With the support of the Propaganda Department and the School of Art of Peking University, the original musical "Mr. Dazhao" was launched in June 2016 and was created by the Peking University Center for National Music and Musical Theatre Research on Two Years. This is a work written, directed and performed by Peking University teachers and students, and has been performed for 8 consecutive years.

The crew of the musical "Mr. Dazhao" took a photo with experts watching the performance

Depicting bloody romance in drama: Innovative expression of red stories

At the end of 2017, during the audition of "Mr. Dazhao", the screenwriter and director Zhou Yingchen introduced his work as follows: The musical "Mr. Dazhao" selected Mr. Dazhao to face the scene of the gallows before he died heroically, retelling history and laying out emotions, connecting his experiences and contributions in different historical periods, and recreating Li Dazhao's great image of "carrying morality on iron shoulders and casting a monument with green blood". The whole play is based on "awakening" as the theme, showing the process of Mr. Li Dazhao's "awakening" the public with his great personality and strong spirit.

Stills from the musical "Mr. Dazhao" - Mr. Dazhao's execution

The prelude to the lights gradually light up, and a gong took the audience back to April 28, 1927. As dawn broke out, blind people, oil tea sellers, and hand-training players gathered in Xijiaomin Lane early in order to see if they were killed with gallows. When everyone was facing the gallows, the "inmates" were pushed to the execution ground - it was Mr. Li Dazhao and his students. They stood on the execution ground, sang generously, expressing their concern for the people, and recalling the scenes of exploring academics and inspiring thoughts on campus.

In the play, Mr. Li Dazhao had a fierce ideological confrontation with the officer who interrogated him. The officers mocked Li Dazhao's "ism", and the ignorant masses also mistakenly regarded "ism" as a "deceptive idea." The adjutant asked him with what Li Dazhao said, "The victory of labor is the victory of the common people." Is it worth making unnecessary sacrifices for the uncivilized people? Mr. Dazhao said, "I live because I want the poor to live a good life." Faced with death, he still firmly believed: "Look at the future world, the world of the Red Flag."

Stills from the musical "Mr. Dazhao" - Students and workers rise up to resist

The musical "Mr. Dazhao" also presents the emotional changes of the onlookers. From watching the fun at the beginning and not understanding it, to being indignant by Mr. Dazhao and being moved by Mr. Dazhao's heart to the people, this is Mr. Dazhao's personal charm and his spirit burning like a prairie fire in the land of China. The gentleman raised his arms and shouted for the safety of workers, students and the people: "When tomorrow's morning bell rings, the dawn of freedom will appear, a bright future will wave to us, and the dawn of freedom will appear, shining all over our people!" Then, Mr. Dazhao went to his death with a sigh.

In his article "On the Creation of the Musical "Mr. Dazhao", Zhou Yingchen mentioned that the structure of this musical is innovative. Its dramatic structure is similar to the method of breaking branches in Chinese paintings. The most exciting piece of flower branches is selected and expressed in the size of the size, and other branches are drawn outside the main trunk. Through special dramatic structure and time and space transformation, the play strives to create a vivid, three-dimensional image of intellectuals and revolutionaries, a gentleman who preaches, teaches, and solves doubts, a considerate and loving husband and father, and a firm Marxist.

Real emotions evoke faith awakening: When the stills are in reality

In order to truly understand Mr. Li Dazhao's revolutionary journey, under the planning and guidance of the Party Committee of the School of Art of Peking University, all teachers and students of the original musical "Mr. Dazhao" went to Leting County, Hebei Province to explore Mr. Dazhao's revolutionary footprints in depth and relive the red years full of revolutionary passion.

The crew of the musical "Mr. Dazhao" went to the Li Dazhao Memorial Hall in Leting, Hebei Province to present flowers

In front of the solemn and solemn memorial hall, teachers and students lined up in an orderly manner to present flower baskets to Mr. Li Dazhao to express their deep memorial and admiration for the revolutionary heroes. Li Dazhao's granddaughter Ms. Li Lequn specially came to accompany teachers and students to visit Li Dazhao's former residence. In front of the clean and tidy courtyard stands a half-body statue of Mr. Li Dazhao, shining brightly under the reflection of the sun, as if the moment of history was frozen.

Podium and stage resonance: New youth in the Red Chamber interprets heroic stories

The musical "Mr. Dazhao" is the practical result of the Peking University School of Arts to deeply explore, integrate and purify the ideological and political elements of professional courses such as "rehears of classic musical repertoire" and "art creation", and carry out the practical results of the literary and artistic "big ideological and political course". From the mouths of young students, the dialogue between the new young people in the Red Chamber and the great men of history was read, and the resonance between the podium and the stage was realized.

Mr. Li Dazhao in "Mr. Dazhao" is played by Cai Peng, a graduate of Peking University's musical theatre major. As a musical actor who has experienced many battles on the stage, Cai Peng believes: "As a Peking University student, I feel that I have the responsibility and mission to pass on this spirit. 8 years is just the beginning."

In 2024, Li Chenxi, a freshman who had just been admitted to the School of Arts of Peking University, took over Cai Peng's baton and played the role of Li Dazhao with Cai Peng. He believes that although contemporary young people are in peaceful times, they need to draw strength from the beliefs of their ancestors.

Zhou Yingchen has been leading students in the musical major for many years to perform "Mr. Dazhao". Taking "Mr. Dazhao" as an example, she published an article "The Audio-Visual Shaping of the Predecessor's Personality and Red Spirit - Taking the Innovation Practice of Art Education at Peking University as an Example", which reads: "In the study, creation and research of musicals, and in the performance practices over the years, teachers and students of Peking University's Art Department have created a series of musical portraits of the personality and revolutionary spirit of the predecessor. Using original works to promote aesthetic education and education, and using performance practice to improve technology, both Taoism and skills, both internal and external, inherit and explore, and carry forward innovation, the Master of Musical Arts of Peking University School of Art is embarking on a distinctive development path of Chinese musical in its own way."

[Editor in charge: Yue Xiangzhi]