The drama Thunderstorm is a very famous work. 1934 was published in the third issue of Literature Quarterly, and 1936 was published by Cultural Life Publishing House. Later versions have many modifications. Now it is reviewed with an earlier version. Thunderstorm has four acts, with prologue and epilogue.
The play wrote a gripping and soul-stirring human tragedy. Thirty years ago, the landlord Zhou Puyuan, a young man, drove away Lu Shiping, a maid who had just given birth to his second child, in order to marry a rich lady. Lu Shiping, desperate, threw herself into the river with her newborn second son, Lu Dahai, to help others. Thirty years later, Sifeng, the daughter of Lu Shiping and Lu Gui, unfortunately went to the Zhou family to be a maid. At this time, Zhou Pingzheng, the eldest son of Lu Shiping who stayed in Zhoujia, was tired of the incestuous relationship with his stepmother Fan Yi and turned to like Sifeng. When Sifeng was pregnant for 3 months, Shi Ping Lu came into Zhou Puyuan's house again. Because of her appearance, Zhou Ping and Sifeng discovered the real relationship between them and both committed suicide. Zhou Ping's younger brother, Fan Yi's own son, Zhou Chong, also died from rescuing Sifeng. Fan Yi and Shi Ping were insane at the same time, leaving Zhou Puyuan to repent silently in loneliness.
The author adopts a retrospective drama structure, and explains all kinds of past entanglements in the plot development of the last day from the moment when Lu Shiping is about to enter the Zhou family again after 30 years. This dramatic structure of writing from near the climax makes the already gripping plot more compact and intense, and the drama is full of flavor.
The basic idea of Thunderstorm is to condemn and curse the unreasonable fate and society, and at the same time it also shows the author's sympathy for the oppressed and appreciation for the rebels. In the plays, the God of Destiny seems to be everywhere, always playing tricks on people through the environment, opportunities, people's own emotions and desires: Zhou Puyuan thinks he is decisive and rational, but his efforts to maintain the "decency" of his family have failed miserably; In order to change his situation, Zhou Fanyi desperately tried to catch Zhou Ping, and the result was also counterproductive; Zhou Ping tried his best to get rid of the disreputable relationship with his stepmother and moved to love Sifeng. Unexpectedly, he fell into a more terrible abyss. After being abandoned, Lu Shiping didn't want to see the Zhou family again, but the "unfair life" happened to make their mother and daughter meet the Zhou family father and son. Father and son argue and fight, but they don't know who the other is. Not only is fate good at playing tricks on people, but unfair society is also imprisoning and oppressing people: Fan Yi is imprisoned in a suffocating feudal family, and her psychology is abnormal; After being abandoned, Lu Shiping suffered various hardships. Poor Sifeng suffered the sins committed by the Zhou family and his son for two generations. Workers such as Lu Dahai also suffered exploitation and destruction. To this, Fan Yi, Lu Dahai, Lu Shiping, Zhou Chong, etc. all resisted in different ways. The author gives these people deep sympathy and sincere appreciation. On the whole, although the drama has a strong color of fate tragedy, the democratic thought is still its basic ideological core.
The characterization of Thunderstorm is also excellent. Zhou Puyuan is a capitalist with a heavy feudal ideology. He is mercenary and overbearing, but he is hypocritical and thinks that his quality is noble. Starting from his own practical considerations, he reluctantly abandoned the young and beautiful Lu Shiping. When he mistakenly thought that Shi Ping was dead and no longer posed a threat to himself, he seemed to miss her sincerely to keep his inner balance. But once Shi Ping appeared again, he scolded her in fear and expression. It was only when he felt helpless that he had to admit the true identity of Shi Ping in front of the whole family. This is a deep-seated hypocrite image. Fan Yi, another character, also has a distinctive personality. When her just needs in life were imprisoned, she resisted desperately. She will madly love and hate. She is the most "thunderstorm" character. Her immorality is based on resisting immoral society, so she is an individualist image distorted by unreasonable society.
The whole plot was carried out on the eve of thunderstorm and in thunderstorm. The fate of the play, the rebellious mood, the tense plot, and the characters full of "thunderstorm" character are perfectly integrated with the rendering of the environmental atmosphere in the play, which began to be depressed and suffocated, and then the thunder and lightning crossed and the rainstorm poured down, which has a strong artistic appeal.
Cao Yu pays great attention to learning and drawing lessons from western drama art. The fate thought in Sophocles' King Oedipus, the rebellious character in euripides's Medea, the consanguineous plot in Ibsen's Ghosts, and the atmosphere rendering in ostrovsky's Thunderstorm all had a subtle influence in the creation of Thunderstorm.
Thunderstorm is a successful attempt by China to transplant western drama forms. Its performance won a warm and enduring welcome from the audience. It is a milestone in the history of modern drama in China.