在许多场合,周恩来都称呼曹禺为“老同学”。对此,曹禺说:“总理谦虚,实际上,我们只是在天津南开中学的先后同学,并且先后在一个业余剧团里演过戏,工作过罢了。” 1925年,年仅15岁的曹禺加入南开新剧团。南开新剧团是1914年成立的,当时正在南开中学读书的周恩来曾担任剧团的布景部副部长,他明确主张新剧应当与“重整河山,复兴祖国”的大目标紧密地联系在一起。从周恩来的戏剧主张里,曹禺找到了自己的人生目标,并把周恩来当成自己的良师和益友,尽管他们还未曾谋面。 In many occasions, Zhou Enlai called Cao Yu “old classmate.” In response, Cao Yu said: “The premier is modest, in fact, we are only in Tianjin Nankai secondary school students, and has worked in an amateur theater troupe, worked for nothing.” In 1925, only 15-year-old Cao Yu joined Nankai New theater. Nankai New Theater was founded in 1914 when Zhou Enlai, who was studying in Nankai Middle School, served as deputy director of the theater’s scenery department. He explicitly advocated that new plays should be closely linked with the grand goal of “reorganizing rivers and mountains and revitalizing the motherland.” From Zhou Enlai’s drama proposition, Cao Yu has found his own goal in life and used Zhou Enlai as his mentor and friend, though they have not met yet.