Bai Hua (simplified Chinese: 白桦; traditional Chinese: 白樺; pinyin: Bái Huà; 20 November 1930 – 15 January 2019) was a Chinese novelist, playwright and poet. He gained national fame for his plays based on uncompromising historical criticism.[1]
Bai was born Chen Youhua (陈佑华) in Xinyang, Henan in 1930. His mother was illiterate but able to sing folk songs, which became a lifelong interest for her son.[2] His father, an anti-Japanese activist, was executed by the Japanese by burying him alive in 1938.[3] Bai had a twin brother, Ye Nan (1930–2003), who became a successful movie scriptwriter in the 1980s.[2]
Careeredit
Bai started publishing poems at the age of fifteen. In 1946, he adopted the name Bai Hua ("White Birch"), taking it from a Russian poem.[2] Many of his poems appeared in the Southern Henan Daily. Subsequently, he joined the People's Liberation Army in 1947 and the Chinese Communist Party in 1949. He worked for the Party as a writer specialized in Chinese ethnic minorities, and visited the areas where they lived. From 1952, he was employed by the People's Liberation Army as head of a creative writing group based in Kunming,[3] and worked as secretary of Marshal He Long.[2]
In the mid-1950s, his support of disgraced art critic Hu Feng led him to be investigated and detained for eight months, during which he attempted to commit suicide. Charges against him were dropped in 1956.[2]
He was labeled a "rightist" in 1957, and expelled from the Army and the Party in 1958. He had to work in a factory before being hired as a scriptwriter by Haiyian Film Studios in Shanghai and came back to the army in 1964. He was further marginalized during the Cultural Revolution. After 1976, he was able to publish dramas and novels that were mildly critical of the Cultural Revolution.[3]
He produced several influential dramas and films in the late 1970s and early 1980s. From 1985 to the mid 1990s he was a member of the Shanghai Writers' Association. He was the first intellectual to be denounced again as "rightist" after the Cultural Revolution. His most recent poetry, following a long silence, was published in 2009.
Unrequited Loveedit
Some of his plays were banned because they dealt with the political purges and murders in the Red Army that took place in the 1930s and offered a critical view of traditional patriotic values. Among these the most famous was the film script Unrequited Love (1979), which became a movie by director Peng Ning, The Sun and the People (苦戀, 1980) that was never shown to the public. In 1982, the script was used for the Taiwanese movie Portrait of a Fanatic. In his script, Bai depicted an overseas Chinese painter who returned to China in order to devote his life to his motherland but ended up suffering political persecution and death. The painter's daughter asked her father a highly sensitive question in the film: "You love your motherland, but does the motherland love you?"[1]
The paramount leader Deng Xiaoping was annoyed by Peng Ning's film and personally organized the old guards to launch a political campaign against Bai in the national media for his violation of Deng's political dogma (specifically the leadership of the party). The criticism threatened to become another wave of political prosecution until the General Secretary of the party Hu Yaobang interfered on his behalf. The significance of this episode is that it effectively split the party into two camps. Bai was later allowed to visit Japan and Southeast Asia and delivered public speeches, but his works were generally suppressed. His late epic poem "From Qiu Jin to Lin Zhao" was never published.[4]
Personal lifeedit
Bai married Wang Bei, a Chinese actress,[5] and lived in retirement in Shanghai with his wife.[2]
^ abLeung, Laifong (2011). "Bai Hua". Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture. EdwART.
^ abcdefLeung, Laifong (2016). "Bai Hua". Contemporary Chinese Fiction Writers: Biography, Bibliography, and Critical Assessment. Routledge. pp. 17–21.
^ abcDillon, Michael (2011). "Bai Hua". China, a Historical and Cultural Dictionary. Curzon Press. p. 18.
^Richard Baum (1994). Burying Mao: Chinese Politics in the Age of Deng Xiaoping - Updated Edition. Princeton University Press. pp. 127–129. ISBN0-691-03639-X.
^"91岁演员王蓓去世！患老年痴呆14年，因出演《马兰花》中女主走红" (in Chinese). Sohu. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
^"曝《苦恋》《曙光》剧作家白桦去世 享寿89岁" (in Chinese). sina.com.cn. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
External linksedit
Review of his movie "Breakfast" (In Chinese)
May 05, 2024
other, uses, baihua, disambiguation, simplified, chinese, 白桦, traditional, chinese, 白樺, pinyin, bái, huà, november, 1930, january, 2019, chinese, novelist, playwright, poet, gained, national, fame, plays, based, uncompromising, historical, criticism, chen, you. For other uses see Baihua disambiguation Bai Hua simplified Chinese 白桦 traditional Chinese 白樺 pinyin Bai Hua 20 November 1930 15 January 2019 was a Chinese novelist playwright and poet He gained national fame for his plays based on uncompromising historical criticism 1 Chen YouhuaNative name陈佑华Born 1930 11 20 November 20 1930Xinyang Henan ChinaDiedJanuary 15 2019 2019 01 15 aged 88 Shanghai ChinaPen nameBai HuaOccupationNovelist playwright and poetLanguageChineseNationalityChineseEducationHenan Huangchuan High SchoolPeriod1946 2019GenreNovel play poemNotable worksPortrait of a FanaticChinese nameTraditional Chinese陳佑華Simplified Chinese陈佑华TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinChen YouhuaBai HuaTraditional Chinese白樺Simplified Chinese白桦TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinBai Hua In this Chinese name the family name is Chen Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Unrequited Love 4 Personal life 5 References 6 External linksEarly life editBai was born Chen Youhua 陈佑华 in Xinyang Henan in 1930 His mother was illiterate but able to sing folk songs which became a lifelong interest for her son 2 His father an anti Japanese activist was executed by the Japanese by burying him alive in 1938 3 Bai had a twin brother Ye Nan 1930 2003 who became a successful movie scriptwriter in the 1980s 2 Career editBai started publishing poems at the age of fifteen In 1946 he adopted the name Bai Hua White Birch taking it from a Russian poem 2 Many of his poems appeared in the Southern Henan Daily Subsequently he joined the People s Liberation Army in 1947 and the Chinese Communist Party in 1949 He worked for the Party as a writer specialized in Chinese ethnic minorities and visited the areas where they lived From 1952 he was employed by the People s Liberation Army as head of a creative writing group based in Kunming 3 and worked as secretary of Marshal He Long 2 In the mid 1950s his support of disgraced art critic Hu Feng led him to be investigated and detained for eight months during which he attempted to commit suicide Charges against him were dropped in 1956 2 He was labeled a rightist in 1957 and expelled from the Army and the Party in 1958 He had to work in a factory before being hired as a scriptwriter by Haiyian Film Studios in Shanghai and came back to the army in 1964 He was further marginalized during the Cultural Revolution After 1976 he was able to publish dramas and novels that were mildly critical of the Cultural Revolution 3 He produced several influential dramas and films in the late 1970s and early 1980s From 1985 to the mid 1990s he was a member of the Shanghai Writers Association He was the first intellectual to be denounced again as rightist after the Cultural Revolution His most recent poetry following a long silence was published in 2009 Unrequited Love editSome of his plays were banned because they dealt with the political purges and murders in the Red Army that took place in the 1930s and offered a critical view of traditional patriotic values Among these the most famous was the film script Unrequited Love 1979 which became a movie by director Peng Ning The Sun and the People 苦戀 1980 that was never shown to the public In 1982 the script was used for the Taiwanese movie Portrait of a Fanatic In his script Bai depicted an overseas Chinese painter who returned to China in order to devote his life to his motherland but ended up suffering political persecution and death The painter s daughter asked her father a highly sensitive question in the film You love your motherland but does the motherland love you 1 The paramount leader Deng Xiaoping was annoyed by Peng Ning s film and personally organized the old guards to launch a political campaign against Bai in the national media for his violation of Deng s political dogma specifically the leadership of the party The criticism threatened to become another wave of political prosecution until the General Secretary of the party Hu Yaobang interfered on his behalf The significance of this episode is that it effectively split the party into two camps Bai was later allowed to visit Japan and Southeast Asia and delivered public speeches but his works were generally suppressed His late epic poem From Qiu Jin to Lin Zhao was never published 4 Personal life editBai married Wang Bei a Chinese actress 5 and lived in retirement in Shanghai with his wife 2 Bai died on 15 January 2019 6 References edit a b Leung Laifong 2011 Bai Hua Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture EdwART a b c d e f Leung Laifong 2016 Bai Hua Contemporary Chinese Fiction Writers Biography Bibliography and Critical Assessment Routledge pp 17 21 a b c Dillon Michael 2011 Bai Hua China a Historical and Cultural Dictionary Curzon Press p 18 Richard Baum 1994 Burying Mao Chinese Politics in the Age of Deng Xiaoping Updated Edition Princeton University Press pp 127 129 ISBN 0 691 03639 X 91岁演员王蓓去世 患老年痴呆14年 因出演 马兰花 中女主走红 in Chinese Sohu 2 March 2022 Retrieved 2 March 2022 曝 苦恋 曙光 剧作家白桦去世 享寿89岁 in Chinese sina com cn 15 January 2019 Retrieved 15 January 2019 External links editReview of his movie Breakfast In Chinese Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bai Hua amp oldid 1182456262, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
