Plot synopsis of "Peking Man"

Overview: The play is performed on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the sky is blue and the whistle of pigeons floats intermittently into the flower hall of the Zeng family. Through the Yangxin Zhai, you can see the green bamboo branches outside the window. Although this crumbling feudal lord looks very declining, the mahogany furniture and antique decorations in the hall still show the extraordinary magnanimity that once flourished.

The detailed plot is as follows:

In June 1952, the Beijing People's Art Theater was established and Cao Yu was appointed director. The script author Cao Yu said when talking about the motivation for writing: "At that time, I had a wish that people should live like human beings. They cannot live like many people at that time. They must find a way in the darkness."

The story of "Peking Man" takes place in Peiping in the early 1930s. There are three generations living in the ancient Zeng family at this time. The first generation is the dying Zeng Hao, whose wife has died. The second generation is Zeng Hao's son Zeng Wenqing. His wife Zeng Siyi has been taking care of Mr. Zeng in his later years. 30-year-old Su Fang, Zeng Wenqing's sister Zeng Wencai and her husband Jiang Tai, who live in Zeng's family, and the third generation Zeng Wenqing's 17-year-old son Zeng Ting and his 18-year-old wife Zeng Ruizhen;

< p>In addition, there are also tenants living in Zeng's house, anthropology professor Yuan Rengan, his daughter Yuan Yuan, and his colleagues, the "Peking Man" whose appearance and body look very much like primitive people in ancient times.

Nanny Chen, an old servant who had been away from the Zeng family for many years, returned to Beijing with her grandson Xiao Zhuzhu to visit her old master. She received the false enthusiasm of Zeng Siyi, the daughter-in-law of the Zeng family, the second generation of the Zeng family. During the conversation, the debt collector was insisting on collecting money outside the Zeng family, but the young lady of the Zeng family still refused to give money and asked the housekeeper Zhang Shun to drive him away. Zhang Shun and wet nurse Chen drove the debt collector away with curses. .

On the side, Xiao Zhuzhu was playing with Zeng Ting and Yuan Yuan. On the night of the August Festival, the Zeng family invited everyone to dinner at home. Zeng Siyi talked about Su Fang's marriage and advocated that Su Fang marry Yuan Rengan. Zeng Hao and Zeng Wenqing opposed it. At this time, the debt collector came to the door again to collect debts. Yuan Rengan and the "Beijing people" drove away the debt collectors by force. Ruizhen found out that she was pregnant, and she was tired of the life of the Zeng family. She wanted to have an abortion and left the Zeng family with Yuan Rengan and his party. Sufang persuaded her not to have an abortion, but Ruizhen had made up her mind.

On the one hand, Zeng Ting did not approve of the marriage arranged by his parents and fell in love with Yuan Yuan, but Yuan Yuan was naughty and did not express his feelings. Jiang Tai blamed the Zeng family for being careless and drunk, and accidentally injured Zeng Hao. Zeng Hao passed out and was admitted to the hospital. When he came back, it happened to be his birthday. The neighbor Du family asked the Zeng family to collect debts, demanding that they either pay the money or hand over the debt. The Zeng family either had to hand over the coffin that Zeng Hao painted every year. Mrs. Zeng thought that her father was rich and she was unwilling to pay off the debt, so she proposed to hand over the coffin.

Jiang Tai proposed to find his friend, the director of the Public Security Bureau, but Jiang Tai ran away amidst everyone's expectations. The time to hand over the coffin had arrived, but Jiang Tai showed up drunk. The only hope was shattered, and the Du family was in trouble. Zeng Hao carried away the coffin with a helpless and painful cry. The eldest young master Zeng Wenqing swallowed opium and died. Zeng Ting wrote a divorce agreement with Ruizhen. Su Fang finally decided to leave the Zeng family with Ruizhen. After Zeng Hao rested, Sufang and Ruizhen stepped into the car to leave.

Evaluation on the creation of "Peking Man"

The character creation in "Peking Man" artistically absorbs the essence of most other works, and there are also new creations in it.

For example, the image of Zeng Siyi has a certain similarity with Wang Xifeng in "A Dream of Red Mansions", Zeng Wenqing is similar to Gao Juexin in "Family", and Su Fang seems to be a synthesis of plum blossom and "Family". The image of Juehui, and the contradictions and intertwining of the three generations make the whole play compact and full of tension. "Peking Man" shows the new heights that Cao Yu's drama creation art reached in the 1940s.