After the song "On the Songhua River" set the atmosphere of the charity gala, the Americans in the stands burst into warm applause. Then, a rousing tune sounded. If the same time-traveler as Yu Sheng appeared here, he would be surprised to find that the tune of this song is extremely familiar. It is the only song that Chinese will sing in later generations. It's just that the rhythm of this song seems to be much faster than that of later generations, as if it was a bloody roar! This song is none other than "March of the Volunteers"!

It's just that the one who sings is not Chinese, but a black man. This black man is known to most of the Hollywood stars here. This person's name is Paul Robertson, and he is one of the few black talents in this era when black people are generally not highly educated. Not only is he considered one of the greatest bass singers of the 20th century, but he also has a high degree of attainment in the singing of black folk songs and spiritual songs. He is also proficient in many Chinese.

Because his father was a black pastor, Robertson was treated more generously and fairly than other black people. In middle school, he was one of only two black students in the school. Except that you can't fight back when you are beaten, and there are more rules on weekdays, there is not much difference between other students.

By the time he entered college, Robertson's musical talent was well known. In 1925, Lawrence Brown, Robertson's Negro anthem arranger and collector, invited Robertson to collaborate, and the two of them were scheduled for April 19 at the Greenwich Theatre. Tickets for the concert were sold out on the night they went on sale, and the concert itself was a huge success. So much so that after several curtain calls, the fanatical audience is gradually calming down.

And Robertson, in addition to sympathy for blacks, also has a favorable opinion of China. On several occasions, he has publicly opposed Japan's war of aggression against China. Moreover, he actually learned to sing "March of the Volunteers" in Chinese, and even made a record. Even the income from the record was divided into a part and sent to Tian Han and Nie Er.

In 1940. At the end of his concert at the New York Open Air Music Hall, Robertson sang "March of the Volunteers" to thousands of Americans in English and Chinese. At this time, the Americans had not yet experienced the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and it was none of their business. So, this time the singing didn't have much impact. Although, for Americans, this kind of passionate and sonorous song has a completely different style from the popular and glamorous sound in the American music scene. Many viewers asked Robert to sing it again. But it's just a love for the song itself.

As a later generation, for the rest of my life that I grew up listening to this song, I naturally know the ins and outs of this song well. This "March of the Volunteers", although it became famous in the movie "Children of the Storm". As the theme song of a movie, it can be regarded as the most sung and played in history, and it is also the most successful movie theme song.

But in essence, there is still a female parent. Before the rest of his life crossed, more than 40 experts and scholars and descendants of the anti-Japanese martyrs unanimously agreed. The mother copy of this "March of the Volunteers" is the "Military Song of the Blood Alliance National Salvation Army" composed on October 16, 1931.

The author is the brothers Sun Mingwu and Sun Mingchen, who were anti-war fighters of the year. After the Japanese occupied the three eastern provinces, in less than a year, all parts of the Northeast were full of anti-Japanese beacons. It's only a year. The total number of anti-Japanese volunteers in the Northeast was 300,000. And part of these anti-Japanese volunteers is the predecessor of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Army.

Among these volunteers, one is the "Blood Alliance National Salvation Army" born in Fushun. And Sun Mingwu and Sun Mingchen are members of the Blood Alliance National Salvation Army. The "Military Song of the Blood Alliance National Salvation Army" written by him. The lyrics are: "Rise up, people who don't want to be slaves of the country / Arouse the people of the whole country with our flesh and blood / We can't sit still / We must rise up and kill the enemy / The Chinese nation has reached the most dangerous time / Rise up!" Get up! / The people of the whole country unite / Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! ”

Although its lyrics are not the same as the later "March of the Volunteers", but. What is evident is that the lyrics are structured in much the same way. After Tian Han heard this song, he adapted it to make its lyrics finally mature and powerful, and fit the plot of the movie "Children of the Storm". And the tune was completely created by Nie Er alone.

It's just that this "March of the Volunteers" is basically equivalent to Nie Er's masterpiece. On April 18, 1935, after Nie Er sent the final score of the "March of the Volunteers" back to China, on July 17, he mysteriously drowned in Fujisawa City, Japan.

The power of a song does not lie in the judgment of the world, but in the song itself. In China in this era, the power of advertising is not strong, and even newspapers dedicated to movies and entertainment will not have much impact on ordinary people. Because, the general public will not buy such a newspaper purely for leisure and entertainment at all.

The ultimate fate of a film and the music that accompanies it depends almost entirely on the quality of the work. In this case, a song can spread among the people and spread overseas. I have to say that the power bred in it is huge, and it can pierce people's hearts. Towards the end of the Second World War, "March of the Volunteers" is a natural part of the repertoire of the triumph of the Allied Victory.

Robert sang the March of the Volunteers twice in English and twice in Chinese at the Hollywood Bowl. At this time, for the rest of his life, he had already prepared a huge movie screening screen, and when he was on the beach, he collected various images from China about the Japanese invasion of China, the massacre of the Chinese, and the resistance of the Chinese against the Japanese invaders, and the images of the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor in the United States were skillfully intertwined, making the Americans in the audience feel like pins and needles on pins and needles. They really couldn't imagine how much damage they would do to the United States if these locust-like Japanese set foot in the United States.

And the sonorous and powerful tune of "March of the Volunteers" evokes the fighting spirit of all Americans who are sitting on pins and needles. And recognized the fact that the Chinese are now their allies. When the image on the big screen changed to the Chinese desperately resisting the Japanese invaders, the Americans in the audience actually cheered for the Chinese's actions. The heart of the same hatred of the enemy has been formed since then!

After this song, there is no need to urge or hint for the rest of your life. Many Americans got up from their seats, lined up in front of the donation box, pulled out their checkbooks, and swiped down a line of numbers. Then drop the check into the donation box. It seems that none of them are small numbers.

After Robert finished singing. I was invited to rest on the seat for the rest of my life. The people of the Los Angeles Philharmonic stepped down and took a break for a while. On the movie screen that was erected, the images rotated, and after some current news about China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was played, a male lion suddenly appeared. Everyone here knows that this is the beginning of a MGM movie!

After MGM's lion roars, the title of the movie is revealed - "Dragon Species"! The Hollywood crowd in the audience was shocked: "Isn't MGM's "Dragon Species" going to wait two months for it to be released? How did it get it done so quickly? This charity gala is actually the premiere of "Dragon Species"! With such a slow pace of images, it will definitely not be a trailer! Oh, mygod! Katharine Hepburn actually said a Chinese sentence just now......"

The look of surprise on everyone's face. It made Yu Sheng and Meyer very happy. The success of a movie, in addition to its quality, the most important thing is to be unexpected and seize the opportunity!

When Meyer chose this "Dragon Species" to enter the filming plan, he had fully investigated the market. In the United States in this era, there is no movie that positively reflects the face of the Chinese and the War of Resistance in this era. China, for most Americans, is mysterious and unfamiliar.

Therefore, when Pearl Sai's work "Dragon Seed" was published. It immediately became a popular bestseller among Americans. Pearl Race was one of the first half of the 20th century Americans who were friendly to China and had rare sincere feelings. Four months after his birth, he came to China. He has lived in Zhenjiang, Suzhou, Nanjing, Lushan and other places for nearly 40 years. Needless to say, he is a Chinese level 10. I also have a great understanding of Chinese folk culture. It is said that Pearl Race and Xu Zhimo still have an unclear relationship.

In 1931, Pearl Sai's "The Earth" was published. It became one of the best-selling books in the United States in 1931 and 1932. Translations have been published in various languages. The book won the Nobel Prize in 1938.

In 1942. Pearl Sai returned to China for the last time, and at this time, China was already in the middle of a confrontation with the Japanese. Because of the war. Pearl Sai did not return to Nanjing. However, due to the identity of Pearl Race Americans, I still saw many materials that were not visible to ordinary Chinese. The Nanjing Massacre by the Japanese against the Chinese made Pearl Sai, who once lived here, extremely angry. This is where we begin to collect materials and create the book "Dragon Species"!

In March 1942, Pearl Race was invited by the BBC and the Voice of America radio station to begin to introduce to the Chinese in Chinese the attitude of the Americans in support of China's war of resistance and the measures that had been taken. Subsequently, "Dragon Species" was published, which was set against the backdrop of the Nanjing Massacre and described the survival and resistance of the people in the western suburbs of Nanjing under Japanese aggression. This book became the first novel in the world to record and reflect the Nanjing Massacre. The book's large number of storylines based on real events moved Americans.

At this time, because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in the United States, the Americans hated the Japanese very much. In this case, Meyer, the head of MGM, decided to invest in the filming of "Dragon Species".

For the rest of his life, in later generations, he naturally watched this movie, which was known as "the most divine in the anti-Japanese drama". To be honest, although MGM made this movie with a lot of laughter in the eyes of later generations, it can be regarded as trying his best. Not only are the sets, props and costumes extremely exquisite, but even the details of the hairstyle and face shape are noted. Even Katharine Hepburn actually left the famous Sister Jiang's head in the anti-Japanese plot paragraphs.

In this way, "The Earth" is really a lot stronger in terms of details. Moreover, this movie does not have the inherent prejudice of Americans against Chinese, but is extremely real. There is neither braid nor smoke. It's just the simple details of the farmhouse, driving the cattle to plough the fields. The slogan is pure Chinese characters, and the background music is "March of the Volunteers". Even in the scenes of eating, the actors are holding dishes and chopsticks. The only obviously untrue detail is that the crew used a Sherrena instead when they really couldn't find a Chinese pastoral dog in the United States.

If you follow the original historical trend, doing this is already the apex of MGM and even Hollywood. It's just that this world has the rest of its life, which will naturally make this "divine drama" more godly. After some negotiation with Meyer, an old fox, Yu Sheng not only paid half of the filming cost of this movie, but also received a forty percent dividend. Moreover, he also settled in the crew of "Dragon Species", taught Katharine Hepburn, and spoke Chinese with some important actors. And, turn some long sentences into short sentences.

As a result, the film has no hilarious features of actors speaking English lines with a strong British, Australian or American accent. For the rest of his life in Nanjing, the sets, props and costumes have become more realistic after some changes. Halfway through the movie, the audience resounded with the exclamations of various Hollywood stars.

Katharine Hepburn is the number one acting genius of the 25 greatest actresses of the 20th century according to the American Film Institute. After the rest of her life put forward suggestions for improving the details of her performance, her every move became more and more natural. Even those overseas Chinese under Yu Sheng's subordinates will think that this is a blonde and blue-eyed pure Chinese. The expression of the character can go so far, I have to say that Katharine Hepburn's acting skills have been perfected.

Of course, the film didn't stop at being more realistic, and Yu Sheng added a theme song to the film while retaining "March of the Volunteers" as background music. This theme song, most of the people of later generations have heard it, it is Leehom Wang's "Descendants of the Dragon"! Of course, the lyrics have changed. However, since the song "Descendants of the Dragon" and "Dragon Seed" can be seen from the title to be basically the same theme, the lyrics do not need to change too much!

When Xiaoyu, played by Katharine Hepburn, began to resist the Japanese, the theme song of the movie sounded - "There is a river in the far east, and its name is the Yangtze River." There is a river in the far east, and its name is the Yellow River! ”

"There was a dragon in the ancient East, and its name was China! There was a group of people in the ancient East, and they were all descendants of dragons! ”

"I grew up under the feet of the dragon, and when I grew up, I will be the descendant of the dragon! Black eyes, black hair, and yellow skin, forever and forever the descendants of the dragon......" (To be continued.) )