Tian Han

Tian Han

Tian Han
Born (1898-03-12)March 12, 1898
Guoyuan Town, Changsha County, Hunan
Died December 10, 1968(1968-12-10) (aged 70)
Beijing
Pen name Tián Shòuchāng, Bóhóng, Chén Yú, Shùrén, Hànxiān, etc.
Occupation Playwright, novelist, poet
Language Chinese, Japanese
Nationality Chinese
Alma mater Tokyo Higher Normal School
Period 1920-1968
Genre Novel, poem, drama
Notable works The March of the Volunteers
Spouse Yi Shuyu (m. 1920–25)
Huang Dalin (m. 1927–29)
Lin Weizhong (m. 1930–46)
An E (m. 1930–68)
Children Tian Dawei
Tian Han
Traditional Chinese 田漢
Simplified Chinese 田汉
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Tian.

Tian Han (12 March 1898 – 10 December 1968), born in Changsha, Hunan, and formerly romanized as Tien Han, was a Chinese drama activist, playwright, a leader of revolutionary music and films, as well as a translator and poet. He emerged at the time of the New Culture Movement of the early 20th century and continued to be active until the Cultural Revolution, when he was attacked and died in jail. He is considered by drama historians as one of the three founders of Chinese spoken drama, together with Ouyang Yuqian and Hong Shen.[1] His most famous legacy may be the lyrics he wrote for "The March of the Volunteers" in 1934, which were later adopted as the national anthem of the People's Republic of China.[2]

Biography

Tian Han (right) and Nie Er (left), respectively the lyricist and the composer of "The March of the Volunteers", photographed in Shanghai in 1933

During the May Fourth Movement in 1919, Tian became famous for the vigorous anti-imperialist and anti-feudalist activities in the circle of artists and intellectuals he gathered.

Tian was educated at University of Tsukuba in Japan. Returning from Japan in 1921, Tian established the Creative Society together with Guo Moruo. The Southern China Society, also headed by Tian, played a leading role in promoting dramatic performances in southern China. In 1927, Tian taught at the Department of Literature of Shanghai Art University. Later, he joined The League of Chinese Left-Wing Dramatists.

Tian used various aliases and pen names including Tián Shòuchāng (田壽昌), Bóhóng (伯鴻), Chén Yú (陳瑜), Shùrén (漱人), and Hànxiān (漢仙).

He was attacked in 1966 on the eve of the Cultural Revolution for his historical play Xie Yaohuan (1961), an attack on Chairman Mao's policies. Criticism of this play, along with two other historical plays (Hai Rui Dismissed from Office by Wu Han and Li Huiniang by Meng Chao), were the opening salvos of the Cultural Revolution.[3] Tian was denounced in a 1 February 1966 People's Daily article entitled "Xie Yaohuan is a Big Poisonous Weed" (田汉的《谢瑶环》是一棵大毒草 Tián Hàn de Xiè Yáohuán Shì yī kē Dà Dúcǎo). The Jiefang Daily called Xie Yaohuan a "political manifesto". Tian was incarcerated as a "counterrevolutionary" in a prison run personally by Kang Sheng, and died there in 1968. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, he and Xie Yaohuan were rehabilitated posthumously in 1979.[4]

Works

Although a proponent of western style theater (話劇 huàjù) in China, Tian also produced a number of works with historical themes.[5]

Major plays

Librettos

Film scripts

Song lyrics

Translations

Tian Han was the prototype for the figure of "Kuang Wentao" (played by Bo Gao) in the 1959 biopic Nie Er,[9] which retold the story of the composition of the Chinese National Anthem on the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic. For the 50th anniversary in 1999, he was represented directly in the film The National Anthem, played by He Zhengjun. His story was also told in The National Anthem, a 27-episode television series, and in the play Torrent (狂流, Kuángliú), produced in Beijing in the year 2000.

In the 2009 film The Founding of a Republic, he was portrayed by Donnie Yen.

References

  1. ↑ Chen 2014, p. 5.
  2. ↑ "Tian Han". Encyclopædia Britannica Online (Accessed 16 Feb. 2015)
  3. 1 2 Wagner 1990, p. 80.
  4. ↑ Wagner 1990, p. 137.
  5. ↑ Wagner 1990, pp. 82-83.
  6. ↑ Wagner 1990, p. 82.
  7. ↑ "Go to the People (1927): Tian Han and the Southern Film Society," The Chinese Mirror (accessed February 16, 2015).
  8. ↑ Wagner 1990, p. 87.
  9. ↑ Wang Zhuoyi. Revolutionary Cycles in Chinese Cinema, 1951–1979, pp. 140 f. St Martin's Press (New York), 2014.

References and further reading

Liang Luo, "From Lovers to Volunteers: Tian Han and the National Anthem," China Beat (July 16, 2008).

Cultural offices
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Cao Yu
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