that his father would be fine.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the car arrived in Taicang, but the road ahead was cut off, and there was no bridge on the river, so there was no way to continue.When everyone was at a loss, the driver decided to drive back to Shanghai. He was afraid that he would be delayed here until it was dark.

Yang Jiang turned around in a hurry, but couldn't think of a way out, so she had to follow the car back, and the car that came back drove so fast that she was running for her life.

Back at Qian’s house in Shanghai, the whole family was sitting in the living room. Yang Jiang came in and said, “I’ve been walking for a day, and I’m back again.” She was exhausted and found that everyone’s expressions were a little dignified. Here, it seems that something happened, Yang Jiang suddenly understood, and was stunned.

Qian Zhongshu came over, took her hand, and said to her: "Suzhou called just now, and my father has passed." These words shook Yang Jiang's head like a thunder, and she couldn't stop crying. That night, Yang Jiang and his siblings did not sleep.

Later, the family entrusted someone to buy a train ticket, and Yang Jiang and his party returned to Suzhou.The father's coffin has been parked in the hall, with his father's portrait on it.Yang Jiang walked to the kitchen as before, made a bowl of Gaiwan tea for her father, and brought it to the table...

The father left, and the daughter was very sad.Qian Zhongshu respects his father-in-law very much, because his words and deeds are very upright. He and his father-in-law love poetry and often chat together.He can wear the clothes and shoes after his father-in-law left, and he never shy away from it, because he loves his father-in-law from the bottom of his heart.

Yang Yinhang is looking forward to when the war will end and everything can return to a peaceful life. There will be no war and killing, only happy smiling faces.However, in the end, he did not wait for this day to come. Every time Yang Jiang said this, he would sigh.

What kind of life can be called a successful life?Yang Jiang gave us a complete answer with her practical actions, and she will reap success with her lover.

At the peak moment of drama creation, Yang Jiang chose to assist Qian Zhongshu in the creation. It was her dedication that made the later "Besieged City". Their names ranged from "Yang Jiang's husband Qian Zhongshu" to later "Qian Zhongshu". Book's wife Yang Jiang", her heart is full of happiness.

Since ancient times, husbands and wives have followed each other, and only by not caring about your own gains and losses in love can you exchange for a better future.Dedication is never just a piece of paper, it requires great patience and perseverance, and more importantly, the kind of waiting in the heart without complaint or regret.The trust in her lover's talent made Yang Jiang believe that the result of waiting must be beautiful.

(End of this chapter)