Comment on Li Jianwu's Comment on Thunderstorm——Comment on the Character in Thunderstorm

Thunderstorm is Mr. Cao Yu’s most successful work. With his exquisite brushwork and in accordance with the the three unities principle of theatrical creation, Mr. Cao Yu systematically concentrates the 30-year experience of Zhou Mansion in four acts of drama. The hypocritical capitalist Zhou Puyuan; the pure teenager Zhou Chong influenced by the new ideas; a woman who is driven by indifference and is hurt by love, Poyi; Zhou Ping, who was full of guilt and attempted to escape from the past; and mother Lu who came back unexpectedly, Sifeng, who has pure love and is loved, the oppressed worker Lu Dahai, the greedy housekeeper and so on. Whether family secrets or life secrets, all contradictions erupt on the thunderstorm night. While describing family contradictions and disputes, and denouncing the decadent and stubborn feudal family, it reflects deeper social and contemporary problems. The plot of the drama is exciting, the language is refined and implicit, and the characters with their own characteristics. It is the cornerstone of Chinese drama realism and a milestone of the maturity of modern Chinese drama.