"Such A Life" - 1949
二月十二日女青年会国语班公演 「如此人生」五幕话剧。 我鼓起很大的勇气， 勉强延长了自己的容忍力， 也只能看了两幕。 我是为了批评这剧而去看的。看完后，我立心要让它无声无息地过去，因为我不愿以太无情的批评，来打消将来青年来演剧的热情。
我向来以为每个热心戏剧的人，对剧运应负有责任心，演剧演得坏时，应出来指出错误。 我这次准备放弃责任，多少犯了人情的弱点， 可是昨日竟在报纸上读到这剧怎样大成功的文字， 我就不能不说话了。 谁都不能否认， 以纯戏剧的观点来说，都不能说它是成功，若勉强把艺术的桂冠，放在这一次演出之上，实无补于华埠的剧运。
当晚，我碰到好几位从前从事过业余戏运的朋友，他们过去也是被归入不大成功之列的。 但是今晚连他们也忍受不住，这确是对他们的一种安慰， 同时也激起了一点我将要讨论的情绪。
其实「如此人生」的演出虽然给予国语班的同学一个很好的练习机会 （绝对赞成），但是它同时给剧运一个不良的效果（极端反对）。 大战末期，华埠的话剧愈做愈坏，自 「华侨儿女」 的演出失败以后， 早已给观众一个对话剧不良的印象。 「如此人生」的演出可能会加深人们对话剧的恶感， 这样我恐怕剧运真的不会再抬头了。
不过，有一件事情是可以向热心於戏运的人们告慰的，那就是观众的情绪。 这次观众的人数的拥挤确是出乎我意料之外， 而且是一个易动的观众，或者他们没有多看话剧的经验， 或者他们全是为听朝雨社的粤乐而来， 或者他们是为听国语而来， 或者他们是为看异性而来。 总之， 观众的反应比以前好的多了， 戏运的人士或者应该趁时把握着这个极难得的机会。
演剧完后，我和三位在舞台上有过颇多经验的朋友谈到这件事来，我们都认为时机已到，应该召集战后飞散了的戏剧人材，和新起对戏剧有真纯爱好的人士， 来共同推进华埠的戏剧运动。
我们同意最大的困难就是戏本的问题。 在目前只有创作剧，才能适应环境的需要，而以独幕剧为前锋。 但是最先的工作，还是设法使各方对剧运抱热诚的人们得到接触和认识的机会。
我认为艺术目的的达成有三个条件. 1: 要对眼睛和耳朵发生美感。 2: 要有意义。 3: 对人生要有价值。 如果技术不良，锻炼不够，第一个条件就很难满足， 而其后两个条件也无法获致了。
On February 12, the YWCA Mandarin class performed the five-act play "Such A Life". I mustered up a lot of courage, barely extended my tolerance and still could only watch two scenes. I went to see this play to provide criticism of the show. After watching it, I am determined to let it pass quietly, because I did not want to discourage young people from acting in dramas in the future with too harsh criticism.
I have always believed that everyone enthusiastic about drama should be responsible for its performance and should identify its mistakes when the performance is bad. I was prepared to abandon my responsibility this time, which was somewhat a flaw of kindness, but yesterday I actually read in the newspaper about how successful the show was, so I couldn't remain speechless anymore. No one can deny that from a purely theatrical point of view, it cannot be said to be a success. If the crown of art is reluctantly placed on this performance, it will not help the fate of Chinatown drama.
That night, I ran into several friends who had been engaged in amateur theater in the past. They were also classified as less successful in the past. But even they couldn't stand it tonight, which was a comfort to them while it also provoked a little bit of the emotion that I am about to discuss.
In fact, although the performance of "Such A Life" provides a very good opportunity for students in the Mandarin class to practice (absolutely agree), however at the same time, it also brings a negative impact on theater performance (extremely opposed). At the end of the war, Chinatown's dramas were getting worse and worse. Since the failure of the performance of the "Overseas Chinese Sons and Daughters", it had already given the audience a bad impression of straight plays. The performance of "Such A Life" may deepen people's distaste for straight plays, so I'm afraid that dramas will really no longer be elevated again.
However, there is one thing that can comfort those who are passionate about theater, and that is the emotions of the audience. The crowding of the audience this time exceeded my expectations. Moreover, it was an impressionable audience. Perhaps they did not have much experience in watching dramas, or they all came to listen to Chaoyu Club’s Cantonese music, or to hear Mandarin speaking, or to see the opposite sex. Overall, the audience's reaction is much better than before. People in theater development should perhaps take advantage of this rare opportunity.
After the play, I discussed it with three friends who had quite a lot of stage-experience. We all thought that the time had come to gather the drama talents who had been dispersed after the war and work with new enthusiasts with true passion for drama to promote the drama movement in Chinatown.
We agreed that the greatest difficulty was the script. At present, only by creating plays can we adapt to the needs of the environment, with one-act plays as the vanguard. But the first task is to try to provide opportunities for people from everywhere who are passionate about drama to get connected with and get to know each other.
I think there are three conditions for achieving the purpose of art. 1: It must create a sense of aesthetic for the eyes and ears. 2: It is meaningful. 3: It is valuable to life. If the technique is poor and the training is insufficient, it will be difficult to meet the first condition, and the next two conditions will not be achieved.