Xia Yan (1900-1995) is a famous Chinese playwright and screenwriter A native of Yuhang, Zhejiang Province, he has another name of Shen Naixi alias Duanxuan or Duanxian. He had pursued his studies in Japan. In the 193Os, he founded Shanghai Art Drama Society and was one of the leaders of the League of Chinese Left-Wing Dramatists. He wrote many plays and screenplays. Since the founding of the People's Republic, he had done some leadership work concerning literature and art.(Fig.3-11)

As far back as the "National Defense Drama" movement, Xia Yan had displayed his talent as a playwright. Regarded as the masterpiece of "National Defense Drama" movement, Saijinhua told the story of a legendary heroic prostitute and attacked the incompetent Qing dynasty, implying that instead of seeking temporary ease, it was imperative to rise up against the enemy. Xia Yan is not a playwright who could tolerate any crude or shoddy dramatic work finished in a hurry. He knew, "To produce, .plays that can touch the audience, a playwright must allow the directors and actors enough freedom and describe characters, their personalities and living environment... It is impossible to achieve that effect by having a couple of characters making a few generous or vehement remarks".

In 1937, after deep consideration, Xia Yan came out with a multi-act play entitled Under the Eaves of Shanghai. The War of Resistance Against Japan was on the verge of breaking out, but not a single stage line related to the resistance war could be found in the play and the story plot involved no events of great political significance. By depicting the living conditions of ordinary urban residents, the play mirrored the Chinese people's psychology against a given cultural background and implied the coming new period.

1 NextPage