According to the Jiangsu Performing Arts Group, Zhang Jiqing, a famous Kunqu performing artist, a national first-class actor, a representative inheritor of kunqu opera of the national intangible cultural heritage project, the winner of the "Plum Blossom Award" of Chinese drama, and the winner of the Kunqu Lifetime Achievement Award award awarded by the Ministry of Culture of China, died of illness in Nanjing this afternoon at the age of 83.
Zhang Jiqing was born in 1939 in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, and after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, his family was displaced. Zhang Jiqing's grandfather was a Suzhou beach spring artist who used to run the dock to sell art for a living. Since the age of 14, Zhang Jiqing went to the Shanghai Minfeng Su Opera Troupe, first as a miscellaneous, and then began to learn Kunqu opera, although there was no formal worship, but he was guided by dozens of famous teachers such as You Caiyun. In 1956, Zhang Jiqing and the kunqu opera master Yu Zhenfei co-starred in "The Legend of the White Snake - Broken Bridge", which surprised four people.
After the reform and opening up, Zhang Jiqing on the one hand inherited the authentic Kunqu style, on the other hand, there are innovations, her masterpieces "Peony Pavilion - Frightening Dream", "Peony Pavilion - Dream", "Rotten Keshan - Dream" are well-known at home and abroad, she has also become the well-deserved top card in China's Kunqu Danjiao. Especially in "Peony Pavilion", Du Liniang, who is played in "Peony Pavilion", shows the delicacy and elegance of Kunqu opera, and the dignity and Juanxiu of Du Liniang are vividly expressed, and are regarded by many audiences as "Du Liniang first". In 2003, at the invitation of Bai Xianyong, Zhang Jiqing became the artistic director of the youth version of "Peony Pavilion", which brought together the essence of the classic version, which not only has the elegant and authentic style of traditional Kunqu opera, but also made adjustments to make it more suitable for the viewing and appreciation of the young generation of audiences, and the youth version of "Peony Pavilion" has thus become a must-see work for a large number of young students to enter Kunqu opera, with great influence, so that more young people feel the subtle and long charm of Kunqu.
Zhang Jiqing's singing voice is implicit, rigid and soft, and has a long charm, which is well-deserved in the performance art of Kunqu opera. At the same time, Zhang Jiqing is also committed to inheriting kunqu culture, providing a large number of precious learning and research materials for the theater industry, and making outstanding contributions to the inheritance of kunqu art. Her disciples are also full of talents, and Shan Wen, a rookie of Jiangsu Performing Arts Group, is from Zhang Jiqing's door, and they are now active on the opera stage and have become the middle force of a new generation of opera.
From the age of 14 to the opera industry, Zhang Jiqing's life has been dedicated to the cause of opera, she once said, "I often remind students that there will be repetition on the road to innovation, and continuous progress is good." At the same time, innovation must not forget the tradition, the drama should maintain its own style and characteristics, can not change the flavor. In October 2018, Zhang Jiqing also sang a song of soap robes in "Peony Pavilion - Garden Tour" with student Shan Wen at the Zijin Culture and Art Festival, which was also Zhang Jiqing's last stage performance.
The Scythians have gone, Mr. Eons.
Yangzi Evening News | Purple Cow News reporter Shen Zhao