James Poy Wong 黃培正
"Living itself is so vague and empty, yet the desire to live is so intense and strong. No wonder the history of mankind contains only the word ‘war’."
"Drama Performance" - 1945
演剧
有位陌生的青年对我不客气地问： “演剧到底有什么用呢？” 我当时没有回答。 他狰狞地笑了，像已把敌人打倒一样。
事实上，我也不知道怎样回答他才好, 到现在我还想不出一个回他的答案来。 这个问题似乎永远都没有完满的答复，正和我问你吃饭有什么用, 你自然会说是为了生。 但是为什么你想生呢，难道苦头还吃不够？ 这样就会牵出长长的难题，连哲学家也无法解答。 生本身是那么渺茫空虚，而生的意味却又这样浓厚，无怪乎人类的历eat 史就只有 “战争” 两个字了。
最显著的， 戏剧有公共娱乐的功能，少数人的劳苦，给以众人享乐，这确实值得称赞的服务精神。 它的目的是为提高大众文化水准，因为文盲的众多而一时也难把全数更改，但是又不能把他们全都拨开不理，戏剧就有了它的新立足处。 当然在人类全都识字明理时候，戏剧还是一样的需要。 它是艺术的一种，是文化的结晶，断不曾落在时代后的。 爱好戏剧者对于非营业的演出，是一种学习的方式：一方面可以培养出专门的人才，藉以维持戏剧的演进；一方面又可以使从事者更了解剧本的真义，更明了人生，言语的正态， 演说的技能，和对领导的本领都有补益。 而且是一种高尚的娱乐，使青年不至无所事事，而走上歧路。
就以此而论，戏剧运动是一件极应该推运的工作和事业。
Drama Performance1
A young stranger rudely asked me, “What good is a drama performance?” I didn’t answer him at the time. He hideously laughed as if he had defeated an enemy.
In fact, I really don’t know how to answer him; even now I still can’t think of a satisfactory response. This question may never have a satisfactory answer. Just like if I ask you what is the use of eating, you would naturally say it is for staying alive. But why do you want to live? Haven’t you suffered enough from hardship? These questions will then lead towards many conundrums that even philosophers cannot answer. Living itself is so vague and empty, yet the desire to live is so intense and strong. No wonder the history of mankind contains only the word ‘war’.
Most obviously drama has the function of providing public entertainment. The labor of a few that gives enjoyment to the public is a spirit of service really worthy of praise. Its goal is to enhance the cultural knowledge of the public because while there is a vast number of people being illiterate, a condition that is hard to improve shortly, we cannot push them aside and ignore them. Drama thus has gained a foothold with new functions in society. Undoubtedly, when the whole of humanity becomes literate and educated, drama is still vital because it is one of the art forms as well as the crystallization of culture. It certainly has not fallen behind in time. Those who love drama would consider amateur performance as a way of learning. On the one hand, it can train people to become professionals to maintain the progress of drama performance; on the other hand, it would help those involved to achieve greater understanding of the real meaning of plays, the nature of life, the proper use of language, the technique of speech, and leadership skills. Furthermore, it is a noble form of entertainment that can prevent young people from being idled and going astray.
Speaking with such consideration, I think drama movement is a task and enterprise that should be most promoted.