Comment on Li Jianwu's Comment on Thunderstorm

【Abstract】Thunderstorm is Mr. Cao Yu's most successful work. With his exquisite brushwork and in accordance with the the three unities principle of theatrical creation， Mr. Cao Yu systematically concentrates the 30-year experience of Zhou Mansion in four acts of drama. The hypocritical capitalist Zhou Puyuan; the pure teenager Zhou Chong influenced by the new ideas; a woman who is driven by indifference and is hurt by love， Poyi; Zhou Ping， who was full of guilt and attempted to escape from the past; and mother Lu who came back unexpectedly， Sifeng， who has pure love and is loved， the oppressed worker Lu Dahai， the greedy housekeeper and so on. Whether family secrets or life secrets， all contradictions erupt on the thunderstorm night. While describing family contradictions and disputes， and denouncing the decadent and stubborn feudal family， it reflects deeper social and contemporary problems. The plot of the drama is exciting， the language is refined and implicit， and the characters with their own characteristics. It is the cornerstone of Chinese drama realism and a milestone of the maturity of modern Chinese drama.

【Key words】Cao Yu; hunderstorm; Character image

【作者簡介】徐硕（1993.01-），女 ，山东淄博人，青岛大学，文学院，硕士研究生，研究方向：中国现当代文学。

The complex relationship and sharp conflict between the characters in the drama make the readers and the audience thrilled. The emotional and vivid portrayal of the characters is another great success of the play， especially Zhou Puyuan， Shiping and Po Yi， which is most interesting. Zhou Puyuan can be said to be a so-called “bad man”， but the author did not simplify this character. Bad people are human beings， and they have some elements of human nature. But in fact， he is an extremely selfish person who only loves himself， so thirty years ago he could drive Shiping away for his future. Thirty years later， when he found that Shiping had appeared in the reality that he had worked hard for many years， his first thought was to protect himself. This kind of person will never really fall in love with others. He has no ability to love at all.

Thirty years ago， Shiping was undoubtedly an insulted and damaged person. All her misfortunes were caused by Zhou Puyuan. Of course， she should hate Zhou deeply. However， it is difficult to tell clearly what happened between men and women： After all， it was her “first love”， “ a day together as husband and wife means endless devotion the rest of your life.”. However， 30 years of hard life gave her a sober sense that she did not want her daughter Sifeng to be a servant. It was because she saw through the nature of the young men of these big families and big families， and no longer had any illusions about them. She also clearly realized that the father and son of Dahai and Zhou Puyuan belonged to two opposing camps and Dahai would not recognize Zhou Puyuan as his father. She refused Zhou Puyuan's cheque， which showed her noble character as a working people. She attributed all this to fate， which is the inevitable idea of a woman with such experience. She could not go beyond her own level of knowledge. The author here does not want to elevate the image of Shiping.

Zhou Puyuan can be said to be a “bad man”， but the author doesn’t simplify this character. Bad people are also human beings and they have some elements of human nature. He abandoned Shiping in his early years， this behavior is certainly a manifestation of his moral corruption， but at that time Shiping was beautiful and meek， so he naturally had some sincere love for Shiping.

Thirty years ago， Shiping was undoubtedly an insulted and damaged person. All her misfortunes were caused by Zhou Puyuan. However， 30 years of hard life gave her a sober sense that she did not want her daughter Sifeng to be a servant. She refused Zhou Puyuan's cheque， which showed her noble character as a working people. She attributed all this to fate， which is the inevitable idea of a woman with such experience.

As Li Jianwu said in his article， “Cao Yu created the real characters in the drama in Thunderstorm. The author's mind and efforts are mostly used in the plot， or in other words， Aristotle said that the plot is the action of the action.” Cao Yu created distinctive characters with vivid language and delineated complicated relationships with perfect dramatic conflicts. His dramatic style was fully and delightfully. As an immortal drama， Thunderstorm left us endless enlightenment.

References：

[1]Cao Yu Thunderstorm[M].Beijing：People's Literature Publishing House，2008，6.

[2]Le Pang The Motley Crowd-Research on Public Psychological[M]Beijing：Central Compilation and Publishing House，2004，1.

[3]Hegel Little Logic[M].Beijing：Chinese History Publishing House，2013，3.