Byline: Zhao Shihui 赵士荟
[The following is a revised and expanded translation of an article which appeared in the Shanghai newspaper Xinmin Wanbao 新民晚报 November 16, 2008. The original article is online.]
In her short life, Zhou Xuan 周璇 made 43 movies and gave more than 200 concert performances. During the late 1930s and throughout the 1940s she was famous as one of China's top film actresses, as well as one of its most popular singing stars. But what is little-known is that at one time she acted the lead in a stage drama, the only such performance of her career.
In July, 1945, in the closing days of World War II, Liu Zhonghao 柳中浩, owner of Shanghai's Jin Cheng 金城 (Gold City) Theater, took charge of the "Guolian" 国联 (National Unity) theatrical company. The company had not done well during the Japanese occupation, and Liu had the idea that recruiting film stars as special guest stars might rejuvenate the box office. The first movie star he invited was Zhou Xuan, to be the lead in a drama titled "Yu Ge" 渔歌 (Fisherman's Song).
After her separation from composer Yan Hua 严华 in 1941, Zhou took a year off, then resumed her movie career by joining China Film Company to make 4 films over the next 3 years: "Daughter of a Fishing Family" in 1943, "Cry of the Birds" and "A Dream of Red Mansions" in 1944, and "Happy Marriage" in 1945. But at the time of the latter's completion, her comeback had hit a lull period, with no immediate film prospects, so she was happy to accept the invitation of Liu, an old friend.
"Fisherman's Song" was not related to Cai Chusheng's similarly-titled 1934 classic which starred Wang Renmei. Rather, it was based on 1943's "Daughter of a Fishing Family," written and directed by Bu Wancang 卜万苍, which in turn was a remake of his 1926 silent "Yu Jie Bing Qing" 玉洁冰清 (Why Not Her?). It was a love story, in which a promising young college student (Gu Yelu 顾也鲁 in the later movie version) turns down the chance to marry a wealthy man's daughter because of his love for the daughter (Zhou Xuan) of a poor fisherman. In addition to being a realistic portrayal of the class structure of the day, further audience appeal was added by the inclusion of five songs performed by Zhou Xuan.
To back up his marquee name female lead, impresario Liu assembled an A-list production team. In addition to securing Bu Wancang to repeat his movie success for the stage version, the script was done by Gu Zhongyi 顾仲彝 (1903-1965), and 4 of Zhou's 5 musical numbers were composed especially for this production by Huang Yijun 黄贻钧 (1915-1995). Cast as the male lead opposite Zhou Xuan was popular stage and screen actor Yan Jun 严俊.
Because the story of "Fisherman's Song" was so similar to that of "Daughter of a Fishing Family," the major interest for the audience was coming to watch Zhou Xuan's performance and singing. However, the results were disappointing: Zhou Xuan had a congenital condition which limited the projection of her sweet voice and prevented it being heard throughout the theater without the use of a microphone, and this had a negative effect on her overall performance. The production closed after running for only about a month.
