Yuan Muzhi

essential information

Early experience

Yuan Muzhi was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province on March 3, 1909. At the age of 13, he studied in Shanghai Chengzhong middle school. When he was 13 years old, Yuan Muzhi joined the "Xinyou Opera Club" organized by Hongshen and became the only little actor in the club. Because he was young and the assigned roles were not heavy, he did everything in the drama club and was a usher. On June 30, 1978, Yuan Muzhi died of a high fever caused by heat stroke. He had just turned 69.

Acting experience

In 1927, Yuan Muzhi, who was studying at University in Shanghai, began to take part in the drama innovation movement and became the main actor of Xinyou drama society. He starred in Russian antlev's "dog dance", Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" and Japan's "Peach Blossom Land". Yuan Muzhi's precise design and conception of the characters and the lifelike shape are the essence of expressive art. Among the many characters he created, the expression depiction of the characters is particularly prominent, so he is known as "a man of thousands of faces". In 1934, Yuan Muzhi wrote and starred in peach and plum robbery, which caused great repercussions at that time and became a classic of left-wing films. It was also the first real audio film in China. In 1935, he wrote and directed the city scenery, which is the first musical comedy feature film in the history of Chinese film. In 1937, angel on the road, which he directed, became a classic in the history of Chinese film. The film, starring Zhao Dan and Zhou Xuan, is regarded as a sign of the maturity of Chinese audio film art. In the 1980s, the famous Italian film critic Darcy lachi exclaimed: "the angel of the road is a miracle. The creative method of "new realism" embodied in it is much earlier than that proposed by Italy after the war. When Yuan Muzhi was 14 years old, he joined the Drama Association organized by Hong Shen and was the only little actor. At the age of 18, he began to receive the attention of the drama circle for his excellent performance in some plays. After entering Soochow University, he performed "Uncle Vanya" and other plays. In 1930, under the influence of the left-wing drama movement, he accepted the progressive thought. In 1934, Yuan Muzhi joined the Diantong film company, shooting and starring in his first film "peach and plum robbery", which won the unanimous praise of progressive public opinion. In 1930, Yuan Muzhi gave up university study and devoted himself to the cause of left-wing drama. He once starred in "wukuiqiao" written by Hong Shen and "roar! China, Tian Han's "song of spring return" and other plays. In his practice, he attached importance to artistic summary, and wrote essays of Mu Zhi, dramatic disguise, drama of two roles and random talks on drama performance. From August 1934 to April 1935, he worked in 36 issues of drama weekly of Zhonghua daily. He advocated that actors should "get rid of themselves and become roles in the play" when performing. He advocated imitating the character's spiritual life through shape technology, and tried many ways to study and embody the character, which opened up a new way for the Performing Arts at that time. Yuan Muzhi joined the film production company in Shanghai in 1934. In 1935, after the peach and plum robbery, Yuan Muzhi played the protagonist Xin Baihua in the film children of the wind and cloud. In October of the same year, he successfully edited and directed China's first musical comedy city scenery. "Metropolis" is a film that exposed the social depression at that time, the intrigue of metropolitan life and the ignorance of ordinary citizens. Yuan Muzhi moved his stage skills to the screen, creating a typical comedy for the Chinese film industry. This film is the first musical comedy feature film in China and the first work directed by Yuan Muzhi. He plays the old man in the film. In 1936, Yuan Muzhi turned into a star film company and starred in the film life and death together. In Sheng, he plays two roles: patriotic youth Li Tao and Liu Yuanjie. They have different personalities and distinct images, which are appreciated by the audience. In 1937, Yuan Muzhi's "angel on the road" was even more popular. Through the true depiction of the miserable fate of people living at the bottom of society, horse deeply exposes and sharply attacks the darkness of semi colonial and semi feudal society. With his novel and unique artistic conception and directing skills, Yuan Muzhi organically and harmoniously integrated the tragic content and comic techniques, making the style of the whole film both bright and humorous, and implicit and meaningful. After the outbreak of the Anti Japanese War, Yuan Muzhi actively engaged in Anti Japanese propaganda activities, and with Song Zhi's, Chen Bo'er, Cui GUI and others organized the first team of "Shanghai National Salvation drama team" to leave Shanghai for the front line of Anti Japanese war. He also took part in the performance of the famous Anti Japanese war drama defending Lugou bridge. When the Anti Japanese war broke out in 1937, Yuan Muzhi was a member of the Directing Committee of the drama "defending Lugou Bridge". In 1938, he starred in "eight hundred heroes" in Hankou Chinese film studio. In August of the same year, he went to Yan'an and was in charge of the creation and leadership of Yan'an film company directly under the General Political Department of the Eighth Route Army. He edited and directed the large-scale historical documentary Yan'an and the Eighth Route Army. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1940. In the same year, he went to the Soviet Union for investigation and study. He returned to China in 1946 and continued to work in film. He died in Beijing on June 30, 1978. In 1938, after the team came to Wuhan, Yuan Muzhi starred in Xie Jinyuan, the leader of the film eight hundred heroes. Soon after, he was appointed by Comrade Zhou Enlai to take part in the film preparation work in the base area. In the autumn of the same year, he went to Yan'an and formed the Yan'an film group. For most of his time, he went deep into the Shaanxi Gansu Ningxia border region and the North China Anti Japanese base area to shoot documentaries, and directed the first large-scale historical documentary "Yan'an and the Eighth Route Army" in the liberated area, and wrote a stage play "Yan'an Trilogy" reflecting the new life of the revolutionary base area. Yuan Muzhi joined the Communist Party of China in 1940. In the summer of the same year, he was appointed by the party to study and investigate in the Soviet Union. During this period, he worked with the famous Soviet film master Eisenstein to make films, and he also directed documentary films independently. In 1946, after Yuan Muzhi returned to China, he went to Northeast China with his wife Chen Bo'er to set up a northeast film studio as its director. The first feature film "bridge" of new China was produced. After the liberation of Peiping in April 1949, he was ordered to return to Beijing to set up the central film administration, the leading organization of the national film industry, and was appointed director of the Bureau. After the first national cultural Congress, he was elected vice president of the all China Film Artists Association. After 1954, he left for a long time due to illness. In his illness, he still insisted on creative activities. On June 30, 1978, Yuan Muzhi died in Beijing at the age of 69.

Personal life

family

First wife Chen Bo'er. In 1951, Chen Bo'er died. In 1955, he married Kunqu Opera actor Zhu Xin and had two women and a man, Yuan Mu's eldest daughter, Yuan Xiaomu's youngest daughter and Yuan Mu's son.

Main works

Take part in the film

Publishing books

Character evaluation

As a pioneer in the history of Chinese film, Yuan became the first film maker and film director. Yuan Muzhi has unique insight and courage in choosing actors. He insisted on using Zhou Xuan, who has always played the role of maid in Yihua film company, and Zhao Huishen, a stage actor who has never been on the screen, to play the main roles of Xiaohong and Xiaoyun.

Chinese PinYin : Yuan Mu Zhi