Ma Lianliang recalled the drum king Liu Baoquan

Mr. Liu Baoquan had more than 20 years of contact with me before his death. In the midst of obedience, we are always intimate, regardless of each other, and the friendship is very deep.

The first time I watched Mr. Liu Baoquan's performance was in 1923. At that time, I was only in my twenties, and I had already admired Mr. Liu Baoquan's name for a long time. That night, Mr. Liu performed in the stone alley outside the front door of "Four Seas Rising Peace". This juggling garden was relatively good at the time. There are galleries up and down the doorway, and there is a plaque with gold characters on a green background.



On this day, he wore a silver-gray robe, covered with a green satin coat, and dark blue trousers on the bottom, with streamers tied to the legs of his pants. Fish-mouthed cloth socks with a pair of blue-faced shoes. Although he was already in his fifties that year, his face was full of red light, and his eyes were shining brightly, giving people the impression of being spiritual, strong, clean, and generous.

He bowed to the audience with a smile on his face and thanked the audience for applauding him warmly when he appeared. Then, calmly, he took off his coat and exposed the shoulders inside. He smiled and confessed a few "pad words", then picked up the drum and tapped the door a few times as the string master played. Immediately, the attention of the entire audience was focused on him. The theater order, which had been quite chaotic, suddenly became quiet.

My expression is that Song Jiang killed Yan Shi in the Wulong Temple, and asked a chong jun to send a distribution to Jiangzhou Pass. Li Wan and Zhang Qian'er explained that this good man was called Black Song San. During the day, he only walked away with torture equipment, and rushed to the night, and ordered him to sleep peacefully. I have the heart to tell them to go forward one mile or two miles, and we will sing in the middle of the bustle until later. It is nothing more than to go today and then look at tomorrow, he has gone day after day. This day is walking up and looking up, Jiangzhou City is not far away...

After a few big words, I and the audience were completely conquered by his superb singing. With the development of the storyline, I gradually forgot About Liu Baoquan, who was standing on the stage and singing, and entered an artistic illusion. It seemed to see the mighty river water, the boat that floated along the water, the big black and stout Li Kui, the well-built Zhang Shun; hearing Li Kui's shouting, Zhang Shun's answer, the two people's scolding, the fight between the two sides, and even heard the panting sound caused by the excessive force caused by the two people fighting.

Since then, I have become a "Liu fan" and become Mr. Liu's most loyal audience. Whenever Mr. Liu has a performance, as long as I don't have a play, I am a must-see, wind and rain. Sometimes I have a second play, and when I finish the play, I hurriedly unloaded my costume and rushed to the "Shuixin Pavilion" (near the overpass) to listen to a performance by Mr. Liu.

After some days, through the introduction of the late Mr. Wang Yaoqing, a famous Peking Opera actor, I met Mr. Liu Baoquan. The two of us were the same at first sight and soon became friends. For more than five years after that, we lived together day and night. Every day I went to cotton nine to his house to find him. Take a walk, then go to the "Poinsettia" bathhouse to take a shower. In the afternoon, we went to "Liangyixuan" to eat together. After eating, I went to the theater again to observe the performances of Yu Shuyan and Yang Xiaolou.

This is pretty much the daily activity routine for both of us. The two of them didn't see each other one day, as if something was missing in life, and they felt uncomfortable. Between us, no matter what, we can push our hearts and minds and talk freely. After this period of exchange, not only did I have a better understanding of Mr. Liu Baoquan's artistic life and insights, but also Mr. Liu's words and deeds and artistic thoughts had a great impact on my artistic life and performance skills. In the course of my interactions, I deeply realized that Mr. Liu Baoquan, as a performing artist, has many admirable and worthy of learning.