5 December 2017
(Memorial ceremony in commemoration of 110th anniversary of Mr Zhu Duanjun's birthday)
(Mr Qiao Zhen performing a peom recital of "The Tough Road of Sichuan)
(Representatives of guests saluting and presenting wreaths to Mr Zhu Duanjun's satue)
(Vice Chairman and Vice President of STA Huang Changyong gaving a speech at memorial meeting in commenoration of 110th anniversary of Mr Zhu Duanjun's birthday)
(Vice Chairman of STA Hu Min presiding over memorial meeting)
(Representatives of guests gaving speeches)
(Teachers and students of Acting Department performing recital of self created poem of "Light a Lamp and Pass It on")
(Academic symposium in commemoration of 110th anniversary of Mr Zhu Duanjun's birthday in progress)
(Group photo of participants of academic symposium)
Mr Zhu Duanjun (1907-1978) was a famous Chinese theatre director and educator. In 1950, he assumed the role of professor and dean of the Acting Department of the Shanghai Theatre School and currently head of academic affairs. In 1956, the school changed name to the Shanghai Theatre Academy, and he assumed the role of professor and Director of Academic Affairs. In 1962, he was appointed Vice President of Shanghai Theatre Academy. On 7 November 1978, he died suddenly during the rehearsal of "Thunderstorm" which he was leading despite illness.
2017 marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of Chinese theatre and also marks the 110th anniversary of the birthday of Mr Zhu Duanjun who was a pioneer of the Chinese theatre. On 1 December, on the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, in order to further inherit and carry forward Mr Zhu Duanjun’s ideal of art and philosophy of educating people, the Shanghai Theatre Academy held a series of activities in commemoration of the 110th anniversary of Mr Zhu Duanjun’s birthday, deeply remembering Mr. Zhu Duanjun's noble life of selfless dedication to Chinese theatre education.
At 9.30 am, the memorial ceremony in commemoration of the 110th anniversary of Mr Zhu Duanjun’s birthday was held in front of the Duanjun Theatre named after Mr Zhu Duanjun. Members of STA leadership and Mr Zhu Duanjun’s former students came to the site to cherish the memory of this outstanding and highly admired artist, educator and teacher. The memorial ceremony was presided over by Wang Xueming, Branch Party Secretary of Acting Department. Performing artist, Qiao Zhen came with illness and performed a passionate and affectionate poetry reading of "The Tough Road of Sichuan" in praise of Mr Zhu Duanjun’s spirit and character of being unafraid of hardships and barriers and always scaling new height of art and his philosophy of education to continuously strive for perfection throughout his career life in art. The guests and representatives saluted and presented wreaths to Mr Zhu Duanjun’s statue.
From 10 am to 11.30 am, the memorial meeting in commemoration of the 110th anniversary of Mr Zhu Duanjun’s birthday was held inside the Duanjun Theatre. The meeting was presided over by Hu Min, Vice Chairman of STA. Huang Changyong, President of STA, gave the speech. Wang Xueming, Party Branch Secretary of Acting Department, Xiong Yuanwei, a STA alumnus, famous director and council member of Chinese Theatre Association, Wang Fumin, a STA alumnus and former postgraduate student of Mr Zhu Duanjun, Zhu Renjie, eldest grandson of Mr Zhu Duanjun, and Mao Shanyu, Director of Shanghai Huju Opera Company, made speeches as the representatives of the guests. Teachers and students of the Acting Department performed a fully affectionate recital of a self created poem “Light a Lamp and Pass It on” to jointly remember this pioneer of Chinese theatre, outstanding educator and artist.
From 1.30 pm to 5.30 pm, the academic symposium in commemoration of the 110th anniversary of Mr Zhu Duanjun’s birthday was held in the ground floor conference of the Foxi Building. The symposium was chaired by He Yan, Dean of Acting Department and attended by retired leaders, teachers, undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Acting Department, as well as well-known personages from the theatre circle, former students of Mr Zhu Duanjun and members of his family. More than a dozen people gave talks during the symposium, which received warm reaction from the floor. Through the symposium, the Shanghai Theatre Academy will organize resources from different areas to carry out a comprehensive and conscientious study of Mr Zhu Duanjun’s teaching methods for actor training with a view to promoting more scientific and effective improvement of teaching methods for actor training and to making unremitting efforts in the pursuit of the Shanghai Theatre Academy’s goals to cultivate more actors of high caliber.
