1905, Ding Xilin graduated from primary school, and his father sent him to Nantong Middle School for further study. Ding Xilin studied hard since childhood, and especially loved reading novels, such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Water Margin, The West Chamber and so on. He carefully read Jin Shengtan's comment on writing, which greatly improved his understanding and appreciation of literature and art.
19 10 Ding Xilin graduated from high school and was admitted to the industrial specialized school (the predecessor of Jiaotong University) established by the Ministry of Communications of the Qing government, and graduated from 19 13.
Huangqiao is a thousand-year-old town, where Confucianism and education are highly respected by many families, and reading has become an atmosphere. In the late Qing dynasty, the atmosphere of studying abroad gradually rose. Ding Wenjiang, Zhu and Cheng Gucai went to study in Britain and Japan. Influenced by it, Ding Xilin went to England in the summer of 19 14 to study physics and mathematics at Birmingham University, and obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in 19 17. In the same year, I went to Germany and France to study languages, and then I went to London University to do physics research. Received the Master of Science degree from Birmingham University on 19 19. During his stay in England, in order to pass the language barrier, he extensively read English books and became interested in drama by reading the works of famous dramatists such as Bernard Shaw, John Galsworthy and Ibsen.
1920, Ding Xilin, Li Siguang and Tang Wei returned to China to teach in Peking University at the invitation of Cai Yuanpei, president of Peking University. Ding is a professor of physics, teaching physics and other courses. He was rigorous in his studies and was deeply loved by students, and soon became the director of pre-science courses.
At that time, several friends who had contributed to scientific research co-edited a comprehensive magazine and wanted to publish some plays. Knowing that Ding Xilin liked drama, they encouraged him to write, so Ding Xilin embarked on the road of drama creation.
1923 was a blockbuster, and published a one-act drama "A Bumblebee" (Pacific Volume 4 No.3). This is a drama about love, which exposes the hypocrisy of society at that time, praises the struggle of young men and women for marriage autonomy, and mocks semi-old figures like Mrs. Ji. The play is exquisite in structure and humorous in language, which makes people smile from time to time and gives people a refreshing feeling, which has painted a unique color for the modern drama after the May 4th Movement.
The appearance of Ma Feng announced the birth of a new playwright in the history of modern drama literature in China, which aroused great repercussions in the drama circle in China, and also stimulated Ding Xilin's creative passion, which made him have an indissoluble bond with drama. Since then, he has created one-act dramas "Dear Husband" and "Hotel" (based on Ling Buhua's novel of the same name). These two plays were published in 1924, Volume IV, No.8 of Pacific Ocean, and 1925, Volume I, No.3 of Modern Review.
1925 In March, Beijing staged Bumblebee, which received rave reviews. Shi Gong wrote: Its performance was the first success of China's new play on the stage. In May of the same year, his first one-act drama collection "Bumblebee and Other One-Act Plays" was published by Modern Review Society.
1926, 1, the representative one-act drama "oppression", which marks the author's artistic style and achievements, was published in the first anniversary supplement of Modern Review. This drama is more intense than the comedy of Bumblebee, with more drama on the stage and deeper and wider practical significance. It exposes the contradiction between those who have houses and those who don't, ridicules the stubborn landlady, praises the clever male and female tenants, encourages the mutual sympathy and unity between those who don't have houses, overpowers those who have houses with clever tricks, and encourages all the oppressed to unite against the oppressors. Drama 1935 won the China New Literature Series, which was praised by Hong Shen as "the only masterpiece in comedy creation" during the Great Revolution.
In April, Ding Xilin was elected as the head of the Physics Department of Peking University.
This year, Ding Xilin joined Ms. Yi Li. Yi Li is a descendant of Wei Changhui, leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. After the failure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Webster changed his surname to Li to avoid the raids of the Qing government. Yi Li was also a victim of feudal marriage. She is dignified and beautiful. She studied in a women's normal school and is quite talented. Ding Xilin introduced her as a friend, got to know her and sympathized with her. They became partners until they grew old together.
In the same year, China Drama Club was established. Ding Xilin, Deng Yizhe and Wen Yiduo are jointly responsible for the work of the Publishing Committee.
From 65438 to 0927, at the invitation of Cai Yuanpei, President of Academia Sinica, and Yang Xingfo, Director-General, Ding Xilin went to Shanghai to establish the Institute of Physics, and served as a researcher and director of the Institute until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. In the meantime, he served as the director of the research department for three times. Ding Xilin thinks that it is neither his strong point nor his wish for the Director-General to deal with the Executive Yuan and the Ministry of Finance. Dean Cai had to accept this opinion and let him act as an agent.
Many friends in the scientific community disapprove of Ding Xilin's literary creation in his spare time, and even accuse him of "doing nothing". However, friends in the literary and art circles, such as Shen Congwen and Yang Zhensheng, strongly encouraged him to write plays and even advised him to change careers. Ding Xilin, a "layman" in the literary and art circles, finally did not put down his pen, and successively published one-act dramas "Blind in One Eye" and "The Air in Beijing".
193 1 year, Xinyue Bookstore published Xilin One-Act Drama, which included six plays written by Ding Xilin in his early years. Although the writer has been engaged in teaching and scientific research in colleges and universities for a long time, his life is relatively narrow, and the limitations of time and conditions have affected him to reflect the incomparable rich realistic struggle from a broader scope. Therefore, most of these six dramas are limited to expressing the old and new contradictions in the daily life of intellectuals and citizens, opposing feudal autocratic thoughts and laughing at hypocritical social atmosphere. There is still a certain distance from the people's revolutionary cause at that time. However, this group of imaginative, humorous and original works is not only enough to represent the main achievements of Ding Xilin's early creation, but also the important achievements of China's modern drama creation. Even today, we can see some changes in social life after the May 4th Movement.
1in July, 937, War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression broke out. Soon the Japanese army attacked Shanghai, and the Institute of Physics and its experimental workshop were forced to move to Kunming and Guilin, but some of them remained in Shanghai. During the Anti-Japanese War, Ding Xilin often traveled between the "isolated island" and Kunming and Guilin, and made a lot of preparations. Facing the great national struggle, Ding Xilin's vision gradually broadened, and he paid close attention to the current situation. Therefore, his works during the Anti-Japanese War are closer to reality and more revolutionary than his early works, which is the new development of his thought and the inevitable development of a progressive Democrat under the new historical conditions.
From 65438 to 0939, Ding Xilin created a one-act drama "Three National Currency", which was his first work during the Anti-Japanese War. In this one-act play, he sharply satirized Mrs. Wu, who was mean, selfish, unreasonable and bullied the maid, and the policeman who was in favor, and praised Yang Changxiong, a young student with a sense of justice and compassion. This drama not only surpasses his previous works in reflecting the depth and social significance of life, but also gives the audience beautiful enjoyment with its exquisite layout and ingenious dialogue. Li Jianwu said: "Three dollars national currency is a one-act play left by the old writer Ding Xilin since the May 4th Movement-and it is the best comedy in the drama."
In the same year, Ding Xilin also created a four-act comedy "When My Wife Comes Back". The play is set in Shanghai of 1939, and describes the story of a traitor's wife and children who rebelled against the traitor and left Shanghai for the home front. It warmly praised the progress and consciousness of young people during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, and showed its hatred for Japanese imperialism and traitors. This play is of great significance in the author's creation. As can be seen from this play, the author began to pay attention to the country and the fate and future of the nation from the description of trivial matters around him.
1940 In the spring, Mr. Cai Yuanpei died in Hong Kong, and Ding Xilin went to Hong Kong to attend the funeral. He said sadly: "I have worked under the direct leadership of Mr. Cai Yuanpei for 20 years, and I have never been tired of it. Since then, I have lost my mentor." In memory of Mr Cai Yuanpei, he created a four-act comedy "Miao Feng", which was published by the monthly Guilin Drama Spring and Autumn. The following year, it was performed by Shanghai Dramatic Art Society.
Miaofeng Mountain is set in the southwest of China, and describes the legendary story that Wang Tiger, an anti-Japanese hero in the mountain, returned to the mountain to organize and strengthen the anti-Japanese forces in order to avoid being framed by the Kuomintang. It truly exposed the plot of Kuomintang reactionaries to destroy all anti-Japanese forces and the dark reality in all aspects of Kuomintang areas, and showed the patriotic enthusiasm of the people, especially young students. From this, we can clearly see that the author's thought develops with the development of the revolutionary situation, and his progressive political tendency and optimism are more obvious than before.
Although Ding Xilin's long plays retain the comedy style of one-act plays, they are far less rigorous in structure than his one-act plays.
Ding Xilin had already planned how to transfer the work of his own experimental workshop, especially the optical instrument laboratory, to the anti-aggression war as soon as possible. 194 1 year, this plan was finally realized, and the China government and the British government reached an agreement to set up an optical instrument factory in Hongkong to produce military optical instruments. The agreement clearly states that the equipment and personnel in the instrument workshop of the Institute of Physics are jointly operated by the British, with Ding Xilin as the chairman. After half a year of preparation in Ding Xilin, when the work made a little progress, the Pacific War broke out and Hong Kong fell. When Wang Jingwei learned that Ding Xilin was in Hong Kong, he immediately sent someone to kidnap him and his family to Guangzhou through the enemy who occupied Hong Kong, and personally sent a telegram to "invite". I will force him to take office in Nanjing. As a playwright, Ding Xilin is very sensitive to this "play". After careful arrangement, he got rid of the close surveillance of the enemy and puppet, cleverly disguised, and escaped from the clutches alone. When he arrived in Guilin, all he had left was a big pipe. Wang Ching-wei immediately revealed his true colors, and took Ding Xilin's wife Yi Li and his sons Ke Gang, Daewoo and Datong as hostages and held them in Guangzhou prison for two years and nine months.
From 65438 to 0942, Ding Xilin continued to be in charge of physics research in Guilin. The following year, when Guilin fell, Ding Xilin moved the Institute of Physics to Chongqing.
1In June, 945, at the invitation of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, Ding Xilin went to Moscow with Guo Moruo to attend the celebration meeting of the 220th anniversary of the founding of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. In February 65438, Miao Fengshan was published by Shanghai Cultural Life Publishing House.
From 65438 to 0947, Ding Xilin resigned as the director of the Institute of Physics and went to Qingdao as a professor in the Department of Physics of Shandong University. In the same year, Shanghai Culture Publishing House published Xilin One-Act Drama Collection, which included seven one-act dramas.
1April, 948, Ding Xilin was hired as the Dean of the Faculty of Science by Taiwan Province Provincial University. Not long after, some people at National Taiwan University opposed President Zhuang Changgong's appointment of "pro-Communist" Ding Xilin as the dean of the Faculty of Science. In September, Ding Xilin returned to his original post at Qingdao Shandong University until liberation.
1949 On the eve of national liberation in September, at the invitation of Zhou Enlai, Ding Xilin went to Beijing to attend the first plenary session of the China People's Political Consultative Conference to discuss the grand plan for the founding of the country.
10 year 10 month/day, People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded. At the end of that month, Ding Xilin, Ding Ling, Wu Han, Sakov, Xu Guangping, Zhao Shuli and Cao Yu went to the Soviet Union to attend the 32nd anniversary of the October Revolution.
165438+ 10 Ding Xilin was appointed vice minister of culture. Since then, he has served as deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Committee and vice president of the Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. At the same time, he has served as vice chairman of China Association for Science and Technology, deputy director of Cultural Reform Commission, executive director of Writers Association, president of China-India Friendship Association and president of China-Africa Friendship Association. He is also a member of the first, second and third sessions of the China People's Political Consultative Conference and a deputy to the National People's Congress.
Ding Xilin didn't stop writing because he was busy with government and foreign affairs. Excited at the age of 58, he picked up his pen again and made many attempts and explorations in the field of drama. From 195 1 to 1963, he wrote eight plays: Three Acts of Leifeng Pagoda, Five Acts of Hu Fenglian and Tian Yuchuan, Seven Acts of Cowherd and Weaver Girl, Seven Acts of Street Mouse, Six Acts and Four Acts of Meng Lijun. Among them, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl was published in the April issue of Dance 1959, and Meng Lijun was published in the July and August issue of the script 196 1, and it was staged in Myanmar, which was well received. The other six plays were not published or put on the stage for various reasons. The Complete Works of Ding Xilin's Drama Income 1985 was published by China Drama Publishing House.
In order to help young playwrights improve their level, 1962, Ding Xilin proposed at a symposium on drama language that every playwright and drama critic should choose a famous drama, regardless of ancient and modern times, plus comments and explanations with Jin Shengtan's correct views and positions. This initiative has won the support of the theater industry. He himself took the lead in doing so, translating three famous works, such as The Expression of Twelve Jin by Barry, The Locked Box by Maxwell Field and Napoleon by Bernard Shaw, and writing comments in the form of eyebrow comments and general comments. This practice is welcomed by literary lovers, especially drama lovers.
Ding Xilin's spirit of exploration is also reflected in other fields. 1935, Ding Xilin reformed the traditional Chinese musical instrument flute, and the musical instrument workshop of the Institute of Physics produced a new flute, which changed the original six-hole seven-tone scale into eleven-hole twelve-tone average, thus expanding the range of musical instruments, and wrote the article "New Flute" in Science Illustrated. Introduce it.
As early as before liberation, he was very interested in the reform of Chinese characters, and even practiced it after becoming the leader of the Chinese character reform Committee. He first put forward the "stroke-shaped character search method", that is, to give a number to the first basic stroke of Chinese characters (horizontal, vertical, left, dot, fold, etc.). ), and then connect the number of strokes according to the order of stroke writing, and it becomes a number with several numbers. In this way, we can know the number by words and find words by numbers. Now this method has been absorbed by "computer Chinese information pen coding method"
Ding Xilin is not only a physicist, but also a playwright. He is also proficient in writing. Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai admired him very much and called him a "generalist".
Over the past 20 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Ding Xilin has led China friendship and cultural delegations to visit Indian, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Algerian and other Asian and African countries for many times, and strengthened friendship and cultural exchanges with these countries. Especially during the "Cultural Revolution", under the direct leadership of Premier Zhou Enlai, Ding Xilin welcomed and sent off, and spared no effort to maintain cultural ties with foreign countries, which was even more commendable.
1On April 4th, 974, Ding Xilin died of a heart attack from overwork at the age of 8 1 year. Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and other countries sent wreaths.
Ding Xilin is a comedy writer with a unique style in the history of modern drama in China, and his achievements in the creation of one-act drama are particularly outstanding. Known as "the opponent of one-act drama", "the master of comedy" and "Moliere of the East". Although his works are few, they have long been loved by readers and audiences at home and abroad. 1959, in order to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the May 4th Movement, Beijing People's Art Theatre held a comedy creation evening of Ding Xilin, directed by Jiao Juyin, and performed his one-act dramas "One Ma Feng", "Oppression", "Three Dollars National Currency" and "When My Wife Comes Back" in the form of a whole drama. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the May 4th Movement, Ding Xilin's Three Yuan National Currency, A Horse Peak and Oppression were staged in Beijing. 1938 During July and August, Beijing Renyi ingeniously organized farewell clips and short plays similar to Peking Opera, which were performed on the same stage, and were broadcast on CCTV's eight sets of "The Last Romantic Drama Expo" on August 5. Sunrise and Thunderstorm by Cao Yu, Teahouse by Lao She and Camel Xiangzi by Ding Xilin. As one of the founders of China drama movement, Ding Xilin's name will be recorded in the history of modern literature in China forever.