去年九月国务院拨专款五百万元,用以救济和安排生活困难的民间职业剧团和民间职业艺人。几个月来,各地文化行政部门经过调查研究,组织艺人学习讨论文化部关于此项工作的指示。到目前为止,各地已陆续将救济款分发到艺人手中。据反映,各地在转发救济款时,艺人们都极为振奋和感动。许多艺人都写信给文化部门表示对党和政府的感激,有的剧团还写信到本报编辑部来,表示决心大力挖掘剧目,提高演出质量,来满足人民文化生活的需要。江苏省邗江县柳村扬剧团老艺人董佩华听到这个消息后,感动得流下泪来,认为这是从古以来没有过的事情。他说:“解放 In September last year, the State Council allocated a special fund of five million yuan to relieve and arrange hard-working private professional troupes and private professional artists. In recent months, various cultural administrations have conducted investigations and studies and organized artistes to study and discuss the instructions of the Ministry of Culture on this work. So far, relief funds have been distributed throughout the country to artists. It is reported that the artistes are extremely excited and touched when they are forwarding relief funds around the country. Many artists wrote letters to the cultural sector expressing their gratitude to the party and the government. Some of the troupes wrote to the editorial department of the newspaper and expressed their determination to vigorously tap the repertoire and improve the performance quality to meet the needs of the people’s cultural life. After hearing the news, old artist Dong Peihua of Liu Village Yangzhou Opera Troupe of Qijiang County, Jiangsu Province, moved to tears and thought it was something that has not been done since ancient times. He said: "Liberation