The 1930s was a decade of misery in Chinese history. On one hand, the national conflicts raged because the September 18 Inccident took place in 1931 and the Japanese army invaded and occupied the northeastern part of the country; on the other hand, the class conflicts also became fierce and the revolt against capitalists and landlords by workers and peasants occurred like rising wind and scudding clouds.

It was in this tense period the Chinese Workers and Peasants' Red Army established quite a few drama troupes in the army, most prominently, the Soldiers' Drama Society and the Combat Drama Society.

-- Soldiers' Drama Society

The Soldiers' Drama Society was established in 1930 in the southern province Jiangxi. Nie Rongzhen (political commissar of the corps) and Luo Ronghuan (director of the political department of the Red Army) were among the main organizers. The society in the beginning was just a propaganda team to inspire and raise the masses' consciousness.

At that time, performances of the Soldiers' Drama Society mainly consisted of lectures accompanied by singing Red Army songs and folk ditties. During the Spring Festival of 1933, the soldiers staged a four-act play entitled The Snow of Lushan Mountain. Some other performances such as August First directed by Luo Ruiqing, The Last Resistance produced by Luo Ruiqing and Fight Back To Lushan Mountain produced by Hu Di, were also well received. In these plays the actors and actresses were all from the Red Army, from commander to soldiers.

The Soldiers' Drama Society took part in the Long March and their performances were well-received during the march. Even after the arduous trek, their propaganda was never relaxed.

-- Combat Drama Society

The Combat Drama Society was established during the Long March in July, 1936 and named by He Long, general commander of the Second Front Army of the Chinese Workers and Peasants' Red Army.

As soon as The Xi'an Incident happened, the society wrote and staged a play Capture Chang Kai-shek Alive. Then the Anti-Japanese War broke out. The Combat Drama Society went to the front line and organized a series of propagandistic activities in the mid-west anti-Japanese bases of China. Their performances, such as Harvest, Flood, and The Trilogy of Yellow River, were a reflection of the life in the front line and all well received.