Date: December 03, 2019
Source: School of Journalism and Communication
Author: Zhang Yujie  Zhou Jianhong

JNU Times, an original verse play created by JNU's Department of Oral Communication, made its debut on the main campus on Nov. 23. The performance was jointly held by the School of Journalism and Communication, the student office, the party committee's publicity department and the Alumni Association.

As the first such drama with JNU as its theme, the play was divided into four scenes -- History, Original Aspiration,Development, Dream and Future –chronicling historical events and presenting JNU's development in a poetic way. 

The play connected JNU' s development through three serious ups and downs and five moves in decades of trials and hardships: its establishment in the late Qing Dynasty; the vicissitudes of the Republic of China (1912-1949); its reestablishment after the founding of the People's Republic of China; and recent decades of reform and opening-up. The play extolled the university's energetic development through tremendous changes in the past and its further progress in the new era, summarizing its historical context as the highest-level educational institution for overseas Chinese, to reflect the course of Chinese national rejuvenation and endeavor.
 

(The live show)
 

(The live show)

The play took a year of planning, writing and rehearsal, with the famous poet Ou Zhen as scriptwriter and librettist of the theme song, Xin Rui as director, and Wei Tie as designer. All the work, including directing, programming, audio and video production, and costumes, was completed by JNU teachers and students. The cast numbered over 80, mainly students majoring in broadcasting and hosting art. Almost 20 international and domestic students from more than 10 colleges, including the College of Chinese Language and the Culture and College of Science and Engineering, participated.

The play will tour  to key middle schools in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and to Chinese communities in countries along Belt and Road starting in 2020.