"'Female martial artist' Pei Yanling became famous at the age of 9, was received twice by Chairman Mao and other national leaders at the age of 12, acted in the color movie feature film "People, Ghosts, Love" at the age of 30, remarried at the age of 47, she actually married her elderly teacher......"
There is such a saying in the pear orchard world:
"The male actor and female Mei Lanfang are the first in the world, and the female actor and male Pei Yanling are unparalleled in the world."
Probably that in the role of a man dressed as a woman, Mei Lanfang is an unrivaled master.
Among the roles of women dressed as men, Pei Yanling dominates.
Do you know who Pei Yanling is? Why is she as famous as Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang?
The famous storyteller Li Lin once praised her at the "China Story Conference":
"I've never seen such a small one, I've never seen such a good one, I've never seen such a small one."
Her talent has long been a good story on the Chinese stage.
Yes, this "genius" pee is different.
Pei Yanling was born into a family of dramatists.
Her father, Pei Juting, loved opera when he was young and was a martial arts actor.
Pei Yanling's stepmother, Yuan Xizhen, is also an opera actor and is good at singing the Danjiao of Hebei Bangzi.
The Pei family almost revolves around drama, whether it is his father or stepmother, his love for drama has deeply affected little Pei Yanling.
Pei Yanling has performed with the troupe since she was a child, from Hebei to Henan to Anhui, and almost all of her childhood was spent on the mobile stage.
Whenever the troupe starts a performance, the gongs and drums are beaten, which is called "getting through" in the jargon.
When Pei Yanling was 4 years old, her task was to strike the gong at the beginning of the performance, which was a great pleasure for her.
Every time she "got through", she and the other children would sneak to the back of the stage and peek at the performance from behind the curtain.
They may take a nap during the literary drama, but when it comes to the martial arts, all their eyes are wide open and they can watch with relish.
When she was 5 years old, she unexpectedly took the place of the sick lead actor on stage, but the performance was beyond everyone's expectations, and the audience was dumbfounded.
Pei Yanling's talent was recognized by the literary master Cao Yu, who called her "Liyuan National Treasure".
She studied under drama masters such as Li Shaochun and Guo Jingchun, and learned very strictly.
And her performances are as vivid as "Living Zhong Kui", "Living Lin Chong", and "Living Wu Song".
The images are so vivid and vivid that one almost forgets that she is just acting.
Originally, Pei Yanling's father didn't want her to learn opera, but whenever he saw her imitating and practicing, he would strictly stop her.
However, Pei Yanling only has drama in her heart, and anything at home can become a prop for drama in her eyes.
Since she was 7 years old, her father gradually recognized her interest and began to formally guide her to learn opera.
Her father was a stern but very emotional man, and his words revealed great respect and rigor for art:
"If you don't make a corner, you can't learn, you can't die."
The most revered male image in Pei Yanling's life is her resilient father.
"Everyone else feels bitter, but I don't feel bitter."
They learned a play every two or three days, and this intensive training continued until they arrived in Zhengding Mansion in Hebei Province.
There, Pei Yanling was guided by the drama master Li Chongshuai.
Li Chongshuai's training methods were extremely rigorous, but they also shaped Pei Yanling's later stage style.
In 1960, with the country's reorganization of a private theater troupe into a state-run theater company, Pei Yanling's acting career also entered a new stage.
Although the influence of modernity caused her to retire from the stage for a while, she never gave up her love for theater.
"At first, I thought it was good not to act, but I was only allowed to act in modern dramas, men not women, and women not men. It just so happened that I fell in love, got married, and had children, but in this way, the hardships I suffered when I was a child were equivalent to eating in vain......"
The more Pei Yanling thought about it, the more she felt that it would not work like this.
Later, every night, she often practiced classic dramas silently in a dark classroom alone.
"Only by understanding and mastering traditional opera can we be comfortable in future artistic creation."
In 1986, she won the third Plum Blossom Award for her Kunqu opera "Lin Chong Running in the Night" and "Zhong Kui", which was an important recognition of her artistic talent.
Two years later, she starred in the film "People, Ghosts, Love" and became an international success, winning awards at international film festivals in France and Brazil.
Eight years later, she won the thirteenth Plum Blossom Award again,
In 2008, she was awarded the Special Honorary Performance Award at the 5th China Peking Opera Festival, demonstrating her important position in the field of opera.
The following year, Pei Yanling won the third plum blossom of her career at the Plum Blossom Award for Chinese Theatre.
It also marked another peak in her artistic career.
Pei Yanling's life is not only a glamorous stage and gongs and drums, but her outspokenness has made her quite controversial both inside and outside the theater industry.
She once denounced a new Peking Opera "Mei Lanfang" in public, ignoring the face of the leader, which was terrifying.
Her personal life is just as colourful.
In the 90s, when she was extremely conservative, she married her mentor Guo Jingchun, who was 25 years older than herself.
This marriage has caused widespread criticism.
Someone said:
"One day as a teacher, a lifetime as a father, the master married an apprentice, isn't this equivalent to a father and daughter getting married?"
It was also said:
"You don't have to be able to promise to repay your kindness, do you?" "Master-apprentice love" is not in accordance with the rules, and the two masters don't even understand this? ”
……
There are many more such statements.
It is difficult for the world to understand Pei Yanling's choice of final destination, but Pei Yanling sincerely hopes to repay her mentor's nurturing kindness and give him a happy old age.
This kind of self-assertion and courage to pursue love is contrasted with her bravery and fearlessness on stage.
Pei Yanling's artistic career has never stopped exploring and innovating.
In the face of the ancient art of Peking Opera, many people choose to be conservative.
Pei Yanling had the courage to try and adapted the popular cartoon "Nezha in the Sea" into a stage play, which successfully attracted a large number of new generation audiences.
Pei Yanling has not slowed down because of age, and every time she takes the stage, she is full of deep affection for art.
She has always had a deep impact on the industry with a sense of responsibility and mission as an artist.
Pei Yanling's life is a portrayal of the endless love for Peking Opera, and it is also a moving stage story.
"Drama is my dream, drama is my soul, drama is my life, drama is my root......"
As she said, she was born for opera, and this love is closely linked to drama and is inseparable.
With her career and persistence, Pei Yanling shows us an artist's respect for tradition and pursuit of innovation.
Her fame is world-renowned, but she herself is unusually humble.
She often said not to call her a "national treasure" or a "master" because these titles made her feel uncomfortable and uncomfortable.
She is more reluctant to admit that she is the founder of a certain genre and does not like to be called an "artist".
"Drama is everything to me, and it's all built on the support of the audience. Without an audience, there would be no stage for art. ”
Pei Yanling believes that
Art should not be just about fame, but about the constant pursuit of excellence, sincerity in every role, and touching the hearts of every audience.
This makes people think about some of the current trends in the opera world, especially in the Peking Opera industry.
Now, many young actors are quickly given the title of "artist" or "national first-class actor".
However, how many people can really reach the artistic heights of Mei Lanfang or Zhou Xinfang?
Write at the end
On the road of opera, we should pay more attention to the connotation and depth of art itself, rather than the superficial glory.
Whether in art or in life, we should maintain respect for tradition and an open mind for the future.
In this way, the vitality and significance of this ancient art can be maintained.