The TV series "Dog Leftover Run" has recently set off a wave of craze across the country, and the ratings have continued to soar, even breaking through 2.
The screenwriter of this play, Li Haijiang, is from Shangqiu, Henan Province, and is an authentic Shangqiu playwright. He skillfully combined the background of the Anti-Japanese War with comedy elements, using Shangqiu, Henan Province as the stage, telling the joys and sorrows of a group of small people. The protagonist of the story, Gou Yu, was abandoned since he was a child, and was later adopted by Wang Daju and his wife in Songji Linhe Village. In order to make money and marry a daughter-in-law, he went to serve as a soldier for his foolish brother Wang Mao. The war made him deeply realize that there is no country and no small family, and he gradually grew from an ordinary peasant to a real soldier of the Fourth Army, completing a huge change in his life.
The play's clever use of dialects adds a strong regional character to the film, allowing the audience to enjoy the comedy while also feeling the rich cultural and historical background of the Shangqiu area. I am very grateful to the show for adding points to Henan Shangqiu and Shangqiu Cultural Tourism. However, as a native of Songji Town, Suiyang District, Shangqiu, Henan, less than 3 kilometers away from Linhe Village, where the story takes place, I am somewhat uncomfortable with some mistakes in the history and geography of the play.
First of all, the place names in the play, such as Dangshan and Yongcheng, should be set in the Shangqiu area of eastern Henan during the Anti-Japanese War. However, Shangqiu was historically called Guide Prefecture, but it was revoked in 1913, so there was no Guide County in history.
In addition, Shangqiu does not have continuous mountains. It looks east to Huaibei in Anhui Province and Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province, west to Kaifeng in Henan, Zhoukou in Henan Province and Bozhou in Anhui Province in the south, and Heze and Jining in Shandong Province to the north. In Shangqiu, only the highest point of Mangdang Mountain in the southeast under the jurisdiction of Yongcheng City is 158 meters, and the rest of the place is plain. The description of Gouyu's conscription registration and Guide County in the play seems to indicate that Guide County is near the mountains, and Laowangji, Gouyu's hometown, is a mountain village, only more than 40 miles away from the county seat of Guide. These geographical errors, while not affecting the overall plot, are still noteworthy and corrected.
The series presents the magnificent scene of ** marching among the mountains, as well as the picture of the dog running home in the mountains, and there are many delicate close-ups of the mountains. However, under careful observation, there are discrepancies between the geographical background and historical facts in the play.
The Pulianji and Qingguji in the play, these two places are actually townships belonging to Cao County, Heze City, located in the plain, not the undulating scene of mountains shown in the play. Especially in the Battle of Qingguji, the ups and downs of the mountains in the background are very different from the actual geographical environment.
Moreover, Shangqiu was a place where the Japanese army fought fiercely during the Anti-Japanese War. On May 29, 1938, the county seat of Shangqiu fell after a fierce battle. At that time, a regiment of the 187th Division of the Eighth Army had held the county town of Shangqiu and engaged in fierce battles with the Japanese army, but was forced to withdraw because more than half of the defenders had to leave. In the play, it shows the scene of Ma Peizhong, the chief and deputy county magistrate of the Kuomintang, and Qiao Sihu organizing residents to welcome the Japanese army into the city, which is undoubtedly disrespectful to history.
There are inconsistencies with historical facts in terms of geographical background and historical events. As an anti-Japanese war drama, history should be treated more rigorously and historical facts should be respected. Screenwriters also need to strengthen their research and rigor in this regard. Anyway, thank you very much for the promotion of our Shangqiu by this drama! Plus points for our Shangqiu Cultural Tourism and Shangqiu Guide Ancient City!