On the occasion of 60th anniversary of the Anti-Japanese War in China and the victory in the Anti-Fascist War worldwide, various art troupes across the country initiate a serious of theatrical shows with an aim to represent and introspect the history through art forms. More than 30 best plays featuring Anti-Japanese War and the World War II (WWII) will be on Beijing stage from May to September this year.

Official with the Art Department under Ministry of Culture noted that the list of play to be staged has been confirmed so far and all of them have four characteristics:

I. Various forms

The plays to be shown include almost all the art styles, for example, spoken drama, Peking opera, Ping opera, Yu opera, song and dance drama, children's drama as well as musical play.

II. Exquisite art forms

Many plays have been considered and polished for years, so they are of high artistic value.

III. Local characteristics

All the works come from a dozen of provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

IV. Heroes and important historical events reproduced

For instance, national heroes such as Yang Jingyu and Zhao Yiman, etc., will be portrayed on the stage.

It is worth noticing that two plays will feature the notorious Nanjing Massacre this time. Peace Ode, to be presented by Nanjing National Philharmonic Society, is the first large national symphony depicting the Nanjing Massacr and takes famous composer Zhao Jiping three years to finish. "It is my incumbent duty to compose a symphony of this kind," said Zhao.

The ballet Nanjing 1937 created by China Opera and Dance-drama Theatre reviews the extremely tragic Nanjing Massacre. "Nanjing Massacre is the keenly felt pain of 4 billion Chinese compatriots, and an unforgettable national humiliation. It occurs to the foreigners the films of Schindler's List and The Pianist when talking about the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Being the young Chinese, I think I share the responsibility to adopt this historical event on the stage," commented Tong Ruirui, director of the ballet.

China National Drama Theatre will also present five plays this time. Zhao Youliang, director of the theatre said that although the flowers celebrating the victories in those days faded away with time in our memory, the appalling crimes that fascists trample on humanity, no matter the Auschwitz Concentration Camp or the "Nanjing Massacr", are still torturing the human conscience. Invasions, terrorism as well as slaughters nowadays highlight the necessity of introspecting on the WWII. All the good and honest people in the world are facing a challenge �C how can we achieve the peace and development in the 21st century?

By People's Daily Online